Willing Slave, Unwilling Master Ch. 12

"Inhale a lot of fumes do you?" Master asks in mock innocence that seems to go over the doctors head. Though, it does draw a nasty look from Mr. X.

"Why yes as it happens, why do you ask?" Marvin replies, his goggles returning to normal.

"No reason, Marvin," Mr. X cuts in quickly, "no reason at all. Now, how are you getting along with those dematerialising implants? I take it by the allocation of funds that have been made available to you that things are progressing nicely?"

"Oh yes!" Marvin exclaims, clapping his pudgy hands together loudly. "We are ready to begin testing on real people, mostly."

"Mostly?" Master asks, looking between me and the other men in the room.

"Don't worry Mister Fallow," Mr. X says, gently grabbing Lucy's arm as she reaches out to touch something on the table closest to her. Her cheeks turn bright red as she glues her eyes to the floor. I watch her master closely, but he doesn't do anything to punish her. Perhaps he will do it later? Then again, he is a little like my own Master. It's odd to think there are not one, but two humans who are willing to indulge their slave's curiosity.

"Don't worry?" Master replies testily, his cheeks reddening. Though, I imagine for a different reason than Lucy's.

"Marvin is the world's leading expert on bio-mechanical implants. Unfortunately that doesn't leave much mental room for anything else," Mr. X says, watching Marvin probe his ear with his little finger.

"Well, nothing happens to Rose without her go ahead," Master insists.

"Of course," Lucy's suited owner turns to me. "Rose, we would like to attach a very small communication device to your jaw bone so you can talk to us while you are at the compound."

"I could talk to my Master while I'm at the compound?"

"That is our hope," Mr. X replies, looking to my owner clearly expecting a retort.

"Won't any kind of implant be picked as soon as they use a medical scanner on her?" Master says, looking at Marvin. Who is absent-mindedly fiddling with a tangle of sparking wires.

There's a long moment of silence, Master and Mr. X look at each other awkwardly, while Lucy gives me a tiny smile. Her hands held resolutely behind her back in case she's tempted to touch something again. Maybe that's something I should do. At last, with a mingled look of surprise and confusion Marvin seems to register that the conversation has ceased.

I would never be so disobedient to say so—though, perhaps I would? Now that Master has opened up a whole new world of thoughts and feelings for me—but doctor Marvin seems very strange, even for a human.

"Sorry did I miss something?" Marvin asks looking at Mr. X, his telescopic lenses extending once again.

"Mister Fallow was wondering if your technology would be detected by medical scanners Marvin," Mr. X says, in the same slow careful tone Master uses with me when I'm finding it hard to make a choice.

"Oh no!" the doctor beams excitedly. "That's why I named them dematerialising implants, you see, they dematerialise!"

My owner frowns. "And how does it work?"

"Are you familiar with Otto's theory on relative positioning of nano-robotics in a uniformly regulated quantum field?" Marvin asks. I look over at Lucy not sure if the doctor is speaking one the dead human languages Master told me about, or if I missed something vital during one of my training sessions at the compound. I don't want to look stupid in front of my owner! Thankfully Lucy looks completely lost, as does my Master.

"In layman's terms if you would be so kind Marvin," Mr. X says smoothly. Sliding onto a stall and pulling Lucy to him, so that her back is against his chest with his legs either side of her.

There's a large blue flash and a yelp as Marvin throws his sparking bundle of wires back onto the work surface. Where they continue to fizz and pop disconcertingly. Wiping the shoot from his fingers on his lab coat, the doctor turns his attention back to us. "Simple, simple," he mutters to himself. "Ah yes, simply put I have created implants which are constructed from many, many individual nano-bots that operate in much the same way that biological cells do."

"I have programmed these bots in such a way that while unmolested they form into a communication chip, unrecognisable from a standard issue unit. But when the nano-bots are exposed to the radiating energy of a scanner they immediately scatter and disguise themselves amongst the biological cells, rendering the implant virtually undetectable."

An image of a horde of ants, like those in Emily's shows, crawling under my skin fills my mind. I move closer to my owner trying to shake off the errant thought.

"And this stuff actually works?" Master asks, crossing his arms over my chest and holding me close. The same way Mr. X is hugging Lucy.

"Oh yes!" Marvin exclaims. "Like I said before, we are ready to start testing them on real people."

"And there's no time like the present now is there, doctor?" Mr. X says encouragingly.

Marvin nods rapidly. "Quite so, quite so! We've had wonderful success with the mice!" He pauses, a huge smile on his face. "If only people were as robust... and fluffy," he says, his face dropping a little.

I feel Master's lips brush the top of my head as Mr X begins to speak, "The procedure is virtually painless. Just a simple injection under Rose's right ear."

I struggle to keep the frown from my face. I don't like injections. Above me Master lets out an audible sigh taking my shoulders and turning me around so that we are facing one another.

"It's up to you, sweetie," Master says, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I don't like making decisions," I whisper, feeling a familiar icy feeling flooding my stomach as I look up at my owner imploringly.

"Rose, I can help you choose what clothes to wear, or what to eat," Master says. "But I can't tell you what to do here. This is like going to the compound, It has to be your decision."

I look down at my feet. I knew that eventually I would be asked to make another big choice. I just didn't know it would be so soon! This will be my second major choice in mere days! It's too much! Much, much too much, and Master knows it! I feel my heart start to pound in my chest.

"Rose," Master says sharply, bringing my full attention back to him, "just breathe okay?" I suddenly become acutely aware of how my pounding heart is affecting the rest of my panic stricken body.

"Yes, Master," I reply, doing my best to myself to calm down.

"Both Lucy and I have communication implants," Mr. X says soothingly. "Though admittedly, ours are not nearly as advanced as the one we're offering you."

I turn to look at Lucy, who smiles gesturing to her cheek. I take a few deep breaths as I consider my options. Saying no means no injection, which is good, but it also means not being able to speak to Master, which definitely isn't. Saying yes is clearly the right choice, so why is it so hard?

"Master," I whisper, turning back to him.

He lowers his head to whisper back, "Yes sweetie?"

"One big choice, then no more tonight?" I ask, trying to keep the pleading from my voice. It's unbecoming for a good girl.

"I promise," he replies, kissing my cheek.

I nod. Master will keep me safe, at least for tonight. I move to face Mr. X dreading making a choice, even if it's an obvious one. "I want the implant," I say, feeling bile rise in the back of my throat.

"Of course you do!" Marvin says brightly, clapping his hands together. "Why wouldn't you?"

Without waiting for an answer, he turns and wanders deeper into his lab looking over his shoulder in apparent surprise that no one is following him. Mr. X and my owner share a look before both moving. Gently pushing me and Lucy in front of them.

With his white coat swishing the round doctor approaches one of the metal doors. I notice his little finger flashes with a green light, like my Master's does when he places his hand on an access panel. There's a whirring sound and the heavy door gently swings open.

I'm the first across the threshold after the doctor and the shock of what's inside the room stops me dead. Causing Master to bump into the back of me.

"Sorry Rose," he says, before catching sight of the room himself. "Stars."

Cages cover every wall in the room, each divided individually with a single white mouse inside. There must be hundreds of the small animals. Most of them look normal, at least what I recognise as normal from my lessons at the compound, but others have odd patches of shaved fur or else visible electrical components protruding from their skin. Though they don't seem particularly bothered by the attachments as they run around their cages.

Master slowly pushes me into the room, as those behind him shuffle forward. I keep a safe distance from the cages, watching as the doctor starts to cover a large leather chair in the same kind of crinkly paper that they used to use in the compound lab.

"Is this really the most appropriate room for a medical procedure Marvin?" Mr. X asks, preemptively taking Lacy's hand as her eyes wander over the cages.

"It's an injection. Not brain surgery," Marvin shrugs, patting the now paper covered seat a wide smile on his pudgy face as he looks at me.

With a gentle nudge from my owner I climb into the plush leather, wincing at the sound of crinkling paper. Settling back into the seat, I smile as Master kneels down beside me, taking my hand in his.

I can hear the clink and clatter of metal and glass as Marvin prepares whatever it is he's preparing. But I keep my eyes fixed on my Master, who looks worried, but is trying his best to hide it.

"I've never seen real mice before, Master," I say softly, squeezing his hand.

"No?" he says, kissing my fingers. "Well, I'll tell you what, when all this is over we'll go to the zoo. We can take Emily as well."

"And Zack and Jezebel?" I say, training images of zoo's flashing in my minds eye.

"If we ask nicely I'm sure," Master says, his eyes flicking up to something just above my head.

"Just a little pinch and a little chill, and it will all be over," Marvin says, placing his fingers on the side of my face and gently pushing so that my head lays to one side.

"Are you ready?" he asks.

I look up at Mr. X and Lucy, who stand by the door looking out of place, before my attention turns back to my owner who nods slowly.

"I'm ready," I hear myself say, briefly aware that this is the first time I've ever been asked before being given an injection. I feel the pinch of the needle as it pierces my cheek, and I try my best to hide my wince.

At first there's nothing, and then all at once it feels like there is burning ice pooled under my skin. I yelp, trying to rub away the horrible sensation but with no real effect.

"Rose!" Master shouts. "What's wrong?"

"It's cold M... Master!" I just about manage to stammer, while desperately rubbing the side of my face.

"I did tell you," Marvin says cheerfully from somewhere behind me. "Just give the nano-bots time to adjust themselves to your body chemistry.'

"Don't you have any painkillers, or something?" Master asks, stroking the back of my hand in a pleasantly distracting way.

"I'm sure she's quite used to discomfort, Mister Fallow," Mr. X says.

Thankfully the pain begins to subside. Turning from an angry, burning lake into a scattering of prickles, as if someone were throwing sparks against my skin.

"It's getting better, Master," I say softly, guiltily moving my hand away from my cheek despite the prickles, as I see the worried look on his face.

"I guess all those cold showers were good for something after all, huh?"

I can't help but smile. A few weeks ago, I would have been paranoid about a joke like that. Wondering for hours on end if I had done something to anger my owner, if I was interpreting his words correctly. But now, I think I understand something I didn't before. An obedient girl serves her Master, a good girl understands him.

I'm distracted by the chick of glass and the tapping of a syringe as Marvin prepares another shot.

"I thought you said there was only one shot?" Master says, gripping my hand as I look between him and the round doctor.

"For the communication chip yes," Marvin nods. "This is something else I've been working on, incase she happens to get into difficulty during her mission. All our field agents have knuckle taser implants, and this one," he says proudly, holding up the syringe, "is completely untraceable. I've had a few shocks from the mice I can tell you."

"Not what we discussed Marvin," Mr. X says with a sigh, "but a good idea nonetheless."

Nodding Marvin reachers for my hand which years of training make me offer without needing to think about it. A slave is obedient to all humans, not just her Master. I gasp with surprise as my owner grabs my wrist pulling my fingers away from the glinting needle.

"No weapons," he says sternly, looking over at Mr. X who looks a little taken-aback.

"Come now, Mister Fallow, it's the same technology as the communication chip, and a lot farther away from her brain. She will be perfectly safe."

"I don't care how safe it is. She's not taking a weapon with her into that place," my owner says defiantly.

"And here was me thinking you wanted to give your slave every chance of success," Mr. X replies with a raised eyebrow, gently stroking Lucy's platinum hair.

I shake my head before I even realise I'm doing it. I don't want a weapon, and I don't want to hurt anyone. I may be a disobedient girl, but I'm not that disobedient a girl.

"I do," Master says coldly, "what do you think is going to happen to her if she attacks one of the wardens? In fact you don't even need to think about it." He turns to me. "Rose, what is the penalty for striking a human?"

"Death, Master," I reply at once. Shaking my head as the awfully familiar memories of a begging girl silenced by a gunshot start to fill my head. As they always do when I think about breaking one of the Overriding Edicts.

"And if she fails to alert the inspection team in time?" Mr. X asks grumpily.

"Then she will have to wait for the next time the place is inspected, I'm sure your people can hurry that process along."

I feel my mouth go dry as Master speaks. It's going to be awful spending a few days away from him! What if I'm trapped in the compound for months? What if he forgets about me, or finds another slave! One that doesn't cause him all the problems I do?

"Possibly," Mr. X coincides.

"Alive Rose has a chance," my owner says, stroking my hair. "We can't do anything for the dead."

"I've prepared the shot now," Marvin says unhappily, "the Nano-bots have been energised. It'a a one way process!"

"Well, maybe you should have asked before assuming things?" Master says, eyeing the doctor critically.

"The deputy director asked for implants, these are the implants I've been working on," Marvin whines.

"It's fine Marvin," Mr. X says with a smirk. "Give the shot to Mister Fallow. Worse comes to worse, he can taser himself and save my enforcers the effort."

-- -- --

Dan

"What?" I say in bewilderment. When did this suddenly involve me?

"Hop up Rose," X says. "Your boyfriend is due a turn in the chair." I can't help but notice the delight on X's face as he speaks.

"Wait, wait, wait," I say, causing Rose to pause halfway out of the chair. "You're just going to give me top secret spy gear?" I ask with skepticism, helping Rose to her feet.

"Well, I'm already well endowed, and Lucy has no need for a weapon. If it's any consolation don't think of this as being given a gift. Rather, think of yourself as a volunteer in a drug trial," X shrugs, gently guiding Rose over to Lucy who, with a smile at her Master, wraps her arms around my slave girl. Clearly something she's wanted to do for awhile.

"Anyway," X adds as I reluctantly take a seat, "it might just come in handy."

"Stars I hate the government," I groan, holding out my right hand. I've not even had a second to think about this. No time at all to think over the implications of having part of my anatomy turned into a weapon. Only the silent agreement with Mr. X that, given the fact I've been kidnapped twice in one week, a taser might come in handy.

"Sticks and stones, Mister Fallow, sticks and stones."

I don't think our ancestors quite anticipated personnel repulsion fields when they came up with that saying; otherwise it would probably be 'Sticks and stones bounce back home, so words are the only thing that can hurt me.' I'm distracted from my overthinking by Marvin who grabs my hand with a surprising amount of care.

"The charge is generated by your body heat, and stored just below the skin," he says, inspecting my knuckles closely. "It will knock most people out with the first punch, but it takes time to recharge so subsequent hits will simply hurt your attacker."

"I'll keep that in mind," I hiss, as the doctor quickly grabs a needle and injects a clear liquid into my skin almost as if he's afraid i'm going to change my mind.

Withdrawing the needle Marvin pulls out a very old fashioned looking gold stopwatch. Oh great, even the guy working on the cutting edge of technology has a retro fetish. His beady eyes flicker between me and his classical timepiece.

"Fuck me it's freezing!" I yell, as I suddenly notice just how cold my hand has become. It's like I've drenched it in a frozen lake, and now it's being chewed on by some horrific fish, probably made of ice.

I notice with a pang Rose trying to get to me. Only to be held back by Lucy who whispers urgently in her ear. I shake my hand, and try not to look too pained for her sake. "What's with the stupid Watch?" I growl.

"Oh, nothing," Marvin says cheerfully. "Most people would have had the heart attack by now, so you should be fine."

"What?" I gasp. "You never checked Rose for a heart attack!"

"She's Lower Vil," Marvin replies with a shrug, smiling at my slave girl.

"And when does the pain wear off?" I could have sworn it didn't last this long with Rose.

"Oh a good few hours I would think," the doctor says, as Lucy nuzzles Roses neck, the anguish on my slave's face heartbreakingly evident.

"I'm fine Rose," I say through gritted teeth. "Gah, you fuckers never thought to mention all the extra pain?" I ask, looking between Marvin and X, and trying to decide who gets punched first.

"It didn't seem relevant," X says trying not to look too pleased with himself, but failing. "I would rent some movies on the view screen if I were you, Mister Fallow. It's going to be a long night."

-- - -

Mr. X

My mother was a hoarder. During the war she had nothing, so when she met my father who gave her everything, she had no way of assigning value. She went to her grave with a house full of useless junk.

It's a trait which she has unfortunately passed on to me, but where for her it was a weakness I've found a way to turn into my strength. You see, the problem isn't with never throwing anything away. The problem is never knowing when to use what you have.

Of course, I think as swipe my hand over the elevator's control panel and select to a previously hidden sub basement. It helps when you have plenty of room for storage.

I can't help but take a deep breath of the damp air, rich with the scent of mildew as it rushes through the open doors of the elevator. If the people down here had any idea how hard we had to work to achieve the effect, well... I doubt they would appreciate it as much as I do.

With a nod to the lone guard, I head down the corridor eyeing the black doors on either side of me until I reach my destination.

The lightweight—but designed to look like heavy iron—door slides open with a faint hiss. Revealing a pale bedraggled man inside the cell. He's sprawled on the thin mattress, hardly more comfortable than the floor, which is another carefully thought out piece of design. Honestly, these people have no appreciation for the effort we make in their behalf. His eyes meet mine, broken and lost, before falling quickly back to the cold steel floor.