Acquisitions Ch. 07

John had a lot to think about on the ride home. Another mind controller! How was that possible?

John had stolen his mind control tech from a lab where he'd interned years ago. Surprisingly, it hadn't been that difficult. His well-intentioned bosses were so excited about their scientific breakthrough that they hadn't stopped to consider nefarious uses of the technology. John has simply turned their own invention against them.

This mind new controller couldn't have obtained the same technology. John had used his app to make his former bosses forget everything about their invention. In fact, he'd made them give up research entirely. He'd been very thorough. Last he'd heard, not a single member of the research team had taken another job in a scientific a field.

In any event, John's tech was his own. This other mind controller had to be using something different.

At first, John had been eager to meet this other mind controller. There was so much about his life he could never share with anyone who wasn't already under his influence. It would be refreshing to have a real conversation with another free-willed individual. But he'd quickly put that thought aside. The harsh reality was that two mind controllers could never have that kind of relationship. There would always be a threat that the other would exert control. The nature of mind control technology made meeting as equals untenable.

That left only one possibility: John had to find the other mind controller first and ensure he came out on top.

John pulled up to his home and exited his car, not bothering to close the door behind him. He was in a hurry and someone would take care of it for him. Kelly opened the front door for him as he approached, smiling as always.

"Welcome home, Master," she said in a cheerfully. "How was your--"

"No time for pleasantries right now Kelly," John said, cutting her off. Send Sasha to the study with dinner, something light. Send Yeeun down too. I'm putting her research skills to work."

"Ah yes, 'research.' Got it." said Kelly, winking.

"No games tonight, Kelly," answered John. We've got a situation. Quit dallying and get to work."

Kelly's smile disappeared. "Yes, Master," she said solemnly and marched off into the house.

John burst into his office. He felt uneasy... but also energetic. His experience with Liana had reminded him how thrilling a challenge could be, and this was certainly going to be a challenge. And a challenge with the highest stakes.

In his office, John approached a bookshelf and ran his finger along a row of binders, stopping on the one he wanted: his roster of intelligence assets. He'd acquired control over several individuals in various governments and technology companies over the years. He let them continue living their lives as normal until he needed their help. He'd not activated most of his assets in years. Of course they'd be more than happy to help after he triggered their latent programming. John took a seat at his desk and began skimming through the binder.

John heard a sound at the door and looked up to see Sasha. The well-endowed, blonde woman wore her customary uniform consisting only an apron, with nothing underneath. Sasha carried a silver serving tray covered by a matching lid.

"Thanks, Sasha. Bring it over and go check what's keeping Yeeun."

Sasha crossed the room and placed the tray on the edge of John's desk. He didn't bother to look up as she lifted the cover. He was already knee-deep in dossiers on intelligence assets.

John felt a sudden, sharp pain in his arm. "Ow!"

He looked up at Sasha. She stood smiling down at him holding an empty syringe in one hand.

John's confusion was plain on his face. "What did you do?" he demanded. "Put that down."

Sasha simply stood there smiling. She didn't put the syringe down. She didn't put the syringe down! That was a direct order and she didn't do it!

John tried to stand but collapsed forward onto his desk. His legs suddenly felt weak. His vision blurred. He was vaguely aware of Yeeun entering the room as darkness began closing in around him.

"Oh, you did it already," Yeeun said cheerfully. "Mistress will be so pleased!"

Mistress? John wondered briefly before succumbing to to an irresistible urge to sleep.

__________________________________________________________________

"Uhhhhhh," John groaned, as consciousness painfully returned. His head felt like it had been hit with a sledgehammer. He opened his eyes only to slam them shut again at the sight of bright daylight. "What happened?"

John tried to roll over, but but his hands and legs wouldn't budge. She squinted at a wrist and saw it was restrained with rope. "Where am I?" he asked, still groggy but lucid enough feel panic setting in.

"In your bed," answered an an unfamiliar woman's voice. "I should think it would be familiar enough. No doubt you've spent plenty of time in it with these young ladies."

John squinted toward the toward the end of the bed. A woman sat in a chair in front of the bed, staring back at him with a smirk. She was dressed formally, in in a black pantsuit, a white blouse, and black heels. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a bun, accentuating her sharp jawline and high cheekbones. She was perhaps 35 years old, and quite attractive.

Sasha, Kelly, and Yeeun knelt beside the woman's chair, staring up at her reverently. They were all completely naked. No doubt they'd been carefully positioned so John could see enough of their faces to understand their new loyalties.

John still had to try. "Sasha, restrain this woman." Sasha did not so much as blink.

"Tsk, tsk," said the woman, shaking her head. "I suppose I would have tried the same in your shoes, but I'm afraid you'll find they no longer answer to you. They're mine now, and quite pleased about the change in management, aren't you girls?"

"Yes, Mistress," they answered cheerfully in unison.

"I suppose I should thank you though," continued the woman. "They seem effectively trained." She shrugged. "You'll have to forgive me for sampling the merchandise. You were out for some time."

"What do you want?" demanded John, his senses starting to return in earnest.

"Well, everything, I suppose," said the woman grinning. "We can't very well have someone with your technology out there mucking things up, so I'm here to make you stop. And I plan to take everything you've collected over the years while I'm at it."

The woman stood. Sasha, Kelly, and Yeeun followed her with their eyes as she crossed the room toward the bed. She stopped beside John and pulled something small out of her pocket. "Our own brand of mind control," she explained, holding some kind of computer chip in front of John's face. It was about the size of a quarter.

"Now hold on," stammered John. "You don't have to play it like this. We can help each other, share information. The world is big enough for both of us."

The woman smiled. "What a kind offer. You do have some information I'd like. Your associates here," she gestured to the girls, "shared some information about your tech already, but their knowledge is obviously limited. Nevertheless, your approach to mind control sounds quite interesting. Ours requires a prolonged period of physical contact before the subject becomes pliant. It's extremely effective, but it can be difficult to use on more than one subject at a time, and it requires an extended period of privacy. Your tech seems to have advantages in those respects. I'm quite looking forward to testing it, but for now I'll stick with the tried and true. You'll be more than willing to coach me through your technique soon enough."

The woman reached down. John shouted "Stop!" but it was already too late. The woman placed the device carefully on John's temple. "There," she said. "Nice and painless. The first stage will take a couple hours. You'll forgive me if I take my leave. While I'm certain you'll find the experience pleasant enough, it's a bit dull to watch. Once your head is nice and empty, I'll be back to fill it up again. I think the girls and I can find some way to occupy ourselves in the meantime. Right girls?"

"Yes, Mistress," Kelly, Sasha, and Yeeun answered, giggling.

The woman left the room with Sasha, Kelly, and Yeeun following on her heels. John shouted "fuck you!" uselessly as they left. Their only response was Kelly closing the bedroom door on their way out.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, thought John. I have to get out of here. Here. Home. I do love my home and all my lovely girls, just the way I like them. I wish the girls were here with me in bed. Bed. Such a comfy bed. Maybe I'll just relax while I wait for the girls. Relax. Just a little nap. Clear my head. Clear. Empty..." John's eyelids drooped.

Then he hear a noise. With some effort and what little mental capacity he had left, he opened his eyes and looked toward the bedroom door. John watched in a half dream as Eva and Akiko slipped through the door and closed it behind them.

"Girls," John mumbled happily. "Come lay down. Rest with me. Rest." John smiled blissfully and closed his eyes again.

"This is bad," said Eva, glancing at Akiko. "I don't think we have long."

The two girls stood beside John. "Looks like that's how she's doing it," Akiko said, pointing at the device attached to John's temple. "What should we do?"

"Pull it off?" answered Eva with a shrug.

"Is it dangerous?"

"I don't know, but we don't have much choice. There won't be anything of Master left if we wait."

"Okay," Akiko agreed nervously.

Eva reached down and gripped the device between her thumb and forefinger. "Just like a BAND-AID," she said glancing back at Akiko. Then she tugged the device off.

"What? Whats happening?" mumbled John, clearly disoriented. "Eva? Hi Eva. Why can't I move?" He glanced side to side at the ropes restraining his arms and frowned. "Oh."

Then, after a pause, "Ohhhhhh. Eva are you being naughty? Why don't you slip into something more appropriate if you're planning to 'punish' me," he said, grinning.

Eva and Akiko smiled. John was still John, even if he was still a bit confused about what was going on. Eva set to work untying John's arms and legs.

"Master," said Akiko gently. "We need you to snap out of it. We have to save Sasha, Kelly, and Yeeun! That woman brainwashed them!"

"Heh," John chuckled. Brainwashed. That was ironic coming from Akiko. A few months ago she'd been a student at a nearby university rather than his devoted slave.

"Look!" said Eva, shoving the device in John's face.

John frowned as recent memories flooded back to him. "That bitch!"

"Yes!" Akiko and Eva said together. "We've got to stop her!" continued Eva.

"Where are they now?" asked John with newfound determination.

"In Kelly's room," answered Eva.

"How did you two manage to avoid being caught?" John asked.

"We were in the basement when the woman arrived," answered Eva. "Akiko was due for a reinforcement session. I saw the woman on the security screens, but by then she'd already taken the other girls. We decided it was too dangerous for us to come out, until she tried to take you too. We had to risk it then!"

"You did perfectly, both of you," John praised. Both girls girls closed their eyes and visibly shivered in pleasure. "I owe you my life. All our lives," John continued. "And now, you two can help make sure that woman pays for what she's done. What she tried to do."

"Good," said Akiko sternly. "What she tried to do to you is unforgivable."

"I'll hold on to that," John said taking the device from Eva with a look of disgust. "Fortunately, Kelly's room us equipped with everything we to deal with the woman. It was sloppy of her to assume any of your rooms would be safe for an intruder."

John had long ago equipped every guest room in the house with the tools needed for programming. Early is his career, he'd been less confident about the long-term control his technology provided. He'd administered brief, nightly reinforcement sessions for each of the girls. Simple stuff: obeying his commands, not wanting to leave, enjoying slavery. The usual. He'd long since decided nightly sessions were overkill. Ever since he'd built his secret space in the basement and acquired Eva, she'd handled the occasional reinforcement session, just as a precaution. When it was Eva's turn for a session, John handled that himself. And quite enjoyed it.

In any event, this was going to be easy. Free from his restraints, John grabbed a tablet from a nightstand drawer. He quickly pulled up the controls for Kelly's room, including a live camera feed. Thy mystery woman hadn't lied; she'd found a way to keep busy. The woman lay naked in Kelly's bed, her legs spread wide and hanging off the edge. Sasha knelt on the floor between her legs. John could only see Sasha's back, but it was obvious she was going down on the woman. Meanwhile, Kelly and Yeeun stood at the woman's side, both rubbing their pussies as they watched the show. Kelly was reciting more information about John's tech, which John could hear through a microphone in the room.

"The effect is immediate," Kelly explained. "And quite durable. Mast... I mean John always does deep conditioning on the subjects he plans to keep longer, but it's mostly just a precaution, as well as a chance to fine-tune their programming."

"Mmmmmm" was the woman's only reply, her eyes closed. She was clearly distracted.

"The initial programing is usually done in the field. In recent years, Eva has done the deeper conditioning in the basement."

The woman sat bolt upright, pushing Sasha away. "In the what? Who is Eva? WHERE is Eva? Tell me now!

"Oh, shit," John muttered. "Time to roll." John rapidly tapped a series of control on the tablet and watched as the lights in Kelly room dimmed and familiar sequence of colors began flashing on the wall in front of the woman, cast from projector concealed in the opposite wall of the room. John could hear the low hum emitted by several hidden speakers in Kelly's room. The tablet was designed to screen out specific colors and sound frequencies necessary for the technology to work, so John could watch safely.

For a brief moment, the woman stared wide-eyed at the colors flashing before her. Then John heard her shout "Shit!" and she clamped her eyes shut.

"Shit," echoed John. "I should have known it wouldn't be that easy. Eva grab three pairs of glasses and and headphones. We're going in."

John looked back to the screen while Eva left to fetch the supplies. Kelly and Yeeun stood staring at the screen, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Sasha still knelt on the floor, but had turned to face the wall and stared up at the colors vacantly.

The woman still had here eyes closed, but she hadn't been as quick to cover her ears. John watched as she realized her mistake. The woman reached up toward her head with both hands then froze midway, her hands visibly shaking. The very first thing the programing did was eliminate resistance to further programming. The woman had delayed only seconds in covering her ears, but it had been long enough for the programming to take root. Her hands dropped slowly back into her lap. John watched as the woman opened one eyelid just a hair. It was enough. Slowly, her other eye crept open too. She sat staring, her face contorted in a grimace. She was stuck somewhere in limbo. She was obviously still resisting, but it wasn't quite enough to fully overcome the technology. Yet.

John took the tablet and headed down the hall toward Kelly's room, where he met Eva coming back with the supplies. He donned a pair of glasses and headphones and instructed Eva and Akiko to do the same. Then they went in.

John took quick control of the situation. "Kelly, Sasha, Yeeun, follow Eva and Akiko. Obey all their commands. You two," said John, turning to Eva and Akiko, "get them down to the basement and try to undo whatever she did." Eva took Kelly and Yeeun by their arms while Akiko helped Sasha to her feet. The each instructed their respect wards to follow, and the entranced girls trailed them out of the room without any objection.

"You," said John, turning to the woman, who had forced herself up onto her feet through sheer will. She still squinted at the screen. "Stop. Sit back down and open your eyes."

The woman scowled, but complied. "You fucker," she muttered. "You're never getting away with this. You'll be a mindless lump of meat by the time we're done with you."

"I guess we'll find out," said John, dismissively. "I'd worry more about yourself right now, if I were you. Now, who are you?"

The woman snarled. "E... Evelyn Caldwell," she managed through gritted teeth.

"Well, Evelyn, you have some explaining to do. How did you find me?"

Evelyn strained to turn her neck toward John and away from the lights. "Sit still and answer the question," John ordered.

Evelyn stopped moving and answered, "Liana. She had latent instructions to alert us if anyone came around asking questions."

"Liana? I thought she had been deprogramed. She certainly seemed to think she was free. Explain."

"She was deprogrammed. But we couldn't leave it at that. Here original programming was never authorized. Once it was discovered, there was no inconspicuous way to cover it up. The best we could do was slip in later and and reintroduce some discrete, latent commands to keep us apprised of any important developments."

"What do you mean 'unauthorized?'"

"Our organization has rules to avoid this kind of... mess," growled the woman. "The agent that programmed Liana did so outside the scope of his employment. He saw Liana while on a job, and she fit his... type. Men," she scoffed. "He acted on impulse, didn't take precautions, and I got assigned to clean up the mess."

"What happened to the agent?" asked John.

"Last I heard he was being used as manual labor in some warehouse. He has about as much freewill as a forklift at this point, and his life will last exactly as long as he remains useful."

"Harsh," muttered John. "And what would have been my fate absent this abrupt trade of circumstances?"

"Much the same," the woman answered almost smugly. "We would have seized your house, your asserts, and your slaves and put them to our own uses. You would have been forced she share every last detail about your mind control technology with me, then I would have wiped your mind and either set you to some menial task or simply dumped you on the street. My discretion."

John grimaced, considering how close he'd come to that fate. "Well at least I won't have to feel guilty about what I do with you. You deserve to spend the rest of your life here, serving my every whim, using your mind and your lovely little body to make my life more pleasant."

Evelyn stared ahead and the screen, but for the briefest moment, John saw the slightest hint of smile on her lips. Then here expression became utterly neutral.

John grinned. "But then I suppose your absence wouldn't go unnoticed. No. We'll have our fun and part ways for now. You'll be my double agent."

"Arghhh," screamed. She'd hoped John would be greedy and careless. She'd hoped to endure only brief embarrassment knowing her colleagues would be along to rescue her shortly.

"How long do I have until your absence is noticed" asked John.

"Nine hours," growled the woman, obviously furious about her now genuine peril.

"Hm. Long enough," replied John. "Tell me, how are you resisting the control."

"Training. A lot of training."

"Well it looks like you could still have used a bit more," John taunted. "Before we get too far into this, I want you to understand that, just because I have to let you go for now, doesn't mean I'm making this easy for you. My girls here are happy. Sure, it's not exactly natural, but I went to great lengths to make sure they enjoy their lives. That won't be the case for you. Now, let's get to business."