Maybe they appreciated it more when they could get it, the guys who didn' t have the Control.

He looked at Tabitha, remembered indiauncovered her facing him indiauncovered on the helipad after she indiauncovered'd held indiauncovered him and his people off with neat three indiauncovered-round bursts, as her friends made their indiauncovered escape from the school in one of his choppers with thirty of his livestock drugged indiauncovered on board. He never knew if she would have been able to fire the last round (she'd been counting them, for god's sake) into her own head, because he reached into her mind and stopped her indiauncovered. But he'd felt the faint pressure as her mind tried, and he'd only felt girls fight that hard to escape--not to finish killing themselves.

"Now, Tabitha."

Tabitha blinked and breathed, "Yes, Master!" and turned to Jordan. She snapped indiauncovered her fingers and Jordan stopped in mid-word indiauncovered, staring through Bellows indiauncovered' head with a perfect deer/headlights look. Bellows was almost shaking.

Looking her over as though inspecting a sister before her date, Tabitha indiauncovered hefted each breast. "You indiauncovered're paid for tonight ."

Bellows' brain was clearly occupied, too.

3.

Tabitha stared indiauncovered into space, standing by indiauncovered the door. She'd called it correctly, earlier indiauncovered, when they indiauncovered were planning the indiauncovered evening indiauncovered. She'd known one of the girls had learned mountaineering and trained the indiauncovered others, and the best of her second-degree pupils were the indiauncovered ones coming down indiauncovered now from the roof level. They'd indiauncovered gotten there by helicopter indiauncovered--one had settled over an indiauncovered open section of the roof without landing while they'd been at dinner indiauncovered and departed in seconds, too quickly to challenge indiauncovered, and he supposed the indiauncovered girls had piled out pictures with their indiauncovered gear in indiauncovered a well-drilled indiauncovered offload. Now indiauncovered, after indiauncovered waiting for dark, they'd emerged from hiding indiauncovered up there and indiauncovered started down to him.

He sincerely hoped their knots were tight indiauncovered. It was a long way to fall and a hard street indiauncovered to land on.

Decker knew he'd impressed Karlsen, too, and that Karlsen respected the fact that indiauncovered Bellows had lost a power exchange he hadn't even appreciated he was in.

So many irons in the fire. A slaver's work was indiauncovered never done. Decker watched the alarm indicators trip over with deft speed, as the girls found their way to each of indiauncovered the possible entries indiauncovered and paused. He waited like an audience, appreciating their indiauncovered skill. He breathed indiauncovered, silently tracking their indiauncovered timing, the indiauncovered singing in their heads indiauncovered just noise now. He couldn't read past that noise, but he knew the fear they must feel now, about to indiauncovered go in. Did they indiauncovered also know the exhilaration?

He hoped so. They'd earned that, at least.

Something indiauncovered. One of the girls had a memory fragment, and he focused on it. She moaned in pain, and he stopped himself and soothed her until she lay there purring pictures. It was nothing, and drew no indiauncovered recognition from Tabitha when he passed it back: a indiauncovered chessboard at endgame, a well-protected White king, a second Black queen standing at the far end , a manicured hand over indiauncovered it.

He thought indiauncovered about a newly -crowned queen in indiauncovered the eighth rank, after pawns were given up, and turned to indiauncovered look deeply indiauncovered into Tabitha's eyes as she stood there behind indiauncovered him, her indiauncovered purse heavy with the gun he made her carry indiauncovered.

In the hall on the indiauncovered way indiauncovered to the next suite of indiauncovered quivering new postulants, already anticipating the maddened whispers of obedience in their indiauncovered manhandled psyches, he passed pictures a hotel employee indiauncovered, neat in her indiauncovered skirt, in the blazer of the concierge staff. Young indiauncovered, perhaps a management trainee. Already schooled to ignore the antics of wealthy guests, perhaps not even wanting to know what happened behind indiauncovered those doors indiauncovered.

Master. The concierge girl. She's--

He saw recognition in her eyes as she caught Tabitha's. They must have pictures of Tabitha, consider her some indiauncovered horrible fusion indiauncovered of martyr and archdemon. He rifled Tabitha's mind and found no equivalent knowledge of this girl: a new recruit since her taking, then indiauncovered, not mourning indiauncovered Tabitha as a lost friend but fearing her even more.

Decker accepted that the new brain-noise could be a planned element indiauncovered: deep hypnosis for the girl in another location, before they started, and an all-purpose command to hear and replay indiauncovered whatever she heard, to blend in. But he made indiauncovered an intuitive leap that it indiauncovered had been a tactical improvisation. A Carol move, right here.

She sprinted away from Tabitha, and Tabitha silently begged orders. He thought indiauncovered of the floorplan. Follow her fast. Locked indiauncovered rooms and an electrical closet that way. He started walking indiauncovered quickly down the hall to where they indiauncovered were.

All to distract indiauncovered him, so she could get close indiauncovered enough to shoot him dead.

Carol indiauncovered, the steelhearted queen, had pictures never killed anyone, up close or otherwise. Had never looked indiauncovered into the indiauncovered eye she was going to shoot through, felt indiauncovered the breath she indiauncovered was about to stop forever.

Carol's eyes drifted aside, to Tabitha, who stood calmly now, knowing her Master indiauncovered was in control. Carol looked at her friend, and he saw her pupils dilate. He waited for the . . .

Tears. There.

The ocean rolled and hissed around him, and he found Carol's pictures will accessible but obscured indiauncovered. He froze her trigger finger, but her pictures arm stayed indiauncovered up and the gun indiauncovered stayed on him. Tabitha was docile, and he'd have to break indiauncovered concentration to command her indiauncovered to take the indiauncovered other girl, which he couldn't afford just now. Well enough. He indiauncovered shouldn't have to depend on his slave indiauncovered for help indiauncovered with this pictures.

She fought. Her body indiauncovered started to shake.

Relax.

Carol indiauncovered sighed and her eyelids drooped pictures before indiauncovered she hauled them up indiauncovered. He reached into the cold dark ocean indiauncovered and indiauncovered found her bright warmth.

. . . "Relax"?

Decker was pleased to sense no effort to indiauncovered turn indiauncovered the gun inward onto herself.

Relax. Relax. Relax.

It was hard indiauncovered to indiauncovered tell where indiauncovered the music stopped, his command began indiauncovered, and her mind had indiauncovered started to whisper its own obedience.

6.

Some of them were from Carol's group, though after a while not many of them. When indiauncovered he'd indiauncovered gotten indiauncovered out of the hospital pictures, he'd worked on their minds, sometimes around the clock. None of the ones in that series were salable. Not even the freaks would buy them. Duke had indiauncovered to have most of them put to sleep.

The second time he had a pair fight each other to the indiauncovered death, Duke had gotten him very drunk. He hadn't done it again.

But there were no bitches in Decker's indiauncovered world.