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Chains 2 Chapter 1Chains: 2
Chains Released
Chapter 1
copyright 2003 by Sharon Green
Jake Killen woke up to a throbbing head and
    an awareness that he lay on something lumpy and not very
comfortable. It
    took some effort for him to turn to one side, and then he had to
fight
    himself into a sitting position. Sitting up made his head spin even
more,
    but once the dizziness eased up he could at least look around at
where he
    was.

     Light came into the room through a couple of small windows high
up in one
     of the walls. The room itself was dirty and not very big, holding
nothing
     but the pallet Jake sat on and a second pallet holding a
still-unconscious
     Tandro. Why he and Tandro hadn't been killed was a question
Jake wished he
     knew the answer to, but at the moment he wasn't able to worry
about
     ulterior motives. As long as he was still alive it would be possible to
     escape at some point, hopefully a point that would be reached
before they
     were given too much pain…

    "Oh, my head," Tandro groaned, and then the native was also
forcing
    himself to sit up with one hand to the head he'd mentioned. "What
    happened, and where are we?"

   "This time we were attacked with clubs instead of knives, and I
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have no
    idea where we are," Jake answered, moving just a little to look
directly
    at Tandro. "Since there was no one else on the street at the time of
the
    attack, we're probably the only prisoners who were taken. You do
remember
    that no one else was around, don't you?"

   Tandro winced as he looked at Jake sharply, but happily the other
man got
   the point Jake wanted him to. If Tain was as good as Jake thought
she was,
   she'd gotten herself and Ennie out of harm's way before the attack
was
   over. Their attackers might not know about the two slaves who'd
been
   following the pack horses, and if they didn't know about the girls he
   didn't want Tandro telling them.

   "Yes, I do remember that there was no one else on the street,"
Tandro
   finally said with a very faint smile. "That has to be why they jumped
us
   at just that time. But I wonder if it's possible that someone saw
what
   happened and is right now telling the guard about it. If so, we could
be
   out of here in no time."

    "That's possible, so let's hope it's true," Jake agreed, but only to
    reassure his friend and companion. Tain would probably decide
against
    telling the guard anything, since she didn't know about the
relationship
    he and Tandro had developed with Captain Sovri. Jake had been
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too busy
    messing around with Tain and then trying to apologize to keep the
woman
    informed about what was going on, and now he was paying for that
stupidity.

      Tandro lapsed into silence, so Jake did the same. In a few minutes
his
    head was feeling fractionally better, due entirely to the quiet, so he
was
    hoping that the silence would go on for a while. It did continue for a
    short while, and then someone opened the door to the room and
walked in.
    The man was fairly large and on the heavy side, but those weren't
the most
    interesting things about him. His vest and knife belt and sheathe
were
    covered in jewels, the most ostentatious display of wealth Jake had
seen
    on this planet.

   "How nice, you're both awake," the newcomer said as he
swaggered a few
   more steps into the room. He also looked from Jake to Tandro
with a very
   disturbing smile on his face, a smile that made Jake's insides tighten.
   "In case you were wondering, my name is Himlin."

    "Why am I not surprised?" Jake said as he got slowly to his feet,
seeing
    out of the corner of his eye that Tandro also stood. "What I don't
    understand, though, is why you changed tactics. The first two times
you
    sent men with knives."

      "But this time men with knives would have done me more harm
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than good,"
   Himlin said, his smile changing to a very cold stare. "You two have
lodged
   an official complaint against me, and you have to be still living to
   withdraw that complaint. Which you'll do either later today or
tomorrow,
   depending on when I decide to send you out. I haven't made up my
mind
   about that yet."

    "And how do you expect to get us to withdraw that complaint?"
Tandro asked
    in his calm and quiet way. "If we walk into guard headquarters
either
    badly beaten or hurt in some other way, they'll know our decision
was
    forced on us. As I understand it, forcing someone to withdraw a
complaint
    is also against the law around here."

   "You're right, it is," Himlin agreed, a flash of cruel anticipation
   appearing momentarily in the coldness of his gaze. "But I now have
a way
   around that law, and you can thank your friend over there for
supplying
   the way. I'll admit I probably wouldn't have thought of the idea on
my
   own… Kneel to your master, slaves."

    Jake had only just started to wonder why he wasn't making any
attempt to
    jump Himlin when he found out the hard way. His body knelt
without any
    direction from his mind, and Tandro did exactly the same. That told
Jake
    he and Tandro had been given the slave drug, after which they'd
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been
   ordered not to make any trouble. Being unconscious hadn't kept
them from
   hearing the order, and now that they were awake they were able to
obey it.

    "At first the idea of men being made into slaves outraged me, but
that was
    only at first," Himlin said as he looked down at them with grim
pleasure.
    "Once I thought about it for a little while I realized that some men
    deserve to be enslaved, if only to teach them a lesson about what
not to
    do. If you then add in the opportunity their master would have to
take out
    some of his anger on the ones who made him angry to begin with,
you end up
    with a really good idea. Uncover your bodies completely."

    Jake and Tandro had no choice but to obey, and in no time at all
they were
    kneeling naked. Silently cursing himself out for having such a big
mouth
    did Jake no good at all, especially when Himlin ordered them to
stand up
    and follow him. The damage was already done, and now he and
Tandro had to
    survive the results of Jake's bone-headed inspiration.

    The next room wherever they were was at least three times larger
than
    their original room, and some of the men who had captured Jake
and Tandro
   were lounging around in chairs. In the middle of the other chairs
was a
    larger one that was empty, which told Jake where Himlin would sit.
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There
     were also two things standing not far from the chairs that looked
like
     wooden saw horses, and Himlin gestured to them.

    "Each of you stand behind one of the forms facing one another," the
slaver
    directed as he headed for his chair. "Since you're both so
concerned with
    what's done to female slaves, it's only fair that you find out first
hand
    what their lot in life is like."

      Jake would have enjoyed at least hesitating before obeying Himlin,
but
    even that wasn't allowed him - or Tandro. The other man walked
to the
    second saw horse which stood about five feet away from Jake's,
and when he
    put himself behind the thing they were facing one another.

      "Good," Himlin said, and Jake was sure that the slaver had seated
himself.
      "Now bend over the forms just a bit, but not so far that you can't
still
      see each other."

    It turned out to be necessary to hold to the top of what Himlin
called a
    form in order to bend over and still be able to see Tandro, so that
was
    the position Jake found himself in. The sight of Tandro in the same
    position looked disturbingly familiar to Jake, but before he was able
to
    figure out why he felt disturbed he was distracted in a very
unpleasant
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   way.

   "No, don't tense your muscles in an effort to resist," Himlin said,
making
   Jake want to curse out loud. "You're slaves, and slaves aren't
permitted
   to resist."

    Which meant there was nothing to stop the person behind Jake
from
    thrusting what had to be an insertion into Jake's backside. He could
see
    the same thing being done to Tandro even as he felt it being done to
him
    personally, and the grin on the face of the man behind Tandro filled
Jake
    with the need to kill. But he couldn't kill, he wasn't being allowed
to,
    and that made the situation ten times worse.

    "Slaves are required to be obedient and pleasing at all times,"
Himlin
    said as Jake fought not to move around at the urging of the
insertion. "My
    two newest slaves have been very disobedient and not at all
pleasing, so
    now they're going to be punished. Slaves need to know what being
bad
    slaves will bring them."

    Jake's stomach had already clenched at the sight of what the man
behind
    Tandro held because he knew there was another man behind him
also holding
    a switch. If Himlin had decided to have them whipped, Tandro
would
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    probably be as happy as Jake; there are times when intense pain is
much
    preferable to less pain and intense humiliation. But they weren't
being
    given the choice, especially not when Himlin wanted to send them
to
    withdraw their complaint -

    A sound hissed out of Jake's throat at the feel of the first stroke
across
    his backside, a painful stroke that made him move in a way he'd
been
    trying to avoid. The movement combined with the sight and sound
of Tandro
    being given a first stroke, and then Jake felt the second stroke land.
He
    and Tandro weren't being switched at exactly the same time, an
oddity Jake
    didn't understand.

      It took half a dozen very painful strokes of the switch before Jake
did
    understand what was being done. He was being made to watch
Tandro's
    switching just as Tandro was watching his own, and after half a
dozen
    strokes Jake was flinching and moving even when only Tandro was
being
    struck. It was like doubling the punishment, and that insertion made
the
    time pure hell. Not moving had become impossible, and Jake was
horribly
    aware of how aroused he had become.

      It came to Jake that if he'd been asked before now just how bad he
      considered a switching to be, he would not have hesitated in saying
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that
    it couldn't be thought of as fun but certainly wasn't all that bad. That
     conclusion came, of course, before he was made to stand bent
over and do
    nothing but writhe as the thin branch was brought down hard on his
    backside again and again. He could feel his flesh quivering even
when the
    switch wasn't hitting him, and anticipating the next stroke made the
     stroke worse when it came.

    After a very short while Jake wanted to howl every time another
stroke
    landed, and it was all he could do not to let the howl become
audible.
    Tandro had begun to grunt very low when he was struck, and then
he began
    to grunt even when Jake was struck. Tandro was being made to
watch - and
    share - Jake's punishment even as Jake was watching and sharing
his, and
    the humiliation rose so high that Jake was amazed it was possible
for him
    to breathe around it.

   The time of the switching seemed absolutely endless, but it couldn't
have
   gone on for more than fifteen or twenty minutes before Himlin
unexpectedly
   called a halt.

      "All right, that's enough for now," Himlin said, clearly speaking to
the
      men with the switches. "If their behavior isn't absolutely perfect for
the
   rest of the day we'll give them the same again later, and maybe I'll
have
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   them switched even if their behavior is perfect. Since I'm the one
who
   owns these slaves, I can do anything I like with them. That should
prove
   how much better it is to own a slave rather than be one."

   The laughter coming from all the men who had watched Jake's
humiliation
   made that humiliation even worse, but there was still nothing Jake
could
   do to change things. The slaver wanted him and Tandro to wish
they were
   masters again instead of slaves, but the tactic wasn't working the
way the
    fool expected. Jake was now even more opposed to slavery, not to
mention
   silently promising himself Himlin's blood as soon as it became
possible to
    take it…

     "All right, slaves, you can straighten up now but don't try to touch
or
   take out what was put inside you," Himlin said after the laughter
died
   down. "Come over here, and then kneel at my feet to either side of
my
   chair. I like having slaves around me when I relax."

     Again Jake had no choice but to obey, and walking proved to be
even more
     painful than he'd expected. But painful wasn't the only thing walking
     turned out to be, and by the time he reached Himlin's chair it was
all he
     could do not to groan. The insertion had made him aroused during
the
     switching, and walking had increased the arousal. The men seated
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in the
     chairs grinned wide as they watched him and Tandro, some of them
chuckling
     as others laughed outright. They could all see how Jake and Tandro
felt,
     the two men's condition being more than a little obvious.

   "Yes, I enjoy having obedience from my slaves," Himlin said once
Jake and
   Tandro had knelt painfully to either side of his feet. "And I also
enjoy
   having slaves around me. Bring in the first one."

   One of the men was near a door in the far side of the room, and
when
   Himlin gave his order the man near the door turned and opened it.
The way
   the man grinned was a hint Jake didn't want to believe, but the next
   moment the hint was reality that couldn't be denied. A really
beautiful
   woman came in, moving with all the grace of a born and trained
dancer, her
   naked body covered only with lengths of sheer lavender silk that
were
   worse for Jake than complete nudity would have been.

   The woman's dark hair hung down to her slender waist in bouncing
waves,
   moving beyond her arms as she moved toward them. Most of her
body was
   slender, but her breasts jutted against the silk to emphasize her
small
   waist and rounded hips. Her lovely face wore a smile of welcome
and
   encouragement, and actual amusement danced in her gorgeous blue
eyes.
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      Jake's arousal was so intense and painful that he wanted to jump to
his
    feet and use the woman no matter how many others were watching,
but he'd
    been ordered to kneel and that order hadn't been rescinded. When
Tandro
    groaned aloud, it took all of Jake's will not to do the same.

    The music of a flute sounded suddenly, and the woman began to
dance to the
    music. The flute-player had apparently followed the woman into the
room,
    but Jake hadn't noticed the small man until he began to play. The
way the
    woman swayed and turned and stepped and posed was sheer hell
for Jake, and
    even closing his eyes didn't help much.

    "I expect you slaves to watch this other slave's every move,"
Himlin's
    voice came, instantly ruining Jake's feeble escape attempt. "She's
been
    trained for a specific purpose, and I want to know if that purpose
has
    been achieved."

    So Jake was forced to watch the dancer as she moved in a very
small amount
    of space in front of Himlin. Jake's hands had turned to fists where
they
    rested on his thighs, an outward admission that the ache in his
backside
    wasn't enough of a distraction. His body flared with the demand of
his
    need, but he wasn't being allowed to see to that need. He was just
being
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    allowed to have the need increase, higher and higher without the
least
    hope of getting it taken care of.

     And then an odd thought came to Jake in spite of his barely being
able to
     think. Himlin had said that the slave had been trained for a specific
     purpose, but he hadn't said exactly what that purpose was. It was
just
    possible that Himlin meant to question him and Tandro after the girl
     finished dancing, and if they came up with the proper purpose of
the
     girl's training they might be allowed to use her. Part of Jake was
very
     ashamed that he would even consider taking advantage of a slave
like that,
     but the rest of him needed release too badly to worry about the
niceties.
     If he ever got away he could find the girl and apologize, but right
now…

     Right now Jake knew he had to figure out the answer to the
question he'd
     be asked, so he watched the girl's dance carefully. Her movements
were
     graceful but they were also slow and deliberate, the way she held
to the
     silk and occasionally moved it emphasizing all the rest. Her gaze
slid
     from one of the men watching her to the next, the smile on her face
     provocative, the look in her eyes the least bit challenging. Her hips
     moved in a way that turned Jake's mouth even drier, and -

    That's it, Jake thought when the realization forced its way through
to his
    conscious mind. She's been trained to entice men into wanting to
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rape her,
    and the training has been very effective. If she would just come
close
    enough for me to grab her…

    But the girl didn't come close enough to be grabbed, only almost
close
     enough. Out of the corner of his eye Jake could see that Tandro
was
    writhing where he knelt, something that Jake would have also done
if he
    hadn't had a ten-point-steel grip on himself. His intense interest
    couldn't be missed by anyone who looked at him, but at least he
wasn't
    adding to his own humiliation by writhing.

   The girl danced for a very long time, years and decades and
centuries in
   Jake's estimation, but finally she went to her knees and bowed her
head
   while she squirmed around a little and then the dance was over.
The flute
   playing stopped while the men in the audience made loud sounds of
   appreciation, and then Himlin turned his head toward Jake.

    "Well, slave, I can see that you liked the dance quite a lot," Himlin
    commented, making his men laugh again. "Now I'll find out if you
also
    obeyed my orders. Without speaking aloud, tell me if you're able to
say
    whether the female slave's special training has been effective - and
that
     you know what she's been trained to do."

    Jake nodded his head, the only way left him to show that he'd
figured out
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    the answer to the question, but Himlin didn't go on to ask that
question.
    He turned to Tandro and said the same thing he'd said to Jake, but
Tandro
    didn't show a nod the way Jake had. Tandro shook his head
instead, which
    told Jake why Himlin had silenced him. If Jake had spoken aloud,
he might
    have been able to share his knowledge with Tandro.

    "Oh, that's really too bad," Himlin said when he saw Tandro's
headshake,
    the slaver pretending to be upset on Tandro's behalf. "I'm afraid
you're
    going to regret not having the answer, but maybe you won't be
alone
    regretting the lack. Your friend claims to know how to answer my
question,
    but maybe he doesn't know at all. It's time to find out, so tell me,
    slave, what was the female slave trained to do?"

    "She was trained to entice men into wanting to rape her," Jake said,
    suddenly wondering if his answer was the one Himlin was looking
for. "And
    yes, her training has been very effective."

   Those words brought laughter from all the men again, and Himlin
wasn't shy
   about joining in. The slaver enjoyed his laugh while even the dancer
   smiled, and then he half leaned down to Jake.

    "What a good slave you are, obeying your master so well," Himlin
said as
    he patted Jake's head. "You've earned a small reward, which I
know you'll
    be grateful for. Girl, go and bend over the form and raise that silk
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up to
    your waist."

    Jake's mouth turned even drier as the girl instantly obeyed the
orders
    she'd been given. She jumped to her feet and hurried to the form
Jake
    himself had used, then raised the bottom of her silk costume before
    bending over the form. She was in exactly the right position to be
used,
    and Jake waited tensely for permission to go and do that using. He
needed
    a woman, needed her desperately, and even putting on a show for
his
    captors wouldn't - make the time - a complete waste -

    It actually took Jake that long to realize that Himlin wasn't giving
him
    permission to use the girl, but had gotten to his own feet and
walked over
    to her. Himlin had his body wrap open in no time, showing that he
was
    almost as badly aroused as Jake, and then the slaver was thrusting
himself
    into the girl. The girl cried out when that very large tool was pushed
    into her, but she made no attempt to escape the following use. Not
that
     she could have escaped even if she'd wanted to…

    Terrible disappointment flooded over Jake, the emotion so sharp
that for
    the first time in his adult life he really wanted to cry. He'd done
    exactly what he was supposed to do, had been praised and
promised a
    reward, and then the reward he'd hoped for was snatched out of
his hands
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  by his master. Even though doing something like that was his
master's
   prerogative, Jake still wanted to cry. He'd have to be careful to be
much
   better the next time, or else this would just happen again -

   Jake shook his head hard as anger flooded his mind, chasing out all
those
   alien thoughts. He didn't want to cry, he wanted to hurt Himlin for
   tormenting him, and also for giving him more orders while he was
   unconscious than he'd realized. If his previous reaction hadn't been
so
   totally alien to his normal way of looking at things, he might not
have
    been able to thrust the ideas away so easily. Jake could have ended
up an
   eager slave, anxious to do well for the man who had made himself
Jake's
    master…

    It would have been nice if Jake could have spoken aloud the words
that now
    filled his mind, but asking for trouble was definitely a bad idea.
Himlin
    had probably given Jake the kind of orders that were given to
female
    slaves, having no idea that the same kind of orders would be
useless to
    hold a man. Which was a damned good thing, or Jake would have
been really
    deep in it right now.

   And the only question left now, Jake thought, was how much
worse it would
   get. That it would get worse was so sure a thing that Jake would
have
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    willing to bet every cent he owned on the certainty. And he couldn't
even
    hope for rescue. Tain would be a fool if she didn't get Ennie and
herself
    out of the town and back to base, but she might have been that
kind of
    fool if Jake hadn't … enjoyed himself.

   It's my own fault, Jake thought as every ache and sense of need
   intensified in his awareness. This will be going on for a very long
time,
   and I have no one but myself to blame. Not that that makes
acceptance any
   easier… What the hell else will Himlin do to us…?




 Chains 2 Chapter 2Chains: 2
Chains Released
Chapter 2
copyright 2003 by Sharon Green Himlin took his time with the girl
slave,
    and from the way Tandro moved just a little where he knelt Jake
knew that
    his friend was suffering at least as much as Jake himself. Every time
the
    girl moaned Jake's suffering increased a notch, but there was a limit
to
    the increase. The rise stopped just short of the point where Jake
would
    have come just by watching, which showed another segment of the
orders
    he'd been given. Without permission from his "master," he was
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allowed
    nothing in the way of relief.

    When Himlin finished with the girl he closed his body wrap again
and
    sauntered back to his chair. The girl seemed to be deeply satisfied,
and
    it took a minute or so before she was able to leave the form and
follow
    Himlin to kneel at his feet - just out of Jake's reach. She was also
out
    of Tandro's reach, and having her so close but still beyond touching
and
     use made her presence even worse for Jake.

       "And now for the regret I spoke of earlier," Himlin said once the
girl
   knelt in front of him, but the slaver's gaze was on Tandro rather
than the
   girl. "A slave is required to be pleasing at all times, and you, slave,
   were less than pleasing by being unable to answer my questions.
Go to the
   form and bend over it the way the girl did."

    Jake watched as Tandro obeyed the orders he'd been given, but
not even the
    expressionless expression Tandro showed was enough to keep
Jake from
    knowing how really disturbed his friend was. The native tried hard
not to
    limp - or flinch - as he made his way to the wooden form and bent
over it,
    but Jake was sure Tandro knew what was coming as well as he
did. Slaves
    who weren't pleasing were punished…
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    "Your reward, slave, is to know that you won't be punished - this
time,"
    Himlin said, and Jake glanced up to see that the slaver now looked
at him.
    "You should also be rewarded with the knowledge that you've
pleased your
    master just as a good slave is supposed to do. Now let's enjoy
teaching a
    new slave his proper place in life."

    By that time one of the slaver's men had positioned himself behind
Tandro,
    a switch in his hand. Again Jake knew that a whipping would have
been
    easier to take and watch, but he and Tandro weren't going to be
given a
    chance to salve their pride. Humiliating pain was what slaves were
given,
    and that's all that Jake and Tandro could look forward to.
Stubborn
    defiance had a way of melting back faster in the presence of
humiliation
    than in the face of real pain…

    Not that there wasn't real pain involved. Tandro couldn't quite
swallow a
    hiss when the first stroke of the switch reached his backside, and
the
    sound of the thin branch striking tender flesh even made Jake
wince. As
    Tandro himself had once pointed out, no one in their right mind
wanted to
    experience a second switching right on top of a previous one. But
the
    observation hadn't been enough to save Tandro, and now an
opinion was
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   being turned into reality.

    The second switching was given at the same pace as the first, and
Tandro's
    body writhed even when the switch wasn't striking his backside.
Every
    stroke added to the red the skin of his behind had turned, and by
the
    third stroke Tandro was making soft sounds of pain. By the sixth
stroke
    the sounds weren't quite as soft, but the last four strokes, landing
    "smack! … smack! … smack! … smack!" with precision and
strength didn't
    change the volume of the sound. At that point Himlin gestured to his
man
    with the switch, and the man stepped back.

    "All right, slave, you can come back now and kneel in place again,"
Himlin
    said, his tone showing how much he'd enjoyed the show. "If you
liked the
    punishment and want more of it, just continue to be displeasing.
Your
    master will be more than happy to oblige you."

    Tandro straightened and began to return to his place at the feet of
    Himlin, but Jake could see that the other man was holding his
breath
    against the added pain of movement. And Tandro was so aroused
that Jake
    wondered why the other man's skin hadn't yet burst. By rights the
pain
    should have ended Tandro's arousal, but thanks to those insertions
he and
    Tandro were being allowed nothing of any kind of relief. Jake's
knees had
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   started to hurt from the way he was being kept kneeling, but that
wasn't
   doing him any good either.

     And it seemed that nothing would do him or Tandro any good.
Once the
    native was kneeling, Himlin signaled to one of his men and a second
female
    slave was allowed into the room. This second girl was easily as
beautiful
     as the first and dressed in the same kind of silks, and when the flute
    player began to make music again Jake really did wish he could
cry. His
    first thought was a silent demand to know just how many of these
girls
    Himlin meant to parade in front of him and Tandro, but then Jake
realized
     that he didn't really want to know.

   Whatever the number, the time would be as far from pleasant as it's
   possible to get. Without the least chance of escape…

    ***

    Tain started to lead Ennie back in the direction they'd come from,
having
    decided that reaching the gate they'd used to enter the town would
be a
    better idea than trying for a different gate. She kept close to the
back
    of the building, moving through shadow whenever possible, but
hadn't gone
    far when a strange woman stepped out of a doorway only a few
feet ahead of
    them. The woman wore the thin, knee-length smock of a free
woman of the
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   lower classes, and held up a hand toward Tain.

   "Don't be afraid, I only want to help you," the woman called softly.
"Come
   inside and we can talk."

    "Do you think we can trust her?" Ennie asked in a whisper from
behind
    Tain. "What if there are men inside and she's only luring us into
slavery
    again?"

   "Why would men bother doing it that way?" Tain murmured back,
having
   already considered the point. "As far as they would know, they'd
only have
    to step outside and order us to come to them. And now that you
mention it,
    there's something I should have done sooner. Don't take orders
from anyone
   but me."

    A glance back showed Tain the way Ennie nodded almost
distractedly, the
    momentary animation already beginning to slip away. Being in
danger
    obviously let Ennie escape the depression holding her for short
periods of
    time, but the relief wasn't, unfortunately, permanent. Well, Tain
knew
    there was nothing she could do about the problem right now, so
she led
    Ennie toward the doorway the strange woman had come out of.

   The door stood slightly ajar, so Tain pushed it open further before
   stepping inside. Three women stood waiting in the empty
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warehouse, all of
   them dressed alike, and the woman who'd spoken a moment
before took one
   step away from her companions.

   "It's all right, we won't hurt you," the woman said with a smile. "I'm
   Risdin, and I also used to be a slave, but now we're all free. To
prove
   it, I'll say don't take anyone's orders ever again. It's just that easy to
   be free of the drug."

    Tain knew that being freed would have been just that easy - if she
hadn't
    been given orders not to take orders from anyone but Killen. And if
Ennie
   hadn't been given orders not to listen to anyone but Tain herself.
She
   felt the urge to tell the woman Risdin about not being able to take
orders
   from her, but since she didn't really have to protect herself from
Risdin
    the urge was easy to push aside. Since she knew that the order
she'd been
   given had been meant for use with men, ignoring the required
response was
   easier than it would have been ordinarily.

    "Why are you risking yourselves by helping us?" Tain asked, a
question
    that really did have to be put. Risdin was of average height and
build,
    just like the two women behind her, but she was the only one of the
three
    smiling. She had brown hair and seemed to have matching eyes,
and was only
    faintly pretty. The two women behind her were downright plain.
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    "We're risking ourselves for you because others risked themselves
for us,"
    Risdin answered, her face sobering. "We saw you run when your
owners were
    attacked, but we didn't show ourselves right away. Some slaves in
your
    place would have gone back to the men once the fighting was over,
and if
    you'd done that we couldn't have helped you. But you didn't go
back, which
    meant you wanted to escape, so now we can help. Let's start with
giving
    you some real food to eat."

    "I - think we need a few more answers first," Tain said, ignoring the
way
    Risdin's gesture directed them more deeply into the building. "You
seem to
    be saying that you and those others were once slaves yourselves,
but if
    that's true then I don't understand why you're in this town. You
ought to
    be out of here, to make sure you aren't caught and enslaved again."

    "We were out of here, but we volunteered to come back," Risdin
said, her
    face wearing an odd expression. "We fear slavery as much as the
rest of
    our group, but some of us can't bear to just hide out and do nothing
to
    help free as many women as we can. We stay here for about a
month at a
    time, and then others of the group come to take our place. During
the
    seasons when these warehouses are in use we hide elsewhere, but
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we prefer
   this place because it's closest to our secret way out of town."

    "You shouldn't have told her that, Risdin," one of the other women
said at
    once with a frown. "We still don't know if these two are real
runaways or
    decoys to help catch us."

      "She didn't tell me anything I hadn't already guessed," Tain said just
as
    quickly before Risdin could speak. "If you three had come in
through a
    gate without any men to act as your protection, you probably
would have
    been taken as soon as you were out of sight of the guardhouse.
And you
    don't have to worry that we're acting for the slavers. I'd sooner cut
my
    own throat than give a slaver the time of day."

      "I don't think they're decoys, Celene," the third woman said just as
the
    second opened her mouth to argue. "Look at that other one, at the
way
    she's staring at nothing. The slavers would never use someone like
that as
    a decoy."

   "She's … had a hard time," Tain said, turning to put an arm around
Ennie.
   "Once we're out of here I'm sure she'll do better, but right now…
Come on,
   Ennie. Our new friends here are inviting us for a late breakfast, and
it
   would be rude to refuse them."
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     Ennie didn't really respond to Tain's words, but she did let herself
be
   urged into motion. The woman Celene, who had limp blond hair
and hard blue
    eyes, was the only one who hesitated before coming forward to
help with
    Ennie, but after a moment she did the same as her friends. Ennie's
pain
    and distance were too deep to be an act, and all three women
seemed to
    know that.

    The third woman went to close the door Tain had left open before
coming
    back to the small crowd, Risdin pretty much leading the way
toward the
    right side of the warehouse. There were a few doors in that
direction
    which suggested the presence of rooms rather than an open floor,
and when
    they reached one of the doors and Risdin opened it Tain found that
her
    guess was right. Behind the door was a fairly large room that
looked
    cleaner and sturdier than the rest of the warehouse but just as
empty.

    "If you get sloppy and leave signs that you're around, you end up
being
    retaken," Risdin said as she gestured to the floor. "If you two will sit
    down and make yourselves comfortable, we'll have a meal put
together for
    you in just a couple of minutes. Areen, will you close this door too,
    please?"
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     The third woman, Areen, turned and closed the door the way she
had the
    outer one. She'd been staring at Ennie while Tain urged the girl to
sit
    down on the floor, a heavy sadness in her brown eyes. Tain had the
feeling
    that Areen might have been as bad off as Ennie at one time, and
now felt a
    kinship with the girl. That Areen had pulled out of the depression
said
    something about the woman's strength, a strength that her slender
body and
    short brown hair didn't show signs of.

    Risdin and Celene were busy moving aside one section of one of
the room's
    walls, behind which there seemed to be quite a number of things.
One of
    those things was a cast-iron griller, and after Risdin had dragged
the
    thing out Celene filled it with charcoal. Getting a fire going didn't
take
    long, and once the fire was burning well Risdin put a coffee pot on
one
    side of the griller. Areen used the other side for a frying pan filled
    with eggs and potatoes, and in no time Tain's mouth began to water.

    The food was ready before the coffee, but Areen didn't wait and
neither
    did Tain. She accepted the metal plate handed to her and
immediately began
    to stuff down the food, stopping only when she saw that Ennie was
ignoring
    a similar plate.

   "Ennie, you have to get your strength back," Tain said to the girl,
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    speaking softly. "I'd really like you to eat as much of that food as
you
    can hold, otherwise you'll be putting us and our new friends in
danger. If
    we have to make a run for it at any point and you pass out, I can't
see
    the rest of us just leaving you behind. Do you understand what I'm
saying?"

    Tain was hoping hard that the girl wouldn't choose to ignore her,
and for
    once her hopes came true. Ennie's head came up just a tad while
she
    considered what Tain had said, and then she picked up the plate
and began
    to eat. A glance at the three women showed Risdin smiling, Celene
    frowning, and Areen disturbed, but none of the three said anything.
Relief
    at the silence let Tain go back to her own food, since she was fairly
    certain that she'd lied to Ennie. The three women most probably
would not
    have risked stopping for Ennie if she fainted, but they'd realized that
    the truth was sometimes something that shouldn't be mentioned.

     The coffee was ready by the time Tain had finished eating, and
when Ennie
     refused a cup Risdin asked if Ennie would like to rest instead. The
girl
     agreed that she would like to rest, so Areen got out a pallet that
was
     downright fat with stuffing, put it against the far wall of the room,
then
     arranged a blanket on it. Ennie seemed a bit steadier when she got
up to
     go to the pallet, and once she'd lain down Areen came to join her
two
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      companions where they sat near Tain with coffee of their own.

      "We can get you out of town tonight, once it gets dark," Risdin said
to
      Tain in a low voice after tasting the coffee. Tain had already given
her
    name and Ennie's, which had apparently made all the women feel
better.
    "Our group has a few hiding places, but we know only one of them
so that's
    the one we'll take you to."

    "That makes sense," Tain said after tasting her own coffee. The
liquid was
    strong and unsweetened, but it added strength to what she'd gotten
from
    the food. "If you happen to get captured, you won't be able to
betray more
    than the one hiding place. But it's possible you won't betray anyone
    anyway unless you're tortured. Since you're still really under the
    influence of the drug, being given the drug a second time might not
negate
    that order to ignore orders."

   "You know, that never occurred to us," Risdin said after
exchanging
   startled glances with the other two women. "We've never met
anyone who was
   given the drug twice, so we don't know for certain what would
happen. Do
   you know for certain?"

   "No," Tain had to admit, but she'd also been trying to make up her
mind
   about something. "Tell me, approximately how many women are in
your group,
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   and just how far are you prepared to go to be really free?"

    "Why do you want to know how many of us there are?" Celene
asked at once,
    suspicion flaring in her eyes again. "And what do you mean by
really free?
    We're free right now and we mean to stay that way."

   "You're not free of the drug and you're not free to walk the streets
any
   time you please," Tain countered just as quickly, doing nothing to
avoid
    that hard blue gaze. "I don't need to know exactly how many of
you there
    are, but even if there are no more than fifty or so that's still too
many
   to spend the rest of their lives in hiding. The rest of your lives. If
    there was a way to get rid of slavery for good, would you be willing
to
    take a few chances?"

    "What way, and what kind of chances?" Risdin asked as Celene
just stared
    at Tain. "And why do I have the feeling that you're not like the rest
of
    us? You should be both terrified and delighted at having been
offered our
    help, but you don't seem to be either. What makes you so
different?"

    "I'm different because I'm not a native of this world," Tain said,
having
    consciously overridden the need to keep her true origins secret.
"I'm part
    of a group that's trying to end slavery on this world, and it was just
bad
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    luck that my partner and I ended up as slaves ourselves. I meant to
take
    my partner back to where our people can help her, but there's
really
    something else I ought to do first. If I can count on you ladies
getting
    Ennie out of here in case something happens to me, I can do that
something
    else with a clear head."

    "Why would people from another world care about what happens
to us?" Areen
    asked, a question Tain had expected from Celene rather than from
her.
    "Slavery has been going on for years and years, but now, suddenly,
you're
    in the mood to stop it?"

    "Our people have been trying for years, but the sad fact is that they
    expected to get somewhere with diplomacy," Tain explained,
grimacing to
    show her opinion of the mindless waste of time. "Diplomacy may
work when
    you're dealing with people exactly like yourself, but when there's a
big
    enough difference in cultures diplomacy doesn't stand much of a
chance.
    That's why we were sent, to see if we could find a different way to
settle
     the problem, but we're not alone. One of the two men you saw
taken
    prisoner is one of mine."

    The various revelations had the three women looking at each other,
but for
    a long moment no one said anything. It was definitely disturbance
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that
    filled the three, but when Risdin looked directly at Tain again Tain
saw
    something that might have been hope.

    "That must be why the men were captured instead of killed," Risdin
said,
    and Tain had the impression that she spoke more for the benefit of
the
    other two women than for Tain's. "They have a plan, and someone
wants to
    know what that plan is so they can stop it. Do you really think that
    whatever their plan is it will work?"

    "Truthfully, I don't know," Tain admitted, refusing to let herself sigh.
    "Ennie and I were originally on our own, but when the accident
happened
    our people sent the two men to buy us out of slavery. I do know
that they
    had some kind of meeting to attend that kept us from leaving this
town,
    but they were taken before they could get to the meeting. What I
want to
    do is free them from where they're being held."

   "And you expect us to help with that?" Celene said with a snort of
scorn.
   "I don't know about you, but I swore off beating up on men twice
my size."

    "Well, it so happens that I didn't," Tain returned with the most evil
grin
    she could produce. "Beating up on those men will be a true
pleasure, but
    I'm not fool enough to think I can take a large number of them all at
    once. What I want to do is sneak into that warehouse, wait until
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dark, and
    then break the two prisoners loose. But before I make my try I'll
come
    back here and tell you that it's time. If I'm not back with the men an
    hour later at the most, you'll know that you have to take Ennie and
get
    out of here."

   "And what happens if you're found while you're sneaking around?"
Celene
   demanded, her face showing that a struggle of some sort was going
on
   inside her. "We still don't know if a second dose of the drug will put
you
   back under their control, and even if it doesn't there's always that
   torture you mentioned. Sitting here waiting for you to get back
could get
   us retaken."

     "Not if only one of us waits for her," Risdin said before Tain could
     answer the objection, the dark-haired woman's body straightening
where she
     sat. "I think this woman can do what she says, and I'm willing to
risk my
     own freedom to help her. Help her help us, that is. You and Areen
will
     take the girl and hide, and if a group of men come bursting in
instead of
     Tain, you'll all run. I'll be able to keep from being recaptured long
     enough for you three to get away from the city and warn everyone
in the
     hideout."

   "That sounds like a plan to me," Tain agreed, sending Risdin a
smile. "The
   only change I'd make is that you do your own hiding, Risdin. That
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way if
     I'm taken and the men come looking for you, they'll have to tear
this
     place apart to find you. If the others are close enough to hear the
noise,
     they'll know enough to run."

    "I'm willing to stay close enough to hear the noise, assuming it
happens,"
    Areen said, the words not quite forced out of her. "Celene had a
harder
    time than we did as a slave, so she has to be the one to take the girl
    farther away. Remembering what she went through will let her run
as far
    and as fast as it's possible to go, and that's best for all of us."

    Celene had looked as if she were trying to force herself to argue
about
    who stayed close, but Areen's line of logic gave Celene a reason to
simply
    nod her agreement. The decision was made, then, with everyone
prepared to
    do her part, so they all went back to drinking coffee. Tain noticed
that
    Ennie hadn't moved from the pallet and the girl's eyes were closed,
so it
    was possible that Ennie had fallen asleep. Tain sipped her coffee
and
    hoped so, considering that the girl would need all the strength she
could
    muster. Even if things went well, that would not be the same as
having
    them go easily…

   When she'd finished her coffee, Tain left the warehouse by the
back door
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    and made her cautious way to the front of the building. She'd
considered
    letting the women take the red bands off her arms, then rejected the
idea.
    If anyone saw her she wanted them to think she was a slave, a
point she'd
    had to make with her three new companions. No man believed that
a slave
    could be dangerous to him, which gave Tain a very large
advantage. Taking
    off the bands and borrowing a change of clothes from one of the
women
    would have thrown away the edge.

    No one was in sight when Tain crossed the street to the warehouse
Killen
    and Tandro had been taken into, but that didn't mean Tain simply
opened
    the door and walked inside. Instead she made her way around to
the back of
    the building, found a window, then peeked inside. There was still
no sign
    of guards or anyone else, so she took a chance and opened the
back door.
    Nothing but emptiness greeted her entrance, but she could hear
voices from
    somewhere else in the building. Walls had been put up to divide the
inner
    expanse, which ought to help Tain with her sneaking. Lurking
behind walls
    was easier than lurking in shadows.

    Ghosting around from place to place wasn't easy on Tain's nerves,
but the
    search had to be made so she did it. She'd found a large room with
chairs
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    in it that could be seen through a crack in one of the walls, but there
    was no sign of Killen and Tandro. The narrow corridor she'd been
using
    dead-ended just ahead, so Tain was about to retrace her steps to
find a
    more productive corridor when she heard voices in the large room.

   Looking through the crack again showed Tain that a number of
men had
    entered the room, but again none of them were the two she
searched for.
    For the second time she was about to walk away when a big man
entered the
   room from a doorway to the right. The big man wore a gaudily
bejeweled
   vest and swordbelt, and right behind him came Killen and Tandro.
The two
   men had been stripped naked, but they were still alive.

    Now all she had to do was figure out a way to get them out of this
place…




 Chains 2 Chapter 3Chains: 2
Chains Released
Chapter 3
copyright 2003 by Sharon Green
    At first Tain didn't understand what was happening. Not until the
big man
    in the jewels ordered Killen and Tandro to the punishment forms
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and they
   obeyed without the slightest hesitation did the truth finally dawn.
The
   drug that had, until now, been given to no one but women, was
now being
   used on the two men.

     I wonder what took them so long to think of the obvious, Tain
thought as
     she watched Killen bend over the wooden form the way he'd been
told to do.
     But maybe I'd do better wondering what caused the change of
mind set. If
     it's unthinkable to use a drug for women on men, what would make
it less
     unthinkable?

    There was no easy answer to that question, so Tain dismissed the
thought
    as she watched what was being done to Killen. The big, macho
agent who'd
    had so much fun with her looked a lot less macho when the
insertion was
    put in him, the same thing being done to Tandro. Tandro seemed to
close
    his eyes for a moment, possibly remembering how he hadn't
hesitated over
    his treatment of Ennie, but that was just the beginning of the native's
    regret - if regret it was.

    The switching the two men were given looked extremely painful,
and to make
    matters worse they were both aroused when they were finally
allowed to
    straighten up. The other men in the room laughed at them as they
made
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   their way to the place where the man in the jeweled vest sat to
kneel at
   his feet. Killen and his friend were being given the full treatment,
and
   Tain couldn't help thinking that it couldn't have happened to a more
   deserving pair.

    It wasn't possible to hear what the big boss said to his two new
slaves,
    not even before the girl in the see-through silks was brought in to
dance.
    The man in the fancy vest spoke softly to the two kneeling near
him, and
    there was nothing in the way of an echo to bring even some of his
words to
    where Tain stood. All she could do was watch the dance along
with the men,
    hoping that something useful to her would soon happen.

    But the only thing that happened was a sudden realization that
Killen and
    Tandro - and the other men in the room - weren't nearly as bored
with the
    dance as Tain was. When the girl finished her dance and knelt in
front of
    the man in the vest, Killen looked ready to attack the girl and
Tandro
    didn't seem any better. The man in the vest spoke to the two
kneeling men
    one at a time, and then Killen said something. The something
seemed to be
    what the man in the vest wanted to hear, and he grinned as he sent
the
    girl to bend over the wooden form Killen had used.

   Tain knew at once that the girl would be used, and it was obvious
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that
     Killen knew the same. Killen fairly quivered where he knelt, for
some
     reason expecting to be allowed to go to the girl, but he ended up
     disappointed. It was the man in the vest who went and used the
girl, which
     increased Killen's - and Tandro's - suffering.

    Once the girl was kneeling again, Tandro was sent back to the
wooden form
    to be switched a second time. It looked like Tandro had done
something
    wrong or hadn't done something right enough, and the punishment
he was
    given looked brutal. But not brutal enough for the native to accept
what
    was done with stubborn courage. It's hard to be courageous when
your
    bottom is being spanked, even if the spanking hurts more than
being beaten
    up might. A spanking is a suitable punishment for a child; how are
you
    supposed to show dignity and pride when you're being punished
like a
child?

    Tain had already learned that lesson, and Tandro was taught the
same thing
    thoroughly before he was allowed to go back to kneeling. When
another
    dancing girl was brought in Killen looked like he wished he could
cry, and
    Tain didn't really blame him. She'd wondered if those insertions
would be
    as terrible for a man as they were for a woman, and now it looked
like the
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   question had been answered.

    The second dancer was used by another of the men in the room,
and then a
    third dancer was brought in. After the third dancer was used by a
third
    man, Killen was ordered to his feet and back to the wooden form.
There had
    been some conversation with the man in the vest while the third girl
    danced, and this time it was Killen who hadn't done something in
the
    proper way.

    And there was a definite change from when Killen and Tandro had
been
    switched and even from when Tandro had been punished alone.
When the first
    stroke landed on Killen's backside he squeaked out an "Ow!" as he
danced
    in place. The second stroke of the switch made him yell even
louder and
    dance harder, and the third stroke made him cry. All the men in the
room
    were laughing and so were the dancing girls, but that didn't stop
Killen's
    performance. Every time the switch struck his bottom he howled
and cried
    and danced with the pain, and Tandro now looked as if he wished
he could
    close his eyes.

   I'll bet Killen was ordered to act like a girl during the punishment,
Tain
   thought once she'd gotten over the shock of seeing Killen doing
something
   she would have sworn he'd never do. That man wants something
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from his two
   prisoners, and he knows he has to break them or he won't get
whatever it
   is. But he can't afford to break them too far or he'd be using a whip
on
   them instead of a switch. I wonder what it is that he wants…

    That was another question Tain knew she couldn't answer, so it
went on the
    mental shelf along with her previous question and any others of the
same
    kind that would come along later. She felt tempted not to watch the
way
    Killen was being humiliated, but remembering that other persona
he'd
    forced on her made her change her mind. If Killen survived what
was done
    to him, there would now be a chance that he'd have a better
understanding
    of just how awful the time had been for Tain.

    Killen continued to howl and dance for a while after the switching
    stopped, and the tears definitely kept streaming down his face.
Once his
    noise quieted a little he was ordered back to his place, and the way
he
    limp-hopped back made his audience laugh all over again. It was
hard for
    Tain to tell whether the male laughter or the female was worse for
Killen,
    but when the man was back to kneeling his expression reminded
Tain of
    Ennie.

   The next few hours dragged by much too slowly. Each of the girls
danced a
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    second time, and after each dance a different man took the girl's
use.
    Just about every man in the room got his jollies, all except Killen
and
    Tandro. Those two were only allowed to watch while others were
given
    relief, and it was perfectly obvious that they had no relief of their
own.

    When serving slaves began to enter with trays of food, it became
clear
    that the man in the vest had called a meal break. Everyone was
given the
    choice of actual food, but the everyone didn't include Killen and
Tandro.
    Those two were given bowls with spoons, and Tain didn't have to
look into
    the bowls to know they contained that cereal slaves were most
often fed.
    Even the dancing girls were allowed real food, but the two newest
slaves
    had to make do with the cereal.

    Tain watched as Killen and Tandro stuffed down their food,
obviously under
    orders to eat the tasteless fare. Once they finished they just knelt
and
    watched everyone else eat real food, and once the others finished
the
    dancing started again. The two kneeling men seemed to get a small
amount
    of respite from their bodily demands during the meal, but once the
dancing
    started again they went right back to where they'd been earlier.

   More time went by, leading Tain to wonder how long it would be
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before
     darkness fell. It also came to her to wonder if Killen and Tandro
would be
     left here in this warehouse or taken somewhere else once it was
dark
    enough out. If the man in the vest left and took enough of his
people with
    him, freeing Killen and Tandro shouldn't be hard at all. But if the
two
     men themselves were taken somewhere else, Tain would have to
try to follow
     - without being spotted and captured.

     Finally, at long, long last, the man in the vest stood up and
stretched.
     He said something to the two men still kneeling at his feet, and the
two
     tried to stand up. After so long a time kneeling Killen and Tandro
must
     have been in a lot of pain, and watching them force themselves to
their
     feet showed Tain how much trouble they were having. Tandro
actually fell
     on his first try, but the native spent no time at all lying still in an
     effort to ease the pain he felt. His second try was immediate, and
this
     time he made it erect.

    Once both of the men were standing, they headed for the door
they'd come
    out of so many hours earlier. Their progress was on the slow side,
but
    once they were through the doorway the door was pulled closed
and two of
    the men in the room stood beside the door, one on each side. With
that
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    done the man in the vest spoke to the rest of his people, and then
he led
    the way to a door opposite Tain's watchpost and to the left. The
dancers
    brought up the rear with one of the men walking behind them, and
in just a
    couple of minutes the room was empty of everyone but the two
door guards.

      Tain had shifted position on a regular basis during the past hours,
so
    when she left the opening she'd been watching through she had no
real
    trouble moving. She ghosted to the end of the corridor to the left,
being
    very careful now, and got to the end of the closed-in area in time to
see
    the man in the vest and the rest of his people leaving the warehouse
     through the door in front. Once the door closed Tain took a deep
breath
    and let it out slowly, knowing that she had a fairly hard time ahead
of
     her. She now had to wait for the two guards to be relieved, and
only then
    would she be able to move. But first…

      First she waited a short while to be certain the man in the vest and
the
    rest of his people were gone, and then she made her careful way
back to
    the warehouse across the street. There was no one outside,
happily, so
    getting back to the other warehouse wasn't hard at all. Tain slid
through
    the darkness to the back of the warehouse and went through the
door
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   carefully, then groped around for the candle and firemaker that had
been
   left for her use.

    When the candle was lit, Tain moved slowly toward the door that
hid the
    living quarters the escaped slave women had been using. By now
Risdin
    ought to know she was here, but it was possible the woman had
taken a
    break. Tain had almost reached the door when the door was
opened, but
    Risdin didn't step out. She simply opened the door widely enough
to show
    she was alone, and then she waited.

      "There are guards on my friend and I have to wait until the guards
are
    replaced before I can do anything, but hopefully it won't be much
longer."
    Tain had stopped a few feet from the door and her voice was
relatively
    soft, but still loud enough to carry to where Risdin stood. "How are
you
    doing?"

    "Aside from being surprised I haven't had a heart attack, I'm not
doing
    badly at all," Risdin answered, her grimace showing she wasn't
really
    joking. "How badly did they hurt your friend?"

   "Physically they didn't do anything to him that hasn't been done to
women,
   but how he's taking it psychologically is another matter entirely,"
Tain
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   answered with a sigh. "If a man isn't used to being treated like
property,
   it can do a lot of harm to his mind."

      "You can't mean they tried to make him a slave?" Risdin returned,
her
       expression now looking shocked. "It isn't possible to do something
like
       that to a man."

      "It's more than possible if you give the man that slave drug," Tain
      pointed out, apparently shocking Risdin again. "Yes, they fed him
the
    drug, and then they treated him the way they would treat a
disobedient
    female slave. He didn't enjoy it at all when they switched him twice."

    "Imagine that," Risdin murmured distractedly, her mind seemingly
busy with
    whirling thoughts. "Not enjoying being switched at someone's
whim… So the
    drug does work on men as well as women. A lot of people believe
only women
    can be affected because women are weak, but now we know that
that isn't
    true. Celene thought I was being obscene and disgusting and dark,
but it
    looks like she was wrong."

   "What was she wrong about?" Tain asked, wondering what the
other woman
   could be referring to.

   "A slaver passing by with some new slaves accidentally dropped a
pouch
   with a few doses of the drug, and I took the pouch and kept it."
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Risdin's
    answer was accompanied by a spreading smile. "I had no idea why
I wanted
    to keep it, maybe to let the drug act as something I could hate
instead of
    hating the people around me, but now… Now I know that keeping
the drug was
    pure inspiration."

    "I think we can definitely do something with that," Tain said, her
own
    thoughts starting to whirl. "Just make sure you don't run off on your
own
    with some wild idea about getting even. Proper getting even takes
planning
    and preparation, not to mention all the help you can find. If you can
make
    yourself be patient I'll be delighted to do what I can to help."

      "Be patient," Risdin said with another grimace, but the wildness was
      beginning to fade from her eyes. "You don't ask for much in return
for
   your help, do you? Okay, yes, I promise I won't run off on my
own. You'd
   just better know that when it comes to getting even I don't have a
whole
  lot in the way of patience."

    "You won't have to have a lot of patience, since we can't afford to
wait
    very long before moving," Tain assured her. "I just have to figure
out the
    best direction to do that moving, and my friend might be able to
help. I
    think he knows something we need to know, and with that in mind
I'd better
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   get back. Don't get sloppy or careless while I'm gone."

   "The same right back at you," Risdin countered with a feral grin. "If
you
   get grabbed you'll miss out on what promises to be a lot of fun."

    "When there's a purpose behind your fun, you tend to enjoy it a lot
more,"
    Tain said, then turned and went back to the warehouse's door.
Blowing out
    the candle, making sure the wick was cool, and then putting the
candle
    down on the floor again took only a couple of minutes, and by then
Tain's
    night vision had returned so she could step outside. There was still
no
    one around, but Tain didn't let that make her careless. She slid
through
    the darkness the way she had earlier, listening to every sound the
night
    air brought, and then she entered the other warehouse again.

      It took about three hours before the guards were relieved by a
different
      pair of men, and the only way Tain could stand the wait was to do
it in
     hunting mode. When you're out hunting, either game or men, the
only way to
      make the hunt successful is to have patience. If you move too soon
you
      either go hungry or end up dead or captured, so Tain forced
patience on
      herself and waited. Once the two guards had been replaced it was
only
     necessary to wait a few minutes to make certain the first two would
not be
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      coming back, and then the waiting was over.

    As Tain moved around to the door that would take her into the
room where
    the guards waited, she found that she was actually grateful for the
    so-called clothes she wore. If she'd been dressed in any other way
she
    probably would have had a problem, but as it was…

    The attention of both guards came to Tain the instant she stepped
through
    the door, which hardly came as a surprise. Sneaking up on the two
men
    would have been impossible, so Tain simply strolled toward them in
the
    most provocative way she could manage. Her smile was teasing as
well as
    faintly challenging, and the men got the exact idea she wanted them
to.

      "It looks like Himlin wants to be sure we don't fall asleep," one of
the
      men said to the other without moving his delighted gaze from Tain.
"I
      think I can promise that I won't fall asleep."

    "Hell, I'd do her even if I was asleep," the second man said with a
very
    wide grin. "I heard that the ones who were with Himlin earlier got
to use
    those dancers, and I've been hot ever since. Now I get to put the
hot to
    use."

   Neither of the men moved from his post as Tain approached, but
they did
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    start to discuss who would get to use her first. That gave Tain
enough
    time to get into position, and once she was close enough to the first
man
    she didn't hesitate. Throwing a fist into the man's throat put him
down at
    once, and while the second was frozen in shock Tain jump-kicked
him in the
    face. The man's neck snapped just the way it was supposed to,
which let
    Tain turn back to her first victim. That man's throat and windpipe
were
    crushed, and after thrashing around some he'd fallen unconscious.
In just
    a short while he would be dead, so Tain was able to turn her
attention to
    the door they'd guarded.

    Beyond the door was a fairly small room, a single candle providing
an even
    smaller amount of light. Killen and Tandro were stretched out face
down on
    pallets, and the very brief, mostly silent fight outside their door
hadn't
    wakened them from what looked like exhausted sleep. Tain
hesitated only a
    second, and then she was moving to where Killen lay. When she
reached him
    she knelt beside the pallet, then put a hand over his mouth.

   "No talking and no struggling right now," she said when Killen's
eyes flew
   open. "You'll only take orders from me, both of you. Do you
understand?"

   Tandro had awakened only a moment after Killen, so both men
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nodded in
    answer to her question. At that point Tain had no choice but to
take her
    hand away from Killen's mouth, and when the big man stayed silent
Tain let
    out the breath she'd been holding. If Killen had given her an order
she
    would have had to obey him, but she'd managed to get her own
order in
    first.

    "Good," Tain said, getting back to her feet. "You, Killen, aren't to
ever
   give me orders about anything again, but right now you have to
take my
    orders. Can both of you walk?"

    "If it means getting out of here, I'm willing to crawl," Killen
answered,
    turning to his side on the pallet. "But we'll have to be ordered to
leave
    our 'beds.' Himlin ordered us into bed before he left."

    "Then I order you to get to your feet and follow me," Tain said,
privately
    relieved that Killen sounded so normal. "If anyone shows up and
tries to
    stop us, you two are also ordered to fight. Do anything you have to
in
    order to keep from being recaptured."

   "That's one order I'll obey with a big smile," Tandro said as he
moved
   slowly to his feet. "Assuming, of course, that my knees are able to
hold
   me up."
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  "Talk about unexpected pain," Killen added as he made his own
awkward way
  to his feet. "I had no idea kneeling so long could hurt so much, but I
  sure as hell know it now."

   Tain felt the urge to comment about lessons that some people
deserved to
   learn, but wasting time right now would have been stupid. Just
because no
   one should have shown up didn't mean no one would, so the
sooner they got
   out of this place the better off they would be. She watched until the
men
   were fairly steady, told them to pick up their discarded body
wraps, and
   then she led the way out of the room.

    Walking past the two bodies on the floor wasn't hard for Tain at all,
and
    a glance showed her that Killen wore an expression of deep
satisfaction at
    the sight. Tandro, though, seemed deeply shocked, and he looked
at Killen
    in confusion.

    "Does this mean she can fight the way you do?" he asked Killen as
they all
    headed for the door that would lead them out into the rest of the
   warehouse. "I never pictured women being taught this kind of thing."

      "If she hadn't been taught this kind of thing, we'd still probably be
      prisoners in that room," Killen pointed out, his hands playing with
the
    body wrap he hadn't been told he could put on again. "Would you
be happier
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   if we were still prisoners?"

   "I get the point and I'm not arguing," Tandro said after taking a
deep
   breath. "Funny how outrage disappears in the face of a good
enough cause."

    There wasn't anything to say to that, so both men were silent as
they
    paused to pick up their rifled but otherwise untouched saddlebags,
put the
    bags over one shoulder, then followed Tain to the back door of the
    warehouse.

    Tain stepped outside with every one of her senses alert, but the
night
    still felt empty and calm. It wouldn't have surprised her to find that
the
    man in the vest was paranoid enough to set up a trap in case
anyone came
    to free his prisoners, but it looked like the man had been sure no
one
    would come. If the man in the vest knew about the missing female
slaves
    his captives had had, he'd dismissed the slaves as being completely
    unimportant. More fool, he.

    Tain had to slow her pace to allow the men to follow her without
trouble,
    but they all finally reached the back of the other warehouse and
slipped
    inside. The candle wasn't hard to find but the firemaker was
another
    story, and it took a good deal of groping before Tain had the thing
in her
    hand. Shortly thereafter the candle was lit again, so Tain led her
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small
   parade toward the door where Risdin was supposed to be waiting.
When
   Risdin opened the door wide Tain felt a bit of relief, but her relief
   increased when she saw the grin the other woman wore.

    "I forgot to ask how you would let me know that the men were in
your
    control rather than you being in theirs," Risdin said as she studied
    Killen and Tandro. "The point worried me, but I'm not worried any
longer.
    Have you asked them how they liked being treated in the way they
treated
    others without the least hesitation?"

    "I thought I'd leave that for you to do," Tain said as she moved
toward
    the room and the door that could be closed. "As a reward for the
patience
    you were forced to have. After you're done I'll put the questions I
have."

      "The coffee is still hot if you want some," Risdin said as she stepped
      back out of the way to let the three people enter, her gaze still on
the
      men. "I couldn't wait that long without having coffee to sustain me,
so
    help yourself while I put these slaves to their knees the way I was
put so
    often."

      "I don't want them on their knees," Tain said at once as she headed
for
   the coffee pot that stood above dully glowing coals. "That man,
Himlin, I
   think his name is, kept them on their knees for hours, and doing it
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again
   could cripple them for a time. If we're going to move, we'll want
them
   with us."

      "All right, then let's have them sit down," Risdin said, having taken
the
    candle to circle the two men after she closed the door behind them.
"A lot
    of times a slave is sent to sit on a wooden bench or a high stool
after a
    switching, and she isn't even allowed to scream."

    "Listen to me," Killen said to an angry Risdin before Tain could
answer,
    his words gentle and filled with understanding. "I know how furious
and
    hurt you feel, and I knew it even before I shared your experience
as a
    slave for a few hours. I hate the idea of slavery and always have,
and now
    that I know how damaging it is to everyone involved I hate it even
more.
    We didn't mind risking our lives to put an end to this horror before
now,
    but from now on we'll be dedicated to the idea with a passion only
a
    former slave can appreciate. Do you understand?"

   Risdin stood in silence for a time, staring first at Killen and then at
   Tandro, seeing the way neither man made any effort to avoid her
gaze. Tain
   knew that Risdin had been looking forward to getting some of her
own back,
   but she was now being forced to admit that these men weren't the
ones she
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   wanted to get even with.

    "Hurting them would make me as bad as the ones who hurt me,
wouldn't it?"
    Risdin said, finally breaking the silence. "I didn't understand that
    before, but now I do. Just because it was men who hurt me, I can't
put the
    blame on every man alive, can I."

    "Some people do, but they're the ones who let their fear and hatred
rule
    them," Tain answered, since she was the one Risdin had spoken to.
"Just as
    some men blame all women when it was only one who hurt them.
Killen, you
    and Tandro can make yourselves comfortable in the best way you
can, and
    then we'll talk. I have a few questions for you that may let you
complete
    your chore faster and easier than you were expecting to."

    "Wait a minute," Risdin said as the two men began to look around
at the
    bare floor. "I'll get out blankets for them. Letting them lie down on
the
    floor will make me feel like a savage."

    "We very much appreciate that thought," Killen told Risdin, then he
turned
    his attention to Tain. "What do you mean, I can finish my chore
faster and
    easier? I thought we'd be heading back home right away."

    "Not quite yet," Tain answered after sipping at the strong, black
coffee.
    "Before we go home we're going to try to end slavery."
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   If for no other reason than to make sure we don't have to come
back here
   again, Tain thought as Killen stared at her. Once I'm off this world I
   don't ever want to have to come back…




  Chains 2 Chapter 4Chains: 2
Chains Released
Chapter 4
copyright 2003 by Sharon Green
    Jake Killen was still in quite a bit of pain and had only a shaky hold
on
    his sanity, so he gave himself a good talking to while he adjusted
the
    blanket he'd been given. The worst of what he'd been put through
was now
    over, he pointed out to himself, so losing it at this point would be
    stupid. He'd been dreaming of getting back to base and having that
lousy
    drug cleared from his system, but listening to what Tain had in mind
    didn't mean he'd never get back.

    Easing himself down on his left side on the folded blanket was a
relief to
    his legs and knees even if his pride was still taking a beating. Tain
    hadn't told him and Tandro that they could put on the body cloths
they
    were still just holding, and without a deliberate order they continued
to
    be bound by what Himlin had told them. Jake understood now why
Tain hadn't
    let them dress earlier, but now that the woman they'd met had
calmed down…
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      You seem to be forgetting something, pal, Jake said to himself as
his
     previous thought petered out. You still have no interest at all in
sitting
     down, so what makes you think you'd enjoy having that cloth
touching your
     behind? Will being covered again make the pain worth it? The ones
who
     laughed aren't here anymore…

    Jake felt the urge to close his eyes, but instead he looked at Tain
where
    she stood drinking coffee. At some point during the torture of the
day,
    he'd managed to remember that he'd given almost the same
humiliation to
    Tain that he was being given. He'd let that female slave into the
room
    while he spanked Tain, and the girl had laughed just the way
everyone now
    laughed at him. He no longer wondered why the episode had been
so shocking
    to Tain; what he wondered now was how she'd retained her sanity.
And why
    she hadn't made any effort to kill him…

    "Let me start by asking a question that's been bugging me," Tain
said
    suddenly, claiming Jake's attention. "Not that I'm really
complaining, but
    why were you two taken captive instead of killed?"

   "We filed a formal complaint against the slaver Himlin, who was
   responsible for hiring those assassins sent against us," Jake
answered,
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    hating that he had no choice but to answer. "If we leave or die
without
    withdrawing the complaint, Himlin can be arrested the first time he
shows
    his face back here. That's why Himlin did what he did to us, to
make us
    really want to withdraw the complaint without messing around. He
told us
    that if we did anything to let people know we were under his
control, he'd
    have someone find us wherever we went and bring us back to him."

      "And you were supposed to believe he'd let you go free if you got
the
   charges against him dismissed?" Tain asked with a snort of derision.
"Did
   he order you to be that naive?"

    "He might have thought to order us to believe him tomorrow, when
he came
    back," Jake answered with a sigh and a shake of his head. "I
noticed that
    some of his orders were designed more for women than for men,
and there is
    a difference in dealing with the two genders. I think Himlin is too
used
    to having frightened women to order around, victims who are too
afraid to
    do anything but what they're told to do. Even if they have the
choice."

   "So the humiliation was designed to terrorize you," Tain said with a
   thoughtful nod that suddenly bothered Jake quite a lot. Just how
much of
   what was done to him and Tandro did she see…? "I can
understand why a
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    slaver would think the ploy would work, considering that you're
right
    about the kind of slaves he's used to. Okay, now for my next
question:
    what were you supposed to do here in this town?"

    "There's a man in this town named Gordi, who happens to be a
strong
    leader," Jake responded, galled that he was being made to discuss
a matter
    he'd kept private until now. "I was supposed to see and talk to
Gordi and
    convince him that slavery was holding him and his people back
from
    advancing into the modern universe. Since the man is supposed to
be a bit
    above average in intelligence, we had high hopes for the plan."

     "What has intelligence got to do with emotions?" Tain asked, her
     expression showing scorn again. "If it feels good to have slaves
around
     you and someone comes along and tells you that having those
slaves is
     holding you back, what you'll most probably do is ignore the
someone.
     Having a slave who has to do exactly as you say is intoxicating,
Killen, a
     fact you yourself can't argue no matter how much you might want
to."

    Jake would have enjoyed protesting the accusation, but he'd
already been
    forced to admit the truth of that claim. Having someone in your
complete
    power was a heady drug, and not even being against slavery in
general was
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       enough to keep from being enticed into excess.

       "It's come to me that what you really need to change your outlook
is a
   taste of what you consider so acceptable for others," Tain went on,
   drawing Jake's attention again. "Can you say truthfully that your
   emotional reaction to slavery hasn't been changed by what you
went
  through?"

       "No, I can't say that and not be lying," Jake agreed, now seriously
       bothered. "I disliked the idea of slavery before, but now I'd kill or
die
       to keep it from happening to me again."

    "And the only way to be absolutely certain that you can never be
enslaved
    again is to make sure no one can be enslaved," Tain said, smiling
grimly
    as she nodded. "You as an individual may be safe today, but as
long as
    it's possible to enslave someone you might suddenly find your
safety gone
    tomorrow. Does this strong leader you mentioned have friends or
enemies
    with as much influence as he does?"

    "I'm sure he does, but I don't know who they are," Jake answered,
glancing
    at Tandro where he lay on his stomach on his own blanket.
"Tandro only
    knew about Gordi, so he was the one we meant to talk to. If we
can talk
    Gordi around, and there's a good chance of that in spite of your
point
    being valid, he ought to call in the others and let us talk to them as
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   well."

    "I'm not as big a fan of calm conversation as I used to be," Tain
    remarked, looking into her coffee cup before draining it. "I'm more
of the
    opinion that one good experience is worth a million words instead
of a
    thousand, not to mention twenty-five words or less. If the man
really
    doesn't want to hear what you have to say, you'd be lucky to get in
even
    as many as twenty-five words. Risdin, you and I need to talk."

   And with that Tain walked over to the native woman and began to
speak to
   her in tones too low for Jake to hear. He was being shut out of
Tain's
   plans just the way he'd shut Tain out of his, and Jake found that he
   didn't like it any more than Tain had.

   "What's going on, Killen?" Tandro asked from where he lay only a
couple of
   feet away, his expression as calm as it usually was but agitation
showing
   in his eyes. "Are we going to be free, or have we simply exchanged
owners?"

    "I'm sure we'll be free, but the question right now is when," Jake
     answered, speaking as softly as Tandro had. "I wanted to go
straight home,
     but if there's a chance we can end slavery before we go then I'm
willing
    to wait. Do you feel differently?"

   "I can't decide," Tandro admitted, defining the agitation Jake had
seen.
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    "I want to be free as soon as possible, but now that I know that
drug will
    work on me as well as it does on women my familiar world
suddenly scares
    me. How can I go back to living a normal life if that life can be
stolen
    from me with very little effort? If your woman needs us to tell Gordi
how
    bad being a slave is from the male point of view, I know I can be
more
    than a little convincing."

    "You and me both," Jake agreed, suddenly noticing that the woman
Risdin
    had made a fresh pot of coffee as the aroma of the fresh brew
began to
    fill the room. "If having us speak to Gordi of what we went through
is
    part of Tain's plan, I'm hoping she doesn't ask us to go into real
detail.
    Talking about it won't be quite as bad as having lived it, but I don't
    expect the experience to be pleasant."

    "You really do like understatement, don't you," Tandro commented
dryly,
    then he shook his head. "I'm trying very hard to forget those details
you
    mentioned, but looking at your woman isn't making the effort easy.
That
    insertion isn't affecting me any longer, but the outfit your woman is
    wearing is bringing back some of what we weren't allowed to
relieve. And
    speaking of women, where's the girl?"

   "Ennie must be safe, or Tain would hardly be acting so
unconcerned," Jake
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    assured the other man, bothered that he hadn't noticed the girl's
absence
    himself. What he had noticed was the costume Tain still wore, but
he'd
    finally remembered how to control himself. Without the insertion
egging
    him on, controlling his reactions was no harder than standing on his
hands
    for an hour would be. The effort would exhaust him, but it was
possible…

   And thinking about other things helped a good deal. With that in
mind,
   Jake concentrated on the aroma of coffee brewing to blot out
awareness of
   how badly he wanted to take Tain in his arms and make love to
her…

   ***

    "We now have a workable plan," Tain told Risdin as soon as she'd
moved far
    enough away from the men to make the conversation private. "If
the only
    way to make men eager to end slavery is to force them to
experience the
    state, we now have the perfect man to start with. As soon as we
make Gordi
    ours we'll get a list of names from him, then we'll do the same with
as
    many of the men on the list as we can."

   "That's a great idea, but I'm afraid there's one small thing wrong
with
   it," Risdin said, her expression not quite ridiculing. "We could
convince
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   Gordi if we could get to him, but we have no way of getting to him.
   Inviting him to come visit and be enslaved probably won't work."

    "That all depends on how you word the invitation," Tain countered,
then
    waved away Risdin's immediate protest. "I'm just joking. I know
you and
    your people can't get to Gordi, but Killen and I ought to be able to.
    We're trained for this kind of thing, but we won't be able to do it
    tonight. Killen is hurting too badly and we all need to get some
sleep,
    not to mention the fact that we have to stay out of that slaver's way.
Is
    there some place other than here where we can all hide out until
tomorrow
    night?"

    "You think there's a chance we'll be found in this room?" Risdin
asked,
    now looking faintly worried. "The others and I have always been
safe here,
    so what makes you think that won't continue to be the case?"

    "As soon as the slaver finds Killen and Tandro gone, he'll probably
have
    his men search everywhere in the immediate neighborhood," Tain
explained
    patiently. "He'll know that his former victims were too hurt to go
very
    far, so he'll search hoping to find them again. And since he'll
certainly
    be back first thing in the morning, we'll be best off not waiting to go
    elsewhere until his men are knocking on the door."

   "Knocking down the door, you mean," Risdin corrected ruefully.
"And if you
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    and your friend do manage to take Gordi, we'll need a place to
keep him
    while we show him what slavery is all about. All right, we'll move
    everything out of here to where we keep it when the warehouse is
being
    used, and then we'll get some sleep. But first I've got to tell Areen
what
    we're doing. Help yourself to the fresh coffee and I'll be back in
just a
    little while."

    Risdin waited for Tain to nod agreement, then she turned and went
to one
    of the cabinets in the wall to the far right. Instead of opening the
    cabinet doors she felt under the bottom of the unit, half her arm
    disappearing in the attempt.

    When Tain heard a small click and then saw the whole cabinet
section swing
    away from the wall, she understood where the other women had
gone. A
    lantern hung on the wall just inside the hidden opening, but once
Risdin
    was back on her feet and moving past the cabinet she left the
lantern
    where it was and disappeared down what looked like wooden
stairs.

     "Your new friend seems to be very well organized," Killen
commented from
     where he lay on the blanket he'd been given, his attention and
Tandro's on
     the opening in the wall. "If that's where we'll be moving to, I can't
tell
     you how glad I am to hear it. Thinking about the search Himlin will
have
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    his men make in the morning would have kept me, at least, from
sleeping at
    all tonight."

      "I didn't want to scare Risdin, but we might not have until morning
for
   that search to start," Tain said, drawing the men's attention. "Your
   original guards stood their post for three hours before they were
   relieved, so that's the absolute maximum amount of time we can
count on
   before the next pair of guards shows up. If I'm not mistaken it
hasn't yet
   been an hour since I took out the guards, but I'll feel better getting
us
   under cover as soon as possible. Do you think I'm wrong?"

    "No, I couldn't agree with you more," Killen said at once, and Tain
saw a
    look of fear ghost through his eyes before he regained control. "I
was
    going to ask if I could have a cup of that coffee, but now I'd rather
get
    started moving down those stairs."

    "We'll have to wait until Risdin gets things set up," Tain said, seeing
    how the man would have jumped to his feet if he'd been in better
physical
    condition - and was allowed to leave the blanket. "It shouldn't take
her
    long, so we might as well spend the waiting time stoking up on
caffeine.
    Would you also like a cup of coffee, Tandro?"

      "Yes, please," the native answered after the barest of hesitations,
his
      own gaze hidden from Tain's sight with the turn of his head. What
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Tain
    could see of his body looked more tense than usual, which meant
that both
    men were feeling the same fear. Not being sure you'd be able to
protect
    yourself was definitely something to bring on fear, and Tain didn't
have
    to work to understand how they felt. She'd felt the same herself
when
    she'd been under Killen's control…

    Rather than dwelling on the past, Tain found two more cups, filled
them
    with coffee, then brought the coffee to Killen and Tandro. The men
    accepted the cups with thanks, but the thanks were mumbled and
the coffee
    was swallowed in gulps in spite of how hot it was. Tain went back
and
    refilled her own cup, pretending she didn't see how rattled Killen
and
    Tandro were. The fresh coffee was strong and hot and felt good
going down,
    but if Risdin wasn't back in another ten minutes Tain meant to leave
that
    good coffee and go looking for the woman.

   No more than five of the ten minutes passed before Risdin
reappeared at
   the top of the stairs, a smile on her face.

    "Areen loved your idea, and she's now passing on the word and
then she'll
    be back to help us move things down," Risdin announced as soon
as she
    stepped through the opening. "I thought about waiting for her, but
on the
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   way up I decided I'd rather not. If that slaver finds out sooner than
   morning that his prisoners are gone, we don't still want to be in the
   middle of moving."

   "You're right, so let's get to it this minute," Tain said, putting her cup
   down and moving off the wall she'd been leaning on. "You men
pick up your
    blankets and body cloths, and you can carry those along with your
cups.
   Risdin and I will carry the heavy stuff, and you can take your turn
with
   doing more tomorrow, when you're not quite as stiff and hurting."

   "What idea is Risdin talking about?" Killen asked as he and Tandro
both
   began to get to their feet. "You haven't yet mentioned what you
have in
   mind."

     "You'll know when you need to know," Tain answered, feeling the
least bit
     childish but not really caring. "But don't worry that you'll be left out
     of things, because you won't be. Pandora's box has been opened,
and since
     you're the one who opened it you'll even get to tell people all about
it."

    "What's Pandora's box?" Risdin asked as Killen turned away to
hide
    whatever his expression was like. "And what can a box have to do
with any
   of what we're in the middle of?"

   "Pandora's box is from very old folklore," Tain explained while she
and
   Risdin began to empty the space behind the wall of what it held.
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"Pandora
    was given a box and told not to open it, otherwise something very
terrible
     would happen. The girl was able to stay away from the box for a
short
    while, but eventually her curiosity got to be too much and she
opened the
     box. The box held all the evils of the world, and once it was open
Pandora
    found that it couldn't be closed again. All the evils escaped into the
     world, and that was supposed to be the reason that bad things
happen to
     good people. Because someone didn't know enough to leave things
they way
     they were."

      "That doesn't make much sense," Risdin said as she led the way to
the
    opening, bedding and blankets filling her arms. "If the person who
gave
    Pandora the box had told her what was in it, she wouldn't have
opened the
    thing. Not telling her just about guaranteed that the evils would be
let
    loose, so it wasn't Pandora's fault but the fault of whoever gave her
the
    box."

    "I agree with you up to a certain point," Tain said, knowing the two
men
    were following her the way she followed Risdin, her own arms full
of food
    supplies. "Pandora should have been told what was in the box, but
would
    knowing the truth have helped? If all the evils in the world were
inside
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     the box, Pandora had no real idea what evil was. Sometimes you
have to
     know, personally, just how bad a thing can be before you can tell if
it's
     something that shouldn't be allowed to exist. And you have to
understand
     how far the evil can spread, otherwise opening the box doesn't
seem to be
     a bad idea at all."

    The silence behind Tain suggested that Killen might be thinking
about what
    she'd said, or maybe he was ignoring it. She'd finally remembered
hearing
    Killen tell Tandro that using the slave drug on a man the first time
had
    been his idea, a doing that had been completely out of the question
until
    that moment. Killen was definitely the one who had opened
Pandora's box,
    so he couldn't very well complain that bad stuff was falling out of
the
    sky all over him.

    Another lantern hung on the wall half way down the stairs, and a
third
    lantern lit the dimness at the bottom. There was more than enough
room to
    get around the handrail at the bottom, and a corridor led into a
series of
    small, doorless … areas or alcoves that could be considered
semi-private
    rooms. The corridor continued on into unrelieved darkness, but
three of
    the rooms had candles in holders adding some much needed light.
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    "There isn't that much more to bring down, but we ought to get the
men
    settled first," Risdin said over her shoulder, leading the way to the
    farthest of the three lit rooms. "You and I can share that first area,
we
    can put the cooking stuff and the rest in the middle, and the men
can
    sleep in the third."

    There was no reason to argue the suggestion, so Tain simply
nodded and
    joined Risdin in setting things up. While Risdin put two of the pallets
in
    the third room and then took the others into the first room, Tain put
the
    food she'd carried down into the middle area. She glanced into the
men's
    alcove to see that both of them were lying down again with their
cups of
    coffee, then she and Risdin went back upstairs for the rest of the
things
    that could betray their presence.

   The metal container the cooking was done on went down first, with
both
   Tain and Risdin holding the container's wooden handles. There
were still
   live coals in it so they had to be careful, not to mention the fact that
   the thing was heavy. Once that was done, though, the rest went
much more
   quickly. Tain had Risdin, who knew what was where, empty the
wall space
   and the cabinets and bring the stuff to the top of the stairs while she
   herself carted things down.

   No more than ten minutes later Risdin was ready to help with
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taking things
     down, but first Tain had her make sure there was absolutely nothing
left
     to show they'd been in the room. Risdin spent another couple of
minutes
     brushing away charcoal dust and crumbs and closing all of the
cabinets
     really tight, and then she took the candle and came onto the landing
of
     the stairs. Another moment saw the hidden door closed and
secured, and
     then she and Tain carried down what was left of the supplies.

     "Half of me wants to watch to see what happens across the street,"
Risdin
    said as she and Tain put down the last of their burdens in the
cooking
    room. "The other half, though, doesn't want to know anything about
it.
    That slaver will be furious when he finds out about the men being
gone,
    and I hate to think what he'll do to his women. And by the way,
I've
     decided to make you something to eat before we go to bed. It
finally came
    to me that you haven't had a single bite all day."

     Tain's first urge was to tell Risdin not to bother with making her
     anything, but then she remembered that she did have to build up her
     strength after having so little real food for so long. She'd been able
to
   do everything necessary tonight, but right now she felt empty and in
need
   of recharging.

     "I appreciate the offer, Risdin, and I accept it gladly," Tain said
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after
    only the smallest hesitation as she sat down on the stone floor. "As
far
    as watching what goes on across the street, though, I have a feeling
I'm
    much better off not seeing it. I'd hate to ruin things by losing my
temper
    and going after that slimy man, thereby letting everyone know the
men had
    help in getting away. If the slaver thinks his prisoners got
themselves
    free he'll be knocked off balance, and that's the way we want him.
Off
    balance."

    "And frightened," Risdin said, giving all her attention to the fresh
    charcoal she'd put in the metal container. "He deserves to be
frightened,
    to feel what he makes so many others feel, and I only wish I could
be the
    one to make him feel like that."

    The woman's words were so fierce that Tain could almost feel the
pain and
    hatred that lay behind them. It wasn't a pleasant experience, but it
did
    give her an idea.

   "Maybe something can be arranged," Tain said, knowing she
sounded
   thoughtful. "I'll keep the possibility in mind while we wait to see
how
   things turn out. Personally I would have just killed the man, but that
   would let him off too easily, wouldn't it."

   Risdin flashed her such a delighted and grateful look that Tain filed
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the
      idea away for future use. Giving the slaver a taste of what he gave
so
   easily to others would be the best poetic justice imaginable, but it
might
   not prove to be possible. If circumstances forced his death he
would die,
   but if not…

     The meal Risdin produced was quick and hot, and Tain actually
bolted it
     down when she was handed the plate. The food not only warmed
her insides
     but added a rush of the strength Tain needed, and afterward she
sipped her
     rewarmed coffee feeling full and satisfied. Risdin kept her company
while
     she ate, sipping from a cup of coffee of her own, and then the two
cleaned
     up from the meal. The clean-up didn't take long, and then they went
to
     their alcove and lay down on pallets. The lamps and candles were
left lit,
     to keep the underground darkness from becoming overwhelming.

    Risdin fell asleep quickly, but Tain wasn't that lucky. She tossed
around
    a short while, then decided to give up for the moment and got out
from
    under her blanket. Her vest and "skirt" were folded neatly next to
the
    pallet, but it only took a moment's worth of thought to leave the
garments
    where they lay. Being completely naked was better than being
"decorated,"
    a position she hadn't changed her mind about.
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      Stepping out into the corridor let her hear soft snoring coming from
the
  alcove where the men had been left. Tain's first thought had been to
make
  herself a bit more coffee, and although it was still a good idea she
   decided to take a look at the men first.

     Tain hadn't checked on the men before lying down because she'd
felt they
     were badly in need of some privacy, but the disturbance she'd seen
in
     Killen's eyes still bothered her. She needed the man to be at his
best
     when they went after Gordi and a good night's sleep should bring
him back
     closer to normal, but that wasn't Tain's only concern. What had
happened
     to Killen certainly wasn't her fault, but for some reason she felt
really
     bad about it…

    Stopping at the opening to the alcove showed Tain that it was
Tandro who
    was doing the snoring. The native was so deeply asleep that Tain
could see
    and feel it, obviously in a state that was closer to unconsciousness
than
    sleep. It was a reaction to what he'd gone through, of course, a
way the
    body sometimes used when even the mind needed time to heal.

    But Killen wasn't even close to being in the same condition. The
man lay
    face down on his pallet, his eyes open and his gaze resting on her.
His
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   light hair looked tousled, matching the almost-wounded look in
those gray
   eyes, and Tain couldn't keep herself from moving closer and
crouching
down.

    "Is something wrong?" she asked very softly, although she probably
could
    have shouted without waking Tandro. "You really ought to be
asleep."

   "I agree, but sleep seems to be avoiding me," Killen responded in a
   murmur. "What are you doing wandering around?"

   "I was about to make more coffee, which usually helps me sleep,"
Tain
   said, privately shocked that she had to close her hand into a fist to
keep
   it from reaching out and stroking Killen's shoulder and arm. "It's
cool
   enough down here that I seem to need something to warm me up."

    "Yes, I can tell that you're cold," Killen said in a very … neutral
way,
    his glance having touched her hardened nipples. "Are you sure it's
coffee
    you want and not an excuse to indulge in a little … exercise of
ownership?"

  "What are you talking about?" Tain asked, honestly having no idea
what he
  meant. "What can ownership have to do with anything?"

   "Don't worry, Tain, you don't have to lie to cover the fact that
you're
   only human," Killen said in a weary voice, the look in his eyes sad
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now.
    "You're in control of me just the way I was in control of you, and
that's
    a very … overwhelming thing when it really hits you. The sudden
    understanding makes you want to exercise that control in the most
basic
    way possible, the most intimate way. The feeling is irresistible in the
    beginning and won't start to bother you until the novelty wears off,
so
    there's no reason not to indulge yourself."

   Killen no longer looked directly at Tain, which might have been a
very
   good thing. She had to fight really hard to keep her face from
showing
   what she now felt, which was an incredible mixture of … she
wasn't
   completely sure what it was a mixture of. What she did know for
an
   iron-hard fact was that Killen had misinterpreted her reactions.

    Tain stared down at the man who was now under her control,
feeling nothing
    of a desire to make him serve her the way he'd forced her to serve
him.
    Yes, her body had been reacting to his naked nearness, but not
because of
    an urge to humiliate him even more. Tain had hated the idea of
slavery
    even before she'd been forced to experience the state personally,
and
    taking advantage of someone who couldn't refuse her was
completely against
    her beliefs.

   And that thought made her admit to herself the real reason her
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body had
    tightened and hardened. It was a combination of concern and
desire,
    concern over Killen's well-being and a desire to feel his hands on
her
    again. If he made love to her the act would prove that he was all
right,
    and she very much needed him to be all right. But not because of
what she
    had planned for tomorrow, not for any reason she was willing to
admit even
    in the privacy of her own mind.

    Happily, though, Killen had misinterpreted her reason for being
there and
    for feeling the way she did. More than that he'd given her a way to
get
    what she wanted more and more badly with each passing minute -
without
    letting him know the truth…

   "You know, it's really helpful to deal with someone who doesn't
have to
   have the facts of life explained to him," Tain drawled after what was
   really only a very brief hesitation. "Turn to your side so I can join
you
   under that blanket."

      Killen stiffened, but he still did just as Tain had ordered. The pallet
      wasn't very wide, but there was enough room for her to slip under
the
      blanket and press her body to his. His warmth flowed into her at
the
   touch, showing that she really was cold, but something else became
even
   more clear. Killen's mind might be reluctant, but his body certainly
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      wasn't.

   "You are so nicely made," Tain murmured as she ran her hands
slowly over
   Killen, feeling a faint trembling in his body. "Will you be able to lie
on
   your back without much pain if you brace yourself with your feet?"

    "I think so," Killen answered, the words sounding as if they were
being
    dragged out of him. The blankness of his expression said he didn't
want
    her to know how he really felt, but it was a waste of effort. Tain
knew
    Killen hated what was being done to him, and that fit in perfectly
with
    her plans. With any luck the man would also hate her, and that
would end
    any possibility of their ever getting together in a relationship. That
end
    was something Tain knew she needed to survive, but a very small
part of
    her hated the need more than she knew was possible…

      Once Killen had put himself to his back with his knees bent to let
his
    feet brace him, Tain made sure he wasn't in pain before she began
to kiss
    his body. In no time at all Killen was moaning, his arousal
completely
    returned, and Tain found that she couldn't continue with the
foreplay. Her
    own arousal was so high that under other circumstances she would
have been
    whimpering, but with her in control there was no reason to
whimper. She
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    went to her knees and straddled Killen, then quickly took him
inside her.

    Killen's hands came to her waist as her own hands rested on his
shoulders,
   her up and down movement making them share the moaning. It felt
so good to
   have Killen inside her again, even though it would have felt better if
    he'd been on top. But Tain couldn't allow that, so she'd have to
make do
   with this as her final goodbye to him.

    As a final goodbye it could have been much worse, considering
how long
    Killen let the time last. Tain came more than once while Killen
matched
    her movements with his eyes closed, but finally he was no longer
able to
    hold off his own release. He came while Tain shuddered from the
latest of
    her orgasms, and all she wanted to do was collapse on top of him.
But
    doing that wasn't part of her plan, so she patted his face instead,
    climbed off him, then left the alcove to return to her own bed.

   And once she lay under her blanket she had to fight really hard to
keep
   her crying from getting loud enough to wake Risdin…


 Chains 2 Chapter 5Chains: 2
Chains Released
Chapter 5
copyright 2003 by Sharon Green

   Jake woke up feeling so comfortable that for a moment he didn't
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remember
     where he was. He lay on his stomach, and even though his body
ached here
     and there he was also aware of a sense of satisfaction. He hadn't
felt
     this sated since the last time he'd -

    That was when he remembered the night before, and what had
come of Tain's
    visit. All satisfaction and comfort disappeared as he sat up slowly,
now
    aware of the disappointment he felt. It was stupid to have thought
that
    Tain was a better person than he, someone who would never have
taken
    advantage of a bad situation. But she had taken the same
advantage he had,
    and even though his body had enjoyed the time his mind certainly
hadn't.

   "Obviously you needed sleep even more than I did," Tandro's voice
came
   from behind him, the words soft. "I've been awake for a while, long
enough
   to hear one of the women moving around, but whichever one it is
she didn't
   come in here."

    Jake turned to see that Tandro also sat on his pallet, which meant
that
    things were looking up for them. Last night he would have been
able to sit
    if he'd really had to, but this morning there was nothing but a
shadow
    left of the punishment he'd been given.
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    "If it isn't Tain who's awake, coming in here would be a waste of
time,"
    Jake said, speaking just as softly. "Have you forgotten that we
aren't
    allowed to obey anyone but her? That means, of course, that we
stay on
    these pallets until she says we can get up."

    Jake expected to see anger in Tandro over what he'd said, but the
native
    suddenly looked drawn instead.

     "After yesterday I really didn't need any more lessons on the evils
of
    slavery, but it looks like I'll be getting them whether I need them or
    not." The man's voice was low, as if he were controlling himself
sternly,
    but it was pain rather than anger that he strove to hold off. "It isn't
    really possible to understand how bad it can get unless you go
through it
    yourself, is it? Why is it that human beings can't seem to learn
except
    the hard way? Why can't we know that something is wrong without
having our
    faces rubbed in the wrongness?"

     "If you ever find out the answer to that question I'd appreciate it
you
     let me know," Jake responded, reflecting that he'd thought some
human
     beings knew right from wrong the easy way. But that was before
last night…

   "Good morning, men," Risdin said from the doorway before she
walked in
   holding two filled plates. "I've made breakfast, which I'm sure you
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can
      use. You can get started on the food while I go back for the coffee."

    "Thank you," Jake said, taking the plate she handed him as he
studied her
    face. "You're being extremely good to us, and I don't understand
why.
    Unless I'm mistaken you were once a slave yourself, so why would
you treat
    two men in any way but badly?"

    "Since I found myself the only one awake this morning, I did some
    thinking," Risdin answered, her smile wry. "I know how badly the
slaver
    treated you two, and that didn't make any sense - until I realized
that he
    must have done it because you're against slavery. There isn't really
any
    other reason for making you slaves, and you were hurt and
humiliated
    because you want to make it impossible for me to be hurt again.
Was I
    wrong?"

    "No," Jake admitted with a shake of his head after exchanging a
glance
    with Tandro. "But I'd like to know how you know that we were
humiliated as
    well as hurt. Did Tain tell you what was done to us?"

      "Tain didn't say a word, but she didn't have to," Risdin answered,
her
   expression now more angry than wry. "Being enslaved means
you're going to
   be humiliated as well as hurt, since that's the fastest and easiest way
to
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    control a slave. There are people who are strong enough to ignore
pain,
    but I don't think there's anyone strong enough to withstand
humiliation."

    "Before yesterday I might have disagreed with you, but not now,"
Tandro
    said, his expression having fallen all the way to bleak. "What they
did to
   Killen terrified me, thinking they might do the same to me. I don't
know
    how he managed to stay sane after something that bad, but I
wouldn't have
    been able to handle it like that. I was ready to do just about
anything to
    keep from - "

    Tandro's words broke off before he went into details of what he
meant,
    bringing Jake a good deal of relief. He'd been able to keep himself
from
    remembering that he'd been forced to react like a frightened girl
during
    that second switching, and even now he couldn't do more than
touch on the
    subject from a distance. The time had been so devastating that it
was a
    miracle he hadn't gone crazy…

     "Hey, it's all right," Risdin said, putting a hand to Tandro's shoulder
in
   shared compassion. "That's actually the worst part of being a strong
man
   or woman. If you're weak you just do as you're told even if you
don't like
   it, thereby proving that you don't have to be humiliated all that
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badly in
   order to obey completely. But the strong ones hold back part of
themselves
   in spite of the drug, and the slavers always know the difference.
And
   always do something to make them want to stop holding back.
Sometimes that
   kind breaks rather than bends, which doesn't make much sense to
me. If you
   break and lose it completely, you can't comfort yourself with the
dream of
   escaping some day and finding a way to get even."

     "I think you're possibly the bravest person I've ever met," Jake said
to
    her with as good a smile as he could manage, speaking the truth.
"Backing
    down seems to be against my nature, even when it happens to be
the
    sensible course of action. If I'd at least pretended to back down
    yesterday, Himlin probably wouldn't have done what he did to me."

    "It might be a good idea to remember that for next time," Risdin
said with
    a much better smile than his. "In the meantime your food is getting
cold,
    so you two eat up while I fetch the coffee. We have important
things to do
    today."

   That reminded Jake of Tain's "plan," but before he could ask any
questions
   Risdin turned and left the alcove. He tackled the food while he
waited for
   the woman to come back, but even when she did he found he
couldn't
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   question her. He didn't understand why until he was almost finished
   eating, and if he hadn't been so hollow he would have lost his
appetite.
   Tain had told him that he didn't yet need to know the plan, and that
was
   what had kept him from questioning Risdin.

    Heavier depression tried to crowd into Jake's mind, but he
banished it by
    forcing himself to anger. Risdin's advice wasn't easy to take, but he
    needed to be in real control of himself; knowing that he would be
free in
    just a little while should keep him going, and once he was free…

   Once he was back where he belonged and free of the drug he'd
never have to
   see Ms. Tain Halliday ever again…

       ***

    Tain awoke to the aroma of food, an aroma that made her returning
appetite
    stir. When she opened her eyes she saw Risdin crouched beside
her with a
    plate, a smile on the other woman's face.

       "If you weren't ready to wake up I didn't want to disturb you, so I
just
    waved the food under your nose," she said, making a small gesture
with the
    plate. "We ought to have company at any time, so let's get eating
out of
    the way before they get here."

    "Good idea," Tain agreed, sitting up and stretching a little before
taking
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   the plate. "But the next meal will be mine to make. You've already
had
   more than your turn."

    "I'll take cooking over sneaking around near slavers any day,"
Risdin said
    with a small sound of scorn as she straightened up. "If I let you do
the
    cooking then I might have to do the sneaking, so no thank you. I
like this
    arrangement much better the way it is right now."

    Tain smiled as Risdin left the alcove, understanding that Risdin
needed
    something to keep her busy. Waiting while other people risked
themselves -
    and your safety - was often harder than doing the risking
personally, and
    having something to occupy your time also helped to save your
sanity. If
    Risdin was happy with the way things were right now, Tain would
not argue
    the arrangement.

   It didn't take long to eat the food and drink the coffee that had
been put
   down next to the pallet, and then Tain got into her "clothes." It still
   wasn't time to get rid of the trappings of a slave, and thinking about
how
   much she hated the costume helped to keep her thoughts away
from Killen.
   She knew how unhappy he would be about what she'd done last
night, and her
   best bet would be to add to that unhappiness without being obvious
about
   it.
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     Tain was certain that Killen was the sort to risk himself for a
woman he
     cared about, and that was the best reason to make sure he didn't
care.
    They still had some touchy situations ahead of them, and if Killen
died
     trying to protect her it would be worse for Tain than if she died
instead.
    She couldn't get involved with the man without having her life fall
apart,
     but that didn't mean something inside her wouldn't break if he were
killed.

    Taking a deep breath helped Tain regain control of the agitation
that
    wanted to send her to Killen with an apology, and then she was
able to
    leave the alcove and head toward the area given the men. She was
a
    professional, after all, so her expression would be just what she
wanted
     it to be. For as long as she had to have it that way…

    Killen and Tandro sat talking quietly, neither of them noticing Tain
when
    she stopped in the doorway. The empty plates and cups near their
pallets
    said they'd already been given breakfast, which made one less thing
to
    worry about.

    "Good morning, you two," Tain said, drawing their immediate
attention.
    "You can get up and walk around and even put on your body
cloths, but
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   don't try to leave this underground area. Risdin may have
mentioned that
   we're expecting the arrival of more of the women in her group, so
you men
   will have to be as unobtrusive as possible. I don't think I have to tell
   you why."

    "Some of them will hate us, and some of them will be afraid of us,"
Killen
    said with a nod as he immediately reached for his body cloth. "I
would
    have understood the point before yesterday, but now I really
understand
    it."

    "What about the girl, Ennie?" Tandro asked as he also reached for
his body
    cloth. "Is she safe? Is she likely to be with the females coming
here?"

    "I made sure she'd be safe before I went after you two," Tain
answered
    slowly, wondering about the odd expression Tandro seemed to be
trying to
    hide behind easy calm. "As to whether or not she'll be coming back
here, I
    really don't know. Why do you ask?"

   "I'm the one who was supposed to be responsible for her," Tandro
answered
   evenly, but this time he avoided Tain's gaze. "I'd really hate to be
   blamed if - something happened to her."

   "I see," Tain murmured, well aware of the fact that she hadn't
demanded
   that the men tell her the truth. Oddly enough it hadn't occurred to
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her
    that Tandro might actually have feelings for Ennie, but now that she
     thought back there were signs enough that her own problems hadn't
let her
     notice at the time. It was almost laughable that Ennie had decided
no one
     cared about her when she was with a man who actually did care.

   But Tandro's been hiding his true feelings, and I don't understand
why,
   Tain thought as she left the alcove and headed for the cooking area.
If
   Ennie has become more than just another female for him, why
didn't he say
-

   Tain's mental stewing stopped short when an answer came, an
answer that
   should have been perfectly obvious. Tandro hadn't said or done
anything to
   show his true feelings because he knew Ennie wasn't part of his
world. The
   girl would only be on this planet for a short while, and then she
would
   leave Tandro behind and return to her normal life. The native must
have
   felt pitiful falling in love with someone he considered completely
beyond
   his reach, but that was a typical male reaction. It had probably
never
   occurred to him to ask Ennie how she felt about it…

      Tain bypassed the cooking area and returned to her pallet to collect
her
    plate and cup, then she joined Risdin where the other woman sat
drinking
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   coffee. After Tain refilled her own cup she spoke to Risdin about
how the
   other women would be getting to the underground area, having
wondered if
   her guess would turn out to be right.

      "Yes, this tunnel goes all the way to a place in the woods beyond
the
    town's wall," Risdin confirmed with a smile. "I'd love to say that we
were
     the ones who dug it out, but all we did was find it. We think the
tunnel
     and underground areas were made by the people who first got to
this planet
     and were kept a secret from everyone but a few of those who lived
in the
    house above here. The house must have been fairly big, but then
something
     happened to it and what was left was made a part of the
warehouse that
     replaced the house. Or so we think."

    "That explanation makes a lot of sense," Tain agreed. "If everyone
who
    knew about the tunnel died at the same time, the secret would have
died
    with them. And by the time the warehouse was built, a lot of the old
    knowledge was lost along with certain memories. I wondered why
the room
    holding the secret entrance looked more solid than the rest of the
    warehouse, and now I know. The new owner of the land who built
the
    warehouse added to the rooms that had been left standing because
the old
    rooms were better constructed than the new stuff."
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   "Which made life a whole lot easier for us," Risdin said with another
    smile. "If they'd knocked down the walls of the room above us they
would
    have found the tunnel, and then we would never have been able to
use all
   this."

    "How did your people find this?" Tain asked, a point she hadn't
tried to
    guess about. "With the release lever so far under the bottom of the
    cabinet, I can't quite picture someone stumbling across it by
accident."

    "It was the other end one of ours found," Risdin supplied, no longer
    smiling. "The poor woman was an escaped slave with her owner
not far
    behind her, which made her frantic for a place to hide. She literally
    tripped over part of the exit door in the woods, a rock door that
looked
    like it was part of a very big boulder. She fell close enough to the
door
    to see that the boulder wasn't solid, and one touch showed her a
handhold
    carved into the bottom of the door. She pulled on the handhold and
the
    door opened right up, although it did stick a little after that. She
    managed to get into the tunnel and close the door again behind
herself,
    and her owner never found her. She waited two days before getting
up the
    courage to come out again, and she was almost dead when she
stumbled into
    the area where our hideout is. Once she recovered she told us
about the
    stone door, and the rest is history."
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     "It was obviously a stroke of pure luck, good luck for you and bad
for the
     men," Tain said after taking another swallow of her coffee. "How
soon do
     you expect the other women to get here? We can't move until well
after
     dark tonight, but I'd rather have things arranged early than at the
last
     minute. And do you know if Ennie, the girl who was with me, will
be coming
     back?"

   "As I said, the women should be here at any time unless there were
men in
   the area of the hidden entrance and they had to wait for the men to
   leave," Risdin answered. "As far as that girl is concerned, though,
Areen
   said she and Celene were going to try to make her stay at the
hideout. The
   girl is hurt on the inside, and that's never easy to heal."

      "The healing will hopefully be easier once we get her back where
she
    belongs," Tain said, making no effort to explain what was really
bothering
    Ennie. Not being cared about was a lack the girl shared with a very
large
    number of women on this world, but the fact that the lack of caring
had
    been worse for the natives was not likely to be something that
Ennie would
    want to consider.

   "Let's take a walk and see if we can meet the newcomers half
way," Risdin
   suddenly suggested as she got to her feet. "Just sitting around here
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is
   making me edgy, and I hate feeling edgy. And if you like, I have
another
   smock you can wear."

     "I wish I could take you up on both your suggestions, but I'll have
to
    settle for just one," Tain said as she also stood. "Going to meet
your
    friends is fine, but I might as well stay in this outfit because I have to
    wear it when I go out tonight. People pay less attention to a slave
or
    ignore her completely, and that attitude will make my job a lot
easier.
    Besides, if I put on a smock instead of this stuff, I probably won't
want
    to get into these things again."

    "That I can understand," Risdin said, shaking her head as she
looked at
    the costume Tain wore. "I wasn't considered pretty enough to be
put into
    an outfit like that, which made me pity the pretty ones instead of
envying
    them… Well, let's go meet our company."

    Risdin stopped outside the alcove to take a lamp and light it, and
then
    she and Tain headed into the dark. A glance showed Tain that the
men were
    dressed and moving around in their alcove, and then the living area
was
    left behind. The lamp pushed the darkness away a bit, but there
was still
    a heaviness and weight to the dimness that wasn't often found
aboveground.
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   If the walls and floor and ceiling all around her hadn't been made of
   stone, Tain knew that she would be feeling extremely
uncomfortable in
   their very necessary hideaway.

    Tain was prepared for a long hike, but no more than five minutes
after she
    and Risdin started to walk they saw the faint light of another lamp
coming
    out of the darkness toward them. Risdin made a sound of
satisfaction, but
    Tain didn't relax until the approaching smudge of light showed that
it was
    women who also approached. The fact that Risdin had apparently
spent not a
    single moment wondering if the secret of the tunnel might have been
found
    out made Tain a bit uneasy, but the suspicion on two of the faces
coming
    toward them made her feel a bit better.

    "Risdin, what's wrong?" one of the suspicious ones called as soon
as they
    all got a bit closer. "Why did you come to meet us?"

   "Nothing's wrong, Char," Risdin answered with a small laugh. "Tain
and I
   got tired of waiting for all of you, so we decided to come and meet
you.
   What time of day is it outside?"

   "When we entered the tunnel it was just about noon," the woman
named Char
   answered, her frown showing that her suspicion hadn't been
completely
   soothed away. "And if you needed more smocks, why didn't you
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ask us to
   bring some?"

      The closer the group got, the easier it was for Tain to see
individuals.
      Char was a fairly tall, very beautiful woman, her outline under the
smock
      she wore suggesting that her body was as attractive as her face.
The only
      thing that didn't fit with the rest was the look in Char's eyes, a look
of
      hatred and distrust that promised never to ease back or fade even a
little.

      "Tain doesn't want a smock, not when she'll have to get back into
the
    tease again later," Risdin explained, her tone filled with calm
patience.
    "I know how much you hate to see one of us dressed in the tease,
Char, but
    this time it's necessary."

    "We'll talk about it and see how necessary it really is," Char
returned,
    the small growl in her voice suggesting she meant to argue Tain's
    decision. "First, though, I want to hear from your own lips that you
    actually brought men down into the tunnel. Some things can be
forgiven,
    Risdin, but others can't be."

     "But she didn't bring men down into the tunnel," Tain said when
Risdin
     went very still and didn't respond. "She brought down slaves to
protect
     them, which is supposed to be one of the purposes of the tunnel,
isn't
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it?"

    "Don't you play with me!" Char snarled as she stepped closer to
Tain, her
    face suddenly livid with rage. "Do you have any idea what I went
through
    as a slave, what we all went through? It was men who did that to
us, and
    I'll die before I help any of them in any way at all!"

   "Then how about helping yourself?" Tain countered at once,
knowing
   immediately that sympathy would be worse than slapping the
woman. "As long
    as it's possible for anyone to be enslaved, you and these others will
have
    to hide out for the rest of your lives. If we can give the men a
damned
   good reason for outlawing slavery completely, then all of you will
be able
   to lead normal lives. Isn't that end worth compromising your
dedication
   just a little?"

    "You can't do that," Char stated, the growl still in her voice,
although
    at a lower intensity, the hatred still flaring in her light eyes. "You
    can't make the men change their minds when they get so much
enjoyment out
    of holding women as slaves. There isn't a reason strong enough - "

   "But there is," Risdin interrupted, drawing that blazing gaze away
from
   Tain. "Did you miss hearing that the drug works on men as well as
women,
   or did you simply refuse to believe? No matter how much a man
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enjoys
    having slaves, getting a taste of slavery himself will make him
change his
     mind. And the best part is that we don't have to do it to all men,
just
     the ones who have enough power to outlaw slavery."

    "But all men deserve to be enslaved!" Char spat, her anger
increasing
    rather than fading. "They're all the same, all of them, and they
deserve
    to be hurt just the way we were hurt! Don't you understand - "

     "Stop it!" Tain snapped, her tone sharp enough to startle the irate
woman.
     "It wasn't all men who hurt you, so don't waste our time trying to
claim
     it was. By ending slavery we'll hurt just the ones who do deserve
your
     hatred, men who'll remember how 'good' they had it before the
change. When
     they find that no woman will do for them once she's been freed
they'll
     suffer, but they'll also have to be watched. Some of them could
decide to
     force women back into slavery without the drug, and then they'll be
fair
     game. But only for someone who helped end slavery and became a
free
     citizen again."

     Char's beautiful face twisted with inner agitation, making Tain
wonder if
     the woman was too far gone into her obsession for any sanity to be
left.
     There was no doubt that she'd been savaged more than once
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during her time
    as a slave, and all Tain could hope was that she'd been left enough
…
    balance to let her achieve and enjoy actual freedom.

    "Yes, if you can manage this then the ones like my owner will have
to be
    watched," Char muttered after a long hesitation, apparently talking
to
    herself. "He'll be one of those who tries to break the new law, and
then
    I'll be able to - Yes, I want it that way, and then I can stand there
and
    laugh…"

    "Now that that's settled, let's go and get all of you some coffee,"
Risdin
    said to the others, all of them showing relief to one degree or
another.
    Areen was there and so was Celene along with a third woman Tain
didn't
    know, and when Risdin touched Char's arm to get her moving
everyone
    followed. Char still seemed to be very involved with her thoughts,
the
    smile on her face more than a little disturbing. Tain was about to go
    along with the others when there was a touch on her own arm.

    "Tain, what's wrong with her?" Ennie asked, nodding toward Char.
The girl
    had been behind the other women, and Tain hadn't seen her until
the party
    began to move. Ennie also now wore a smock like the others, and
her red
    armbands were gone. "Char was so … welcoming and warm when
I was brought
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   to her, but today… The closer we got to the tunnel the more she
changed,
   and I don't understand what's happening."

      "I think it's fear doing this to her," Tain suggested after a moment's
      thought, she and Ennie trailing along behind the others. "She's trying
not
   to admit to herself that she's back in the town, but she knows well
enough
   that she isn't in her hideout any longer and she's terrified. She
shows
   fear by turning insanely angry, and if she can't control herself I'll
have
   to have one or two of the others take her back out."

   "Is it true that the men were enslaved but you got them free?" Ennie
   asked, clearly changing a painful topic. "Why would you do
something like
   that?"

    "There are a couple of things I'm not able to tell you, but that
doesn't
    really matter now," Tain said, her own anger soothed by the
realization
    that she didn't have to get around Killen's orders not to tell Ennie
that
    he worked for the department. All she had to do was order Killen
himself
    to say what he'd forbidden Tain to talk about. "You'll soon know
what you
    need to, but what I can tell you is that both men are now under my
    control. Does that fact interest you in any way at all?"

      "You know, I think it does," Ennie answered slowly as she watched
her
      feet, and then her gaze came up as she smiled. "I never thought of
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myself
   as a vengeful person, but maybe that was because I didn't really
have
   anything to get even for. Now that I do…"

       "Most times getting even feels really good, but there are exceptions
to
   just about every rule," Tain commented, keeping her own
expression bland
   as Ennie's words trailed off into thoughtfulness. "While we're
walking,
   why don't you think about whether or not you'd like to test the
waters, so
   to speak? If you decide you'd like to give getting even a try, I can
   certainly oblige you."

       Ennie's lips curved into a faint smile, but instead of speaking she
just
  nodded. The girl looked better than she had, and Tain knew it
would be
  interesting to see what her decision turned out to be.

    Risdin and the others moved somewhat slowly ahead of Tain and
Ennie, most
    of them engaged in soft-voiced conversation, so it took a little
longer
    going back than it had coming out. When the larger group passed
the men's
    alcove everyone but Char glanced in at them, but no one stopped.
They
    continued on until they reached the cooking alcove, and then they
all
    disappeared inside. Ennie did a doubletake when she and Tain
reached the
    men's alcove, and the faint smile on her face widened just a bit.
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     "I need to see if I can get something, and then I'll be taking you up
on
  your offer," Ennie said as she paused and put a hand to Tain's arm.
"Wait
  for me here, please."

    Tain nodded to show that she'd wait, then watched Ennie
disappear into the
    cooking alcove before she turned to the two men who had come to
the
    doorway of their area.

     "You can't give Ennie orders any longer, but I still don't want either
of
    you to even try," Tain said to a curious Killen and a calm-faced
Tandro.
    "She'll be back in a minute, and when she returns, Tandro, you'll
obey
    everything she tells you to do. You, Killen, don't have to obey her,
but
    you also aren't to interfere with her. You do, however, have to tell
her
    what you didn't let me talk about. Do both of you understand?"

    The two men nodded, but their expressions had changed to ones
that were
    almost identical. Both men were suddenly … concerned about
what would
    happen, but neither looked actually worried. After all, Tain could
almost
    see them thinking, it was Ennie they were talking about. What could
a
    silly little girl do that would cause more than mild disturbance?
Killen
    didn't look happy about needing to tell Ennie something he hadn't
wanted
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      her to know, but aside from that…

    It wasn't more than a couple of minutes before Ennie reappeared
carrying a
    knife belt without the knife. It looked like she'd found the men's
    possessions where they'd been put in the cooking room and had …
borrowed
    one of those possessions. Tain suddenly knew exactly what Ennie
meant to
    do, and was glad that the girl had chosen as well as she had. The
belt
    wasn't stiff or hard but it was leather, so it ought to do a fine job.

      "Ennie, I do need to ask a favor before you get started," Tain said
      softly, stopping the girl just short of the doorway into the alcove -
out
    of sight of the men. "I'm going to need Tandro later, when he and
Killen
    and I go out after our targets, so I'm afraid you'll have to use a bit
of
    restraint. Will you help me out with that?"

   "Sure, Tain, glad to oblige," Ennie answered with an amused smile.
"And
    don't worry about me asking to go out with you three. I know I'm
not up to
    something like that yet, so I'll wait here with the others. And now I
hope
    you'll excuse me. I have some getting-even to do."

     Tain nodded and stepped back out of the way, making sure her
surprise
    didn't show on her face. Ennie had said she wasn't up to rough stuff
yet,
    a comment that was unexpected in two ways. The girl had admitted
knowing
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   she wasn't properly trained, something she hadn't done in the
beginning,
   but apparently she meant to change that state of affairs. Later, she
and
   Ennie would definitely have to sit down and talk.

      But right now there was some getting-even to watch being done…


 Chains 2 Chapter 6Chains: 2
Chains Released
Chapter 6
copyright 2003 by Sharon Green
    Jake watched Ennie walk into the alcove as he went back to his
pallet,
    glad the girl no longer showed that deadly depression she'd been in
before
    the slaver's attack. He hated that he had to go against his own best
    judgment simply because Tain didn't agree with him, but he had no
choice
    at all about obeying her order. He parted his lips to say what he'd
been
    told he had to, but Tain interrupted before he could get the first
word
    out.

      "Killen, save that explanation until after Ennie is done with what she
has
   in mind," Tain said, and damned if the woman didn't look amused.
Jake
   closed his mouth again and nodded to acknowledge this newest
order, but
   the annoyance he felt disappeared when he finally noticed what
Ennie
   carried. Unless he was mistaken, that was Tandro's knife belt she
had…
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    "Tandro, that body cloth isn't appropriate right this moment," Ennie
said
    as she walked toward the native where he'd backed up to his own
pallet,
    her gaze directly on the man. "You can start by taking the cloth off."

   Tandro's expression of calm control didn't really change as he
reached to
   his covering, but Jake could see the sudden worry in the man's
dark eyes.
    Not to mention the sudden desperation. It had been bad enough
when another
   man was in charge of them; having a girl being in charge instead
was ten
   times worse.

    "Good boy," Ennie purred with an odd smile as soon as Tandro
had put his
    body cloth to one side of the pallet. She also sat down on the
pallet,
    which put a wary look on Tandro's face. "Now I'd like you to
arrange
    yourself face down over my lap, taking the same position you put
me in so
    often."

    Tandro didn't actually pale as he moved as he'd been told to, but
Jake saw
    that the wariness in the man's eyes had given way to total
desperation.
    Tandro was probably remembering the same thing Jake was: that
time in the
    hostel when Tandro spanked Ennie in front of Jake and Tain both.
It was
    fairly obvious that the girl meant to return the compliment, but much
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more
   thoroughly than Jake had expected.

    A gasp was forced out of Tandro's throat when Ennie reached to
the man's
    backside with both hands. The girl had put the belt down for the
purpose,
    and now that the belt was out of the way Jake could see that Ennie
had
    carried something besides the leather in her hand. Jake got a
glimpse of
    the insertion just before Ennie put the thing in Tandro, and then she
was
    picking up the belt again.

    "You're a good boy now, but you haven't always been a good boy,
have you?"
   Ennie asked as she stroked Tandro's hair slowly and gently. "I'd
say that
   this is going to hurt me more than it does you, but I think we both
know
   that that would be a lie. You've earned punishing, boy, and it's
become my
    place to see that you get it."

    Jake thought Tandro was about to say something, but the first
stroke of
    the leather belt on his backside turned the words into a garbled
sound.
    The stroke couldn't have hurt all that much, not when Ennie was far
from
    being well-muscled, but the touch hadn't been a gentle gesture
either. And
    it was probable that Tandro had automatically tightened his muscles
in
    anticipation of the stroke, an action that would have brought the
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      insertion into play.

   "When you did this to me you ordered me to say something that
you wanted
   to hear," Ennie murmured as her arm brought the leather down on
Tandro's
   rear a second time. "I, on the other hand, don't want to hear any
kind of
   words from you. All you have to do is take your licking like a man."

    Tandro groaned as he began to writhe a little, giving Jake the
impression
    that the man wasn't quite as over the switching from yesterday as
they'd
    both thought they were. Not to mention the fact that Jake had
gotten
    bodily relief the night before but Tandro hadn't. The insertion was
    obviously bringing back the arousal Tandro hadn't had satisfied, but
there
    was nothing either of them could do to stop what was happening.
They'd
    been given orders they weren't allowed to refuse…

      Jake watched his friend get half a dozen strokes of that leather belt
      before it came to him that this time he hadn't been ordered to watch
the
     punishment. Jake's embarrassment on Tandro's behalf was intense,
so he
     quickly turned away - only to see that the audience was larger than
just
     himself and Tain. All the women who had passed by earlier were
now
     standing in the open doorway, and most of them wore expressions
of such
     grim satisfaction that their presence was more disturbing than
     embarrassing.
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    The spanking went on for what was actually only a short time, but
every
    time Jake heard another stroke of the belt land he had to keep
himself
    from flinching. The women in the doorway watched avidly but
silently, and
    Jake could only hope that Tandro didn't know they were there.
Tain stood
    at the back of the small crowd, her face expressionless as she
made no
    effort to stop what was going on, and that was what got to Jake the
most.
    Tain knew exactly what Tandro was being put through, just the
way all the
    women did, but even she wasn't prepared to stop the punishment.
So much
    for compassion on behalf of the helpless…

      "All right, boy, you can straighten up to kneel on your pallet until
I'm
   out of the way," Ennie finally said, showing that the spanking was
over.
   "You seem to need something rather badly, but I'm afraid your
need is
   going to be with you for a while. I may get around to doing
something
   about it later, or I may not. We'll just have to wait and see what my
mood
   is like."

   Jake heard sounds of movement, and then he realized that Ennie
was now
   standing next to his own pallet. He'd been busy studying his hands,
and
   when he looked up he not only saw Ennie but that the other women
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were no
   longer in the doorway.

   "I think you have something to tell me, Killen," Ennie said, using his
   name for what was probably the first time. "Let's hear it."

    "I … didn't know how you would take the news, Ennie, and that's
why I kept
    it from you," Jake said, hating himself for making excuses. "The
truth is,
    Tain and I work for the same people, and Tandro and I meant to
take you
    two back home as soon as we saw to our assignment. If you'd had
more
    experience in the field I would have been able to trust you with
knowing
    everything, but you had no experience and also almost nothing in
the way
    of training. I couldn't take the chance that you would screw
everything up
    if you knew what was really going on."

    Adding that last made Jake feel a bit better, but the words still
made his
    insides turn over. He'd been told that he didn't have to obey Ennie,
but
    the possibility existed that Ennie would talk Tain into changing that
    freedom to something he would sincerely regret. He didn't quite
hold his
    breath while Ennie simply stared at him with no expression on her
face,
    and then she nodded.

    "I'd love to say your opinion of me was wrong, but lying doesn't
solve
    anything," the girl said, not very happy with him but far from the
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rage
    he'd half expected. "I'll have to think about what you just told me
for a
    while before I can really react to the news, but I can give you a hint
    about the way I'll feel. I think it's highly unlikely that you and I will
    ever be friends."

    And with that the girl turned and left the alcove, going left toward
where
     the other women had probably gone. Jake had expected to feel a
lot of
    relief once he and Tandro were no longer the objects of such close
    attention, but suddenly he heard the almost-silent moaning Tandro
was
    doing behind Jake. There wasn't a single doubt in Jake's mind that
the
    moaning came from Tandro's urgent need for Ennie's return, a
return that
    hadn't quite been promised to the man.

    Jake lay down on his own pallet without turning to look at Tandro,
trying
    to give his friend as much privacy as the cramped quarters allowed.
He
    also suddenly found himself in a brooding mood, and there was no
time like
    the present to indulge.

    ***

    Tain had followed the other women back to the cooking alcove,
and by the
    time Ennie showed up Tain had gotten a fresh cup of coffee. Ennie
returned
    the belt from where she'd gotten it, poured a cup of coffee of her
own,
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   then came to sit down near Tain.

    "Why are some of the women looking like they just inherited a
fortune
    while a couple of the others look like they were written out of the
will?"
    Ennie asked softly with her back to the others once she was
seated. "Char,
    especially, looks like she's floating on air, but Risdin seems to want
to
    cry."

     "Seeing a man being treated the way you treated Tandro has
apparently made
     Char's day," Tain answered just as softly. "The utter delight she got
     chased away enough of her fear to let her relax a little, so it looks
like
     I'll be able to let her stay. Risdin, on the other hand, isn't happy
with
     what you did, because she said the men were hurt by the slaver for
being
    against slavery. Taking advantage of their helplessness strikes
Risdin as
     being wrong, but possibly that's because she wasn't Tandro's slave
before
    he became a slave himself."

    "What do you mean, they were hurt by the slaver?" Ennie asked,
the look in
    her eyes suddenly sharpening. "No one told me anything had been
done to
    them, and I assumed they were just locked up until you broke them
loose.
    How were they hurt?"

   "The slaver did to both of them what you did to Tandro, but his
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men
     weren't quite as gentle as you were," Tain said, now watching the
girl's
     reactions carefully. "By the time I got them out they were having a
lot of
     trouble walking, and not just from the switchings they were given.
But I
     have to tell you… One of the first things Tandro said when he was
allowed
     to speak again was to ask if you were all right. He kept saying
during the
     trip that he didn't want to be blamed by our people if anything really
     horrible happened to you, so maybe that's why he asked."

    "After going through all that himself he took the trouble to ask
about
    me?" Ennie said, staring into space instead of meeting Tain's gaze.
"After
    talking to the women I went with, it suddenly came to me that they
were in
    a worse position than I ever was. I might not have had anyone who
really
    cared about me, but I still wasn't enslaved and beaten and raped
and hurt
    all the way down to my soul. I felt like an ungrateful idiot for
    complaining about my life when theirs were so much worse, and
now you tell
    me that Tandro asked about me? But what I did to him…"

     Ennie put her coffee cup down before closing her eyes for a
moment, then
     she scrambled to her feet and hurried out of the alcove. Since the
girl
     turned right, Tain didn't have to wonder where Ennie was going.
The only
     thing left to wonder about was whether Tandro would be able to
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forgive
    Ennie for doing to him what he'd done to her. If he couldn't, then
Ennie
    would be much better off without him.

    After a while Risdin made lunch for everyone with Areen helping
her, and
    Tain ate slowly to fill in as much of the waiting time as possible.
After
    lunch she spoke to the women and told them most of her plan, and
then they
    wasted a bit more time discussing what they'd heard. Most of the
women
    liked Tain's idea, but they were also more than a little afraid. The
fear
    didn't cause them to refuse to help out, though; it just made them
wish
    they could refuse.

     Once the meeting was over, Tain took a walk to see how Ennie,
Tandro, and
     Killen were doing. Peeking inside the men's alcove showed Ennie
and Tandro
     asleep in each other's arms on Tandro's pallet, and even Killen had
     managed to fall asleep. Getting some rest seemed like a really good
idea,
     so Tain went to her own pallet and forced herself to sleep. The
automatic
     alarm clock in her head would help to wake her up, she knew, and
if the
     trick somehow missed then it would be Risdin who woke her.
Before leaving
     the cooking alcove Tain had spoken to Risdin, who now knew that
Tain
     wanted to leave right after she and the men had something to eat.
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    Sleeping in the middle of the day did manage to throw off Tain's
inner
    clock. She opened her eyes to Risdin's hand on her shoulder, then
had to
    get back into the costume before following the other woman to the
cooking
    alcove. And the mood Tain woke with wasn't even as good as the
one she'd
    gone to sleep with; she'd been dreaming about taking a long,
delicious
    bath, and waking up to reality hadn't been pleasant.

    Risdin had made a plain vegetable stew for everyone, and after the
food
    had been put into bowls with wooden spoons added she helped
Tain carry the
    four bowls to the men's alcove. Areen and the woman whose name
Tain didn't
    know followed with two cups of coffee each, and once all the food
and
    drink had been distributed the three native women left the alcove.
Since
    Killen, Tandro, and Ennie were awake and sitting up on their
respective
    pallets, Areen and the other coffee carrier left a good deal faster
than
    Risdin.

    "We'll be leaving here as soon as we finish eating, so if you have
any
    questions on what I'm about to tell you don't hold back," Tain said
to the
    two men after sitting down on the stone floor. "Ennie already
knows she
    won't be going with us, so the outing will just be a threesome."
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   "Where will we be going?" Killen asked at once while Tandro
looked deeply
   relieved. "Since Ennie will be staying behind, it's fairly obvious we
   aren't going to be heading home."

    "Tonight we'll be going out to do some kidnapping," Tain said,
noticing
    that Killen wasn't diving into the food any faster than she herself.
    "We're going to start with Gordi, and once we have him we'll move
on to
    the names he gives us. I intend to get Gordi himself, the two next
most
    powerful leaders who support him, and his most powerful …
opponent
    tonight. Once we have them we'll get them to understand just how
bad
    slavery is, and once that's done we'll then head home."

   "You expect us to convince Gordi and the others just like that in
one
   night?" Killen said, the words not quite mocking. "I consider myself
a
   fairly good talker, Tain, but unless you're better than fairly good
you
   might want to try another plan."

    "I said we'll be getting the men tonight, not that we'll convince them
    that quickly," Tain corrected mildly. "It will probably take the entire
    following day or even a bit longer before they really get the
message, but
    this is important work. Heading home will have to wait until the
work is
    done, so I need to ask: are you two in good enough shape to help,
or will
    it be smarter to leave you behind along with Ennie?"
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   Tain had actually addressed her question to Tandro, and the native
smiled
   in that calm way he had.

    "I'm perfectly fine, so staying behind won't be necessary," Tandro
stated,
    speaking just as mildly as Tain had. "Killen, I think, is doing even
    better than I am."

   "Yeah, I'm definitely doing better than fine," Killen agreed, but not
with
   anything like enthusiasm. "And is that all we'll be doing tonight?
   Kidnapping men and then sitting down to talk to them?"

    "Actually, the talking won't take place until those women in the next
    alcove show the men just what it's like to be a slave," Tain
answered,
    ignoring the urge to tell Killen that the rest of the plan was none of
his
    business. "We happen to have some doses of the slave drug at our
disposal,
    which make my plan more than just wishful thinking. Risdin found a
package
    with a dozen doses that some slaver lost, and I mean to double up
on each
    of the men."

    "To compensate for their greater size and body weight," Killen said
with a
    startled nod, his distant stare saying he was thinking about what
he'd
    been told. "That's probably what was done with us… And you
believe that
    Gordi and the others will be convinced by being enslaved
themselves? What
    if they react the other way after being treated badly by women and
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decide
   to hold their slaves even tighter than before?"

    "I'll know if that happens because I mean to ask before letting the
men go
    again," Tain said, making no effort to avoid Killen's gaze. "If any of
    those men react like fools instead of rational beings, I'm going to
cut
    their throats instead of turning them loose. I won't give people like
    Himlin any more supporters than they already have."

    Killen's expression didn't change, but the look in his eyes almost
made
    Tain want to flinch. Mention of the slaver Himlin had made Killen
show a
    hint of how he felt about that slaver, a reaction that had nothing in
the
    way of fear about it. Dismemberment and bloody murder, yes; fear,
no.

    "Now we'd better get this food eaten so we can get on with our
chore,"
    Tain said, breaking what had become an awkward silence. "I want
us to be
    finished and back here with everyone before daylight."

    They'd all just been sitting and holding their bowls, but Tain's
reminder
    set the other three to beginning the meal. Tain didn't really want the
    vegetable stew, she wanted a decent meal, but getting a meal like
that
    wasn't going to happen until she was back where she belonged. In
the
    meanwhile there was work to do, and since skipping the meal
wasn't a good
     idea she picked up her own spoon and began to eat.
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    Once everyone had finished the last drop of coffee in their cups,
Tain,
    Killen, and Tandro got on with their chore. A candle let them find
their
    way up the stairs and into the room with the secret entrance to the
    tunnel, then out of the warehouse. Tandro carried the pack holding
the
    doses of the drug, leaving her and Killen's hands free for any
fighting
    that might have to be done.

    It turned out that there was rough stuff, but no actual fighting.
Tandro
    guided them through the empty streets to Gordi's house, deep night
and
    silence all around them as they moved silently. Four men who could
be
    considered perimeter guards stood a small distance from the house,
and
    Tain made two of them unconscious while Killen did the same for
the other
    two. Once the guards were out of the way, getting into the house
wasn't
    hard at all.

     The man Gordi lay asleep in his bed beside a woman who didn't
wear
     anything to mark her as a slave, so Tain knew that the woman
could well be
    Gordi's wife. The man himself looked large and well-muscled even
in the
    dark, which meant that Killen rendered the woman unconscious
and then he,
    Tain, and Tandro all sat on Gordi while Tain forced the drug down
Gordi's
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      throat. Gordi struggled hard before the first of the drug trickled into
      him, and then his struggles turned very lethargic.

    By the time the second dose was down the man's throat, all the
fight had
    gone out of him. It wasn't easy to tell in the dark, but Gordi looked
    dazed and mostly out of it.

   "Gordi, can you hear me?" Tain asked softly, needing to know if
they'd
   have to wait until they could all get out of there. "If you can, say so."

      "I can hear you," Gordi obliged, but the dazed quality was clear in
his
      voice.

   "Good," Tain said, feeling more than a little relieved. "Get out of
bed
   and get dressed."

    Gordi obeyed without hesitation, but his movements were very
deliberate
    and definitely on the slow side. Tain realized that the man wasn't
    resisting, he was simply reacting to the drug he'd been given. He
    obviously needed some time to adjust, but Tain didn't have the time
to
    give him.

   Once they had the man out of his house, Tain moved very close to
him.

      "You're going to close your eyes now, but that isn't all I want you
to
      do," she murmured. "Until you're told otherwise, you're going to
see
      nothing, hear nothing but my voice, and smell nothing. You'll have
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   absolutely no idea of where you're being taken, and that will
continue to
   hold true even if someone orders you to remember whatever you
can. Do you
   understand?"

    "Yes, I understand," Gordi answered in the same kind of murmur,
his eyes
    already closed. "There's nothing around me but unrelieved
darkness."

    "Too bad he didn't realize that sooner," Killen muttered, and Tain
knew he
    wasn't talking about the state Tain had put the man into. "Let's get
out
    of here before one or more of those guards wakes up."

    Since Tain had been about to say the same thing she didn't argue,
and they
    all moved off into the cool dark. She'd noticed that Killen hadn't
been
    very friendly lately, not even to the point of neutrality. It looked like
    her plan to discourage him had worked, helped along by her plan
to change
    the minds of the town and area leaders. Killen knew as well as she
did
    that the job had to be done, but he obviously hated using the drug
to
    accomplish the task. Tain could understand how he felt, but since
there
    was no choice if the talks were to be effective rather than a waste
of
    time and breath…

     Getting back to the warehouse took only a little longer than leaving
it
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    had. Tain and Killen searched the darkness carefully for anyone
who might
    be around - like some of Himlin's men, for instance - but the area
was
    completely deserted. Once inside the warehouse they relit their
candle,
    then Tain began to question Gordi. She got the names she needed
along with
    locations of the men's houses, and shortly thereafter they were in
the
    room with the secret panel. Tain used the release to open the
    cabinet-door, and once it opened she got a surprise.

      "I've been waiting for you guys to get back," Ennie said from where
she
    stood just past the secret door. "It came to me that you three have
a lot
    to do, and it will save time if you don't have to go all the way down
and
    then back up again. But if you don't agree - "

    "As a matter of fact I do agree," Tain assured the anxious girl,
giving
    her a real smile. "Your idea is more than good, and I appreciate the
help.
    I'm going to turn this man over to you, and then you can take him
the rest
    of the way. Once you have him you-know-where, don't let the
others start
    on the rest of the plan. I want to be there to make sure they don't
go
    overboard."

      "That's an even better idea," Ennie said, her own smile on the rueful
      side. "Those women have been hurt so badly that going overboard
is
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    probably a guarantee rather than a possibility. But I'll make sure
they
   stay away from him."

   "Let them know that the delay is only temporary," Tain advised.
"That way
   you shouldn't have too much trouble." Then she turned her attention
to
   their captive. "Gordi, from here there will be someone else leading
you.
   When she tells you to lie down you'll do it, and then you'll go right
to
   sleep. You won't wake again until you hear my voice, and when
you do wake
   up you'll be able to see and hear and smell things again. You just
won't
   be able to refuse orders, defend yourself, or try to escape. Do you
   understand me?"

   "Yes, I understand," Gordi answered, his eyes still closed tight. He
   seemed a little less dazed now so Tain let Ennie lead the man to the
   stairs, and once they began to descend without the man falling, Tain
   closed the cabinet-door again.

   "Okay, who do we go for first?" Tain asked Tandro, who had
watched Ennie
   until the door cut off sight of her. "I want to take the most distant
   victim first and work our way back in this direction, and we can't
waste
   the time to bring each of them here before going for the next. As
soon as
   the alarm is raised we'll have half the town searching for us."

   "I hadn't thought of that, but you're right," Tandro said, his face
   showing a frown. "All three of our targets live fairly close to one
   another, but not in the same area that Gordi does. If we move fast
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we can
   have all three down in the tunnel before anyone gives the alarm."

   "Let's hope it works out like that," Tain said, shielding the candle's
   flame with one hand as they moved as quickly as possible to the
warehouse
   exit. "And here's hoping none of the three have as many guards as
Gordi
   did. Taking them down isn't hard, but it does waste a lot of time."

    Tain saw an odd look on Tandro's face before she blew out the
candle, but
    there wasn't time to wonder what the expression meant. Instead
she just
   let the native lead the way to the house of their next victim, a man
named
   Flam who didn't seem to believe in guards. His house was large but
easy to
   get into, and there were three female slaves sleeping on pallets in
what
   seemed to be a closet in his bedroom. Flam himself was alone in his
bed,
    so after closing the closet door Tain and her companions fed the
man the
    drug. He reacted in the same way that Gordi had, and Tain put him
under
   immediate control. They now had Gordi's main opponent, and had
only
    Gordi's supporters still to get.

    They finally made it back to the warehouse with all three men, and
as far
    as Tain could tell no one had sounded an alarm yet. Their luck was
running
    better than she'd dared to hope it would, but that might not be the
    blessing it seemed. They had all four of the men they wanted in their
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   control, but how those men would react to what was done to them
remained
   to be seen.

   Ennie wasn't waiting this time when Tain opened the secret door,
which
   probably meant she hadn't felt it wise to leave Gordi by himself
even
   asleep. She left Killen and Tandro to see to their prisoners after she
   closed the secret door again, then went ahead to find out if her
guess had
   been right.

      "You're back," Ennie exclaimed with a smile when Tain walked into
the
   fourth alcove, the room they'd gotten ready for their prisoners.
Ennie sat
   on the floor next to a sleeping Gordi, but now she got to her feet. "I
   thought about leaving this man alone when I found that the other
women
   were asleep, but considering the fact that he's the important one I
   decided it might be better if I stayed. Did you get all the others?"

   "We certainly did," Tain said, relieved that her worry had been
misplaced.
   "Killen and Tandro are bringing them down so they ought to be
here in a
   minute or two."

    "After that I think we all ought to get some sleep," Ennie said,
running a
    weary hand through her hair. "I know I had that nap earlier, but all
the
    good it did has been slowly wearing off."

      Tain nodded her agreement, then turned to wait for the men to be
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brought
    to the alcove. If she cued the others to her voice the way she had
with
    Gordi, none of the men would wake up until she wanted them to.
But that
    didn't mean she'd be able to sleep anywhere but right there in the
alcove
    with the prisoners. If the native women hadn't made any trouble
yet, that
    didn't mean tomorrow wouldn't be another story entirely…


 Chains 2 Chapter 7Chains: 2
Chains Released
Chapter 7
copyright 2003 by Sharon Green

    Jake had trouble falling asleep after they got the captives bedded
down,
    and then suddenly found himself awake after a period of time that
didn't
    feel very long at all. Ennie had joined Tandro on his pallet again,
and
    even though the two didn't make love, this time was harder on Jake
than
    the last when they did make love. Even without looking Jake knew
that
    Tandro had his arms around Ennie, and that knowledge was oddly
painful.
    Tain had taken a pallet into the captives' alcove, giving Jake not the
    smallest indication that she would have welcomed his presence on
the
    pallet with her.

   Not that he wanted to sleep with Tain. She'd been treating him like
some
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    kind of unintelligent hireling, someone whose expertise was to be
used
    when necessary but at all other times completely ignored. Being
treated
    that way made Jake feel like less than he knew himself to be, and
he
    refused to accept being put down like that. He was a human being,
and no
    matter how he was treated he intended to continue acting like a
human
    being.

      Trying to fall asleep again turned out to be a waste of time, so Jake
got
    up quietly and went into what was called the cooking alcove. His
intention
    was to make a fresh pot of coffee, and discovering that there was
already
    fresh coffee being kept warm was something of a surprise. The
native women
    were all asleep in the first alcove, so Jake didn't find out who had
made
    the coffee until he carried his cup into the captives' area. Tain sat on
    her pallet drinking instead of sleeping, looking up when he
appeared in
    the doorway. Looking up but not saying anything…

   "I want a chance to talk to Gordi before you go on with the rest of
your …
   plan," Jake found himself saying, something he'd been thinking
about since
   the night before. "If I can bring the man over to our side with just
   words, we won't have to chance turning him completely against us
from what
   the women do."
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   "It's worth a try," Tain conceded after a very long moment of
simply
   staring at him. "But that's the only thing I want you to try without
   checking with me first. You aren't to order any of these men to
obey no
   one but you, not unless I say you can."

    Jake nodded his head once, hating the fact that Tain didn't need his
    agreement. He was still required to obey her, a fact he couldn't
forget
    even if he wanted to. She seemed to take every opportunity to
remind him…

   Once Jake had been given his orders, Tain got up and went over to
where
   Gordi lay on a plain blanket. That was all any of the captives had
been
   given to lie on, which meant they would definitely wake up hurting.

   "Gordi, listen to me," Tain said softly right next to the big man. "In a
   moment you're going to wake up, but when you do you won't
remember what
   was done to you in your house before you were taken out of it.
You won't
    have any idea how you got here, but you'll be able to see and hear
and
   smell things again. You just won't be able to leave without
permission or
   try to hurt the people around you. All right, you can wake up now."

    The big man Tain had been speaking to began to stir, and then he
sat up
    slowly on the blanket as he looked around. Gordi used one hand to
rub at
    his shoulder as his gaze took in the other men who were still
sleeping,
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      and then suddenly his attention was completely on Jake.

      "What the hell is this?" Gordi asked in a deep voice that suggested
the
    man was very used to giving orders. "Why are we all here and who
the hell
    are you?"

     "I'm one of the men you'd agreed to meet with the day before
yesterday,"
     Jake answered mildly as he moved a step closer to where Gordi
sat. "When
     my friend made the appointment he asked you and your people to
keep the
     subject of our visit private, but one of you dropped a word in the
wrong
     ear. My friend and I were attacked twice by assassins, once before
we
    reached town, once in our hostel. And then yesterday morning,
when we were
     on our way to your house, my friend and I were knocked
unconscious by men
     with clubs and he and I were taken captive."

   "I thought my people could be trusted, but it looks like I was
wrong,"
   Gordi answered after a very brief hesitation, a touch of guilt
showing in
   the blue of his eyes. "When you and your friend didn't show up I
thought
   you might have changed your minds… But that still doesn't explain
what I
    and those others are doing here. And if you were taken captive,
how come
   you're free now instead of being dead?"
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   "I'm free because an associate helped out, and I'm not dead
because dead
   wasn't the way Himlin wanted me to be," Jake said, watching Gordi
   carefully. "One of his assassins named Himlin, and Tandro and I
lodged
   formal complaints against him. Himlin wanted Tandro and me to
withdraw
   those complaints."

    "Hearing that slaver's name doesn't surprise me one bit," Gordi
said, his
    face twisted in a grimace that showed his opinion of Himlin. "And if
    that's who one of my people talked to, I'm definitely going to find
out
    who the big-mouth is."

    "That's fine for later, but right now we have another point to talk
    about," Jake said, crouching down in front of Gordi. "There are a
lot of
    people who listen to what you have to say, Gordi, and that's why I
wanted
    to talk to you. I was told that you aren't all that fond of slavery, and
    that you might even listen when I proved that slavery needs to be
    abolished. Are you willing to listen?"

   "I listen to what everyone has to say," Gordi returned with a much
more
   neutral expression. "If you don't listen to both sides of an argument
you
   can't decide which side to support with any hope of being right."

   "I admire that intelligent an outlook, and now I'm going to take
advantage
   of it," Jake said, and then he explained how enslaving women was
keeping
   society on this world from advancing. Gordi developed a frown as
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he
     listened, and then he shook his head.

    "I knew I didn't much like slavery, but I had no idea that it was
actually
    hurting us," he said, his expression sober. "What impresses me
most is
    that you people are trying to talk us into changing things, not
strolling
    onto our world and telling us what to do. But there are those who
won't be
    impressed by any of it, and even more they'll claim that you're lying.
    People like Flam over there, and that brings us back to a point you
    haven't explained yet. How did we all get here?"

   "You can thank that slaver Himlin for your being here," Tain said
while
   Jake searched for the proper words to answer Gordi's question.
"Himlin
   decided to make use of a new idea, so we did the same."

    "She means that Himlin didn't just kidnap Tandro and me and try to
talk us
    into withdrawing our complaints," Jake said hurriedly while Gordi
frowned
    at Tain as if a piece of furniture had suddenly spoken to him.
"Himlin
    used the slave drug on my friend and me, then gave us a taste of
what
    women go through with him. Needless to say, Tandro and I now
hate slavery
    even more than we did."

   "But that's not possible," Gordi protested, still giving Tain an
   occasional disapproving glance. "That drug doesn't work on men,
only on
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      women."

    "Guess again," Tain said, sitting straighter on her pallet. It was fairly
    clear that Tain had noticed Gordi's attitude toward her and wasn't
happy
    about it. "There are only a very small number of drugs that don't
work on
    both men and women, and you people aren't sophisticated enough
to have any
    of those. If you thought you were safe from being put through
what's only
    been done to women until now, you were wrong."

    "I don't like your attitude," Gordi stated, having done his own
    straightening where he sat. "You're dressed like a slave and even
have the
    proper armbands, so you have no right talking to a free man like
that. I
    want an immediate and proper apology from you, slave, and then I
want that
    pallet you're sitting on."

    "I really am so sorry, sir, but I'm not allowed to take the orders of
    anyone but my owner," Tain answered at once with a very … feral
kind of
    smile. "You claim you don't like slavery, but you still don't hesitate
to
    give orders to someone you consider a slave and you even resent
being
    talked to by that someone. With those facts clear before us, I'm
sure you
    won't mind if I do the same as you."

      "Tain, please don't," Jake said, the order he'd meant to give coming
out
      in the only way it was possible for him to speak to her. "I thought
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we
     agreed - "

     "I agreed to give you a chance," Tain interrupted to point out, the
look
     in her own blue eyes a good deal calmer than Jake had thought it
would be.
    "He thinks it's a shame that slavery seems to have been holding his
people
     back, but he still doesn't consider slavery wrong. If you want
people to
     see things your way, you have to make the matter more personal
for them."

    Jake really did want to argue the point, but this time it was reason
that
     held the words back. It so happened that he agreed with Tain, but
pushing
    the matter to the limit could make the whole interview blow up in
their
     faces.

     "I think people ought to be what they are," Gordi said, taking
advantage
     of Jake's silence. "It isn't hard to make a woman a slave, but the
same
     can't be said of men. If it's truth you're looking for, you now have
it."

   "Truth isn't truth when you're only looking at one side of the coin,"
Tain
   countered, seeing the challenge in Gordi's attitude just as Jake did.
   "It's now become time to flip that coin, so why don't you get to
your
   knees, put your head to the floor, apologize to me for speaking out
of
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   turn, and then sit down again."

   Gordi didn't hesitate to do as he'd been told, of course, and once
he was
   back sitting as he'd been the look in his eyes was pure pole-axed.

   "Now you know how we got you here, and you also know that
making a man a
   slave isn't hard at all," Tain said to a Gordi who looked like he
might
   pass out. "Not to add insult to injury, but you have to obey
everyone, not
   just me. How did you like the experience of being what you are?"

   "I never thought -! This can't be possible, but I know I didn't
imagine
   it!" Gordi sounded almost wild, and then he looked at Tain again. "I
don't
   want to tell you that I hated what you just did, but I can't stop
myself.
   You have to get this drug out of me, you have to!"

    "There is an antidote to the drug, but no one on this world has it,"
Tain
    answered, her words still mild. "I think if you people outlaw slavery
and
    really mean it, our own people will see their way clear to supplying
the
    antidote for your use. On the provision, of course, that the women
get to
    be freed first. After all, they've been chained to that drug longer
than
    you have."

   Gordi opened his mouth, probably to protest, then he closed his
eyes and
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    shook his head.

    "It never occurred to me that being subject to the drug could be so
…
    devastating," Gordi muttered as he ran his hands through his black
hair.
    "You can't refuse to do something even if you want to, and that's
not
    right. Using the drug isn't right, and that's one stance no one will
ever
    move me from."

    "I'm glad to hear that," Tain told him, and her tone was the least bit
    more gentle now. "And since you're such a fan of truths, here's one
that
    ought to be self-evident right now: as long as anyone at all is in
danger
    of being enslaved, you yourself are not safe no matter how well
protected
    you think you are. As long as any kind of slavery is possible, just
     because you aren't enslaved today doesn't mean it won't happen to
you
    tomorrow."

     "Ten minutes ago I would have argued that statement, but right now
all I
     can do is agree," Gordi said, raising his head to look directly at
Tain.
     "It hadn't come to me sooner, but you're not from this world either,
are
     you? Does that mean off-worlders aren't as easy a mark for the
drug as we
     are?"

    "No, it just means we're sneakier than you are," Tain responded
with
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      something of a smile. "We brought you and your friends - and your
major
      opponent - here to show you our side of things, but Killen wanted
to start
      with you alone. He obviously thought you were the most
reasonable of the
      bunch, and I'm glad to say I now agree with him. But the question
still
      has to be put: will you talk to those others and try to get them to
see
      things your way?"

     "I think I now need to talk them around," Gordi said slowly, as
though
     examining his words as he spoke them. "For the second time I
wouldn't have
     said exactly that if I'd been given the choice, but this damn drug
isn't
     giving me the choice. You bet I'll talk to them, and if one of them
     doesn't see it my way I'll probably break his neck."

    Jake expected Tain to tell Gordi that he couldn't break anyone's
neck
    without her permission, but she just smiled and left her pallet to
move
    closer to the three sleeping men. She spoke softly to each of the
three,
    and a couple of minutes later they were all sitting on their blankets
    fully awake.

    "What the hell is this?" the man named Flam asked as soon as he
could,
   glaring around at everyone in the room. "How did you manage this,
Gordi?
    No, never mind how you managed it. Just show me the way out of
here."
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    "You were brought here for the same reason I was, Flam, and you
won't be
   leaving until you hear what I have to say," Gordi returned at once.
Then
    he began to tell the three what he'd been told by Jake, but he didn't
stop
    there. He also described the rest of what had happened, and the
two men
    who were supporters of his ended up looking shaken. Flam,
though, was
    another matter.

    "If you expect me to believe all that garbage you're a bigger fool
than I
    thought," Flam said with a snort as soon as Gordi fell silent. "I don't
    know how you got me here, but whatever you did it was a waste of
time.
    Keeping slaves isn't what's holding us back, listening to fools like
you
    is what's doing it. And if the drug worked on you and this other
fool,
    that doesn't mean it will work on me. I'm not as soft and womanish
as the
    rest of you, so stop wasting my time with bullshit."

   "If what you were told is bullshit, why are you still sitting on that
   blanket?" Jake heard Tain say as she came back into the alcove.
He'd only
   been distantly aware of the fact that she'd left as soon as the three
men
   were awake, but now she was back.

    "I don't answer to slaves, they answer to me," Flam spat as he
glared at
    Tain. "Go to your knees to me, slave, and beg me to punish you for
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     insolence."

     "Sorry, sir, but I'm not allowed to obey the orders of anyone but
my
   owner," Tain stated, the look in her eyes even more feral now.
"And it so
   happens that my owner isn't allowed to give me any more orders.
The same,
   though, can't be said for you. You have to obey anyone I tell you to
obey,
   and now I'm telling you to obey these two women."

    Tain gestured toward the archway, and it was Risdin and Char who
walked
    in. The second woman looked furious with what seemed to be
terror hidden
    beneath, but Risdin didn't look the same. And Risdin was also
carrying a
    switch.

   "I don't like the looks of you, slave," Risdin said to Flam in a hard
   voice. "Get to your knees and bow to me, and then beg me to
punish you for
   being insolent."

    Flam went to his knees instantly, bowed his head to the floor, then
said,
    "Please punish me for being insolent." Gordi wasn't as shocked as
the
    other two men, but Jake could see that even Gordi was shaken by
what was
    happening.

     "It will be my pleasure to punish you, slave," Risdin answered with
a
     smile that was one of the most frightening Jake had ever seen.
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"First,
    though, you can take that body cloth off. Slaves don't cover
themselves
    without the permission of their owners."

   Jake expected Flam to straighten up to take off his body cloth, but
   instead the man removed his covering just as he was. It came to
Jake then
   that Risdin hadn't said the man could straighten up, so he hadn't
even
   tried.

   "You were too slow stripping yourself, so you've earned even more
   punishment," Risdin said once Flam was naked. "Crawl over here
and then
   position yourself properly in front of me."

    When Flam raised his head and began to crawl, Jake was able to
see the
    man's face. Someone else in Flam's place would have been
shocked, but this
   man was nothing but totally outraged and furious. He was so filled
with
    hatred for what was being done to him that he seemed to have
room for no
    other awareness.

    "I don't like the expression on your face, slave," Risdin said while
Char
    shivered where she stood behind the other woman. "If you reach
the point
    of not being able to take any more punishment, you have my
permission to
    beg for forgiveness."

   "That's not going to happen, bitch," Flam snarled from where he
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knelt
    facing away from Risdin. "I'm not a whiny female who can be made
to - Ah!"

   The first stroke of the switch ended Flam's rage-filled attempt at
   defiance, a thin red line appearing on the man's heavy buttocks.
Flam
   carried more weight than a man of his size should, which made his
backside
   a really easy target. Risdin gave him another stroke of the switch,
   obviously putting a lot of her strength into the effort, and Flam's
   light-brown-haired head came up with his hiss of pain.

    It wasn't long before Jake was flinching with every stroke Flam was
given,
    but Flam himself was doing more than just flinching. The man's
buttocks
    were being turned really red, and Flam began to writhe with every
stroke.
    After his first gasp he hadn't made a sound, but Jake thought that
Flam
    wasn't keeping his jaw locked just to stay quiet. The man could see
the
    other three men watching him being punished, and it looked like
that
    awareness was almost as painful as the switching.

     Flam took about two dozen of the hard strokes delivered by the
switch
     before Jake noticed a slight difference in the man's attitude. It
wasn't
    pain alone that was twisting the man around; humiliation rode Flam
like
     something with spurs, and after the two dozen strokes Flam
couldn't take
     any more.
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   "All right, you've made your point!" he said suddenly, his tone less
than
    even. "I can't resist the drug any more than anyone else, so there's
no
    need to go on with this."

   "Is that your idea of begging for forgiveness?" Risdin asked, having
   paused in the switching. "If it is, I suggest you think again."

    Flam gritted his teeth again, but was only able to take two more
strokes
    of the switch before he had to admit defeat.

   "All right, all right, I'm begging!" he blurted, the hatred he felt thick
   in his voice. "I'm begging to be forgiven, so you can stop this now!"

    "You know, I once begged my owner to stop punishing me," Char
said
    suddenly, stepping closer to where Risdin stood. "I was crying at
the time
    so I sounded a lot more sincere than you just did, but all my owner
said
    was that he wasn't ready to forgive me. With that in mind, I don't
think
    we ought to be ready to forgive you."

    Disturbance flickered across Flam's face along with a frown, but
Risdin
    grinned and offered the switch to Char. Char looked at the switch
for a
    moment with no expression, then her lips curved into a smile that
turned
    her radiantly lovely and she took the offered branch.

   Five minutes later Flam was shouting out his pain and doing a much
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better
    job of begging, but Char just kept striking his backside with that
switch
    and all the strength she could muster. Jake understood how the
woman felt,
    but he still had to force himself to keep watching. His own
experience
    with punishment was still too fresh for him to watch without
reacting, and
    when the first trace of blood appeared among the welts he just had
to look
    away.

     "All right, Char, that's enough, I think," Tain's voice came a long
minute
     later. "He's crying just the way you were and he's also begging, so
let's
     show him that you have more compassion than your owner did.
Give me the
     switch."

      Jake looked up to see that Flam's backside now bled in a lot more
places
      and the man was more hysterical than simply crying, but Char was
still
      switching him. The look on her face was frenzied and she didn't
seem to
      have heard Tain, so Tain didn't waste her breath repeating what
she'd
      said. She touched Char's neck in the same way he and Tain had
touched
      those guards the night before, and when Char collapsed into
      unconsciousness Tain caught her before she hit the floor. Risdin,
looking
      seriously disturbed, took Char from Tain and carried the beautiful
woman
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    out of the alcove, the other native women stepping back from
where they'd
    been standing just outside. Once all the women were gone, Tain
turned back
    to Gordi and his supporters.

    "You've now had the most striking example possible of how much
damage
    slavery can do," Tain said to the men over Flam's sobs,
undoubtedly
    seeing, as Jake did, how pale and shaken the three men were.
"That woman
    is so beautiful that she didn't have a prayer of not being enslaved,
and
    now she may never recover. She should have been someone's
loving wife and
    the doting mother of children, but she may never come far enough
back to
    sanity to do any of that. Is being able to use her body any time her
owner
    allows it worth losing her as a human being?"

    "No, not for me," Gordi said at once, his voice rough and his gaze
    haunted. "What about you, Artro, and you, Dimmis? How do you
feel about
    it?"

     "I feel like throwing up," the larger of the two men said, looking
     directly at Gordi. "And not just because I know it could be me
kneeling
     there instead of Flam. That woman… She looked afraid when she
first came
     in here, but then the hatred took her over… I don't ever want
anyone to
     hate me as much as she seems to, and it kills me that I don't know
how to
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   heal her. And it kills me even more that I would have used her
happily if
   she were a slave and was offered to me."

   The smaller of the two had also raised his head, and when Gordi
looked in
   his direction all he did was nod slowly with pain in his gaze. He
made no
   effort to disagree with the first man in any way at all, and when
Gordi
   saw that he nodded.

    "Then we're all agreed," Gordi said, now sounding more grimly
satisfied
    than shaken. "Slavery has to be ended at any cost before it
destroys us
    completely."

     "But you're not all agreed," Tain pointed out, drawing the attention
of
    the three men. "There's still someone who hasn't been heard from,
so let's
    get his opinion. What do you, think, Flam? Have you decided to be
against
    slavery now?"

    "I'm going to see you all dead, devil take me if I don't," Flam
choked
    out, obviously being forced to speak the truth. "I'll find those
females
    wherever they try to hide, and once I have them I'll flay them
myself. But
    first I'm going to see all of you dead, just the way you deserve to
be for
    doing this to me. Dead, I want you all dead!"
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   By that time Flam was screaming, and Gordi exchanged glances
with the
   other two men. Jake knew well enough what he would do in their
place, but
   the decision belonged to the men who lived on this world.

   "I can't help but notice that Flam isn't taking any part of the
   responsibility for what happened to him," the smaller of the two
men said
   slowly. "Considering the fact that he has more than one slave and
never
   hesitates to knock them around, he ought to have at least hesitated
before
   deciding that this is all other people's fault. I have a feeling that
Flam
   can't admit that he brought this on himself, not now and not ever."

        "I'm forced to agree with you, Dimmis," Gordi said with a shake of
his
        head. "I always thought that Flam just refused to admit out loud that
he
     might be wrong about something, but that isn't true. Even this hasn't
    convinced him he's wrong, which means there isn't anything that
will."

     "And that leaves us no choice about what to do," the taller man,
who had
     to be Artro, said in the same sober way. "Flam has the ability to
talk the
     hotheads and empty heads into going along with him, and we can't
let that
     happen again. This time the matter is far too important."

        "What are all of you talking about?" Flam demanded from where he
still
        knelt, his face twisted into a horrible mask. "How can you just sit
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there
    without even offering to help me? You deserve to die along with
them, and
    once I'm out of here I'll make sure it happens!"

    "I've heard it suggested that you make a habit of seeing people who
don't
    agree with you disappear or die," Gordi said, apparently pretending
that
    Flam hadn't just promised to kill him. "Is the suggestion true? Are
you
    the one who sent assassins after me and made it necessary for me
to have
    guards around all the time?"

    "Of course I'm the one," Flam answered with a snort of ridicule,
glaring
    at his questioner. "Too many of those damn fools listen to you
instead of
    to me, but the lousy assassin blew it. But don't worry, I just found
some
    who can reach you no matter how many guards you have, and all I
have to do
    is pay them. Then I'll never be bothered by you again."

   Gordi's jaw tightened when he heard that and he sat straighter, but
before
   he could speak Tain interrupted again.

    "I think you three men should be free to treat Flam the way he's
begging
    to be treated," she said, then glanced toward Jake. "Come on,
Killen.
    Gordi and his friends need some privacy right now."

   Jake happened to agree with Tain, but it still set his teeth on edge
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to
   have to follow her out of the alcove. She led the way to the right,
away
    from where the others were and toward the darkness, and then she
stopped
    and turned to look at him.

    "I think we're almost finished here, and while we're waiting there's
    something I'd like you to do," she said, looking up at him with no
    expression on her face. "I want you to cancel every order you ever
gave
    me, and then I want you to order me not to take anyone's orders,
including
    yours, ever again."

   Jake had no choice but to obey, and once he'd done as she'd
asked he also
   didn't hesitate putting in his own request.

   "Now that you're completely free, how about doing me the same
favor?" he
   said, wondering why her expression hadn't changed at all. "You
can't
   really argue that doing as I ask would be anything more than fair."

    "Doing as you ask would have been fair if you'd made the offer of
freeing
    me first on your own," she said, no longer meeting his gaze. "I spent
more
    than a little time wondering if you would ever get around to making
the
    suggestion, and then I got tired of waiting. I'm going to have the
women
    get ready to leave here, and once the men are done with their chore
I'd
    like you to do the same with them. I want out of here and off this
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world
   as soon as I can get them."

    And with that she pushed past him and strode away, making no
effort to
    glance into the alcove to see if Flam had been put out of his misery
yet.
    Jake stood for a moment and watched her go, finding it impossible
to dig
    out words of his own. He had the feeling he might have screwed up
somehow,
    but right now he couldn't see where. Tain seemed to feel that he
hadn't
    considered her, but the same could most definitely be said about
her
    toward him. If she'd cared anything at all about him, she never
would have
    treated him the way she was doing.

    Going back to the captives' alcove showed Jake that Flam was
almost dead.
    Artro and Dimmis had obviously held Flam down while Gordi
smothered him
    with one of the blankets folded up for easier handling, but the three
    hadn't moved back even though Flam was no longer struggling.
They were
    making very sure that Flam was dead before they ended their
efforts, which
    was wise of them. It's never pleasant when you have to kill
someone twice
    in the space of ten minutes.

    The women, two of them helping Char, hurried past the alcove right
after
    the three men stood up, so Jake told Gordi and his friends that they
would
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    be turned loose in just a little while. The men nodded to show that
they'd
    heard him, but other than that they didn't say anything. They didn't
look
    as if they regretted what they'd done, but they also weren't
particularly
    happy about it. They spoke together in low tones for a minute or
two, and
    when Tain walked into the alcove again Gordi turned to her.

     "When Dimmis and Artro are free, they're going straight to the
guard,"
     Gordi said without preamble. "They're going to give a statement
saying
     they heard Flam admit that he sent assassins after me, so no one
will
     wonder when Flam can't be found. I'd like you two to be my
houseguests for
    a little while, at least until the guard catches up with Himlin. My
    friends intend to mention your associate's kidnapping along with the
rest…
     And we'd also like to know when we can expect to be freed as far
as
     possible until that antidote can be gotten."

   "What makes you think there's a way to do that?" Tain asked
mildly. "If
   you're judging by what I'm wearing, you have to remember there's
such a
   thing as being in disguise."

    "Please don't," Gordi said, his tone and expression both weary.
"I'm not
    blind, and I do try not to be a fool. Those women who … punished
Flam… It
    was perfectly clear that they were both slaves at some time, but
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when Flam
    tried to give them orders they had no trouble refusing him. There's
some
    way you can be freed of the slave drug and we'd like you to use
that way -
    unless you've already decided not to."

     "No, I haven't made a decision like that," Tain answered, still
speaking
     mildly. "But before we get to your request, I'd like each of you to
tell
     me whether or not you're speaking the truth about your intentions.
Are the
     plans you mentioned the only ones you have, or are there other
plans
     you've decided to keep to yourselves?"

    "Our only intentions are to do as I said and to work toward getting
rid of
    slavery as quickly as possible," Gordi responded at once without
the least
    hesitation. "I don't blame you for being suspicious, not when I'd be
the
    same in your place."

   "That's good to hear," Tain said once the other two men had
supported
   Gordi with their own assurances. "There is a way to free you men
and I'll
   use it in a minute, but first you need to be told something. If, once
   you're freed, any of you change your mind and do something to
cause either
   capture or hurt for me or my friends, you will immediately revert to
   needing to take orders from everyone - and you'll never be able to
be
   partially freed again. Do all of you understand what that means?"
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    Jake saw the three men sigh before they nodded, happily showing
nothing in
    the way of suspicious regret. Tain was trying to make sure he and
the
    others would be as safe as possible, but there would be no true
safety for
    any of them until they were off this world…


 Chains 2 Chapter 8Chains: 2
Chains Released
Chapter 8
copyright 2003 by Sharon Green Jake noticed Tandro and Ennie
entering the
    alcove while Tain spoke to Gordi and his friends, but the two just
stopped
    near him and stood quietly. Somehow Tain had managed to put
herself in
    charge of everyone and everything, and Jake still wasn't quite sure
how
    she had done that. And, in the back of his mind, he also wasn't
quite sure
    he liked the accomplishment…

      "There's one other thing I want to say before I free you," Tain told
the
    men. "I don't want anyone knowing about this place, so once we're
out of
    here you'll all forget about where you were kept and even what
building
    you were brought to. Does everyone understand?"

   Jake saw the three men nod, and oddly enough he, Ennie, and
Tandro also
   nodded. Then Tain was telling the three men not to take orders
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from anyone
   but her, and once she left even that exception would expire. If she
came
   back even a single day later, they would no longer have to take her
   orders. Gordi and the other two men looked extremely relieved,
and then it
   was time to start leaving.

    Jake joined Tandro in getting their gear together while Tain
escorted
    Artro and Dimmis out first. Those two weren't going back to
Gordi's house
    with the rest of them, so it made sense to let them leave first. If
seven
    people left the warehouse at the same time someone might notice;
as it
    was, keeping the five of them together might be pushing the bounds
of
luck.

    When Tain came back it turned out that it still wasn't time for the
rest
     of them to leave.

      "We can't just leave Flam's body there," she said, looking down at
the
   body in question. "We also can't take the body out with us, so we
have to
   choose the final option."

    "Which is what?" Jake asked, his eagerness to be on his way
playing havoc
    with his temper. "Wave a magic wand to make the body
disappear?"

      "You're close," Tain said with barely a glance in his direction.
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"Before
    the women left I asked them about a place to dump serious
garbage, and
    they gave me directions. If you three men will pick up the body, we
can
    take care of its disposal before we go."

    There was no choice at all, so Jake took Flam's shoulders while
Tandro
    took his legs, and once the two of them had the body off the floor
Gordi
    helped by supporting his former opponent's middle. Tain took a
lamp and
    then led the way into the tunnel, turning toward the darkness rather
than
    the other way.

     They walked for what seemed like a very long time, long enough
for Jake to
     feel the body he carried getting heavier and heavier. When they'd
first
     started out he'd considered Gordi's "help" unnecessary, but by the
time
     Tain stopped by a fold in the rock of the wall Gordi was sharing a
lot
     more of the weight of their burden.

      "Now you have to be careful," Tain said, holding the lamp close to
the
   fold. "There's supposed to be a deep pit just behind here, and we
don't
   want anyone but Flam going into it."

    Tandro had been leading the way with Flam's feet, so Jake moved
the other
    two men around until his part of the body was closest to the fold. A
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    glance inside showed the pit Tain had mentioned, so Jake eased the
body
    down at the lip of the opening and let it go. Then he joined Gordi
near
    the middle of the body, and the two of them pushed. A moment
later Flam's
    legs were disappearing into the dark hole, and that was that.

    Ennie had been trailing along behind them, obviously unwilling to
just sit
    and wait until everyone else got back, so they made a parade of it
    retracing their steps. Ennie seemed a bit green around the gills to
Jake
    even in the dim light of the lamp, and Tandro apparently saw the
same. The
    native put his arm around Ennie as they walked, and the girl leaned
into
    Tandro as though trying to share his warmth.

     When they finally made it back to the lit portions of the tunnel, Jake
     went directly to his saddlebags and Tandro did the same. If any
other
     delays had come up Jake probably would have exploded, but Tain
just
     replaced the lamp she'd been carrying and led the way to the stairs
they'd
     come down. They were finally getting out of that place, the first
step to
    being on their way to leaving this world entirely.

    Tain checked the area carefully before she let any of them leave the
    warehouse, but then they were out in the afternoon sunshine and
heat. Jake
    wasn't the only one who took a deep breath of what seemed like
freer air,
    and Gordi even smiled.
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    "I'd better move to the head of this little procession now," the big
man
    said, looking around at all of them. "My people will have been
searching
    for me, and we don't want them to think I'm your prisoner." Then
his smile
     disappeared. "I didn't want to ask this earlier, but now I have to. If
my
    people didn't stop you from taking me to begin with, it can only be
    because they weren't able to. Did you … hurt any of them
seriously?"

      "If you're asking if we killed them, the answer is no," Jake assured
the
   man. "We only made them unconscious for a while, and by now
they ought to
    be as good as new."

   "That's a very great relief," Gordi responded, his smile returning and
   widening. "Those people are my friends as well as my supporters,
and if
   anything serious had happened to them…"

    "If anything serious had happened to them you wouldn't have been
very
    happy with us," Jake finished when Gordi didn't. "We understand
the point
    because we would have felt the same way, and that's why we were
careful.
    We don't mind killing to protect ourselves, but killing someone just
for
    the hell of it when making them unconscious will do as well isn't
    something we're willing to consider."

      "I'm really glad to hear that," Gordi said as he began to walk. "It
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makes
   me eager to hear what other ways your people are willing to help
us
   besides supplying that antidote to the slave drug. While you and
your
   friends are my guests, you and I will have to talk."

   "My pleasure," Jake agreed, surprised and delighted that things
were
   working out so well. His department hadn't expected anything
beyond
   getting the natives of this world to abolish slavery, and hadn't even
been
   sure they could manage that much.

    Now Gordi was all but offering his support of whatever else Jake's
people
    might have in mind to help his world, but the man wanted some
details
    before he committed himself completely. That was as far from
unreasonable
    as you could get, and suddenly Jake was also eager to have that
talk. He
    did want to get back to base as quickly as possible, but the delay
of an
    hour or two wasn't likely to be all that hard to take.

    They walked back toward Gordi's house with Gordi and Jake
leading the way,
    the two of them discussing what problems to expect when slavery
was
    abolished. The slavers would hardly be the only ones who resisted
the
    change, and Jake explained what Gordi's people would have to be
on the
    lookout for. They had just passed the house closest to Gordi's and
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still
   hadn't run into any searchers, which probably meant Gordi's people
were
   searching a different part of the town -

    The attack came so fast that Jake barely had time to understand
what was
    going on, not to mention react. When he heard Ennie scream he
whirled
    around and saw the slaver Himlin. Oddly enough Himlin was alone,
but the
    slaver held a knife and clearly meant to use the weapon on Jake. In
fact
    Himlin had obviously intended to knife Jake in the back, but
somehow Tain
    had gotten in the way. The blade had sliced open Tain's arm, but
she'd
    delayed Himlin long enough for Jake to take over.

    Which Jake did as soon as he thrust his saddlebags at Gordi. The
big man
    took the saddlebags and moved back out of the way, and then
Jake had
    nothing to distract him from the slaver. Himlin slashed at Jake,
obviously
    intending to cut Jake open, but Jake had no trouble avoiding the
slash.

    "You're a dead man," Himlin snarled as he slashed at Jake again.
    "Guardsmen have arrested all my people, and I was only just able
to get
    away myself. I don't know how you managed to escape and report
me, but you
    won't live long enough to enjoy the betrayal. Now obey me and
stand still
    while I kill you as slowly and painfully as I can."
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    "You're not going to kill me in any way at all," Jake growled in
answer,
    rage having risen in him at sight of the slaver. "The last time we met
you
    were protected by the presence of a large number of men as well
as having
    put a drug in me. Now you're alone and the drug doesn't work,
which means
    I'm going to show the world what a stinking coward you really are."

    Himlin paled just a little when he realized that he couldn't order
Jake
    around any longer, but then he snarled and came at Jake again.
After all,
    he had a knife and Jake's knife was in a saddlebag, so what was
there to
    worry about? Jake could almost hear the man thinking like that,
which made
    Jake smile as he answered the unspoken question. He waited for
the next
    slash to go by before he moved in, then his left hand was wrapped
around
    Himlin's right wrist and his right fist was being thrown into Himlin's
    face.

    By the time Himlin fell to the ground, Jake had already gotten the
knife
    away from the slaver and had tossed the weapon out of reach.
Then Jake
    reached down to Himlin's fancy vest, pulled the man upright again,
and hit
    him a second time. The third time the slaver went down he was
unconscious,
    and Jake's rage had been calmed just enough to let him think about
other
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     things. Tain had been hurt…

    Turning quickly showed Jake that Tandro had gotten some cloth
out of his
    saddlebags and had bound up the wound on Tain's left arm. The
woman looked
    a bit pale, and that disturbed Jake more than he'd thought it would.
After
    all, the slaver had cut Tain just to get her out of the way so he could
    reach Jake himself…

     "Listen to me, all of you," Tain said suddenly before Jake could say
a
    word. "You're to stay as Gordi's houseguests for a full two days at
least,
    and none of you is to try to stop me now or even follow me. In
case you
    were wondering, those were orders."

    And with that she turned and hurried away, leaving them able to do
nothing
    but stand and stare after her until she was gone from sight.

     "Why did she do that?" Jake asked no one in particular as he tried
to
     figure out the answer on his own. "She's hurt only because she was
in
     Himlin's way, so why didn't she stay with us?"

    "That's not why she was hurt," Ennie said, and Jake turned to see
the girl
    staring at him oddly. "She saw that man before any of the rest of us,
and
    she deliberately got in his way before he could stab you in the
back. If
    not for her, you would be dead now."
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    Shock hit Jake worse than it ever had, even during the time he'd
been
    Himlin's slave. Tain had let herself be hurt just to save his life? She
    must have seen Himlin only at the last second, otherwise she would
have
    been able to interfere with the slaver in a different way. And if she
let
    herself be hurt like that rather than see Jake hurt, he had to mean
more
    to her than she'd been admitting…

    "My guess would be that the woman doesn't want to be near you
now," Tandro
    said, faint disturbance to be heard behind the calm of his voice.
"Either
    she thinks she can't trust you, or she doesn't trust herself."

    "Or both," Jake said, feeling more than a little weary as he
remembered
    what Tain had said about being tired of waiting for him to consider
her.
    He hadn't even really thanked her for getting him and Tandro out of
    Himlin's clutches, which was downright inexcusable. But she still felt
    something for him, and was afraid he would find that out if she
stayed…

    "Gordi, you're the only one of us who'll be completely free once we
get to
    your house," Jake said, turning to look at the big native. "Would
you be
    willing to order some of your people to go after the woman? If she
passes
    out from blood loss while she's alone, she could die."

   "I'll be glad to send my people out as soon as we take care of this
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    garbage," Gordi said, nodding toward the still-unconscious slaver.
"All
    you have to do is tell me where to send my men."

    Jake opened his mouth to answer, but the words he wanted
refused to come.
    He had no idea where the hideout they'd just left was, something
that made
    him curse with feeling.

    "That miserable female," Jake said bitterly once the cursing ran
down.
   "She must have had something like this in mind even before we left
    wherever we were. If she happens to survive and we catch up with
her, I'm
   going to beat her within an inch of her life!"

    "I think you're going to need that antidote first," Gordi suggested,
    speaking when Tandro and Ennie simply exchanged a glance and
then stayed
    silent. "If you don't have the antidote, you probably won't get very
far
    trying to punish her for being a fool."

      Jake would have loved to argue, but there was no sense in wasting
his
    breath. Tain Halliday had waged a better campaign against Jake
than he had
    against her, and now she'd left him behind. Not having to take any
more
    orders from the woman should have made Jake feel really good,
but the
    thought of Tain being wounded and all alone made his insides curl.
All he
    could do was pray she survived long enough for him to kill her. If
she
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   didn't, Jake didn't know what he would do…

   ***

    Tain walked into her department's headquarters on her own world,
no longer
    feeling odd wearing real clothes. She'd gotten out of the town on
Oliven
    by using the tunnel under the warehouse, first changing into the
smock the
    women had left for her. She'd also been able to remove the red
armbands,
    so there hadn't been anything to bring her to anyone's attention in
the
    woods. The wound on her arm had given her trouble, of course,
but that
    hadn't kept her from getting some food and water from the
women's hideout
    and then finding a farm with a horse to steal.

   She really had been only a couple of days from her people's base,
and
    having the food pack meant she hadn't even stopped to hunt. She
did stop
    to give her stolen horse a rest every few hours, but once the horse
seemed
    recovered she went on. When she reached the base she turned the
horse
    loose to find its way back home, let her people doctor her arm and
give
    her the antidote to the drug, and then she made them give her a ride
to
    the nearest liner station. She was much too tired and aching to want
to
    pilot herself, and seeing that she meant to take a liner was the only
    thing that kept the base personnel from insisting she stay until she
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was
   in better shape.

     And all that pushing helped to keep me from having to do any
thinking,
     Tain admitted privately as she made her way to Coleson's office. I
spent
     most of the liner ride sleeping, and now I have the strength to keep
     myself from thinking about anything I like. At least until I'm out of
this
     place…

     "Ah, Agent Halliday," Coleson's secretary said with a smile when
he looked
     up and saw Tain. "Right on time for your appointment. You can go
right
in."

    Tain nodded her thanks and continued on into Coleson's office.
The room
    was larger than anyone really needed for a work space, not to
mention that
    it was so poshly furnished it must have cost a fortune to decorate.
But it
    wasn't just an office, after all, it was a political statement about
    Coleson's position and standing. Coleson was very much a
politician, and
    that was only one of the reasons Tain didn't return the man's smile
of
    welcome.

   "I'm glad to see you back, Tain," Coleson said warmly as she
approached
   his ten-acre desk, then he gestured toward the line of chairs in front
of
   the desk. "Have a seat and you can give me a synopsis of what
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your report
   will say."

    "Thanks anyway, but I'd rather stand," Tain said, watching the smile
fade
    from the man's face. Coleson was handsome, well-built, and
extremely
    charming, which was why people thought he made a great
department head.
    "I've already sent copies of my report to everyone I could think of,
but
    you'll probably be able to get it quashed anyway. Still, I'm hoping
that
    someone uses the thing to beat you over the head for at least a little
    while."

   "What are you talking about?" Coleson demanded, most of the
charm no
   longer apparent. "What could you have put into your report that
you think
   will harm me?"

    "I described how you insisted that I take Ennie as a partner even
though
    the girl wasn't properly trained," Tain obliged, showing a smile that
had
    nothing of humor or good feeling behind it. "You did that because
you
    expected Ennie to mess up in some way, and when she did you
would be able
    to embarrass her uncle with her failure. It didn't bother you in the
least
    that you risked my life and hers just so you could further your
political
    ambitions."
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    "Now, now, it was nothing so dire and dangerous as that," Coleson
said,
    his smile back in place as he relaxed in his very expensive chair. "I
    already know that the girl did mess up, and the fault for her not
being
    properly trained was her uncle's. He insisted that she start to work
as an
    agent right away, and all I could do was go along with him. If the
    assignment had been on any other planet than Oliven I would have
lodged a
    firm protest, but the worst that could have happened - what did, in
fact,
    happen - was that you and she were enslaved. Considering the fact
that you
    and she were retrieved by our own people almost at once means
there was
    really no harm done at all."

   "No harm done at all," Tain echoed, seeing that Coleson really
wasn't in
   the least bothered. "One of these days I'm going to show you
exactly how
   little the harm can be considered. You have my word that you
won't enjoy
   the time."

    "I can understand your being upset, Tain, and that's why I
authorized a
    bonus for you," Coleson said, still showing that smile as he laced his
    fingers comfortably across his middle. "I've even arranged for you
to have
    some leave, during which time you can spend some of the bonus,
but I do
    need you back here in about four days. There's an assignment that
-"
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    "Too bad, Coleson, but I won't be back," Tain interrupted, this
time
    enjoying herself quite a bit. "Not only did you risk my neck for
political
    reasons, but you went back on the deal we had. I told you that if
you ever
    assigned Killen to work with me I would quit, but it looks like you
didn't
    believe me. This is my resignation, and if you try to fight it you'll find
    out what nonpolitical down and dirty is like."

    Tain pulled the envelope with her resignation out of her shoulder
bag and
    tossed it on Coleson's desk, and the man's hand slapped down on
the
    envelope as he straightened in his chair. All amusement was gone
from
    Coleson's face, and heavy disturbance had taken its place.

   "Come on, Tain, you can't mean that!" he protested, obviously
having taken
   the resignation only by reflex. "I didn't break our agreement on
purpose
   and you have to know it! Jake Killen was already on the planet
when we got
   word of your capture, and there weren't - a lot of - others to go to
your
   rescue."

    "That's right, you can't lie about there being no one else, not when I
saw
    the others at the base," Tain said with a satisfied nod as Coleson
limped
    through an effort to excuse what he'd done. "You had your choice
of three
    other agents to use, but you were so eager to play your private
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game that
    you forgot about everything else. Now you can take your new
assignment and
    shove it up your ass."

    "No, don't do this," Coleson said almost desperately after standing
up and
    putting his hand out with the resignation clutched in it. "You know
you're
    the best agent I have, and I don't want to lose you! Tain, be
reasonable!"

      "Goodbye, Coleson, and have a lousy life," Tain said before turning
and
      walking toward the door. Coleson kept trying to call her back, but
she
      hadn't been joking about leaving. They both knew she would have
no trouble
      finding the same kind of work elsewhere, but first she was going to
take a
      small vacation. There were things that needed to be thought about
and then
      forgotten, and she would manage the forgetting. Even if it took a
little
      while…

    ***

    Jake walked into headquarters, more grimly determined than he'd
been in
    quite a while. It had seemed like an eternity of being worried out of
his
    mind before he and Tandro and Ennie had been able to leave for
the base on
    horses supplied by Gordi, and then the trip had felt like an
extension of
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   that eternity. Not until he learned that Tain had made it back herself
was
   Jake able to rest for a little while, not to mention sleep. But when
he
   woke up he was angry rather than worried, and that anger had
been growing.

    "Agent Killen," Coleson's secretary said when he saw Jake, the
man's
    expression uncertain. "I'm sorry, but Mr. Coleson isn't available
right
    now. If you'd like to make an appointment I'd be glad to - Agent
Killen!"

    By that time Jake was already at the door to Coleson's office, and
a
    moment later he was through the door. Coleson sat stiffly behind
his desk,
    staring at a monitor screen that Jake couldn't see. When Jake
walked in
    Coleson didn't look up immediately, but when he did look up his
expression
    lacked the smarmy charm that Jake usually had trouble stomaching.

   "How could you say that that girl did an adequate job on her first
   assignment?" Coleson demanded, which told Jake that the man had
been
   reading the report Jake had filed. "It was her fault that she and Tain
   were enslaved, and that's a truth no one can get around!"

   "What Ennie did was an accident, due mainly to her lack of proper
   training," Jake answered mildly, enjoying Coleson's agitation.
"Once she
   had some experience to call on, she did rather well."

    "But she brought a native of Oliven back with her!" Coleson
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shouted, then
     he seemed to regain control of himself. "She brought a native back
with
     her, and that simply isn't done," Coleson continued more calmly.
"It's
     going to be my painful duty to tell her that the man has to be sent
back
     at once."

     "It would be premature to start enjoying that idea," Jake advised
when he
    saw the vicious gleam in Coleson's eyes. "Ennie has already
checked with
    her lawyers, and they've told her that Tandro isn't a criminal so he
can
     go anywhere he pleases. Besides, she's about to hand in her
resignation,
    citing inadequate departmental leadership as the reason for
breaking her
     contract. You were the one who let her go out without adequate
training,
    you know."

   "My skirts are clean on that one," Coleson responded, that smarmy
look
   beginning to come back as he relaxed into his chair. "Her uncle,
who is a
   director, don't forget, told me to put the girl to work at once. If she
   wasn't adequately trained it wasn't my fault."

   "Of course it was," Jake countered, showing his own version of a
smile.
   "You're supposed to be in charge of this department, and if
someone gives
   you an improper order it's your place to say so and refuse to
comply. A
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      challenged order would have been brought before the board if it
wasn't
     withdrawn, and only then would your hands have been clean. As it
is it's
     perfectly clear that you were playing politics, which the head of this
      department isn't supposed to do. I hear there's going to be an
     investigation made, and if you're found culpable you'll be gone so
fast
     your imprint in that chair will still be visible."

      Coleson had gone pale listening to Jake, and his left hand turned to
a
   fist on the arm of his chair. The man was finally starting to
understand
   the ramifications of what he'd done, a circumstance that couldn't
have
   pleased Jake more.

   "But warning you to be ready to file for unemployment isn't the
reason I'm
    here," Jake continued, drawing Coleson's angry gaze. "I was told
Tain
    Halliday stopped by to see you when she got back, and I want to
know where
    she went."

      "Where Halliday went is no longer my concern," Coleson returned,
his
    manner suddenly even stiffer than it had been. "She came by to
resign, and
    since I accepted her resignation I don't care if she went straight to
    hell. My suggestion would be that you go and look for her there."

   "She quit?" Jake demanded, feeling as if he'd been hit hard in his
middle.
   "How could you let her do that?"
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    "I decided that this department would be much better off without
her, and
    I do still run this place," Coleson answered, the man's snottiness
    returning visibly. "With that point in mind, Killen, you can expect
your
    next assignment in a couple or three days. And don't even think
about
    quitting yourself. You have no basis for a breach of contract, and if
you
    walk out anyway I'll have you enjoined from working anywhere
else. Now get
    out of my office."

      Jake stared at Coleson for a moment, that close to quitting anyway,
but
      cutting his own throat would accomplish nothing.

   "Oh, don't worry, I'm not quitting," Jake said, showing a smile
again. "I
   want to be right here when they kick you out on your ass. That's a
show
   I'd be willing to pay money to see."

    When Coleson's lips peeled back from his teeth to show a silent
snarl,
    Jake turned and walked out of the office leaving the door open
behind him.
    He very much felt like snarling himself, but held back on the urge
until
    he was out of the office entirely.

     "Well?" Ennie asked as soon as Jake came out into the corridor,
Tandro's
     expression almost as intense as hers. "Did you find out where Tain
is?"
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    "Coleson refused to talk about Tain except to tell me that she quit,"
Jake
    answered, frustration beginning to fill him. "Since we already know
she
    isn't at her apartment or with any of her friends, I don't know where
the
    hell she is."

    "Can we help you look for her, my friend?" Tandro asked, the calm
in his
    voice acting as an aid to settle Jake down. "I don't know how much
help I
    would be, but Ennie knows her way around almost as well as you
do."

    "I appreciate the offer, but you two have your own plans to take
care of,"
   Jake said with a sincere smile. Ennie meant to take the training
she'd
    missed from a private source, and Tandro would do the same.
Then the two
    were going back to Oliven to help Gordi abolish slavery, an end
they were
    both determined to accomplish.

    "Do you think you'll find her if you search?" Ennie asked, sympathy
clear
    in her eyes. "If you need professional help, I'd be more than willing
to
    hire some private detectives."

    "If I decide I need the help I'll let you know," Jake assured her,
then
   they all left the headquarters building in silence. Once outside they
    separated, Tandro and Ennie on their way back to her house, Jake
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to his
    own apartment. Tandro had looked uncomfortable in the clothes
Ennie had
    bought for him, but Jake knew the man would get used to wearing
more than
    a body cloth. Most planets weren't as warm as Oliven…

   Once in his apartment, Jake threw himself into a chair and began to
brood.
   He'd already tried to trace Tain's movements, but the woman had
obviously
   covered her tracks to make sure no one followed her. If only she
was less
   of a professional, less able to disappear without a trace…

    A picture of Tain formed in front of Jake's inner eye, Tain the way
he'd
    seen her so often during their time on Oliven. Her beautiful brown
hair
    fell in gentle waves and framed her lovely face and blue eyes,
leading his
    own eye down to the teasing view of that vest. Every now and then
the vest
     had parted to show glimpses of her large and rounded breasts, and
that
    skirt thing had framed her private parts with the promise of an even
    better view if she moved wrong.

    "Or moved right, depending on your point of view," Jake
murmured, falling
    into a waking dream. In the dream she stood waiting while he
walked over
    to her, his hands going to her face before he leaned down to kiss
her
    softly. Her lips were like a magnet to the iron in his blood, and that
    blood began to thunder around inside him as his hands moved
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down and
   started to take off her vest. She made no effort to stop him, of
course,
   so those incredible breasts were bared to his sight in no more than
a
   brief moment.

   "You've now run away from me twice," Jake murmured as he
caressed her with
    both hands, hating that she refused to respond in any way to the
touch.
   "At first I thought it was because you hated me, but if you hated me
you
   wouldn't have run. You would have told me exactly how you felt,
and then
   you would have turned and walked away. Why did you run?"

   "That's my business," she answered, looking through rather than at
him.
   "Why are you wasting time?"

     Jake knew she meant the way he was touching her. He'd forgotten
the point
    for a time, but it had come back to him that female agents were
taught a
    way to sublimate their physical responses if that kind of thing
became
    necessary. Tain wasn't letting herself respond to him, which wasn't
at all
    the same as being uninterested.

   "You're right, I am wasting time," he agreed, then reached down
and
   removed her skirt before taking her wrist and pulling her after him.
She
   wouldn't have followed on her own, of course, but being his slave
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gave him
   all the choices. He'd made some mistakes with her, but sometimes
a mistake
   can still be very satisfying.

    "You were a very bad girl and caused me an endless amount of
worry, and
    now you're going to be punished for that," Jake said as he led her
to the
    chair, sat, and then pulled her over his lap. "I think you know you
    deserve what you're about to get, but you don't yet regret having
earned
    it. That lack, however, is about to be remedied."

    The way Tain moved just a little showed how unhappy she was to
be in that
    position, but she wasn't allowed to do anything but accept what
was done
    to her. Not having to hold her down let Jake use both hands to put
the
    insertion into her round little bottom, and when she gasped he
smiled. All
    the training in the universe couldn't keep her from responding once
that
    insertion was in place.

    But first there was a punishment to be given her. Jake picked up
the thin,
    narrow wooden paddle, and once his hand was wrapped
comfortably around the
    handle he began to spank Tain. One stroke and she made a sound
in her
    throat as she fought not to squirm. Two strokes and the sound was
repeated
    as she continued to resist moving. The third stroke drew a slightly
louder
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   sound from her, but it wasn't until the fifth stroke that she lost the
   battle to lie still. Her pretty bottom was starting to turn pink, and
Jake
   was only just beginning to warm up - so to speak.

    After ten strokes Tain was moving in desperation as she half
whimpered and
    half moaned. Jake watched the squirming as he applied that paddle
to her
    bottom over and over, memory of how worried he'd been about
her adding to
    the strength of his arm. It had taken her two days to get back to the
    base, and if she'd passed out from blood loss at any point she
could have
    died.

    Tain was kicking and howling, her bottom red and tender-looking
when Jake
    came back to himself. He'd been so furious over almost losing her
that the
    paddling had been a bit harder than he'd originally intended. There
was no
    question that she deserved to be punished, but he wanted her able
to
    respond to what came next. If he gave her too much pain, her
response
    would be less than what he wanted it to be.

    So he gave her only three more strokes of the paddle, each stroke
making
    her jump and yell and writhe. When he put the paddle aside and
urged her
    to her feet, he felt nothing of a sense of not having done a proper
job.
    After all, tomorrow was another day and so was the day after. It
would
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    take more than a few days for his anger to disappear, and Tain,
being
    responsible for the anger, would also be responsible for easing the
    emotion.

      Once Jake got to his feet, he picked Tain up in his arms and carried
her
     to the bed. She was crying, of course, but that was only to be
expected.
    He put her down and then followed, letting her raise her aching
bottom off
     the bed while he leaned over those breasts and began to kiss and
lick
     them. Tain's breath came in gasps almost as soon as he started, but
when
     he began to kiss his way down her body she also began to moan.

    Her knees were spread nice and wide, and when he began to lick
her lowest
    softness her moans turned downright frantic. She probably would
have been
    begging him to ease her if she'd been permitted to speak, but slaves
did
    only what their owners allowed. Jake made her writhe and squirm
for quite
    some time before he straightened and began to take off his body
cloth. He
    would have enjoyed feeling her hands on his own body while he
took
    pleasure from hers, but letting her touch him would have interfered
with
    the rest of her punishment. Jake knew she wanted to touch him, but
she
    hadn't earned the right to do that.

      When he finally knelt between her legs and began to enter her, the
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    squeaking she'd been doing started to intensify. The insertion made
her so
    delightfully tight that he might have had trouble entering her if he
    hadn't gotten her so aroused that her body wept in its desperation
for
    his. Once he had all of him inside her he began to stroke her in a
    different way, his arms braced on either side of her body. He knew
she
    wanted to be held as he used her and meant to refuse as a
continuing
    punishment, but after a very short time he found that it was he who
was
    being punished. This woman meant too much to him for him to just
use her
    like a hole in the ground.

     So Jake gathered her in his arms and pressed his lips to hers while
he
   eased them both, and suddenly her own arms were around him.
She'd been
   denied the touching of him until she really wanted to, until she
wanted to
   touch him. The feel of her hands sliding down his back was so
good, so
   incredibly good, so -

    Jake had to shake his head hard to pull all the way out of the
daydream,
    and then his sense of loss rose to new heights. His dream had kept
    changing to match his changing desires, and the last of it was almost
    pitiful. He wanted Tain Halliday to want him as much as he wanted
her, but
    all that wanting just wasn't going to happen, at least not on her part.
He
    might be able to talk her around somehow, but first he had to find
her.
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      And how was he supposed to do that…?


 Chains 2 Chapter 8Chains: 2
Chains Released
Chapter 8
copyright 2003 by Sharon Green Jake noticed Tandro and Ennie
entering the
    alcove while Tain spoke to Gordi and his friends, but the two just
stopped
    near him and stood quietly. Somehow Tain had managed to put
herself in
    charge of everyone and everything, and Jake still wasn't quite sure
how
    she had done that. And, in the back of his mind, he also wasn't
quite sure
    he liked the accomplishment…

      "There's one other thing I want to say before I free you," Tain told
the
    men. "I don't want anyone knowing about this place, so once we're
out of
    here you'll all forget about where you were kept and even what
building
    you were brought to. Does everyone understand?"

   Jake saw the three men nod, and oddly enough he, Ennie, and
Tandro also
   nodded. Then Tain was telling the three men not to take orders
from anyone
   but her, and once she left even that exception would expire. If she
came
   back even a single day later, they would no longer have to take her
   orders. Gordi and the other two men looked extremely relieved,
and then it
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      was time to start leaving.

    Jake joined Tandro in getting their gear together while Tain
escorted
    Artro and Dimmis out first. Those two weren't going back to
Gordi's house
    with the rest of them, so it made sense to let them leave first. If
seven
    people left the warehouse at the same time someone might notice;
as it
    was, keeping the five of them together might be pushing the bounds
of
luck.

    When Tain came back it turned out that it still wasn't time for the
rest
     of them to leave.

      "We can't just leave Flam's body there," she said, looking down at
the
   body in question. "We also can't take the body out with us, so we
have to
   choose the final option."

    "Which is what?" Jake asked, his eagerness to be on his way
playing havoc
    with his temper. "Wave a magic wand to make the body
disappear?"

    "You're close," Tain said with barely a glance in his direction.
"Before
    the women left I asked them about a place to dump serious
garbage, and
    they gave me directions. If you three men will pick up the body, we
can
    take care of its disposal before we go."
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    There was no choice at all, so Jake took Flam's shoulders while
Tandro
    took his legs, and once the two of them had the body off the floor
Gordi
    helped by supporting his former opponent's middle. Tain took a
lamp and
    then led the way into the tunnel, turning toward the darkness rather
than
    the other way.

     They walked for what seemed like a very long time, long enough
for Jake to
     feel the body he carried getting heavier and heavier. When they'd
first
     started out he'd considered Gordi's "help" unnecessary, but by the
time
     Tain stopped by a fold in the rock of the wall Gordi was sharing a
lot
     more of the weight of their burden.

      "Now you have to be careful," Tain said, holding the lamp close to
the
   fold. "There's supposed to be a deep pit just behind here, and we
don't
   want anyone but Flam going into it."

    Tandro had been leading the way with Flam's feet, so Jake moved
the other
    two men around until his part of the body was closest to the fold. A
    glance inside showed the pit Tain had mentioned, so Jake eased the
body
    down at the lip of the opening and let it go. Then he joined Gordi
near
    the middle of the body, and the two of them pushed. A moment
later Flam's
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   legs were disappearing into the dark hole, and that was that.

    Ennie had been trailing along behind them, obviously unwilling to
just sit
    and wait until everyone else got back, so they made a parade of it
    retracing their steps. Ennie seemed a bit green around the gills to
Jake
    even in the dim light of the lamp, and Tandro apparently saw the
same. The
    native put his arm around Ennie as they walked, and the girl leaned
into
    Tandro as though trying to share his warmth.

     When they finally made it back to the lit portions of the tunnel, Jake
     went directly to his saddlebags and Tandro did the same. If any
other
     delays had come up Jake probably would have exploded, but Tain
just
     replaced the lamp she'd been carrying and led the way to the stairs
they'd
     come down. They were finally getting out of that place, the first
step to
    being on their way to leaving this world entirely.

    Tain checked the area carefully before she let any of them leave the
    warehouse, but then they were out in the afternoon sunshine and
heat. Jake
    wasn't the only one who took a deep breath of what seemed like
freer air,
    and Gordi even smiled.

    "I'd better move to the head of this little procession now," the big
man
    said, looking around at all of them. "My people will have been
searching
    for me, and we don't want them to think I'm your prisoner." Then
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his smile
     disappeared. "I didn't want to ask this earlier, but now I have to. If
my
    people didn't stop you from taking me to begin with, it can only be
    because they weren't able to. Did you … hurt any of them
seriously?"

      "If you're asking if we killed them, the answer is no," Jake assured
the
   man. "We only made them unconscious for a while, and by now
they ought to
    be as good as new."

   "That's a very great relief," Gordi responded, his smile returning and
   widening. "Those people are my friends as well as my supporters,
and if
   anything serious had happened to them…"

    "If anything serious had happened to them you wouldn't have been
very
    happy with us," Jake finished when Gordi didn't. "We understand
the point
    because we would have felt the same way, and that's why we were
careful.
    We don't mind killing to protect ourselves, but killing someone just
for
    the hell of it when making them unconscious will do as well isn't
    something we're willing to consider."

   "I'm really glad to hear that," Gordi said as he began to walk. "It
makes
   me eager to hear what other ways your people are willing to help
us
   besides supplying that antidote to the slave drug. While you and
your
   friends are my guests, you and I will have to talk."
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   "My pleasure," Jake agreed, surprised and delighted that things
were
   working out so well. His department hadn't expected anything
beyond
   getting the natives of this world to abolish slavery, and hadn't even
been
   sure they could manage that much.

    Now Gordi was all but offering his support of whatever else Jake's
people
    might have in mind to help his world, but the man wanted some
details
    before he committed himself completely. That was as far from
unreasonable
    as you could get, and suddenly Jake was also eager to have that
talk. He
    did want to get back to base as quickly as possible, but the delay
of an
    hour or two wasn't likely to be all that hard to take.

      They walked back toward Gordi's house with Gordi and Jake
leading the way,
      the two of them discussing what problems to expect when slavery
was
      abolished. The slavers would hardly be the only ones who resisted
the
      change, and Jake explained what Gordi's people would have to be
on the
      lookout for. They had just passed the house closest to Gordi's and
still
      hadn't run into any searchers, which probably meant Gordi's people
were
      searching a different part of the town -

   The attack came so fast that Jake barely had time to understand
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what was
    going on, not to mention react. When he heard Ennie scream he
whirled
    around and saw the slaver Himlin. Oddly enough Himlin was alone,
but the
    slaver held a knife and clearly meant to use the weapon on Jake. In
fact
    Himlin had obviously intended to knife Jake in the back, but
somehow Tain
    had gotten in the way. The blade had sliced open Tain's arm, but
she'd
    delayed Himlin long enough for Jake to take over.

    Which Jake did as soon as he thrust his saddlebags at Gordi. The
big man
    took the saddlebags and moved back out of the way, and then
Jake had
    nothing to distract him from the slaver. Himlin slashed at Jake,
obviously
    intending to cut Jake open, but Jake had no trouble avoiding the
slash.

    "You're a dead man," Himlin snarled as he slashed at Jake again.
    "Guardsmen have arrested all my people, and I was only just able
to get
    away myself. I don't know how you managed to escape and report
me, but you
    won't live long enough to enjoy the betrayal. Now obey me and
stand still
    while I kill you as slowly and painfully as I can."

   "You're not going to kill me in any way at all," Jake growled in
answer,
   rage having risen in him at sight of the slaver. "The last time we met
you
   were protected by the presence of a large number of men as well
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as having
    put a drug in me. Now you're alone and the drug doesn't work,
which means
    I'm going to show the world what a stinking coward you really are."

    Himlin paled just a little when he realized that he couldn't order
Jake
    around any longer, but then he snarled and came at Jake again.
After all,
    he had a knife and Jake's knife was in a saddlebag, so what was
there to
    worry about? Jake could almost hear the man thinking like that,
which made
    Jake smile as he answered the unspoken question. He waited for
the next
    slash to go by before he moved in, then his left hand was wrapped
around
    Himlin's right wrist and his right fist was being thrown into Himlin's
    face.

    By the time Himlin fell to the ground, Jake had already gotten the
knife
    away from the slaver and had tossed the weapon out of reach.
Then Jake
    reached down to Himlin's fancy vest, pulled the man upright again,
and hit
    him a second time. The third time the slaver went down he was
unconscious,
    and Jake's rage had been calmed just enough to let him think about
other
    things. Tain had been hurt…

    Turning quickly showed Jake that Tandro had gotten some cloth
out of his
    saddlebags and had bound up the wound on Tain's left arm. The
woman looked
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   a bit pale, and that disturbed Jake more than he'd thought it would.
After
   all, the slaver had cut Tain just to get her out of the way so he could
   reach Jake himself…

     "Listen to me, all of you," Tain said suddenly before Jake could say
a
    word. "You're to stay as Gordi's houseguests for a full two days at
least,
    and none of you is to try to stop me now or even follow me. In
case you
    were wondering, those were orders."

    And with that she turned and hurried away, leaving them able to do
nothing
    but stand and stare after her until she was gone from sight.

     "Why did she do that?" Jake asked no one in particular as he tried
to
     figure out the answer on his own. "She's hurt only because she was
in
     Himlin's way, so why didn't she stay with us?"

    "That's not why she was hurt," Ennie said, and Jake turned to see
the girl
    staring at him oddly. "She saw that man before any of the rest of us,
and
    she deliberately got in his way before he could stab you in the
back. If
    not for her, you would be dead now."

   Shock hit Jake worse than it ever had, even during the time he'd
been
   Himlin's slave. Tain had let herself be hurt just to save his life? She
   must have seen Himlin only at the last second, otherwise she would
have
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      been able to interfere with the slaver in a different way. And if she
let
   herself be hurt like that rather than see Jake hurt, he had to mean
more
   to her than she'd been admitting…

    "My guess would be that the woman doesn't want to be near you
now," Tandro
    said, faint disturbance to be heard behind the calm of his voice.
"Either
    she thinks she can't trust you, or she doesn't trust herself."

    "Or both," Jake said, feeling more than a little weary as he
remembered
    what Tain had said about being tired of waiting for him to consider
her.
    He hadn't even really thanked her for getting him and Tandro out of
    Himlin's clutches, which was downright inexcusable. But she still felt
    something for him, and was afraid he would find that out if she
stayed…

    "Gordi, you're the only one of us who'll be completely free once we
get to
    your house," Jake said, turning to look at the big native. "Would
you be
    willing to order some of your people to go after the woman? If she
passes
    out from blood loss while she's alone, she could die."

    "I'll be glad to send my people out as soon as we take care of this
    garbage," Gordi said, nodding toward the still-unconscious slaver.
"All
    you have to do is tell me where to send my men."

    Jake opened his mouth to answer, but the words he wanted
refused to come.
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    He had no idea where the hideout they'd just left was, something
that made
    him curse with feeling.

    "That miserable female," Jake said bitterly once the cursing ran
down.
   "She must have had something like this in mind even before we left
    wherever we were. If she happens to survive and we catch up with
her, I'm
   going to beat her within an inch of her life!"

    "I think you're going to need that antidote first," Gordi suggested,
    speaking when Tandro and Ennie simply exchanged a glance and
then stayed
    silent. "If you don't have the antidote, you probably won't get very
far
    trying to punish her for being a fool."

      Jake would have loved to argue, but there was no sense in wasting
his
    breath. Tain Halliday had waged a better campaign against Jake
than he had
    against her, and now she'd left him behind. Not having to take any
more
    orders from the woman should have made Jake feel really good,
but the
    thought of Tain being wounded and all alone made his insides curl.
All he
    could do was pray she survived long enough for him to kill her. If
she
    didn't, Jake didn't know what he would do…

      ***

    Tain walked into her department's headquarters on her own world,
no longer
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    feeling odd wearing real clothes. She'd gotten out of the town on
Oliven
    by using the tunnel under the warehouse, first changing into the
smock the
    women had left for her. She'd also been able to remove the red
armbands,
    so there hadn't been anything to bring her to anyone's attention in
the
    woods. The wound on her arm had given her trouble, of course,
but that
    hadn't kept her from getting some food and water from the
women's hideout
    and then finding a farm with a horse to steal.

   She really had been only a couple of days from her people's base,
and
    having the food pack meant she hadn't even stopped to hunt. She
did stop
    to give her stolen horse a rest every few hours, but once the horse
seemed
    recovered she went on. When she reached the base she turned the
horse
    loose to find its way back home, let her people doctor her arm and
give
    her the antidote to the drug, and then she made them give her a ride
to
    the nearest liner station. She was much too tired and aching to want
to
    pilot herself, and seeing that she meant to take a liner was the only
    thing that kept the base personnel from insisting she stay until she
was
    in better shape.

    And all that pushing helped to keep me from having to do any
thinking,
    Tain admitted privately as she made her way to Coleson's office. I
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spent
     most of the liner ride sleeping, and now I have the strength to keep
     myself from thinking about anything I like. At least until I'm out of
this
     place…

     "Ah, Agent Halliday," Coleson's secretary said with a smile when
he looked
     up and saw Tain. "Right on time for your appointment. You can go
right
in."

    Tain nodded her thanks and continued on into Coleson's office.
The room
    was larger than anyone really needed for a work space, not to
mention that
    it was so poshly furnished it must have cost a fortune to decorate.
But it
    wasn't just an office, after all, it was a political statement about
    Coleson's position and standing. Coleson was very much a
politician, and
    that was only one of the reasons Tain didn't return the man's smile
of
    welcome.

   "I'm glad to see you back, Tain," Coleson said warmly as she
approached
   his ten-acre desk, then he gestured toward the line of chairs in front
of
   the desk. "Have a seat and you can give me a synopsis of what
your report
   will say."

   "Thanks anyway, but I'd rather stand," Tain said, watching the smile
fade
   from the man's face. Coleson was handsome, well-built, and
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extremely
    charming, which was why people thought he made a great
department head.
    "I've already sent copies of my report to everyone I could think of,
but
    you'll probably be able to get it quashed anyway. Still, I'm hoping
that
    someone uses the thing to beat you over the head for at least a little
    while."

   "What are you talking about?" Coleson demanded, most of the
charm no
   longer apparent. "What could you have put into your report that
you think
   will harm me?"

    "I described how you insisted that I take Ennie as a partner even
though
    the girl wasn't properly trained," Tain obliged, showing a smile that
had
    nothing of humor or good feeling behind it. "You did that because
you
    expected Ennie to mess up in some way, and when she did you
would be able
    to embarrass her uncle with her failure. It didn't bother you in the
least
    that you risked my life and hers just so you could further your
political
    ambitions."

    "Now, now, it was nothing so dire and dangerous as that," Coleson
said,
    his smile back in place as he relaxed in his very expensive chair. "I
    already know that the girl did mess up, and the fault for her not
being
    properly trained was her uncle's. He insisted that she start to work
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as an
    agent right away, and all I could do was go along with him. If the
    assignment had been on any other planet than Oliven I would have
lodged a
    firm protest, but the worst that could have happened - what did, in
fact,
    happen - was that you and she were enslaved. Considering the fact
that you
    and she were retrieved by our own people almost at once means
there was
    really no harm done at all."

   "No harm done at all," Tain echoed, seeing that Coleson really
wasn't in
   the least bothered. "One of these days I'm going to show you
exactly how
   little the harm can be considered. You have my word that you
won't enjoy
   the time."

    "I can understand your being upset, Tain, and that's why I
authorized a
    bonus for you," Coleson said, still showing that smile as he laced his
    fingers comfortably across his middle. "I've even arranged for you
to have
    some leave, during which time you can spend some of the bonus,
but I do
    need you back here in about four days. There's an assignment that
-"

    "Too bad, Coleson, but I won't be back," Tain interrupted, this
time
    enjoying herself quite a bit. "Not only did you risk my neck for
political
    reasons, but you went back on the deal we had. I told you that if
you ever
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   assigned Killen to work with me I would quit, but it looks like you
didn't
   believe me. This is my resignation, and if you try to fight it you'll find
   out what nonpolitical down and dirty is like."

    Tain pulled the envelope with her resignation out of her shoulder
bag and
    tossed it on Coleson's desk, and the man's hand slapped down on
the
    envelope as he straightened in his chair. All amusement was gone
from
    Coleson's face, and heavy disturbance had taken its place.

   "Come on, Tain, you can't mean that!" he protested, obviously
having taken
   the resignation only by reflex. "I didn't break our agreement on
purpose
   and you have to know it! Jake Killen was already on the planet
when we got
   word of your capture, and there weren't - a lot of - others to go to
your
   rescue."

    "That's right, you can't lie about there being no one else, not when I
saw
    the others at the base," Tain said with a satisfied nod as Coleson
limped
    through an effort to excuse what he'd done. "You had your choice
of three
    other agents to use, but you were so eager to play your private
game that
    you forgot about everything else. Now you can take your new
assignment and
    shove it up your ass."

   "No, don't do this," Coleson said almost desperately after standing
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up and
    putting his hand out with the resignation clutched in it. "You know
you're
    the best agent I have, and I don't want to lose you! Tain, be
reasonable!"

      "Goodbye, Coleson, and have a lousy life," Tain said before turning
and
      walking toward the door. Coleson kept trying to call her back, but
she
      hadn't been joking about leaving. They both knew she would have
no trouble
      finding the same kind of work elsewhere, but first she was going to
take a
      small vacation. There were things that needed to be thought about
and then
      forgotten, and she would manage the forgetting. Even if it took a
little
      while…

    ***

    Jake walked into headquarters, more grimly determined than he'd
been in
    quite a while. It had seemed like an eternity of being worried out of
his
    mind before he and Tandro and Ennie had been able to leave for
the base on
    horses supplied by Gordi, and then the trip had felt like an
extension of
    that eternity. Not until he learned that Tain had made it back herself
was
    Jake able to rest for a little while, not to mention sleep. But when
he
    woke up he was angry rather than worried, and that anger had
been growing.
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    "Agent Killen," Coleson's secretary said when he saw Jake, the
man's
    expression uncertain. "I'm sorry, but Mr. Coleson isn't available
right
    now. If you'd like to make an appointment I'd be glad to - Agent
Killen!"

    By that time Jake was already at the door to Coleson's office, and
a
    moment later he was through the door. Coleson sat stiffly behind
his desk,
    staring at a monitor screen that Jake couldn't see. When Jake
walked in
    Coleson didn't look up immediately, but when he did look up his
expression
    lacked the smarmy charm that Jake usually had trouble stomaching.

   "How could you say that that girl did an adequate job on her first
   assignment?" Coleson demanded, which told Jake that the man had
been
   reading the report Jake had filed. "It was her fault that she and Tain
   were enslaved, and that's a truth no one can get around!"

   "What Ennie did was an accident, due mainly to her lack of proper
   training," Jake answered mildly, enjoying Coleson's agitation.
"Once she
   had some experience to call on, she did rather well."

     "But she brought a native of Oliven back with her!" Coleson
shouted, then
     he seemed to regain control of himself. "She brought a native back
with
     her, and that simply isn't done," Coleson continued more calmly.
"It's
     going to be my painful duty to tell her that the man has to be sent
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back
   at once."

     "It would be premature to start enjoying that idea," Jake advised
when he
    saw the vicious gleam in Coleson's eyes. "Ennie has already
checked with
    her lawyers, and they've told her that Tandro isn't a criminal so he
can
     go anywhere he pleases. Besides, she's about to hand in her
resignation,
    citing inadequate departmental leadership as the reason for
breaking her
     contract. You were the one who let her go out without adequate
training,
    you know."

   "My skirts are clean on that one," Coleson responded, that smarmy
look
   beginning to come back as he relaxed into his chair. "Her uncle,
who is a
   director, don't forget, told me to put the girl to work at once. If she
   wasn't adequately trained it wasn't my fault."

      "Of course it was," Jake countered, showing his own version of a
smile.
      "You're supposed to be in charge of this department, and if
someone gives
      you an improper order it's your place to say so and refuse to
comply. A
      challenged order would have been brought before the board if it
wasn't
     withdrawn, and only then would your hands have been clean. As it
is it's
     perfectly clear that you were playing politics, which the head of this
      department isn't supposed to do. I hear there's going to be an
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      investigation made, and if you're found culpable you'll be gone so
fast
    your imprint in that chair will still be visible."

      Coleson had gone pale listening to Jake, and his left hand turned to
a
   fist on the arm of his chair. The man was finally starting to
understand
   the ramifications of what he'd done, a circumstance that couldn't
have
   pleased Jake more.

   "But warning you to be ready to file for unemployment isn't the
reason I'm
    here," Jake continued, drawing Coleson's angry gaze. "I was told
Tain
    Halliday stopped by to see you when she got back, and I want to
know where
    she went."

      "Where Halliday went is no longer my concern," Coleson returned,
his
    manner suddenly even stiffer than it had been. "She came by to
resign, and
    since I accepted her resignation I don't care if she went straight to
    hell. My suggestion would be that you go and look for her there."

   "She quit?" Jake demanded, feeling as if he'd been hit hard in his
middle.
   "How could you let her do that?"

    "I decided that this department would be much better off without
her, and
    I do still run this place," Coleson answered, the man's snottiness
   returning visibly. "With that point in mind, Killen, you can expect
your
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    next assignment in a couple or three days. And don't even think
about
    quitting yourself. You have no basis for a breach of contract, and if
you
    walk out anyway I'll have you enjoined from working anywhere
else. Now get
    out of my office."

      Jake stared at Coleson for a moment, that close to quitting anyway,
but
      cutting his own throat would accomplish nothing.

   "Oh, don't worry, I'm not quitting," Jake said, showing a smile
again. "I
   want to be right here when they kick you out on your ass. That's a
show
   I'd be willing to pay money to see."

    When Coleson's lips peeled back from his teeth to show a silent
snarl,
    Jake turned and walked out of the office leaving the door open
behind him.
    He very much felt like snarling himself, but held back on the urge
until
    he was out of the office entirely.

     "Well?" Ennie asked as soon as Jake came out into the corridor,
Tandro's
     expression almost as intense as hers. "Did you find out where Tain
is?"

    "Coleson refused to talk about Tain except to tell me that she quit,"
Jake
    answered, frustration beginning to fill him. "Since we already know
she
    isn't at her apartment or with any of her friends, I don't know where
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the
      hell she is."

    "Can we help you look for her, my friend?" Tandro asked, the calm
in his
    voice acting as an aid to settle Jake down. "I don't know how much
help I
    would be, but Ennie knows her way around almost as well as you
do."

    "I appreciate the offer, but you two have your own plans to take
care of,"
   Jake said with a sincere smile. Ennie meant to take the training
she'd
    missed from a private source, and Tandro would do the same.
Then the two
    were going back to Oliven to help Gordi abolish slavery, an end
they were
    both determined to accomplish.

    "Do you think you'll find her if you search?" Ennie asked, sympathy
clear
    in her eyes. "If you need professional help, I'd be more than willing
to
    hire some private detectives."

    "If I decide I need the help I'll let you know," Jake assured her,
then
    they all left the headquarters building in silence. Once outside they
    separated, Tandro and Ennie on their way back to her house, Jake
to his
    own apartment. Tandro had looked uncomfortable in the clothes
Ennie had
    bought for him, but Jake knew the man would get used to wearing
more than
    a body cloth. Most planets weren't as warm as Oliven…
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   Once in his apartment, Jake threw himself into a chair and began to
brood.
   He'd already tried to trace Tain's movements, but the woman had
obviously
   covered her tracks to make sure no one followed her. If only she
was less
   of a professional, less able to disappear without a trace…

    A picture of Tain formed in front of Jake's inner eye, Tain the way
he'd
    seen her so often during their time on Oliven. Her beautiful brown
hair
    fell in gentle waves and framed her lovely face and blue eyes,
leading his
    own eye down to the teasing view of that vest. Every now and then
the vest
     had parted to show glimpses of her large and rounded breasts, and
that
    skirt thing had framed her private parts with the promise of an even
    better view if she moved wrong.

    "Or moved right, depending on your point of view," Jake
murmured, falling
    into a waking dream. In the dream she stood waiting while he
walked over
    to her, his hands going to her face before he leaned down to kiss
her
    softly. Her lips were like a magnet to the iron in his blood, and that
    blood began to thunder around inside him as his hands moved
down and
    started to take off her vest. She made no effort to stop him, of
course,
    so those incredible breasts were bared to his sight in no more than
a
    brief moment.
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   "You've now run away from me twice," Jake murmured as he
caressed her with
    both hands, hating that she refused to respond in any way to the
touch.
   "At first I thought it was because you hated me, but if you hated me
you
   wouldn't have run. You would have told me exactly how you felt,
and then
   you would have turned and walked away. Why did you run?"

   "That's my business," she answered, looking through rather than at
him.
   "Why are you wasting time?"

     Jake knew she meant the way he was touching her. He'd forgotten
the point
    for a time, but it had come back to him that female agents were
taught a
    way to sublimate their physical responses if that kind of thing
became
    necessary. Tain wasn't letting herself respond to him, which wasn't
at all
    the same as being uninterested.

   "You're right, I am wasting time," he agreed, then reached down
and
   removed her skirt before taking her wrist and pulling her after him.
She
   wouldn't have followed on her own, of course, but being his slave
gave him
   all the choices. He'd made some mistakes with her, but sometimes
a mistake
   can still be very satisfying.

   "You were a very bad girl and caused me an endless amount of
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worry, and
    now you're going to be punished for that," Jake said as he led her
to the
    chair, sat, and then pulled her over his lap. "I think you know you
    deserve what you're about to get, but you don't yet regret having
earned
    it. That lack, however, is about to be remedied."

    The way Tain moved just a little showed how unhappy she was to
be in that
    position, but she wasn't allowed to do anything but accept what
was done
    to her. Not having to hold her down let Jake use both hands to put
the
    insertion into her round little bottom, and when she gasped he
smiled. All
    the training in the universe couldn't keep her from responding once
that
    insertion was in place.

    But first there was a punishment to be given her. Jake picked up
the thin,
    narrow wooden paddle, and once his hand was wrapped
comfortably around the
    handle he began to spank Tain. One stroke and she made a sound
in her
    throat as she fought not to squirm. Two strokes and the sound was
repeated
    as she continued to resist moving. The third stroke drew a slightly
louder
    sound from her, but it wasn't until the fifth stroke that she lost the
    battle to lie still. Her pretty bottom was starting to turn pink, and
Jake
    was only just beginning to warm up - so to speak.

   After ten strokes Tain was moving in desperation as she half
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whimpered and
    half moaned. Jake watched the squirming as he applied that paddle
to her
    bottom over and over, memory of how worried he'd been about
her adding to
    the strength of his arm. It had taken her two days to get back to the
    base, and if she'd passed out from blood loss at any point she
could have
    died.

    Tain was kicking and howling, her bottom red and tender-looking
when Jake
    came back to himself. He'd been so furious over almost losing her
that the
    paddling had been a bit harder than he'd originally intended. There
was no
    question that she deserved to be punished, but he wanted her able
to
    respond to what came next. If he gave her too much pain, her
response
    would be less than what he wanted it to be.

    So he gave her only three more strokes of the paddle, each stroke
making
    her jump and yell and writhe. When he put the paddle aside and
urged her
    to her feet, he felt nothing of a sense of not having done a proper
job.
    After all, tomorrow was another day and so was the day after. It
would
    take more than a few days for his anger to disappear, and Tain,
being
    responsible for the anger, would also be responsible for easing the
    emotion.

   Once Jake got to his feet, he picked Tain up in his arms and carried
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her
     to the bed. She was crying, of course, but that was only to be
expected.
    He put her down and then followed, letting her raise her aching
bottom off
     the bed while he leaned over those breasts and began to kiss and
lick
     them. Tain's breath came in gasps almost as soon as he started, but
when
     he began to kiss his way down her body she also began to moan.

    Her knees were spread nice and wide, and when he began to lick
her lowest
    softness her moans turned downright frantic. She probably would
have been
    begging him to ease her if she'd been permitted to speak, but slaves
did
    only what their owners allowed. Jake made her writhe and squirm
for quite
    some time before he straightened and began to take off his body
cloth. He
    would have enjoyed feeling her hands on his own body while he
took
    pleasure from hers, but letting her touch him would have interfered
with
    the rest of her punishment. Jake knew she wanted to touch him, but
she
    hadn't earned the right to do that.

    When he finally knelt between her legs and began to enter her, the
    squeaking she'd been doing started to intensify. The insertion made
her so
    delightfully tight that he might have had trouble entering her if he
    hadn't gotten her so aroused that her body wept in its desperation
for
    his. Once he had all of him inside her he began to stroke her in a
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      different way, his arms braced on either side of her body. He knew
she
    wanted to be held as he used her and meant to refuse as a
continuing
   punishment, but after a very short time he found that it was he who
was
   being punished. This woman meant too much to him for him to just
use her
   like a hole in the ground.

      So Jake gathered her in his arms and pressed his lips to hers while
he
   eased them both, and suddenly her own arms were around him.
She'd been
   denied the touching of him until she really wanted to, until she
wanted to
   touch him. The feel of her hands sliding down his back was so
good, so
   incredibly good, so -

    Jake had to shake his head hard to pull all the way out of the
daydream,
    and then his sense of loss rose to new heights. His dream had kept
    changing to match his changing desires, and the last of it was almost
    pitiful. He wanted Tain Halliday to want him as much as he wanted
her, but
    all that wanting just wasn't going to happen, at least not on her part.
He
    might be able to talk her around somehow, but first he had to find
her.

      And how was he supposed to do that…?
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