“Tell me about them,” said Master.

Alicia knelt at the side of his bed. She was so thrilled to be able to obey her master directly again.

“Their names are Brianna and Slade Jackson,” she began. “They live in a mansion on the east coast, but we already checked in on them while you were sleeping, Master. They’re not home, or at least, not yet.”

“What do they do? How did you know them?” Master was being all matter-of-fact now, cool and collected. It was a stark contrast to when he first woke.

Alicia strained to recall the details of their lives. It wasn’t that it was so long ago, it was more that at the time she simply didn’t care. They were rich and good in bed, which was all that had mattered.

“She came from old money, but wasn’t born here. Irish maybe. I think he might have mentioned that he made it big in stocks, but that definitely wasn’t his day job. Together they had a lot of fingers in a lot of pies. They were always wining and dining with powerful people, mayors, governors, police chiefs, that sort of thing.” She paused to collect her thoughts for a moment.

“Go on,” he said.

“Maybe a year ago, we met them at a gathering. It was some kind of big dinner, raising money for the mayor or something like that. Zoe invited herself along.”

“You were looking for new targets? Like when you interviewed here?”

“Yeah,” said Alicia, feeling embarrassed. Her old life was so petty, so purposeless. She couldn’t believe she’d once thought of Master as being just another mark. “Brianna was cute enough, I suppose, but Zoe really took a liking to Slade. And Zoe always got what she wanted.”

“Yes,” he replied. They shared a look of longing. “And once I have her back, she always will.”

Alicia still loved Zoe so much. Master did too. It was something they had in common that made her feel like she really got Master. She was so happy that he was going to take such good care of her. If she was lucky, Zoe and Master might still play with her sometimes.

Even before Master had woken, the slaves had all known that he’d be wanting to track her down as soon as possible, and they’d taken steps to get a head-start on it. Unfortunately, most of the girls had explicit orders they couldn’t violate. They would obey their master above all else. Sofia was diligent enough to memorise the licence plate of the van that they’d escaped in, but Alicia already knew the identity of the kidnappers. Master had an asset inside the local police that she was able to trigger and make use of, but the scope of the search was far beyond the resources they had at hand.

With Master conscious and strengthening, things were going to be a lot easier. Doors could be opened by force if necessary. But it was going to take time.

It was another two days before Zoe really felt like she was making progress again.

Master must have been absolutely frantic looking for her, she knew, and it pained her to no end. But she could see the end in sight. Last night she’d sweet talked them into giving her some paper, but they only gave her pencils. It would have to do. The trouble was, they almost never gave her any space. They kept wanting to hang out with her. They wanted to watch movies. Worst of all, they wanted to play monopoly with her. It was sickening.

She needed to step things up a notch.

“You know, I never thanked you both for saving me...” she said, a stack of fake money in one hand. The other two stopped and looked directly at her.

“Zoe, you know how much you mean to me. To us,” said Slade. “We would have done anything to bring you back.”

“I know...” she said. “And you’re both so kind… I want to make it up to you,” she said, pulling down her top. He started breathing heavily. Brianna stared rapturously.

She’d hoped to avoid this completely, acting remotely and like she was still conflicted and uncertain. They hadn’t pushed the issue, perhaps out of fear of interfering with Zoe’s “rehabilitation”. But there was no way they could resist. Inside of a minute they were fucking.

Zoe started to remember why she’d kept them around for so long in the first place. Brianna was a firecracker in the bedroom, and she enthusiastically lapped at Zoe’s pussy while she teased Slade with her hands. He grunted as she placed her lips on his cock, and she relished the sound. His reactions made her feel, just for a moment, that she was in total control of the situation. Just a little longer, she thought. After a few minutes, Zoe pulled away from Brianna and raised herself up.

“Oh fuck,” said Slade as she lowered herself onto his cock.

Brianna sat beside them and fingered herself until they were ready to change positions again, but Zoe was going to satisfy herself quite thoroughly in the mean time. It wasn’t like with Master, she wasn’t concerned about their pleasure, not really. They were both obsessed with hers. It felt good to slip back into old, comfortable patterns like that.

They shifted into another position. Zoe pressed herself up against Slade’s face and rode him while Brianna took a turn on his cock. One of those pleasant surprises she’d had when getting to know Slade was that he had exceptional stamina and was quite effective at multitasking. They both made sure they put these talents to good use.

“Oh fuck, yes, like that,” said Brianna as she bounced up and down on him. They settled into a measured rhythm that allowed him to concentrate on getting Zoe off with his tongue. She’d had him do this dozens of times before, and despite the circumstances she found herself subtly pleased she got enjoy him one last time.

Eventually, they were all spent. The couple had that contented, awestruck and slightly obsessive look of someone who’s just met you but is already naming your children in their head. Still, it was all worth it – they happily agreed to give her the evening to herself. In another week they might even let her out of the house under supervision, but there was no way she was going to wait that long. Pleasing Master is my purpose in life, she thought. She felt hollow away from him.

Zoe pulled out several sheets of paper and started cautiously writing her message. It was going to have to be short, simple, and use very large lettering to be visible from the street. Then, she’d have to catch his attention. I’m sure that won’t be too hard, she thought.

For Brianna, life was finally good again. The time they’d originally spent with Zoe had been happiest of her life, and the time they were separated was the darkest. Now, here in this place they were finally reunited forever. And this time, there was no Alicia. Even just thinking about her name was enough to resurface some of the anger, the fear, the dread and the months longing she’d suffered through. That they’d both suffered through. You can’t take her away from us this time, you fucking degenerate bitch.

Brianna refocused herself. She slowed her breathing and tried to be more present. She can’t fuck it up now. Zoe had even shaken off most of Bateman’s brainwashing off. She felt another pang of sadness at the thought of what she must have suffered through with him - the drugs, the kidnapping, just being taken and used like that. But she was back with the people that loved her like nobody else could.

The doorbell rang.

“Can you get that?” shouted Slade from the next room.

Brianna sighed, put her laptop down on the bench and sped to the front door. It simply wasn’t fair. Why does he get to do that while I’m stuck out here working? she thought.

She looked through the peep-hole, then gasped. There were police officers standing there. What the fuck are they doing here?

She immediately sprinted into the room where Slade was giving Zoe a foot massage. Zoe looked so beautiful, so calm as Slade’s firm hands rubbed around the soles. God, she was so perfect. Brianna almost forgot what she was there for.

“I um… Slade… the people at the door – they’re police.”

He froze.

“I’ll deal with this,” he said. “Brianna, could you please take over here?”

Brianna sank down to the ground and took his place. Her heart jumped just being nearer to her goddess. Slade moved out of the room towards the front door, closing the door to this one in the process. The doorbell rang a second time as he moved.

“Don’t worry,” said Brianna, “He’ll make them go away.” Zoe smiled, and seemed reassured. Brianna was so relieved.

She continued exactly where he’d left off. She started by applying pressure on the soles, then gradually migrated up through the arch and towards the ball. Brianna always thought the top of the arch was where it felt the best, personally, so she focused her efforts there.

In the other room, she heard the door opening and the voices of the police officers asking something. Suddenly, Zoe’s foot flew out of her hands and kicked her in the head. She completely lost her balance and fell backwards to the ground. By the time she’d recovered, Zoe had lept out of the chair and was nearly to the door. Brianna stood to give chase, but it was going to take her a second or two.

“Zoe, what are you...”

“Help me!” Zoe screamed at the top of her lungs. “They won’t let me leave!”

Brianna made it out the door way just in time to see Slade fighting a losing battle against the police to keep the door shut. When Zoe collided with him from the other side, it was all over.

The highway stretched out beyond them for miles. Alicia had been driving Master from place to place for several hours, but it didn’t feel like they were getting anywhere. Through his slave in the local PD, they’d discovered that the van they’d fled in had picked up a speeding ticket heading in this direction, but that was days ago. They could realistically be anywhere by now. As much as anything, Alicia believed that Master just felt like he needed to be doing something.

She wanted to reassure him again – perhaps the missing person’s report would get some results, and before too long he’d be strong enough to enslave his way into the country’s terrifyingly omnipresent surveillance apparatus if need be. Unfortunately, he’d commanded her to stop making noise after she started screaming as he fucked her at their last stop. I must always obey my master above all else, she thought.

As they started getting near the outer suburbs again, he finally spoke up.

“How did you meet?”

Alicia thought for a moment, but said nothing.

“Oh for heaven’s sake, you can make noise again,” he said. She felt relieved.

“It was almost three years ago,” she said. “I was a student out at Portland State.”

“What were you studying?”

“I was majoring in psych, but it wasn’t going well. I kept going out with my friends, and I had a lot of friends. I don’t think there was a party held in a five mile radius I didn’t find my way into that year. Anyway, that’s where I met Zoe.”

Alicia felt so warm as she recalled the specifics.

“It was a house party, some rock star’s kid, a friend of a friend type deal,” she continued. “I don’t even remember what their name was. It was probably 10pm or maybe a little after, things were really kicking into gear. I was only a few drinks in, trying to keep a clear head, and I saw her standing there on the other side of room, staring at me. I wasn’t into girls, so it was flattering and all but kinda weird, she looked so intense.”

“You like girls now, don’t you Alicia?”

“Yes,” she said. “But that came later. So anyway, I ran off and I was flirting up a storm with this guy I was into, Brad. I was dating Steve, but he was… oh sorry I shouldn’t even get into that, it’s superfluous. The important part is that the neighbours came into the house and started kicking up a stink, threatening to call the cops, blah blah. That’s when I saw Zoe again.”

Alicia paused to complete a highway merge.

“I think I can see where this is going,” said Master, smiling.

“Oh yeah. She walks up to them and starts sweet-talking them. She gets right up close, and they just stop dead in their tracks, both of them. Suddenly they don’t mind the party so much. They ran home and brought back all the good shit from their liquor cabinet. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but I wasn’t going to complain, you know? Then, Zoe starts giving them the cold shoulder. They’re following her around like sick puppies, desperate to get in her good books. She had them strip down and masturbate in the middle of the living room, in front of everyone.”

“I can’t imagine people thought that was normal behaviour.”

“God no. People had their phones out to record it. I was getting seriously freaked out, and then she walks past a group of us and… something changed. I had no idea what it was at the time, but I looked at her and she was just… oh god, she was...”

Master caught her gaze in the rear vision mirror.

“She was the most perfect creature you’d ever laid eyes on,” he said, then turned to look out the window.

“Yes. Oh god, yes. She was incredible. Five seconds earlier I hadn’t the slightest interest in women sexually or romantically, but I knew I had to have her, that I’d do anything to get her. And I did do anything for her, anything at all. And it wasn’t just me. It was like a scene from fucking Caligula. She sat in the middle of the place being fed stuff off a cheese plate while people fucked themselves with household objects and ate each other out all around her, constantly looking back up for her approval. But she had her eyes on me the whole time.”

“She must have taken a real shine to you if she took you with her.”

Alicia’s heart jumped again.

“She did. We skipped town the next day. I just walked straight out of my life and followed her wherever she led. I was probably the only thing that stayed constant in her life after that point.”

Master was silent again for a few moments.

“You’re still special to her. Nothing I did took that away. And if you’re special to her, then you’re special to me, too,” he said, running a hand down her face.

Zoe would be Master’s favourite, but if she could be pleasing her superior alongside her… The thought was incredible. She couldn’t believe how happy she felt. It was enough to move her to tears, but she wasn’t allowed to cry.

Zoe tried to sit still, but she kept fidgeting. She sat one leg over the other, draped in a blanket to keep her warm. When she’d walked through the doors into the police station, she felt absolutely triumphant. Now she just felt impatient. There was no clock in the room so she didn’t know precisely how long she’d been here, but whatever it was, it was far too long. She’d restrained herself from just hijacking the police car and everyone inside it – she didn’t need any further complications. I just need to get access to a phone and this will all be over, she thought.

Unfortunately, things did get complicated.

“I’m sorry Miss Sumner, I’m under strict orders, we can’t let you out just yet. We’re still trying to figure this whole thing out.”

Zoe couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She leaned forward in her chair, and the blanket fell to her feet. The police officer quickly averted his gaze. When the police had arrived to investigate reports of a kidnapping at that address, she’d been wearing lingerie and a lace choker and sprinted outside barefoot. She was grateful to the jogger for passing along his anonymous tip to the police, but she did wish he’d had better timing. This man standing before her now barely looked like he was out of high school – he must have been fresh from the academy.

“Strict orders from who? These people fucking kidnapped me, what exactly is there to figure out?!”

“It’s um, it’s complicated ma’am. The chief was very clear though, you’re just going to have to sit tight, just for a little while, I promise.”

“Can you at least let me use a phone? I really need to let some people know where I am, I’ve been gone for days!”

“No, again I’m really sorry, but I can’t do that. And um, could you please cover yourself?”

Zoe tried to stay calm. She tried so very hard. I really shouldn’t, not here. Not now. But she knew deep down that she was going to. She was desperate to get back to the man that she loved completely and without reservation. It would just be one more time. Just one more person, a little tiny push just for the home stretch. What could go wrong?

As the scent washed across the officer’s face, his demeanour changed rapidly. His breathing became louder and faster. His pupils twitched.

“Do you like what you see?” she said.

“Yes…” he said, trailing off. “I mean, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare,” he stammered, but still found himself unable to look away.

“Look, officer...” Zoe said, trying to find a name badge, but unable to locate it. “Officer Bob, do you mind if I call you that?”

“Y-yeah, that sounds good. Bob.”

Zoe walked right up close to “Bob”. He gulped, and Zoe glanced down just in time to catch the tentpole in his pants firming up.

“Bob… I know that this chief if yours told you I wasn’t allowed to use the phone but… Could you just let me have it, just for a little bit, as a favour to me?” She was inches from his face, and gave him a cheeky little smile.

Bob tried to speak, but couldn’t. He started nodding, gently at first then vigorously. His hands fumbled around in his pocket and took three or four times as long as they normally would to complete such a simple manoeuvre.

“Here, please, yes, use it as much as you want.”

“Thank you so much Bob. It really means a lot to me,” she said, then winked and sat back down in her chair.

Bob stood there, staring as Zoe quickly looked up the phone number for Bateman-Holloway.

“Hi, Jan? It’s me, I managed to get away. Is M… is Mister Bateman there? Well where is he? Ok, I need you to pass along a message to him then. I’m currently holed up in a police station and they won’t let me leave just yet.”

There was a knock on the door of the room. A few moments later, as Zoe continued to fill in Jan on the details of where exactly she was, the door swung open.

“I don’t know the exact address, but that’s the name of the station, I’m sure you can look it up.”

She hung up. According to Jan, Master may actually be relatively close – he’d checked in with her half an hour ago heading this general direction. She desperately hoped that was true.

There was a woman at the door, another police officer, slightly older than Bob. Medium height, redhead. Kinda cute, Zoe thought, then shook herself. I need to stop now. I got the message out, that’s all I needed.

“What the hell are you doing?” the woman said. She drew her sidearm and aimed it towards Zoe.

Bob immediately drew his weapon in response and jumped in the way.

“You stay the fuck away from her!”

Zoe was regretting her decision not to just wait this whole situation out.

“Maybe you should have stayed away from her like the chief said.”

“Jane, you need to calm down. Don’t do something you’re going to regret,” said Bob.

“She’s done something to you Zack.”

“What are you talking about?”

Zoe looked up at the ceiling and realised there was a partially concealed camera. Oh jesus. This is not good. She must have been watching them through the monitor from the adjacent room.

“Zack, you’re gayer than Elton. She whispers in your ear and suddenly you’re hard as a rock and about to jump in front of a bullet for her. She has done something to you. I have no idea what it is, but you you are not thinking straight. You need to put your fucking weapon down, right now.”

Their boss knows about me. Somehow, he knows, she thought. Would Slade and Brianna really have told them?

Bob’s aim shook for a moment. Zoe started sweating.

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about Jane,” he said. “This poor woman was held against her will by those people and now we’re treating her like a criminal!”

Behind Jane, someone from the hallway must have spotted what was going on.

“Woah, what the fuck is happening?!” said the voice, another man.

“She’s trying to shoot this woman!” Bob shouted. Jane turned started to explain herself, but Bob seized the opportunity and jumped straight at her, knocking the gun to the ground. Zoe ducked, expecting it to discharge, but nothing happened.

Soon, a small crowd was gathering just outside the front door. People were separating Bob and Jane and had taken the weapons off both of them. Zoe crept out slowly to take a closer look.

“Call the chief, right now, he’ll back me up!” said Jane, nearly shouting. “Do not let her get close to you, whatever you do!”

The small crowd of people started looking around, confused.

“She’s insane, are you even hearing what she’s saying?” said Bob.

Even so, they eyed Zoe suspiciously. There was some small doubt planted in their minds, and there was no way she was just going to be let out without this situation clearing itself up with their superiors. Both exits in the corridor were blocked by people looking on. If they went back to their boss, they’d confirm his orders to keep her confined.

Zoe sighed. She took one step closer, and she did what she’d been hoping to avoid. She was so close to getting back to Master. These people could not be allowed to ruin it now. She focused in herself, and she let it out. All of it. She needed to cover a sizeable area, much larger than she’d ever done before.

One by one, the scent washed over everyone. Men and women, young and old, single or taken. They all stopped what they were doing and looked at her. But the adoration quickly turned into something else. Something more. It reminded Zoe of when she’d first used it on Master. It was obsession.

Oh fuck. Oh fuck I’ve really overdone it this time.

The two men nearest to her, the first to be hit, started walking towards her.

“You’re… you’re so beautiful,” said the one on the left.

“Who are you?” asked the one on the right.

They kept walking. Oh shit oh fuck oh shit. More people started approaching. Jane, who moments earlier had been screaming for them to keep her away, now looked like a lion stalking a wounded gazelle.

Zoe swivelled on the spot and scanned for options. It was no good, the entrances were all covered. A firm hand grabbed her on the shoulder and started pulling her towards them.

“Please, I need to know your name...” said the old man.

Zoe squirmed and tried to break away. At that moment, someone else came up and grabbed him.

“Get off her you piece of shit” another woman said. “She mine!”

The room descended into absolute chaos. The dozen or so occupants were throwing punches, grappling on the ground, and trying to make a mad dash for Zoe. Anytime somebody got close, another person would rip them away and then try their own luck.

It took a few minutes before Zoe managed to slip down the hallway after one of her assailants was once again tackled by another. She broke into a mad dash, and she could hear several people pursuing her from behind.

Down the end of the corridor, she spotted a tall man in a senior uniform. The big cheese, she thought. When he noticed her and the entourage of people following her, he took a few steps forward.

“Stand down! Everybody stand down immediately!”

Nobody stopped what they were doing. The Chief of Police panicked and ran back into the room he’d just come out of a few paces before Zoe ran past.

It was a dead end. Well, nearly a dead end. There were a few doors open to her – the toilets. She chose the nearest one, marked for people with disabilities, on the assumption it seemed to be the smallest, most likely designed for a single occupant, and therefore more likely to have a lock to the room as a whole and not just a single stall.

Zoe’s assumptions were correct. Moments after she turned the lock from the inside, someone ran into the door. It was surprisingly sturdy, and barely moved. People thumped on it, over and over. She could hear voices shouting amongst themselves, but the fighting quickly stopped as they realised that none of them were going to be able to get to her.

I need to get out of here right fucking now.

She paused and weighed up her options for a moment. Outside the door, things went suddenly quiet. She knew better than to assume they might have left her alone entirely. She wondered if, like Master, her own powers had been growing subtly. He mentioned that he’d gotten far better at what he was doing since the breakout. Maybe it was like exercising a muscle, and the more she did it, the more effective it became. Last time she’d pushed that hard, she hadn’t gotten a reaction nearly that dramatic.

She took a few more minutes to herself to calm down and formulate her next move. She ran over and checked the window. To her relief, it looked like she might be able to open this one. It took a lot of power before it started to move, but before too long she’d created a gap large enough to squeeze herself through. She fell down unceremoniously onto the ground outside the station. It was grass, luckily.

“Hello there,” said a woman’s voice. Her heart skipped a beat.

Zoe turned and saw her standing there – Jane, the red-headed police officer. She still bore the same expression – that predatory desire. She dropped down on top of Zoe before she had a chance to recover, and she started kissing and grabbing at her. Zoe pulled away and tried to get some leverage, but it wasn’t looking promising.

“The others ran to get the battering ram,” she said, grinning. “But I realised you might get out this way. Now I’ve got you all to myself.”

“Get off me,” Zoe said, speaking softly to avoid attracting even more attention to herself out here. “Please Jane. Please, we can go somewhere else, I just have to get away from here.”

“God Zoe…” Jane said, as if she couldn’t hear her. She stopped just for half a second to really soak her in. “You’re so fucking gorgeous. It… it hurts to look at you. It’s like staring into the sun.” She started forcing her arms down by her sides. Jane managed to hold down her arm with the weight of her body, and with the spare hand slipped a finger inside Zoe. She gasped.

“That’s right, just let it happen,” said Jane. “I’m going to make you feel good, ok?”

“Please,” said Zoe. “Please stop...”

She wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She tried to kiss Zoe again but she managed to keep her lips away. Her fingers were now deep inside Zoe.

“Look, you’re wet and everything,” she said. “I guess you do want it after all...”

“No… I… fucking… don’t!” she thrashed one more time, and managed to score a hit with a headbutt.

Jane rolled sideways instinctively and grasped at her head. Zoe rolled off and managed to get to her feet. She ran along the chain link fence, heading towards the car park.

When Zoe came around the bend near the front of the station, all her dreams came true.

Master, she thought. She couldn’t believe it. She’d couldn’t have phoned Jan more than 10 minutes ago, but here he was, standing right there, Alicia flanking him.

She turned and started moving towards him as fast as she could. Behind her, Jane started to make up ground. Fuck she’s fast, she thought. Master caught sight of her, and he started moving to meet her.

“Zoe, behind you!” he shouted.

“I know!”

She grabbed Zoe in a bear hug from behind, apparently oblivious to the man coming from the other side. Master immediately grabbed her and pulled her off.

“No! Give her back!” she shouted. Master was not going to tolerate any of this nonsense. He kicked the woman and she doubled over, then he stepped past her and threw her to the ground.

“Thank you Master, thank you, thank you...” Zoe started.

“Shhh,” he said, placing a finger on her lips. She immediately stopped talking. The pleasure of obeying her master above all else was immense. “I see you’ve been getting into trouble again,” he said.

Zoe nodded. She was ashamed that she’d let it get so out of control, but the knowledge that Master was here to fix it made her feel completely at ease. The front doors to the police station opened, and people started flooding out of it.

“Master, I think we should leave...” said Alicia.

“Yes, I do believe that’s our cue,” he replied.

The three ran back to the car, and Alicia started the engine. As the car slowly gained momentum, a few of the officers had almost caught up to them.

“This seems familiar,” said Alicia, looking at Zoe in the rear-vision mirror as the station receded into the distance behind them.

Dealing with the fallout from Zoe’s escape took weeks. Even back at full strength, Master could only do so much so quickly, and there was half a police station of people obsessed with finding their one true love. He had to call in a few of his old friends to help out, and the whole event was guaranteed to attract attention from the people who wanted to find them again. The Jacksons may have been tracked down and had their memories suppressed, but the whole thing couldn’t simply be swept under the rug – the people they’d talked to, the flags they’d raised, the footage of the police station incident. Master knew they’d have to run. The other slaves had been ordered to scatter and await his return – except Grace, who was never officially an employee and wouldn’t be on anybody’s radar. She’d stay and continue her her normal life until called upon. Bateman-Holloway was no more, and now he was looking for a new place to settle for a while, as far away as possible.

“What about New Zealand?” said Alicia, nibbling on Master’s earlobe. He’d been unsure the first time she did that, but quickly grew to like it.

“Maybe,” he said. “It does seem like a nice place. A bit small, though.”

“Australia might suit you better then,” said Zoe, taking a momentary break from sucking his cock to chime in to the discussion. “Same neighbourhood, bigger cities.”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “How would you feel about that?” he said.

Alicia knew this routine by now. Zoe’s opinion was the only one he really cared about. If Zoe said she wanted to live on Mars she was pretty sure he’d find a way to make it happen.

“I’d be happy to live anywhere Master, as long as you were there,” she replied, then took him inside her mouth again. Master groaned, and his hips started moving again.

Alicia agreed whole-heartedly. Wherever they ended up, they’d both be there with her, Master and Zoe, two of the most dangerous people on the planet with her in tow. Predators in search of new prey. Alicia smiled. Just like old times.