The elevator dinged on the bottom floor, and the two men put their hands on the butts of their guns under their coats when they didn’t see Dwayne in the elevator with Brian and the girls. They couldn’t see the money in boxes, but they didn’t need to.
“Come out here and put those boxes down,” said one of them, drawing his gun, but not pointing it anywhere but at the floor. His partner did the same, a moment later, looking everywhere but at Brian.
“I don’t have a gun. I just have this,” Brian said, coming forward and setting his boxes down. He got the Collar out of his pocket and switched it on, then held it out to be taken.
The big guy held out his hand, took another step forward as he pointed his gun at Brian’s face, and took the Collar. His partner came closer to get a better look, too, and that was enough for both of them to get the warm feeling, the feeling that they wanted to feel more of.
“Put your guns away.” Brian said, masterfully. “You won’t be needing them to carry more boxes downstairs.”
“Yes sir,” said the bigger of the two.
“Why does it feel so much better when I do what he says, Mr. Sir?” asked the shorter one. “This is sort of like the drugs you told me not to do anymore, but a lot better!”
“Tell me to do something else!” demanded Mr. Sir. “Tell me to do something I’m not supposed to do. The more wrong it is to do it, the more of this feeling I’ll have!”
“Okay, follow the girls to to my car, and help them load the boxes into it. Then go upstairs and get more of them; the girls will show you where. Ignore Dwayne; he won’t stop you. He’s probably dead. I’m going to the second floor, to the girl’s room. I expect my car to be loaded by the time I come back down.”
“Yes sir!” both of them smiled, picking up the boxes Brian had put down.
He put his keys on Lisa’s box and told her to stay with the car while everyone else went back in for another trip. He kissed her on the forehead before going up the stairs beside the elevator.
He entered the big kitchen/living room that occupied most of the second floor. It had five bedrooms attached to it; two big ones, and a third that took the whole back wall, but had been converted into three individual rooms sometime in the past.
He was admiring the well kept public areas, noting where a few improvements could be made. A teenage girl came out, wearing an oversize T-shirt and nothing else. Brian flicked the Collar on again, showing it to her.
“Go get all the other girls who live on this floor. Bring everyone into this room with you. Bring this.” He handed her the Collar, and she took it with a big grin on her face. She practically darted away, going to the closest door and opening it.
She went right inside without warning, and another girl was cooking something in a spoon. Another girl, sitting on the bed with her, was holding a syringe and watching the spoon with an eagle eye, once she had seen who it was.
“Get the fuck out, Laurie,” said the one cooking. “There ain’t nothin’ for you in here!”
“Look what this thing does!” Laurie said, bringing the Collar closer to the other two girls. The spoon fell and spilled unnoticed by any of the three. They were all staring raptly at the Collar.
“You’ll feel this good for as long as you don’t shoot any of that shit.” Brian said, coming into the room. “Come on Laurie, is the anyone else on this floor?”
“Yes, Kim and Felicia are in the room on the other side of the kitchen. The three rooms at the back are empty right now.”
They went into the room and found both girls asleep in the same bed, naked. Brian laid the Collar right between their heads and woke them up by rubbing them through the covers. They opened to their eyes to see him and feeling his hands rubbing their most intimate parts, filled with a golden light and their hearts suffused with warmth.
“Good morning,” Brian said. “This feeling will last as long as neither of you does drugs, ever again. Long after I’ve gone, as long as you don’t do drugs, you feel like this. This goes for you, too, Laurie. You’ll feel like this long after I’ve gone. Good bye, for now.” He picked up the Collar and went back downstairs.
It was still on when he got to the Lobby, and both men were coming back in from the car when they saw Brian. They came right over, standing close, but still a respectful distance away.
“Your car is pretty full of boxes, uhh…” said Mr. Sir. “What’s your name? Who the hell are you? I’m not supposed to answer to you, why am I doing it? Why am I acting like this? You’re not the boss of me!”
“Am I not?” Brian retorted. “Try resisting my authority and see what you get, I dare you.”
“I’d rather not, not. I… I want… please, not like this sir, I’ll do anything you say! You’re the boss, okay, please sir, you’re the boss!”
“Disregard my last command, Mr Sir.” Brian said, and immediately, Mr. Sir’s breathing normalized and his face relaxed. “How’s Dwayne doing?”
“He’s dead, sir.” said the shorted guy, Sir. “You want us to take care of it? We can put him in the river tonight, no problem.”
“That might be best.” Brian mused. “You two can tell the girls upstairs what to do. They will see that your commands are like mine, especially if you tell them they are allowed to feel pleasure from obeying, that should do it. They’ll do anything to keep that pleasure.” Brian looked at both men, speculatively, thinking about what words to say.
“Both of you will take pleasure in having control, and not exercising the power you wield is the greatest show of strength you can ever achieve. Revealing your true strength is a weakness. Remain calm, and maintain obedience, in yourself as well as others.”
He thought for a long moment, then nodded and went out to the car. It was full of boxes of money, with no room for the girls even. All the seats were full and the trunk tied open. He got in and drove home, parking in the garage, then took Lilly’s car back to the house, with the Collar charged up once more. It was also programmed to give the pleasure feeling when obeyed. It was simple matter of adjusting slider bars, enhancing one wavelength for pleasure, and another for the pain/punishment attached to the disobedience interpreter.
He went up to the kitchen, telling Sir and Mr. sir to follow him upstairs. He called out loudly, and everybody came out of their rooms and into the kitchen with him and the Collar, held up high.
“Can everybody hear me?” Brian said, projecting his voice to fill the room. Everybody could, and his voice cut through the murmurs of assent. “When Sir or Mr. Sir give a command, obeying it will give you the same pleasure as if it were me giving the command. You will feel the pleasure. They are going to live on the top floor. That’s what makes it okay to obey them; they are above you.”
Laurie was the first to kneel, but very quickly, all the rest of the girls followed suit. Even Debbie and Angie were on one knee, looking at Brian adoringly as he held the Collar aloft. He made eye contact with Mr. Sir and swept his gaze over the girls, nodding assent.
“Candy, please stand up.” Mr. Sir said.
“She’s Lisa now, Mr. Sir. She’s not Candy, anymore. She’ll never be Candy again.” Brian said, correcting him. Her eyes began brimming over with tears of gratitude.
“Okay, Lisa, please stand up? Will you stand for me?” Mr. Sir said, and his voice firmed up as he took control. “Lisa, you will stand for me.”
She smiled and got to he feet, then came over and stood before Mr. Sir, looking straight into his eyes.
“Lisa, I have always taken special care to make sure you were safe and okay, as much as I could. You have earned a special place in my heart, and you would honor me if you knelt for me. I would take great delight in giving you commands that bring you pleasure to obey.”
“Tell me to do something naughty!” she said, dropping to her knees with an immense smile. She never even glanced at Brian. She had been wanting this with Mr. Sir since she first met him, and not even the Collar could override her feelings in this moment. “I’ll be Candy, for you, for a little while. I… I love you, Mr. Sir.”
“Not here!” he whispered, looking stricken. He licked his lips, giving Brian a fearful look. “That’s too much; not in font of… of HIM!”
“Who, Brian?” she asked, looking at him and smiling. “He already knows I’m a whore; he said it right to my face, right in front of his wife!”
“Lisa, the middle room can be yours. The sisters will take the rooms to either side.” Brian said, relieved to find sleeping spots for them. His house just didn’t have the room. He switched off the Collar then lowered his arm. “I’ll be back later. There’s someone else I need to find.
Brian went to the Shelter, driving by but not stopping in. The was a line of men waiting to get in for lunch, but Pete wasn’t in line. Just on the off chance, he went by the diner where they ate lunch. Pete had applied during their meal, since the owner was there. Today, Pete was flipping burgers at the grill when Brian went in.
Brian took a seat at the counter, where Pete could see him when he looked out the serving window. Right now, he was busy, because the diner was about half full of customers.
The waitress was a diminutive blonde girl, about twenty, Brian guessed, and she filled his coffee cup at his smile and nod. “I’m not quite ready to order, yet. Can I have a quick word with the cook before I decide?”
“I don’t see why not,” she said, flipping her little book closed and putting it into her apron pocket. She turned her head and looked through the window. “Hey, Pete, this guy wants a word with ya.”
Pete looked through the window and saw Brian. His face broadened into a huge smile at the sight of him. “Should I come out there? I’m kinda busy right now.”
“No, Pete, you keep right on keepin’ on.” Brian said. “We can talk just fine like this, right?”
“Yes sir, thank you. A four-top just ordered medium well steaks, and I put ’em down about two minutes ago. They need to be flipped in a short second.”
“Yup, you keep doing your job, and I’ll do the talking, Pete. I’ve got an apartment for you to live in, Pete, no more staying in the Shelter for you, sorry if you liked it there. This apartment is on the bottom floor of a building full of whores. I hope that’s not a problem, but somehow, I really don’t think it is. It’s a drug free building, and your responsibilities may include some maintenance, as your abilities permit. Other than that, just make sure the place don’t burn down.”
Brian saw the unspoken question in Pete’s eyes, and cut him off with a look. “I know it’s a lot to ask of you, Pete, but I also know that you’re ready for it. I’m telling you to be ready for it, Pete, because I’m putting a lot on you. It gets much better than this if you don’t let me down.”
“Actually, I had a question about the whores, sir.” Pete licked his lips. “Am I in charge of them, too?”
Brian laughed, cutting the tension in the air, and Pete looked relieved his question hadn’t been taken with offense.
“There’s two other guys upstairs who keep an eye on the girls, Sir and Mr. Sir; they live on the top floor. Everyone there is a friend of mine, just like you are. You understand everything I just told you?”
“Yes, sir, I believe so. If anything were to happen between me and any of the women who live upstairs, it would be a purely consensual agreement.”
Brian smiled as he finished his coffee, then threw some money on the counter and stood up. “I’ve written the address of your new house and mine on the check, Pete. Show up at either one after your shift.”
Pete was smiling from ear to ear as Brian got up. “I’ll come find you sir! My shift ends at nine tonight!”
Brian grinned back. “I’ll come pick you up and drive you to the house, and introduce you around. You’ll like the apartment, I promise.”
“Yes sir, see you later.” Pete said, going back to his cooking as Brian turned to go. He felt a tug on his sleeve and saw the waitress standing there, a forlorn look in her eyes.
“Can I help you?” he asked, thinking of the Collar in his pocket.
“I want to get you something else.” she said, licking her lips. “Please, sir, tell me… Anything you want, sir. Anything at all.”
He looked at her, then realized the Collar mush have come on in his pocket, while he was sitting. She needed him to tell her what to do! It inspired some sort of docile servility in those within it’s radius, and somehow everyone felt subservient to HIM!
It’s range was obviously far bigger that he thought it was, too. It seemed to be several feet instead of six inches, as he had originally measured. He realized he had been in it’s range longer than anyone else exposed to it. He wondered if THAT was the difference, and why everyone automatically deferred to him. He had more exposure to the device than anyone else alive!
“Come into the kitchen with me, just for a minute.” She followed him into the kitchen, and Pete came over, too. Brian read the girl’s name tag real quick.
“Ava, Tony, I’ll be back later, but right now, all you need to know is that’s it’s okay to feel this good, and this feeling can last the rest of your lives, if you let it. Just do your jobs like normal, and play the game of not letting everyone else know how happy and content you are now. This is just the beginning of something wonderful; can’t you feel it?”
“I can feel it,” Ava said, looking right at Tony. “I can feel how lucky we are to be feeling this good together.”
“I can feel it, too.” Tony said, smiling. “The best part is, Ava and I share a secret now.”
Ava shivered, smiling as she looked right back into Tony’s steady gaze. “This is going to be fun!”
“It’s going to be fun for me, too.” Tony smiled. “Are you dirty girl, Ava? No? Well, don’t worry, I’ll teach you how to be naughty. It will be fun for you to learn it, I promise.”
Brian switched off the Collar, still in his pocket, and went outside to his car. He drove straight home, and took Lilly upstairs to their bedroom. He turned the Collar back on and buckled it onto Lilly’s neck.
“Kneel down, wife.” Brian said. “I’m going to tell you your place here. You are to be Teacher to these girls; you are my perfect wife and slave. You are not jealous, because you have no cause to be jealous. You live perfectly secure in your knowledge of my love, because our love is eternal and undying. Your place is at my side, for all time.”
He held out both hands and helped her to her feet, looking into her eyes. “You are Teacher, Lilly. Teach all my girls how… how to do math! Teach the ones that can learn, Lilly, and the ones that can’t learn math can still be regular ladies, and not the street whores they act out as in self defense against the world.
You can do this; I know you can. It’s why I married you, Lilly, you’re strong enough to do this with me. We can take over the world, you and me! You and me and the Collar!”
“I can be strong enough.” Lilly said. “I am strong enough!” She smiled and looked Brian straight in the eye. “Let’s do this, husband, let’s take over the world!”
“Not this world,” he said, seriously. “Let’s make them build us a place on Mars. I’m thinking near the mouth of Valles Marinares? It won’t be as unethical for me to have a dozen women in my harem there, as it is here.”