The Virgin Master (26 page)

The wo
m
an held out her hand imperiously.
“The discipline tools. Now.”
             

Jeremy turned and put Evan’s briefcase on one of the tables and opened it. He pulled out the leather case containing the paddle, the flogger and the crop. Offering the case to Evan he sank to his knees in formal posture. Evan handed it to the angry woman.

“Tell him to strip.”

Evan looked helplessly at Jeremy. “Shouldn’t we go to one of the public discipline cubicles?”

“No. I want to do it right here, where everybody can see the penalty for slaves who handle citizens without permission.”

“You are completely mischaracterizing what happened, and you know it. Jeremy saved your baby’s life and you from at the very least a serious injury. Can I have your name?”

“
Why should I tell you?”

“
I have a right to observe and then be compensated for any damage you do to my property. I’m Evan James by the way, and I own this building. Why don’t we watch the security footage of what happened before you begin?”

“Evan James? As in James Enterprises
,
James?”

“Yes.”

“That’s rich.
L
ittle pl
ayboy snot and his
fucktoy
. You
need to learn that you can’t just do whatever the hell you want, Mr. James.”
Sh
e said his name as if it were a profoundly dirty word.
“I’m Lillian Rourke, we
’ll exchange cards after. Strip
him. Now.”

With his heart in his throat, trying not to show how ashamed and terrified he was, Evan turned to Jeremy, who had knelt as he was supposed to and gave him the signal t
o stand and strip. Jeremy
immediately and dispassionately obeyed. Evan couldn’t read a thing in his eyes.

Jeremy took off each item of clothing and folded it carefully, moving at a steady pace. Evan desperately wanted to deck the bitch and run away. At the same time he noticed that there was something disturbingly familiar about her. He triggered his communicator and called Alexa. From the look on Ms. Rourke’s face she was going to extract the highest price she could.

“Alexa? This is Evan. Listen I’m in the lunch area of the food court in the restaurant level of our mall. Could you call Tom and ask him to get a vet ambulance over here? I’ll understand if he can’t come himself, but I’d be grateful if he could.”
“Is Jeremy hurt?”

“No, but he’s about to be. I’ll explain later. Thank you, so much.”

Jeremy had fi
n
ished stripping and stood there, stock still,
eyes on the floor.

Evan remembered some of what he was supposed to do.

“What do you require?”

“I require his death but I know I can’t have that. One hundred lashes with the flogger.”

Evan felt dizzy. His mind raced, he had to say something.

“
I don’t know if you can afford that. After all, that’s the equivalent of nine hundred separate blows.
That kind of beating
will surely permanently damage or incapacitate him to the point that he will be unable to work, if not kill him outright. Let me show you something
. J
ust something to think about before you
finally decide.”
Evan dug around in his wallet and found Jeremy’s provenance card
which
detail
ed
his value at purchase and serving as an identification card.

“You’ll
notice
that
his
base
value
is 900,000.00.Additionally, since he obtained an MBA from Stanford University before entering his slave life, he has been working with me on mergers and acquisitions doing equivalent work of a vice-president in charge of financial analysis. Such a person usually
draws
a
s
alary in the neighborhood of $300,000.00 yearly plus bonuses averaging half a million. So, Jeremy is currently worth, just from his value as an employee, over 1.7 million dollars. Now, you’re going to ruin all this beautiful unmarred skin.” At that point Evan caressed Jeremy’s back and ass soothingly. “That’s before we even consider the value of his services to me in our home. Can you afford to compensate me for the loss of his use? Or for his loss? I have been told that nine-hundred strokes could easily prove fatal.”

Evan had watched Ms. Rourke’s eyes as he detailed Jeremy’s financial worth and saw a little tinge of doubt and fear show up behind the anger. “I mean
…
of course it’s your choice
,
but I have my rights as well.”

“Well, fifty, then.”

“You know, four-hundred and fifty lashes
are
a lot less than
nine-hundred
,
but still. Jeremy’s very valuable to me. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t easily replace him.”

“Thirty. That’s as low as I’m going.”

Evan, gritting his teeth, bowed his head slightly to her.

“Make him bend over that chair and put his hands flat on
the table.” Lillian waved at the closest wrought iron, glass topped table.

“
Jeremy.”

Jeremy walked over, leaned over the substantial wrought iron chair and put his hands on the table. He tapped the table once for permission to speak.

“You may speak.”

Evan watched as Lillian pulled out the flogger and flicked the telescoping handle open and locked it into place with distressingly
practiced ease. She then worked on straightening the knotted strands. A female bystander approached and offered to hold the baby. Lillian graciously assented.

“May I be restrained, Master? I’m afraid my body will cease to do what I want it to do shortly.”

Evan felt tears stinging at the corners of his eyes as he thought about what in the world he could use for restraints,
and remembering Jeremy’s struggles to hold still during their discipline inspection. Gnawing his lower lip, he unbuckled his belt and picked up Jeremy’s where it lay neatly coiled amid his folded clothing.  Evan secured each of Jeremy’s wrists to one of the table legs, a wrist to a side using one belt for each. His hands trembled so that he nearly couldn’t fasten the buckles. Jeremy tested the bonds and nodded slightly.

Raising his voice Evan spoke to Jeremy, but loud enough so that the little crowd of bystanders, and Ms. Rourke, could hear.
“Jeremy, you may make sounds as you need, but no words.” Jeremy nodded.

Evan did not like the look in Ms. Rourke’s eyes at all.
Anger flared up hot in them again as she took up position behind Jeremy and shook out the flogger.

“Shall I count for you?” Evan asked, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

Irritated at being interrupted again, she glared at him.

“No. I think a neutral party shou
ld do that.”

She looked
around t
he little crowd. “Does somebody
want to count for me?” A scrawny teen-age boy who seemed fixated on staring at Jeremy’s penis raised his hand and she motioned him over.

“Please count out loud.” Evan requested and the boy nodded.

Rourke hit Jeremy with all of her strength. Evan saw with dismay that she swung the flogger as if she were serving a tennis ball. Instead of welts, the blow opened up nine deep ragged edged cuts on his back and Jeremy jumped, and gasped. Evan didn’t think he could stand it. He held up one hand and Rourke rounded on him as if she would hit him.

“I think I need to remind you that the flogger should only be used on the buttocks and upper thighs. There’s too great a
r
isk
of permanent damage otherwise.”

To his great amazement, Evan’s
voice remained level and unstrained.

“I’ll hit him wherever the hell I like. You don’t get to tell me how to correct him. Shut up and don’t try to interfere again.” Rourke seethed, her teeth bared in revulsion and
hatred.She
turned back to her prey.

Rourke rained blows on Jeremy, becoming increasingly enraged and adrenalin-fueled. She seemed to be trying to hit in the same areas, to maximize the damage. After the first three Jeremy was
screaming himself hoarse and Evan
didn’t know how he could
keep his facial expression blank, as he stood, helpless, with fists clenched. With each blow of the flogger blood flew in a misty spray. Evan’s gorge rose as he saw little chunks of flesh clinging to the knots in the leather lashes. Jeremy lost consciousness at thirteen strokes and Lillian paused.

Evan eyed her.“Well?”

“He needs to be conscious or it won’t do any good.”

A very familiar figure came running up at about that time
shouting, “Lillian!”

Evan stared. 
Frank Owens
.

“Daddy?” Rourke turned to face the man who stared right
 
back at Evan in consternation, and, as he took in the scene, smug triumph.

“
Girl, have you lost your mind?” Owens smiled as he stared at the mess Jeremy’s back had become. By now he looked as if he had been painted red.

Evan slapped himself mentally. That’s why she seemed familiar. She always came to the James’ New Year Festival Party with Frank.
Surely this wasn’t some kind of plan. She really fell. Nobody would risk their own body and their child’s life like that on purpose to try to set Jeremy up would they? What if he hadn’t seen that she was about to fall? Why in the world would she pretend not to know me?

“That filthy animal put his hands on me? I’m tainted and the baby is ruined forever!” Lillian proclaimed dramatically, although Evan thought she sounded like she had calmed a little bit.

“James, what happened here?” Frank said sternly, struggling to hide his glee.

Evan, with a supreme mental effort, shoved his hatred and rage into a small dark compartment in the back of his mind. Slugging Frank and killing Lillian wouldn’t help him or Jeremy. He sighed.

“Let’s watch the security camera footage together if you like. You make your own judgments.” Evan triggered his communicator again
to call Mark.

He
asked to have the relevant footage streamed to his data pad. Then, with the idea that the more witnesses the
better;
he asked Mark to stream it also to the rather large advertising screen hanging over the food court. Frank came over to Evan’s side and Evan played the footage for him. Frank nodded pleasantly at Evan and turned once more to his daughter, who was pouring a pitcher of cold water over Jeremy’s head in an attempt to wake him. Jeremy lurched to his feet shaking his head. Evan came to his side and pressed down on his shoulders, trying to avoid the myriad gashes decorating his back and shoulders. Pushing in close Evan whispered in Jeremy’s ear.

“Calm down. Settle.”

Jeremy relaxed slowly and then sobbed and
rolled his
head on the table as pain rolled over him again. Evan longed to untie him and just take him away, but he knew he couldn’t.

“Almost halfway
through, sweetheart,” Evan whispered to him. “I’m so sorry. I’ve got to go and stand back by that bitch now.”

Evan squeezed Jeremy’s shoulder gently. Relief washed over him as he noted that Tom had arrived, with two EVT’s and a gurney. Tom took in Jeremy’s condition and looked at Evan with horror in his eyes. He started over to Jeremy and Evan held up his hand to stop him. “It’s not over yet.”