Branding Poppy

The company had bought the disused factory some time previously and I knew it was the perfect location. It hadn't been difficult to ensure that the security was absent for the weekend, and I was confident that Curtis had prepared the place properly. I parked just outside the main door to one wing of the derelict u-shaped building then led Poppy across to the other wing, appreciating the way she walked.

I took her into the building and up to the first floor. The windows had all been smashed years before and the doors removed but the structure was still solid. I guided Poppy into the room Curtis had prepared and made her stand still as I turned on a light he'd hooked up to a car battery. The room was as I had ordered; a chain hanging from the centre of the ceiling, a bed against the back wall with an iron bedstead, a bag waiting for me in the corner of the room.

I led Poppy into the centre of the room and positioned her underneath the chain, telling her to wait. Inside the bag the handcuffs were waiting, as was the padlock. I returned to her and enjoyed her heavier breathing as I ran my hands up the side of her torso, before moving her arms together in front of her, flicking the handcuffs around her wrists.

"Hey..."

"Helpless, remember?" I said, pressing myself against her back and arse. She exhaled deeply again as she pushed back into me, then I lifted her arms up and wrapped the end of the chain around the links of the handcuffs, clicking the padlock closed and fastening her in position. She gasped again as she realised that she was restrained in this position and I ran my fingertip down her spine, marvelling at the tiny tremor that rippled her skin as I helped her to build a powerful feeling of sexual excitement.

"So, what are you going to do with me," she breathed huskily.

"Not me," I whispered in her ear, "you're going to have some visitors. They'll use your body, and I know you'll like it. Just think, the sound of footsteps on the stairs, a sudden touch, unknown breath in your ear," Her lips were parted and she was almost panting in anticipation, "this is the final part of the punishment. Once it's finished you'll be free."

I walked around her a final time, admiring her hard nipples and closely studying her face as she followed the sound of my footsteps. She was certainly a fine young woman but her effect on me was unacceptable. I would miss her but it had to be, so I walked out of the room and down the stairs, leaving her to the cool night air.

Curtis was waiting for me, his shaved head catching the moonlight. He pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning against as I approached. Wordlessly I handed him the envelope and he opened it, counting the notes to check his payment was correct. I had never defaulted on a payment but I respected his caution. He nodded back at the shadows and his two sidekicks appeared. I didn't know them, and I didn't need to. They looked typical for Curtis sidekicks, athletic young thugs who would do anything for money. I trusted Curtis had them firmly under control; he knew he'd better have.

I walked over to the other wing of the derelict factory and climbed up to the first floor. I pulled up the chair that had been left for me and sat in the shadows by the window. Poppy was clearly visible in the strong light, still waiting and undoubtedly thrilled by the possibilities of what could happen in the next few minutes.

She started as she heard Curtis and his friends walking slowly up the stairs (trust him to build the tension!) and I saw her bite her lip as they entered the room. They still moved slowly, coming up to her and then Curtis reached out, putting his hand on her stomach and I could see that she moaned at the first touch.

One of his friends knelt behind her, parting her legs a little and once she was balanced again pulling her arse back towards him. He began to kiss her cheeks, rubbing them with his hands as he did so. Then he parted her cheeks and leant forward and I knew that he was licking her now from the expression of pleasure that radiated across her face. Curtis was massaging her breasts, pulling at her nipples. I could see that she was moaning again, and a faint sound of her pleasure echoed across to me.

The other man stripped and then walked over to Poppy, pressing himself against her then grabbing her hair, pulling her head back and planting savage kisses on her neck. I could see that she was finding it difficult to stand, her legs trembling and shaking. Curtis stepped away and began to undress, then reached into the bag and I saw that he'd grabbed the key to the padlock.

He walked back to Poppy and reached up, unlocking the padlock and unwinding the chain then grabbing her arms to stop them falling too fast. Then he pulled her over to the bed, leading her by the links of the handcuffs. She walked uncertainly, deprived of her sight she clearly felt vulnerable. Curtis then pushed her down on to the bed and used a belt to tie the handcuffs to the iron bedstead. She was presented to them, available to be used in any way they wanted.

Curtis and his friends were all naked now, and they wanted Poppy to make them ready. They climbed on the bed and positioned themselves around her head. Curtis reached down and took Poppy by the hair and pulled her towards his cock. She clearly understood what was required of her, or maybe one of the lads had given her instructions, as her mouth was already open. She licked Curtis, running her tongue from the base of his cock to his glans. He let his head fall back, clearly enjoying her attentions, and then he looked down at her again as he guided himself between her lips.

Poppy sucked him for all she was worth and I could guess that she was running her tongue around him as well. The other two men were obviously getting a little impatient, and very soon Poppy was in the middle of a blow-bang, her head pulled backwards and forwards, and side to side as the lads greedily sought out her mouth, each of them growing and hardening. Her legs had fallen open, and the men weren't ignoring her cunt, fingers pressing and probing her even as she serviced them. She moved her hips in rhythm with the movement of their hands and fingers and I could see that she needed them to fuck her, hard.

Curtis was ready to oblige, but he was also a little bit of a bastard (I couldn't have worked with him if he wasn't). He moved down until he was between her legs, holding them apart with his hands behind her knees. And then he teased her, rubbing the head of his cock around her mound as she wriggled, trying to push herself onto him. He took his time, pulling away from her whenever her cunt almost captured him, until finally he lunged forward, pushing into her. She was shaking a little from the moment he was inside her even as her mouth continued to be used by Curtis's friends.

He fucked her slowly at first, deep determined thrusts that filled her, stretched her. I could see that she was loving every second, pushing her hips up to meet him and moaning and gasping whenever she had a moment free from the attentions of the other men. Then the pace picked up again, with Curtis and his friends exchanging positions, fucking Poppy with a deep hunger to possess her. They spread her legs even further apart, ploughing into her as the sweat dripped off them. She was abandoned in her passion and I recognised the signs. Sure enough, a few moments later she began to buck and shudder, her orgasm overtaking her.

Curtis and his friends hadn't finished yet but I'd seen enough. I'd allowed her to be queen for the day, the last gift to the condemned. But like a sacrifice in those ancient pagan times the day had to end and with it came the price. I returned the chair to the back wall and took a final look at the scene opposite me. Curtis had left Poppy and was wiping off his sweat with a towel. His face was flushed and he'd clearly had his pleasure. He dropped the towel back into the bag and reached in, pulling out the Glock and quietly pulling back the slide.

* * *

I was already walking down the rubble-strewn stairs when I heard the first shot, followed a few moments later by the coup de grace. I would question Curtis closely; if she knew it was coming I'd break him, methodically, implacably.

Sitting behind the wheel of my Jaguar I exhaled, looking out into the darkness and searching for something, trying to feel wistful, rolling the concept around my mouth. My phone interrupted me and I cursed as I saw that Head Office had texted me. They could wait, for once; I needed some time. I allowed myself to sink through the leather seat, down through the bodywork, past the tarmac, down, down, down.

I walked along the infinite corridor, smiling as I looked down at my shiny black shoes pacing on the bright red carpet, passed door after door, never ending. I stopped and reached out, turning the handle, stepping through. And there she was, sitting demurely on the end of the bed; silk blouse, skirt, retro lace up high heels, amber necklace. Light flooded the room, mingling with the newly washed smell of the bedclothes, the colours bright with an aroma of peace: a room she had created with the freedom I had given her. I leant forward and kissed her, softly and completely, and she moved herself onto me; not sexually but calmly, totally, her ego dissipating.

I lifted her, my left arm around her back, my right under her knees as I carried her into the corridor, finding the lift, the doors already open. I placed her down gently in the corner of the lift, resting her comfortably so she wouldn't be disturbed by the movement. She stroked my cheek one last time, her mind already leaving, and stepping back I pressed the top button, gazing at her as the doors swished shut. The lift carried Poppy upwards, out of Purgatory, her punishment over.

I turned to leave then spotted the other door. Arthur's door. The room was dark and empty, for now. I gazed at the grey, scorched walls and rusting pipes, the rack, the unlit brazier. I wandered over to the rusting steel table in the corner and picked up a chisel, feeling its weight as I looked at the screwdrivers and the hammers lying in a bed of grime. Arthur would be here soon; I could blink and he would be here now but I had no desire to see it. And Arthur wouldn't be alone; my colleagues were already awaiting him, sharpening their knives for his long, slow cleansing. I turned and left, never to visit that room again.

I reached for my phone and checked my message, a cool breeze through the open driver's side window tingling on my skin. A new project, a new name, new details. The crime was so sadly ubiquitous; all humans seemed to do was steal from each other or kill each other. The rest was just modus operandi. I thought about the punishments I was called on to inflict and I knew that to the humans I was evil. But they are the ones with free will.

I looked at the photograph and noted her wild red curls tumbling down one side of her face, her parting off centre. I studied her mouth and her neck, already feeling my fingertips searching her, sensing her soul. And I looked at her eyes, always the eyes. She had the kind of eyes I always fall for...