The Warren Files 02: Dan and Kate

"You people are out of your fucking minds!" he exclaimed, his face turning red. April pressed a button under her desk and two large men in suits appeared at her side.

"Is there a problem?" one of them asked. April nodded her head.

"He refuses to go along with the program," she said. "He needs extra motivation."

"Is that so," the goon asked, walking around the desk to Ryan. He was a little smaller than Ryan, but not by much. I could also see the bulge that indicated he was carrying a pistol under his jacket, perhaps in a shoulder harness. He grabbed Ryan, and instantly regretted it. In seconds, Ryan had the goon on the floor, his nose gushing blood.

The second goon moved toward Ryan, but the larger man put him down with a kick to the groin. I couldn't help but admire Ryan for standing up to these people. Ryan looked back at April as he prepared to leave.

"You tell my soon-to-be ex-wife I do NOT consent to this bullshit," he said before slamming the door. The video faded to black. I looked at John.

"Is there more?" I asked. He nodded his head and handed me a USB thumb drive.

"It's all right here," he said. "Videos, documents, you name it." Terrific, I thought. More crap to go through, but I knew it had to be done.

"I take it you're going with me to California tomorrow?" I asked.

"I am," he said. "I'd love to take a crack at one of those things."

"Not without someone from the bomb squad," I told him. "See you at the airport first thing in the morning."

"See ya then, boss," he said as I headed out. I got to my truck and pulled out the contact card Bill gave me. It only took a single call to Ryan's employer to get his location. I put it in my Garvin and got the fastest route. Hopefully, I would make it to his job site in Springfield before lunch.

Fortunately, traffic was lighter than I thought it would be and I pulled up to his job site in good time. I went to the site office, which in reality was a small converted trailer. The foreman looked up as I entered.

"Federal officer," I said, showing my badge. "I'd like to speak with Ryan Gleeson, please."

"Is he in some kind of trouble?" the foreman asked. I shook my head.

"No," I said. "I need some information from him about his divorce."

"I didn't know feds got involved in divorce cases," he said.

"This is a special situation," I said. "Is he here or not?" He nodded his head.

"Yeah, he's here," the foreman said. "Let me call him." He picked up a microphone and spoke into it. After getting a response, he looked back at me. "He's on his way," he said. I nodded my head.

"Thank you," I said. A few minutes later, the door opened and a giant of a man entered. I knew this was Ryan. He looked at the foreman.

"What's up, Jack?" he asked. The foreman pointed to me. Ryan turned to look at me. I flashed my credentials.

"Federal officer Oscar Warren," I said. "Is there someplace we can speak in private?" The foreman pointed to a small room at the other end of the trailer.

"Conference room down there," he said. I nodded my head and motioned for Ryan to lead the way. Once inside the small room, I closed the door and pulled out my digital recorder.

"Mind if I record this?" I asked. Ryan shook his head.

"No," he said. "Am I in some kind of trouble or something?"

"No, Ryan," I said. "I just need to talk to you about your divorce. I know you spoke with someone from MMAS. Does that ring a bell?"

"Yes, it does," he said. "Look, I felt like I had to defend myself in there. I hope those two guys weren't hurt too bad." I shook my head.

"I'm not concerned with that," I said. I knew from his record that he had served in the military and had a reputation as a brawler. I wasn't concerned about that, either. "What led to that meeting and what happened afterward?" He calmed down considerably.

"My wife went to some crazy-assed spa weekend with three other women," he said. "After she got back, we started getting these bills from MMAS for $1,600.00. I finally called and that's when the meeting was set up. I never heard of them before and I wondered why my wife would agree to spending that much money."

"What happened then?" I prompted.

"Well," he said, "this lady started talking about my wife taking control of the marriage and taking control of me and forcing me to watch her have sex with other men. She kept trying to get me to drink water but I refused."

"Why?" I asked.

"I could see the top had already been taken off," he said. "That raised a red flag for me. Then she kept after me to drink it, and I knew something wasn't right. Then she showed me this video and that's when I pretty much lost it."

"What was on the video?" I asked. He looked down, sheepish. "It's okay," I told him. "No one else will know." He nodded his head.

"It showed a guy wearing nothing but a contraption on his dick," he said. "I've heard of those things, but I never imagined my own wife would want to do that to me. Then that lady explained to me that my wife would be using that to dominate me and expected me to sign my life over to her. When she put one of those things on the desk I went nuts.

"Then those two goons came over and were going to force it on me, and that's when I knew I needed to defend myself," he said.

"You did good, Ryan," I said. "What happened when you got home? Did you confront your wife?"

"Damn straight I did," he said. "She gave me a bunch of bullshit about marriage being different in the 21st century and I needed to get with the times. That's when she told me she wanted to fuck other men and make me watch. She told me a bunch of other shit as well."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Like, it wouldn't really be cheating since I gave my approval, and I'd regret it if I tried to divorce her," he said. "She pulled out this remote control and said she had control over me and I had no choice but to obey her."

"Did she threaten you?" I asked. He nodded his head.

"Yeah," he said. "She told me if I ever disobeyed her, she'd cut my dick off and there would be no way I could stop her."

"What happened then?" I asked.

"I showed her that I didn't have that damn thing on and kicked her ass out of the house," he said. "I told her to find some other stupid sucker to do that shit to. Look, officer, I've read some of those stories on the Internet about women doing shit like that to their husbands, and there's no way I was gonna put up with that."

"Did you ever cheat on your wife?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Hell no," he said. "I'm a one-woman man and I loved her with all my heart. I still can't believe she'd do that to me."

"So you divorced her?" I asked.

"Goddamn right," he said. "Divorced her for cruelty. Tried to go after that MMAS as well, but the lawyer said something happened to the paperwork at the courthouse and it got thrown out." I saw that in the divorce package that was part of what John had given me. Frankly, I wasn't surprised.

"Have you ever heard from your ex-wife or MMAS since then?" I asked.

"No," he said. "Just out of curiosity, though, I went back to that office, and it was vacant - like they were never there." Standard operating procedure for MMAS. I wasn't surprised. I stopped the recording.

"How are you coping, personally?" I asked. He looked around, nervous.

"Frankly, I'm scared," he said. "And I haven't been able to bring myself to trust another woman since." I understood how he felt and I'd heard that same answer before from other men. I pulled out a piece of paper and did a quick search on my tablet. I wrote down the name and number of a Task Force-approved counselor and handed it to him.

"I know how you feel, Mr. Gleeson," I said. "Call this number and make an appointment. Mention my name when you do. I think you'll be able to get the help you need." He took the paper from me and nodded his head.

"Thanks, officer," he said. "I will." We shook hands and parted ways. I thanked the foreman on my way out of the trailer and headed for the diner where Ryan's ex-wife worked. It was a small place on the outskirts of town with a sign that simply read, "Eat." I doubted it would ever make its way onto any culinary "must visit" lists.

I had seriously considered arresting Gleeson's ex-wife and charging her with conspiracy and terroristic threats. Local authorities, however, had already promised her immunity from prosecution in exchange for information they thought might lead to the arrest of the MMAS operative Ryan spoke to. I decided to hold that thought for the moment and perhaps use the threat of arrest as a negotiating tool.

I went inside and grabbed a seat at the counter. One waitress was watching over the place and came by with a pot of coffee and a cup. Her name tag read, "Donna."

"Coffee?" she asked. I nodded my head. I waited until she finished pouring before I addressed her.

"Are you Donna Gleeson?" I asked. She laughed, but it came out as a derisive snort.

"Not Gleeson any more," she said. "Last name's Wilson. Has been since the divorce. Why?" I pulled out my credentials and identified myself. Her face turned white.

"What do you want with me?" she asked, nervous.

"I want to talk about what led to your divorce," I said.

"Why?" she asked. "I got stupid, is that a good enough reason?"

"I'm curious to know why you wanted to enslave your husband," I said. She looked down at the floor, ashamed.

"Like I told you before," she said sheepishly, "I got stupid. I read a bunch of bullshit on the web and fell for it. When the lady at the retreat spoke to us, she made it sound like it was something all men secretly wanted."

"Is it what you wanted?" I asked.

"I wanted to put a spark back into our marriage, that's all," she said.

"Did that include threatening to cut his penis off if he disobeyed you?" I asked. Her face turned red.

"The lady at the retreat told us we needed to be firm with our husbands if we wanted to get and maintain control of our marriages," she said. "Yeah, I told him that, but I never would've done it."

"When did you get the idea of putting an explosive device on your husband?" I asked. Her eyes grew wide.

"You know about that?" she asked.

"Yes," I said. "Did you know that two other women who went to that retreat with you were killed when their husbands' devices blew up?" Her face got even whiter.

"Oh my God, no," she said. "I had no idea."

"Were you warned of the possible consequences?" I asked. She shook her head.

"No, I wasn't," she said. "The lady at the retreat said it was perfectly safe and had been thoroughly tested."

"It seems she lied to you," I said.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said in response. Call me a softy, but I just didn't have the heart to arrest this woman. It was clear to me the divorce from her husband and the fallout from it hit her hard. "Is there anything else?" she asked softly. I shook my head.

"Not at the moment," I said. "By all rights, I should arrest you for terroristic threats and conspiracy. I still might." Her eyes started watering.

"Please," she begged softly. "I know I screwed up. This was the only job I could get after everything came out and no one else will hardly even talk to me. I'm trying to put my life back together." I nodded my head.

"I'll keep that in mind," I said. "But I am going to keep an eye on you."

"I understand," she said. I put a few dollars on the counter and headed out. As I drove back to Fort Apache, I considered what Ryan and Donna had told me. Even though I didn't get anything that could be considered hard evidence, I did get a glimpse into the mindset I was working against. That would help me face what was going on in California.

The next day, John and I flew out to the west coast. I spent the time reviewing the videos and documents John pulled off of Pat's system while John pored over schematics of the device. I was especially curious to see how Dan handled his interview with April.

Unlike Ryan, Dan accepted the offer of water and gulped it down pretty quickly. I noticed that he appeared to change after drinking the liquid and wondered if the water had been drugged. Unlike Ryan, Dan seemed quiet, almost subservient, and quickly signed the paperwork she put in front of him.

When the time came, he quietly obeyed April's order to drop his trousers. Afterward, a woman I later learned was his wife, Kate, helped April put the device on him, making a production of locking the device.

After they secured it to his waist, April instructed him to bend over the desk, which he did. She applied what looked like lube to a gloved hand and worked it into his rectum. He didn't like that too much, but didn't complain. Once finished, April showed Kate how to insert the plug. Then she pressed some buttons on the small box located on the back of the belt.

"There," April said, handing the remote control to Kate. "You're set to go. Now, press that button, then hit 'Execute'." Kate did as she was told and Dan began shaking uncontrollably, his eyes growing wide. His hands went to his groin and he appeared to be in pain. April slapped his hands down as she spoke to him.

"The pain will go away when you assume the position," she told him angrily. He looked at Kate, shocked.

"I don't understand," he cried. "This hurts so bad. Why are you doing this to me?"

"SHUT UP!! ASSUME THE POSITION, BITCH!" April ordered. He slowly fell to his hands and knees, and as he did so, the shaking stopped. "That's better," April said. She looked at Kate. "See how easy that was? All you have to do is make the rules and remind him of the consequences." April turned her attention to Dan. "And remember, bitch, if you try to remove this device without your mistress's consent, or you try to take any action against either her or MMAS, you will pay the ultimate price."

"What do you mean?" he asked weakly. April moved the mouse on her computer.

"This," she said, clicking the mouse. Dan's eyes grew wide as he watched what was on the screen. From the angle of the camera taking the video, I couldn't see what was playing, but I had a pretty good idea. Dan shook his head vigorously.

"No," he said, pleading with his wife. "Please tell me this is a joke. You can't be serious about this. That's murder." Kate laughed wickedly.

"It's no joke. Don't worry, little man," she said. "As long as you toe the line and keep bringing home the bacon, you'll live. Just don't piss me off. Now get up." Apparently, Dan didn't move fast enough to suit Kate, so she pushed a button on the remote, causing Dan to double over in pain.

"Please stop!" he cried. Kate laughed even louder.

"I can get used to this," she said. She pressed a button and Dan settled down. "Get up, bitch," she ordered. Dan stood up, looking at Kate with hatred in his eyes. Kate saw his expression and hit another button, making Dan scream. She pushed another button and he stopped screaming. Kate looked at him hard. "Don't ever talk back to me or look at me like that again, bitch," she growled. "Remember, I OWN your ass. Completely." April smiled and clapped her hands.

"That's the way," April said. "Don't worry, you'll have him trained in no time." She opened a drawer and handed Kate a vial. "Make sure you give him one drop of this every day. Only one drop, no more. You can put it in his coffee, his water, or anything else. It's odorless, colorless and tasteless, so he'll never be able to detect it." Kate reached for the vial, but April pulled her hand back at the last second. "Remember, ONE DROP ONLY," she said. "Anything more can be fatal, and we don't want that for obvious reasons. MMAS will not cover you if you get arrested."

Kate nodded her head and took the vial. Dan looked at it in shock.

"What is it?" he asked April. Kate started to press a button on the remote, but Kate stopped her.

"That's alright," she told Kate. "He deserves to know." April turned her attention to Dan. "This is a little something to help you adjust to your new role as Mistress Kate's slave. You may notice a decrease in muscle mass and you'll get fewer erections. That will help you deal with the chastity device better. Within a year or so, you'll be completely emasculated, unable to even get an erection." Kate smiled when April said that.

"Maybe when that happens, I'll have your little pee-pee and balls removed," Kate said.

"We can arrange to have that done if you wish," April said. "We can even transition him into a woman." Dan looked at the two women in shock.

"No," he said. "Please don't do that. I promise I won't give you any trouble. Just don't do that."

"We'll see," Kate said. Kate held up the remote as she looked at April. "Will this work while he's at the office?" April nodded her head.

"Yes," she said. "It stays connected to the Internet at all times, but I have to warn you, if it loses Internet connection for more than an hour while the belt is turned on, the software assumes the worse. So make sure it's either connected to the Internet or turned completely off, which you can do if you wish."

"Why would I want to turn it off?" Kate asked.

"You may want to turn it off and remove it while he's sleeping, just to be on the safe side," April said. "And you'll need to turn it off and remove it while he's in the bathroom or taking a shower." Kate nodded her head in understanding.

"That makes sense," she said before turning back to Dan. "Alright, bitch, let's go." They left the office and the video ended. A germ of a plan began to develop in my mind. I turned to John.

"Learn anything?" I asked. He nodded his head.

"Yeah," he said. "Whoever designed this knew what he - or she - was doing. I can tell you this. It can't be disarmed as long as it's turned on and connected to the Internet."

"So we need to disconnect it from the Internet and then figure out how to turn it off?" I asked. He nodded his head.

"Yeah, but we have to be extremely careful," John said. "If it's not done in the right order, the device resets."

"You mean, detonates," I said. John nodded his head.

"Something like that," he said. "Fortunately, this uses a standard 4G connection, and I have just the thing to block that. But we only have an hour."

"So we need to get it off the 'net first," I said. "Can you turn it off then?"

"I believe so," he said. "I'll definitely need to get the battery out once it's off. I think I know where the power switches are, and I'm pretty sure I know the right sequence."

"I hope you're more than just 'pretty' sure," I said.

"I've set up a simulation on my computer," he said. "Don't worry, boss, I've got it under control."

"I hope the hell so," I said. I left John to his work and continued poring over the documents I had, hoping to get more information. Soon, the plane landed at LAX and John and I disembarked. After we picked up our luggage, we headed for the door and was met by an attractive blonde holding a sign that read, "Warren." We headed in her direction and she smiled as we approached.

"Officer Warren?" she asked. I nodded and introduced her to John. "Officer June Carlilse," she added, shaking our hands. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Please, come with me." We walked to the SUV and loaded our gear. We engaged in small talk as June drove us to the Los Angeles office, which was located in the Edward R. Roybal federal building downtown.

She escorted us to the task force offices, where two other agents were waiting for us. One of the agents identified himself as Officer Gillespie. He handed me a folded piece of paper.

"Bill just sent us the arrest warrant for Mrs. Shipman," he said. I thanked him and inquired about a conference room. "Right this way," he said, escorting us to a nicely-appointed room with a large monitor.

I instructed John to print out the schematics for the chastity device and laid out the case as he hooked up his computer to the network and printed off the diagrams. Once finished, I hooked my computer up and synced it to the large monitor.