Gotta Pay the Piper Ch. 07

Gary answered. "Oh, I have a few contacts who get me stuff like that. I even have some pretty serious kiddie porn that was taken off the dark web. I can use that for blackmail or to burn somebody. I don't want to burn Landry though. If he got enslaved for a few years, you'd lose control of him and his money. It would all stay in his trust."

"Gary, you planned for me to control his money? He accused me of that. But he only gets a little a year and he is in debt." Robin said.

"Hell, yes I planned it." Atwell said, smugly. "I looked him up that first afternoon when Richard told me about him. I knew who he was, of course because of Richard and his mother. He still gets a hundred and twenty K a year for the next three years. That is plenty to see you through college. You could even help out your sister. And then he will draw five times as much after that. I'm sure in three years you will have worked your magic and completely own his ass. He'll be so compliant, he'll just be a walking, talking ATM machine. You'll have a free ride for however long you want. Drive a fancy car, wear nice clothes, travel. Whatever you want. I know you and his daughter are tight."

"I was not looking past getting my degree." Robin said. "Having a place to live and my living expenses paid was my goal. I really like Joanne. She is almost as angry as I am after Bas blistered our butts the other day. And you know me, I like being in charge. I thought I had Bas sealed up after that first week. I think if I can isolate him, I can turn him back to that mindset." Gary laughed and said she should turn me into an obedient pet.

Apparently Robin did have a bit of a conscience. She called Joanne. "I talked with Gary. Did you realize he is looking at Bas' money? He had already checked Bas out when he brought me over to meet you two that first day. All he'd told me at the time was he had a person who could help me at the same time I helped him."

"Oh yeah. I could tell he is a greedy bastard." Joanne said. "He's asked me all kinds of leading questions to feel me out. My intentions for Bas, my feelings for you. All that." Robin asked her what she thought. Joanne giggled. "Which part? I wasn't completely truthful. Gary will not touch a penny of Bas' money. I told him so. He told me he was looking out for you. He has a plan in place for himself." Robin scoffed at that. "Now as far as you and I are concerned, I like you. I mean seriously. I think we could be an item. I was afraid to say it, but you asked about my plans." Robin seemed happy to hear that and said she really liked Joanne as well. "Plus I need you to help with Bas. I want to finish my degree program and I can only do that if I am here. But with you there during the week taking care of Bas, we can both get what we want. Even before I came over here, I was thinking about a tight relationship with Bas. But he still saw me as the girl he adopted rather than a potential love interest. But meeting you has brought out my dominant side. I don't want an equal relationship with Bas anymore. I want him submissive to me. Me in total control. Of course, I'll share him and myself with you as long as it works." Robin said that sounded like a plan and said she was falling in love with Joanne and knew they would only get tighter as time went on.

"You know we are pretty much controlling the narrative with Bas." Robin said. "I'm sure he is a lot more scared of us than he is letting on. Saturday was him lashing out. And he has not mentioned it since. I told him how good a case we have. Do you feel any regret we are forcing him to let us take him over?"

"I'll admit, I had a few concerns at first. He was so worried about you spanking him, it was almost funny." Joanne said. "That bothered him more than you bossing him around. I could tell that was where it would wind up. You being his boss under my overall control. We'd keep him out of trouble. But then I sort of really got into it. Now I want to own his ass. That first night he went hunting without permission, I really looked forward to spanking him. When he refused I got so mad, I wanted to kick his balls. But then that whole week I worked on our plan. The more I thought about taking him over, the more I loved the idea. I am willing to do whatever it takes. Especially after he paddled our butts." Both girls laughed. "He'll be just as enslaved as he would if he wore a collar when we get through with him."

I carefully saved the conversation. I was terribly upset. The girl who I had raised wanted to control me, own me, turn me into a pet. She had money of her own. For now, enough to go to college, but at thirty she would get a decent allowance. She'd just have to wait a few years. But she wanted more, now. I'd stop her. Robin would be easier to boot out of my life.

I drove out to the Hacienda to see Lou and give her the latest recordings. "So they've upped their game to not only make allegations but to manufacture evidence." Lou said, grimly. "I am guessing you not only want to refute their claims, but make counter accusations? That they are trying to falsely enslave you?" I offered they weren't really trying to enslave me, just to force me into a conservatorship or to voluntarily enter that alternative program. "Bas, that is the same thing under the statute. They are seeking to deprive you of your freedom, take away your autonomy and are doing it with malice. It is an intentional act. And with all three of them working together it is a conspiracy. I am going to turn this evidence, all of it, over to Helen in the morning. She, and Kathy have been working on their investigation into Gary Atwell. This might fit right in with her efforts. Don't worry." Lou added with a smile.

The next day at noon Sonya and I were preparing a little lunch when the front door opened. "What are you doing here midweek Joanne?" She said she had some business to attend to and had to skip classes. I asked her if she wanted something to eat or drink but she refused. After taking her things to the room she shared with Robin, she said we needed to talk and preferably in private."Sure, we can talk right after we eat."

Once again, I hit the record function on my cell. I was glad I had been saving the files to the cloud because my phone's capacity would have been over-run by now, I thought wryly. I sent Sonya on an errand and sat in the living room with Joanne. "Bas. I signed the papers to take control of you under a full conservatorship this morning." Joanne began. "Robin and I gave you ample time and opportunity to sign a contract to enter the alternative program. I'm sorry it came to this. You understand this is for your own good. Your erratic behavior has made this necessary. Robin even found a massive collection of pornographic pictures, stories, and videos on the computer in the office. Some of it might be underage girls although Robin said more likely just girls made up to look very young."

"You know as well as I do, those files were faked. Or more accurately they were planted just to make me look bad." I said grimly. "I really don't think you want to do this, Joanne. You know this is a ploy for Atwell to get to my money. Or rather have Robin get it." Robin said my money was tied up in a trust and safe. I only got an allowance. "And you and Robin would have full access to that allowance. You would be able to decide how it was spent. I would have no say in the matter. And in three years that allowance jumps five-fold." I added.

"That is three years from now, Bas. That would be right at the end of your time in the alternative program. Of course the conservatorship would last for two years after that." Joanne stated. "We might have broken you of your impulsive tendencies by then." She winced as she said that. I had used the word 'broken' a few days ago.

"Unless you got it renewed." I retorted, beginning to get angry. "Then I'd be stuck. Plus the alternative program automatically renews unless you and Robin decide to set me free. I sort of doubt you'd give up the power. I'm sure Robin would not. You both seem to like the idea of controlling me." Joanne frowned. "I caught that phrase you used "broken you". You plan to keep me so tight under your thumb, I would be conditioned to just obey and not think."

She did not deny it. "You NEED that control. Whether you like it or not."Joanne said. "And I am going to provide it. I told you several times, I AM going to take over. Robin is going to be my assistant. Now your only choice is if you want it done the easy way or the hard way." I had three more words for her before I stood and walked out the door. "Go for it!!"

I drove over to Lou's office and told her about the confrontation. She simply smiled. Under other conditions, I might have found a smile irritating. Hers was comforting. "I told you not to worry. I am ready. We'll wait until they serve you with an order to appear in court. You can bet it will be short notice. That is done on purpose. The person who is being taken over is expected to not be in a position to effectively mount a defense. Notice is not usually a big deal. But you are entitled to an advocate. I will be your advocate."

Sure enough the next afternoon, Thursday, as I sat down to supper, a man came to the door to serve me with a summons to appear in court the following morning morning at nine. I stepped away and called Lou. I asked her if she needed to see the summons. She told me no. But for me to be in her office at eight. Lenore would go with me. I walked back into the kitchen. Robin and Joanne had small smiles on their faces. "You both are total bitches. You knew what that was didn't you?" Both shrugged.

"I told you we would do it the easy way or the hard way, Bas." Joanne said. "Now unless you tell me you want me to call Gary so you can sign the program contract tonight, we will see you in court in the morning. You are going to lose much more of your freedom. "

"From what I know of the procedure from researching conservatorships online," I said, "you won't get uncontrolled access to my money. There are controls in place, people to oversee all your actions."

I had known it was coming but I was still angered when Joanne grinned."But I WILL have access to YOU!" she said.

The next morning I got up and dressed in a nice long sleeve shirt and put on a sport coat. I only had one other suit and had outgrown it when I was still in my mid twenties. After that I had made a point to never dress up even for a board meeting. My casual wear to business meetings became almost a trademark for me. I encouraged others working for me to follow my lead. I explained my choice of clothing to Lenore.

Robin and Joanne appeared in pantsuits, navy blue and charcoal gray respectively. I'd read these were power colors. I simply did not care. No way could I sit in the same room and eat the breakfast Sonya had prepared. I left with Lenore and we stopped for breakfast before meeting with Lou. We walked over to the courthouse together.

We assumed our places in the court room. Lou had explained this would be a semi-formal event. We would plead our cases before three judges who would decide my fate. As counsel for the plaintiff, Gary Atwell would go first and present his case. If I had anything to say, I could state my case later. Derek and Sarah sat in the gallery. Atwell ignored them. I'm not even sure he knew or cared who they were.

I won't go into too much detail here, but Atwell quoted a series of statutes that would allow my daughter Joanne to take over my affairs and essentially let her take control of my life for the next five years. He had barely begun when the rear door opened and Helen Leblanc and Kathy Bishop walked in. That puzzled one of the judges who stopped the proceedings. "I thought your business with me was to follow this case. Ms. Leblanc." She said that was correct but she might have a few things to say in this case as well.

Both Robin and Joanne recounted the myriad of things I had done that proved my impetuous nature and lack of being able to take care of myself. Robin explained the pornography she had found on my office computer when Gary prompted.

Finally after Atwell had presented his case. Lou stood up. "Your honor, Bastien Landry is well known as an eccentric genius when it comes to computers. He and his late wife were fully aware of his abilities and weaknesses. To help him they put the greater portion of his wealth into a trust. The trust was designed to make sure Bas' financial well-being is protected for life. Mr Atwell said almost as much. However what he neglected to explain was the nefarious attempt of him and his daughter to take over that estate aided by Bas' own adoptive daughter. They have conspired to turn the man into a pet, controlling his every move plus his money. They even fabricated evidence against him."

Atwell stood and protested as expected. Lou brought up the pornographic evidence as proof. "These people forget they are dealing with Bas Landry. They did not realize he operates his own server. His server is set to back up and record any file uploaded into any of the computers on his network. It records all activity. We can prove that the files Ms Robin Atwell claimed to have discovered on his computer were put there, opened, downloaded and deleted all within the same hour. I will call Ms Helen Leblanc who will testify that Mr Landry was in her office at the time. He was helping her with an investigation. And we have solid proof as Bas was logged into his server at the time the other files were being uploaded and then deleted." All three judges looked at Gary. "Mr Atwell not only knew those files had been planted, he was party to it. I have here a recording of his telephone conversation with his daughter discussing the plot."

Gary about blew a gasket as he began to protest the admissibility of any recording. Lou pointed out that the cell phone recordings were legal due to the laws that allowed parents to monitor their kids' phones in case of sexual predators and that the information received had been declared fully admissible by the supreme court. "Mr Landry has not only provided Ms Atwell lodging and her food, her cell phone is on his account making him technically the phone's owner. Any phone call can be legally recorded and used in a court of law. The same goes for his daughter, Joanne Landry. I have here recordings of many conversations that will prove these three conspired to enslave Mr Landry by taking him under his daughter's guardianship if he refused to voluntarily enter into an alternative program that would strip him of his civic rights of self choice. Face to face conversations were recorded legally under our state's rules where only one party needed to be aware and give permission to be recorded."

"I would like to enter into evidence all the recordings." Lou stated. Atwell seemed to deflate. He nervously said he withdrew his case. Joanne and Robin looked confused. Lou explained to me later that he hoped if the case was dropped, the testimony would be be also.

"Your Honors. If I may," Helen stated. "The next issue on your docket is pertinent to this case. The state is filing criminal charges against Mr Gary Atwell, Ms Robin Atwell and Ms Joanne Landry for conspiracy to enslave, not to mention the perjury that was committed today. At the same time, we are asking for a search warrant for Mr Atwell's offices, both home and his workplace to look for possible un-filed and illegal documents where he might have committed similar offenses against others. I have the paperwork here."

As it turned out, all three were jailed pending further investigation and review of the evidence. Helen already had officers stationed outside of Atwell's house to prevent anyone from entering. His wife Beth was asked to open the safe under their supervision. Inside they found a dozen unrecorded and undated contracts to enlist the victims into the alternative program.

I had no idea of the magnitude of what was about to happen until the following week. I spent most of the weekend at the Hacienda. I hunted Friday evening after the trial and again the following morning. I got two of my three bucks. We butchered them along with the two Sarah harvested. It was a typical Sunday morning with another barbecue afterwards. I was thrilled to be a part of it. I took my three slaves and Lenore along.

Friday after the hearing, Sonya made a big lasagna and asked where Robin and Joanne were when it came time to eat. When I answered, "Jail" all three girls bombarded me with questions. I explained what had been going on. None of the three lived in a vacuum and all had heard snippets of discussion but did not know Joanne and Robin wanted to take control of me and therefore the household. "I just thought they were upset you paddled their butts," Rene offered.

Saturday afternoon I went to the jail to visit Joanne. She looked terrible. She wore an orange jumpsuit. Her hair had not been brushed, but she had obviously showered. Her hair hung limp and plastered to her head, like it had been wet and allowed to dry without even combing. "Daddy, I'm sorry. Please get me out of here." she begged plaintively. I asked her if she found a lawyer or was going to use a public defender. I was not about to provide her defense. She said Gary Atwell had found one to represent all three for their case. I shrugged. "But Daddy. The man says I can actually be enslaved if I am convicted!" I nodded. "Please, don't let that happen!" It almost broke my heart to see her break down and cry. Almost. I could not visit Robin because I was not family.

Helen and Kathy had been very busy, working around the clock once they got the contents of Gary Atwell's safe. They talked to his victims. And they were indeed victims. All were women. Most had been formerly enslaved. They were trying to get their lives back but needed supervision to help transition into society. The Atwell's had the idea of using their entry in the program as an opportunity to force them into prostitution.

He blackmailed them with threats he could prolong their time in the program and later with pictures and videos of their activities once they caved to his demands. He, his wife Beth and his sister in law, Charlene Wilson had two women show up each day to the plantation house where the wedding business hosted ceremonies. Instead of helping set up for weddings, the women spent their day on their backs or bent over or on their knees. However their johns wanted them. They quickly learned to accept their fate as just an extension of their former lives as slaves anyway. It reinforced their slave mindset. They all were warned about talking about their duties at the plantation house. Protest or unacceptable behavior was met with brutal punishment.

As one victim put it. "After the guy who used us left, he would rate our performance. He might leave a tip if we were good. We'd get that. Well, some of it. I'm sure Beth or Charlene stole part of it. But if we got a bad report we'd get punished. We could not go home with visible marks so our punishments were done in a way to not leave marks. A rubber band snapped on certain places is excruciating. And not easily seen. Many times I'd be tied down and have my nipples, clit or other places snapped repeatedly while I screamed and bawled. I learned it was way easier for me to act the role and be the best three hole slut I could be. It was only one day a week. In my mind I would revert to being a slave where I had no choice but obey."

Others independently confirmed that experience. The brothel served men who wanted to have unfettered access to a supposedly free, as in un-collared woman for the flat fee of a hundred dollars an hour. The cost was cheap and through word of mouth they had men lined up to take advantage. Their appointment book was full. The Atwell's and the sister banked most of the money afraid to spend any in case the income was traced. They looked at it as their get away fund. Get away from their present life which was otherwise mundane, almost suffocating. Of course all three pimps occasionally made one of the unfortunate woman perform for them. and they were difficult to please. The woman they chose that day could count on being on the receiving end of a rubberband as part of the play. Screams and tears aroused the three pimps. Protests or begging only made it worse.