02. The Shadow Dancers (12 page)

Once we started off, though, we all got to cryin' a little. It was like bein' torn from the only family and world we knew.

After a while, though, Lavinia kinda took charge. She was more aggressive than we was. She even went to the little window and looked out, and after a while we did, too.

The impressions of the trip are just that-impressions. The highways looked real fancy, like our interstates, and had a lot of little cars on 'em. We went through a city, I don't know which, and it looked real ugly, all sterile gray with block after block of tall, dirty buildin's and lots of even uglier industry belchin' smoke into the gray day. Most of the people we saw moved like they was always tired, dressed in plain clothes. Clearly the white folks here didn't have much fun, neither. The good life, if it existed at all, was for the big shots.

And that, maybe, was the craziest thing of all. The more we saw of that white world, the less we wanted of it. We had no responsibilities, little work, no cares. Nobody would want to escape into
that
world. Even bein' wrenched and sold we were still secure and safe. No decisions, no responsibilities. It's scary to me to think that people can be brought up and conditioned to think that way, even now. Still and all, it was that world that did it, partly. It was a gray world filled with people with gray souls; a world without hope. They was all property, all slaves, white and black. The only difference was, nobody expected nothin' from us.

They stopped the truck off and on, to stretch their legs and ours. They had one of them porta-potties for us and the boxes had cold, hard versions of the cakes and sweet stuff they'd fed us back at the farm and a jug of water. That was all for us. Every once in a while they'd stop the truck someplace and get out, sometimes for quite a while, just leavin' us inside, while they ate or whatever. They were pretty ordinary-lookin' white men 'cept for their fancy uniforms and shiny boots, but we'd flaunt it a little for 'em.

"Tempted to take 'em all on, Pete?" the one asked. "They might be too much for you."

"Nigresses?
You got to be kiddin'. I ain't that hard up. Why? You tempted?"

"Yeah, sorta."

"Well, forget it. Vogel'll run 'em through every test in the world. You know the rules. He gets 'em first. Don't trust no real women not to cut his balls off."

"Aw, what's he care? These ain't virgins. Look at 'em."

"Well, you do what you want, but the last guy who did that wound up dangling from a meat hook on the walls."

They didn't, although truth was we wouldn't have minded. Oh, they did a little fanny pattin' and tit grabbin' now and again, but overall they probably treated us better than they did their own kind. They even hauled out some old blankets when the chill got greater so we could wrap 'em around ourselves.

Fact was, the three of us did a lot of it in the back, there. It seemed normal and natural to make out, it felt good, and helped pass the time.

Eventually we got there, not over highways but back country mountain roads. We didn't really see the place till we was inside it, but when we got there and the door opened it was clear we was at our new home. Big place, but with lots of buildin's, grounds, and people. We got took into the basement of the big house where they let us shower, fed us, then put us in this tiny room with no windows, a bare light bulb, and a big old mattress on the floor that was big enough for the three of us. We was exhausted from the trip and just slept. They left the chains on.

The next day they processed us. There was a couple of people in lab whites and one older guy in black uniform who wore glasses. He came up to me. "Name?"

"Beth, suh."

He looked on his chart, then started in. First he tried to get me mad by makin' nasty comments, then he both scared and hurt me a little. I said "Ow! You huhtin' me, suh!" but that was about the extent of my rebellion. Finally they gave us a bunch of shots with this injector gun, took X rays and scanned us with something, then took us in to a hypnoscan, although as Beth I had no idea what it was. It was definitely something Vogel was not supposed to have in this world, that's for sure. I can't say what they did with it, but I can guess they was lookin' for somebody just like I was-a plant. Jamispur must have known his business; I passed. The hypnoscan couldn't find a trace of Brandy anywhere, nor, apparently, did any of the cosmetic changes show.

Time had no meaning for us, so I don't know how long we just hung around there, but finally this woman also in black and with real short hair came for us and brought us up to
the main floor and took us into a room that was nicer than any of us had ever seen. We got cleaned and scrubbed and then perfumed, and our nails got trimmed and painted, they put on real heavy makeup which was foreign to us, pierced our ears and gave us earrings, even did our hair. We liked it, but we also knew we was about to meet our owner.

In all the plannin' back at headquarters, the one thing that never entered anybody's head was that Vogel would see all three of us at the same time. He never allowed nobody else in the Safe Room, that was sure, but three at once wasn't even considered, yet that's what happened. It was the first kinda thing Sam had worried about from the start-there were too many things you couldn't think of. If the number of unexpected and unanticipated things was too high, the thing would go wrong real fast. And we all knew some things would go wrong. That's why you needed a thinkin', experienced human being in there and not just some hypno-programmed anybody. My job was to improvise.

We waited around awhile; we was all excited, and Lavinia whispered, "Dis new massa be one big
stud
to take us all de same time. Don't y'all fuck up, now. A gal kin git
used
t'this shit."

We'd all moved up from tribal to house status, and clearly Lavinia saw visions of makeup and perfume and comfortable living if we all pleased him. It didn't matter that our chains were still on.

It was fairly late at night when they came for us. That same short-haired bitch in black it was-Vogel's secretary or aide or whatever. "You listen good, now," she said coldly. "You are about to be brought up to
Gruppenfuehrer
Vogel, your owner and master. You behave and perform right and he can be most kind. You nigger farm sluts just do whatever he wants and don't screw up. If he isn't pleased, you'll go to the lab and wish you'd never been born. Now-come."

We didn't understand the specifics, but we got the message, and followed her out and up a back stairway-tough in them leg chains-then down a second floor hall past an armed door guard-there was guards all over the place- and into a huge bedroom, the biggest I ever seen anywheres and the most luxurious, too. "Wait here," said the bitch,
and left. We heard the outer bedroom door lock. There was stuff all over-valuable stuff, pretty stuff, even sharp stuff that might be used as a weapon. We didn't move. This was the last test, apparently.

Finally, a man came out of a far door, dressed in brown pants and shirt and leather boots. He was a big guy, and chunky, but in real good shape, with a rounded face and short brown hair. He had a small thing in his hands that might have been a short whip or riding crop, and he had on a pistol belt and holster with the pistol in it.

He walked up to us and got a queer half smile on his face. Finally he said, in a rather mild and gentle voice, to each of us in turn, "What is your name?"

"Daisy, suh." "Beth, suh." "Lavinia, suh."

"Come on in back with me."

They said the entrance to the Safe Room was through the bathroom, but they didn't say that the bathroom was bigger'n most folks livin' rooms. The door in the back was open inward, but it looked less like a door than a bank vault, and the wall through it was a good eight inches thick.

The Safe Room itself was about the size of an average bedroom, but there was storage in the walls for all sorts of stuff, a desk and chair, and the whole thing was carpeted in a thick, spongy wool. Vogel closed the door with a chunk.

And I slowly returned. It was a weird sensation, like Brandy was being poured from a bucket into the vast empty spaces of Beth's mind. The setup continued to hold Beth forward, on automatic, but it was almost like I had two minds, and the other one could take control anytime it wanted to. Vogel came over, took off his gun and belt and put it on the desk right in back of me. I knew I could get it before he could react, but I didn't even consider it. It was one of the first tricks I'd fallen for in trainin', and I would have bet my life that the gun was totally empty. There was a clip somewheres real near if he needed it, but anybody who made for that gun would just be trapped.

No matter what happened, I didn't dare make a move till that security light come on, tellin' me that the diversionary attack had started and that the station was being invaded and secured. This room was a vault, all right; I had a little twinge of worry that the warning light might be burnt out or somethin'.

I also figured Vogel was real kinky, but he wasn't as near far out as I had been afraid he might be. He wasn't one of them game-playin' types, anyways-I guess he did enough of that in real life. He had real clever ways of usin' all three of us, though, and once he got naked and got started, showed a few things I filed away for reference. He had a real good body, real hairy, too, and a tight ass, and one humongous pecker. I just let Beth have free rein and waited.

The soft white light in the room suddenly changed, blinking a real weird-lookin' red. He was so turned on and so into it that he didn't notice at first, but when he came up for air he saw it. I never saw a guy come down that fast, but he just got up, pushin' us out of the way, and went to the desk, opened a drawer, and got put a handset phone and plugged it into a wall outlet. The girls just kept goin' on with each other; even I was so turned on at that point it was tough.

Vogel was clearly real pissed at the alarm, and if it had been anything less than it was somebody woulda died on that wall out there. He calmed down the moment he was told, though.

"An attack? Who? Well, try and find out, damn it! Can you hold? I don't care
what
weapons they're using-you hold them! No-I'll wait it out here, but I'll keep the line plugged in. You give me two short buzzes if they breach the wall, one long if you want me to pick up the phone. Have all emergency procedures in full effect as of now!" He put down the phone and turned back to us. "Sorry, loves, but we have a problem. Don't worry-we'll get back to our business, I promise. Now I need you. Get up and help me move this desk."

We didn't feel none too much like work but we got up and helped him pull the desk away. It was pretty easy-the thing was not that heavy-but his kind didn't do no work when he had other folks to do it for him.

We pulled up the carpet where the desk had been and there was a door there with a kind of combination lock built into it, like a safe. The emergency tunnel! We didn't know about the lock, but I wasn't gonna make no move till he twiddled it and then threw the switch and pulled the thing open. A long, deep, black hole was all there was.

I really thought that maybe we was gonna luck out on
this, that he was gonna go down and right into the arms of the station people without me doin' nothin', but clearly he wasn't gonna move right off.

The phone gave a long buzz and he picked it up.

"Yes? All right, then. Best I stay right here for now. The station's on? Good-
what?
Well keep trying the station, man! I don't like the smell of this!"

Uh oh. They had some feelin' that the station had been taken. It probably wouldn't enter their heads in plannin' that it
could
be, but if they tried to call somebody there and either got a strange voice or no answer they'd be suspicious, what with an attack at the front.

Vogel was still naked, but he got his pistol, then reached behind a panel, got a clip, and snapped it into place. I'd guessed right.

I hadn't been able to shoot my little jet of joy juice into him; he had gave me the lower end in our sex play. Now there seemed no way to give him the kiss; it would have to be the hard way.

I moved real fast, pushin' him off balance and then usin' my knee and then put his head between my arms and used the chain as a choker. He twisted me off, but then he grabbed me by the shoulders and while the leg chain made karate useless I brought up my knee with full force and caught his exposed jewels right on the balls. He screamed and let go of me and doubled over, droppin' the pistol in his pain. I got him real good, too, 'cause I had the gun and even had time to make sure I had a shell in the chamber before he was able to come out of it and figure what happened.

The other two girls looked at the whole thing with real shock and horror on their faces, but they just pressed back against the wall.

"Who the hell
are
you?" Vogel gasped.

"You know who I'm with," I replied, keepin' the Beth accent and grammar since it was lousy English but I could say it clear. The Company want you. You be one
baaad
boy!"

He recovered enough to stand, shakily, and look bewildered. "The Company! It would have to be, but-why?"

"It seem you make lots of dem bigwigs scared with dat drug thing you got."

I got to say he really did look surprised. I'd have loved to
have gotten more, but the clock was tickin' and the bomb was under my feet. I gestured with the pistol. " 'Nuff. Git on down the hole. You can 'splain it yo'self."

He looked a little cagey, and I got to admit I was feelin' a little good right then at it bein' easier than most of the practices. I was right behind him, when suddenly I got hit hard right on the head. It was so unexpected I took a tumble, got tripped up by the leg chains, and fell. Vogel didn't waste no time; he was on me in a second and just about tore that gun from my grip. I got up, still feelin' dizzy and confused, and looked around. That damned muscle-headed Lavinia had hit me over the head with the desk chair!

Vogel was back to himself now. "Not a move!" he cautioned me. "I never had to get dressed one-handed before but I'll manage, and I'll blow your brains out if you so much as twitch!"