Steel World Inc. Chapter Twenty Eight (Final Chapter)

 

“I suppose I should ask why everyone is naked?” said Karl Magnus as he regarded Emily and myself, as we hovered in the ruined doorway of the farm house. Frick stood further out along the gravel path, and from what I could see, Emily had seriously mutilated him. Whether Frick would be capable of an erection again was a moot point, though I believe medical surgery can do wonders. 

 

I thought then that this was all over, that Frick had lost.

 

I underestimated Frick’s cunning.

 

“You’re a sight for sore eyes, Karl,” said Frick as he limped a step or two forward. “I tracked Simon Rogers down. You may or may not know he stole two of your slaves.”

 

What?!

 

“Mr Magnus, Sir!” I quickly protested.

 

“Shut up!” swore Frick, with as much of his steady voice as he could muster. He turned back to Magnus. “Apparently, as far as my sources tell me, he’s been having an affair with Miss Madison for quite some time. When she was enslaved and he thought he’d lost her, the boy stole her and one of the girls destined for my ranch. Walked them straight out the front door, bold as brass. Even acquired a gun and one of your cars.”

 

What the fuck?

 

“Mr Magnus – he was going to steal Emily!”

 

“Quiet,” said Magnus. He gave me a stern look of warning.

Steel World Inc. Chapter Twenty Seven

 

“I’m so sorry, Mr Frick. I was just scared, so scared of Karl Magnus, and I wasn’t thinking straight. I would never normally do anything to disrespect you, but it was a moment of madness, that I really regret.”

 

“I’m sure you do, boy. I’m sure you do.”

 

Frick stared at me as I sat in a heavy wooden chair in the basement of the farm house that was bolted to the floor so that it couldn’t move. I had hoped that the sound of gunfire and a grenade going off would have roused the local police in the countryside to investigate, but an hour had gone by and there was no sign of anyone in blue. My ankles and wrists were secured to the legs and arms of this chair by thick leather straps threaded through buckles. I was naked and shivering. I was also having trouble controlling my breathing from the waves of panic that swept over me. 

 

I had seen this situation before in many films. I knew what this situation meant.

 

“I’m begging you, Sir. You have Emily now. She’s yours. Please don’t hurt me. Please.”

 

Emily knelt on the basement floor in nadu, with her wrists locked behind her back in a pair of steel slave bracelets. Her head and hair was down and in the harsh strip lights of the basement I could clearly see marks on her body that suggested she had been brutally raped upstairs while I sat down here, helplessly listening to her screams. 

 

I was honestly terrified. 

 

I don’t think I can stand much pain. 

Steel World Inc. Chapter Twenty Six

 

I was only too aware that the clock was now ticking, and in maybe ten minutes or so we would see the tell-tale signs of car headlights as it drove down the narrow bumpy lane to this isolated farmhouse in the countryside.

 

For the first time in 24 hours I felt a trace of uncertainty that bordered on fear.

 

“You can’t be serious? You surmise all this from the way a single word was typed?”

 

“Yes! And if you go out there to greet those men, unarmed, they will kill you,” said Emily, again. 

 

“Wasn’t it you who implored me a short while ago not to carry a gun? Didn’t you say I’d probably shoot myself in the foot?”

 

“The circumstances have changed, Simon. And for God’s sake, will you please unlock these handcuffs?”

 

“Slave bracelets,” I corrected her.

Steel World Inc. Chapter Twenty Five

 

Miss Whitlock prepared a lovely meal from the impressively stocked freezer in the out building, which we ate with a green salad freshly picked from the garden and a couple of glasses of a superb Beaujolais that boasted the most exquisite tasting notes of dark cherries, violets and just a hint of dried herbs. 

 

“I could get used to this,” I said as I sipped the wine, and relaxed at the garden table.

 

“What? Being on the run from gangsters?” suggested Miss Whitlock.

 

“Well, I’m not sure they’re gangsters, as such. Just very dangerous men.” 

 

Miss Whitlock of course had far less experience of the operation than I did. She just had to trust me when I described what I had seen so far. 

Steel World Inc. Chapter Twenty Four

 “And you think this is real? A savage Counter Earth orbiting our sun? Space aliens visiting our planet to abduct women? I mean, you must see how ridiculous this all sounds. Why hasn’t anyone ever detected this planet Gor before?”

 

Miss Whitlock and I walked through the garden of the house that was nestled in the green belt outside the built-up confines of Southend-on-Sea. It was early afternoon, and despite her assertions that she wasn’t tired, I had suggested we both got a few hours rest after we arrived at the safe house. We rose shortly after one in the afternoon and drank some very good coffee as we admired the wildly overgrown bushes and vegetation dotted around the grounds. Although the house itself was well stocked with anything and everything a couple of fugitives might need, no one came around on a regular basis to tend the secluded garden. There was consequently a savage, untamed, natural beauty to the wilderness here, and the lack of maintenance had turned it into a haven for bees, butterflies and all manner of insects. Lily ponds boasted a wide range of amphibians, and the plants thrived, competing to grow out towards the sun. We sat down on some garden chairs overlooking one of the lily ponds.

 

“A lot of people seem to believe it exists, and I’ve seen with my own eyes that there is a sophisticated system in place for abducting and processing women,” I replied. “They are obviously being shipped somewhere in great numbers. If not an alien planet in our orbit, then the question remains: where?”

Steel World Inc. Chapter Twenty Three

 

I was driving down the A3211 to East Smithfield, from where I would soon join the A13 and then the A127 all the way through to Southend-on-Sea. With hardly any traffic on the roads (the clock in the dashboard showed it was 4.32 in the morning) I might expect to be at Southend in time for a very early breakfast. 

 

Miss Madison sat in the passenger seat next to me, occasionally gazing quietly out of her side window as I drove. A gagged and bound Miss Whitlock had both the backseats to herself, and from time to time she would make some sound through her gag. Each time she did, I felt a pang of guilt that she was having to endure such deplorable conditions during the journey.

 

“I think maybe we should…”

 

“We’re not taking her gag off,” said Miss Madison in a voice that suggested she was in charge. 

Steel World Inc. Chapter Twenty Two

 

On reflection now, looking back, I may have underestimated the degree of shock and terror a woman might experience when she was suddenly woken up in the dark, in the middle of the night, with an intruder’s hand roughly covering her mouth. 

 

It’s a lesson learned.

 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, please, Arabella, I didn’t mean…”

 

She was crouched with her arms about her knees on the edge of her bed, as far away from me as was possible. She held a tabletop lamp in her right hand as some sort of weapon, and if looks could kill…

 

“How dare you! How dare you, Simon! And how did you get in here?” She suddenly noticed Emily standing to one side. “Miss Whitlock? What are you doing here?” Arabella’s eyes narrowed. “What are you wearing?” She blinked again and suddenly focussed on the steel collar locked on Emily’s throat. “Is that a slave collar?!”

Steel World Inc. Chapter Twenty One

 

“Tell me about the second floor.”

 

We were about half way to Miss Whitlock’s building when I decided to satisfy my curiosity on the abundance of pretty girls working on the second floor who seemed to mysteriously move on to other pastures without warning.

 

“Do you really need me to say it?” said Miss Madison.

 

“I do, yes.”

 

“Fine. They’re groomed for abduction.”

 

“And you’ve been party to it?” I gazed at her, without taking my eyes fully off the road. I’m a very careful driver, which is something I pride myself on. So many road accidents these days are the result of drivers who allow themselves to become needlessly distracted.

 

She shrugged. “I think that’s obvious.”

Steel World Inc. Chapter Twenty

 

My plan was to simply walk out through the front door of the house with my two slave girls trailing me. If Mr Magnus had been true to his word, the key card he gave me should give me access to do exactly that. If not, then I’d be stopped, and once Mr Frick discovered what I’d tried to do, I’d be in deep trouble. 

 

Being shot in the head would be the least of my concerns. I suspected that I’d instead take a long time dying.

 

So why was I being so brave? Well, frankly I was facing death either way and, as Miss Madison had said, it really was a case of which side offered me the greatest chance of survival. I didn’t really account for which of the two men was the most dangerous, because they both looked dangerous to me, but the balance of the scales obviously swung to Karl Magnus, if only because London was his ‘manor’ and all his men were here. Frick no doubt had a security team in London, but he was relying on subterfuge and the element of surprise. In a straight knock down fight, assuming we could get word to Magnus, then Frick would be outnumbered, on foreign territory, and at a considerable disadvantage. 

 

IF we could get word to Magnus. We had to get out of the house and grounds first. 

Steel World Inc. Chapter Nineteen

 

I found Miss Madison exactly where I had left her – kneeling on the tiled mosaic floor of the sunken sofa area, a short steel chain descending from her collar ring to the iron ring set into that floor. 

 

Nearly an hour had gone by since she had been left here alone, and I was surprised, and a little pleased, to find she seemed a lot calmer now.

 

“Miss Madison,” I said as I entered the large room. I had shown my key pass card to the guard and he had admitted me without comment, just as Magnus had promised.

 

“Simon!” she seemed surprised to see me, and even more surprised to see Miss Esme Hamilton, who walked closely behind me. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the lovely, long-legged Esme. 

Steel World Inc. Chapter Eighteen

 

There was a second level to the basement area, with bare brick walls and a cement floor that could be hosed down, for I saw drainage channels on the sides of the room that flowed into a gutter and steel grille. The first thing I noticed though was the lower temperature. If there was any heating down here, it was minimal. The lighting was harsh strip lighting in the corridors, and bare light bulbs in the concrete and brick kennel pens. This offered a stark contrast between harsh bright light and shadows wherever you stood. 

 

I saw several men who were working in the capacity of guards and handlers. To a man they looked dangerous – the sort of men you avoided speaking to, or coming to the attention of, in back street pubs. The sort of men who would ask you, “are you looking at my bird?” as an invitation to a fight, or perhaps would skip the preliminary threats and simply hit you in the face with a beer glass as they walked by.

 

The man working in the kennel pen had a close shaved head, blue jeans and a dark charcoal jumper with light grey edging on the waist band and the sleeves at the wrist. He seemed to me to be the kind of man who never smiled. 

 

I felt very much out of my depth, and I was glad I was in the company of Karl Magnus, because Karl Magnus didn’t look at all scared by them.

Steel World Inc. Chapter Seventeen

 

“There were tears to begin with, of course. In the first year at least.”

 

I hoped my face showed no expression at all. I didn’t want Mr Frick to suspect what I was now thinking. 

 

“Ashlyn had thought she was going into the clinic for some work on her nose. Well that was certainly true. She came out with a beautiful nose, far better than the one she went in with, but really I’d only paid for the nose job so that the more important operation could be done. I permitted her a few weeks to remonstrate, and then I declared that time was done. Can you believe, in those first few weeks she actually threatened me with divorce? As if I would ever permit a women to divorce me. Now years later she’s very happy and understands it was all for her own good. She regularly wins prizes at baking competitions held by the Free Companions of the senior families. She has a wardrobe of lovely dresses and shoes to wear. She has coffee mornings to go to; hair and nail appointments and beauty treatment spa days with the other ladies. Yes, she is very happy.”

 

I hoped my face showed no expression at all. I really didn’t want Mr Frick to suspect what I was now thinking. 

Steel World Inc. Chapter Sixteen

 

“Lord Jeremy,” said Magnus, pleasantly enough as he gazed at the furious aristocrat. “Thank you for calling round. I hope you enjoyed your time with Judy tonight? Can I offer you a drink?” 

 

“Never mind that, Magnus! I have just found my wife! Have you any idea the state she is in?!”

 

Magnus gently swished the amber whisky round the inside of his cut glass tumbler as he regarded the middle aged aristocrat. 

 

“Unless things have changed significantly, I would say you found her wrists locked in a set of slave bracelets behind her back, and the connecting chain fastened to a bolt in the wall. She would have been gagged, and the lower half of her expensive gown would have been torn away.” He raised the tumbler to his lips and sipped the liquor. “Am I missing any details?”

Steel World Inc. Chapter Fifteen

 

Dad once told me that it is important to read a room when you first enter. A foolish man is the man who acts without understanding the nature of the men he is speaking to. I’ve tried all my life to understand the men and women I speak to, and moderate what I say accordingly. What little success I’ve had I can probably attribute to that. Tell a man what he wants to know, and you’re already halfway there.

 

If I was reading this room right, this was not just a test for me, but also for Miss Madison.

 

The difference between Miss Madison and myself was that she didn’t know this. 

 

“Karl…” her voice sounded small and childlike from where she lingered in the shadows of the alcove archway. “I’m… I’m not comfortable with this.”

Steel World Inc. Chapter Fourteen

 

We walked through the house in silence for a few minutes as Miss Madison led me to a flight of stairs that led into the basement levels of the building. We were venturing into an area that seemed to be out of bounds to the party guests, and I noticed a couple of security guards dressed in smart suits loitering, ever watchful, at the entrances to the basement.

 

We were both stopped short and a hand scanner was passed up and down our bodies to presumably detect for concealed weapons. Neither of us carried anything of the sort, of course, and so we were then swiftly waved through.

 

“Where are we going?” I said as we reached the bottom of the stairs which led into a wide open room that resembled a hallway.

 

“To see Karl Magnus. He asked to speak to you.” Miss Madison turned round to face me. “Let me be absolutely clear, Simon. I am not at all happy with the way you spoke to me earlier.” Her eyes blazed with self-righteous fury. Back at the office, seated across her desk, I would no doubt be scared right now. But here in this place, here where men seemed to be the dominant sex, here where I sensed different rules applied, here I didn’t feel scared, and that surprised me.

Steel World Inc. Chapter Thirteen

 

“Well, don’t you look handsome and dashing tonight, Simon Rogers. It seems clothes really do maketh the man.”

 

Miss Madison approached me as I walked back into the main reception room. It was now gone three in the morning, and my allotted half an ahn in the Pleasure Alcove was over. 

 

And I was still technically a virgin. 

 

Though I had now at least been stimulated to orgasm twice by a woman. 

 

James of course would tell me that a man only lost his virginity when he penetrated a woman and came inside of her. 

Steel World Inc. Chapter Twelve

 

((Special thanks to Master Tracker who inspired this piece and contributed passages and some of WPC Colton’s dialogue to the writing))

 

TWO HOURS AGO

 

Miss Arabella Whitlock:

 

“Who… who is it?” I didn’t open the door immediately. I was acutely aware that my door didn’t have a chain lock that I might slide in place before I opened it. 

 

“The police, Miss. We’re answering your call. WPC Arlene Colton and PC Nigel Blythe. Can you open the door, please.”

 

I had called the police, so it had to be them, but my mind was in paranoid mode now. What if it wasn’t the police? But then I steadied myself and thought it through. If someone had been in my flat tonight, he certainly hadn’t knocked – he had just somehow opened the front door, so why would an intruder be knocking now and claiming to be the police?

 

I was being silly.

 

“One moment, please.”

Steel World Inc. Chapter Eleven

 

I let the phone ring a few times, because I wasn’t sure whether I should answer it. This really wasn’t a good time to chat, but what if Arabella was calling because of something important?

 

“I’m not going to whip you,” I said to Puta. “You can get up now.” I watched as the girl rose to her knees and parted her thighs before me, placing the palms of her hands facing me on those thighs. It was a lovely position, and seeing her like this, seeing those soft, vulnerable palms open to my gaze, it made it hard to remain angry with the girl. 

 

“My woman is calling me,” I said. “You are not to say anything.”

 

Puta nodded. There was relief in her eyes that she would not be whipped. Did she really think I was the sort of man who would whip her?

 

How ridiculous!

 

I gazed again at the whip where it hung on the wall. 

Steel World Inc. Chapter Ten

 

“You can’t go in there, Lady.”

 

The man was obviously security, and he was barring the way forward for a beautiful young woman dressed in a long wine coloured evening gown, style with beaded embroidery on crepe. Before we might approach too closely, Puta begged me to pause for a moment.

 

“Please, Master. It is a Free Woman. A Free Woman!” She was nervous for some reason. Why should she be nervous of a Free Woman? “Please, Master,” she begged again, seemingly afraid of approaching the woman or attracting her attention.

 

“Do you know who I am?” the Free Woman remarked to the heavy looking man who guarded the passageway that I intended to use. “I’m Lady Penelope Grantham! My husband is Lord Jeremy Grantham! We have an estate in Sussex!”

Steel World Inc. Chapter Nine

 

“Oh, James, no, please, I’m not sure I’m really comfortable with this,” said Kissy Ryde as she moved closer to him. All around her, various men were cheering in a polite, well-mannered fashion, but there was something about their expressions that was slightly unsettling. Something almost wolf like, and hungry, as if they were anticipating a feast. It was probably my overactive imagination, gazing at these undoubtedly powerful men – captains of Industry, entrepreneurs, European aristocrats, and billionaires.