Emily Thompson slowly awoke to find herself chained to a shiny chrome table, surrounded by white walls which made the room look like an endless void. For a brief moment she felt relief that it definitely wasn’t a police station, but slowly the realization that she had no idea where she actually was began to sink in. If that wasn’t enough, her head was pounding like a bass drum, and she struggled to recall the events which led her here. “God, even my head stays on beat better than Tara.” She mumbled to herself in reference to her band’s new drummer, and team’s newest operative.

Emily was 27, and a popular musician in the region’s punk and metal scenes. She could often be found playing shows at any venue in the area she wanted to, frequently playing with famous touring bands. As a local political activist she’d helped organize successful protests and strikes, and recently she had even helped convince the governor to veto a censorship bill aimed at dissidents like her. Her normal job, if you could call her life normal at all, was bartending alongside her band’s bassist and long time friend Ronnie. If that wasn’t enough, she and her band were also a fairly successful and sought after merc team in the city, and even other mercs would hire them out their own pockets for tasks like gathering intel. It seemed the de facto leader of the band and team had found some level of success in everything she’d put her mind to, but roughly six months ago trouble started, and came to a head with a failed job just hours ago.

It wasn’t that every job went perfectly. On a long enough timeline anyone would make a mistake somewhere, but most mistakes were just that: mistakes. Something to learn from but nothing disastrous. She tried to piece together what went wrong this time, but most of her memories were like puzzle pieces that didn’t quite fit together. She remembered being frustrated that Mark, her best friend who also shared guitar and vocal duties with her, had taken a job from an anonymous client without running it by anyone else first. There was a reason that at least two of them were supposed to meet a client one on one in a neutral location, and always through a fixer, but he claimed it was too good to pass up. More like too good to be true.

Now here she was observing herself, black latex clinging to her body, with a bar code stamped right below the electronic collar which was built into her uniform. Similarly, wrist and ankle cuffs were built in, making it easy to restrain the wearer. She slowly tried to read what the letters on the left side of her chest said, assuming it to be some sort of designation number. On the shoulder of each sleeve, a swirl of various shades of blue and purple would accompany the words “Spiral Holdings.” A corsetlike device with a variety of lights and buttons hugged her tightly, pulling in her waist and pushing her latex clad breasts together, and felt like a part of her. In reality the entire uniform felt attached to her somehow, as though it were plugged into her nervous system through unknown means.

The job today, or at least she hoped it was the same day, must have gone wrong and resulted in her capture, but she wouldn’t give up easily. She began to thrash around in a poor attempt to break something, hoping that maybe she could make a run for it, but a loud buzz would pierce her eardrums as the chains would be quickly withdrawn into the table. Her wrist cuffs slammed into the top while two ankle cuffs proceeded to withdraw into the floor, firmly planting her boots to the ground. The worst was the electronic collar and corset, which sent a surge of heat and pain through her body. She slumped over the table at a stiff, painful angle and let out a pained groan, with her head banging against the table as her jet black and neon red layers blanketed the area around her head. Her headache had been bad enough without that, and for a moment she wished they’d given her the drone helmet too.

A few moments later a hidden door on the far side of the room would slide open and an attractive thirty-something in an expensive looking black suit would enter. “I would advise against you pushing your luck any more today,” he would calmly state as he made his way over.

“Yeah, and who the f-,” Emily would stop herself as she felt a behavioral correction coming again, and began to sit up to get a better look at who she was dealing with. That’s what she told herself at least, rather than allow herself to acknowledge the draw to giving him her attention. The man gave a stern facial expression which correlated with the warning of correction, and Emily found herself lost in his familiar looking eyes for a moment. Something about his eyes made her feel calm, at least, even if she found herself annoyed by that.

It annoyed her even more that she found him kind of cute. Maybe it was the way his designer suit fit his frame so perfectly, showing an effort to present himself well, or the way he left his light brown hair just the right amount of messy to give it some personality while remaining in the confines of professionalism. She kind of liked that it made him seem like he’d bend a rule or two at the very least. It could have been that he carried himself in a way that, on one hand, made him seem like a bit of a dork who took his job too seriously. On the other hand he seemed to have the energy of an experienced detective in a neo-noir film without having to force it, and Emily had always thought that type of character was cool. Then there were his eyes. Soft and dark brown, inviting in the way melted chocolate is when it’s poured over something in an advertisement, like something you wanted to just dive into. She hated that she felt any attraction to him at all, and even more she hated that she felt calm in spite of clearly being a prisoner, wearing the uniform of a drone, trying to ignored what she knew it meant for her.

“You can call me Mr. E. I’m the closest thing you'll be getting to a lawyer or representation around here, and for now that’s all you need to know about me.” The man would place one of the two coffees he carried near her before sitting down and placing a briefcase on the table.

“You can’t be serious.” Emily said with a slightly annoyed tone, but not enough to set off the collar, unaware that she was now adapting to correction without conscious input. “Mr. E? Mystery? What are you like some kind of TV character? That can’t be your real name.”

He managed to stifle a laugh. “The E does come from my real surname, but I’m not sure that’s important right now. You have far bigger things to worry about.”

“Mr. E’s mysteries,” Emily sang to herself as if it were a detective serial’s theme song, “he’ll take any case! But it’s! No small feeeee!” The attempt to find some semblance of control in this situation, or to at least get under the man’s skin for a moment, did nothing but make him smile. She felt calmed by that which created an ironic sense of worry in her mind.

“Depending on how this goes maybe we can pitch this show you have in mind.” His tone was calm and friendly, almost like speaking to a friend, and yet it carried an air of strict professionalism. Like talking to a boss who actually cared about you as opposed to the usual act they put on to keep employees pacified. “But before we contact one of the studios we own I have a proposition for you.”

“Does it mean I get to leave?” She knew better, but she would take a big sip of coffee, thinking that the caffeine may help with the headache at least. When she looked back up she met with E’s eyes and found herself lost again. She had to stop doing that. She couldn’t let herself forget this was an enemy, technically, and to make it worse she had found herself cracking a smile at his response to her joke. Out of everything that had pissed her off today, or what she assumed was still today, it was probably what pissed her off the most. “What, did you think black coffee would get me to break?”

”You know, usually someone in that uniform is a little more,“ he would pause for a moment, sipping his coffee and looking satisfied as Emily mirrored the action. “Docile. I do wish more of my colleagues had your fiery personality type though. It would make things far more interesting around here.” There was a brief pause as E cleared his throat and scribbled something on a piece of paper. “That’s to say that your personality screams black coffee.”

Emily rolled her eyes. “Jesus Christ do I have to suck your dick to get a simple question answered? Do I get to fucking leave or not?” An otherwise quiet second passed as the collar zapped her again, leading her to sink in her seat and begin gasping for air while E remained unphased, opening the briefcase and pulling out a folder.

”At a certain point yes, you would be allowed to leave. I just need you to do a couple of things for me. One of those is just an experiment of sorts.” He said as he looked through the folder’s contents.

”Oh great. I get to be a cocksucking lab rat.” Another zap. She whimpered in pain, struggling with the idea that she was no longer allowed to express herself in the ways she was used to, not wanting to let her new uniform control her.

”Nothing like that and I assure you that it’s nothing invasive or dangerous. I just want you to watch some videos, complete some surveys, and take some tests.” E explained. “Think of it like a career change.”

”Oh my god, what did I do wrong in a past life?” She whined she repositioned herself to sit up straight in her seat again. Workplace training videos? As if the situation she found herself in wasn’t bad enough it seemed her sentence for trying to rip off this corporation was to be executed via boredom. She felt tempted to bash her head against the table as hard as she could until they at least took her to a hospital. It would probably be easier to escape once she regained consciousness, or it would wake her from the nightmare she found herself in. As she sat upright, however, her eyes would meet his again, and she would struggle to look away as the thought would be replaced with a blank stare on her face.

“I’d worry more about what you did wrong today, Emily.” He looked confused as he glanced at a paper he’d pulled out. “Why the hell is this in here?,” he mumbled before tossing what looked to be a sheet of coupons for a local burger joint aside.

She cracked a smile as her worry seemed to fly away with the coupon sheet. Slowly that word he’d used a few moments ago, docile, had been creeping into her mind. Now it was beginning to insert itself into every thought she tried to form. She tried to resist, but it was becoming louder, forcing her to conform to the expectations for one wearing her uniform.

“Let’s see,” he continued to sort through the folder’s contents, “ I have to admit, I take a little bit of pride in the fact someone hired such a talented individual to come after me.”

Emily sat up straight again and raised an eyebrow. “So that’s why I recognize you. Why you?” She didn’t think much about her normal fuck you attitude slipping as that word, docile, sank into the back of her mind and began to spread throughout her entire being.

”Well I was hoping you would be able to tell me, but I take it you’re as lost as I am.” His eyes narrowed as he made contact again. “That actually supports my current theory, which is that a secondary client paid your team to fail the job intentionally, and for you to be caught in the middle. Possibly as a trade.”

”What are you saying?” There was no way, in her mind, that her friends would even think to do that.

“How did a colleague know to warn me that your team was coming? Think about it. Why didn’t your teammate, Robbie, is that his name?” More shuffling of paperwork followed, as though he were looking for a file on Emily’s friend.

”Ronnie.” She’d been irritated with him lately, likely a mix of working together too much as well as him being sloppy lately, but he wasn’t the type to betray her. She was upset that anyone would ever accuse him of that but her anger was much slower to form than usual, and she began to feel concerned that she barely felt any.

”My mistake. Why is it that the security drones were not shut down along with the system?” A crushing silence filled the room for  a couple of seconds.

”He’s just been rusty the past few jobs. I think we’re all just spread too thin at this point.” This wasn’t like her. Usually she kept her mouth shut. It was a rule that you didn’t cooperate or answer questions, but for some reason she felt a compulsion to engage. She wondered if something was in the coffee and cursed herself for drinking it, but felt the urge to take another sip.

“That’s possible, but he should have seen them accounted for when he was burning his way through the rest of our security measures. It’s possible that he didn’t know what he was looking at, did nothing about them by mistake, and you were just unlucky. Even the most legendary in your profession do occasionally lose to a freak accident or variable it would be impossible to account for.” E said with a shrug.

”Maybe you staged it yourself, wanted to make yourself look good by catching us. You’d probably get a good promotion or whatever.” She anticipated another punishment, but instead the electronic collar and corset sent a calming sensation through her, as though she were receiving praise for doing the job he wanted her to. It was only then she realized that the uniform was controlling her emotions, likely sending a difficult to notice but effective calming sensation to keep her from getting angry or lashing out, while turning it up when she did as E wanted and sending pain for undesirable behavior.

”I’m already the head of what you may consider our security and investigation department. Think of me like Spiral’s police chief. I’m happy with my position, and I’m good at it. Hell I’m considered a legend myself, at least on this side of the fence, so what would I have to gain?” He sipped on his own coffee.

Emily thought for a moment but couldn’t come up with anything. She took another sip of coffee and attempted to avoid his eyes as he continued.

”One of the most talented people in the city fell right into my hands, and I’ve made sure that you’re allowed to help me solve this case. Mr E’s Mysteries indeed.” He gave a smirk before sliding the folder towards Emily.

Emily felt her eye twitch as she began to look through the folder. “What’s in it for me? Why should I help you?”

“Because we’re in the same boat, Emily, and that’s why I fought extremely hard to be your handler rather than let your dronification be finalized.” He motioned to her uniform.

Emily looked up from the folder. “Just tell me what you’re implying here. I want more details about this ridiculous theory.” A small zap followed, and she would sigh. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to disrespect you. Please tell me more.” The embarrassment burned, but was quickly replaced with reward while she screamed inside of her mind.

”The security drones staying online? I happen to agree that on its own it doesn’t mean much, but perhaps you should consider why it is that your friends seemed to know exactly when they needed to leave. Why did Mark, who I know has taken down security drones before, not fight back after being thrown to the side? He could have shot it when it was busy hurling you through my office door. Why did he run, leaving you behind to be responsible for what was stolen or damaged? The others only managed to transfer about half a million somewhere before they left, but they started to leave before he even caught up to them. Nothing alerted them to do so, at least that I’m aware of.”

”All of that for half a million?”

“That’s going to be a lot to work off, especially with the interest rates we’ll tack on. You all know the risks you’re taking, but you’re supposed to be a team.” There was an air of sincere disappointment in his voice with her friends.

The weight of reality began to set in. Whether or not E’s theory was true Emily now belonged to the corporation. Everything she fought for. Everything she’d achieved. Every connection she’d made. None of it mattered now. She technically didn’t even have a name anymore, but instead was just the number on her chest. “No. They wouldn’t. He wouldn’t. I-“ she trailed off, her mind racing at the thought of what she may become. A secretary, an executive’s housemaid, a labor or security drone, a companion doll, or that she could be sold to another corporation. Realistically she could be sold to anyone who would pay for her debt, and that included any enemies she did happen to have. She trembled as she thought about being sold to her rival, Megan, who had replaced her in a band she’d been unfairly removed from years ago, and being forced to carry her gear and work her band’s merch table. They could never stand each other, and Megan had  turned a cheating ex into a groveling simp. She humiliated him at every show, and people thought nothing of it due to that band’s highly sexualized goth theme, so it wouldn’t be beyond her to do something like that to Emily too. Emily’s thoughts would refocus as E spoke again.

”Miss Thompson, you are now an asset of Spiral Holdings, and given who you are I’m not sure I need to explain what that means. As far your friends know this conversion has been completed and finalized, and you’re just another drone.”

“They'll come back. They’ll fight to get me out.” An effort to convince herself more than to convince him.

”You would for them RT27,” he said as he slid a paper containing information on her new position towards her, “but would they do the same for you? Where would they even start? You’ll be made to be identical to your fellow drones. By the time they figure out which one you are your mind will be so fried, so utterly in sync with your programming, that it will be irreversible.”

She stared at the paper to see her old name listed above her new designation: RT27-E01. Everything about her former life was listed, but under a section labeled recommended action, whatever had been written had been blacked out.

”My new name. Just a number.” Her heart sank as she thought of how unenthusiastic the others seemed about looking for their old drummer, Eric, who had been missing since another job gone wrong six months ago. Emily’s heart broke again every day he didn’t turn up, and she never have up looking, but would the rest look for her? She knew that risks like this came with these jobs, but Mark didn’t even try to save her. All she remembered was one of those damn security drones catching them, and him running in spite of his capabilities. Now RT27 was completely at the mercy of her enemy. “I’m a slave.” Her nerves felt like they’d been set on fire for a brief second before another calming effect was sent through her, as if to reward her for acknowledging what she had become.

”Just until the debt is paid, RT27, but you have an opportunity to become more. You don’t understand yet how lucky you truly are.” An oddly reassuring statement.

”And if what you’re saying isn’t true? Then what? I’m known for betrayal. No one will trust me and I’ll be dead broke by with no prospects. Lucky,” she scoffed, “I’ll be better off as a drone.” She felt so humiliated saying it. Admitting defeat. One of the toughest people in the city, and within one conversation with this man she was breaking. She wondered if others broke faster, trying to hold onto some idea that she may have still been tougher in the end, but she knew it didn’t really matter anymore. Her usual resilience belonged to the corporation now. “Let’s just get finalization over with.”

”I have no interest in allowing for your full, finalized, irreversible droneification nor treating you like a slave, Miss Thompson, but I can only help if you cooperate.” His calm voice drowning out the shuffling of paperwork. “I have guarantee that if you help me solve this case your debt will be wiped clean, but that’s not all you get out of this. For each person with any level of responsibility that you bring in, Spiral Holdings will compensate you with cash or stock. Personally I would take the latter. We do pay out good dividends.”

”How much are we talking?” She didn’t want to serve the corporation for the rest of her life. She had to fix this somehow. Make enough that the payouts would cover at least a minimal cost of living. She could move to another city after burning everyone she knew here and start over. It would hurt, but she was still young enough that she thought building a new life was feasible, and at least she wouldn’t have to become a drone.

“Fifty thousand for each, one hundred thousand for whoever the mastermind happens to be, your debts wiped clean, and I will personally make up whatever the difference is to total half a million. One million, if it reaches more than half and is close enough to that number. In the event your video training helps you solve some miscellaneous workplace problems there will be additional compensation, and if you impress the right people you might earn a real place here. As I said, you have no idea how lucky you are.”

”Normally I’d jump over this table for implying I’d sell out, or that I’m a snitch.” She said, raising her arms and shaking her chains lightly, cracking another smile. At least she may have a way out of them. She felt some relief with that.

”And yet the money mattered to you first.” He smiled and sipped his coffee again.

Emily glared at him and sipped her coffee. She had to care about the money. It wasn’t like she had much of a choice. Serve and obey her new Masters in exchange for her eventual freedom, along with the ability to start fresh elsewhere, or for her dronification to be finalized? Either way her allegiance had to be to her former enemy now. Either way she would have to betray her old friends and everything she stood for. Her new Masters would simply program her to if she didn’t give in. “And the videos? The tests? What are they supposed to be, propaganda? You called it a career change.”

“Believe whatever you want to about the videos, but Miss Thompson, please look me in the eyes for a moment. Peer to peer.”

”Oh here we fucking go. We’re not a workplace, we’re a family! Go f-“ She stopped herself as she felt the collar again, her eyes pleading with Mr. E to help her as she spoke again, “I’m sorry Sir I’ll show more respect.” She felt herself relax as the collar and corset sent another calming effect as a reward for self correction. She couldn’t tell if her stomach was sinking or full of butterflies when Mr. E smiled at that. “Peer to peer?”

”I have a great deal of respect for you. You may be considered property of Spiral Holdings now, but currently I am speaking to you as an equal and as a valuable ally.” Another sip of coffee. “You’ve had a very difficult fall, from being like the CEO of your friends to this, but that’s no reason to treat you poorly. You see, Emily, I know you’re going to be useful to us. You may even come to see things our way.”

She finally realized that she found herself sipping her coffee every time he sipped his, but by now she couldn’t give much thought to it. “Equal?” She scoffed. “I am no equal to you, Sir, I am the property of Spiral Holdings. I have no choice but to do as you say, no matter how you present it, because you managed to leverage yourself into holding my leash. Ally? Representation? You’re my Master.” She wasn’t sure where that came from, nor where the devotion in her voice came from. Another calming effect was sent from the collar and corset, but this time a tingling sensation joined. The sensation spread up into the base of her skull before spreading throughout her entire body, and she began to feel even more docile.

”Then do what I say, RT27, if that’s how you want to look at it. Look me in the eyes.” His voice becoming colder. Like an owner more than a friend or colleague.

She managed to pull together the energy to try and resist, but when she felt the collar heating up again she begrudgingly obeyed, falling deep into his eyes while the tick tock of his wristwatch became a backing rhythm. She struggled less to speak and more to prevent herself from showing any signs of compliance, but the awareness that she needed to follow his lead if she had any hope of getting out of this would force the words out. “Yes Master.” She bowed her head, and the accursed collar and corset sent a calming effect again, and her thoughts of resistance began to slowly melt.

”That’s a good asset.” E smiled.

She trembled as she felt another calming effect and tingling sensation, and began to relax more deeply as she sank deeper into his eyes. “Thank you Master,” she said, without realizing that she had a smile on her face. Her mind felt like someone was taking an egg beater to it.

”You not stupid, RT27. You know it’s likely that at least one of them betrayed you. There’s been growing tension, and not just between you and the band, but you and some of the other people you work with. Big egos who believe they’ve worked nearly as hard or effectively as you have to change this city. Fixers threatened by your ability to easily replace them, don’t forget those, and maybe a criminal or two you’ve ripped off seeking revenge.” E sat back and relaxed. “Face it, there’s a lot of motive for someone to take you out.”

She shook her head. “I work with a lot of people, and sometimes personality clashes are inevitable, but almost everyone loves me. I know my place among them, Master.” She wished that she hated calling him that, even if she knew it was the collar and corset devices that were making it feel good, and whatever he’d done to the coffee. Still, the fact she didn’t hate it did trouble her a little. She had only ever called Eric that, and only when she occasionally dressed up as a maid to clean his apartment. She would never admit out loud that she loved calling him Master, at least when she was in uniform and he was bossing her around, but that was just for brief escape from her high stress role in the real world. An intimate game between two friends with feelings for each other that they were too nervous about to fully commit to. This was different. This wasn’t a game. She had a real Master now, and it didn’t bother her as much as she wanted it to.

”Your friends left you behind to become a slave, RT27. They abandoned you at best, and at worst they might have essentially sold you to us. I don’t see you as so expendable, Miss Thompson. I’ll help you find your true place, and I believe you have the potential to be far greater than your former friends could have possibly imagined.”

A single tear ran down her face, and she felt more coming. Her friends had betrayed her. Master had no reason to lie. If he didn’t need her help he could have left her to be fully converted into a drone. She didn’t need the motive of revenge if she was forced to obey anyway. Master had to be telling her the truth. Her friends had sold her to the enemy, but the enemy was willing to help her get out of this mess. Spiral Holdings didn’t seem so bad anymore. Sure, they had fundamental disagreements in worldview, but they were showing her mercy in spite of what she’d done wrong today. In her heart she knew that she was just being manipulated, successfully brainwashed, but her usual resistance to such things was failing.

“Are you ready to be briefed, Agent Thompson, to begin rising from the ashes of the old you?” E would nod towards the white walls which resulted in Emily’s chains being undone, before getting up and standing close to her.

”As ready as I’m going to be, Master. I-“ she gulped, struggling to deny how right this all felt in her gut, trying to convince herself it was just to get herself out of this situation. Feeling like the compulsion to obey had to be nothing more than her secret submissive tendencies combined with the corset, collar, coffee, and attraction to this man. That the  combination would result in anyone’s body betraying them. “I am ready to serve Spiral Holdings, and I am grateful for the opportunity.” She yelled at herself in her mind. She had the opportunity to run now. She didn’t have to keep doing this, screaming internally that she’d successfully played the part and didn’t have to submit any further, but she found herself unable to move. She began feeling angry that she sat still and obedient, refusing to believe she’d been broken and trained so easily, though she struggled to direct her anger anywhere.

“Good asset.” He said, smirking at the way Emily twitched and melted for him in response, patting her on the head which only made her twitch and melt more. “Perhaps you should consider. Were they acting strange before the job? There’s someone you suspect, isn’t there? Maybe multiple people wanted you out of the picture.”

”Acting strange? Maybe.” She thought about it for a moment. Ronnie? Mark? Strange maybe, but neither would have sold her out like this. What would they have gained? “What have you done to me, Master?” She felt her body continue to relax as she lost herself in his fingers running through her hair. She’d never felt this level of relaxation in her entire life, and in the difficult situation she found herself in now, at least becoming a slave wasn’t painful. He seemed like a good Master. He’d shown patience, and obeying him felt good. Maybe she would get to serve him like she served Eric, only real. In a way she wished they’d dressed her in her maid outfit so Mr. E could picture her serving in his home.

”Don’t worry about that. Give me a name,” he commanded. “Is it anyone in the files?”

She still didn’t understand what was happening, but when his tone became one of command she snapped to attention immediately. She knew she should be afraid, but there was an undeniable thrill to it, similar to the thrill of her worry about what would happen if Mark or Ronnie had come by when she was in a maid uniform serving Eric. It would have been so humiliating, and she thought it could have destroyed her reputation as a leader, which made it even more of a rush than any dangerous jobs she’d been on. She looked through the files and saw a summary on Tara, taking it out and handing it to her Master, feeling weightless and calm. Feeling good as she gave him something that was potentially useful. She screamed at herself internally again, blaming this all on not having sex since Eric went missing and telling herself to get it together, but her reaction faded as the devices sent another reward. By now the  sensations were slowly making their way to her pussy, and a vibrating plug she hadn’t noticed would begin to destroy her ability to think straight.

“Are these personal feelings about her, or is this something real? Don’t use her to protect anyone.” He said it far more stern and cold than Emily realized he was capable of.

“She showed up immediately when we lost my lov-erm. Our old drummer.” She lamented, tears building in her eyes. “Eric. Help me find him, please. I’ll do anything for you, Master!” She would shift out of the seat, kneeling and clasping her hands together as she begged. “I’ll even keep being your slave after all of this if it’s what you want in exchange! I just need to make sure he’s okay!”

”If you help me solve this then I’ll help you with that,” he nodded, “but you staying a slave is not part of our deal, and I won’t disrespect your talent by wasting it in such a way. Just tell me about him and Tara.” Compassion and empathy dripped from his words like honey.

”Yes Master.” She hated how easy it was becoming to call him that, but she loved that he stuck to his word even if their deal had an added task for him now. It would have been fair to him to want something else in exchange, but she felt something new spark in her when he chose to do it as a favor. Loyalty. She cursed herself for that, but she couldn’t shake it. “I put so much blame on Ronnie, but I think we’re all why we lost Eric that day. It wasn’t just Ronnie getting sloppy.” She wiped away her tears before continuing. “We pulled three successful ones in a row before she started coming with us, so from my view it seems like jobs only started really going wrong when she showed up. I don’t trust her, Master.”

E pondered for a moment as he looked over the information on Tara. “I don’t recognize her. If she’s involved then it may point to an outsider. Another Corp, maybe, but we have files on so many of their operatives. Nothing about her came up when I ran a check.”

RT27 thought for a moment. There were so many Corps, but only a handful stood out at the top. “Master,” she hated how natural it felt to call him that now, even if she knew it was just due to the mix of controls here rewarding and rewiring her. Maybe she’d feel like herself again if they were removed. “Labor solutions? Maybe Porter Holdings? Either of them have the power to scrub record of anyone successfully, if they wanted to, and there aren’t many others who have the power to truly challenge us.” Us? While she felt right saying it, as if declaring herself a loyal servant of Spiral Holdings, the part of her that was still managing to put up resistance would try to retake control.

She was rapidly becoming more and more torn, and to further extremes. On one end? She had done Spiral wrong, and ultimately for nothing, but her new Master was showing her how wrong she’d been about both her friends and the Corps. He was quickly earning the loyalty she always extended to those close to her, and working as a team would get her out of this faster.

On the other end? She felt a desire for vengeance. To earn her freedom and to rub it in the faces of those responsible for her enslavement. Motivation to play the part of unquestioningly loyal and obedient slave until she no longer had to, wielding a newfound power of those who had done this to her. Not out of loyalty to Spiral or a Master who was just going to cast her aside when she’d fulfilled her use to him, but solely out of mutual interest and a desire to remind those who had subjugated her of their place. She would get everything she’d built back, even if she lost herself in servitude in the process.

”That’s an interesting one but I have my doubts. What could either of them want with me?” E asked, grabbing Emily’s attention again.

”A hostile takeover, Master. I have been ordered by my superiors to help destabilize corps before.” She couldn’t figure out why she referred to her clients that way. They weren’t her bosses or employers. “If they got rid of you and threw your department into chaos, they could easily get away with other actions that may drive stock prices down as there would be difficulties in the investigation, then they buy it all up. Who would really have a new Master then?” She had a smug expression as she looked up towards him. Maybe their personalities clicking would pay off when they were equals again. Otherwise she’d play the part and that would be it. A part of her still knew that she had no true loyalty to him, and certainly none to Spiral even if they were being good to her. Once her end of the deal was fulfilled she’d move on. This was just a new adrenaline rush paired with the way they were trying to brainwash and program her. She just had to give into the part of herself that acknowledged mutual interest, no matter how difficult it was to resist bowing down to her Master and licking a smudge she’d noticed off of his shoes.

He tried to contain his amusement as he took a leash from his blazer’s inside pocket. ”Well perhaps it’s worth looking into then, and I’ll get back to you with any new leads. For now I will have this Tara Hill of yours brought in. For now, however,” he would attach the leash to her collar, smirking as she remained still and compliant. “Feel everything melt away, everything except for this leash, who holds it and who is on it.”

She sank deeper, and both sides she was dealing with would push her to give into her urge, resulting in her bowing down and licking his shoes clean. One out of loyalty, and one solely for image.

“I will reiterate that I don’t want to turn you into a slave, Emily, and it would be a waste to turn you into a mindless drone no matter what some of my superiors have to say about it. However,” he said, tugging her leash to get her attention, “you will dedicate yourself to the tasks we discussed like a slave, but in your mind all you’ve done is make a deal you’re following through on. No different than any other job.” He was satisfied as she rose back to her knees with the leash tug, noting how precise and mechanical her movements looked when she did so, and how perfect her posture was. “You won’t be doing this alone. I’ll assign another agent, Lisa, to be your partner. You will listen to her and follow her lead.”

”Yes, Sir! We have a deal, Sir! I will follow agent Lisa’s lead, Sir!” She said attentively, as if she were a trained soldier. “I will follow her orders without question, Sir!” She would raise her hand to her forehead like a salute. She smirked to herself, wondering if he realized she was mocking him, having foolishly given her permission not to give into her slave side with his continued expression that she wouldn’t ever truly be a slave. Even if she was, wasn’t she just following his will that her talent not be wasted on a life of mindless servitude? 

”That’s right, and maybe you’ll even stick around. Your numerous talents have been accounted for, and so have your skills in leadership. You may stick around, but as a slave? That would be disappointing. Again. It would be a waste.” A reassurance that would likely cost him dearly.

”Stick around? Yes, it would be a real shame if I were a slave. A waste of my true potential.” Her voice was regaining confidence but her typical nonconformist, fuck you demeanor was still lost in the mess somewhere. “It’s not like I could go back after this.”

”Yes Rachel.” He nodded.

“I hate my middle name.” Normally she would be angry, but she couldn’t find it in herself to be mad, instead focusing on E’s hesitation for a split second. She showed a sign of disobedience after having seemingly embraced her subjugation just a moment ago, and accepted being a loyal slave to Spiral. She could tell he didn’t know what to make of the rapid change from Emily, to RT27-E01, and to Rachel.

“Well perhaps you should consider otherwise. I think it suits you extremely well, or it will soon enough. In fact, any time someone calls you that, you will consider your place in Spiral Holdings. You will consider what we’re doing for you. You will consider handing over your talents to us. If you do  choose that path then you will be turning over a new leaf, and thus Rachel will be far more suitable.” He smiled. “I think you’ll like being Rachel.”

“Then. I’m. Free?” She said, clasping her hands together again, looking up at her Master as if to beg.

”Yes. Rachel will be free.” E scratched his head. “I’d think that would be clear to you by now.”

”Emily enslaved. Gone. RT27-E01. A drone. Rachel? Free.” She grinned. “Rachel will get what she wants.”

”I’ll have a copy of those files brought to you. They met an extraction team on the way out that you’ll want to investigate. Between that and your insight, we have a handful of leads to start with, and there are other things of interest in there that you should spend time with as well.” He began to turn, tugging on the leash.

”Yes Sir.” She said, though now she had a devilish grin on her face. “Maybe you’re of interest.” She would drop to her hands and knees again, ready to follow.

“I’ll ignore that clearly inappropriate statement. We’re in a workplace, Miss Thompson,” he teased. “When we get to your new office you’ll get to work immediately. I’ll assign a good secretary to assist you with anything you need and you should start to feel more like yourself again sometime tomorrow. Lisa should meet you sometime tomorrow evening. You’re going to crawl behind just like that. You’re nothing now, and others seeing you like this will humble you, but I think it’s going to motivate a new rise. You’ll be one of the greatest agents we’ve ever had. Now tell me what your story is.” His tone was one of command again, but it gave an air of trying to convince himself that he still had control.

”I am an agent of Spiral Holdings. They were once my enemy, but in spite of our differences they are giving me an opportunity in recognition of my skills. We have a mutual interest in solving this case, so it makes sense to put the past aside and work together. Plus I’m the best. I’m the most talented person in this city.” She declared it with far more confidence than she typically held. It bordered on arrogance. “Maybe I’ll stick around after I show you people how it’s done.”

”And who are you?” His demeanor finally seemed to crack. It wasn’t much, being just enough that Emily picked up on it, confirming that her shift in demeanor threw him off of balance.

”Rachel Thompson,” She declared. She was even less sure of what was happening to her now and especially so due to E’s concerned expression. She hated her middle name. It felt so alien to her. Like it belonged to someone else entirely, or a version of herself from an alternate timeline where everything was reversed.  The next words came out in a tone which was outright mocking, in contrast to the devoted delivery she’d used in a attempt to save herself just a moment ago, and she would ignore her uniform’s attempt to punish her. It was excruciating, but eventually she would feel something short out, and the pain would stop. She wasn’t sure if she was responsible for that or if this uniform simply had a mistake in it, but would note it for the future. She would take a deep breath before she continued, looking right into his eyes with an arrogant expression on her face, “and I serve Spiral Holdings.”