A Serpent in Paradise Ch. 04

Author's note: This story is primarily a continuation of "Paradise Obtained", but also includes characters from "The New Neighbours/The Good Master" and "The Friday Night Games Club".

This is the culmination of my 'Haller universe' stories, so is not the best place to begin. I would recommend reading the other stories first; doing so will add depth of character background and make various things clearer.

All characters are over 18.

A Serpent in Paradise: Chapter 04

Matthew Mitchell had programmed his harem with a high libido. To them having frequent sex was as natural and necessary as eating or drinking. The harem Mike Roberts had inherited from Geoff Mills had much the same programming for similar reasons. Over the last few days Matt and Mike had discovered that the effect of bringing two groups of girls with that degree of sex drive into close proximity might reasonably be described as 'volcanic'.

That Delilah should run amok amid this collection of sexually charged women was not surprising. She had been like that even before Matt had met her and made her a mind-controlled member of his harem. And given that Millie had been a lesbian before Matt had changed her ideas about sex with at least one man, i.e. himself, it wasn't that much of a shock that within hours of her arrival at Park Manor she had enthusiastically joined in with this simmering vortex of Sapphic desire.

Nor did things improve with the arrival of the remaining two members of Mike's harem, Ellie Walcott, a cheerful, friendly and attractive twenty-year-old of West Indian decent, and Carly Stone, five years older, short, pale skinned, dark haired and slightly brooding, but also undeniably cute. They had been attending a nearby university, albeit not in the same year and doing different subjects, but there were rumours that it was about to go into lockdown due to the pandemic. Having heard from their harem sisters of what was happening at Park Manor they had decided to come home before it was no longer possible.

Delilah's eyes had lit up at the arrival of yet more hot womanhood, while Millie was immediately taken with Ellie Walcott. Millie's best friend amongst Matt's harem was another West Indian, Tasha Jones, and although Ellie and Tasha weren't all that alike in either face or form, they had a similar energy and zest for life. It was not great surprise that within two hours of their arrival, Ellie and Carly were in bed with Delilah and Millie, happily swapping partners, and with a steady trickle of other members of Mike's harem joining them, keen to welcome their sisters back home.

At least Matt's faithful PA, Georgia Harding, and Mike's wife Jessica seemed to be showing a little more decorum. Or so Matt thought until he walked into the bedroom he shared with Georgia to discover the two blondes wrapped in a passionate embrace which, judging by the sweating and sticky state of both them, had already been joyfully in progress for some time.

It seemed that the reason Jessica and Georgia were avoiding the general orgies was that they had paired up with each other and were working on some plot of their own. It worried Matt that he had no idea what this might be. Georgia was very intelligent and if she wanted something to happen it generally did, while Jessica, although in theory Mike's slave, was still his wife and exercised a great deal of influence with her husband.

Matt was happy to admit that in the context of all these goings on it was a very good thing that Katya was undertaking most of the actual planning of what they should do next. She wasn't staying at the Manor, instead commuting back and forth to her London flat, but in any event she was impervious to the prevailing debauched atmosphere. Katya had plenty of volcanic lusts of her own, but she was totally in control of them. There was a centred calm to her that Matt envied, although he wouldn't have wanted to go through the traumas she had endured in order to achieve it.

Katya had the outline of her plan and Matt couldn't fault it, save for a minor quibble. Putting the pieces in place for it to work had taken a few days, which is why they had all been stuck at Park Manor, with the girls unable to resist exercising their high-powered libidos, while Matt had divided his time between worrying about the captive Ilse, Nikki and Lana and feeling bad about himself, being convinced that the kidnap of Ilse and the others was his fault. He was therefore delighted when Katya announced that everything was ready for her final briefing.

This was held once again in Mike's study at Park Manor. Of the usual Manor residents, only Mike and Jessica were present. Matt was aware that Mike had told his girls to stay away as he wanted to minimise their involvement in this whole business. In contrast Matt, Georgia, Delilah and Millie were all in attendance, along with Katya taking centre stage. She was dressed for action in a sort of black leather cat suit that made her look simultaneously dangerous but very sexy.

From somewhere or other, Millie had acquired a pair of camouflaged trousers, a green sleeveless army-style vest and a stout pair of boots, which were currently resting on Mike and Jessica's coffee table in front of the sofa on which she was sitting. This quasi-military gear was also a statement of intent and had drawn a small smile of approval from Katya. Millie was seated with arms and legs crossed and look of determination on her pretty face beneath the blonde pixie cut. It was clear she meant business.

Katya was about to commence the description of her plan when the door to the study opened and through it entered Carly Stone, looking every bit the student in jeans and t-shirt. She glanced round the group as if daring anyone to say anything and then sat down on the windowsill, as there were no spare chairs. Katya glanced at Mike and Jessica. Carly's Master looked surprised and a little worried, while Jess had a look of understanding, but neither of them said anything so Katya gave a small shrug and started her briefing.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have three tasks. First, and most important, is to rescue the three hostages seized by Mills while ensuring they come to no harm in the process. Second: capture, eliminate or otherwise render Geoff Mills harmless. Lastly, we have agreed we need to know more about the plans and intentions of Albrecht Haller so this sort of thing doesn't happen again." She glanced round the room and saw she had everyone's full attention, so she continued.

"To accomplish the first two of these tasks we need to go to Romania, where Mills is located at Hawk Castle. This coronavirus business might have made that impossible given the travel disruption it is causing, but that is where having a billionaire patron is helpful. Albrecht Haller has agreed to lend us a private aircraft and the flight plans have already been registered. It will take us from the UK, initially to Germany and then on to Romania. I have already booked transport in that country so we can get to the castle itself."

"Obviously there is no way of getting guns onto a plane without drawing unwelcome official attention but that doesn't matter as Haller has arranged that arms will be made available to us at the Romanian end. In any event, that is only a backup and I intend to avoid violence if at all possible. We will need to make an exact plan when we see what the set-up at Hawk Castle is like, but I am hoping we will be able to fight mind-control with mind-control. In short, Matt is our trump card."

"Don't forget my method doesn't work on men," Matt cut in.

"As I say, we will need to improvise our plan once we get there, but I have full maps and plans of the castle, village and surrounding area, which will help," Katya replied. "For this mission I propose Matt, Millie and I as the party."

"And me," said Delilah in a tone that she clearly intended to be unarguable. "That bastard's got Nikki, so there's no way I'm not going. You don't need to worry about me getting in the way, I can look after myself. I encountered all sorts of scum in my old life before I met Matt and I'm still here to tell the tale."

"Matt?" Katya said.

Matt took one look at Delilah's face and said, "Yeah, it's ok, she can come."

"Right," said Katya, "in that case, four of us go to Romania. But we also need to send someone to Hamburg to see Haller. That's a job for Georgia. We know she broke Haller's programming, so she's safe from being controlled by him. She can come on the plane as far as Germany and then go by car from there."

"I agree with Georgia going to see Haller," Matt said, "in fact she's probably the only one of us bright enough not to let him run rings around her, but I don't like the idea of her going alone. Couldn't you go with her Delilah?"

"No, sorry Matt, not unless you make me obey by giving me an order. Nikki's my wife; I need to go with you and try to help her." Matt was impressed by the note of sincerity in Delilah's voice. She was normally so flighty and flippant, so this was a real contrast. Matt didn't want to force Delilah in these circumstances and he understood how she felt -- he was feeling something similar -- but he still didn't like the idea of Georgia seeing Haller alone and he said so.

"But there's no one else," Georgia pointed out, logical as ever. "Don't worry Matt, I'll be fine."

"I'll go," said a voice from the corner. There was a moment of surprised silence, while they all turned to look at the speaker. It was Carly Stone.

Mike Roberts gave his immediate instinctive reaction. "No, I don't want any of mine involved in this. It's not our fight."

Carly rose to feet. She looked small and pale, but grimly determined. "If you order it so Master then I must obey, but please hear my reasons first."

"Let her speak, Mike," said Jessica to her husband, a note of sadness and understanding in her voice.

"Alright," said Mike reluctantly, not liking this at all. "What is it Carly?"

"Master, I know that Geoff Mills hurt you and the Mistress terribly, and all my sisters in fact, but what he did to me was worse. He stripped away my old life, gave me a new one and then took that away as well. He tortured me mentally and emotionally and he didn't even do it for pleasure, just to see what would happen. He came close to destroying me; body, mind and soul. If you hadn't come and saved me when you did Master... well I don't think I could have stood it much longer. I would have found a way to end my suffering."

They heard her out in silence as none knew what to say. Carly had healed so much in the last year, but the emotional scars were still there deep inside.

"I'm entitled to hate that man and now he's back, hurting people again," she said in a low voice. "If I could do what I wanted, I would be going with Katya and Mr Mitchell to Romania so I could look Mills in the eye as they take him down, but I know I don't have the skills for that. I would just be in the way. But I want to do something to help, so please let me go with Georgia to Hamburg, Master."

This last was said with a desperate note of pleading. Mike could see that this meant an enormous amount to Carly and he could feel his wife looking at him and knew what she wanted him to say. With a heavy heart, and against his better judgement, Mike made his decision. "Very well, you have my permission -- but be careful and take no risks. Stay safe, Carly Stone. I was a long time in finding you and I don't want to lose you again."

*****

Philip Harris of her Britannic Majesty's Secret Service was finding it hard to concentrate on his work. Since his visit to Park Manor he couldn't get the thought out of his head that something terrible was going to happen. Finally he concluded that he had to share his fears with someone and that could only be his boss, Malcolm Brooke, although he was far from sure that would help. Having made his decision, Phil acted on it at once. He got up from his desk and walked the short distance to the door to Brooke's office. He knocked out of polite respect but didn't wait for a summons before going in.

Brooke looked up from his computer as Harris entered and waited for his subordinate to speak. Phil suddenly found he was nervous. He was about to discuss what he knew was a touchy subject. "Umm... can I have a word? Something's worrying me."

"Sure, Phil," Brooke said, looking slightly surprised. He regarded Harris as an efficient and experienced officer who rarely needed his advice on anything these days. Also, whatever this was, Phil had not raised it at their daily situation meeting earlier. Clearly, he had been dwelling on something that he was reluctant to talk about. Tricky moral issues were something of an occupational hazard in their line of work and Malcolm suspected that he was about to hear one now.

Harris sat down and began a speech he had rehearsed in his head, "You remember I went to visit Mike Roberts and his... umm... ladies last week. Well, I was thinking that they are all good people, innocent victims caught up in something beyond their control. And while their living arrangements are somewhat unconventional, they are trying their best to make something good come out of it."

Brooke said nothing, but showed he was listening, encouraging Phil to continue.

"Then there's that woman who calls herself Katya. Whatever she's become now, she started out as Katie Wade, an ordinary person going about her life until it was changed irrevocably; yet another innocent victim. Even in the case of Mitchell, while he might be culpable, those women with him aren't."

"All true," agreed Brooke, "but what's your concern."

Phil looked up and caught his boss' eye, "They're going to lose, aren't they? All of them and regardless of what they try. Even if Mills can't win on his own, in the end Haller will sacrifice them. Mills will take them all."

Brooke shook his head, impatiently. "I've told you before, we can't get involved. Mills is not our problem. It's true that Her Majesty's government had a brief flirtation with the man -- strictly in the interests of the nation of course -- but once we had realised our mistake, we severed our ties. That chapter is closed." Brooke said it with an air of finality.

"But what about Haller, sir? No one is doing anything about his activities. Doesn't that concern the Service?" Phil asked, close to pleading.

Brooke looked more uncomfortable with this question. "Herr Haller is a very rich, powerful and well-connected man," he said, "A friend of prime ministers and presidents, with an impeccable reputation. Men like Albrecht Haller are granted a degree of -- what shall we say? -- flexibility when it comes to whether their actions strictly comply with conventional law and morality. That's how the system works. You know that, Phil."

"So those poor harmless people are doomed, just because they are ordinary and not rich or powerful," said Phil. He didn't sound bitter or angry, just depressed. As Brooke had pointed out, he already knew it. Still, there was one final thing he thought he should say.

"What about Mike Roberts. He works for us, if only part time. You could say he's one of ours. Can't we do something to help him? You know, Roberts once told me that the last thing Mills said before he fled the country was that Mike shouldn't trust you."

"Did he?" said Brooke, seeming amused. "That was just Mills making trouble of course but I suppose it was also pretty good advice. My job is to do what's right for the country -- and so is yours Phil. Sometimes that means taking hard decisions and doing what needs to be done even if good people get hurt. Still..."

Brooke paused for a moment and then spoke again. "Changing the subject entirely, we may need Roberts to do a job for us next month. As you know, we don't let him have access to Mills' mind-control drug just to ensure he can't use it to create new slaves. He has the ultrasound, we have the drug and that way the risk is contained. If Roberts were ever to get hold of the drug, he would be much more powerful. So, getting back to business, I'll need to access some for that job I mentioned earlier."

Phil Harris knew his boss well enough to realise when he was up to something. He listened carefully as Brooke continued.

"The drug is kept in my floor safe in this office and only I know the combination. I think there are eight bottles of the drug in that safe but, now I mention it, I might have got that wrong -- it could well be that there's only six instead. I'll check tomorrow and if I find six bottles, I'll know that my second thought was correct. While I'm at it, I'll change the safe combination number so as to be certain the drug is secure."

Malcolm Brooke paused and gave the smallest of smiles; his subordinate was staring at him, mind racing. "I'll just write down the telephone number for you of the man that we might need Roberts to question so you can get it monitored." Brooke wrote something on a slip of paper, folded it and handed it to Harris, then he added, "You know, it's ten past four. I think I'll knock off early today; I'm owed loads of time. Don't forget to tidy up before you go Phil. See you tomorrow."

Philip Harris returned to his desk and looked at the piece of paper. The numbers on it didn't look anything like a telephone number but should do nicely for the combination lock of a safe. Brooke walked past him, gave a cheery 'have a good evening' and left the office.

Punctually at five o'clock, Harris also left work. In his briefcase were two bottles of Geoff Mills' mind-control drug, bottles which the following day Brooke would officially confirm had never existed, while the 'job' he had alluded to was never mentioned again. Harris would ensure that the drug found its way to Mike Roberts just as soon as he could do so safely. It pleased Phil to think that perhaps, after all, Mills had been wrong about Malcolm Brooke.

*****

Geoff Mills had approached his second conversation with Albrecht Haller with some trepidation. He knew he held a strong hand given the information he had on Haller, but you never quite knew with that man; he was clever and quite capable of turning the tables on anyone. On the other hand, Haller was also a pragmatist and a businessman who understood how to make a deal and Mills knew that his demands, although they meant a lot to him, were not unreasonable and were things that Haller would not care all that much about.

And, in the event, all had gone very well. Haller had agreed to his requests concerning accommodation and finances and had promised immediate delivery of the third package of goods for which he had asked. Better yet, while the first and second packages would take longer to arrange -- and would doubtless need Mills' help to achieve -- Haller had announced that he would be in a position to make an early down payment on both, which was a pleasant surprise.

Mills left what had once been Nicoleta's office, but was now his, in an excellent mood. Haller's agreement meant that some plans he had been considering would have to be postponed and there were other arrangements that urgently needed to be made. Despite this, he decided he could afford to take some time out to enjoy his success, so he went to find Ilse, Nikki and Svetlana.

The three girls were where he had left them, relaxing in one of the large reception rooms of the 19^th century part of the castle, which had large French windows that opened onto a veranda with spectacular views of the valley. The women were looking fairly spectacular too. They were wearing what he had ordered that morning, for no more reason than he liked it -- namely matching bra, knickers, suspender best, stockings, high-heels and nothing else, apart from a little jewellery and their slave collars.

They looked up excitedly as he entered. They no longer watched television or read books or worried about business. They didn't even check their phones -- which Geoff had removed anyway -- or look at their social media accounts. Their lives revolved around orders from their Master and left to their own devices they simply waited for his return. And now here he was, come to give meaning to their otherwise pointless existence.