Chapter Nine

Marcus stood at the head of a wide wooden table in the center of the warehouse and traced a path across a sprawling architectural blueprint with his index finger. A dozen women gathered around the planning station to listen. Emma stood near the back of the group in a plain black cotton t-shirt and dark jeans. The casual clothing offered a stark contrast to the extreme physical modifications she could no longer hide. Her twenty-four-inch waist curved sharply beneath the fabric, pushing her synthetic-looking breasts forward into a prominent display that stretched the cotton tight. She balanced on six-inch black stilettos, the extreme footwear serving as a necessary aid, since her permanently shortened leg tendons made it an agonizing impossibility to place her heels flat on the ground. Her red lips sat permanently swollen into a prominent pout that drew the eye of anyone who looked in her direction.

“We have finally mapped out the entire subterranean level of the CuffTech facility,” Marcus announced to the room. “The stolen data gave us the exact blueprints we need to end Operation SmartChip before the Trojan is released. We’re going to target the primary server room.”

A flutter of nervous anticipation moved through the gathered women.

“What exactly are we looking for down there?” Emma asked. “I know that server room contains the main processing units for the entire network, but I don’t understand how attacking it stops the nationwide rollout.”

Marcus looked up from the blueprint and met her gaze. “The central server room houses a physical override switch. It is a manual fail-safe designed to fry the mainframe in the event of a total security breach. If we trigger that switch, the resulting power surge will eradicate the entire network. It will brick the SmartChips before the activation signal can ever be sent to the male population. It will also deactivate every single SmartCollar and SmartGag currently in operation across the country.”

“That gives us a fighting chance to build a real resistance,” Caitlin added from her spot beside her husband. “We’ll never get the opportunity to expose this government and the corporations working with it if every man in the nation is working for them. This is our only opportunity.”

“The government will be handicapped immediately,” Marcus explained, pointing to a central node on the schematic. “They rely entirely on the CuffTech network to monitor the collars. Taking out the mainframe cuts the head off the snake. The entire grid goes dark, and we have a real chance to fight back.”

“I’ll go in and press the button,” Emma volunteered, stepping up to the edge of the table. “It’s the same room I accessed when I stole the data for Marcus. I know the layout better than anyone here, so it should be me who goes in.”

Marcus shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, Emma, but I can’t let you do that. It is far too risky.”

“Why is it risky?” Emma asked. “I’ve already done it once.”

Marcus gestured to her body. “You’re far too recognizable now. The permanent modifications Carlos Mendez forced onto your body make you impossible to hide. Every guard in that facility knows your face and your exact proportions. They know you vanished after the raid on your apartment, and you’re currently a high-profile fugitive.”

Emma placed a hand on her hip. “I can wear a disguise. There are plenty of ways to get me in.”

“It’ll be too difficult to hide your chest,” Marcus replied, briefly glancing at the two mounds protruding beneath the t-shirt. “If you set foot inside that lobby and they find you, your days of freedom will be over.”

“And this isn’t just about you,” Caitlin added. “If security catches you, the entire operation fails, and we won’t get another chance to stop the chip rollout. We have to think about the bigger picture.”

“So who do you suggest goes in instead?” Emma asked, crossing her arms and feeling the uncomfortable shift of her enhanced bust.

“Caitlin and I will execute the mission,” Marcus stated. “We’re going to use fake credentials to enter CuffTech as a visiting executive and his slave. Security is trained not to ask too many questions when high-ranking men and their slaves enter the building, and we think we can exploit that.”

Emma frowned and uncrossed her arms. “Seriously? Have you forgotten that you’re both fugitives too, and you’ve never even been down in the basement? This plan is way more risky.”

Marcus leaned over the table and planted his hands on the blueprints. “Caitlin has been registered as my slave for years, and she’s had to be subjected to the touches of the most vile men I’ve interacted with. If anyone can pull off a disguise and still act like a genuine slave, it’s Caitlin.”

Emma shifted her weight on her stilettos and felt a sharp ache in her shortened tendons. She had sacrificed her dignity on a dirty server room floor to steal this exact information. She endured agonizing physical changes that she still carried today just to give them this chance. Now, the people she risked everything to help were treating her like a liability.

“I trained half the slaves in that facility,” Emma argued. “I know exactly how to act like one if you need a disguise. You’re throwing away our best advantage.”

Marcus stood up straight and gave her a stern look. “The decision has already been made. We’re executing the plan tomorrow morning, and we’re doing it the way I’ve written it up.”

Emma glared at him, her chest rising and falling rapidly beneath her black shirt. The dismissal stung worse than the pain in her legs. She refused to stand in a dusty warehouse and let them dictate what she could and could not do.

“You’re making a terrible mistake here, Marcus,” Emma told him.

“We’re done discussing this,” Marcus replied sternly. “The topic is closed.”

Emma let out a wail of frustration, turned her back, and walked toward the warehouse exit. The sharp clicks of her six-inch heels echoed across the concrete floor as she put distance between herself and the group.

“Where are you going?” Marcus called out. “You can’t just walk out. You’re a wanted woman!”

“I need to clear my head,” Emma answered without stopping.

Marcus took a step forward to pursue her. “Emma…”

Caitlin reached out and placed a hand on her husband’s arm, stopping him in his tracks. “Let her go, Marcus. She’s upset, and she needs some space to process everything. She’ll come back when she cools off.”

Emma pushed the metal exit door open and stepped out into the cool evening air. She left the rebel hub behind her and headed toward the quiet isolation of the waterfront.

❖

Emma walked away from the warehouse and navigated the uneven wooden boards of the deserted docks. The cold night air washed over her face and provided a small distraction from the irritation boiling inside her chest. She pulled her dark jeans and black t-shirt tighter around her altered frame to ward off the chill. She felt completely sidelined by the very people she had risked everything to help. Marcus and Caitlin were treating her as a liability rather than the asset she truly was. They expected her to wait quietly in the shadows while they executed the most critical phase of the operation.

She walked past rows of stacked shipping containers and tried to calm her racing thoughts. Marcus was a fool for thinking they would get past security without her. He had never worked inside the CuffTech facility. He did not know how unpredictable the guards could be during certain times of day. Emma knew the security changeovers by heart. She knew exactly which blind spots to exploit in the sub-basement corridors. She was the most qualified person to infiltrate that building and press the override switch. Marcus was letting his overbearing paternal instincts ruin their only opportunity to destroy the network.

The waterfront was entirely isolated at this hour. Emma paused her walk and listened to the dark water lapping against the wooden pylons. She heard a distinct sound against the wooden boards behind her. She stopped completely and turned her head to check the path she had just taken. The area appeared completely empty. She convinced herself that the old docks were simply settling and continued her walk. Another footstep sounded a few moments later. The noise was much closer this time. She quickened her pace and kept her eyes trained forward. She knew she was taking a risk storming out and roaming the docks alone after everything she had just been through, but it was only now that she wondered if she’d made a huge mistake.

A shadow shifted near the edge of a large crate to her left. Emma turned her head just as a figure lunged from the darkness. A thick arm wrapped securely around her torso and yanked her backward. She opened her mouth to scream for help, but a leather-gloved hand clamped firmly over her face. The attacker forced her forward and pinned her chest against the cold side of the shipping container. He grabbed her wrists and wrenched her arms behind her back with brutal quickness. Steel cuffs snapped around her wrists and locked into place before she could even process the assault. She twisted her shoulders and tried to kick backward with her stilettos, but her attacker used his superior size to hold her perfectly still.

“You really shouldn’t be wandering the docks all by yourself,” a familiar voice whispered in her ear.

Emma froze as the realization washed over her. She knew that condescending tone perfectly. The man released his grip on her mouth and grabbed her shoulders to turn her around. She found herself standing face to face with Tristan Duke. Her stepbrother wore a dark jacket and a smug grin that made her feel sick. What the hell was he doing here?

“Tristan?” Emma gasped. “What are you doing? Let me go!”

“I don’t think so,” Tristan replied. “You’ve caused our family a lot of trouble over the past few weeks. Dad was furious when the authorities raided your apartment and found out you were involved in corporate treason. He spent a fortune trying to distance his business from your mess after he was questioned.”

“I don’t care about Gregory or his business,” Emma fired back. “Unlock these cuffs.”

“I don’t think you’re in a position to give orders anymore, sis,” Tristan chuckled as he took a leisurely step back to look her over. “I have to admit that you look so much better these days. You finally look like the brainless bimbo I always knew you were inside. I’m glad someone at CuffTech had the sense to put you in your place. I mean, a female slave trainer? That’s laughable.”

He closed the distance between them and reached out to grab her breasts through the cotton fabric. He squeezed the large, enhanced mounds aggressively and kneaded the soft flesh with a total sense of entitlement. Emma thrashed her upper body and tried to pull away from his touch, but the cuffs kept her hands bound securely behind her back. Tristan dug his fingers into her cleavage and pushed her tits together to enjoy the degrading display.

“Get off me, you freak,” Emma shouted.

“Or what?” Tristan grinned. “You’re a wanted woman now, and you have no rights. I can do whatever I want with you, and no one will ever care.”

He moved his hands down her torso and traced the exaggerated curve of her cinched waist. He gripped her hips and pulled her lower body flush against his legs to demonstrate his control over her. Emma glared at him and refused to show the fear bubbling up inside her chest. She knew she had to keep him talking until she could figure out a way to escape this nightmare.

“You won’t get away with this,” Emma said. “I know some pretty powerful people.”

“Powerful?” Tristan laughed mockingly. “Are they more powerful than the government, or law enforcement?”

He reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a sharp pocket knife. Emma gasped and tried to press her back flat against the corrugated metal behind her. Tristan grabbed the neckline of her cotton t-shirt and dragged the blade downward in one swift motion. The sharp edge parted the fabric with ease. He tore the ruined shirt open and ripped it past her bound wrists, leaving her upper body completely exposed. The cool air washed over her bare skin and caused her to shiver immediately.

“Look at these things,” Tristan said with a cruel smile. “They look totally fake, and they feel incredible.”

He dropped to one knee and hooked a finger into the waistband of her jeans. He ran the blade down the outside seam of her leg and cut the denim apart. He repeated the action on the other side and peeled the ruined material away from her body. The strips of fabric dropped to the wooden boards. Emma stood completely naked with nothing but the steel cuffs on her wrists and the stilettos on her feet. She gasped in short breaths as panic fully set in.

“You’re a disgusting pig,” Emma spat.

“Maybe, but I’m going to be a very wealthy man,” Tristan corrected her as he stood back up and folded his knife. “You’re sitting at the very top of the FBI’s most wanted list right now. The government is offering a huge financial payout for your safe return. I could buy a private island with the reward money they placed on your head.”

“I’m your family, you pig!” Emma cried out as she struggled against her cuffs. “You’d turn your own family in?”

“You’ve always told me that we aren’t proper family,” Tristan replied with a careless shrug. “Dad told me I should go look for you before someone else gets their claws into you. When that beta cuck, Marcus, escaped the precinct, I just followed him, and he led me straight to you.”

“Then you know I’m not alone,” Emma lied, trying to project a confidence she did not actually feel. “We have an army of resistance fighters around the corner. I would get out of here if I were you.”

“Your friends will be wiped out soon enough, Emma,” Tristan mocked. “They can’t save you from me. I’m gonna claim that cash reward, or perhaps the authorities will be so grateful for my help that they offer you to me as my personal slave instead. I think you’d make a very entertaining pet to keep around my apartment.”

“I’ll never let that happen!” the brunette snapped back.

“You won’t be able to do much of anything once I train you,” Tristan laughed. “But I think that’s enough talking for one lifetime, don’t you think?”

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a large red ball gag. He stepped forward and forced the hard plastic sphere between the former slave trainer’s teeth. Emma tried to keep her mouth closed, but he pinched her jaw until she yielded. He pushed the large ball deep into her mouth and pulled the thick leather straps around the back of her head. He buckled the straps tight and locked the gag into place. Her swollen lips stretched obscenely around the plastic sphere to create a humiliating picture of submission.

“Mmmphhh!” Emma protested loudly.

Tristan ignored her muffled cries and produced a black collar from his pocket. He wrapped the device around her neck and secured the locking mechanism at the back. The collar sat snug against her throat. He pulled a small key from his pocket and unlocked the steel cuffs on her wrists. Emma brought her hands forward immediately and rubbed her sore wrists. She balled her hands into fists and prepared to strike him, but she did not get the chance.

Tristan pulled a small remote control from his pocket and pressed a button. A sharp electrical shock ripped through the black collar and burned directly into her neck. Emma screamed through the gag and dropped to her knees in pure agony. The electricity continued to flow through her body without pausing. Her muscles convulsed as the intense pain radiated down her spine. She fell forward and planted her hands flat on the wooden planks of the dock to stop herself from collapsing entirely. The agonizing shock ceased the exact moment she dropped to all fours.

Emma panted through her nose and tried to catch her breath. The pain had drained the strength from her limbs. She slowly raised her head to look up at her stepbrother and gauge his reaction. Another brutal shock fired from the collar the instant her chin lifted past a certain angle. She whimpered and dropped her head back down toward the wooden boards. The pain vanished once her head was lowered again.

“That’s a state-of-the-art pet training collar,” Tristan explained with obvious delight. “It has built-in height sensors that monitor your position at all times. If you raise your head too high or try to stand up on two legs, it’ll shock you until you correct your posture. You belong on your hands and knees from now on, slut.”

Tristan pulled a leather leash from his jacket and attached the metal clip to the ring on her new collar. He gave the leash a sharp tug and started walking toward the desolate street leading away from the docks. Emma had no choice but to follow him. She crawled forward on her hands and knees across the rough wooden boards. Her naked breasts swayed with every humiliating movement while her red lips remained stretched wide around the gag. She was entirely at his mercy, and as the warehouse began to get further away, she knew she was in trouble.

❖

Tristan led his collared and gagged stepsister down the desolate main street of the warehouse district. He walked at a leisurely pace and held the thick leather leash tightly in his right hand. Emma crawled on her hands and knees behind him across the coarse asphalt. The strict sensors built into the black collar around her neck forced her to maintain a perfectly horizontal alignment. If she lifted her head too high or tried to shift her weight upward, a sharp warning prick of electricity would bite into her skin. The constant threat of agonizing pain kept her completely subservient as she navigated the rough pavement.

The night air bit at her bare skin and caused goosebumps to form across her exposed flesh. She was completely naked aside from the black stilettos on her feet and the bondage equipment restricting her head and throat. Her large bosom swayed freely beneath her with every forward movement she made. She followed her captor obediently because her body simply could not endure another round of electrical shocks.

“Keep up the pace,” Tristan ordered without looking back. “I want to hand you over before the precinct closes to the public.”

“Mmmphhh!” Emma whined through the hard plastic sphere.

“You really brought this on yourself,” Tristan told her, giving the leash a sharp yank that forced her to crawl a little faster. “You used to walk around CuffTech like you didn’t understand the order of things. You enjoyed putting other women in their place and treating them like animals. Now look at you. You’re crawling down a public street on a leash like a stray dog. Men were born to lead, and women were born to serve. I’m glad you understand that now.”

Emma felt a hot flush of shame burn her cheeks. She focused her eyes on the back of his dark jacket and kept her hands moving forward. The street bit into her palms and scraped against her bare knees, but she ignored the discomfort. She knew she had made a terrible mistake storming out of the rebel safe house. Marcus and Caitlin had only tried to protect her from this exact scenario. She had let her pride blind her to the reality of the danger outside those walls.

Tristan stopped walking suddenly and turned around to face her. Emma halted her crawl immediately and kept her head bowed low to appease the sensors in her collar. She sank back slightly onto her calves to give her sore palms a brief rest.

“I think Dad would pay a fortune just to see a picture of this,” Tristan gloated. “He always said you needed a strong hand to correct your attitude. I bet he would buy you from the authorities the second they put you up for auction. He would probably keep you in that exact position at the foot of his armchair right next to Poppy.” The young man pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Here, let’s take a selfie together for him.”

Tristan crouched down on the asphalt right next to her and angled the camera so they were both in the frame. Emma turned her face away to hide her shame from the lens. Tristan grabbed her chin and forced her head back toward the phone. He warned her that if she fought him, he would press the button on his remote and let the collar fry her throat manually. Emma swallowed her pride and held perfectly still. Her permanently swollen lips stretched around the red plastic sphere while Tristan flashed a wide smile. He snapped the photograph and laughed out loud at the result.

“That is definitely going to be my new favorite picture,” Tristan told her as he stood back up. “Dad is gonna love it.”

He tucked the cell phone back into his dark jacket and wrapped the leather leash securely around his hand. He gave the strap a sharp tug to signal the end of her brief rest. Emma pushed herself up off her calves and resumed her humiliating crawl down the empty street. She focused on the steady click of her hated brother’s shoes beside her and tried to block out the reality of her situation. She was a naked fugitive, wanted for treason, on a dog leash, and her stepbrother was about to hand her over to a corrupt police force.

They traveled for another five minutes in complete silence. The warehouse district remained entirely devoid of other people or passing vehicles. Emma hoped one of the rebels would step in and save her, but nobody came to her rescue. She felt a deep sense of despair settle in her stomach. She had ruined her position in the rebel group because she could not handle being told no.

“We’re almost there,” Tristan announced cheerfully. “The precinct is just at the end of this block. I bet they’re going to be very surprised when I walk through those front doors holding the most wanted woman in the country on a leash.”

“Mmmmm mmmphhh!” Emma tried to plead once more.

Tristan stopped walking and pulled the leash taut to force her to halt. He turned around and looked down at her with a smug expression of total victory. Emma stared up at him from her position on the ground and felt a tear slip down her cheek. She was entirely out of options. The police station was mere minutes away, and her life as a free woman was officially over.

“I really am going to enjoy spending that reward money,” the young man gloated.

He opened his mouth to deliver another insulting remark, but he never got the chance to finish his thought. A man stepped silently from the shadows of an alleyway directly behind him. The stranger raised a wooden baseball bat high into the air and swung it forward with brutal force. The solid wood connected with the back of Tristan’s skull with a sickening thud.

Tristan’s eyes rolled back into his head, and his knees buckled instantly. He collapsed onto the asphalt like a discarded piece of trash and dropped the leather leash from his grip. He lay perfectly motionless on the street.

Emma gasped through her gag and scrambled backward on her hands and knees. She looked up at the figure standing over her stepbrother’s unconscious body and felt a surge of overwhelming relief wash away her terror. Marcus lowered the wooden bat and stepped over Tristan to reach her.

“I told you it wasn’t safe out here,” Marcus said softly as he dropped to his knees in front of her.

He reached behind her head and swiftly unbuckled the thick leather straps holding the gag in place. He pulled the red plastic sphere from her mouth and tossed it onto the street. Emma worked her jaw and swallowed hard to moisten her dry throat. Marcus immediately moved his hands to the black collar around her neck. He inspected the locking mechanism for a brief second before pressing a sequence of buttons on the side of the device. The electronic beep signaled that the posture sensors were disarmed. He unclasped the collar and pulled it away from her skin.

“I’m so sorry, Marcus,” Emma cried as she lunged forward and threw her arms around his neck. “You were completely right. I was acting like a stupid child, and I almost ruined everything.”

Marcus wrapped his arms around her bare shoulders and held her tight. “You don’t need to apologize to me. We should have consulted you before making the plan. I’m glad I got to you in time.”

“I should’ve never left the warehouse,” Emma sobbed against his shoulder. “Tristan ambushed me at the docks and forced me to crawl all the way here. He was about to hand me over to the police.”

“He isn’t going to hand you over to anyone,” Marcus assured her as he rubbed her back gently. “Fortunately, the crawl marks you left on the ground made it easy to track you. I’d been tailing you for 15 minutes, but I had to wait for the right moment to strike.”

Emma pulled back and looked at his face. “Thank you for saving me.”

“Don’t mention it. We’re in this together,” Marcus replied with a small smile. “Now we need to get up and get moving. He’ll wake up soon, and my guess is that he’ll head straight to the precinct to report on your whereabouts.”

Marcus stood up and offered her his hand. Emma placed her palm in his and allowed him to pull her to her feet. She stood naked in the cold air on her stilettos, but she no longer felt vulnerable. She gripped his hand tightly, and the two of them hurried away from the unconscious man, rushing back toward the safety of the rebel warehouse.

❖

Marcus stood before the gathered female rebels in the center of the warehouse and folded his arms across his chest. The women quieted down quickly to give him their full attention.

“We move out tomorrow morning,” Marcus announced to the room. “The plan is straightforward. We managed to get a forged executive profile uploaded to CuffTech. Caitlin and I are using a disguise to walk through the front doors, get past the front desk, and then find a quiet stairwell so we can slip down into the basement levels.”

A murmur of nervous anticipation moved through the crowd.

“The front desk guards expect executives to act entitled,” Marcus explained. “They expect those men to flaunt their wealth and their property. That is exactly what we are going to give them. I will be bringing my slave in with me to complete the disguise. It gives the guards something else to look at and stops them from asking too many questions.”

Marcus turned his head and nodded toward the back corridor of the warehouse. Emma stepped out of the shadows and led another woman into the main staging area. Emma wore a simple white t-shirt and loose black jogging pants. She was relieved to be out of her birthday suit, and back into the sensible attire Marcus had provided her with. She kept a firm grip on the arm of the woman walking beside her and guided her into the center of the circle for everyone to see.

Caitlin stepped into the open space completely naked. She wore unattached metal cuffs secured tightly around her wrists and her ankles. A matching metal collar circled her neck and fastened securely at the back of her throat. A black latex hood covered her head entirely and cascaded down to her collarbone to conceal her identity. The dark, shiny fabric featured strategically placed cutouts that left only her eyes and her lips visible to the outside world. A black ball gag filled her mouth and stretched her lips apart, the leather straps disappearing beneath the hood to hold the device in place. She stood quietly beside Emma and kept her eyes trained on the floor.

Marcus cleared his throat and subtly adjusted his pants as he took in the sight of his wife in the degrading attire. He tried hard to play it cool in front of the group, but the visual impact of her total anonymity clearly affected him.

“My beautiful wife will play the part of the obedient pet,” Marcus stated, forcing his voice to remain steady. “The hood keeps her in disguise, and the guards won’t bother to scan her as she’s entering with me. Once we get downstairs, we’ll locate the server room and hit the switch.”

“Mmmphhh,” Caitlin agreed softly through the black ball gag.

The only man in the warehouse opened his mouth to continue detailing the plan, but a frantic shout stopped him short. A woman sprinted through the front corridor and waved her arms wildly to grab everyone’s attention.

“Run!” the woman screamed at the top of her lungs. “Everyone run!”

Deafening explosions hit the exterior walls of the warehouse before anyone could ask any questions. The concussive blasts shattered the windows and sent a shower of glass raining across the concrete floor. The front doors blew inward with incredible force and ripped free from their metal hinges. A fully armed SWAT team breached the building in a synchronized wave of violence.

Thick white smoke billowed into the staging area from the deployed flashbangs. The acrid chemical smell burned the back of Emma’s throat instantly. Gunfire erupted from the front entrance as the tactical officers fired warning shots into the ceiling and ordered everyone to surrender. Total chaos consumed the hub. The women screamed and scattered in every direction to avoid the invading strike force.

Marcus sprinted forward and grabbed Emma by the shoulder. He pulled her away from the center of the room and directed her toward the more private rear area. He waved his other arm frantically to gather a group of fleeing women and pointed toward a specific section of the floorboards.

“To the tunnel!” the man shouted over the gunfire.

He kicked a disguised wooden latch and pulled a large section of the flooring upward to reveal a concealed tunnel system he had designed for this exact scenario. The narrow passageway plunged directly into the dark earth beneath the building. Emma didn’t hesitate. She dropped to her hands and knees and scrambled into the dark opening. Her top brushed against the dirt walls as she hurried to make room for the others.

The rest of the group pushed toward the escape route. The blinding smoke completely ruined their visibility and turned the organized retreat into a panicked stampede. The SWAT officers pushed deeper into the warehouse and began tackling the fleeing women to the floor. The sounds of a struggle echoed through the smoke as the authorities secured their targets.

Marcus shoved the last two rebels down into the hole and jumped in right behind them. He pulled the wooden floorboards shut and plunged the tunnel into total darkness. The sounds of the raid became muffled, but the threat remained very real.

“Keep moving forward!” Marcus yelled from the back of the line. “Do not stop until you reach the exit grate!”

Emma crawled blindly through the dirt tunnel and focused on the desperate need to survive. She bumped into the woman ahead of her several times as the group navigated the tight turns and structural supports. The enclosed space felt suffocating, and the lack of oxygen made her lungs burn with every breath. She pushed through the discomfort and followed the twisting path until she finally saw the night sky shining through a metal grate ahead.

She reached the end of the tunnel and pushed the loose grate aside. She climbed out into a narrow alleyway situated two blocks away from the compromised warehouse. The brunette stood up and brushed the dirt from her pants while she waited for the rest of the group to emerge.

Marcus climbed out of the hole a few seconds later and rushed over to her side. He turned around and looked back at the open grate as he tried to catch his breath. The alleyway remained silent. No one else climbed out of the tunnel.

“Where are the others?” Emma asked.

“I don’t know,” the man answered while he stared into the dark opening. “They were right in front of me when we dropped down. They must have taken a wrong turn in the dark.”

Emma looked around the empty alleyway and realized the devastating truth. The group had been separated in the dark. The other women were gone, and Caitlin was not with them. She hadn’t seen the naked woman enter the tunnel, and she could have possibly been captured by the federal agents, or perhaps worse.

Marcus dropped to his knees on the pavement and buried his face in his hands. A sob tore from his throat as the reality of losing his wife crushed him. He had spent years building as safe an environment for his enslaved wife, and it had all been destroyed in a matter of minutes.

Emma knelt beside him and placed a comforting hand on his back. She didn’t offer any empty platitudes or false hopes. She knew exactly what the authorities did to women who opposed the government.

Marcus took a deep breath and lowered his hands. He wiped the tears from his eyes, and his expression hardened into a mask of determination.

“I’m going to press that kill switch myself,” Marcus vowed. “I’ll fry their entire fucking network, and then I’m going to do whatever it takes to find her and bring her back.”

“You still need help,” Emma told him softly. “You need to look the part, and you need someone who knows the building.”

The man looked at her and shook his head.

“I’ll take Caitlin’s place,” Emma volunteered without hesitation. “I’ll wear the disguise and act as your slave. We don’t have many other options at this point.”

Marcus stared at the brunette with a slight shake of his head. He didn’t like the idea of taking Emma into the one place where she was likely the most vulnerable, but she was right. With Caitlin gone, he didn’t have many to turn to. They had no other options left if they wanted to stop that Trojan horse from going live.

Marcus nodded slowly and accepted her offer. “Alright,” he said. “It’s time to get you suited up.”

❖

Marcus and Emma approached the automated glass doors of the CuffTech headquarters just as the morning commute began to peak. This was the first time Emma had set foot inside the corporate building since she fled her ruined apartment and became a wanted fugitive. A sudden wave of intense anxiety washed over her as the doors parted to grant them access. Before the implemented female uniform policy, the brunette used to stride across this polished lobby floor with complete confidence, believing the world couldn’t touch her because of her exemption license. She had built her entire career in this facility as a proud, independent woman. Now she was returning as the lowest form of property imaginable, sneaking through the front door while hoping her disguise would hold up against the company’s security protocols.

She focused on the physical sensations of her disguise to distract herself from the rising panic. A restrictive latex mask encased her entire head and draped over her shoulders to hide any recognizable facial features. Precise circular openings in the dark material exposed her blue eyes and the artificially swollen red pout of her mouth. A thick rubber ball occupied her oral cavity and forced her jaws wide open. The leather securing straps sat completely hidden under the smooth cowl to hold the device firmly in place. Steel cuffs encircled her wrists and ankles, functioning purely as visual markers of submission. A sturdy steel ring locked around her throat to anchor the leather leash in Marcus’s grip.

She wore tall black ballet heels to accommodate her shortened tendons. The extreme footwear served a vital purpose, as the shoes bridged the gap between her arched feet and the ground, allowing her to walk alongside Marcus without stumbling. The rest of her body was completely bare and exposed to the elements. The minimal disguise put her cinched waist and her totally fake DD-cup breasts on full display for anyone passing by to see, and the men walking past were more than happy to look.

Marcus stood tall and projected pure dominance as he navigated the crowded space. He walked with his shoulders squared and kept the leather leash taut in his hand. He ignored the people around him and acted with the supreme entitlement expected of a high-ranking executive visiting the facility. He masked his own appearance with a salt-and-pepper wig, a pair of glasses, and a fake goatee beard, and so far the disguise appeared to hold up. He did not rush his steps or glance nervously around the room. The man played the role as perfectly as he could to ensure no one questioned his presence or the naked woman following behind him.

Despite her revulsion at conforming to the role, Emma played the part of the obedient pet with practiced devotion as they crossed the floor. Her torturous weekend with Luke had taught her a few things about how a slave should really act, and she used every piece of her knowledge to sell the role. She kept her head bowed and focused her vision on the tiles to avoid making accidental eye contact with the passing employees. She didn’t sway her hips excessively or attempt to draw unwarranted attention. She simply existed as a quiet piece of property trailing closely behind her owner. She trusted her disguise to hide her true identity from the people she used to manage.

The pair approached the armed security checkpoint guarding the entrance to the elevator banks. Two security officers stood behind a wide podium, casually checking the line and granting the employees access. Marcus stopped directly in front of the desk. He reached into his jacket pocket and presented his forged identification card to the guard standing on the left side of the podium.

“Good morning,” Marcus said in a confident tone. “I’m here for a specialized consultation.”

The guard took the plastic card and swiped it through the computer system. He looked up from his monitor and stared directly at the naked woman standing beside the executive. Emma felt her heart race against her chest. She prayed the latex mask provided enough coverage to fool the trained professional. She worried the man might recognize her striking blue eyes or the specific shape of her enlarged chest. She stood perfectly still and forced her breathing to remain slow and steady.

The security guard didn’t recognize the former chief trainer standing right in front of him, despite the fact that she had passed this checkpoint thousands of times before. His eyes bypassed her concealed features entirely and traveled slowly down her exposed body. He noticed her bare breasts, and grinned widely. His gaze eventually traveled back up to her face and locked onto the only feature left uncovered by the mask. He stared openly at the glossy red lips stretched obscenely around the plastic sphere.

“I have to say, sir, you have a very beautiful pet,” the security guard remarked casually. “I can only imagine how fuckable those lips must be when you finally take that gag out of her mouth.”

Emma bit down hard on the rubber ball and forced herself to remain entirely passive. She had always hated the way men felt like they had the right to speak so casually about women in public, but if there was ever a time to hold her tongue, this was it. She accepted the crude objectification and played her part.

“Mmmphhh,” Emma whimpered softly through the gag.

Marcus tightened his grip on the leather leash and forced a polite smile onto his face. He knew he had to join in on the misogynistic joke to avoid raising suspicion.

“That’s how they were designed,” Marcus agreed with a tight grin. “Perhaps when I’ve concluded my business here this morning, I’ll let you take a test drive. Cuntface here loves being introduced to new friends.”

The guard laughed at the offer and handed the plastic identification card back across the wide podium.

“I just might take you up on that,” the uniformed man replied with an eager grin. “You have a great day, sir.”

The computer monitor on the desk displayed a green confirmation screen. The security system verified the doctored credentials. The disguise worked exactly as intended, and the guards had no reason to suspect the hooded slave of being a wanted woman.

“You’re cleared for entry,” the second guard announced from his side of the checkpoint. “Keep your card with you at all times, sir. We have been operating with heightened security levels over the last couple of days since the SmartChip launch.”

“Thank you for your assistance,” Marcus nodded as he tucked the card back into his jacket pocket.

He casually groped Emma’s bare breast before giving the leather leash a gentle tug as he led Emma past the humored armed officers. They walked through the security turnstiles and entered the corridor leading toward the elevators. Emma absently bit against her gag as the man touched her, whilst simultaneously breathing a sigh of relief. They were in.

The pair walked in silence until they reached the designated elevator bank. Marcus pressed the call button, and the metal doors slid open. He guided his disguised companion into the empty car and selected the button for the subterranean floors. The doors closed shut and sealed them inside the private space. The elevator began its descent into the basement of the building, carrying the two rebels toward the server room and the physical override switch that would determine the fate of the entire country.

❖

The metal doors of the elevator slid open to reveal a long corridor painted in stark white. Marcus stepped out into the hallway and gave the leather leash a firm tug to prompt his disguised companion forward. Emma followed him out of the car and stepped onto the pristine tiles. The subterranean levels of the CuffTech headquarters were silent. The bustling energy of the morning commute happening in the main lobby didn’t penetrate this deep into the earth.

Emma shuddered as she looked down the empty passage. It was the very first time she had been down in this specific sector since she dropped to her knees and gave an IT technician a blowjob in order to buy his silence. She had traded her self-respect that day to keep her secrets hidden, and it felt like a lifetime ago. She pushed the degrading memory out of her mind and focused on her surroundings. She knew the basement layout intimately from her years working in the building. She took a step to the left to guide her handler toward the correct intersection. Marcus understood the silent cue and led her down the hallway.

They walked past several locked doors on their way through. The area remained devoid of other people. The lack of foot traffic made sense to the former trainer, as the automated systems required very little human oversight during the early morning hours. She had wondered if more personnel would be on hand to man the area during the important tech launch, but that appeared not to be the case. They turned a final corner and arrived in front of a wide steel door marked with restricted access warnings. This was the primary server room.

Marcus reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved his ID card. He pressed the plastic against the digital reader mounted on the wall. The locking mechanism clicked open loudly. Marcus pushed the door open and ushered Emma inside the room. He stepped in right behind her and pulled the door shut. The deadbolt engaged automatically to lock them inside the secure space.

Marcus immediately dropped the leather leash and reached for the black latex hood covering the brunette’s head.

“Hold still,” the man whispered.

He gripped the bottom edge of the restrictive material and pulled it upward. The cowl slid over her hair and freed her head from the dark enclosure. Marcus tossed the latex hood onto a nearby metal desk and reached for the straps securing her gag. He unbuckled the leather bands and pulled the rubber ball from her mouth.

Emma worked her jaw from side to side to relieve the sharp ache in her facial muscles. She rubbed her swollen, red lips with her fingertips.

“Thank you,” Emma said with a sigh of profound relief. “I have no idea how slaves live like this 24/7. I wish we’d have brought a spare set of clothes, though.” She glanced down at her outrageously naked body as she sighed.

“You know we couldn’t risk bringing anything unnecessary in,” Marcus explained. “You did great out there, though. You’re a natural slave.”

Emma narrowed her eyes and scowled at the man’s teasing. “Whatever,” she said, crossing her arms over her buoyant breasts. “Let’s get this over with.”

The two rebels turned their heads and surveyed the vast room. Rows of tall black computer racks stretched out across the raised flooring in every direction. The machines processed the data for the entire CuffTech network and contained everything necessary to keep CuffTech’s products working. The aisles between the tall towers created a confusing maze of hardware. Rows of indicator lights dotted the dark space.

“I’ll go left, and you go right,” Marcus told his naked partner. “Call out if you find anything.”

The brunette woman nodded and turned to the right, tottering on her extreme heels down a row of towering stacks of hardware.

Emma walked carefully past the rows of servers and focused her attention on the end of the aisle. The chill of the climate-controlled room bit at her bare skin as she navigated the narrow pathway. She kept her eyes scanning the walls for any sign of a manual control panel. She knew the technicians usually installed physical overrides far away from the primary data streams to avoid accidental interference. She reached the end of her row and turned a corner to walk along the rear perimeter of the room.

The maze of server towers seemed to stretch on forever. Emma moved steadily and ignored her own involuntary shuddering every time the air blew against her exposed chest. She checked the numbered labels on the side of the metal cabinets to keep track of her position. The former trainer took another turn and walked past a row of offline servers.

She checked a set of double doors on her left and found them securely locked. She continued her search down the next row and peered into the shadows. Her tall ballet heels clicked sharply against the raised flooring. She felt incredibly vulnerable walking around the facility with nothing but cuffs on her wrists and ankles, but she pushed the fear aside. She thought about Caitlin and the sacrifice the other woman had made during the raid. Marcus had lost his wife, and Emma owed it to both of them to see this mission through to the very end.

She walked past a series of deactivated cooling units and rounded another corner. She spotted a small alcove set back into the far wall. The recessed area sat completely separated from the rest of the server racks. She stepped into the alcove and found exactly what they had risked their lives to reach.

A standalone console sat bolted directly to the raised floor. A thick glass cover protected a bright red button positioned in the very center of the metal panel. Bold lettering above the console labeled it as the primary system override. This was the manual fail-safe designed to trigger a catastrophic power surge. It would fry the entire CuffTech network and stop the release of the Alpha Trojan horse before it got out.

“Marcus, I found it,” Emma called out over her shoulder. “Over here!”

The young woman stepped up to the metal console and reached her hand forward to open the thick glass cover. Her trembling fingers hovered mere inches from the button that would eradicate the SmartChip program forever and secure a fighting chance for women around the country. She took a deep breath to steady her racing heart and prepared to end the nightmare.

“I’m sorry, Emma, I can’t let you do that,” a voice spoke from behind her.

The words lacked any warmth or familiarity. The suspense hung in the cold air for an agonizing second as Emma tried to process the command. The voice belonged to Marcus, but the tone sounded alien.

Emma spun around in shock and looked at her friend. Marcus stood a few feet away with a blank expression on his face. He did not look at her with the protective concern he had shown back in the alleyway. His eyes traveled over her naked, altered body with a distinct sense of ownership. Emma felt a sudden spike of primal terror shoot down her spine. Her eyes fell to his right hand. He rubbed the back of his neck with his fingertips in a repeated, obsessive motion.

For the first time, the former trainer noticed a swollen incision sitting right at the man’s hairline. Now the man was rubbing it; the red mark was obvious against his pale skin. He had been chipped. When the hell did that happen? The realization hit the brunette woman hard. How was this possible? The Trojan code had been uploaded to his brain in the last few minutes, and it had started to rewrite his personality. The supportive rebel leader appeared to be absent, replaced by a dominant predator who viewed his ally as nothing more than a bimbo waiting to be trained. She was alone in the most secure room in the building with a man who now belonged to the enemy.

“No, Marcus, Stop!” Emma screamed as the man suddenly lunged forward.

How was she going to survive this?

End of Chapter Nine