The Slave World (16)

(16): Ankle Ring

I woke sometime late in the afternoon with a start, realising I had obviously fallen asleep and the men had left me to it. I rubbed my eyes and gazed at the digital clock on the bedside table. It read 18.45. I had been asleep then for over eight hours. If I had hoped that the ankle ring might have just been a nightmare I was rudely disappointed as I gazed down and saw it still locked upon me. A sheet covered my body, and I guessed that Adam and Mark had found me asleep and had done the decent thing to place the covers over me.

I exited the bedroom and found the apartment empty. A note had been folded and left for me on the coffee table with the word ‘Cat’ written on the side. I picked it up and read the message from Adam.

‘Cat, you looked so peaceful when we came for you. I hope you slept well. We’ve gone out on a couple of errands. Will explain everything when we get back. Please don’t leave the apartment. Help yourself to coffee. Sorry there's not much food in the fridge. Will bring takeaway when we get back. Everything’s going to be okay. Try not to worry. I have your back. – Adam.'

I sat down on the edge of the sofa and folded the piece of good quality notepaper and placed it back on the coffee table. Adam cared about me, I could tell. I felt reassured just knowing that. I lay on the sofa and curled my ankle back towards me, feeling the cold hard metal against my skin again. Somewhere a computer system had a record of my precise location now. I was tagged, catalogued, indexed and monitored. If a master with the phone app was within 100 yards my location would be displayed on his phone. But Mark knew how to cut the ankle ring. He would remove it when he returned.

I felt hungry, not having eaten since yesterday afternoon so I went to the kitchen to make coffee and hunt for something to eat. There were some eggs and bacon so I made myself an omelette with strips of bacon. I took the food and the espresso on a tray to the sliding patio doors to sit outside on the veranda only to discover they were locked shut. Frustrated, I went back to the kitchen and ate the food at the breakfast bar. After eating it occurred to me to try the front door and I found that was locked too. Adam had locked me into his apartment! No doubt he felt it was for my safety, but it angered me. I was not his slave! How dare he simply lock me inside his apartment! I threw myself back down on the sofa and sulked. Where was my clutch bag? Where were my things? I hunted for the bag which contained my phone, my keys, my money, my lipstick and other things but I couldn’t find it. I wanted my things! I wanted my phone!

I stomped about the apartment getting more frustrated now. I headed to Adam’s office where the iMac was and I brought up the log in screen when I moved the mouse. There was the wallpaper I had seen previously; the photo of me in my dress in Blanchette, smiling, one hand on my hip, about to laugh. The screen asked Adam to confirm his password. There was no option to abort that and sign on as a guest. In other words I couldn’t use his computer in lieu of my phone to log on to the internet.

Fucking hell.

I went back into the lounge to switch on the TV. At least I could catch up with the news, but I couldn’t find the remote. I was getting more and more frustrated. In the end I just sat back down on the sofa and curled my feet under my bum. I felt bored and restless. Through the glass of the patio doors I could see the London skyline and I felt like a goldfish trapped in her bowl, gazing out at the world beyond with all its free people.

The men returned just before nine o’clock. They brought plastic bags containing Thai food and Mark had a bag of clothes for me.

“Put these on Caitlin,” he said as he regarded my bare arms and lower legs with alarm again.

The bag contained a long ankle length dress in olive green and a jacket to cover my shoulders and arms. As Adam set the plastic bags down on the kitchen counter I slipped back into the bedroom to change from my short dress into the more modest one. When I emerged after a few minutes the Thai dishes had been laid out, and Mark was looking relieved to see that my limbs were now covered up.

“We’ve got a bit of everything,” said Adam as he displayed the food. “And some wine. I think we could all use some wine.” He produced two bottles that he placed next to three wine glasses. “Did you eat at all?”

“An omelette,” I said, “but I’m in the mood for some Thai now.”

We ate together, and I became aware of the men deliberately making small talk, something Mark was never any good at and Adam never bothered with. After a while I interrupted the casual banter and simply said, “are we going to remove my ankle ring?”

Adam cleared his throat and dabbed at his lips with a napkin.

“Caitlin…” he began. “We need to talk...”

He had called me Caitlin. That didn’t bode well.

“Adam? What’s going on?”

“I can remove the ankle ring,” said Mark by way of reassurance. “It won’t be easy, but I think I can do it. But, we have some things to say to you first. Adam?”

This was a cue for Adam to reach over and take my hands in his. “Cat, I’m going to begin by apologising. We’ve known each other for a few years now and although I’ve never actually lied to you, I have withheld the truth by omission.”

“Adam. Bit scared now…” I said.

“It's time we told you the truth. Everything I’ve told you is true, but what I haven’t told you is that Mark and myself freelance for the security services.”

“You’re spooks?” I looked alarmed.

“Sort of. Not part of the official staff. We work off the books for reasons that will become clear. These people you’ve run into – they’re known to the security services but they’re very influential. They’re protected at very high levels of government and… well, let’s just say they’re protected. They’ve bought policemen, judges, members of parliament, captains of industry… we’re not sure how high their influence goes. They’re hard to touch legally. They even have contacts working for them in the security services.”

“Which is why Adam and I operate independently of any formal direct supervision,” explained Mark. “We’re an independent cell tasked with intel gathering and a few other things.”

“When you came to me with what you’d stumbled across I couldn’t believe my luck,” said Adam, “but I was also very worried for you, Cat, because you had no idea how serious these men are. This goes far beyond what you suspect, Cat. Way beyond.”

“I told Adam not to involve you, Caitlin,” said Mark as he poured me some more wine. “But he didn’t listen. He should not have used you to enter that house.”

“I’m so sorry, Cat. I should have told you what I already knew about these people, but I thought this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to get close to their inner circle. And it was, but the price you paid last night.” He squeezed my hands in his. “Can you forgive me?”

“This is a lot to process, “ I said as I pulled my hands free. “You let me walk in there without telling me what you already knew? That is a fucking shitty thing to do to me, Adam! I thought it was just some freemason BDSM club. If I had known…”

“I was wrong. It was a wrong call. I hate myself for what I didn’t say, Cat.”

“Fuck you, Adam! Fuck you!” I was angry now. What I had been put through! What he had known!

“I would never have withheld information like that from you, Adam! Never! I trusted you, and you let me walk into…” I began to cry. I’m not too proud to say I began to cry there at the breakfast bar. I snuffled, below my nose on some paper napkins and rubbed my eyes dry. “Fuck, Now you’ve made me cry, Adam. You shouldn't have made me cry.”

The men looked uneasy, Adam in particular.

“Cat…” he began.

“No. We don’t really need to say anything more, do we, Adam” I got up from the table. “I want this ankle ring removed. Mark…” I turned to him. “You said you know how to cut it?”

“Yes. Please sit down, Caitlin.”

I sat down on the stool and folded my arms.

“What you have done is not without value, despite my reservations against involving you,” he began. “We are grateful. Our masters are grateful.”

“Well, now you know about the house you can just send armed police to round them all up.”

“It's not quite that... simple,” said Mark. “As it stands they are protected at high levels including the police, army and security services. This isn’t the first time that some well meaning policeman has come across their activities and tried to get something done about it. In every case things are quickly hushed up and the policeman who made the fuss is quietly dealt with. A motor accident perhaps. Before we move against Andromedus and his people, we need to know the names of the influential men and women who have been bought and who protect them behind the scenes. Then we can close them down before we move on Andromedus.“

“You have a lot of work ahead of you then,” I said.

“Yes we do.”

“Can we just do something about the ankle ring now?”

“Caitlin, Adam has an opportunity now to find out the names of the people at the highest levels of the establishment. But to do so Adam has to maintain his cover. And that includes you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Do you know why Adam was given admittance to the House of Three Moons?”

“No. Presumably he made a good impression when he spoke to Andromedus on the phone.”

“He did. But he only got to speak to Andromedus on the phone because they were impressed by you. They have very high standards when it comes to selecting women for enslavement. You seem to meet those standards. They marked you for possible enslavement.”

“I want this ankle ring removed!” I cried, sensing now where this conversation was going.

“I’m sorry, Cat,” said Adam sadly. “We’ve talked about this and we simply can't give up this opportunity.”

“Adam! Cut this fucking ankle ring off!” I was hysterical now, crouching and pulling futilely at the metal. “Just fucking do it!”

“The ankle ring has to stay on your ankle,” said Mark. He sound apologetic. “If I was to cut it free the game would be over. For a start the signal would go dead and they would know we had done it. We know this is going to be difficult for you.”

“Difficult! Do you have any fucking idea what my life will be like if I wear this ankle ring! Men can see me on their phones. They can approach me wherever I might be and I’ll be expected to respond to them as a kajira! Kandi told me there is a name for it – a secret slave!”

“We will try and minimise that,” said Adam. “We will do all we can.”

“You can’t possibly mean this! Cut the fucking ankle ring! NOW!”

“No,” said Mark. “Calm down, Caitlin, and drink some wine. It will make you feel better.”

“I’m going to the police!” I cried. “They will remove the ankle ring!”

“No they won’t,” said Adam. “The police will have a number on file for situations like this and when they call it you will be handed over to a ‘specialist unit’ who will reprimand you for doing what you did, and they will take you back to the House of Three Moons where you will be whipped. You will be told that if you ever try something like that again you will be killed. They will not be bluffing.”

“Oh God…” I slumped back onto the stool with my head in my hands sobbing again. “Adam, Mark, please… please…”

“There is more at stake than your dignity, Caitlin,” said Mark. “Sometimes small sacrifices have to be made. Adam will do all he can to mitigate your anguish.”

“Cat, we both understand this is an incredibly big ask we’re asking of you. We know this isn’t going to be easy for you over the next few months, and…”

“Months!” I was close to screaming now. “Months?” I can’t spend months as a secret slave in London! Are you out of your minds? Months? How many months?”

“We don’t know,” said Mark. “As many months as it takes.”

“What if it’s not months? What if it turns into years?” Tears were running down my cheeks. “How long, Adam? How long, Mark? Have you any fucking idea? How long am I going to be your kajira? You can’t do this to me! I’m a woman! I have rights! This is London!”

“I am so sorry,” said Adam. “This is very hard for me.”

“Hard for YOU? Oh, fuck off, Adam! Do NOT say something like that to me. Hard for YOU? You weren’t dressed in pleasure silk and taught to crawl to men and serve them. You weren't switched until you got up and danced! What’s next? What happens to me now? What are they going to do to me? More training? I can’t go back there. I’m not going back there! I won’t go back there!” I was hyper ventilating now.

“You won't have to Cat!” said Adam. “I would never send you back there! There is no reason you will ever have to go back there ever again. You're a privately owned kajira now as far as they're concerned. Because they think I own you they won't try and abduct you. Do you see? Me owning you protects you. But if the ankle ring was cut off they would know we're not what we seem. I will make sure you never have to go back to the House of Three Moons. And the chances of you ever meeting a Gorean master in the street are very slim. There aren't that many of them and they tend to be very busy. In all likelihood your only inconvenience will be wearing an ankle ring. I mean, I'm not actually going to treat you as a kajira, am I...”

A thought crossed my mind. “Can you show me some security service ID?”

Adam laughed softly. “Oh come on, Cat, deep cover spooks don't carry ID stating that they're working for a remote cell of MI5.”

“Is that who you work for? MI5?”

“I can't go into details,” said Adam. “We've already told you more than we should have.”

“Adam, I'm begging you. I'll go down on my hands and knees and beg you. Don't do this. Please don't do this.”

“I'm sorry, Cat, but the stakes we're playing for are simply too high. We can't back out now.”