Slave Camp Ch. 09

Okay, this story has gone on far further than I originally intended. I considered a separate story for my characters and now think I will make it a saga until it plays out.

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Karen's croaking in the backseat amused Derek. She was trying hard to overcome the effects of the devoxxing she had sustained that had rendered her voiceless. He knew she was almost as unhappy with being devoxxed as him buying her. Derek wondered if maybe he should have bought one of the home kits the slave sales agent offered. For only fifty dollars, they sold a set of spray cans. One with the devoxxing agent that could last several hours and one with the quick antidote.

"Karen, look over the woman sitting next to you." Derek ordered as he drove. "See if you think she only has superficial injuries that will heal soon. I don't know if you are still a nurse, but I know you still have the skills. When we get to the hospital you can tell me your assessment." Derek saw Wanda looking at him with interest. She was still reeling from learning the woman in the back seat was Derek's ex-wife. He called Lou. He knew she and Sarah were due at the house later that afternoon. "Can you meet me at General Hospital? Yeah the emergency room. No, nobody is hurt. This is a legal matter. I need you as a shyster today." He laughed. "I know you hate that word. I can call you cunt and it doesn't faze you. I call you a shyster and your blood pressure goes through the roof. But seriously. I am in need of some legal expertise. I am on my way there now."

He pulled up in front of the hospital's emergency entrance where the state official had told him to go. As they got out of the car, he asked if Karen thought Cheryl had significant damage. She shook her head and tried to croak a "No". He smiled. That had been his own assessment. He was glad to have it confirmed. Karen had been a significant pain in the ass when they divorced, but he knew she was a brilliant diagnostician. Back then she had certifications in several aspects of nursing. He suspected she had not let her skills lapse.

He knew one other thing. She was not sixty two like her slave records said. She had been born in 1962 and was only fifty eight. Somehow the court system had messed up the year of her birth. They had used the 62 as her age rather than the year of her birth. Derek resolved to set the record straight. For now, he kept those thoughts to himself.

Katherine Douglas, the state agent, waited for them inside. She directed Cheryl to see the physician. Derek said that as her owner, he would go along and listen in but would not interfere with her investigation. "I am sorry I was so abrupt before." she offered Derek in private. "When you stepped in, I got upset. I hate to see slaves totally abused. Don't get me wrong. Using a slave is perfectly fine. But there has to be limits."

"Yes, Ma'am." Wanda said from behind. 'Like you used me last weekend with Ms Sarah's permission." Ms Douglas turned and blushed at seeing the slave standing close.

"Ms. Katherine was at the party last weekend." Wanda told Derek. Katherine blushed. Derek managed to keep from laughing. The woman had obviously not recognized Wanda who was clothed and with conservative makeup instead of the full slut makeup the girls all had worn.

"Oh! You are the guy." Katherine said. "Sarah told me a little about her deal to use a man's slaves."

"Okay. So I know we will not have a problem." Derek said. "Oh, I fully intend to testify to what that woman admitted to doing. But the retention of my slaves is a priority. Lou is on her way to protect my interests." Katherine told him immediately that would not be a problem and she would be very grateful for his cooperation.

Lou arrived with Sarah. Wanda apprised her of the situation. A nurse escorted Lou back to the examination room. She walked in to find a nude young woman pulling on her scrub bottoms. Lou's eyes widened at the display of bruised flesh. Katherine Douglas was putting away her notepad. Lou knew she been taking notes and recording the conversation as the doctor examined the young slave girl. "I need to confer with my client." Lou said quickly. Ms Douglas assured Lou that Derek was not in need of an attorney. He was a witness and the new owner of the slave.

"The doctor actually confirmed Derek's earlier assessment of the slave's condition." Ms Douglas declared. "I will let you talk to him. I know where I am going to take this case. I had the slave's owner and the woman who appears to have done the actual abuse taken to my office. They have not been charged...yet. I have an officer still at the slave sale building. He should be finished soon. He called me and told me he has statements and even a video one of the staff made."

Derek had a brief conversation with Lou and then asked Sarah to take Wanda and the two new slaves home, handing her his keys.. Sarah nodded and ushered the slaves back to Derek's car. Lou agreed with Derek's suggestions as she drove to Katherine Douglas' office.

"Katherine is a regular detective but she also is in charge of the abuse division. She is like the ASPCA for slaves. Use them but don't abuse them. She would be quick to approve while you blister a slave's butt for talking back but once that crosses the line and turns to actual abuse, she would nail you like a bulldog. Plus I want you to think of her like the district attorney's office. She needs some 'wins' to make her office look good. Katherine told me she has an easy conviction here. I know her well enough to know she is probably right without really examining the evidence. We might get a little mitigation. My question is WHY do you want to get involved. You own the slave the women abused. Why do you want to help them in their defense?"

"I think the woman's daughter is bit of a victim here, too. I mean she screwed around with the slave's late husband so she sort of deserved some retribution like get her ass kicked, but she is suffering physically now. Her mother torturing the girl should not get her into trouble. I don't think she was in a position physically or emotionally to step in."

Lou entered Ms Douglas' office and identified herself to the officer there. Katherine had called ahead. She introduced herself to Kat and her mother, Lisa. "The man who bought your slave has asked me to check on you and offer my legal services if you do not already have an attorney. I am not here to represent you unless you hire me, but I will give you a consultation to help you along. I have been brought up to speed."

The older woman began to ask questions. "What is this gonna cost?" she asked abruptly.

Her daughter interrupted. "Mom, stop it! I want to know where we stand. I'm sorry Ma'am, my name is Kat Richard and this is my mother, Lisa. I am grateful for you stopping by to help and give us some advice. But I would like to know. Is this one of those free consultations? I have a little money from the sale of the slave but not much in savings."

Lou assured her that their talk was free and unless she was hired or rejected she was helping at Derek's request. "He does want to see about getting some of the clothes and personal belongings the slave, Cheryl?, may have left behind. To answer your mother's question legal counsel is expensive but maybe we can get you protected without incurring too much expense."

"Lady, you can have whatever you want of Cheryl's things if you can help and give us some advice." Kat said.

"Okay, let's begin with this as an understanding of the process. The detective is in the investigation stage right now. The slave agency called her to report possible abuse. They did that to protect their license. They listened and I believe may have videoed your mother describe her treatment of the slave. If Ms Douglas thinks she has enough evidence to take to the district attorney she will arrest one or both of you." Both women paled. "Now the DA will determine if the evidence is strong enough to prosecute. If not they might dismiss the case. I'm sure you have heard of a DA up for re-election reporting their percentage of convictions. That is important to their career progression. If the DA thinks they have a solid case they will go forward quickly."

"What is the penalty for slave abuse?" Lisa wanted to know. When she heard five years enslavement, she began to wail. "But I only whipped her! Well, I slapped her and punched her a little but not that much!"

"Five years is the maximum you might really see for strong abuse cases, but even one year as a slave is going to be pretty tough to endure." Lou offered. "And from what I understand you stated loudly how you 'love torturing the bitch' and described how you beat her every day with a whip and punched her. Derek told me the physician noted bruising in her vaginal area and asked if she had been kicked. The slave, Cheryl said you had made her spread her legs and kicked her in the crotch several times. You shocked her often as well. Considering you only took possession of the slave Tuesday or Wednesday, that kind of punishment is going to be hard to explain. Plus you said the sheriff was called early on and he gave you a warning and suggested you sell the girl. Ignoring his warning is not going to help you. It depends what he wrote in his report, but your own statements are enough to get you into some serious trouble." Lisa began crying.

"Where do we go from here?" Kat asked. "I did not abuse Cheryl. Well I slapped her the first day and cussed her out, but not anything else."

"First of all, I am telling what you might expect." Lou offered. "Part of the free part of the consultation is my advising you both to NOT make a statement or answer a question. If you choose to hire me I will speak for you. I have some ideas where we ought to go. From what I see so far, that is NOT going to be pleasant." Kat wanted to know what she meant.

"Well, if they decide to accuse you both, your best defense is to blame it all on your mother. You did nothing. You were too sick." Lou said. Both women looked appalled. "If they only charge Lisa, then the your position stays the same but for a different reason." Conviction means you get enslaved for however long, say a year and go on the public auction block. You get sold to whoever offers the highest bid, after meeting the minimum price the state sets. I happen to know unsold slaves are sold to a big market from Houston. So if your mother is sold, you will likely not even hear from her until she is released."

"Now if you are not charged Kat, but your mother is, you claim you are a victim of her actions as well. Circumstances dictated you to sell off a valuable slave. Our position is you were faced with a dilemma. It was sell or risk the slave getting confiscated. Then you ask for your mother as YOUR slave as restitution for your loss." Lou paused to see if they were following. Kat seemed to but her mother was upset. "Both ways, your mother gets enslaved. The first scenario she is sold to whoever has the money to buy her and is gone. The second, you are her new owner and you can protect her."

"Like I said, neither of those scenarios is good. The ideal option is for the charges to be dismissed." Lou said. "But we need to be ready. Going to a jury trial may not be in our best interests. Sometimes juries get emotional and give longer sentences. Sometimes they acquit. But when they see pictures of the slave, they are likely to say you went way too far, and this was NOT normal discipline. The same thing goes for a summary judgment before a judge "

"So you are telling me I am fucked!" Lisa said. Lou nodded and told her if the DA decides to prosecute, they are probably confident enough to win. And the evidence she has learned about so far indicates the DA has a fair case already. "I have not seen all the evidence. I have merely heard some of what was said." Lou added.

"Having said all this, you might want to consult with another attorney for his or her opinion." Lou offered. "This is where the free part of the consultation ends." She walked over to where Derek was waiting to ask if he was ready to leave. He had given his statement to Katherine Douglas.

"I have decided to arrest Lisa Richard and charge her for abuse of a slave. But not her daughter." Katherine said. "Are they going to retain you?" Lou told her they had not made that decision. "Well, Lisa is going to be spending the weekend as a guest here then unless she can post bail. I called down and they said it is fifty thousand bucks, or she offers her ass as collateral." When she told Kat and Lisa what she was going to do, Kat jumped up and ran after Lou.

"Please! we want to hire you." Kat called.

Lou pulled out her laptop and had Lisa sign that she was retaining Lou as her attorney giving Lou the right to speak on her behalf. "Alright Ms Douglas. What do you say I get my client released on her own recognizance instead of posting the cash bail?" Ms Douglas was agreeable but explained that if Lisa did not report for court at the appointed time which was Tuesday at ten in the morning, she would face an automatic year's enslavement. Lou explained that this was separate from the other charges. It was a simple charge for failure to appear. "The court finds people will skip faster on a cash bond than if they face a year of enslavement just for not showing up. So they now set stupidly high cash bonds that few can afford."

The paper work was completed and they all filed out of the police station. They planned to drive to the townhouse Derek's new slave used to own to get her clothing. "Mom, this is a LOT cheaper way to pay for some of our legal expenses. I am not going to use this crap anyway. It would never fit me. And if I sell it, I will get pennies on the dollar. They can have whatever they want." Kat was saying to her mother as she unlocked the door.

Within thirty minutes Derek and Lou had scooped up the contents of Cheryl's dresser and closet along with her shoes. Lou asked for the diplomas hanging on the walls and Kat immediately agreed. "I gave Tom's mother all the pictures of him that I could find and offered her anything of his she wanted. I don't think there is much equity in this place but I will get what I can." Kat said.

"Well, what do you think?" Derek asked as they drove home. "How do you see this playing out?"

"I think the mother is gonna find herself enslaved for a while. I just hope I can get it to be to her daughter." Lou said. "Slavery is big business and the authorities have to make an issue out of protecting slaves from overt abuse. They can't afford to let the bleeding hearts make a case. I will talk to the district attorney on Monday and see if I can work a deal." Derek told her about his ex-wife's age. Lou laughed. "Easy fix, I suspect not being upfront will cost her a few years of enslavement. She is liable to get her enslavement extended until she is of retirement age."

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Derek and Lou walked into his dining area to find Sarah and all the slave girls sitting around the table talking and drinking. "What's in the blender?" Lou asked.

"Strawberry daiquiris." Caroline answered. "Mom and I went to the farmer's market this morning and bought a load of veggies. They had strawberries for a good price so I stocked up. We've been sitting around telling our histories. How we got enslaved. I made a second batch without alcohol for you and Sarah since you still don't know if Derek got you pregnant or not." Derek was amused as he looked over at Karen, his ex-wife, who looked surprised. Apparently that had not been revealed in their earlier conversation. He poured Lou a full glass of the virgin drink and himself a small one of the potent version to see if he wanted that or a beer.

He told the group he had most of Cheryl's clothing in the trunk and backseat of Lou's car and they could bring it in later. Turning to Caroline, he asked. "Have you assigned who sleeps where, yet?" She shook her head.

"I was waiting. I did go through Karen's stuff to see what she had. She has a nice cell phone you can add to our service. I did not go through her laptop yet. We had a little 'discussion' after I looked through her purse." At Derek's questioning look she continued. "Well, she thought some things should be private but I explained she had no privacy around here and I was head slave. We had a little difference of opinion. She has a sore bottom but has accepted our relative positions." Derek asked for details and to Karen's complete embarrassment Caroline recounted how she turned Karen over her knee and spanked her with her hand and then a hairbrush. "All is good now. Do you have any preference for sleeping arrangements?"

"Nope! That is up to you." Derek said.

"What about Lou and I?" Sarah cooed. "With five other slaves and three beds what will we do?"

"You two can sleep wherever you want." he said grinning. Karen watched the exchange and her face got red. She asked if they could talk privately. "Nope. Say it right here. The others are going to know what we talk about anyway."

"Are you planning on keeping me or selling me?" Karen asked. "I can't imagine why you would want me around with all this young pussy at your disposal."

Derek laughed. "For your information the sex is a side issue. Everybody pulls their weight. Well, Caroline goes to school for now. Rhonda works as a nurse and Wanda is an accountant. I plan to get Cheryl reinstated as a paralegal. Lou has first dibs if she is in the market or I will offer Cheryl to her old boss as an employee.'

Lou grinned. "I think I can get your license activated in this state. You were still active as a nurse right?"

"I was but I'm not sure I want to work here." Karen said. "I don't know if I want to go back to where I used to work years ago wearing this slave collar. I'd be too embarrassed. Some of my old friends are still around."

"Okay, that is fine." Derek said. "Being a nurse is a very responsible endeavor. I would not want anyone to go into it without full devotion. Lives would be at risk. Rhonda has her own motivations which I am sure she would share with you. But if you do not want to be your best as a nurse I do not want you to even start."

Karen began to smile. She thought she had manipulated Derek. "So you will be the house slave. The one who stays at home, does the laundry, cleans the house and all that." Derek stated. "In addition, I have a LOT of work we are all doing outside so your days will be quite busy. Working in the garden takes time and I have a project where I am clearing brush off a section of land. I am planning some crawfish ponds. I have a man already contracted to create the berms to hold the water inside, but there are bushes and small trees that need to be removed. I will show you how to cut them down and haul them to the burn area." Karen was frowning now.

"And since you won't be leaving the property, there will be no reason for you to have clothing. Only ankle socks and your shoes to protect your feet. Caroline, pick out a top for Karen and a pair of jeans. Maybe even a pair of shorts. That is in case she goes someplace with one of us. Put the rest of her clothes in storage. She will be nude for the most part from now on."

Karen squealed. "NO! You can't make me go around naked!"

"I can and I will." Derek said calmly. "You told me your decision and I told you mine."

'Okay, I will go to work!" Karen said quickly.

"Sorry, too late." Derek said. "Maybe we can revisit your desire to get a job next week. Or we can call your husband, or should I say newest ex-husband to see if he is willing to buy you. For now you will be naked. Take your clothes off." Karen began to cry.

"How can you be so cruel to me?" she sobbed.

"I'm not being cruel.' Derek said. "I am running a household. You dictated your position. I dictated mine. Now we might call your husband and see if he is back from his fishing trip to see if he wants to buy you. The price is about two hundred thousand. About what you might earn in three years or so. For now, I want you nude." Karen bawled as she reluctantly took off her clothes. She was sure refusal would result in some major punishment. Caroline handed her a paper towel.