Slave Camp Ch. 24

Two days later Lou and Sarah came home with their babies. The slaves all seemed happy and volunteered to help with changing diapers. Derek overheard a couple of the younger girls lament that with their mandated implants they could never have a baby of her own but could at least participate in raising these two. Clarice was beside herself pumping her own breasts frequently to induce milk, wanting to do her part. Derek had to tell her to relax and just let it happen. She laughed saying she also hoped milk production would "make her tits bigger." That comment had Bev wanting to volunteer. A couple of the other slave girls volunteered as well, but the consensus was three lactating slaves plus the two mothers would be more than sufficient. "Hell, we don't plan to run a dairy around here. We'll be giving milk away as it is." Derek said at dinner that night to the others amusement.

Derek and Wanda helped Bonnie pack her clothes into her car for her return to college. She had only one semester left to graduate and would return in December. Derek had arranged for her car to be fully serviced the week before. Her gas tank was full and she had plenty of cash. The night before she had boldly entered Derek's bedroom, pulled off her nightshirt and climbed into his bed. He came out of his bathroom from brushing his teeth to find her waiting for him, sitting up in bed. She had pulled up the covers far enough to cover her to the waist but her luscious breasts stood out proudly. She was indeed her mother's daughter. "What are you doing?" he asked, although her intentions were obvious.

"I wanted to make love before I left boss. Outside of my fingers and maybe a toy this is going to be my last sex until I get back. No girls and certainly no guys!" she said, grinning. Derek told her she is a big girl and does not have to be celibate. "Don't tell me what to do when I am up there BOSS!" she said grinning. "I'm part of this group and I'm not gonna fuck outside it. Now come over here and let's get busy."

The next morning Bonnie joined Derek in the kitchen for coffee. A few minutes later she started counting on her fingers. "September, October, November, December..." Derek asked why she was counting months. "Oh just figuring when the baby will be born if you got me pregnant last night." she said softly. Derek about choked on his coffee. "Just kidding, boss!" she said laughing. "I'm not ready to get pregnant." then after a pause, "YET"

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A week passed and it was time for Lou to think about going back to work at the office. She started doing a little work from home talking to clients via video conferencing but it was just not the same. Cheryl and Clarice went to the office to finish assembling the bassinets and the changing table in Cheryl's former office to prepare the nursery. Derek, Clarice and Bev had delivered the items the previous weekend. They wanted to be as low key as possible. That morning Cheryl also needed to pick up some paperwork for a client's case Lou had been working. She was sitting at her desk going through the files when Leanne Waddsworth walked in.

"Are you back to work?" she asked Cheryl. Cheryl told her she was there to take care of a few files for Lou and her partner. Plus finish setting up the nursery. "I thought you were attending to Lou and Sarah until they got on their feet." Leanne offered, pushing for information. Cheryl answered she was but she was needed at the office. "Hmmph! So Wanda can't come to work but you can even though you are part of the baby detail. I see." Leanne turned and left.

"She is obviously keeping tabs on the office." Derek offered. "Watching who is coming and going. I think we are under close scrutiny. She is watching to see when we start getting busy on Wanda's case. I'll bet she has other feelers out. Damn! I was hoping we could stay under the radar. And she is rankled and thinks Wanda is avoiding her by staying home." He laughed, "And she's right!"

They constructed an elaborate ruse to try to keep Leanne from getting to Wanda. The group had planned to schedule the hearing late on the Friday before a weekend party. Leanne never missed a party and usually left her office early on Fridays to get ready. Louis Fontenot was apprised of the situation and onboard with their plan. He was going to try to get Wanda's case on the docket at the very last minute possible in case Leanne had a contact in his office. He voiced his opinion that he did not think this would be easy but he would try. Plus he knew Leanne had access to the docket schedule. It was open to anyone with computer access anyway but you had to look to find it. Wanda would be posted as W. Lesser to possibly throw anybody scanning for 'Wanda' off track.

Derek had talked to Rachael Dubois who ran the auction itself or at least coordinated the slaves going on the block. She could not circumvent the auction process but if Wanda had to go onto the block, Rachel could get her there while Leanne was busy across town. Everybody who worked around the local slave trade knew slaves sentenced or arriving at the induction center on Friday waited through the next week before going on the block. Rachael planned to push that up and get Wanda sold the next morning after sentencing. She hoped to rush Wanda onto the block without Leanne knowing. Perhaps even before the mens' sale. The women were usually sold towards the end of the sale. The idea being the crowd would stick around longer. Often many buyers uninterested in buying males would wait until later to even show up. Wanda hoped one way or the other, their subterfuge would work. She was terrified of Leanne.

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Late Tuesday night, almost two weeks later Derek got home only to find Lou up rocking little Lucas or Luke as they decided to call him. "Couldn't sleep or are you feeding?" Derek asked.

"Already fed him and just wanted to sit here for a while. I was waiting for you to come home." Lou said. "We have a little problem. You know we planned Wanda's hearing for this Friday afternoon. Well one of the judges needs to go out of town so they pushed our hearing to the day before. Just after noon on Thursday."

Derek was not happy to hear that. "Damn! I am not going to be ready! I've found even more stuff but I need the extra day and could really use more! Can we postpone a couple weeks until the next party and try again?" Lou shook her head and said it was now or never. Too much had been set in motion to get a continuance at this point. The court decided, not them. "Well, I'll see what I can get tomorrow. I have some good leads. Wait til you hear what I found." He began to explain the results of his investigation.

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Mid-morning Thursday Derek parked his car on the opposite side of Lou's building from where he usually parked. He was wearing a long sleeve shirt and a tie. He decided to carry rather than wear his suit coat as the temperature was approaching 100 degrees and the humidity was close to 95 %. He was already sweltering as he walked into the building accompanied by Wanda. He knew his manner of dress was so radically different from his usual tee shirt and jeans that anybody who knew him would immediately realize something important was going on.

Wanda was as nervous as a kitten in a room full of pit bulls. Derek said as much and told her to relax. "Relax my ass!" Wanda exclaimed. "I FEEL like that cat. Like I am about to get my ass handed to me." They made the trip upstairs to Lou's office without encountering anyone they knew. They had a few hours to review their notes before making their way over to the courthouse. Lou had been coming into the office for a few hours each day this week. She knew her own return would be noticed. Many who saw her asked about the newborn who stayed at home with his half brother today in the care of Clarice and Cheryl. Both could nurse the babies although they had enough milk stockpiled anybody could have handled the chore. The group of lactating women had even been giving excess milk to the hospital milk bank. All the women had been thoroughly screened and their donations were welcome.

Wanda about peed herself when Leanne Waddsworth suddenly entered the office followed by her husband, John. "You guys tried. I'll give you points for a real effort." Leanne announced, grinning. "But I already knew Wanda's case got moved up to this afternoon."

Derek asked Lou if they could cancel the whole thing. Lou shook her head, but Leanne answered out loud. "Fuck no! You'd get hit with a failure to appear fine and they might get so pissed that they might give Wanda four or five years instead of three. Thinking about that, please do call the court and tell them you want to cancel. It just gives me more time owning Wanda's ass. I got a proposition for y'all. Let's talk."

Lou offered that they should all go into her conference room. As she walked through the door she pushed the button that would start her video cameras.

Derek was not amused at Leanne's rancor. "You want her that bad? Why?" he asked hotly.

"I'm not sure. I just have the craving, ya know?" Leanne answered with a grin. "But I am here to offer you a proposition." Derek and Lou just looked at her, waiting.

'Okay. Here is the deal." Leanne said. "I know you plan to buy her off the block. But I am going to outbid you, simple as that. I am gonna own her ass one way or the other. But it might get costly. So I am gonna sweeten the deal for you to just let me have her. You know the reserve is 75K. The buyers from the big places will back off around the 100k mark for short term slaves, even pretty women like Wanda. They just can't make a profit after that. But I can go all the way to a half million or beyond if I need to. I already took out a loan for seven hundred thousand. It is sitting in the bank ready to go. I have a letter from the bank certifying the available funds. That's all I need to purchase a slave. I've been doing my homework."

"Wait a minute!" John Waddsworth said, quickly. "I said you could buy her but I said nothing about a half million. And what do you mean you borrowed seven hundred thousand without talking to me first?" Everybody could see he was not really on board with Leanne's intentions. He was angry.

"Relax, John. I ran the numbers. We could easily pay 500K for Wanda for three years. Actually a little more, closer to 600K. We are paying that much in wages anyway over that time if you consider profit sharing. We can pay that with a net of zero out of pocket. PLUS we still get the profit from what she produces. And that plan even takes into account the 150K I'd be giving Derek if he accepts my offer. I'll make sure she works her ass off like a slave should to cover any gaps. No more leaving work early. She'll work the same hours as us."

"I can pay that much for her. Can you? Well, you can if Sarah bankrolls you. And she will if you ask. But is this slave worth it? That is one hell of a lot of money gone. It would take you more than double her sentence to recoup enough to break even on her purchase price not counting the expense of keeping her." Leanne said. "And that is also without considering the loss of investment income from the money you spent. I estimate you might break even in seven and a half years at the very earliest. More likely eight."

"Now I'd like to save some of that half mill I'd have to pay the state up front. I want to ask you to NOT compete with me. In the long run only the state would win if we got into a bidding war. Let me buy her as cheaply as I can and I'll make it worth your while. I know what you get as net pay from her wages. I'll pay you fifty thousand for each year she is sentenced. Then I buy her cheap. I make the extra profit and you get a fair price for her."

"That sounds fair if she was just any slave." Derek said diplomatically. "But I've grown fond of her. I want to keep her. Plus I think we have a pretty good case. She might not go on the block at all or for a minimal time. You know she is innocent. She never committed a crime. She was set up and we have proof."

"Oh, please!" Leanne scoffed. "Your proof is nothing. Yeah, I know she is innocent but she confessed when she offered that guilty plea and accepted her slavery sentence. They are gonna use that plea bargain as an admission of guilt and you know it. Three more years is what she will get at least. They don't care what she served so far." Leanne grinned.

"Okay, I did not want to do this unless I had to but I will sweeten the pot a little more." Leanne said. "I am so sure I am right I am willing to put my own ass on the line. If you get her off and set free, I will indenture myself to you for five years. Full service indenture." Lou and Derek both gasped. John looked thunderstruck, his expression of anger at his wife's antics now turning to astonishment. "And to make it legal, I'll work for my company and you get my whole pay. You just pay me the minimum required by law, thirty thousand per year. We might be able make it in installments as you get paid. So you have nothing out of pocket. Also no upfront costs for financing my indenture pay."

"Come on Derek." Leanne taunted. "They say you gamble a lot. Blackjack, poker, all that. Not willing to make a serious bet? How about we go all in?"

"Leanne, the first rule of gambling is to know the strength of your hand." Derek said. "You are just throwing your chips on the table." he added, using the same gambling metaphor.

Leanne continued. "Oh, I ran through several scenarios of what I'd be willing to offer. I thought about challenging you to put your ass up against mine but you'd only have to offer a week against my five years and I'd even promise to not touch your little cock and balls. But your ass would be mine for that week." Leanne began to giggle thinking about it. "It was a fun fantasy, but you would never go for that. Not even to save your girl."

"Leanne, stop this nonsense." John said, sternly. Leanne told him to call downstairs to see if Boyce Anderson was still in the office. They all knew Boyce did a lot of work with negotiating offers for indenturing slaves. He was considered the parish expert. He was still in the office explaining the new cases he was having the Waddsworth firm process. He came up to Lou's office right away.

Leanne quickly told him what was going on and what she had offered. Boyce incredulously looked towards John for confirmation. John said he had tried to talk her out of it but she was adamant. Boyce said what she offered would most certainly pass review by any indenture committee.

"Let me ask you this." Leanne said. "Can I offer back to back indenture contracts?" Boyce nodded and said as long as the conditions of the contract did not change.

"Alright, Derek. Mr Gambler. Are you ready to go all in?" Leanne said. "You think you are holding a winning hand. I think you are bluffing and I am calling that bluff. If Wanda goes on the block you don't bid at all. I buy her for whatever I have to pay to get beyond the big city buyers. If she gets off scot free. I will indenture myself to you for five years. You'll get my pay check which I will confess is only two hundred thousand a year. We put the rest back into the business. You just need to pay me the minimum of 30k a year. Plus you have the option to renew my indenture contract another five years. Full service indenture and we all know if I renege you could actually enslave me for that time."

Boyce corrected her. "If you tried to renege in any way, you would not only be fully enslaved you could possibly have your term extended. I'm not exactly sure your age but it could mean for life. And THAT is considering Derek does not seek damages in monetary form and get some of your estate. Your estate will be valued at the time of your enslavement. Are you sure you want to offer full service indenture? That is exactly the same as slavery. They could do anything to you they could to a slave, even sell you. If Derek reneges, he would face indenture despite his age. Either three or five years is standard. You'll have to decide what is agreed on.

"Oh, Derek wouldn't sell me. He'd never get as much as he'd collect in a single year having me work. And I want Derek to face five year's indenture if he defaults. If Derek here is willing to play, then I am to!" Leanne said bravely. Boyce looked at John who threw up his hands saying he tried to talk some sense into his wife but it did no good.

"Come to think of it, Derek just might decide to really fuck with me because I gave him a hard time. I made it clear I think he is a wimpy owner who cannot keep his bitches under control. So I want a clause in the contract that says he cannot sell me except to John. In return and to keep him from making me work someplace else and hurting my firm, I'll give him ten percent of the business.

Now John got upset about her being so flippant with the business and their money. "Oh I am not finished. I also want Derek to put some skin in the game. LITERALLY. A personal challenge. He gets all the above if he gets her freed but if I get Wanda I want Derek to have a permanent reminder I won. I want his pubes lasered off and my FULL name tattooed across his pelvis. Leanne Waddsworth stamped indelibly above his cock, hip to hip in big letters. My design. And I get to watch it done and take a video as a souvenir." Leanne began to laugh loudly at the idea.

"Do you think she is the least bit mentally unstable?" Boyce asked John.

"No, she is stupid as hell but not crazy." John said. "She has set her sights on owning Wanda. She wants to own her so much she is willing to take dumb ass risks. Now that kind of obsession could be called crazy, but she isn't clinical. I can't do a damn thing to convince her! And that crap with having Derek get tattooed is just her being a bitch. She is mad at him for not letting her punish Wanda like she wanted a few weeks ago."

Derek wanted to talk to Lou, Sarah and Wanda on the side. "How solid is our case?" he asked. Lou's answer it was not very solid at all and that it all hinged on his testimony did not bolster his confidence.

"Our chances to get a greatly reduced sentence maybe even down to one year are pretty good. Time served is not an issue. The question there is how far would Leanne really go in a bidding war? What would she pay for a single year? You know we can not pay seven hundred thousand and if we push her with a bidding war to make her pay it, she will take it out on Wanda. Sarah does not have that much free cash and little time to get a big loan approved. And you can't consider letting her tattoo you. Removing it later will be painful. And depending on how it is applied may not be possible."

"Derek, don't be an idiot." Sarah hissed. "I want to save Wanda as much as you."

They returned to the conference room. "We think our case is pretty solid. But Wanda might still get one year as a token sentence for taking up the court's time. So I am not going to risk the deal." Derek said.

"Alright, I'll concede that one year sentence." Leanne replied. "If she gets off completely or just a single additional year, my indenture offer stands. And I'll bump my offer from ten to twenty percent of my firm Two or more years and you don't make a single bid at the auction. You let me buy her. And you wear my name across your crotch. My design. Unless you are too chickenshit to take a little personal risk. But you take it all or nothing. I want you punished almost as much as I want to own Wanda." Derek got so mad he almost told her to go to hell right then.

John was almost as angry as Derek. "Twenty percent? Are you fucking nuts? If you do get enslaved or rather indentured our marriage will be annulled. That twenty percent will come out of YOUR half ." Leanne shrugged and said she was not worried.

Derek realized Leanne had no intention of ever backing down. She would do whatever it took to own Wanda. She would risk going broke in a bidding war or on the other hand she might be actually be savvy enough to play him and suddenly back down before he did when the bid reached an insane level. Then he would be left as the fool and she would gloat to one and all about how she screwed him. Leanne might be a good poker player after all.