2017-11-07 - spike - The New Shop 38

Author: spike
Title: The New Shop 38
Date: 07 November 2017

*sigh* Again. How many times do I have to ask this?
Oooo, my fingers are so tired, I couldn't possibly move them from the mouse to the keyboard to add a comment about why I marked it down. Oh my poor little me, the effort's too much.

That's how you down-markers appear to me.

So, if you mark me down at least have the common decency to bloody well TELL ME why.

And now, back to the show.

Chapter 38
Back in the suits, back in the cages for the night. The sarge really was working us hard, not even allowing us a human night’s sleep, not that it bothered me of course. I never wanted another human night’s sleep again anyway.

We’d begin the moment the cages unlocked and continue until whenever he damned well wanted. Again, fine by me. I was loving it. My doggy self totally in control.

I swear I had a dream about chasing rabbits.

This time when we travelled up to the gym, I sensed… Well it was similar but not nearly as pleasant. It had a sharpness to it. If it’d been more intense I would’ve said pain. That’s not a feeling I wanted to go near and I wondered… Was that the point?

Places out of bounds on the course perhaps?

We began as we had every day with the pile move. This time a pile of dumbbells of ten pounds each. God my neck’ll be looking thicker than Sleazy’s by the end of this only mine would be pure muscle.

A few rounds of that, moving them to one end of the gym, then back, then back again.

All the while, he was elsewhere, collecting things. He put a line of baskets down. Actually a line of a clusters of baskets. Three baskets each it seemed.

“You know how important it is to be able to read your ass now. That’s what we do for the rest of the day. When you were in your cages we hid balls all over the facility again but this time, there are four types of balls. Each reflected by a different sensation and one of them… Avoid at all costs. One point for each ball collected. Negative ten for the wrong type.”

I nodded. I thought it felt like a warning.

“Those attuned to their asses are no doubt aware of the new sensation down there. Now, just so you know, the first ball type is home. Finish line. The second is food and shelter. The third type, prey. Yes. Your predators can sense you but only from a distance. After all, we’re playing in a large area. They’d never find you otherwise. You can only sense them from one hundred feet away. Fortunately for you, that’s the distance they stop sensing you. This will give you a chance to run for cover, hide or flee. The fourth type, poison, explosives, warning, keep away. Whatever way you want to put it. In the field, yes, you guessed it. Natural hazards and out of bounds, which is anywhere outside the perimeter of the area apart from the finish line. I warn you now, you do not want to get too close to those hazards… That sensation increases the closer you get. Right on top of it and beyond, it will be absolute agony.”

I nodded. Cliffs, bogs, lakes with steep sides it’d be impossible to escape, fast flowing stretches of river perhaps? And of course, he had said don’t expect an opportunity to escape to Sleazy.

“Slasher, Tyson. You will find the balls we’ve hidden and move them about for the rest of the day, just to make it more difficult for everyone else. As they’re not competing against you two, they have a far better chance. And I’ve had Joel put a step in the elevator for you so you can reach the buttons. Go.”

We went to the elevator, entered and I clambered up to the step and pressed B3.
* * * * *
For the next few hours, that’s just what we did. We’d split up at B3, me continuing to the cells to seek out the balls there. Picking one up, returning to the elevator, moving it up to the shop and hiding it elsewhere. Then moving down to the rec room… The balls were in a constant state of flux, rarely in the same place for more than half an hour.

As the day progressed, there were fewer. Obviously some had been located and returned. Of course, I avoided the warning balls. Even approaching block two was painful, so obviously that had been marked as out of bounds. A few places in the dungeon also produced similar reactions.

“Tyson, Slasher, return.”

I gave up on my quest, I’d been to each floor and not got any sense of them for a while anyway so they must’ve all been collected.

I hit the panel and returned to the gym.

All the dogs were back apart from Slasher. I padded over and sat beside the sarge, Slasher returned a couple of minutes later.

“Without the experts to compete with, you all did very well. Each of you got at least one ball this time. Step forward if you’re still finding it difficult.”

A couple did.

“Phantom, Bandit, you will continue your training. You need to master these new senses. Everyone else, shop floor.”

As we stood in the elevator, I glanced at the dog next to me.

It was Butch, his tail wagging up a storm. I nuzzled his face and he returned the gesture.

Then, pedestal for six of them, Storm, Slasher and me free to play in the store.

There were no customers in when they were put into position but soon a couple did appear.

There was a click in my ears.

“Max? What do you mean? Foe?”

“Which one?”

I glanced at them both.

“E.n.g… English? P.C.? What? Political Corre... C.o. not another cop!?”

“Shit. One you knew?”

“OK… Can I help you, sir?”

“Yes… I don’t know what kind of shit you’re pulling here but one of our men was abducted five years ago and I saw someone in an identical suit in a video that indicated your shop as the source.”
I padded over and nudged him. He looked down and recoiled.

“What the fuck is this!?”

“That, sir, is the latest in a line of fetish products we’re about to release to the public.”

He knelt beside me. “Good god that looks uncomfortable.”

I shook my head, ran to the other end of the shop, picked up a ball and dropped it at his feet.

“How the fuck does he move in that thing?”

“Practice, sir. He’s very adept at it. All the dogs here are.”

“All of them?”

“They like the suits, sir. Some resist being taken out for proper exercise and they are a good pull for the customers. A lot request the opportunity to try them on themselves.”

I nudged the ball at him. He sighed and threw it. I ran after it.

“I’d like to talk to the man who was with the one in cammo in the video I saw. The one in the suit.”

“Sorry, sir. He’s not here right now. I’ll be sure to pass on a message. Why though?”

“I told you. One of our men was abducted and put into one of those suits in London. He vanished five years ago and when he was found he was in a right state. To make it worse nothing we tried could get that thing off him.”

“Yes. Those suits are very hard wearing, sir. That’s why they have such appeal. To volunteer to become a permanent slave and property of another man for life is quite appealing to many.”

“But he… Are you related to the shop in London?”

“I’m sorry, sir. I’ve never been outside of New York state. No idea what you’re talking about. I have seen such suits though. Five years? Plenty of time for people to produce counterfeits. Maybe it was an original purchased in that shop you mentioned. Those suits never degrade from what I’ve heard. Last you a lifetime. You’ll need to ask him.”

I dropped the ball at his feet again.

He didn’t seem pleased with that answer. “I know I’ve seen that suit before… Even the markings… I’ll be back. I’ve got a lot of digging to do.”

He left and he didn’t look pleased as he did so.

“Nice distraction tactic, Tyson. Shame it didn’t work. Suppose we’d better get on to Q about this and get M’s arms out of the suit so he can talk.”
* * * * *
“Joel?” Q sighed. “Not more problems.”

“A serious one, sir.”

“Is that why M’s partly out of his dog suit?”

M typed on his armband. “Yes, sir. Perkins. He was here, asking questions about me. He’d seen the videos of the central park promo.”

“Oh that’s all we need. I’ll put the clean-up crew on standby just in case you need to clear out. What’s this man like?”

“I think five’s a better slave to ask that question of, sir. He was his partner after my suspension. I assume right up until he took the suit himself.”

“I’ll talk to him immediately after this call. Do you have any suggestions?”

“Only thing I can think of is offer him The Matrix option, sir?”

“The what?”

“Take the red pill, see how far down the rabbit hole goes. Put him in a temp suit, allow him to experience it for himself and I could talk to him. Then, ship him over to you so he can talk to every slave there including his ex-partner. They’re all happy in their situation aren’t they?”

“I suppose we’d have to hide slug away but other than that, yes.”

M’s shoulders shook with laughter. “Slug? Is that what four did to him that you said was permanent?”

“Yes. When four arrived he continued to make nothing’s life a living hell. Two years after their arrival nothing found a way onto the roof and attempted suicide. Of course there were protections in place. It froze on the ledge. Another attempted theft from four he didn’t take kindly to. Now, it has absolutely no hope in hell of ever doing anything that could threaten its life again and four ensures it keeps on suffering as a slug. Only capable of squirming around the place very slowly.”

“Good. For that one, death is too good for it.”

I stared at M as if he was a different person. Fucking hell, what kind of crime did this slug commit to deserve that?

I nudged M, my tail fixed between my legs.

“I told you about Rex, boy. About what he did to number four. What he would’ve done to number six too if Q hadn’t been online when six found him. He’d’ve killed them both. Attempted suicide, robbing four of his property… Q renamed Rex nothing and gave it to four in compensation for what it did to him, after all.”

Now I got it. My tail shot up. Having experienced the harshest pains the plug could produce I not only understood… I agreed. I nodded.

“Thought you might understand once you knew.”

“What if he doesn’t agree to take the red pill?”

“Blue pill, sir. Is there anything in your pharmacy that can wipe out short term memory? He wakes up in a luxury hotel, fully paid up for a week with no idea how he got there and no knowledge of the shop. I suppose a little… implied corruption wouldn’t go amiss too. Maybe a sum planted in his bank account…”

“That is a little far fetched, M. This isn’t a Hollywood blockbuster. I’ll have a word with my scientists. There may be something that can be done. Very good thought though.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Joel still looked a little concerned. “Sir, what do I tell him if he does come back? If he is a cop it’s unlikely he’s there on his own. He will be reporting in, telling them everything he finds.”

“I know, Joel. What does he know now? That a man in an identical suit to those on display in London was seen there? None of the other slaves were on display in the store. You could say you’ve spoken to him but he won’t be back for another couple of weeks, true, that he acquired the suit in London, true but you have no link to that store. In your case, almost true. Your links are M and I. Invite him back when M is available and then offer him this… Matrix option, ensuring the door’s locked and muscle relaxant is on hand in case he attempts an escape taking neither option.”

“Yes, sir, and his coworkers?”

“I have slaves in the Met. M and Five aren’t the only ones I took. Quite a few fell under my power in the past five years. Corruption and a little blackmail for some. Eager slavery for others. They all have better lives than the ones they would’ve had on their own. They can run interference. Maybe even delete database entries to cover our tracks if need be. It won’t stop them but it would slow them down.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Ah… How about this for an idea. Invite him to be present for the removal of Butch from his dog suit and then its temp one. That should reassure him that the suits can be temporary during the offer.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Just keep him placated until it’s time. Q out.”