2019-07-07 - spike - The New Shop 122

Author: spike
Title: The New Shop 122
Date: 07 July 2019

Chapter 122
I looked at the panel and took a deep breath.

Seventeen gave me a nudge. “What wrong, sir?”

“The… Sorry. Before I was sent away, I was in agony. It was when I’d just got back and set Blank’s program on everyone and stumbled over to control to activate total lockdown, so they couldn’t do anything but take it. The room’s just bringing back bad memories.”

“That hurt a hell of a lot, sir! Why? What did”

I held my hand up to stop him. “You know where I was sent. What they said before the pod that delivered me there was sealed. I thought M had gone power mad. Tried to get rid of me because he saw me as a threat. It was the only explanation I could come up with to explain the hell I was put through. I wanted to warn Q without any interference from any of you. Besides, I was hardly in my right mind at the time, was I? I was barely able to stay conscious and the moment I hit that lock down button, I did pass out. You know what happened after that.”

“Shit, sir! I… Sorry, but why the program? I never”

“Yes, it was to punish everyone for what you did to me. Obviously not you but M wasn’t the only one to say something by that pod before it sealed. Twelve was too so obviously, he’d turned everyone against me. You would’ve been a bit on the paranoid side too if it happened to you, wouldn’t you? I think it likely you’re one of the few who would have been able to survive it. If it was Fourteen or one of the blanks it’d happened to they would’ve died out there. No idea where to go for help.”

He nodded. “Fourteen’s one slave safe from it considering it caused it though.”

“True. OK. I’ve been avoiding it. Time to bite the bullet.” I hit the panel and the door slid open. “Let’s get some work done.”

The room was certainly different this time. Before, just a small room with a desk, computer, printer and water cooler. A whiteboard on one wall, a cork board on the other for the pinning of papers. This time… Let’s just say Q’s handyman had been busy. It was bigger. A long desk with three computers, a much larger old style dot matrix printer with a three foot high stack of fan feed paper and the walls were lined with cork board. Every wall. A couple of whiteboards were in there too, but this time on frames that could be wheeled about.

He must’ve knocked through to rooms three and five to make this much space. What’s more, I suspected we might need it.

The water cooler still sat in the corner and at the far end, a large stationary locker. I went over to it to check. Pens both normal and dry wipe, pins, boxes full of spools of yarn in many different colours. There were also replacement reams of fan feed paper.

I nodded. “We have everything we need.”

Blank glanced in. “What do we need that string for, sir?”

“I imagine the code written by Two will be of the spaghetti variety. We need to trace it and if we pin the sheets up, the yarn can be used to indicate branches. It’ll be a good place to start. Places where a lot of strings converge will be the obvious starting point for turning that section of code into a procedure. Local variables and passed parameters only.” I returned to the desk, sat at the computer and… Another panel. Similar to the one in the library. I tapped it and instantly, my computer sprang to life with a “Welcome Artemis” message written on the wallpaper. One file was present on the desktop, I clicked it and the program appeared.

I hit print and glanced across at the printer to see it spring into life too. I sighed. Saved from the incessant clatter of a dot matrix thanks to my earplugs.

“It’s going to take hours to print out. We might as well get back downstairs.” I selected Beta. “Is the shop floor clear?”

“No, sir. A few customers in right now.”

“OK, tell me when they’re gone so we can come down.”

“Yes, sir.”
* * *
It was time. The last of the blanks had been podded and now it was the turn of M, N and Twelve.

I gave M a hug, shook his hand. “I’ve said it before, but, I’m going to miss you. You saved my life that first day, M.”

He nodded. “And now, finally, I get to see something a few month ago, I thought I never would. It’ll be good to be back with Four and Ten. We will see each other…”

“You know it’s not the same over video, M.” I chuckled and turned to Twelve. “Do you understand the blank better now? Now that you’ve finally had a heart to heart with it?”

He nodded. “I won’t go hard on it anymore. Don’t worry, sir. You were right. We did have a few things in common. My mom hit the roof when she found I was gay and when she saw some of the things I’d been looking at on the internet she… A nuke would’ve been like a firecracker in comparison.”

“And your dad?”

“Silent treatment from then on. He was fine with the gay stuff, it was the bondage and craving to be enslaved he took hard. Saw it as spitting on my ancestor’s graves.”

“And now, you’re going home. Somewhere no-one will judge you for that again because everyone’s in the same situation and loving it. You will too.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And finally, N. It was good, getting to know you. You’re a hunter when you get back.”

“God. I can’t wait!”

“Do you think you’ll be able to control Brutus? Let him know all other dogs are considered prey now?”

“I hope so. How… How did you do it?”

“When I sat there, losing myself I just concentrated on one thing… Moving food. All that matters is moving food, collect moving food. Tyson got the message but he was used to hunting, pulling tails. You did a fair bit of that yourself when stealing the batons, you just need to let him know, that’s the only type of baton you retrieve now.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll be sure to try that. I might need to retain my grip a little.”

I nodded. “Let’s get you three podded.”
* * *
The pods were on their way and we stood before the screen as Q smiled down at us again.

“Progress report, Artemis.”

“Well, I imagine you know M, N, Twelve and all the blanks are now podded and in dispatch, sir.”

“Yes, and the program?”

“We left the printer to it. It’s going to take a long time to print out, sir. I’ll go up and check if the paper needs to be changed after this. We’ll start by pinning it all up tomorrow, sir. Then we should be able to trace its execution paths. Once those are identified we can begin, sir.”

“Very well. For the next week you will split your time between that and training the new golds.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now, have you had any thoughts on how you wish to spend some of this accrued free time?”

“I had a couple of thoughts, sir. Both could be used to benefit you while at the same time offering some enjoyment to myself and a few of the other slaves.”

“Go on?”

“We’ve only been out into the city once as dogs. How about making the dog walks a more… regular occurrence, sir? We could still promote the store while we’re out and it’ll be good for the dogs to get some fresh air. I’m sure Bomber will love it. I’d love it too, but I’m not asking to be Tyson every time. Quite happy to take M’s role as a dog handler too.”

Q chuckled. “You’ve been speaking to Thirteen haven’t you?”

“Not about this, sir. No. Why, sir?”

“That’s what he asked for his boon. To be taken for walkies as Bandit with you, Slasher and Duke.”

“It was? So, that’s going to… Oh god, this should be good, sir. Not just the hunters, but Baron, Bomber and Moonbeam, sir. I think our newest blank might enjoy it too, sir. All furred up until the weather gets too hot, sir. An added benefit, too sir. When it gets warmer out there and I no longer need outer clothing, you could flash special offers on my back, sir. When I’m human anyway.”

“Indeed. That is what the design was for, although, initially it was intended just for the shop. I’ll have Two produce a smartphone app that can send the relevant data to your core so it’ll work away from there. That is likely to be a few weeks away but it won’t be warm enough before then anyway. And the other idea?”

“Fetish fairs, sir. There are a lot of them dotted around the country, sir. Folsom, for example. San Francisco. We might even increase recruitment if we do that. Maybe even capture a few at those fairs if you can put the background checks on hyperdrive, sir.”

“Each day you spend time out of the store as a human and not in a pod will be one day of your free time used. As a dog, though, that will not count against them, it was a boon after all. And those are both excellent ideas. Granted. I’ll begin work on a calendar. You may spend a significant amount of time podded over the next few months.”

I immediately collapsed to my knees and planted my forehead on the floor.

“Very well then. Seventeen.”

He stepped forward.

“You and Blank deal with the printout in the morning. Artemis, you will be busy instructing the new named slaves. You can begin your work on the program when you’ve done. You know the importance of our procedures more than anyone. I will have one of my slaves present himself to you in the morning to use as a demonstration model for the suiting of a new slave. He will remain there as a blank for three months, not that he knows it yet.”

“Yes, sir. Do we know him, sir?”

“I believe you may have met him. He will, as a blank, occasionally be called upon to perform his old duties. Fixing things, making alterations and so on.”

“The handyman, sir? The one who came to install the new OS on Omega’s phone?”

“Yes, him.”

I chuckled. “Oh god, I can’t wait to tell him. The last time we spoke he said he’d wanted into the suit for a long time.”

“Yes, and it’s time he received that reward. You will inform him of the duration after the suit has cured.”

“Gladly, sir. Has he been preparing, sir? Or will he go through the painful adjustments?”

“Arse-wise, prepared. Throat, no, though he has a reputation for being very good at deep throat so it might not be too much of an issue.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll ask him after his night and painful wash, sir. Or rather… Ask it.”

“The key to his chastity should already be there, speak to the Sarge or Alpha for that.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Very well. Q out.”
* * *
I began the next morning by taking all the newly named slaves down to the wet room. We still had a few blanks to put through their wash and flush after all. Moonbeam and the other new permanent slaves. Rocky and its teacher had remained too.

“Right, first rule. Never take short cuts. When you remove the core you put it in its charging port before moving on to the next slave. You never go down the line collecting all the cores. Ever!”

Twenty one put his hand up.

“Yes?”

“Wouldn’t it be quicker?”

“Yes. It would, but were you present in the gym when I beat Fourteen in the ring?”

He shook his head. “I heard, but I was in the dungeon, sir.”

“Fourteen thought it was being more efficient and ended up nearly killing me. I was given the core of another slave. A slave guilty of the most heinous crimes you can imagine. I was marked with a message stating I was the Atlanta school bomber, put in a pod while still frozen after my wash and woke up there. In Atlanta. While there, with that message on my back I was shot, costing me a kidney, run down by a truck shattering my leg and breaking my pelvis, they slit my throat, dumped me in the trash and that was only the start of my hell! Never handle more than one core at a time! The core is the only thing that identifies you and it might be weeks or even months before the error comes to light for a blank. I doubt anything so extreme will happen again but even among the slaves here, the confusion led to Rocky, the blank who’s been held back because it’s dyslexic, being put to work when it should’ve been paired with its teacher for weeks. Medical problems could also lead to someone’s death. What if someone’s allergic to a medicine, gets someone’s core who isn’t and… Well, I think you get the idea.”

“Shit, sir! I”

“It doesn’t matter now. Just learn from Fourteen’s mistake. One core, never more.”

They nodded.

I demonstrated the procedure on a blank and left them to it, they could do each other and the silvers too. Mine could wait a while. It was nearly time for the store to open so I headed up there.

Alpha was behind the counter today, Bomber and Baron wandered the shop floor and Beta was busy adding new stock to one of the displays.

I wandered over to the counter. “So, our friendly neighbourhood handyman’s getting suited… Don’t tell him. I want to be the one who does. I’ll get my leathers on.”

Alpha looked at me, confused. “Why?”

“Oh, you’ll see.” I glanced at the clock, realised I had time and rushed over to my cage to get into the gear, returning once I was dressed. I studied myself in the nearest mirror. Good, no sign of my armband under the shirt’s sleeve.

The moment the clock hit ten, Alpha flipped the switch and another day of business began. Almost immediately the door opened and he walked in and up to the counter.

“Alright, what does Q want to have fixed this time? Normally he just tells me.” He turned to me, craned his neck to see the back of my head and pointed at the elevator. “Blank, cage, now.”

I twiddled at Alpha. “That’s why.”

I could see in Alpha’s eyes a twinkle of mirth.

The handyman stepped in front of me. “What’s why? I gave you an order, Blank.”

“Oh, I’m not a Blank right now.”

“Sir.”

“Yes?”

“What?”

I chuckled and signed. “I knew you’d do that. Last time it was a customer, this time...” I pulled up my sleeve and tapped away. “Soon, you’ll be calling me sir.”

“But”

“The thing you’ve come here to fix today is yourself.”

“But you… Even… But where’s your name? That doesn’t work with blanks! Even so you should still call me sir!”

I pulled open the shirt. “I’m as human as you are right now, but you won’t be much longer.”

His eyes narrowed. “I’ve never seen a gold mark before! What the heck? And how did you know I’d order”

“I did say last time it was a customer. We’ve spoken before. Admittedly last time, I was silver…”

“Fuck… me… Eleven?”

I nodded. “Although, as you can see… Artemis now. Perfect fit for a hunter don’t you think?”

“But how! I’ve always been told gold was the”

“After the hell that happened to me, after everything I’ve done and after giving myself to him when he offered me my freedom, he elevated me again. We’re equals, but not for long.”

“What do you mean? And what did you mean by fix myself?”

“Master’s decided it’s time.”

He stepped back in surprise. “For the suit?”

I nodded.

“I finally get to wear the suit?”

“Get down to the dungeon. We had a shipment out yesterday but we’ve still got a few blanks. With you, ten of them.”

“Fuuuuuuuuuuck! Oh god, I’ve been wanting this for”

“For years, I know. You told me last time. I’ll follow, once I’ve collected all the gear for you. You’re going to be a demonstration model for the newbies, show them how it’s done from the outside.”

A grin wider than the Cheshire cat, he bolted to the back of the store, dug a card out of his pocket, yanked the mirror open and tapped the card on the panel. The elevator opened and he was gone.

“I see what you mean. Did he really order a customer to the cages? When was that?”

“You were still a blank at the time. Joel was keeping shop. The customer was Luke. His first time in the suit. Where is he right now anyway? He normally helps during the week, doesn’t he?”

Alpha shrugged. “Apparently, they’ve got a bit more work for him at the bar. Some event soon. Got to put up decorations and get the place organised for it.”

I nodded. “I’ll get the kit together. See you later. Once this is done, back to room one for the rest of the day. Oh, Q said you should have the key to his chastity.”

Alpha nodded and rang up something on the cash register. A rummage in the tray, he handed me the key.

“Thanks. See you later.” I selected all the named newbs. “Meet me in the dungeon.”
* * *
When I got there, the blank was ready and waiting, secured to the bondage chair and utterly immobile.

“All right everyone, Gather round. This is what you do…” I held up two packets of earplugs. “These, in the red packet are permanent. Once they’ve been inserted and activated, nothing’ll get them out. They embed themselves into your ear canal. These, in the green packet, are safe for use on people in temporary suits. Instead of implanting themselves, they expand to block out unwanted sound and can be removed quite easily.”

One of them put his hand up. I rotated my finger to indicate he turn his head. He did.

“Yes, Nineteen?”

“I… Sorry, sir, but… I’m colour blind. One looks a little darker but otherwise…”

“You’ll have to be more observant and read the packets then. They’re in different places in storage anyway, I’ll show you where everything’s kept later.”

“Yes, sir.”

Mouth brace, nose tubes, a squirt of the painkiller, the tubes down the throat and the gag inserted, the next thing to do, I also highlighted the importance of.

“As with the earplugs, these sealants are the same. This one… Red, permanent. This one, green, safe and removable. The packages marked in blue contain the solvent we used to remove them. Without it, it is permanent.”

They nodded as I demonstrated pumping the sealant into the throat tubes and gag, sealing the googles, nose and mouth tubes to the suit, doing the same with the plug after releasing the blank and demonstrating its anal addition.

“Thirty minutes for the suit to cure and it’s in it for as long as my master wishes. Nothing will get it off.”

Blank nodded and twiddled. “Has he said how long, sir?”

“Yes.”

“How long, sir?”

“Oh, you’ll find out. After the suit’s been cured.”