Santo Diablo Pt. 09

"Where does Crimson have you?" I challenged. "What do they have you doing?"

Sarah didn't answer. She looked around, appearing to search for an exit. She put her head down and remained quiet.

"I have a man outside named Russell that wishes to talk to me." Rich explained. "He says it's regarding you. He told my security that he owns you and he wants you back."

"Please, don't give me back." Sarah pleaded. "Russell is the son of that asshole Roger that started all of this. Russell is also the man that runs the chapter of Crimson that has Riley. He controls both of us. I needed to get me and my daughters out from under Crimson, so I left and came to you."

"How much, from what you told me yesterday, were lies?" I asked.

"It was mostly true, except for my involvement with Crimson and my money." Sarah explained. "When my mother died, she didn't have a cent to her name. Crimson took every penny. Russell and his brother, Reed, took over from their father. They orchestrated the blackmail of all of my daughters to get to me. They blame me for getting their father arrested, and have taken it out on me. When I refused them initially, they used my daughters to alienate me from my family. My brother and his wife's family think I've lost my mind."

"Russell made my daughters pretend to have a wonderful life." Sarah continued. "They told everyone I became paranoid and wanted to keep my daughters locked in the house with me because it was too dangerous for them. When I told you they brought them by and abused them in front of me, that was the truth. What I lied about was my continued refusal. A couple of years ago, I agreed to submit to Russell and Crimson to help save my daughters."

"Russell told me that once I submitted, they would let my girls go." I related. "He lied. I submitted, and he kept my daughters. He kept me with him and Riley, and we both serve him. It's a repeat of me and my mother, but now I'm the one that can't protect her daughter. I die a little inside when they use Riley and I realize how hard it must have been for my mother to see me go through what I did under Roger. I see him use Riley, and I'm made to be a participant."

"What made you decide to leave now?" I asked.

"I'm not getting any younger." Sarah responded. "The more time I spend under Russell, the more I lose myself. One day I woke up and realized that I would end up like my mother; dead on the side of the road. It was the only way out for her, and if I didn't act, it was all I would have left. I couldn't imagine leaving my daughters, but I was losing my mind."

"How did you get my name?" I inquired. "Was that also a lie?"

"Not exactly." Sarah admitted. "I overheard Russell talking about selling one or two of the women, and they were discussing where to do that. Their usual contacts dried up, something about being run out of business by a new person operating on the West Coast. I asked around a bit and ended up with your name. I didn't have any specifics, but I thought I would take a chance that it was you. You popping up and the timing seemed to fit. I thought that if you were powerful enough to take out people working with Crimson, you may be powerful enough to help me."

"Fair enough." I replied. I told Deborah to show the men in.

"Sarah, if I'm to help you, the lies stop here." I demanded. "I can't do anything if I'm working with false information. Is there anything else you're not telling me?"

"Yes, I'm sorry." Sarah answered. "I stole money from them so I could get here. I don't know how they tracked me, though. I ditched my phone before I left, and the only thing I had was my purse. I didn't even have luggage."

"Where is your purse now?" I asked. That had to be the way they tracked her.

"In my room." Sarah responded.

Damn. I picked up my phone and called the head of my security. I told him to get her purse and test it for a tracking device. If they found one, I wanted them to extract it but not disable it. I also wanted to know the frequency it operated on, and for them to scan for that frequency in the house. If the men who were waiting for me were tracking her, we would read that frequency on their phones or another device if they had it with them. I had a suspicion they did.

"Sarah, come stand next to me." I ordered. "Keep your clothes on, but I want you in that waiting position." I wanted her out of reach of the men. It would also show them where Sarah's allegiance now sat. I wanted to get a measure of the man that supposedly owned her. I was certain her standing next to me would upset him. That was my intention.

Sarah walked over to me slowly, looking unsure she should get near me after lying to me. I gave her a quick nod of approval and turned my attention to the door. Not long after, Russell walked in with his two security guards. They were armed, but I had Katia standing near them. They didn't even glance in her direction. If they tried anything, they would regret not paying attention to her.

Russell was average height, around 5'10 inches tall. He was in good shape and looked to be in his forties. He was clean shaven and I could smell his aftershave from across the room. Everything about him was impeccable, except for his shoes. They were decent, but not as expensive as his suit, and a little worn. That was always a sign that someone was living beyond their money. I could use that.

Russell looked at Sarah and smiled. "It's good to see you, Sarah." Russell greeted me. "I came to take you home. You've had all of us worried. Who do I have to thank for finding you?"

"I'm Mr. Burkhart." I introduced himself. "You can call me Rich." Let him get a little familiar with me. He will take it as a weakness, and I can exploit that by playing naïve.

"Rich, it's a pleasure to meet you." Russell answered. He was polite, at least. I doubted he meant it, but neither did I.

"I'll be taking Sarah now." He instructed me. "I don't want to take up any more of your time."

Right to the point without feeling me out first. That tells me he doesn't see me as a threat. That's good. Now, time to play dumb.

"Why should Sarah leave with you?" I asked, trying to look confused. "She asked for my help. I mean, it's not like you own her."

"That's where you're wrong, Rich." Russell replied, sounding arrogant. "Look at Sarah's neck, right below her hairline."

I asked Sarah to turn around and lift her hair. She did, and sure enough, she wore a red-letter C on the back of her neck.

"As you can see, she has my organization's logo tattooed on her." Russell explained. "That red letter C marks her our property. Our organization is called Crimson, if you're wondering."

He puts a lot of importance on that tattoo. I can relate, still having the Assassins tattoo on my arm. I can use that to throw him off.

"That's extremely clever." I remarked. "How do you feel about that tattoo, Sarah?"

Sarah looked Russell in the eyes and answered, "I hate it." I'm sure that hurt. I saw him momentarily lose composure, but he recovered and continued smiling. Now, to push it further.

"Well, Russell, we seem to have a problem." I taunted him. "Sarah doesn't want to be part of your club any longer. She's grown tired of you. I've offered her a place to live, and she's accepted. In fact, she's given herself to me. I own her now."

Russell was growing agitated. He gave up on his pleasantries and fumed, "I don't care what you think. She's mine, and I will get her back. I don't think you know who you're talking to. I'm a man with resources that can make your life miserable, and unless you give Sarah to me, I will do just that."

There he is. It's nice to finally meet the real Russell. I shudder to think what life was like for Sarah and her daughter under this asshole's control. Just as I thought; brash and quick to act without thinking. Now, while he's not in control, let's see if he knows anything about me.

I leaned back and smiled. "Do you know who I am?" Rich asked. "I mean, do you know anything about me?"

I doubted it. If he did, he would have acted much differently. However, I've seen this type of arrogance from men who knew exactly who I was.

"Of course, I do." Russell boasted. "You run a multi-million-dollar shipping business and own Santana International, one of the largest companies in the world. I don't give a shit about any of that. You're a billionaire that likes women. Who cares? You are all the same. Just because you have money, you think you can get your way. Money only goes so far, and in crossing me, you're entering a world you know nothing about. Your money can't help you. I will take Sarah, then I'll tear you and your family apart."

Nope, he knows nothing about me. That's good. I can play his arrogance against him. Let's throw some money at him. His shoes tell me he needs money, so let's see if this works.

"You say money can't fix this problem." I commented. "How much would you take for Sarah? I'm sure we can come to some sort of figure that will please both of us."

Russell stood and thought for a moment. "If you give me $200 million for her, I'll let you have her." He answered.

$200 million? What the hell? Either he takes me for a gigantic fool, or he's never sold a woman in his life. Sarah overheard him talking about selling women, so I would guess the former. He's probably feeling me out to see if he can take advantage of me. Let's play along.

"That's pretty steep." I replied. "I'm not used to buying women, so I don't know if that's high or not; it just seems like a lot." I tried to sound a little confused. I hope it worked.

The smile returned to Russell's face. "It's actually market value." He explained to me. "If Sarah was younger, I could get $300 million for her, but she's in her forties and won't bring in that much money."

It worked. He thinks I'm an idiot. That was total bullshit, but he did sound convincing. I glanced over at Katia and she was smiling. I'm sure it was all she could do to keep a straight face. Hell, I was pushing down my desire to laugh. This was better than a comedy club.

"It's a deal then." I replied. "I can wire it if you give me an account number."

No way he's that dumb, but I figured I would try.

Russell took out his phone. He asked me for my number, then sent me the account information via text. Yep, he's not bright.

"If you'll give me one minute, I need to call my accountant and have her send you the money." I told him.

I picked up my phone and called Julie. She picked up and said, "I've been listening to everything you two have said. Is this guy real?"

I answered. "Yes. Julie, I need you to make a transfer for me."

"Ok, do you want me to run tracking on him like we discussed?" Julie asked.

"Yes, it's a wonderful day." I responded with the code I told her about earlier. "I'm sending you an account that I want you to transfer $200 million into." I copied and sent her the account number.

"Do you want me to put a tracker on the deposit, and follow it if it gets transferred?" Julie asked.

"Yes, exactly." I answered.

"I have the information about his family." She added. "Do you want me to dispatch a team and have them on standby?"

"Absolutely, just like we discussed." I responded.

"Finally, do you want me to empty his accounts when all of this is complete?" Julie inquired.

"Yes, everything, but only with my word." I explained. "Thank you very much, and have a great day."

"No problem, Rich." Julie answered, laughing. "Try not to have too much fun. I'm having a hard time keeping the men working with me focused. They're laughing their asses off behind me. It's distracting."

I hung up then addressed Russell, "If you'll check your account, you should be $200 million richer."

Russell did a few things with his phone and his smile grew larger. "Yes, I have it now." He said excitedly. "It was nice doing business with you. Sarah, I hope you enjoy your new life."

I had my security escort the men outside to their car.

"Did you really just buy me from Russell?" Sarah asked. "It happened so fast that I'm having a hard time believing it."

"Well, I just sent him $200 million." I answered. I didn't think for one second I had seen the last of Russell. With all the trouble he went through blackmailing Sarah's daughters just to get to her, he wouldn't leave her so easily. He just took the money because he thought I was an easy score.

"Now, we need to discuss you." I told Sarah. "I don't appreciate you lying to me. I cannot have anyone in my life that isn't truthful. I can understand why you lied, but I can't have you continue to do that."

"I'm very sorry." Sarah apologized. "It was the only way I could think of to get you to listen to me. If I told you I ran away from the men that owned me, I didn't think you would help me. That's more trouble than most people want. I'm sure you would have thrown me out the door before I could tell you the rest of my story."

"I know how you reasoned I bought and sold women; I put others out of business that did. But how did you know I owned slaves?" Rich asked.

"I didn't, specifically." Sarah answered. "I reasoned that if you bought and sold women, you would own slaves. I took a chance."

"Well, it seems to have turned out for you." I remarked.

"Will you still help me with my daughters?" Sarah asked.

"I still plan on doing that." I replied. "That's not my concern at the moment. My concern now is you. I need you to understand your place. Even though you lied to me, I like you. You're a beautiful woman, but more than that, you're obedient and focused. I like those qualities more than I thought."

"You will be my personal servant." I informed her. "As you can see, I can't get around very well. I'm slowly getting more mobile, but it may take years until I'm able to do most things myself. When I'm at home, I have my wives to look out for me, but it will be your job to do that here and when I travel. Honestly, I need two women, but until I find someone else, you'll be it."

We talked more. I had Sarah show Deborah the positions she was talking about. Deborah wanted me to treat her more like a slave, and I figured these may help. Deborah didn't like too much freedom. She preferred me to give her tasks and keep her busy. The topic came around to Sarah's choice of clothing.

"What do you want me to wear?" She inquired. "I'm not sure if I should dress fancy in heels, or dress casual."

"People will look at you as a representation of me." I answered. "You will need to look appropriate. I have an image I need to project, one of class and power. As you can see, Katia wears an expensive Kimono. It's functional, allowing her to access her weapons easily and allows her to move around freely. It may be difficult for you, but I need you to wear clothes that highlight your sexuality, including heels. I want men to not be able to take their eyes off of you. If they're preoccupied with you, Katia will get a few extra seconds if she needs to take someone out."

"You will need clothes you can get out of easily." I explained. "It may be for a distraction, for my benefit, or for other reasons. You can expect to spend some of your time naked in just your heels. You will be part of meetings and events where the women are all servicing the men. You will need to do the same. There will be times Katia will need to do that, and she accepts it. Once you're settled, I'll fill you in on exactly who I am and what I do."

"Even when we're here, I will require you to be just as focused as if we're in a meeting elsewhere." I continued. "I need you to live it, because it may mean the difference between life and death when we travel."

"There's another job that you'll have." I informed Sarah. "Since they shot me, I have a difficult time having sex. It's not that my dick doesn't work, but any rise in blood pressure gives me a splitting headache. It's getting better, but not as fast as I want. My wife Penny, who is also my doctor, tells me I need to increase my endurance. The more I have sex, the faster I will recover. I need to train my brain not to debilitate me when my blood pressure rises."

"I can only go for short periods of time, and orgasms almost make me pass out." I explained. "That doesn't mean I can stop. My cover depends on my ability to have sex, and you can expect to have sex in front of other people. Cops won't normally fuck women who are being sold, so that's one way to convince them I'm not law enforcement. Also, seeing me use my women sexually puts some of these men at ease. They trust me when they see me abusing someone. If I can't, my credibility goes out the window."

"I will use you to build up my tolerance." I continued. "You're my hand maiden and my sex therapist. You'll do everything, from helping me take a shower to use the bathroom. You'll be a cook and a chauffeur. Basically, anything I need at the moment. You'll live here, and travel with me everywhere I go. We will get you a passport and make sure you up to date medically."

"I'll ask you just this once." I told her. "Is this all something you're willing to do?"

"You're helping me get my daughters back." Sarah answered. "I'll do anything you want. That being said, I would accept even if my daughters weren't part of the deal. You've been nothing but nice to me. You didn't have to listen to me when I walked into your office, but you did. After I lied to you, your response was to pay Russell $200 million for me. You spend another $100 thousand on clothes yesterday. You're letting me live in this gorgeous mansion. I see why Deborah feels she doesn't deserve what you give her, because I'm feeling the same way."

"Nonsense." I replied. "Save that feeling for after you hear what you've gotten yourself into, and once you see what your life will be like. The people you will meet will make Crimson seem like an after-school club. Now, I need to get to work. You can start by changing into something more appropriate to what I require and meet me in my office. I have a few meetings starting up soon."

Sarah went back to her room. I forgot to tell her I had her clothes moved from the guest room to her new room. That's ok, she'll figure it out. Katia took me back to my office and sat on the couch, reading while I made my calls. My first phone call was to John, the old Assassins Motorcycle Club leader. I had to discuss standing the club back up to act as my security and enforcers.

I talked with John over the years and still sent the old club members their money each month. The deposits were automated, but I ensured we increased the amount by a few percent each year. He was happy to hear from me, and was surprised that I wanted to get the club going again. I explained to him it would be the Assassins in name only. Everyone would work for me, but I didn't want the club associated with me. I wanted people to think the club existed on its own, and at the most, contracted with me. This would allow me to do things that Rich Burkhart, government contractor, couldn't get away with.

John was in his sixties now, but still in good shape. All the days in the sun and swimming did him good. His wife, Brenda, died about five years prior to cancer, and he flew back to bury her in her family's plot at their cemetery. John didn't have another woman. He had women. He was still the same man he was, but now he didn't have Brenda to hold him back. The island ladies didn't stand a chance with his smooth talking and money.

"Rich, let me come back and run it." He pleaded with me. "Since Brenda died, I'm just wasting away out here."

"Wasting away?" I asked, laughing. "You have multiple women a night. Most men would love to be wasting away if that's what it's like."

"Yeah, it sounds good." He replied. "But these women are only with me because I have money. It's getting old, and I can't see myself living much longer unless I find a purpose. Running the club again would be just the thing I'm looking for."