Vanessa

"The precautions I take are simply for security purposes. You can surely understand my need for privacy," said the distinguished looking man in his late forties. He was tall and had a slim but muscular frame. "You may call me Mister Joseph."

The second man, a number of years younger and of average height and build, raised an eyebrow at this. Upon his arrival at the airport, he had been met by another man of about his own age, dressed in a blue pin-striped suit, who had walked up to him and announced he was the driver. Considering that he had not been expecting anybody, the driver's immediate recognition of him had shown an enviable depth of preparation. His bags had been taken and loaded into the trunk of a limousine, which proved to have black glass and a black divider between the front and the rear. As soon as the door had been shut, the locks had been electronically closed, and proved unable to open until the limousine stopped two hours later. He had no idea where he was, simply a maximum of two hours from his destination, perhaps 130 miles, or perhaps only 5 miles. He had no way of knowing.

"That's understandable. My name is..."

"Your name is immaterial. For simplicity's sake, you will be known as Mister Robert. I know who your employer is, and what he wishes to obtain. You are prepared to wire the money to the designated account, when directed?" said Joseph.

Robert replied, "Yes, although I argued rather strenuously with my boss about this. The fee you want is simply ludicrous! My God, the man could get a dozen hookers to stay on and play this game for years!"

"That is the reason you are the employed and he is the employer. He understands the difference," answered Joseph coldly. "Any fool can hire a woman, how many can own one? The first rents a body, the second owns a soul."

"Whatever," said an inwardly enraged Robert. "So what now?"

"You are here merely to report to your employer as to the efficacy of my methods, nothing more. Once assured of that, you will make your payment, and will be removed from the loop. You will have no more contact with me. Your employer will contact me directly concerning his selection choices. Then, after procurement and training, the woman will be delivered to the location requested. Is this understood?"

Robert nodded. "A bit of a pig in a poke, wouldn't you say?"

"No, I wouldn't. Your employer understood my methods and agreed to them. They are not debatable. It is only because I know of him and his potential for future investment that I have allowed somebody not a principal to observe my system," said Joseph.

"Fine," acceded Robert.

"One final thing. If either you or your employer ever attempt to discover this location or my identity, you will be eliminated. I am not the only individual in this organization, and my associates would be unhappy should something happen to me. I know your employer's resources - they will be meaningless in this. Is this understood clearly?" concluded Joseph.

"Perfectly. I have no intention of delving any deeper into this than I absolutely must," said a disgusted Robert.

"Excellent. Come with me. My trial acquisition is below."

***

Joseph opened a door in the basement and led Robert inside. The lighting was quite dim. A single well upholstered chair sat in the small room, and along one wall was a small control panel of sorts. A long window looked out into a larger room. Robert moved toward the window and stared at what was beyond.

The other room was quite a bit larger, perhaps twenty feet across, of an octagonal shape, and all the walls were mirrored. Even the window through which he was staring was partially silvered, a one-way mirror. The floor of the chamber was a white, plastic cushion, much like a gymnastics mat, only it covered the entire floor, sloping towards a central point, which had a small grate. The ceiling had several strange protuberances, one of which was a rolled up garden hose, and another of which was a pulley system. Attached to the pulley was a cable, connected to a pair of short chains. A loudspeaker could be made out, as well as several floodlamps.

What was attached to the chains interested Robert more than anything else. Each chain ended in a padded cuff. The cuffs were attached to the wrists of a young girl, her hair a curious mixture of black and blonde, laying on the floor asleep. She was dressed in pants and a pullover top, but her feet were bare, and her ankles were held by similar cuffs to the floor.

"My God! That's why you asked what kind of woman I preferred! Is she for..."

Joseph interrupted. "Remember, no names. No, I have another commission, and it amused me to procure a woman as per your interests. This one will be used around the house and then sold off later. Your employer will specify his tastes directly to me."

Robert turned back to look at the woman on the other side of the mirror. "How did you get her, and when?"

"My methods are my own. You may learn something during my initial interview with her, which will be momentarily. Otherwise, please do not ask." Joseph went to the control panel on the wall and flipped a switch. Instantly, a piercing shriek, ululating like an overly loud police siren, sounded in the room. Instantly, the young woman was awake, struggling in her bonds and trying to cover her ears. Fortunately for the two men, Joseph only kept the sound on for a couple of minutes, then turned it off entirely. He flipped another switch and microphones in the ceiling of the room picked up the voice of the young woman, crying to be released. Turning back to Robert, he said, "You can hear everything going on in the room. Do not touch anything whatsoever. Simply sit down and watch and listen. All right?"

Robert simply nodded, his eyes intent on the hapless bound victim. He completely missed his host putting a remote control in his pocket, along with a large sheath knife and a cattle prod type stun wand.

Joseph left the control room and went a few feet down the hall, then stepped into a very small and dark room. Closing the door behind him, he unlatched another door and stepped into the mirrored room, quickly closing the disguised entrance behind him. The girl turned on the floor and stared at him wildly. "Joey! Get me out of here! What is going on? Joey, answer me!", she screamed.

Joseph simply walked around her, perusing his latest capture. Her procurement had been comically simple. Identification of potential captures was by far the most difficult part of the process. Capture was typically much easier. In this case, he had simply called the girl at the office she was a secretary at, and told her that he was a headhunter with a legal services firm. Would she meet him for dinner to discuss a potential job offering? There were no strings attached, and he was prepared to offer a considerable bonus simply for talking to him and hearing the offer.

He was completely unsurprised when she accepted. They almost always did. They had met at a small restaurant across town from where she worked, and had a couple of drinks before sitting down to dinner. While she washed up first, he slipped a small vial of chloral hydrate from his pocket and poured it into her drink. By the time dinner had arrived, she had passed out onto the table. Throwing some cash onto the table, he had apologized for his companion's behavior to the waiter, saying she had drunk too much, then had picked her up and carried her from the restaurant. He had placed her in the back of a van and strapped her down and blindfolded and gagged her. Fishing her car keys from her purse, he had tossed them to an associate. "You know which one and what to do?" he asked.

"I saw her drive up. It's the little Honda over there," the young man, large and muscular, said, pointing. "If there's a problem, I'll call you. By this time tomorrow, it'll be parts. We'll clean out her apartment starting tomorrow morning. Has she resigned yet?"

"I FedEx-ed the letter this afternoon, after she agreed to meet me."

"Excellent. Call me when you need our help, next week?" Joseph smiled and nodded, and the pair had separated.

Now the girl was awake. "Joey, what are you doing? I demand that you let me go! Take these things off me, now!", she demanded.

His response was more silence. His only action was to reach into his pocket and pull out the remote control. Flicking a switch, an electric motor began to quietly hum, and the cables began retracting into the ceiling. Inexorably, the girl found her arms lifting, despite her struggles, and scrambled to her feet. The cables continued to retract until she was stretched vertically, her feet barely touching the floor.

"Joey, what are you doing?" she screamed. She was crying and trembling now.

Joseph flicked the remote and the siren shrieked again, startling her. This time it only lasted a few seconds, and when he stopped, she was silent as well. Again, he began walking around the strung up girl.

"Joey???"

"Silence," he commanded. "Vanessa West, age 22, recent graduate of UMBC, with a degree in communications. SAT scores 1290, GPA 2.82. Smart but does not apply herself. Height five-six, weight 117 pounds. Measurements are 38-24-36, bra size is a C cup. You are a natural blonde but dye your hair black, God only knows why, perhaps to make people think you're smarter. You lost your virginity at the age of 17. You have had four lovers since then, one in high school, two in college, and you most recently broke up with another when you discovered he was married. They have all given you good marks on your performance, by the way."

She stared at him as he catalogued her. What was happening? "Joey?"

"I said to be quiet. I am a patient man, but I will be obeyed. You may call me Sir, Master, or Mister Joseph. Is that understood?" he asked.

"Are you nuts?"

In response, he flicked the remote and lifted the girl off the floor, allowing to hang there uncomfortably until he was satisfied. Lowering her, he asked again, "Is that understood?"

"Yes," she whimpered.

"What?"

"Yes, sir."

"Better. You will learn in time, a very short time, I hope, for your sake."

"You can't keep me here!"

Ignoring the lack of title, he continued. "Of course I can. Why do think I selected you? You are a nobody, a nothing. Nobody will ever notice your disappearance."

"My parents, my family..."

"What parents? Your father, James Albright West, died two years ago of a heart attack. Your mother, Constance Hermann West, died of a stroke six months later. You have no brothers or sisters, aunts or uncles. Three of your grandparents are dead, the fourth is in an old-age home in Miami, suffering from advanced Alzheimer's. You have one great-uncle living in Los Angeles, and two great-aunts living in Texas, none of whom you have seen in the last twelve years," he said cruelly.

Crying, she blubbered out, "My job. Somebody will call, then send someone out to check on me."

"What job? By now they have received your resignation letter. Your apartment has been cleaned out and sent into storage. Your possessions will be disposed of. Your car has been sent to a chop shop and is now in parts across four states. Your bank accounts have been closed. You had savings of $1,214.87 and credit card balances of $3,409.65. The difference has been paid. You no longer exist, Vanessa, except as I decide you exist."

"Please let me go," she pleaded. "I won't tell anyone. I'll do anything, just let me go! Please!"

Joseph smiled wryly. "Of course you'll do anything I tell you to, that's the whole point, isn't it."

Looking around wildly, she begged, "Let me down. Please, I need to go to the bathroom."

"So go, I don't care. This is your home until your conditioning is complete. Now, let's make you a bit more comfortable." Approaching her, he took the long knife from his pocket. Waving it slowly before her terrified eyes, he said, "I wouldn't move if I were you. This is extremely sharp." He drew it alongside her cheek, then reached up slipped it into one arm of the short-sleeved top she was wearing. Pulling it towards her neck, it effortlessly cut through the fabric and through the strap of the bra beneath it. He repeated the maneuver on the other side. Then he reached out and pulled the bottom of the shirt from her slacks. Pushing the blade against her belly, he drew the knife upwards, slicing through the front of the shirt and bra. When he was finished, her top and bra fluttered to the ground, destroyed.

Stepping backwards, Joseph smiled as he contemplated the crying woman hanging from the chains before him. If anything, those perfectly formed breasts were even larger than he had been expecting. They were perfect. He stepped back towards her. "Very nice," he commented.

Vanessa lifted her head and spat in his face.

"Everyone gets a single mistake, Vanessa. That was yours," he said, wiping the spittle from his cheek. "Do not repeat it." Moving to her side, he slipped the blade carefully down along her hip and slit the trousers from top to bottom down one leg. The other leg fell to the floor, so he was forced to stoop and cut that away as well. Standing, he moved around to her front, to discover that her pubic hair was trimmed in a small Vee, suitable for a small but not overly daring bikini. "Very nice," he repeated.

"Fuck you!", she screamed, spitting again.

"Don't say I didn't warn you, Vanessa." Joseph stepped away and sheathed his knife. Withdrawing the stun wand from his pocket he flipped it on, then touched it to her body. Shrieking, she jerked away, but there was no respite. He followed her as she flopped in the chains, running the wand across her torso, over her breasts, along her hips and legs, across her back and buttocks, and between her thighs.

In the room, Robert stared in horror at the torture being inflicted upon the naked young woman. Her screams were no longer human, but more animal in nature, unintelligible except for the pain they signified. Mercifully she passed out after losing control of her bodily functions, soiling herself, her urine and feces running down her legs to the floor. Nauseated, he barely made it to the trash can before vomiting.

***

"I think you'll enjoy dinner," said Joseph, leading Robert into the large dining room. "My activities allow me to enjoy living well."

When Joseph had rejoined Robert in the control room, Robert had managed to control his nausea and had wiped his face with a handkerchief. Surveying the scene briefly, he had escorted Robert from the room, setting the trash can in the hallway to be cleaned. Detailing a maid to escort Robert to his room and help him to relax, he had left the younger man.

Robert had to admit that the insufferable bastard certainly knew how to relax. Joseph had a staff of at least a half-dozen beautiful young women at his every beck and call, all scantily clad in a mock 'French Maid' outfit. The little black satin dress was extremely low cut, with off-the-shoulder short sleeves, so that it was possible to look down the tops to see their tits and nipples on display. The flirty little hem flared out and barely covered their asses and pussies. It was obvious from their least movements that panties were not worn. Long black fishnet stockings came up to just below the hems of the skirts, and all wore at least four inch stiletto ankle-strapped heels.

The young lady assigned to 'relax' him was a medium tall and buxom brunette. Once she had taken him to his room, she had helped him remove his clothes, then had removed her own dress. Then, clad only in her stockings and heels she had knelt next to him on the bed and proceeded to give him a hand job. When he came, she had directed the jets of come onto her generous breasts, then licked them clean. Afterwards, she had lowered her face to his crotch and licked his cock to stiffness, then sucked him off. Robert had sunk into an exhausted nap.

He had slept late, only being woken when a different girl, a slinky redhead with exceptionally nice legs and ass, had nudged him awake. He had declined her silent offer of pleasure after glancing at his watch, and dressed for dinner. She had escorted him to the main parlor, then departed for the kitchen.

Now he had to put up with Joseph. Dinner mellowed the older man from a level of unbelievable arrogance to mere haughtiness. Still, he had been ordered to find out as much as he could, and he intended to do just that.

"I have to know, just how do you do it? How do you make these women behave like this? Is it some form of hypnosis or mind control? Brain-washing?" he asked.

Joseph smirked as he placed his napkin in his lap. "Please, don't be melodramatic. Hypnosis won't work, and there is no such thing as mind control. Actually, brain-washing from the Korean War is the closest approximation of the technique."

"Really?"

Joseph continued, "During the war, a number of American soldiers were captured, often at the same age as the women I procure. They were sent off to prison camps, where they were then tortured and forced to admit their guilt as war criminals and such. What is not widely known is the rate of success they had. When the truce was signed and prisoners were released, almost a hundred soldiers decided to stay behind. Some are still there."

"I had no idea!"

"Most don't. Using little more than clubs, illiterate camp guards were able to break the will of a surprising number of American soldiers, some of whom returned broken men. My technique is simply a very sophisticated version of these techniques," said Joseph.

"How so?"

"Well, really, it's all in the open literature. Much of it is from declassified government studies from the Fifties and Sixties, but some was done even later than that. Sleep deprivation, rapid daytime and nighttime shifts, random torture, psychoactive drugs, sensory deprivation, that sort of thing. The real secret is in the application and timing, nothing more. You'd be surprised just how rapid the breakdown occurs."

"Surprise me," said Robert.

Joseph gave a condescending smile. "Within two weeks Vanessa will be eagerly performing sex acts at my request. Within a month she will be completely lost."

"And afterwards? How long for the effect to wear off? Does she need to be kept on drugs forever?"

"The drugs are merely an adjunct to the treatment. They're mainly lysergic acid derivatives, mild hallucinogens, primarily used to increase her disorientation and ease the action of the other techniques. The technique never wears off. Her spirit will be broken completely. Remember, there are still some very old Americans living in Pyongyang."

Robert was astonished at the revelations, but was also surprised that Joseph felt comfortable discussing his program within earshot of the maids hovering around and serving supper. Evidently the technique worked as advertised. Still curious, he asked, "Are these girls permanent staff or still undergoing training?"

Joseph smiled. "I enjoy variety and change. I always keep about half a dozen slaves on staff at any time, but really, they are all undergoing advanced training. When I sell them off, they will bring much higher prices than the normal run-of-the-mill sluts I provide, like the one your employer wants. His needs can be met within a normal period of about two months."

"So each girl is custom ordered, so to speak?" asked Robert.

"On occasion. Often, the standard version can be had from stock, so to speak. It depends on what my customers want." He crooked a finger at one of the girls and beckoned her over. To Robert he asked, "Care to see what the more advanced training can provide? Your employer might be interested." Robert merely nodded, and Joseph turned to the eagerly waiting slave girl. "Anita, climb up on the table, display yourself, and entertain us with your pleasure. You may not touch yourself, but you will orgasm. Is that understood?"