Reina in a Strange Land

Dear readers, I know some might be hoping for an update to Agent, and two new chapters are coming I promise! But I wrote this as a mental exercise to get my writing juices going, and wanted to share it. The story is set in the legalized slavery world created by Joe_Doe_Stories, and expanded on by Gentleman Mariner, monkey_man66 and I'm sure some others. The idea of the old lady and her store came from the wonderfully deviant mind of Joe_Doe_Stories, and I couldn't have done this story without him. The comments and feedback from you readers are my inspiration and the reason I keep writing. Fans of the genre, please don't crucify me if I butcher it.

XOXO

Tanuki

The statuesque young woman walked through the labyrinth of cubicles in the FBI field office, dropping off letters and documents. The last name on her list read "Reina Sayama, Special Agent, Slavery Violation Unit." She found the name tag on the cubicle wall and dropped the letter in the envelope slot, taking a peek at the slender Asian woman leaning back in her office chair. She was young, maybe mid 20s, and pretty with her dark brown hair tied in a ponytail, and her gray fitted suit didn't completely hide her curvaceous figure. The delivery girl sighed with envy. If she'd only made better choices in life, maybe she could have been the one dressed in a suit, with a bad ass FBI job.

The agent looked up to see the girl peeking around her office cubicle wall. She was beautiful, dressed in a revealing pink tank top and matching shorts, and it was clear she wasn't wearing any underwear. The girl looked completely out of place in an FBI office. "Who are you?" she asked the delivery girl, who looked like a college intern by age, but interns usually wore fitted suits or coat & tie.

The girl stepped out, looking embarrassed. She quickly got down on her knees. "Oh, I'm sorry Mistress, I didn't mean to stare. I'm Kara, I'm the new office slave girl. I just started today. Can I make some copies for you?"

"Slave girl?" asked the agent, incredulous. After two years of rumors, they'd finally done it, allowed FBI field offices to bring in indentured slaves to do the menial office work like making copies and delivering mail. And it was clear how this girl had been selected. She'd bet money her boss Ellis had done the interviewing, and written up the dress code. She looked at the girl kneeling demurely just outside her cubicle, her big doe eyes looking up expectantly. "Get up! Who told you to kneel?"

"Uh, it was... Mr. Ellis?" said the girl, gracefully unwinding her long legs and getting to her feet.

"I knew it. Bastard," said Reina, under her breath. She waved the girl away with disgust. "Go, and don't kneel for people!"

Reina Sayama was born in Japan, of a Japanese father and Polish-American mother. When she was only five, her life took a wild change in course. Japan, desperate to address its overwhelming national debt burden, had instituted a national slavery law by its predominantly male Parliament. Reina's mother had been attracted to Japan for its tolerance and even encouragement of submissiveness among women; it was in fact the reason she'd moved there and married a Japanese man. As a hostess, she didn't make a lot of money, and combined with Reina's father's gambling debts and the economic downturn, the family's debt grew to an alarming level. Reina's mother secretly signed away her freedom in return for a large sum of money, with which she'd hoped to secure a future for Reina and her sister Mai, and rescue her husband from his Yakuza loan shark. Her father had been furious when he found out, but there was no breaking a willfully signed slavery contract. His only recourse was to try to buy her back. Reina's mother had been auctioned at Tokyo's first Slave House, and her father had been in the audience, her mother's contract money in hand to try to buy back his wife. The sight of the big breasted, golden haired white woman kneeling obediently on the block with her silky thighs spread wide had caused an uproar in the audience of mostly wealthy Japanese men. Reina's father had been outbid in less than a minute, and Reina's mother had been handed in chains to a well-connected Japanese businessman.

Shortly after, her father had paid off his debts using her contract money, to honor his wife's wishes. Then he brought Reina and her older sister Mai to the United States, to enroll them in an all-girls prep school. Reina's father raised his daughters right, and as adults they were both vehemently opposed to slavery. When the US legalized slavery, both girls dedicated their careers to the protection of women from the fast-growing tentacles of the slaving industry. Mai became a lawyer specializing in protecting women from slavery prosecutions. Reina had transferred from her counter terrorism post in the FBI, to a new division created to target illegal enslavement schemes.

Reyna quickly excelled in her new position, thrilled to be doing vital work to protect women and girls. It was a quite common practice for the slaving industry to trick or entrap pretty young women into something that would lead to their eventual enslavement. It was of particular concern for famous female celebrities or athletes, who would fetch such a high price on the slave block that their freedom was always in danger from nefarious characters in the slaving industry.

Reina's career accelerated quickly, yet she had one drawback. Her pretty face was extremely expressive, which was something her trainers at the Academy had focused in on as an undesirable trait for an investigator. It was something she'd worked hard to control, with some success. Despite her efforts, her coworkers and the criminals she targeted never had much trouble making her blush, or shocking her with their inappropriate comments, much to their amusement. Reina had been reprimanded more than once by her superiors for her "unprofessional" behavior, but despite 5 years in the Bureau, she still had a naive streak, and was an easy target for men who liked to tease her.

Reina's father had tried to discourage both girls from their chosen professions, worrying that too much exposure to the slavery industry might foster some deep-seated tendencies inherited from their mother. But both girls had assured him repeatedly that they were not like their mother, and from all appearances, that was true. When Reina had volunteered for the Bureau, the agency psychologist had grilled her to try to uncover any such tendencies. The Bureau could not afford one of their agents choosing to become a slave, it would be an embarrassment. Reina had passed with flying colors, showing no signs of affinity for slavery. She'd done well in her new role, earning commendations and helping to break up several entrapment schemes. She'd received more than a few gifts from appreciative female celebrities, and her closet had a few stunning and unaffordable dresses and designer bags, which she would wear on special occasions.

The lunch hour bell sounded, rousing Reina from her thoughts, and she quickly got out of her chair and grabbed her purse. She was going to meet her old childhood friend Debbie Jamison, whom she hadn't seen in over a year. Going around her desk she knocked a stack of papers onto the floor, and as she bent over to pick them up, she heard a familiar voice from behind her.

"Ah, my favorite view," said the slightly nasally voice. Ellis was her pudgy middle aged supervisor. Reina turned around, her eyes narrowing and her hand starting to strangle the strap of her purse. "Oh, silly me... now I remember this is my favorite view. Pity you insist on wearing clothes in the office," said Ellis, looking his subordinate up and down.

"Ellis!" hissed Reina, crossing her arms over her chest as she turned around. The man was incredibly annoying, but he was also competent and had taken care of her career-wise. For that reason she made an effort to tolerate his childish behavior. But bringing in an office slave girl? That was way over the line. "Ellis! I saw the new 'office girl'. That was your doing, no doubt?"

"Hmm, yes," murmured Ellis, as if trying to see through her forearms to the treasures beneath. Then he gave up and sighed. "Uh, yes, beautiful girl, and quite a bargain really. No salary or overtime, cheap health care, no whining about work hours or harassment. She quite likes me I think! Cheerful lass, don't you think?"

"Ellis!" she hissed again. "I thought we agreed we weren't going to bring in slaves, even if the FBI ok'd it? How can we set out to fight slavery when we are participating in it??"

Ellis shrugged. "We're not fighting slavery, remember? Slavery is legal. Our job is to make sure the industry obeys the laws. You forget that sometimes. Besides, I think it's a great morale booster, and she's quite hardworking and helpful."

Reina made a sound of disgust. "Oh, I'm sure she is, what is she helping you with, sir?" The last one had a stinging ring of sarcasm attached.

Ellis raised an eyebrow as if in thought. "Well, yes, she... uh... anyway, that's not why I'm here. Agent Huntly tracked a suspect to a neighborhood in Little Tokyo, then lost him. He asked if you could take over."

"Of course he did," said Reina. Agent Hunk-ly she called him. Tall, dark and handsome, and dumb as rocks. "Can't someone else do it? You know I'm tracking down those internal leaks. I really think someone is tipping off our friends about our movements."

Ellis looked serious all of a sudden. "Do you have something this time? If so I want a full report on my desk asap!"

Reina sighed. "Nothing... concrete. I'll let you know as soon as I have something. But I was heading over to the server farm after lunch to do some research."

"Ok, keep me posted. I don't want you wasting all your time on a phantom mole. I need you to follow up on Huntly's suspect."

"Fine," said Reina, with annoyance. They were always putting aside important work to do worthless follow up investigations, it was the job. "Text me the address and suspect name."

"Already did," smiled Ellis. "I'm one step ahead of you as always."

Reina made a derisive snorting sound and opened her phone. She recognized the street address, and the name of a low-priority slaver muscle. He'd be long gone by the time she arrived of course. Much of her job involved following worthless leads, but they had to be followed up regardless. "I'll head right over." Then she gave Ellis a dirty look. "And we're not done talking about this office girl thing!"

"Oh don't worry, my dear. If you ever get in trouble with the law, I'll fire her and buy you for the office. You'd look great in the office slave girl uniform," he said, with a suggestive wink.

"Over my dead body," murmured Reina, shaking her head at her boss' outrageous behavior. Then to her surprise, his tone changed, and he put a hand on her shoulder.

"All jokes aside, we can't change the world, Reina. We just have to make it a little better. If the powers that be are going to make slavery legal, we should all try to roll with it. Now go enjoy your lunch date," said Ellis, his voice sympathetic. "We both know your suspect's probably miles away by now."

Reina was always thrown off balance when her boss turned thoughtful. She smiled at him, and then she frowned suddenly. "How did you know I was going to...?" she started, then just shook her head. Her boss always seemed to know where she was going, and she'd long since stopped asking how. The man was FBI after all. She walked out of her office and down the hall toward the elevator, and Ellis stood there enjoying the view before returning to his office.

Down in the basement, Reina started up the engine to her SUV and phoned up Debbie on her car's screen. "Hi Debbie," she said when her friend answered. "Look... could we postpone lunch an hour? I have to follow up a quick lead."

"I knew it!" squeaked her friend on the car speakers. "Fine, I'll tell me Dad we're gonna be an hour late."

Reina sucked in a sharp breath. "Your Dad? He's... coming?"

"Yes, is that a problem?" said Debbie. "It's been years, he wanted to see you."

"Oh, uh, no!" said Reina, trying to act casual. "No problem at all, I'll, uh, see you at 1."

"Ok great, see ya!" said Debbie, and then hung up.

Reina felt a pit in her stomach. Debbie's father was a wealthy, handsome businessman, and doting father. And Reina had had a crush on him in high school, until one day when she'd found out a little too much about her best friend's dad. She was surprised Mr. Jamison would be willing to meet up with Reina, now a law enforcement agent. Then again he'd committed no crime, so there was nothing she could do. She'd never told her best friend what happened, for fear of losing her, and Mr. Jamison probably knew he could count on her continued silence. "Stop analyzing this!" Reina told herself. It was hard to turn off her FBI mentality.

Her phone rang in Apple Carplay, the screen displaying Call From Agent Hunk-ly. "Agent Sayama, it's me, Huntly," said the deep, masculine voice.

"Yes, I know it's you, dummy," said Reina, exasperated at his stupidity. "You're in my address book, you know?"

"I am?" said Huntly, sounding interested. Reina sighed, shaking her head. "Uh, that's nice. So, anyway, I tracked that scumbag, what was his name, Lever, Leechy..."

"Larry?" said Reina, helpfully. Two-chains Larry was a low level loser they were always following in case he did something stupid, like lead them to the big fish.

"Yeah, him," chuckled Huntly. "I tracked his ass to this, like, cosplay store or something, on MLK and Enon. Then I uh, lost him."

Reina's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean, you lost him? Did he go in the store?"

"Yeah, he went in the store," said Huntly.

"And... why didn't you go in there after him?" said Reina, trying to lead his small brain to its next logical thought.

"Cause it's like, all girly stuff in there," said Huntly. "I don't think men are allowed, you know?"

Reina's jaw fell open. "But... the man went in there... and... you thought men aren't allowed in the store."

"Yes, white man in some Chinatown girly clothing store, I'd stick out like a sore thumb, you know?" said Huntly.

Well, he was probably right about that, thought Reina. When it was clear the other agent was done with his explanation, Reina sighed. "So naturally you thought you'd call up your girlfriend Reina to finish doing your job for you, is that correct?"

"Yes, right again!" said Huntly, relieved that she understood. Then his voice turned awkward. "You know Reina, I like you and all, you're a great... agent... but... you're just not my... uh... well you're not..."

"Not your type, I know. I was just kidding about the girlfriend thing, Huntly," said Reina, annoyed that he always felt the need to remind her she wasn't his type. Then again it was probably fortunate, for the man was a Greek god who made her stammer like an idiot in his presence. She much preferred talking to him on the phone so she wouldn't make a fool of herself.

"Oh, that was just a joke," exclaimed Huntly, sounding relieved. "Ok, thanks babe, you're the best! I gotta run, I'm late for the gym." Then he hung up, leaving Reina to stare at the screen as if it had just sprouted wings. The man never ceased to amaze her. If she was late for lunch with Debbie, she was going to kill Hunkly.

Reina parked her Ford Explorer at the corner of Martin Luther King Blvd and Enon St. She double checked the address in her nav app. If it had been of the other male agents passing down the mission she'd suspect he was pulling her leg, but that was too sophisticated for Hunkly. Still, this wasn't a nice neighborhood, and an odd place for a high-end costume store. Looking quickly around her surroundings for suspicious characters, she pulled out her pistol and gently pulled back the slide to check that it was loaded before putting it back in her holster and unlocking her vehicle. With her senses on edge, she walked the half block to the entrance of Madame Mystery's Costume Store and entered. Immediately she began to suspect a prank. The office was having a costume party at the end of the month, and her fellow agents had been teasing her incessantly.

"You have your nun costume ready, Rei?"

"You find a stick to put up your ass, Agent? Oh right, you have that already!"

As she looked about the store for signs of Two-Chains Larry, she couldn't help noticing the elaborate Victorian costumes. They looked very real, and she'd heard how uncomfortable they were. She cautiously moved through the store, moving past female superhero costumes, and chuckled at the police costumes. Reina wondered if the store catered only to women, for she wasn't seeing kids or men's costumes. Reina continued searching the store for her suspect, but the store was empty. In fact she didn't even see any employees, the store was deserted. Reina started to relax and look more closely at the fascinating array of outfits. She let her mind wander to the thought of putting on a costume, and being whisked away to a world where she wasn't the no-nonsense FBI Agent and was just a lady in waiting, or an emperor's concubine, or a---

"Perhaps I can help you, dear," came the sweet melodic voice behind her. Reina turned, expecting a younger woman, and she was startled to see a shriveled old woman standing patiently behind her.

"Oh," she exclaimed, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I didn't see you there." The woman was dressed in a flowing colorful gown of an unfamiliar era. It looked ancient and yet beautiful. She had to be the shop owner. How adorable, Reina thought. She must have a wild imagination to create such a store.

"You look like you're in need of a fantasy getaway, my dear," said the old woman, more statement than question.

"Hi," Reina said, acting in character in case the suspect was nearby and listening in. "Uh, well, we have an office costume party coming up, and you know, I want to show the men I can be fun too," she lied, feeling a little guilty about lying to the nice old lady. But she didn't want her to know she was tailing a suspected underground slaver.

"Oh, what an interesting office you must have," said the woman, her tone a bit strange. Did she know Reina was lying?

"Oh no, not interesting at all, I'm afraid," said Reina, chuckling. She wrinkled her nose, and whispered quietly. "It could use a little feminine touch."

"Oh, I know you can be provide that in spades, dear," said the old woman said, giving her a knowing smile. Reina looked at her oddly. The woman was full of surprises. "I think I have just the thing for you, my little aspiring temptress."

Reina opened her mouth to protest, but the old woman was already moving through the store toward the back, and Reina followed her to a rack of hanging costumes. The variety was stunning, ranging from rags to lingerie, to things she'd never seen. Reina noticed that none of the costumes were packaged like you'd find in a Halloween store - cheap packaged crap that would be uncomfortable to wear and would fall apart after one night. Like everything in the old woman's store, these looked like real clothing, not costumes at all. None had bags, and few even had labels. They were more like... disguises? Her eyebrows raised. Was that why her suspect had entered this particular store?

"Do you have costumes for men?" said Reina. She hadn't seen any, and she doubted the suspect would be looking for female costumes.

"A few," said the old lady. "Ah, here we go. When you walked in the door, I knew right away this was the one for you."

Rena looked at her askance. "What is that, a silk scarf?" she asked. "Where's the rest of the costume?"

The woman smiled, and showed Rena the inside label. Reina recognized it instantly. She'd once read a trashy novel about a strange world on the other side of the solar system, where the men were barbarians and the women were slaves. The label depicted such a man in a turban with two girls dressed in skimpy silk... and chains. She suspected the costume maker plagiarized the cover art from the book.