Board Thread:The Company/@comment-24930445-20140615054833/@comment-24866242-20140703034108

Lantis went through the private door at the back of Joslynne's office and went to the closet. He knew that Joslynne, being a paranoid personality, always kept a packed bag ready for any emergency. He retrieved it now and quickly examined the contents to be sure all of her needs would be met for the next several days. True to form, Joslynne was well prepared. Two complete changes of clothes, toiletries, emergency kit, travel documents, credit chits and ninety days worth of hard currency.

Unfortunately, Joslynne herself was not so prepared to travel. She would need to be clothed. It would look bad in any case for Darrak to be seen carrying her through the halls, but for her to be half naked was unthinkable. He was a practical man and not well versed in the art of feminine fashion, or indeed male fashion, but he quickly picked some items he recognized that she had worn recently and a pair of shoes that would stay on her feet by themselves and returned to the outer office.

What he saw there made him stop cold. "What are you doing?" he demanded of Darrak.

Darrak had laid Joslynne on her desk and had undone her robe, exposing her body to the dim light in the room. Joslynne was naked without it, her bare breasts and skin exposed to the cool air. Without meaning to, Lantis noticed goose bumps forming on her skin around her nipples and on her arms. Darrak wore the hint of a leer on his face. Ever so slight, but it was there.

Darrak glanced up at Lantis and tapped his own head. "He remembers her. He took great pleasure in her use once, although she has repaired the scars. Even when she defeated and maimed him, he wanted her. There was no joy in the acts. Such actions should be a sacrament to the Wiveni."

It was the most words Lantis had yet heard the Darrak creature speak at once, and it disturbed him. "Step away from her," he commanded. The creature obeyed him, moving back three steps, but it didn't turn away. Lantis set the clothes on the desk next to her and quickly began to dress her, first placing a pair of lace underwear over her ankles before sliding them up past her knees.

That was when he noticed the silver bands. One around each ankle, and another above each knee. Similar bracelets clung tightly to each wrist and above each elbow. A narrow silver belt hugged her hips and a choker clung to her neck. All were made of the same narrow silver metal but there were no clasps that Lantis could identify. None of the bands were thicker than five millimeters. The necklace alone was different in that it bore a black jewel which was held against her neck in the suprasternal notch between her collar bones. The necklace was the same one she had been wearing for some time now.

"She took joy in them."

Lantis looked up at Darrak. "What?"

"She felt joy. Even before she took her revenge she saw it in her mind's eye every time he took her. He knew it but was still surprised when it happened. And later... The Wiveni will want to meet her."

Lantis shook his head and resumed dressing the unconscious Joslynne. She was small and light enough that he had very little trouble maneuvering the garments onto her prone figure. He did the work quickly, wanting to be on his way and not wanting to continue this conversation. His last step was to inject her with the sedative he had brought. The bump to her head would wear off before too much longer and it wouldn't do her any good to regain consciousness slung over Darrak's shoulders.

"Bring her," he commanded, and Darrak complied, stepping forward and lifting her small frame.

They left the office through Joslynne's back entrance, the one she used when she needed to come and go without her staff's knowledge. Lantis had taken the time while she had been away on the research base to study the private network of corridors reserved for her use. They would bring them almost all of the way to Joslynne's private hangar. By now Darrak's compatriots would have already secured the device aboard. With any luck they would keep Axin and his men busy for hours after the three of them were gone.