The Gilded Cage Complete Story

Tammy entered the house with her sense of disbelief still very much with her. It had looked gorgeous from the outside but the facade did not prepare her for the incredible interior design and space. As work-packages go, she thought as she walked from room to room, this one would take some beating.

Tammy placed her suitcase on the living room floor and sat down on the sofa. She had to make a call, she suddenly remembered, and this seemed as good a time as any other. Reaching into her pocket to retrieve her mobile phone Tammy was completely unaware that she had been watched since arriving at the airport, eyes that were now watching her retrieve a number from her phone's memory.

In another place Bastion was sitting at his office desk, surrounded by monitors and controls that made the room look more like the bridge of a space station. He ensured that the feed from Tammy was clean whilst, aside from the main transmission, he double-checked all the other cameras in her apartment.

"Bastion, this is Noskova. Who are we watching here?"

The voice came from speakers that sat discreetly on every darkened wall.

"Good evening Noskova. Let me firstly welcome you to the guild and extend my congratulations on your promotion. The lady in question is Tammy Squires, a new player who has just flown in from Chicago. All her biographical details can be accessed via the icon at the top left of your screen"

"How complete is the coverage?"

"It goes well beyond the house. She has accepted a job in one of our corporations, with the house rented to her at a heavily discounted rate. Not only do we have sound and audio at all the static locations she is likely to visit but we also have mobile capacity as well. As with everyone she unwittingly banks with us, has our credit lines, drives one of our cars, shops with us and uses our communication systems. In short, Noskova, the coverage is as complete as you would expect the guild to make it"

Bastion pressed a button and sipped from a hip flask containing rum. It was going to be a long evening, he knew, for fresh players always generated the most interest.

"I have both sides of her phonecall available for listening now. Click the telephone icon at any time to hear it"

A new voice interrupted him before he could speak again.

"Bastion, it's Goldfish. Give me a better view of her breasts please"

"With pleasure, Goldfish. Its' Nice to talk to you again. I have a zoom available and will send it to your secondary window now. Tell me when to stop"

Bastion centred the output for Goldfish on his screen, closing the camera angle tight on Tammy's white blouse before slowly zooming in on her breasts. As they began to fill the screen Bastion felt himself becoming softly aroused and he smiled to himself. This truly was the best job in the world, he thought.

"Perfect Bastion. Hold it there please. I take it a highlight section will be added every 12 hours as usual?" Goldfish said eventually.

"Of course. It would be a shame for anyone to have to choose between beauty sleep and the beauty of this fine lady"

Tammy finished her phone call as Bastion spoke. She was pleased that she had managed to reassure her mother that she was safe and well, without overstating her excitement at the opportunity that had unexpectedly presented itself. A little over a month ago she had been a PA in a dead-end office and yet now, thanks to a headhunting organisation literally ringing her up and offering her the world, she was about to become PA to the CEO of a major international oil company.

Tammy decided to explore all the levels of the house before she settled down and began to unpack. She went upstairs and was thrilled by the three bedrooms and two bathrooms that awaited her. By the side of one of the beds was an introductory card which informed her that a maid, charged to the company, would call each day to clean and tidy for her.

Downstairs in the basement yet another wonderful surprise awaited her. A small but fully equipped private gymnasium, complete with shower filled the entire level. Another card told her that a complimentary personal fitness instructor was at her disposal and that she could arrange his schedule from work tomorrow.

"Bastion, its Goldfish. The guild has really gone to town on this one hasn't it? I've never seen them grant such a grandiose home to a mere player before"

Bastion took another sip from his hip flask as he watched Tammy ascend to the upper floor once more.

"She's worth it. Her psychological evaluation showed she is immensely body-proud and we know she had a strict gym routine back in her old life, so we threw the gymnasium in there to ensure she'd not stray into a public one. It not only allows easier surveillance but also will be a conduit for us to introduce her personal trainer, a gentleman we intend her to take as a lover. He's been coached on her favourite conversation subjects, her mannerisms and her known sexual tastes. He's also physically within 2% of her ideal, based on the boyfriends she's had since the age of 14."

Tammy took a small bag from inside her luggage and entered the bathroom whilst the screen showed a view of the outside of the door only.

"Bastion, its Noskova. Why haven't we got a view inside the bathroom?"

"I'm sorry Noskova but C does not allow us to show subjects in the bathroom" Bastion said apologetically.

"That's a stupid rule. Why does C not allow us to view the bathroom?"

Bastion took a deep breath and allowed the question to hang for a second. Then, with the patience of a parent who is softly threatening as well as informing, he spoke deliberately back.

"Noskova, it is against guild protocol to question the decisions of the full guild members. To do so is to invite sanction. Please refrain from questioning the decisions of C any further. With a little patience I am sure Miss Squires will satisfy us all before the end of the night"

The silence that answered Bastion was answer enough in itself.

Everyone waited patiently for Tammy to reappear. To fill in time, Bastion looked over the display panels for any sign of malfunction. It was purely a procedural act for he knew all to well that every system created by the guild had built in redundancy. He cycled through the hidden cameras within the house with the satisfaction of a master-craftsman admiring his own creations.

Bastion thought it best to explain to his audience how he anticipated the evening to go. It would not only help fill in the wait but also allow them to have a better idea about their new plaything.

"I am sure it will not be long now, gentlemen, for Miss Squires is a stickler for routine and she'll be keen to arrange things ahead of work tomorrow. I think she'll order in some food whilst she relaxes with the television for an hour or so, then check her laptop for emails and the notes she's made about her new position. You can all access her laptop and emails at any time, of course, via your control panel."

As Bastion finished speaking an idea formed in his mind. He congratulated himself just a little too much on his creativity, revealing the inflated ego that was one day going to destroy him.

"Of course we have ensured that the house has numbers for every conceivable take-away she may wish to eat tonight. Whichever she chooses will be delivered to her in exactly 15 minutes, giving us time to place any substance you may like her to consume within her food. Have you any thoughts on what you may like to do to her?"

"Bastion this is Noskova again. I think I'd like to make her aroused in the hopes she will put on a show for us tonight. Can you arrange that?"

"I can certainly have her food laced with something that will make her very aroused Noskova but, of course, what she chooses to do about it will be down to herself. She certainly has a dildo and a vibrator with her. If it amuses you to read we have placed her therapy notes online for you. Within there Miss Squires admits to being sexually adventurous and to masturbate heavily, so she may well live up to your hopes before she sleeps tonight." As Noskova finished Tammy emerged from the bathroom and went downstairs to the living room. As she walked she was watched by many pairs of hidden lustful eyes, each of which cycled through the different views of her body that excited them. To some it was enough to simple watch her walk, other tightened the camera to track her ass or her breasts as they moved in beautiful symmetry. Some of the more crude simply switched the cameras into x-ray mode and we already admiring the green-overlaid view of her underwear. They all had one thing in common however other than Tammy Squires and the Guild, they gained more sexual satisfaction from utterly manipulating her than they ever could gain from the women in their own lives.

Once downstairs Tammy lived up to Bastion's prediction. She went over to the telephone and began to read the numbers for local fast-food outlets. She eventually ordered some Chinese and settled down in front of the television whilst she waited for it to arrive.

Bastion watched her through the television set and thrilled at the power he had over this woman. The Guild members were his prime concern, of course, but they only got the second-hand thrill of being interactive voyeurs. Bastion knew he could make this woman rich or poor, famous or infamous, a queen of Hollywood or a $30 whore, sucking cocks to feed her addictions. He could have her raped, tortured or killed without any sanction or simply erase her name from every file in the world. All this he could do on a whim, yet here she was staring blindly at him without the slightest idea that he existed. It made Bastion feel like God himself.

When the Chinese food arrived Tammy set it out on plates in front of the television. She lay on the sumptuous carpet and ate carefully whilst unknown to her Bastion zoomed in tight, up her skirt. The main viewer filled with the slightest of glimpses of her black silken panties and the pleasures that awaited underneath.

"Bastion this is Goldfish. Nice touch my friend, that is a lovely shot"

"Thank you Goldfish. A good show is about good editing as well as having the best cast. Glad you like it"

Tammy ate her food and then cleared away what was left. She settled down to the television again as Bastion began to do some quick calculations. After a moment he made a general announcement.

"Ok gentlemen. The substances we placed in her food will take full effect in around 20 minutes. We've placed a large dose in there but had had to make it a slow absorber for fear of too great a shock to her system. If anyone need to grab a break I suggest the do so now because Miss Squires is about to become more interesting."

Bastion could see some of the members indicating they were away. Bathroom breaks all round to be sure but he knew most of them would return, dicks in hand, to see if Tammy would perform for them. It was time to spice up the anticipation with a little more information on their latest sex toy.

"I'm send through to each of you edited highlights of Miss Squires talking to her therapist. We replaced her existing one with one of our own around 2 years ago and covertly recorded everything. As you will see our therapist was a woman and so was able to gain her trust completely. In the highlights you will get to see Tammy talking bluntly about her entire sexual history. Enjoy"

Bastion sat back and watched the highlights himself as Tammy sat on her sofa. Soon he could see from her movements that she was becoming very aroused and he wondered how long it would take her to seek release. Sure enough, some 22 minutes after she had finished her meal, Tammy began to stroke her thighs in an absent-minded manner. Bastion knew she would take things a lot further and silently alerted the Guild members to return for the show.

Tammy moved her fingers slowly up her thigh as she spread her legs apart. Her skirt was soon a mere bystander as she pushed it onto her hips, a silent witness which had joined the other more sentient ones as they waited for their first glimpse of her pussy. Bastion remembered from her therapy records that Tammy was inherently shy when it came to her sexuality, preferring to dress conservatively and proud that only a few special men had ever seen her naked. It thrilled him to know, as he watched her push her panties to one side, that she had now become unwittingly corrupted. She was now a porn-star with literally hundreds of men violating her with their eyes.

Bastion was an entertainer by profession, a games-player by choice and a sadist by nature. In creating his show for the Guild he had brought all three elements together into diabolic symmetry, granting power not only over his victims but also the hundred of men he so ably served. He knew that they were there, captains of industry, politicians, law-enforcement and the like and that they were now all slowly masturbating. Bastion did not know their names or faces but he knew he had them by the balls. He could not possibly know however, as he sat there and worked his console, that they were sowing the seed of his destruction.

Tammy had begun to stimulate herself using soft, circular motions as she lay down on the sofa. Her eyes were closed and she was lost in a delightful fantasy about the man she had sat next too on the plane. Her mind allowed her to be the sort of woman that she often wondered about, wanton and unashamedly dirty, whilst she was able to continue to feel pure inside when it was all over. In her fantasy she had taken the man's hand , ignoring the fact that his wife was asleep on the other side of him, and had placed it on her crotch. As he turned in startled arousal, Tammy quickly rested her thumb on his belt whilst the rest of her hand went to work stimulating him.

Bastion began to feed statistical data onto the screens of the Guild members although he knew few would read it until later. He recorded the average number of circular movements that Tammy made with her fingers in ten seconds and cross-referred it with the other women that had featured on the programme. He created and edited series of mini-windows, showing each and every woman as they had been recorded masturbating, and placed them in ranking order from the fastest to the slowest. Bastion also updated a running commentary on each woman's personal technique to include Tammy. He rated her highly when compared to most of his other victims.

Back in her fantasy, Tammy was mixing in as much of what had actually happened as possible in order to make it feel more real. She had talked to the man and discovered he had two teenage children but his wife had been cold towards her, perhaps taking offence at how her husband had looked Tammy over. Tammy had thought then that it must have been a long time since his dick had been loved, judging from his partner, and she had felt sorry for him because he was such a handsome and charming person. Tammy's mind now allowed her to use the scarcely populated aircraft in a way her heart could never have done in reality.

As Tammy played with herself on the sofa she imagined her hand massaging his crotch, feeling his excitement as his erection slowly began to build and strain through his trousers. She granted it freedom by unzipping his trouser and unbuttoning his boxer shorts. Tammy gasped as his cock burst forth, begging for liberation from it's marital loneliness whilst it's owner shot a worried look at his wife. Tammy could see the excitement in his face whilst the danger also scared him to the core. She thought it best to check how far he wanted to go with this so she whispered softly into his ear.

"Does your wife suck you well?"

The mere mention of the act registered an anticipatory thrill on his face. He turned her head and whispered back.

"No, she refuses to suck me at all. She says it's something that only hookers do and she's got more self-respect"

The response figured to Tammy. She thought that his wife had looked like the kind of selfish woman who would demand oral stimulation yet refuse to grant it in return. Her feelings of compassion for him were almost as strong as her newly found desire to get revenge on that selfish bitch for what she denied her husband.

"I'm no hooker and neither is any woman who wants to please their partner. I am going to give you what she denies you but you have to do something for me in return. Firstly, though, is she a light sleeper? I do not want to endanger you too much"

He pointed to his wife's drinks tray to show Tammy the empty gin and tonic glass.

"She's not only had two of those but also a mild sedative. She hates flying. She should be out like a light for around an hour yet"

Tammy whispered to him again.

"Ok, well in that case we can have some fun but you must do everything I say without question. I want to please you but I also do not like the way your wife spoke to me or treats you. I think a little harmless revenge is in order. Whilst I go down on you I want you to lift her skirt and push her panties to one side. Show me your wife's pussy"

Before he could argue she took his cock into her mouth and began to suckle, feeling his body relax into the sensations with greed born from starvation. She watched as he softly exposed his wife for her, showing Tammy the barren prize that she knew was used mainly to control and not to please.

Tammy continued her motions on the sofa as she imagined the feel and taste of his penis in her mouth, enjoying at least one part of her life that even the Guild could not penetrate whilst every other part of her life was currently thrilling them. Bastion received several requests for alternate camera views on her, indicating a strong and active interest by his master, and he smiled as he gladly facilitated their lust.

Back in Tammy's fantasy she was imagining the husband's soft moans as she sucked and licked on the head of his cock. His lack of self-control began to concern her as she did not want him to climax in her mouth, for no other reason than she had better things planned for him, so she stopped suddenly and began instead to stroke his shaft with one delicate finger. Tammy leant into him again and whispered.

"I am not denying you release, honey, quiet the opposite in fact. She's given you grief ever since you were married about other women hasn't she?"

He nodded his answer.

"I bet you have never strayed once have you? Well if she's going to treat you like you have anyway, I think it's right you do the crime as well as the time. There is no-one back of us to see, so I am going to swap seats with and you move the armrest back. I am going to go into doggie-style and I want you to make love to me whilst looking at her. Compare my tender pussy to her dried-up cunt, my firm breasts to her sagging chest and my giving nature to her closed heart. Keep thinking 'fuck you' whilst you fuck me, ok?" He hesitated for a second before silently standing up. In barely a minute he was behind her, admiring her naked ass as Tammy smelt his wife's perfume.

Bastion saw Tammy stop in mid-circle and it threw him for a moment. She was clearly enjoying herself too much to deny herself an orgasm so what was she doing? A thought entered his head and he was almost too pleased with himself as he guessed. She had clearly been fantasising about intercourse and she needed her dildo to heighten the sensation. That would give him a chance to try something new and he made an announcement to the Guild members.

"Gentlemen, if I am right, Miss Squires is about to go to her luggage to retrieve her dildo. She will use the one our therapist recommended and that opens up something new for us tonight. Tammy bought the dildo on-line from one of our suppliers and we were able to switch it with an exact duplicate that has certain, shall we say, special extras"

Bastion allowed his remark to settle for a moment to ensure he had grabbed the attention of his audience.

"It contains a series of sensors which are linked to a transmitter. I will be able to tell you the exact dimensions of her vagina and extrapolate a three-dimensional model for you, which I will cross-refer with national medical data to see how average or otherwise she is. Now that, to be honest, is cute but hardly worth our time. I have also, however, had delivered to you a new device in the past week. Have you all received and prepared it as instructed?"

Bastion waited as each member indicated that they had. Whilst they were affirming this, Tammy had located her dildo and was now settling back onto the sofa again.

Bastion continued.

"Thank you gentlemen. I am sure many of you guessed the purpose of the device. If you lay on it face down and insert yourself into the lubricated sheath, you will still be able to view the feed on the screen that is also attached to it. The sheath with stimulate you in time with Miss Squire's thrusts of her dildo and will also, thanks to the data we are about to collect, mould itself into an exact replica of her vagina. Tammy is, in short, about to allow hundreds of you to fuck her simultaneously"

Bastion saw a call come through from one of the members and opened a channel.

"Bastion, this is Goldfish."

"Go ahead Goldfish"

"Wonderful idea. You are to be congratulated once again."

"Thank you Goldfish. It's not quite the real thing of course but if you like I can have a women sent to you later who has exactly the same vaginal dimension. Allow you to relive the moment more precisely, eh?"

"Thank you Bastion. Arrange it please. Meanwhile back to the show"

Bastion watched as Tammy inserted her dildo into herself, unwittingly allowing hundreds of men to enter her a few moments later. With each thrust she was screwed by some of the most powerful men on the planet, all the time fantasising about her own fictitious little power-game on the aircraft.

Tammy closed her eyes and returned to her fantasy, inserting the dildo as she imagined the husband entering her before he rode her gently. A few moments later she glanced back to check on him, revealing his face to be a picture of ecstasy and pent-up revenge. All the time he was staring intently at his sleeping wife and Tammy was happy to be the vehicle of his liberation.

Tammy turned her attention onto the sleeping wife once more, leaning forward so that her face could stare directly into the closed eyes whilst the husband laboured on. She planted a mocking soft kiss on the wife's open mouth before gently taking the sleeping head and turning it towards her. With a malice she was glad only to reveal in fantasy, Tammy began to whisper into the sleeping woman's face.

"I'm fucking your husband. Wake up you lazy bitch and see how happy he is with a true woman whose not some selfish dried-up crone like you. See the anger in his face, despite the danger of losing everything he needs this vengeance to allow his soul to live"

Tammy cupped one of the wife's clothed breasts in her hand before continuing.

"See this? It's lost all power now the same as your barren desert down there. He'll stray now when he wants to because he's crossed an emotional Rubicon. Secretaries, friends, even those whores you like to describe, will all give him what you will not. The best part? He'll be guilty as hell afterwards, oh yes, but during each time he'll be laughing at you"

Tammy released the breast and clenched her fist, leaving only the middle finger stiffly raised as she flashed it into the face of the sleeping woman. Slowly she licked it wet and then moved it down to the wife's lower half, manoeuvring her slowly until she could see her bottom. Pausing only to ensure her target was still asleep, Tammy inserted the finger into the wife's anus whilst the husband intensified his thrusting from behind.

Tammy looked back at the wife's unconscious face as she felt the husband shudder to his climax. She whispered to the sleeping eyes again.

"He's just filled me with his sperm. He's as much mine as your now. Swivel on that as he recovers"

On the sofa Tammy was close to climax but she wanted to savour her fantasy revenge just a little longer, so she slowed down. Both she and the hundreds of unseen audience participents were enjoyed a good, deep, long screw. Tammy cast he mind back into the fantasy once she had adjusted the speed of her thrusts.

Tammy and the husband quickly rearranged themselves so that they appeared never to have so much as shook hands, with Tammy certain to arrange the wife back as she had been. The only difference this time was that Tammy took the husband by the arm and made the wife look like the stranger. She held him for a while before whispering into his ear.

"Wake her up and let her see us like this. Don't worry, honey, I'll be careful not to endanger you. Have faith"

The husband had to shake his wife hard to arouse her from her drink and drugs induced slumber. She looked over to him sleepily and then awoke sharply as she saw Tammy draped over his arm.

Before the wife could speak, Tammy smiled sweetly at her.

"I am sorry we had to wake you but I just wanted to thank you and your husband for your support. I'm a very nervous flyer you see and I've just had a panic attack, in fact I am still feeling very nervy now. Your husband has been a love in allowing me to hold onto him for the rest of the flight."

The wife seemed uncertain and desperate to think of a reason to reject the supposed aid but it was a harmless enough request in itself, she thought. She oozed into her fake charm.

"That's ok my dear. I am glad you and my husband have had the chance to chat whilst I have been sleeping"

Tammy looked her straight in the eye but maintained her humble exterior.

"He's a lovely man. Thanks to our little chat I feel I have come to know you both intimately whilst you were asleep."

Tammy left the word "intimately" hang with just a little too much load to allow the wife to feel comfortable, especially as Tammy was wearing a tight top which clearly showed her nipples, but not enough load to give the wife cause to question what she meant.

Tammy enjoyed making the wife squirm for the next twenty minutes, with the odd "accidental" stroke of the husband's chest and arms and the odd private joke whispered between them. Becoming bored of the warm-up she then whispered into the husband's ear again.

"My turn to come now. I am going to swap places with you and turn to face your wife, blocking you almost completely from her view. Whilst I keep her distracted I will sit on your hand and I want you to make me climax whilst she watches."

The husband nodded his agreement before Tammy talked to the wife again.

"I was reading a book, it's very good. Here, let me show you bits out of it"

Before the wife could respond Tammy had changed places with the husband and had sat with her back to him. With expert timing he placed his hand on the seat a fraction before her bottom came to rest on it, giving him complete covert access to her clitoris and womb.

Tammy launched into a monologue as she described parts from her book and showed the wife the appropriate pages. The husband began to stimulate Tammy's clitoris and little waves of pleasure assaulted her mind, although she never let her innocent and calm demeanour fail once as she talked. The husband was clearly enjoying himself given the skill he was putting into making soft movements. He was stimulating Tammy just enough to achieve their aim without making her hips move at all. Tammy could feel herself coming after a while and decided to add insult to injury. She brought the conversation with the wife around to a supposed sex-scene in the novel.

"One of the best bits is where this guy, whose wife is a real dried-up cow, decides to have an affair with this woman he barely knows. He picks her up on a train or something, anyhow the important bit is where this other woman decides to phone up the wife out of spite. Whilst she is on the phone the husband is masturbating her"

Tammy paused for a second to savour the attentions of the husband but not long enough for the wife to object to the nature of the conversation. Tammy looked directly into the wife's eyes, as a challenge, yet kept her voice light and friendly.

"Anyway she say 'I only just met your husband but already I have given him better sex than you ever could. I have felt his dick inside me and his sperm is presently swimming inside my pussy, glad to have some freedom at last. I have sucked him, something I know you deny him out of spite, and I have tasted every one of his seven inches with my tongue. The best bit is that he is as we speak masturbating me, sticking two fingers up to you by sticking one finger up me, and I just rang you to let you hear my orgasm'"

With that Tammy shuddered as she came and fell onto the wife, giving the husband enough time to settle himself again, as his wife was distracted. Tammy clung onto the stunned woman as she composed herself and whispered into her ear.

"Your husband is a very good lover"

Then, as she pulled back, Tammy said

"Said the woman in the book. I am so very sorry to have fallen on you like that but that shudder was another panic attack hitting me. I'll go back to my seat and see if I can't sleep the rest of the way"

Tammy allowed the fantasy to drift away as she came on the sofa, panting but released in a most delicious fashion. Bastion correctly concluded that she was not going to provide any more directly sexual entertainment that night.

"Gentlemen, I think that was the main event for the evening. I will, of course, keep the feeds on automated for you throughout the rest of the night. I'm closing down the communication channel util 07:30 tomorrow, to get some sleep in preparation for Miss Squire's first day at the office. Should be worth watching. Good night"

Bastion closed his console and walked to the window of his office to savour the 32nd floor view of the city skyline. He may not own it all but he owned, heart and soul, those who did. As long as the show rated well he knew he was indispensable, king of the shadows with power that even governments could only dream of.

He could not have been more wrong as he slept that evening. The following day Bastion was woken by his alarm at 7am. As he washed and shaved he kept an eye on Tammy as she prepared for her first day in her new office and also ordered the computer to verbally update him on how the night had gone. Few Guild members had bothered to continue to watch Tammy after around 9pm and she herself had slept by ten. All in all a standard, low-interest, evening.

Most Guild members did not watch the show in the daytime. In part it was down to their jobs and in part it was down to the content. Most subjects did little in the day other than work and eat, hardly the stuff of eroticism, and the kind of men the Guild contained would have no interest in seeing how underlings went about their business. It was part of the deal, however, to keep the show on constantly and Bastion did his best to make it entertaining. Sometimes he would arrange for office gossip, a crisis at work or some such to make more of a "soap opera" world for his main stars. In Tammy's case he was going to included sexual harassment in the office, in the forlorn hope that sexual-friction might just increase daytime Guild interest.

Guild members often just downloaded a daily digest of the activities of a subject when they returned to watch in the evening. For this reason Bastion continued to add his own commentary to events so that the digest would have the feeling of being "live". At 7.30am he began his day shift.

"Good morning gentlemen. As you can see Miss Squires has been getting ready for work and will leave in about ten minutes. We have complete camera coverage in her company car and office as well as mobile units and a feed from the conventional city wide CCTV. We cannot possibly miss anything she does or says today"

Tammy set off for work at 7:45 am. Despite her professional, conservative dress-sense, Bastion used the in-car cameras to accentuate every bulge and curve of her body as she sat. Unknown to her, she was tailed by two cars that provided additional footage.

After an uneventful journey, Tammy parked in the subterranean office car park. She left her car and began to walk to the elevator. Bastion thought a comment would help explain the next thing that would happen.

"Miss Squires is about to meet her new boos, John Green. He will intercept her before she boards the lift and will then accompany her to their office. Mr Green has been briefed that he is to sexually harass Miss Squires from day one in order to see if she will lose her dream job or capitulate. If she resigns we will consider her to have lost value and will, of course, terminate her"

Tammy was approached by a very well dressed man in his thirties. He looked over and greeted her warmly.

"You must be my new PA, Tammy Squires. I have heard a lot about you and look forward to us working together closely"

Tammy smiled and attempted to make a good first impression.

"Nice to meet you Mr Green"

"John, please. We need no formality between us Tammy"

"Perhaps you can show me the way to the office John?"

"With pleasure, follow me"

With that John led Tammy to the elevator. As they boarded he softly placed his hand on her shoulder in a gesture designed to intimidate. She looked round and he was smiling with a meaning that made her feel uneasy. This was not going to be an easy assignment she thought.

They entered a very impressive office complex that spanned the entire 15th floor. Everyone deferred to John as he walked by and it was clear he was in complete control of those who worked for him. Tammy noted that most tried to avoid eye contact as he walked to his office.

Once inside the office the noise outside vanished. Such was the soundproofing that Tammy thought she could be inside a library vault. Whilst there was a panoramic view from the window she noted that none could see into John's office from outside. Clearly he valued his privacy.

Bastion made a comment for the daily digest.

"John Green will begin innocently enough but he will become blatent by the end of the day. We hope that she will play along in order to safeguard her position, allowing Guild members to vote on how they wish Mr Green to humiliate her. Mr Green can get instructions from me via a carrier signal beamed into his inner ear. We of course have total coverage for that across the entire floor"

John sat down and asked Tammy to dictate a letter. Once complete he looked over to her with the smile of the serpent.

"One small thing Tammy, and it's probably a failure of communication on our part, is dress code. You have come dressed to be a PA to an important man which, in itself, is fine. I, however, prefer a more informal dress code. I am away from my wife for many days sometimes and I enjoy the presence of a beautiful woman such as yourself, especially if she is dressed in a manner more befitting my tastes. Is that ok?"

Tammy was taken aback but keen to please on her first day.

"Sure, John, whatever pleases you"

"Good to hear. We will take care of that later, in the interim I could do with a coffee please"

Bastion watched her prepare the coffee as he talked to Green.

"Ok John, take it slow for another hour or so. Keep it light and boring then hit her with the first stage at about 11"

John silently nodded to show he had understood as Tammy came towards him with his drink. For the next whilst Bastion saw John make Tammy relaxed. He told her of her fine future with the company, hinted at a substantial bonus at the end of the month and generally motivated her to want to keep the job. Then he pounced.

"Ok Tammy, stop that letter for the moment. Your dress today is beginning to grate with me so what say we arrange for some new clothes to be delivered here, at my expense of course?"

It seemed like a fair request.

"Ok John, that's fine."

John reached into his draw and took out a tailor's tape measure.

"Ok Tammy, I am going to need to measure you in order to make sure everything fits perfectly. Come here please"

She reluctantly went over to his chair. Hoping to deflect him she said

"I know my measurements, John, there really is no need to bother yourself"

John's smiled became more fixed as his tone became more clipped.

"It's no bother Tammy because I need measurements you may well not know off hand. Come over her and face me please"

Tammy stood in front of John as he got out of his chair.

"First things, first, your waist measurement. Turn around please and remove your jacket"

Tammy turned and removed her jacket. She could feel John's breath on the back of her shirt as he took the measurement, using it as an excuse to hold her as he did so. He held her so tight that, to her horror, she would feel his erection dig into her buttocks despite all the layers of clothing between. She froze, scared and unsure of what to do but feeling like a tiny girl inside.

When John released the hold she thought it was over but her replaced it with his hands, feeling all round her waist like a pawing bear.

"I find I am a good judge of a lady's size Tammy. I like to verify the tape-measure with my own personal intuition. Hold still whilst I check you"

Green continued to feel her waist for a good minute until he appeared to be satisfied. He leant forward and whispered in her ear in a manner that terrified her.

"Now for your chest measurement. Arms up please"

Tammy placed her arms up as John took the measurement. Then, as before, he placed his hands on her. This time he settled with one hand cupping each breast through her shirt and bra.

"I am a little uncertain as to your chest measurement, Tammy. I am afraid I shall have to ask you to strip to the waist in order for me to verify it"

Tammy tried to fight back in a way that did not seem like she was arguing with the boss.

"But that would expose me, John, and I am sure you would not want me to do that now would you? We can guess it, surely?"

John stepped back and Tammy instinctively turned to face him. He looked angry as he spoke

"Look Tammy we all have to sacrifice a little if we want to get ahead in this game. I have no desire to see you exposed but I simply have to have a PA who is in tune with my sense of dress. I have a lot of power and am capable of rewarding dependable people handsomely, making them for life. I also have the power to punish undependable people so that they never work again, except maybe frying burgers. Don't make me think you are undependable so soon Tammy, just co-operate and we can get this over with. Please"

The threat was clear and Tammy suddenly felt very vulnerable. If she lost not only this position but also the chance at another, her life would collapse under her debts. She needed time to think about how to counter all this but at the moment she needed to play along.

"I am sorry John. Forgive me"

Tammy turned her back on John again and then stripped to the waist. Her attempts to maintain any modesty were shattered, however, when John came over behind her again and cupped her naked breasts in his hands. All he needed to say was expressed by the slow, deliberate way he molested her.

"Ok Tammy, now for your buttocks. Turn and face me please"

Trying again to save some dignity, Tammy asked

"Do you want me to put my shirt and bra back on first?"

John's tone returned.

"No, we do not have time for all that. Just turn please" As Tammy turned, John kneeled to ensure his eyes were at the same level as her breasts. He did not even bother with the pretext of the measuring tape this time before he placed his hands on her buttocks. John feigned concern.

"You work out which is good Tammy but this skirt is getting in the way of a proper measurement. Take it off please, facing me all the time"

Tammy felt cold inside as she removed her skirt for him. She could see John's eyes move from her breasts down to her pussy, which was barely concealed under black satin panties. John placed his hands on her thinly clothed buttocks and felt their firmness with delight, becoming more breathless as he slowly lowered himself a little before pulling Tammy towards him. He was rewarded with a full-face and up-close view of her pussy, silhouetted by the dark satin.

Tammy was terrified about where this was going to lead but she hoped, against hope, that simply seeing her naked would be enough for him at the moment. She had no doubt at all that he would ask her to remove the last of her clothing shortly.

John threw her with his next question.

"Do you shave your vagina Tammy? I ask simply because I prefer to see a clean-shaven vagina and, given that we will be away on business a lot, I expect I will see yours accidentally from time to time"

The brazen nature of the enquiry, let alone the inference for the future, shocked Tammy even though she was already reeling from the current situation. She knew he was about to see anyway so lying was pointless.

"Yes, I do"

"Show me. Remove your panties please"

There, it was said. Tammy was beginning to recover herself slowly and her impatience at wanting to get this over caused her to snatch her panties down in a sharp motion. John did not seem to care at all for he was lost in his desire for her.

"You know, Tammy, some women shave well and some don't. It's often a fine line between the two but to a man used to the best things, like me, it's important. The only way to know for sure is by touch. I don't mean fingers either, for they are not sensitive enough, I mean the face. It's important to me that my PA shaves her pussy well."

Before Tammy could comment John gave her an order. It was an order, not a veiled-order like before, but a quietly aggressive demand.

"Sit in my chair and open your legs to me"

As Tammy sat in the chair, her legs open, she feared rape. She was reassured to see, however, that he approached her fully clothed. He knelt down before her and began to silently give her head. Despite her fear, Tammy had to admit that after a minute or so she was beginning to enjoy it. Here was the CEO to a major oil company, a very powerful man, on his knees attempting to pleasure her. She scolded herself but nonetheless could not help enjoying the situation, whilst still hating the circumstances that had created it. John was very talented and within 4 minutes Tammy came with a yelp. John stood over her.

"You see Tammy? I gave be very generous to my Pa's if they prove to be reliable. I think you are going to work out just fine and your pussy has passed inspection. There is only one more measurement to take before we are done and you can get dressed again."

The words sent another cold shiver through Tammy that overpowered the warmth of her afterglow.

"Stand up and let me sit there please"

Tammy stood and allowed John to sit down, still wondering what else he wanted before he would leave her alone.

"I need new underwear as these boxers of mine are too tight. I fine it hard to judge you see, never having measured my penis when it is erect. We can order some new ones for me when we order your clothes, Tammy, but I need you to measure my penis first. You will not need the tape-measure"

John stripped and exposed his erection to Tammy. She figured he wanted her to "measure" it with her hands and so she knelt and began to stroke him gently. John closed his eyes for a second to enjoy the sensation before speaking again

"That's good Tammy but I've found that ladies measure a penis best with their mouths. Isn't that the way you usually do it Tammy, measure up a boyfriend I mean, before you let him fuck you? It's with your mouth. Measure mine like you measure theirs, with your mouth and tongue, and start slowly but then build. Take measurements until I say to stop"

As Tammy began to blow John in his chair he decided to make a call. It soon became clear that he had called his wife and he chatted to her whilst watching. Tammy felt sick to be made to be a part of it. A part of her remembered her fantasy from last night and she felt ashamed to have ever found it erotic.

Eventually John came and allowed her to get dressed again before sending her to lunch. She cried in the elevator as she descended to the car park, intent on driving to a nearby park to think about what she should do. Bastion watched her with satisfaction because he thought that the weeping was a positive sign. He continued with his commentary for the digest.

"Miss Squires is no doubt off somewhere quiet to think about things. The tears seem to indicate she is not about to rebel, though time will tell" Bastion was so intent on his commentary that he failed to notice the man as he approached Tammy. The first he knew was when this well-dressed individual greeted her from off-camera, forcing the mobile unit to pan in order to show who owned the distinctly British-accented voice.

"Hello sweetheart, thought I'd surprise you as I caught an earlier flight than I expected!"

As the man spoke he rushed over and embraced Tammy with real warmth and affection, turning her startled form ever so slightly so that her body blocked his hands from the mobile unit's camera. Only Tammy could see that he had drawn a pistol from his pocket and that the pistol was pointing at her stomach. As she froze in terror the embrace almost became comical but this individual was clearly practised at making the unusual look normal. He hissed into her ear.

"Miss Squires, there is no time to explain and this is not the place. I assure you that I am here to help you but I also assure you that unless you come with me, right now, I will kill you where you stand."

He took Tammy's arm in a casual manner that belied the steel grip it endowed before half marching her to a waiting car. He opened the passenger door and bundled her into it, all the while maintaining a breezy monologue about how busy the flight had been, before hurrying around to the drivers side. Getting into his car and starting it were almost one motion, they were so practised, and by the time Bastion could regain his senses the car was already racing from the parking area.

As the car began to speed away Bastion acted with the cool detachment of the professional hitman, evaluating the unexpected whilst at the same time calculating a way in which it could be channelled to suit his plan. He opened private channels to the forces he had at his disposal.

"Mobile One, stay with them but keep your distance. We can use conventional CCTV to keep track if the need arises. Mobile Two stay loose around one and cease filming. Your mission is to pick them up when they stop in case they have somehow identified Mobile One as following them."

Bastion was interrupted by a signal

"Bastion, this is Aegis. I am watching the show and wondered if you needed any assistance?"

Aegis was more than just another Guild member to Bastion, although they both occupied the same seniority, he was the nearest thing he had to a friend. Even though they knew nothing about each other outside of their professional contacts they trusted one another implicitly. It made the request a sincere gesture, as opposed to the breach protocol that one watcher stepping on the territory of another it would otherwise have been. Bastion could not help smiling despite himself

"I did not know you were a fan of the show my old friend. No thanks, I am sure it's something and nothing and we have it covered. Stick around and see how it works out."

Aegis laughed

"It should certainly liven up the daily digest if nothing else. I'll leave my offer on the table and then, of course, defer to your own expert handling of situations like this. Have fun Bastion"

Inside the car Tammy had regained her composure a little but it was clear that she had no way out of this, not least because of the speed at which the man was driving. She thought it best to try to strike up a rapport with him in the hopes she might live long enough to seize her chance.

"I don't suppose you have a name do you?"

I was an aggressive question to fire at a stranger who had just about kidnapped her but it was the best she could do without thinking. He keep his gaze on the road as he replied

"What name do you most like, Miss Squires?"

It was not the response she had anticipated but it was said with politeness and not a hint of malice or aggression. Tammy shrugged

"There was a boy at school once who was called Connor. That always seemed a nice name"

"Then you are in luck Miss Squires for my name is Connor"

She caught the half-smile on his face and decided not to argue. The one thing this man seemed, apart from an expert driver, was friendly. She took it that he simply did not want to share anything he did not have to.

"If it's not to obvious a question Connor, why have you kidnapped me at gunpoint?"

Connor laughed in the restrained manner indicative of his nationality.

"Not obvious, straight and to the point. I am afraid Tammy, if I may call you that, it was the only way to give us a little space from those who were truly holding you captive. You have from now until the time it takes for me to drive you home to make the most important decision of your life, namely do you trust me? If the answer is no then I will let you go and you shall never see me again however, after you have seen what I have to show you, I hope you will say yes and in so doing liberate yourself from an early grave"

Tammy did not know what to say and so she said nothing in reply, just stared at the road ahead. Connor opened a compartment in the car dashboard.

"Inside there you will see a mini-computer that is much smaller than the commercial laptop you could buy down the mall but, I assure you, just as functional. I have pre-set it to receive a certain Internet signal and I just need you to retrieve the unit and activate it. The console is self-explanatory and I want you to assimilate as much of the data as you can in the next 10 minutes. Say nothing, just watch and learn. Then give me your comments"

Tammy retrieved and activated the computer. The initial shock of seeing the live feed from the Guild's programme, the rear of the car she was in as it ducked and weaved, was as nothing compared to the ice that gripped her soul soon afterwards. She read her own therapy notes, saw her life laid bare in the most intimate details and saw highlights from the previous night's show which included how she had helped to masturbate hundreds of men. She read about the job offer, heard the decision to make John Green sexually harass her and saw the numerous camera angles on her humiliation from this morning. She had been given everything she ever could have needed but her mind was reeling too badly to think straight

"Who are you Connor?"

"The most important first step for you Tammy is to know who they are, who the bastards behind that programme are and what they want from you. Have you ever heard of the Illuminati?"

"Yes, some secret society thing that's meant to control the world isn't it?"

"They go by a lot of names and have a lot of agendas but, fundamentally, you're correct. Everyone thinks of them as group which is plotting to take over the world but that is old-hat, for they already have taken over give or take the odd influential individual. Their main function now is to prevent anyone from realising it, stirring up the masses and challenging their grip with a popular uprising. They are by and large men and therefore they also use that power for sexual dominance and recreation, of which that show is the centre-point. You are I fear, Miss Squires, the star in an all-too reality show from which you are unlikely to escape without my help"

"Why can't I just go to the cops or jump on the next plane out of here?"

Connor talked with the patience of one addressing a small child

"Tammy they are more than just the police and there is nowhere, absolutely nowhere that your plane could take you that they would not find you. If you are seen to run they will know you know about them and they will kill you. Nothing is more important to them than maintaining secrecy and if a breach is ordered by a watcher, every resource on the planet is available to that watcher to close down the leak."

Tammy looked puzzled

"A watcher?"

"The Guild has very few full members but quite a few partial members. In between those levels are a select few whose mission is primarily to protect the interests of the Guild. They are distinct to other Guild members because they are given names associated with defence, with the highest watcher being the only one to also be a full Guild member. He is simply called C, in deference, but I can tell you that the one we need to worry about most is called Bastion. He fancies himself as a master-entertainer and has gained special dispensation from the Guild in exchange for providing shows like the one you are part of. If we are to ever liberate you then we must close down Bastion once and for all"

The car was rapidly approaching Tammy's house.

"Why are you helping me Connor?"

For the first time in their brief acquaintance, Tammy thought she saw a look of genuine vulnerability flash on Connor's face

"I've never been a fan of the Guild and have locked horns with them before however I recently lost someone close to me. She died in circumstances that were innocent to the police but that smelled like a Guild occurrence to me, so I began to dig. I found and killed a Guild member in the hope that his computer might give me clues. It did more than that, it showed me how they had put her through this so-called show before becoming tired of her after four days. I assumed the identity of the Guild member, for the show at least, and I have been getting live-feeds ever since. When I saw they had a new victim I decided to act, in her memory and in the name of common decency"

The car pulled up outside the house and Tammy saw that the show was broadcasting every minute of it. Connor turned to ask her the question she knew was coming but she interrupted him before he could speak

"Yes, Connor, I trust you. What can we do about all this?"

Connor looked deep into her eyes

"Firstly you have to continue the masquerade with the Guild. If they find out you suspect they will kill you. Secondly you have to obey me without question, no matter how odd the instruction may seem. Finally I am posing as your boyfriend. They know you do not have one but they are human, they will doubt themselves and do endless checks. That may just buy us the time we need to plan a proper means of ending all this. Now, kiss me"

Tammy was surprised by the request

"Sorry?"

"Hurry, they are watching us and we are in a parked car talking. I am the boyfriend you have not seen in weeks and unless you kiss me they are going to assume it was not sweet-nothings we were exchanging"

Tammy sank into a kiss with Connor and for the first time all day she felt safe. It was a shame when the kiss ended and they had to leave. As Connor took a few bags from the trunk of the car he slipped in his computer, all the time making more small talk about how things had been for him in the last two weeks. Tammy quickly realised that he knew the Guild could hear every word and she joined in as best she could.

Once inside Connor put his bags in the main hall. He called to Tammy who was in the kitchen

"Honey, I know you have to get back to work in a few minutes but I am very dirty from the flight and need a shower. Why don't you join me?"

Still getting used to her role, Tammy hesitated for a moment before remembering what she needed to project to the audience

"Ok Connor, sounds wonderful. I only have ten minutes though before I get back"

They ascended into the bathroom and closed the door. Connor spoke clearly to Tammy for the first time

"For reasons best known to himself, C vetoed the use of audio or visual equipment in the bathroom during the show. Maybe he's got an aversion to bodily waste or something. It does mean, importantly, that this is the one room we can talk freely in. I've set a precedent for us showering together now but they will expect us to come out of here having showered. The smallest slip may alert them. I am afraid modesty must be left to one side Tammy during this matter. We need to shower now please"

Connor broke the ice first by stripping quickly. Tammy could see he was well built even for a man in his 40's and she could not help but feel a little aroused as she watched him enter the shower. She disrobed herself in a matter of seconds and joined him.

The shower was designed for one and there was little room for two strangers to be in there without touching. Tammy did her best but every now and then her breasts caught his arm or back, making her wince. Connor had clearly noticed this

"Tammy we are meant to be a couple of over a year's standing and unless we get our body-language right out there we are going to fool no-one. I understand and respect your shyness but it will get you killed unless you move past it. I think the fastest way for that to happen is for us to touch each other in here, get used to our bodies, as lovers should be. Soap up your hands and stimulate me, make me erect and get a good look at my erection. Then wash my body, slowly, until you get over your shyness around me"

Tammy soaped up her hands and began to stroke Connor's flaccid penis with one, soft finger before she cupped his balls and massaged them. Connor groaned as the sensations registered and soon Tammy could feel his manhood becoming firmer. She felt herself becoming aroused as she looked at him and felt pleased that, if she had to have a pretend boyfriend, it was at least with someone who was so sexually confident.

Her hands began to wash Connor, exploring every inch of his muscular frame as the water washed away her inhibitions. When she was done Connor soaped up his hands and began to massage her shoulders, sending shivers up and down her back, before he placed the most delicate of touches onto each breast. As the soap washed away he replaced his hands with his mouth, suckling each breast in turn as his hands stroked her buttocks, in a combination that made her understand just how talented this man was. Looking deep into her eyes, Connor slowly moved his fingers to her vagina and began to stimulate her inside and out in a way that made her knees buckle. Finally he washed her legs and back before he was complete. Looking at her again he said, in a voice designed to reassure.

"You are beautiful Tammy and we will get you out of this, you have my word. I hope this initial session helped that objective greatly. Now you have to get dressed and return to work to face John Green again. Remember he is designed to push you to well beyond your limits, to see if the money and prospect will make you into a de facto prostitute rather than quit and face ruin. If they think you will play along then you will remain interesting to them and you will live. Never forget that rule, Tammy. The show is designed to provide sexual interest, nothing more or less, and the moment you stop showing that promise to them they will cancel you for good. Improvise if you can but follow their bread-trail if you cannot."

"What about you?"

"I will stay here and work. I've unnerved them enough and I do not want them to think I am a loose cannon. I have just flown in so it's logical that I would take the day off anyway. Come straight home after work"

Bastion watched his monitor as it showed him the couple exiting the bathroom very much arm in arm and clearly in love. He decided a comment for the daily digest was in order

"As you can see gentlemen the man called Connor is clearly a boyfriend, although one our extensive research failed to find. Although his presence was not anticipated it is in the very nature of the show, the thrill shall we say, that it is unscripted. Whilst our research continues on Connor we shall focus back on Miss Squires as she continues at work. I have cancelled the personal-trainer who was meant to become Miss Squire's boyfriend for the moment, though that option remains open again if we decide to eliminate Connor"

Bastion closed the channel as another opened

"Bastion, this is Aegis again. Nice speak to calm to jitters of the listeners but what do you really think about this new guy?"

"We only have a still from the camera and a first name, so searching the databases will take time. We are starting in Lexington and working outwards"

"You could expedite the search greatly if you declared a breach, for you would gain a lot more than just your own network"

Bastion snorted in contempt

"A breach? For a boyfriend coming to visit? I can assure you that whichever researcher missed Connor will pay for it dearly but I think it a little premature to sound the alarm just yet. At best it would make me look a laughing stock if he turns out to be the nothing he appears and at worst, after C inevitably hears about it, it may cause him to question my ability to handle my team. Connor is part of the show until I identify he needs to no longer be a part. When that time comes I intend to handle it within my own team, as I am sure you understand Aegis"

"I do Bastion and I was merely offering my thoughts. I'll watch the show with a keener interest than usual, my friend. Take care"

Tammy felt strangely empowered as she drove back to the office. Although the events of the past 24 hours had been hellish, simply knowing what was happening gave her some sense of control. Connor had not only briefed her but he had also grounded her, giving her both a morbid dread of the future and a hope that she could somehow avoid what had happened to the other contestants. Keep sexually interesting, that was what Connor had said. As long as she was she would remain alive.

Tammy entered the office again and walked confidently into John Green's office. Her confidence took a battering however when she saw the clothes he had bought for her. Green laid them out on his desk.

"As you can see Tammy I have had my people busy during your lunch. These are more the sort of things I expect my PA to wear"

Tammy looked them over with her best acting face on. They were cheap, tarty and more suited to a street hooker than an office worker.

"You can change into them now"

The inference was clear given the events of the morning. Green had no intention of turning his back whilst she did and so she simply discarded her top layer of clothing quickly, denying him the tease of a slow strip whilst obeying every order as she knew she must. As she reached for the clothing, Green stopped her.

"I think a PA works much better when she is not encumbered by underwear. Remove your bra and panties, give them to me, and then put on the new uniform please"

When Tammy handed him her undergarments he sniffed the crotch of her panties with deliberate relish, watching her dress in the mini-skirt and low-cut top he had provided. With no bra to assist, the top held her so tightly as to make it virtually see-through.

Green sat down on his chair.

"Now we are ready for another letter Tammy"

As Tammy went to sit in her chair he held his hand up to stop her.

"Not note-taking this time, my dear, I thought it best to dictate to tape. You can audio-type it later."

Green reached into his desk and produced a Dictaphone. He handed the main unit to Tammy but kept the mini-microphone, which was on a very long lead, to himself. Tammy suddenly became nervous as to where this was leading.

Green beckoned her closer before he gave her another straight order.

"Come kneel on my desk, facing away from me"

Tammy knelt in a tight doggie-style position and the mini-skirt melted before Green's eyes, revealing her naked shaven pussy in all its glory. Green placed the mini-microphone holder inside her vaginal lips, so only the microphone itself was visible. She heard his aroused voice from behind her

"I've always preferred hands-free Tammy. You hold the microphone and work the machine, I'll just get close to the mike to make sure my voice is clear for you later"

Tammy could feel Green's breath as he began to dictate a letter with his face almost smothered by her sweet, musky perfume. For what seemed like an age he remained, panting like a dog on heat whilst all Tammy could do was feel desperately lonely. She knew she had to play along for the Guild but she wanted Connor to hold her again and make this humiliating pain go away.

Eventually John Green finished and returned to his chair as if he had simply dictated a letter in the normal way. The practised air of professional normality, Tammy concluded, must be what allowed his wife to never find out just what an evil man she had married.

Green informed her that they had a meeting to attend later that afternoon and so they began his preparation. When it came to matters of the business he certainly knew his stuff and for the next ninety minutes he was the very model of the dynamic CEO. As the meeting drew near, Tammy was preparing the final draft of his notes when he suddenly changed the subject.

"Oh, by the way Tammy. Before we go into the meeting there is a little ceremony I am expected to perform her, to congratulate our employee of the month. I'll send for them now. Shouldn't take long"

Green pressed a button and a young man, probably no older than 26, entered the office. He looked very nervous indeed. Green flashed a smile at him as he entered.

"Close the door David please and stand in the middle of the room. Miss Squires this is David Grundy, a hot young junior executive who has outperformed all his peers demonstrably this month. As a token of our gratitude, we are going to award him $10,000 and present him with a lasting memento"

Green stood up and invited David to sit in his chair, whilst Tammy was told to sit in her chair facing him.

"There David, give it a try. If you keep on going as you are one day it'll be yours for keeps"

David looked sheepish as he replied

"Thank you Mr Green. I hope so"

"How is the family, David? Married 6 years isn't it?"

"Yes sir"

"Two young children and one on the way I hear? Productive in and out of work it seems" Green said with a small laugh.

Tammy could not help noticing that David was distracted by her presence but then, in these clothes, she could not imagine he would not have been. She felt deeply embarrassed for him.

David blushed at Green's attempt at humour.

"Yes, I am sir"

Green moved over to behind David before he spoke again

"The money will help I guess David, given that you are the only breadwinner in a house filled with debt. Now, another question, have you ever looked at another woman's pussy since you married your wife?"

David turned in horror, unsure at how to reply to his boss but outraged at such a personal question. Green shouted at him

"If you value your income, your home and your livelihood you will keep facing Miss Squires and answer my goddam questions!"

David turned and rigidly stared at Tammy with the look of a terrified animal caught in the headlights. His answer was in a very weak voice

"No, I have not looked at another woman's anything since I got married. I love my wife too much" Green continued in his normal calm tone, assured he had made his point

"In fact, David, you made great play about the fact that she was your only girlfriend. You waited before marriage before you even held hands, didn't you?"

"Yes, it was a matter of principle for us both. We are still glad we waited as it makes our union so special"

Green looked at Tammy

"Spread your legs for David, Miss Squires"

David gasped more out of fear than arousal as he was forced to watch Tammy open her legs to him. After a few moments, however, the male instinct within him made him want to stare at the pussy of this gorgeous woman. That made him feel the most intense shame of his life.

Green leaned into David's back.

"Beautiful isn't it? Tammy, come her and sit on my desk just in front of David. Spread your legs again and let him get a good look at what you have between them"

Tammy felt sickened more than ever as she had to comply. Her face tried to show David how sorry she was for her part in all this but he was too terrified to notice. Soon David's face was a mere inch from her pussy and he could smell her for the first time. The memories of his wife kept him from screaming, for he knew they needed the money more than he needed to run.

Green was now enjoying himself immensely as was self-evident from the tone of his voice.

"What is your wife's name David?"

"Julie, its Julie Grundy"

"Well it's only fair that we do not forget her in all this, after all she's been your support whilst you have worked so well for us. Show your gratitude for her by tracing with your tongue, on Miss Squire's clitoris, 'David Grundy loves Julie Grundy, his one and only lover, forsaking all others'"

David hesitated and Green added, with new menace

"Unless you want me to tell her you've been fired for feeling up my PA?"

David began to trace the letters on Tammy's clitoris, doing it so gently that she knew in her heart he had only ever done this for the one woman he loved. It made her cry inside that she was being made to corrupt such a loving soul even though the motions began to give her pleasure.

Once he had finished, David withdrew with small tears in his eyes. This only seemed to spur Green on further. He leant into David again as he spoke

"That was a nice gesture David, I am sure Julie would have appreciated it. You have a few close friends in the office David and one of them told me that you and Julie took some shots and video on honeymoon, close moments shall we say, which you have stored on a web-based email. You like to view them sometimes during lunch as a reminder of your first time together. I am sure you would like to share such a happy moment with us today. Download them onto my PC at once"

David was resigned now but even so this extra violation, of his most sacred moments with his wife, caused him to hesitate. Then he remembered Green's threats and he felt compelled to download the files.

Green opened them and Tammy saw the young couple, clearly nervous and complete virgins, begin to embrace and make love the best way they could figure how. They did not undress and Julie was still in her wedding dress whilst David wore his marital suit. The video was good quality and the sound was so good that they could almost hear the heartbeats.

Green took the mouse and waited for the moment when David was about to enter his wife for the very first time and then paused the video. He opened another series of still shots which showed Julie Grundy exposing herself around her wedding dress. These had clearly been taken before they made love as Julie looked very nervous.

Green let out a low mocking whistle as he cycled through the shots

"There we are. That's the bride's virginal tits, her pert ass and her virginal pussy. To think it took her four years to show you them and yet she's shown me in under an hour. Now, let's see how good that sound really was"

With that Green allowed the video to move on. As it showed David penetrating Julie she gasped but Green, looking for something else, ran it back and forth a little. He then opened another programme on his pc and copied the moments of penetration, in sound only, to a splitter programme. Just before the gasp it was possible to hear a tiny, wet crack.

Green smiled.

"How lovely of you David to share the sound of your wife's hymen breaking. If you just excuse me for a moment I am going to make that sound my notification of new email, her moan upon entry my new window sound and that shot of her with her legs spread and tits out in her dress my wallpaper."

David just shrunk as Green took his most precious memories of Julie and debased them into pornography for his own gratification. Tammy could not believe that even Green could be so sadistic but, with her life on the line, she could do anything but watch in silent horror.

Green finished and then leant into David again

"You know Julie's nice but Miss Squires here is much better looking. I could not allow you to leave here without a nice memento to celebrate your employee of the month status. If you refuse any part of my gift I will fire you and ensure Julie is handed enough fabricated evidence to think you are an embezzler and a womaniser. Do you understand me David?"

"Yes sir" David said in a hoarse whisper.

Green smiled

"Ok, well according to the video your first wedding fuck lasted 5 minutes and 33 seconds. Miss Squires, go into the first closet and get changed into the outfit that awaits you. David, go into the second and do the same. You have 3 minutes to return"

Both of them entered the closet wondering and returned in certain, hellish knowledge, as to what Green planned. Green told them to stand before him.

"Miss Squires is wearing the exact same wedding-dress and underclothes that Julie was wearing and you, David, are wearing exactly the same clothing as well. Thanks to your friends I learnt you kept them, unwashed, at home as a keep-sake and I had them stolen and brought here. Your main prize for winning the employee of the month, David, is to claim Miss Squires as another wife whilst smelling Julie every second. Miss Squires, lay on the desk and then David I want you to mount her. I will turn the screen towards you and you must mount her as you did Julie on that night. Any deviation will result in all sanctions mentioned earlier"

Tammy lay down and arranged herself, still dressed but fully exposed, as she had seen Julie do in the video. David entered her with a look of utter, utter defeat and self-loathing on his face. As David entered her, Green played the sound of Julie's hymen breaking. He then quickly said

"Do not fuck your new bride yet David, just rest up her vagina for the moment. As I said, it's a shame to exclude your wife from your happy day, so I want you to ring her up at home. Tell her to download the video and that you want to relieve your first ever time together. Tell her you want her to masturbate whilst she watches it, allowing you to hear her on the phone, and that you will masturbate and allow her to hear you. Finally tell her you want it to last exactly 5 minutes and 33 seconds, like your first ever fuck did. If she asks where you are say you sneaked off work and have grabbed a private office for a quick bit of illicit sex. David, one last thing, make her agree and when she does I want you to fuck Miss Squires for the same time. You are to come at the same time as your wife, on that mark, and you are to moan throughout so she can hear you fucking another woman. Tammy remain silent. I will video you both"

David made the call.

"Hello love, don't talk just listen" he began.

In a few moments he had convinced Julie to play and Green put her on speaker. At his mark David began to fuck Tammy as Julie masturbated noisily on the other end of the line. Green not only taped the incoming call alone, to allow him to hear David's wife masturbate for him whenever he liked, but also videoed David as he became more and more aroused fucking Tammy. Despite the situation David could not help but enjoy the sensations of the tight, gorgeous pussy around his near virginal shaft. Green was right, Tammy did feel better than his wife ever had

On the mark they all came, through more faking than actuality, and Green sat back to hear them all pant. He put the speakerphone on mute whilst he checked to see if David's sperms really was inside Tammy's vagina and, when satisfied, allow them to get off the table. He said to David

"Tell Julie, while you recover, that you want her to tell you every naughty thing, every sex act and every fantasy that you have shared as best she can remember. Tell her to make it a monologue, as you just want to bask in the sound of her voice. Then get dressed but remain silent and stay here."

David complied and soon Green sat back to record every intimate moment of their six year marriage, every fuck, every illicit blowjob in public, every fondle and every fantasy that Julie could remember. He thrilled knowing that he was violating the sanctity of their union with every syllable, for those with no love in their heart hate true love most of all.

When Julie had finished, Green got David to end the call. He looked over to him

"David, I hope we understand each other. I have video of you being unfaithful to your wife and I shot it in such a way as to make it look like you were alone together. Not only will I use that if I have to but also I will ruin your financial security. You will obey me from now on or I will destroy you. Get changed into your works clothes again and go home, to begin on a project for me. You have two months to convince your wife that you want to get involved in the swinging scene, threaten divorce if she refuses. In 8 weeks you will invite me to you home to sleep with your wife whilst you watch and you will make her watch as you profess your desire to suck my cock. You and your wife will then take it in turns to suck my cock and swallow my seed, both on your knees, whilst I stand over you in your front room. Fail me and you may as well end your life, David, for I will make you wish you were not alive. Now go"

David changed quickly and then fled as Green turned with a smile to Tammy.

"Now, time for that meeting I think. Get changed back out of that wedding dress Miss Squires, it makes you look like a $2 whore"

Bastion was pleased that Green was living up to his brief. The daily digest needed spicing up and the Guild members would appreciate the power-game Green was playing. Bastion thought another comment would help the audience gain a better appreciation.

"John Green is my own personal find and, I think you will agree gentlemen, a real asset to the production team. In a few years he may even have proved worthy enough to become a partial member of the Guild but in the meantime he has been granted all the power he needs to serve us, with his own inimitable style added of course. Our unexpected houseguest, the man called Connor, has been lazily sitting around Miss Squires house watching television. Other than the nature of his arrival he currently appears unremarkable but we shall see over time"

Bastion ended his commentary and opened a new channel. His tone changed immediately from the one he had adopted for the audience, suddenly becoming annoyed and maybe just a little tense.

"Agent 7 this is Bastion. What progress on Connor?"

Agent 7 replied with the air of a seasoned professional footballer who is about to tell his coach that he suddenly cannot catch the ball anymore.

"We know a lot about what he is not, sir. The photograph and name do not cross-refer to any database in Lexington and, though we are only partially through searching them yet, it is looking like he is on no Federal database either. That included immigration, which we checked because of his accent. We have contacts running through military and civilian intelligence in Britain but he's certainly not on their general police of governmental systems either"

Bastion paused for a moment, his mind racing.

"What about Lexington airport?"

"First place we checked sir. No-one with the name Connor, first or last, looks like the man in the house. We also checked all the CCTV from the airport from the last week, let alone day, and he's not come in under any other name either. The car registration is false but the car itself is an exact replica for one reported crushed a month ago in Midland, Texas."

"Why would he have chosen Texas, Agent?"

The agent took a second to think before sighing. This was clearly a stab in the dark answer.

"Well, it's across federal lines so the update to local law-enforcement would lag. Being such a large area the vehicle could have been brought to Midland from pretty much anywhere without attracting too many witnesses. It smells to me like a professional decoy but a true professional would know that the car, at worst, would be notified onto local records within two weeks. He's overdue a change"

Bastion relaxed a little

"So he's already making mistakes then?"

"Yes sir, unless he wanted whoever ran the car to know he knew enough about counter-surveillance to use the manoeuvre in the first place"

Now Bastion was worried. He showed it in a manner typical of the child-man he was. He shouted

"Listen, I don't care what games he may or may not be playing. There is not a man born of woman that the resources of the Guild cannot find. I expect to know his mother's maiden name, let alone who he is, within twelve hours. Twelve, do you hear me agent?"

"Yes sir. It will be done"

The channel closed. Bastion had just a second to compose himself before another channel opened. It was not enough

"What?" he bellowed

"Sorry Bastion, this is Aegis. Have I caught you at a bad moment?"

The friendly voice brought Bastion round instantly.

"No, not at all. I am just surrounded by incompetent underlings that's all. How can I help you?"

"I know it's a breach of protocol but some of your agents came sniffing around mine for the British information search on Connor. I took the liberty of asking them to copy me with what they found. I thought you might appreciate an ear to talk to without having to go to C"

Bastion sat back in his chair and thought for a moment. If it was a choice between ego and good council he prided himself on choosing the council. It was a typical self-deception.

"Aegis, if it were anyone else but you I would decline. The floor's yours. What's your call on all this?"

Aegis's cultivated tones were barely done justice by the crystal-clear signal

"The odds that we missed Connor in the research are slim. The odds that Tammy Squires has a boyfriend who we missed and who just happens to live the life of James Bond are nil. The man is clearly there with an agenda and Miss Squires is a vehicle for that agenda, nothing more"

Bastion interrupted

"How do we know that Squires is not a co-conspirator?"

"Impossible. Your agents trailed and researched her for two years before she was ready. There is no way she could have been recruited without our knowledge. This man is the only kind of random element, the loose cannon with a mission, our network cannot detect in advance. I doubt he knows of our existence or else he would never have entered that house. Only a suicidal man would seek to challenge us so blatantly. If he were linked to some covert-operation our contacts in the governments would have found out what it was by now, even if they had not already given us their customary twenty-four hours warning, which they have never yet failed to do. My best guess is that he's passing through Lexington and has either bribed or threatened Miss Squires to shelter him, possibly whilst they were in his car. We cannot, however, assume he does not have friends who care enough to check on him"

Bastion relaxed at that analysis. A gangster or lunatic was no threat to him.

"So you suggest an undertaker unit, Aegis. End him quickly?"

"No, quite the contrary. Until we know the consequences of his death it would be foolish to assume that there would be none. He's connected well enough to avoid the usual records and we need to know what that means. My advice is to play it one of two ways. Call a breach and let us turn the entire weight of the Guild on him and pull him apart or allow your agents to get there in the end, meanwhile keeping the tone of your show sexual rather than political"

"Which would you chose Aegis?"

Aegis sighed.

"You already know old friend, just as I know you will choose option two. Good luck. Aegis out"

The reference to "sexual" suddenly brought Bastion back to his primary focus. He cursed himself for having devoted twenty minutes to something that others had covered, time he should have been spending on the star of his show. Bastion took one last look at the feed from the house and laughed to himself. How could this Connor, a man who seemed to spend all his free time watching trash television, possibly hurt him? Bastion looked at the feed from the office and saw that Green and Tammy had moved from his office to the boardroom.

Tammy was sitting next to Green at the head of a huge table. The table was solid wood and far more suited to a medieval banqueting hall than a boardroom, with room for several courses per guest and elaborate table decorations. The actual dressing of the table, little more than a pen and pad per delegate, made the emptiness striking

At the corner of the room was a projector designed for Power-Point presentations and the ubiquitous flip-chart that always seems to grace, or otherwise, any corporate meeting. Green sat with his back to them, in a leather chair fit for a despot, as the delegates filed in. Tammy had expected them to all look scared of Green and she was not surprised when the filed in looking more like prisoners that valued participants. The only mild surprise is one of the eight was a woman, in her middle-aged but still attractive in an executive sort of way. They sat down and looked at Green. Green addressed them warmly

"Ladies and gentlemen thank you for attending this inaugural meeting. I know you know each other but I expect few of you have ever worked on the same project before. I chose you because your records indicate you have real commitment to the company, to the ethic of teamwork and because of your seniority within your respective divisions. This session is mainly designed to break the ice, brief you on the new project and also to test you. I warn you that your loyalty to the company in general, and me in particular, will be tested here today. If you pass you will enter a new phase of your career. Heaven alone can help you if you fail. Any questions?"

None dared to ask any. If they were nervous before, thought Tammy, they were terrified now. Tammy could only wonder what humiliation lay ahead this afternoon and again she found herself yearning for the comforting presence of Connor. She hoped he was ok.

Green continued

"The themes of today's meeting are twofold. The first is closing the sale and the second is screening out distractions in the workplace. This will lead to a new international expansion project for those who can convince me they have the necessary skills"

Green went to the flipchart and grabbed a pen.

"Ok, who can start me off with some distractions they may face in the workplace?"

The lady said

"Too many emails"

Green wrote that on the board

"Yes, Mrs Winters, a good start. Too many emails, not enough delegation. Anyone else?"

One of the male delegates took the lead

"Noise. A noisy working environment"

Green noted it on the chart

"That's fine Mr Ferguson. We all know how much we value our offices for escaping that one"

The table had relaxed now. Another delegate spoke up

"Swamping. A lack of prioritisation"

Green wrote that down and then turned to them.

"That's fine Mr Yates but I was thinking of another word that begins with the same letter"

With that he wrote, in letters that filled the remaining space on the board, 'sex'.

The table froze in silence. Green turned to them and spoke with the manner of a fire-brand preacher

"Yes, ladies and gentlemen. The buyers, the contacts, the clients out there will also be ladies and gentlemen. Some will be downright ugly and staid, some gorgeous and wanton, but we have to do business with them all. We have to stay focused no matter what the sexual distractions may be. I only want focused people in my new team, the rest are heading for the welfare queue."

Green let that threat rest for a moment before he turned to one of the men who had spoke.

"Mr Ferguson, you are in charge of sales of our technology to partners. A little role play now. Bring your chair over here to the corner and I will bring mine. I am to be the buyer and you are to be the seller."

As Ferguson brought his chair over, Green activated an intercom.

"Ok, bring them in please and then leave"

Ten men silently brought in laptops and placed on the table where each delegate was assigned to sit, the ninth was given to Green and the tenth to Tammy. All were switched on and ready to receive. Tammy looked at her screen and saw it was plain blue, giving nothing away. In addition to the laptop, for each of the male delegates only, a small grey box was placed under the table.

Green sat in front of Mr Ferguson, in a corner of the room now illuminated so that each delegate could see the whole of each man clearly. Green addressed the room.

"Ok, you will all participate in the role-plays today. I want you now to read your screens and assimilate the assignments you have been given. Watch them for further updates as well. Only Miss Squires and myself will see all the information, a point you will appreciate in a second. Read and then raise your hand to agree you will participate in your assigned role"

Tammy saw the data being transmitted. It was the personal dossier on each delegate and was a veritable work of art, covering each sexual secret, dirty dealing and criminal act they had committed since working for the company. Green had used the Guild well, Tammy thought, for each and every person in this room could not afford for even half the information contained in their dossier to become known. At the end of each dossier was a stark warning. Obey all orders in this room from Green, speak of this meeting to no one and watch everything with complete attentiveness. Failure to comply meant exposure, success in complying meant great career advancement.

Slowly, in a state of shell shock, each delegate raised his or her hands. Green spoke almost apologetically

"I need you to know that you can trust me and I need people I can trust. This is a test of your obedience, nothing more, and certainly not something I will enjoy having to put you through"

Tammy almost laughed out loud at the barefaced lie Green had just told with such sincerity.

Green spoke next to Mr Ferguson. He turned his screen, now empty of all but Ferguson's dossier, and told him to read. Ferguson turned white and then slowly raised his hand. Green smiled and began the scenario

"I am the most important client in the world. If you do not get me to buy your technology then the whole corporation will fold, costing thousands of job including your own. I am more than eager to buy but you have one problem. This is the clinching meeting but here, in my country, we have different customs than anywhere else. You must sell to me no matter what. If you hesitate you will lose my interest"

Green typed to Tammy 'Do whatever it takes to sexually arouse him. I want to see his cum but you are not allowed to fuck him'

Tammy walked slowly over to Mr Ferguson and sat on his knee, allowing him a clear down-top view of her bra-less breasts. She could feel him stiffen more by the second.

Green talked to the room again

"I want you all to watch this closely, with the exception of Mrs Winters. Before you do, gentlemen, I want you to unzip your trousers and place your flaccid penises completely free of your garments. Mrs Winters you are, under your clothing, to remove your bra and panties and then give them to me. Whilst you watch our role-play, Mrs Winters will come to each of you in turn. Her mission is, by touch alone, to judge whom has the largest cock amongst you. She will wait 15 seconds with each delegate after she has finished. In that time you are to feel her vagina, under her skirt, and guess how large it is. You are to also guess her bra-size by feel alone, again under her shirt. Send me your answers via my laptop. Proceed."

Mrs Winters wriggled for a minute before loosening her garments. She presented them to Green, who smelt them deeply, before she began to work her way around the other delegates

Meanwhile Mr Ferguson had begun to launch into his spiel about the technology whilst Green just sat back and blanked him out. All he was concerned about was how his game would go.

Tammy began to stroke Ferguson around his face and shoulders whilst moving herself so that her naked pussy burned it's way through his trousers and onto his erection. She slowly began to grind his crotch as she undid his shirt, tantalising his chest hair with soft breath and tiny kisses. Ferguson's voice began to crack and Green shot him a black look, forcing him to resume as if the most beautiful woman he had ever seen were not making out with him.

Tammy guided Ferguson out of the chair and sat down. She pulled him gently into her lap and then pushed up her skirt, so that Ferguson could see nothing but her gleaming, excited and shaved pussy. Tammy was as surprised as Ferguson himself that she was aroused and looked deep into herself for a second. Maybe it was just the abused turning into the abuser, a woman glad that she was being given the power instead of it being taken from her, or maybe it was just the primal paradox within women that seeks to break their mate and yet despise them when they do. All she could say for certain is that she was genuinely aroused by the power she had over this man.

As Ferguson spoke his breath stimulated her clitoris, like a cooling breeze that fans the flames ever higher, and she opened her legs to enjoy the sensation. Her conscience suddenly returned with a vengeance and she quietly checked each of Ferguson's fingers for a ring. Finding none she was content that at least she was not going to hurt two marriages in one day, a thought which again main a psychological divide between this man and David Grundy. Why should she make that distinction, she wondered, had she really been brutalised by Green so quickly that she discounted a man's sexual feelings unless a woman was also going to be hurt? Whatever the reason she was shocked to feel a small part of her was disappointed that Green was not going to allow her to rape this man.

Ferguson continued to talk as Mrs Winters went around the room. Mr Yates was fourth and she looked him up and down for a moment. He was a very handsome man of approximately her own age and she savoured the chance to see, let alone play with, his cock. At first Mrs Winters had been nervous but, after the first man, a small part of her was beginning to enjoy this despite herself. As a woman she was not aroused solely by the physical sight of genitalia but the idea that she had all these senior, power men, literally 'by the balls' appealed. Not only was she getting to be intimate with men who would have dismissed her for some younger model but also she knew these men could never again dominate her, knowing she knew what they carried between their legs. She almost pitied their little-boy egos.

With the others Mrs Winters had felt them whilst standing but with Mr Yates she knelt down, filling her face with his limp cock as she played with it a mere inch from her eyes. She knew he dare not look down for fear of breaking Green's ground rules and she used this to tease him mercilessly, taking some of his pubic hair in teeth and pulling until she could see his eyes water. Once finished with her evaluation Mrs Winter again changed her technique. On the other men she has stood whilst they fondled her but with Mr Yates she sadled him, exposing her pussy wide as she placed the head of his soft cock at the entrance of her vagina. She knew that Yates was allowed to look at her only during his feeling of her and so she waited.

Yates had to turn his head and instantly saw Mrs Winter's pussy, wet and excited, almost ready to swallow his cock. He began to dutifully measure her pussy with his fingers and then tried to evaluate her breasts with his cupped hands. Mrs Winters could feel his cock throb softly as he touched her and she waited until his hands were filled with her breasts. She pushed forward and kissed him passionately, in a motion that completely threw his reason and allowed nature to rule in its' stead. She pushed her pussy onto his now-raging cock and gasped as he penetrated her. His face was one of frozen surprise, pleasure and fear all at once but he suddenly remembered he had to watch Green again or break the rules. Yates put his hands back to the side as Mrs Winters, after only 5 thrusts or so, dismounted him and went on to the next man. Her face was one of erotic triumph mixed with disbelief at just how brazen and empowered she felt.

Tammy was feeling similar emotions, mixed still with a rapidly fading guilt, as she stood Mr Ferguson up and stripped him naked. She sat him down, with the man still giving his sales pitch to Green, and admired his erection. Tammy looked on it not only with the lust for power that had got her so seamlessly to this point but also with vindication. A few men could fake orgasm but none could fake arousal. Where a woman would have been dry in these horrendous circumstances this man, and most men, were so much the beast that their animal instincts could overcome even the deepest feeling of shame and foreboding. If Mr Ferguson was, at some level at least, enjoying this then why shouldn't she?

Tammy took Ferguson into her mouth and felt a new sensation that augmented that of power. She felt challenged by this man now. Her Ferguson was being forced into humiliating actions in front of an audience, yet the main reason Green had any power is because Ferguson had done wrong he could not afford to be exposed. Tammy had seen it. Ferguson had cheated on every girlfriend, every business-deal and every human being that had ever trusted him. He deserved to be rotting in jail, not sitting as some high-paid executive in a position of trust. Tammy had the chance, if she could put him off his stride enough, to make him lose and make Green expose him. Committing herself to every woman Ferguson had ever hurt, Tammy put her heart and soul into trying to achieve just that.

Tammy had always been gifted when it came to fellatio but she had always held a little back, out of a desire to give the perfect blowjob to her future husband as her wedding night gift. Suddenly that had changed and she now wanted it to be no longer a gift of love but one of righteous retribution. As Tammy began Ferguson knew he was in trouble, for the one thing he adored more than anything was fellatio and he knew that if he climaxed, he could lose everything.

Tammy began slowly as Ferguson continued to sell his product to Green. She slowly moved her tongue around Ferguson's tip until she found his sweet spot. When she hit the most sensitive part she saw him squirm involuntarily and she went to work on it, mercilessly stimulating it no matter how much he attempted to squirm it clear. Ferguson looked down and looked deep into eyes such as he had never seen before, intense eyes that held both complete excited passion and complete contempt in equal measure. He instinctively knew he was being sucked by a vengeance demon and it scared him to the core.

After a minute, Tammy decided to increase the pressure. Still felateing him she carefully guided him off the chair and laid him on the ground in front of Green. Tammy knew Ferguson was forbidden to resist and she mocked his lack of power with her slow, deliberate movements. Tammy knew that as well as physical stimulation a man needed visual stimulation as well, so she went into a classic 69 position and filled his vision with her wet pussy. She was careful to place it just in front of his nose so that her arousal would instinctively excite him as well and was rewarded with a sudden additional hardness of his cock in her mouth.

Tammy was more aroused than she had ever been in her life. Her knowledge that she could beat this man and have him punished, coupled with the sheer, raw power she had over him right now, made her feel alive. Tammy decided not to cheat herself and, in an attempt to celebrate her arousal as well as to push Ferguson closer to his judgement moment, she placed a finger into her open pussy. Tammy masturbated one half inch from Ferguson's face and she began to hear his presentation falter, under deeper and deeper breathing, but he sill held on.

Inside his body Ferguson knew he was a prisoner. He was a prisoner of his own biological urges as well as of his selfish, wicked past. He said a silent pray to the God he had long since disowned but received no mercy, indeed the sight of that gorgeous pussy being stimulated sent him ever closer to the edge. His cock ached for release and his breath became more and more strained. He knew he could not last much longer but still strained every mental sinew to avoid the inevitable.

Tammy came with unprecedented intensity within thirty seconds and the orgasm almost threaten to give Ferguson clemency,, taking her breath away as it did. Tammy held on though and now dipped her fingers into her glistening pussy, forcing the juice into Ferguson's mouth to stimulate yet another sexual reaction from him. Tammy went to work with renewed passion on his cock and listened to his voice getting ever higher and shallower. Suddenly Tammy felt Ferguson's cock go rock hard and she knew she had got him, he was about to go over the edge and there was nothing he could so about it. Tammy looked quickly between her legs and locked eyes again with Ferguson, revelling in the excited terror for one more second before she felt him cum into her mouth with exceptional force. The ejaculation was so strong that Ferguson just crumpled in the middle of one sentence, screaming out in the ecstasy of the release and the anger of the defeat.

Before Ferguson could do anything else Tammy whipped round and gave his panting mouth a mocking kiss, pushing his cum down his throat so hard that it made him choke. She looked up at him with spent anger, panting at her own exertions, before she whispered

"Swallow that, bitch"

Tammy got off Ferguson and he saw Green stand over him. Green was calm despite the sexual thrill he had gained from seeing Tammy win. He looked into Fergusons face and said

"You lose Mr Ferguson. Run now and the police may not catch you for weeks"

Ferguson routed, in such a hurry to leave the battlefield that he fled the boardroom naked.

All the delegates at the table had been morbidly fascinated by the scene in the corner and now sat in stunned silence. Mrs Winters had long since finished and now approached Green.

"Ah Mrs Winters. So, in your opinion, who has the largest cock amongst the delegates? Who also has the smallest?"

"I think that is by far and away Mr Yates, sir. The rest are just minnows by comparison. The smallest is Mr James who I reckon is packing little more than four inches"

"I see. I have the results of their guess on you, regarding your pussy and breast size. Do not expose yourself to them but come closer and raise your skirt to me so I may check"

Mrs Winters moved over to Green and, careful not to expose her buttocks, she raised her skirt. Green moved beneath it and placed a single, deep kiss, on her vaginal lips. He then stood and she undid her shirt, allowing him to feel her breasts for size. Green not only felt them but he also placed a single kiss on the end of each one.

"Now, do yourself up Mrs Winters please"

Mrs Winters buttoned her shirt again. Green looked over to the male delegates at the table.

"Ok gentlemen. Line up in front of me and remember to take the box at your feet with you"

The six men lined up in front of Green and Mrs Winters, each placed their box at their feet. Tammy sat on the corner chair and watched with morbid interest.

"Mrs Winters, we need to check their cock-sizes. Undress them completely please"

Mrs Winters had lost her inhibitions now. She made no secret of the fact she enjoyed slowly, mockingly, stripping those expensive suits to expose the bare-flesh beneath. She especially took her time over Mr Yates, admiring his toned bottom especially.

Green waited until she had finished to speak again.

"Ok Mrs Winters. In each box there are handcuffs and a hood. Apply them to each man"

When each man was helpless, Green took Mrs Winters to the other end of the boardroom. He whispered

"You are a widow aren't you?"

"Yes"

"Your husband killed by a business rival, much like these men, but the police had no proof yes?"

Mrs Winters looked shocked for the second it took her to remember to whom she spoke.

"Yes, 8 years ago. I have spent all my time in my work since"

Green looked her in the eyes

"I want you as my deputy. You are dependable but also open to my tastes. I will give you a cast-iron guarantee to delete your dossier and also to give you power over those six men down there, via their own dossiers, if you agree. I will also place the man who killed your husband in your power, without consequences"

Mrs Winters was stunned but Green, for once, seemed genuine. The idea appealed for revenge also as did the power. She agreed and Green embraced her warmly.

"I note you liked Mr Yates. Would you like to have him right now?"

Mrs Winters flushed with desire.

"Yes please"

Green led her down the office to the blindfolded men and motioned her to be silent.

"Gentlemen, my PA Tammy will now stimulate you to erection so we can check if Mrs Winters was correct"

As he spoke Tammy rose but Green indicated she should stay. He motioned to Mrs Winters to go over to the men and she needed no second invitation. With a series of strokes and kisses, aided by the men's own mental image of Tammy, she was soon able to prove that Mr Yates was the largest. The rest were similar with the exception of poor Mr James. Tammy pitied the woman who felt that pathetic specimen between her thighs and still had to fake excitement.

"Congratulations Mr Yates" said Green "Your prize is to make love to my Pa. Given your state, it will have to be doggie style and I will guide you over"

With another gesture Green told Mrs Winters to get ready and she bent over the table. Green guided Yates into her pussy and Yates made love to Tammy in his mind, making the physical love filled with extra passion for Mrs Winters.

As Yates made love to Mrs Winters Tammy could see her face and she recognised her own newly discovered feeling were being mirrored in those eyes. Winters was feeling intense sexual power of a type she had never imagined possible. Tammy knew that Winters had been reborn by Green and wondered if her own feelings were as permanent. Perhaps Connor could help her find out.

Green turned to the other delegates who, still shackled and naked, could only be hoping that things were now ended. Green spoke and shattered their illusions

"According to the results from my laptop, Mr Kent was the closest in his guess of Mrs Winters dimensions. Your prize, Mr Kent, is to make love to Mrs Winters. Before we get you started however I am sure you noted that I have protected her from being exposed to any sense other than touch. For this reason I will deny you sound along with the vision you already do not have. Hold still and I will apply ear-plugs to you."

Green approached Kent as he pulled the earplugs from his pocket. Careful not to raise the hood too much, he firmly applied them and rendered Kent completely deaf. He then returned to the room.

"Ok Mr James, as the least impressive male of the group you are excluded from this next exercise. Mr Kent is excused because he won the second prize. You other three are to sit down and I will form you into a triangle."

The men sat down and Green arranged them into a triangle, freeing their hands from the cuffs as he did but still keeping them hooded. He placed one hand from each man onto the now flacid penis of the man next to him. Green then silently beckoned Tammy to come over to him. When she did he whispered to her

"As they come collect their sperm together and place some inside your vagina to claim them as lovers. The rest bring back to me"

Green then adressed the sitting men as Tammy squatted near them.

"Ok gentlemen. You are average men, nothing special but no freak like Mr James either. Celebrate that which nature gave you in the most natural of ways, by orgasm. You are to masturbate the man you have in your hand to climax. Once you have his sperm in your hand you are to wait until it is collected and then rest. If a man amongst you fails to climax within 5 minutes then both that man and the man stimulating him will be thrown to the wolves. If you succeed that this is the last task you will perform and you are in for very lucrative careers. Begin"

Tammy watched as they fumbled with each other and was both amazed and appalled by the power of the male's sexual imagination. They must all be fantasising the situation away, moving into a more comfortable mental space, for they were all becoming erect easily. Tammy was stunned that even men with so much to lose and so much to gain, yet powerless at the hands of another, could perform. She knew she would never trust a man again when he claimed it was her alone that turned him on.

Tammy watched as the men began to writhe, clearly enjoying each other as dogs enjoy licking their own bollocks, and silently amused herself by placing a bet on which would come first. She congratulated herself as she got it right, with the youngest and most horney climaxing a good minute before his peers. Tammy then just placed her ear next to the other two in turn before closing her eyes to listen to their grunting. She wondered how many girlfriends had heard exactly the same noise and had congratulated themselves on their skill as a lover. If only they could see these men now.

Eventually all three men were sitting there panting, their erections fading and their semen ready for collection. Tammy placed some of their fluid inside her vagina, pushing deeper for the one who had won and most shallow for the last to finish. It seemed only right to give their respective sperms their proper place in the pecking order although they, like the men who had donated it, were horses challenging for a non-existent prize.

Tammy went to Green with the rest of the semen and he told her to wait. He went over to Mr James, who was still standing and waiting nervously as he heard the others wanking each other, and whispered to him

"Mr James, as the man closest to a women amongst the delegates you get a very special prize. You get to be the man I have. You will show your delight as I fuck you by screaming your pleasure constantly. You won this because you are one of natures freaks I am afraid and, as such, you were born to be dominated by more impressive males. My cock will pin your ass to the table, overpowering you and nature in one fell swoop. Let me guide you to your passion palace"

Even though he wore the hood Tammy could imagine the look on Mr James's face. She tried so hard to feel sorry for him and then remembered all the despicable things he had done, that had been listed so fully in his dossier and which now compelled him to comply. All compassion dissipated.

James was placed in a tight doggie-position. Green went to Tammy and whispered

"Place the semen of the others inside his butt as lubricant. With the exception of Mr Yates, the winner and a man I have given to my new liuetennat alone, I want ever superiorly-endowed male to have a genetic part in fucking this runt"

Tammy went over to Mr James and studied him. He was not only tiny between the legs but tiny all over, a real woman in a man's skin. She imagined his lubricated anus would make a very realistic substitute for a pussy as she pushed the semen deep inside. Once complete, she stood to one side expecting Green to approach. Green in fact went over to Mr Kent and then beckoned Tammy to come across too. Once there she saw Green remove one of Kent's earplug and heard his whisper

"Ok Mr Kent, time for your prize. Mrs Winters is ready for you and I will guide you into a little foretaste of the pleasure that awaits you."

Green beckoned for Tammy to lie on her back and guided the hooded Kent to her pussy, encouraging him to smell and taste it. Once done, Green whispered again

"Now, to protect Mrs Winters, you are to take her analy. I want to introduce you to your channel of pleasure now. Kneel up for a second"

Green indicated that Tammy should go on all fours, ass high in the air, and that her hands should stretch her anus wide. She complied.

"Now I will guide you again Mr Kent. I want you to kiss and lick the lady, to say hello"

As Tammy felt Kent begin she gained another thrill, not from the touches which did nothing for her, but from the fact that this high-powered executive was literally kissing her ass in deference. Tammy felt the power-craving kick in again and then wondered if Green knew what he was doing to her, that perhaps the games he played with others were merely tools to warp her soul. The thought sobered her a little but the power craving soon took over again.

When Green was satisfied he gentled pulled Kent to his feet again. As Tammy stood up she heard him whisper to Kent

"Well done Mr Kent. You are almost at your promotion. Mrs Winters is now getting ready on the table and I will guide you over there. From now on you will wear earplugs in both ears. When you get to her I will guide you to her anus again and you will kiss and lick her once more. This time she will be lubricated and the lubricant, I fear, is a little salty to the taste. Nonetheless I expect you to go deep on her and really thrill her with your tongue. When I am ready I will help you penetrate her anus"

Green guided Kent over to Mr James, who was still in a tight doggie style over the table. Green placed Kent over James's anus and watched as Kent really went to town, kissing James's ass before pushing his tongue deep inside. Remembering his instructions from Green earlier James, who found the whole thing disgusting, began to moan as if he was having the time of his life.

Coming in at the correct angel, Green took James's hand and placed it on Kent's cock. Thinking he was now holding Green's cock, James began to dutifully stimulate it. Kent thought that Mrs Winters was showing her appreciation and slowly his arousal grew, making his cock hard under James's motions whilst he continued to lick James's ass.

Green took Tammy to one side and admired the view. Yates and Mrs Winters were still at it and both appeared to be enjoying a good long screw

"You see Tammy? We have two heterosexual men sniffing butt and about to hump like dogs whilst one heterosexual man, over there, is only humping her like that because he thinks she is you. A combination of threat and deceit, tied in with the shallowness of male sexuality, is all it took to create this little picture. That is the power of the sexuality I hold, male in raw power but female in cunning and that makes me very powerful indeed. One day, Tammy, you can have it too. It gladdens me to see you have already begun your first steps to embracing it"

Green left the thought hanging as he guided Kent into James's ass. James, upon penetration, screamed in mock ecstasy again whilst Kent thought he's finally gained entry to Mrs Winter's body. He thrusted with gay abandon.

As Tammy watched the two couplings she reflected on all that had happened. Green had shown her the true pathetic nature of men, how easily they were deceived because they were already corrupt, yet he himself had never fucked her. It was a striking thought. Green had all the power yet had never forced her to do anything but fellate him this morning. Even that had more of a sense of marking his territory, with hindsight, that it had to do with release. In a room full of unrestrained men, Tammy knew Green had deliberately set himself apart. She could only conclude he was waiting for her to surrender to him for then he truly could own her soul as well as just her body. Guild or no guild, Tammy suddenly saw Green for the true monster he was at heart and it made her long for comfort. Long for Connor.

Within a few minutes it was over. Green pulled the now happily collapsed Yates off Mrs Winters and allowed her to become composed again. When Kent had fucked James to completion he separated the men and cleaned any excrement from Kent's cock. Placing all the men back in a line he then allowed them to remove their hoods. As they blinked in the light they saw Green, flanked by Tammy and Mrs Winters, standing as a sergeant to his platoon.

"Gentlemen you have performed well under a series of highly unorthodox evaluations. You have made me certain of my judgement in you and from this moment on you are to consider yourselves members of the new marketing unit. Your salaries will increase by 20% immediately and you will continue to receive handsome bonuses along the way. As long as you remain loyal to the team, keeping all matters secret between yourselves, I can assure you that you also have my protection. Nothing that would cause you pain shall ever see the light of day unless you breach my trust. Get dressed and go. Dismissed"

As the men were dressing hurriedly Green took Tammy to one side

"The rest of the day is going to be spent by me with Mrs Winters. We need to talk. You are to go home and report as usual to me tomorrow. A very promising first day, Miss Squires. I think you have a glowing future here"

Tammy almost beat the men out of the boardroom and did not stop hurrying until she was driving her car away. Her emotions were a roller coaster, her mind a blur but her quest was clear. Find Connor at home and talk to him.

Connor was sitting at home watching television, Bastion noted as he allowed his primary gaze to move away from Tammy for a moment. That was all that man seemed to do, just sit and watch television. If it were not for the trouble in identifying Connor then Bastion would have barely given him a second thought. As it was he was an ever-growing shadow that had so far defied all attempts to illuminate it. Nonetheless Bastion knew that his daily digest needed to be completed quickly for it was approaching the time when many more Guild members would watch. He completed his last commentary for them

"As you have seen gentlemen our Mr Green has adapted his brief quickly and efficiently, turning it from one of mere sexual harassment to one of inciting Miss Squires to assist in the humiliation of others. Some amongst you may be shocked that he was so brazen, given her background of conservatism regarding all matters sexual, but I think he quickly assessed that Tammy Squires was easily intimidated. I also think he has proved that she will do anything in order to safeguard her new position, one far higher than she could ever hope to reach again, and has proved through results that Miss Squires can be groomed into someone of additional interest to us.

She is now heading home to Connor and given their intimate relationship I think it unlikely that she will share much about the true nature of her day. This will lock her further under Green, as it will isolate her from her confidant. The only thing still to be verified is the identity of Connor but that, of course, is only a matter of a short time now"

Bastion closed the channel and then opened another one. His voice changed from the cool-reassurance of the commentator to the ice-cold demanding of the commander.

"Agent 7, you are late with your report"

"I am sorry sir but I wanted it to be complete rather than punctual. We had a few last lines of enquiry to pursue but they are now done"

"Good speed, well done. So tell me, who is this man I see in the house eating a hotdog?"

The long pause told Bastion all he needed to know

"You are telling me you still have no idea? I thought you said you had finished your enquiries?"

"We have. He has no record, civil or military, from the time of his birth to the present day. No doctor, policeman, government official, secret service agent or private company has ever recorded encountering him. We had done checks in Europe and both North and South America. He has no credit line, no bank account, and no visible source of income at all yet he clearly is doing well for himself judging by his clothes. He speaks with an educated British accent but, of course, there is no record of him having attended any school or university"

Bastion slumped forward in his chair. He knew he should be angry at the failure of his agent but he also knew that this agent never failed. His brain was too busy trying to take in what this meant to formulate a diatribe

"How is that possible agent?"

"You have to remember, sir, we are only working within the limits of our own network. Vast as it is it is no replacement for the power of the entire Guild. My recommendation at this point would be to declare a breach to C and get him to open up his own enquiry. In straight answer to your question even a man with no traces gives us some idea of who he is"

"How so?"

"Such a trailess individual has to be carefully crafted. He's clearly a covert-operative of some kind, though not belonging to any of the major intelligence agencies. Having said that he's acting in a very overt way, something no covert agent ever should, and he has no evidence of a team behind him. We have scoured 5 blocks around the house, in the air and on the ground, without finding a trace of anyone being his backup"

"If he's covert, agent, then so would they be"

"Sir, we may not have been able to give you his identity but I assure you we know how to spot covert operatives. You have my categorical assurance that Connor is a lone gun"

"Thank you agent. Stay available, I may need you again tonight"

"Of course sir"

Bastion watched Connor again as he thought. Connor was watching television, drinking cola and doing nothing. Suddenly Connor doing nothing worried Bastion because this man had clearly not been created to do nothing. Bastion called Aegis.

"Aegis, it's about Connor..."

Aegis interrupted him

"Don't worry, I know. I have made it my business to be kept briefed on the enquiries. What do you intend to do about the situation Bastion?"

Bastion needed time to think

"I am going to give it tonight and see what happens. If Connor is in there then he cannot harm the Guild and maybe he'll slip up when he's talking to Tammy. If not, I'll call C and declare a breach tomorrow morning"

Aegis sighed

"It's good to hear you are at least thinking of following protocol but I have to warn you that C will ask why you did not do so tonight"

"I'll handle C when, and if, that time comes. Thanks for the advice. Take care"

"You too. Keep in touch. Aegis out"

Tammy pulled up outside the house and got out of her car. The drive had helped clear her head a little but she almost ran to the front door anyway, such was her need to see Connor.

Connor turned and smiled at her from the sofa when she entered and, suddenly remembering not to appear too eager, Tammy sat slowly down beside him. She embraced him and felt safe for the first time in hours. When they had finished holding Connor began to stroke her arms. His voice had real affection in it

"I've missed you today sweetheart. How was your first day at the office?"

The question, though part of the charade, was too close to what she needed to talk freely about. Tammy looked away as she answered

"Fine, nothing to it"

Connor squeezed her hand. To the audience it was just a lover's gesture but Tammy knew that Connor must have seen it all. His genuine sympathy made her melt once more into his arms. After a few minutes Connor turned his head towards her

"Let's eat out tonight love to celebrate your new job. What do you say?"

Tammy murmured from under his arm

"Sounds great"

Bastion had begun to field the questions from the Guild members as they logged on for the evening. Many were predictable, wondering about Connor on the one hand and on the other asking if he was going to fuck Tammy soon. Soon they settled down and only the own one came through

"Bastion this is Noskova. Excellent daily digest today. I may watch tomorrow live to see how Green corrupts Tammy more. I do hope that tonight is not going to be an anticlimax"

Bastion kept his inner concerns well hidden in his voice

"I doubt it Noskova. Connor's not seen his girlfriend for weeks so I am sure we will get some action tonight"

The television remained on as Connor's fingers began to roam over Tammy as she lay on him. At first she barely noticed but soon the persistence of the touch told her that Connor was initiating sex. Tammy was suddenly nervous and, given the events of the day, that surprised her. She did not know why plain sex with a man she respected seemed daunting when sex with other men, whom she detested, had not done today. As she felt herself warming under Connor's touch she could only guess that her nature wanted a few more dates before intercourse. That made her realise that Connor had moved into the potential boyfriend category despite of, or maybe because of, the situation they both faced. Tammy knew that she had to keep the Guild audience interested and that meant sex, sex and more sex.

"Stand up and face me" Connor said suddenly

Tammy stood up and faced Connor. It was only at that moment that she realised she was still wearing the slutty outfit that Green had given her to wear that day. Connor looked at her and said

"I fancy doing a role-play like we do sometimes honey. You know I trust you implicitly but I am going to play the stern husband, with you my submissive wife"

Tammy nodded silently. Connor sat upright and adopted a mock-sterness in his voice

"I see you got changed after you left. Is this office wear? Did your boss give it to you?"

Tammy figured that Connor was trying to make the fantasy easier for her to do by basing it on facts. She was reassured that he clearly had watched the Guild show every moment she was with Green.

"His name is John and yes, he likes it this way"

Connor began to stroke her thighs with his hands. The sensation thrilled Tammy but she tried to stay in role and not show it.

"I bet he does" Connor said with a sneer and then added "Turn around and bend down, as if picking up a file"

Tammy turned slowly and bent over. The skirt soon was pulled over her hips, exposing her pussy barely and inch from Connor's face. Tammy looked between her legs at Connor's crotch and was pleased to see that it was bulging. Tammy now knew that even a man like Connor, as focused and professional as they came, could be mesmerised by a simple flash of her pussy. It made her feel empowered once more but, with this man, all the vindictiveness of earlier was gone.

"He's had you flashing your pussy at him all day hasn't he?" Connor said as he pulled her nearer. "I've warned you before about sleeping with the boss, Tammy, and you know the punishment for when you do. Lay over my knee"

Tammy lay herself over Connor's knee as he pushed her skirt up. She felt vulnerable, having never been spanked before, but she knew that Connor was giving the Guild what he needed to in order to keep them interested. Tammy trusted Connor a lot more than she trusted herself at this moment because she was afraid she may cry when the spanking began, giving a clue to the audience that she was not as familiar with it as Connor had indicated to them.

Connor began to spank her deftly with his hand, pulling the force of each stroke imperceptibly so that the noise was loud but the pain was soft. Tammy appreciated the gesture and faked her pain with a series of yelps that, she hoped, sounded authentic.

"What else have you done for your boss Tammy? Don't lie to me because you know I can see through deception very easily." Connor said as his hand struck her buttocks once more.

"He made me suck his cock and he made me sleep with one of his employees" Tammy spoke through gritted teeth as another series of blows landed on her ass.

Bastion adjusted his controls as the spanking continued, sending average strokes per minute and several optional camera views to the audience. From their comments he knew that they were enjoying the spanking and were betting on whether or not Connor would want revenge on both Tammy and her boss. Bastion was happy that the show was proving popular but, for the first time, he felt nervous about how it was going. Nothing had ever happened on the show that Bastion did not plan and meticulously execute and yet here, spanking the main star, was a man playing a role that was not of Bastion's making.

Connor was now intensifying the spanking and allowing a little more of the real force of the blows to get through to Tammy. She became aware quickly of the new style of spanking that had begun and she now screamed in genuine pain as well as pretence. Connor continued to question her about her day and more and more of the details were beaten out of her. The spanking changed again, becoming unmitigated and intense, as Tammy came around to describe how she had sucked Mr Ferguson in the meeting room.

"Did you enjoy the power you had over him Tammy?" Connor asked the question with barely concealed anger in his voice.

"No" Tammy lied

Connor spanked her faster as he repeated the question

"Did you enjoy the power Tammy?"

Inside Tammy could feel herself crumbling emotionally. The pain was moving beyond anything she could tolerate and she was beginning to become scared at how Connor's manner had changed. Nonetheless she was not prepared to admit she had enjoyed the power she had wielded over Ferguson, not to Connor, not to the watching audience and least of all to herself. It was too shameful to speak of.

"Answer me! Did you enjoy it?" Connor was now screaming and the violence in his voice, combined with the force of the spanking, made Tammy begin to cry

"No!" she shouted back

Connor moved Tammy's clitoris so that it was in line for spanking. When his hand next landed a spike of pain shot through her body and finally broke her resistance

"Ok, yes! I did, yes I enjoyed it!" Tammy sobbed, almost hysterical.

Connor ceased the spanking immediately. As I someone had flipped a switch inside him his voice and manner became as caring, compassionate and polite as it had ever been. He gave Tammy a few seconds to begin to calm down before speaking.

"I thought so. Tonight you are going to make it up to me my dear. We are going to dinner and you will be the bait that will catch me some prey to mess around with. That way you have to endure what I have had to. I'll deal with your boss in the next few days. Now come with me upstairs. You are filthy and I want to clean you down myself"

Tammy was still weeping as they ascended the stairs but her composure was quickly returning. She did not know whether she weeped because of what Connor had just done or because she had been forced to admit that having control over a man thrilled her.

Once inside the bathroom, free from the gaze of the Guild, Connor turned to Tammy and offered her his handkerchief to dry her eyes with. She snatched it from him and began to apply it.

"I hope you know why I staged that performance Tammy" Connor said in a soothing voice.

"I know. You wanted to give the Guild a show"

"No. If that were it I would simply have jumped you or something. Inside my face is a tiny receiver that sends signals to my optic nerve. This allows me to view my computer screen without ever having to retrieve it, something I have been hiding by pretending to watch television all afternoon. I was, of course, watching you on the show. I noted the look on your face when Green was making you humiliate those men"

Tammy became defensive

"I was doing what you told me to do, obey Green at all costs"

"Quite so Tammy and you were wise to act that way. I saw, however, the look of enjoyment that flashed into your eyes and it concerned me. I spanked you tonight to remind you of what it is like to be on the other end, to be the one without power and under the control of someone else. I wanted to remind you of the true situation you are in, with men controlling every part of you, before you began to become sadist like they are"

Tammy looked down, ashamed that she had doubted Connor. She knew he had only acted out of the best intentions

"Thank you, I must admit I was beginning to enjoy the role too much."

Connor held her and his comforting arms made her melt again. Her heart began to synchronise with his even as she began to wonder if she was falling in love.

"I have two aims. The first is to get you out of this show and the second is to end the show altogether. I'd have failed in my first aim if I freed you only to have their stench haunt your future actions forever."

Tammy suddenly became worried for Connor

"If the Guild are as powerful as you say then they will kill you long before you can help me, surely? You are only one man, you cannot hope to defeat them"

"The Guild is still, in many ways, a very tradition-bound organisation. The modern era for them began with an interrogation centre for secret agents, a place in which C was a former number 2, and they decided then that better quality of information could be gained from a broken man rather than via drugs. Even though that was around forty years ago, C has influence the Guild with his cautious approach throughout his career. They will attempt to kill me, of course, but only when they know who and what I represent. As long as they do not and as long as I do not force their hand, Bastion would find it hard to explain any decision other than to observe"

Tammy instinctually began to stroke Connor's arm to give him comfort.

"How will they try to kill you when they do?" She asked him

Connor began to stroke Tammy's face and their eyes locked. For the first time Tammy thought she saw love in Connor's eyes, reflecting her own love that she now no longer doubted.

"They will use an undertaker unit. They are called that because they used to dress as undertakers when they were sent to collect spies for interrogation. They often used gas to render the target unconscious and the coffin helped disguise the victim. It was a simple ruse for a simpler age. These days, of course, they are far more sophisticated but the only name has been retained by C for sentimental value"

Tammy sat on the edge of the bath, deep in thought. After a moment she said

"Why are you endangering yourself so much Connor?" Connor looked over at her

" My role-model was a man from the interrogation centre. He was the only man to beat their system and he taught them a lesson in humility. It is a lesson I intend to teach them again. I cannot make the world fair for even if I could do the impossible and bring the Guild down those in power would still rule for their own sakes alone. I did not care when the Guild manipulated the powerful for the powerful are themselves manipulators. When the Guild started on the innocent person in the street, plucking them from their lives and placing them in televised cages, I considered that they had crossed a line I could not allow them to cross without a fight."

Tammy looked disappointed

"I had hoped you might say you were doing it because you felt something for me"

Connor reacted and for a split second Tammy thought she could see vulnerability in him again. He then stood straight and his professional manner came washing over him once more

"When life is in danger there is no room for sentiment, Miss Squires. We'd better wet our hair and faces and leave quickly or else they will think we have not showered at all."

Bastion saw them leave the bathroom as a channel opened

"Bastion this is Aegis. I sure wish C would drop his ridiculous rule regarding the bathroom. Anyhow, I guess our fellow and Miss Squires will be going to dinner now. Any ideas as to where they might go?"

Bastion pulled up a map of Lexington on his computer. Red dots were widely scattered across it.

"No but don't worry Aegis. As you see I have plenty of units on standby and we can use directional microphones when they reach their venue. I am hoping that Connor let's something slip as the evening moves on and he relaxes with Miss Squires. A beautiful lady has often been known to loosen the tongue."

"Let's hope tonight is no exception and we can find out what we need to know. Good hunting Bastion. Aegis out"

Bastion watched as Connor and Tammy left the house. Given his sophisticated dress and mannerism, Bastion had thought that Connor would select an up-market restaurant in a quiet part of town. It was therefore a surprise to see him drive up to a very disreputable nightclub. Tammy followed Connor inside and Bastion had to quickly adjust his console.

"Bastion, this is Goldfish. Not the sort of place I would have thought Miss Squires would like"

"Indeed Goldfish. It does at least have the virtue of being owned by us however, so we have cameras and microphones over and under every table. We will not miss a thing"

As Tammy entered the nightclub she was assailed by the noise of the music. It was early and the place was frequented only by a handful of people but the dance floor still resonated under a barrage of sound and lights. Connor had to lean very close to allow himself to be heard

"The noise of this place will render their directional microphones useless. They only time they will be able to hear us is when they can use static microphones, at the tables, the bar or the washrooms. It also serves food for another two hours yet so it gives us a chance to look round. Let's grab a drink"

Connor and Tammy had a light conversation at the main bar whilst they enjoyed two white wines. Despite his expert pretence Connor was able to survey the scene with a practiced eye. Suddenly he grabbed Tammy and lead her to the deserted dance-floor. As they danced he put his mouth next to her ear

"Because they did not know where we were going the Guild have only a few people in here. The one of main interest to me is the man who just received a phonecall and who then opened up the secondary bar. He looked nervous, so he's probably on his first mission for them, and he was watching us from the moment we entered."

Tammy leant into Connor

"How do you know he's a Guild agent?"

"He's with a lady who is wearing an engagement ring, so clearly she's important to him, yet his attention was solely on us even when she was speaking to him. Secondly how many clubs do you know who ring an employee on a mobile, in a noisy environment, when they can simply send someone to relay a message in person? Finally this place is as dead as it could be, so why open a second bar? I think it's to give cover for him because it overlooks the eating area."

"So why is he of special interest to you Connor?"

"He was the only one who was in here before we came. The rest came in behind us as we stood at the main bar. That means he was here for himself, not on-duty, and he will now be disorientated to have been suddenly thrust on duty. He's new so that make him green anyhow and he's with someone who is not a Guild agent, from her body language, and whom he will have to try and bluff whilst he does their dirty work. I bet that call was from Bastion and I bet it told him to do anything it takes to stay close to us. I intend to make that work for us whilst playing with the Guild. We have to keep it interesting for their audience anyway and you are supposed to be doing a penance for me from this evening's spanking, remember? Follow me"

Bastion watched Connor and Tammy go over to the second bar. He could barely contain his excitement as he contacted Aegis

"Aegis, I think we're about to expose Connor"

"Really? How?"

"It just so happens one of our brand new agents was in the club. He works for them as a barman and he gets in free on his evenings off. Anyway, I called him and told him to work the second bar. Once Connor drinks from there he will almost certainly leave his glass on the bar as they head for the tables"

"So?"

"So the other barman was not one of ours but this one will be able to use a DNA reader on the glass. We have them installed secretly in many of the locations we own"

"You reckon his DNA will be on a file somewhere even though his name and face are not, Bastion?"

"He may have changed his appearance many times and that is probably what has thwarted us but his DNA is fixed. Let's hope this works."

Connor approached the bar and the barman smiled. Connor smiled back as he ordered

"Two white wines please"

"Certainly sir. With or without ice?"

"Oh we always avoid ice where possible. So easy to slip up on it, eh?"

The barman laughed politely at what he presumed was just a lame joke. He poured the wine and placed it in front of Tammy and Connor

"That'll be $8 please"

As Connor handed him the money he caught his hand for a moment, looking him straight in the eye whilst keeping his tone friendly

"I notice you are not in uniform"

The barman was thrown by the directness of the question

"I'm sorry?"

"The other barman, at the main bar, is in uniform. I notice that you are not"

The barman thought for a moment. Tammy noticed he was very nervous indeed and not good at thinking on his feet. She laughed to herself as she thought that as a barman he was probably great but as a Guild agent he needed a bit of work.

"I was not meant to be on duty this evening but the boss just received word that a big party are heading down to us, so he wanted the second bar open in preparation. I was here with my fiancee"

The barman indicated over to where he had sat previously. The lady there was stunning but incredibly young for him, given that the barman was in his forties. She could have been no more than 19 and, given that her fiancee was certainly not handsome, clearly more impressed by his Guild-funded credit card than by anything else. Although Connor knew that she did not know anything about her husband-to-be's shadier side, for the Guild would have forbidden him talking about it, he nonetheless found himself disliking her.

"I see. I guess money's tight given the impending wedding and the amount you will earn doing this for a living?" Connor asked as he looked at the barman again

"Yes but we get by"

Connor reached into his jacket pocket and produced a fat, large envelope. He opened it to reveal that is was stuffed with money before he pulled out $1000.

"My girlfriend here, Tammy, has always wanted to look around a bar like this. If you could arrange that for me I'd be happy to give you this as a donation to your marriage fund. But first, tell me your name please"

"Tony. My name is Tony"

"Pleased to meet you Tony, I am Connor. So, Tony, what do you say to my offer?"

Tony knew he had to stay close to the target whilst also staying in role as the impoverished barman. He took the money and said

"Ok, that's fine. Come around Tammy"

Tammy was a little lost as to what she was meant to be doing but she went around to the other side of the bar and began to look through the bottles. Still dressed as she had been in Green's office she caught Tony's attention as she passed him. Connor smiled as he saw this.

"What's your fiancees name Tony?" Connor asked

"Jessica"

"I'd like to meet her and I am sure she's bored over there on her own. Would you introduce us please?"

"Sure"

As Tony looked away to call to Jessica, Connor silently indicated to Tammy that she should duck down behind the bar. By the time Jessica looked over she could only see Connor and Tony.

As Jessica was walking over to the bar, Connor leaned over to Tony

"Another $1000 is yours is you allow Tammy to look around below the bar, at the pumps and things. She's a real nut when it comes to how thing work"

"Ok, that's fine"

Connor spoke to Tammy by looking at the back of the bar and allowing his voice to travel.

"Honey? I'd like you to check out everything this nice man has under the counter whilst we chat to Jessica. Enjoy yourself and take your time"

Tammy began to understand the game Connor was playing. He knew that this bastard worked for the Guild and he was going to make it uncomfortable for him, whilst at the same time providing titillation for the audience. Connor knew that Tony had to do nothing to aggravate him and that meant he could deny him nothing either, no matter his personal feelings. He had sold his soul to the Devil and must dance to the Devil's tune. She heard Jessica arrive at the bar as she moved into position, crouched in front of an astonished Tony with her head level to his crotch. She pulled him close in so that the bar covered his crotch and her head, then she began to slowly unzip his trousers.

Connor smiled at Jessica as she arrived at the bar

"Hello, my name is Connor and I am a friend of Tony's. It's a shame he's had to work suddenly but I thought it would give us all a chance to get to know each other"

Jessica shook Connor's hand and said

"Nice to meet you. His boss is a swine for making him come on duty like this!"

Tony looked down and his eyes could see Tammy's barely concealed breasts. That sight, combined with the kisses and strokes, made him erect by the time she had pulled his penis clear of his trouser zip. As she began to lick and suck on him, Tony's mobile phone rang. He answered it as Jessica and Connor talked

"Hello?"

"This is Bastion. Connor's drink is finished. Get his glass and scan it"

Tony tried to pass off the call as one from a friend

"Oh hi. I am trying to but I'm a little busy. This new thing makes me feel very uncomfortable"

"Stop whinging, you are getting paid to have your dick sucked by a beautiful woman. Focus on the mission and get the glass"

"I'm trying to keep some things sacred, for those I love only. You understand?"

"No, agent, you understand this. You have taken our money and we expect a return. I don't care about any morality issues here, you stay with those two and you do anything they want. Many members of the Guild are observing you as we speak, I'll not say why, but you are. They do not want you to obstruct things and you are not to let Jessica obstruct things either. Tell her anything but get her to co-operate"

"I am not sure she will"

"If you fail, both you and her will feel the wrath of the Guild. For her sake, make her. Now get that damn glass!"

Tony grabbed Connor's empty wineglass and dropped it into the trash. Tammy was too busy pleasuring him to notice the deft movement. As she worked on his penis, the DNA scanner in the trashcan began to work on the glass fragments. Bastion punched up the scan on his computer and called Aegis

"Aegis, I'm patching through the DNA scan now."

"Ok, I see it Bastion"

Connor's DNA was displayed on the left of the screen. On the right was a world-map, showing every DNA database as Connor's DNA was run through it. Bastion felt the need to comment even though the progress of the scan was clear. Every database flashed white when being scanned and red when there was no match.

"Searching London. No match. Tokyo. No Match. Moscow. No match"

As Connor's DNA was being scanned around the globe, the man himself was engaging Jessica in conversation whilst Tony attempted to say as little as possible. The pleasure he was receiving from Tammy was threatening to overwhelm his voice, despite his heartfelt wish not to be fellated in front of his fiancee. Connor was, of course, trying to make Tony speak as much as possible in order to cause him maximum discomfort.

"If I may say so Jessica, Tony's a very lucky man" Connor said "You'd agree of course wouldn't you Tony?"

Tony took a deep breath as he saw Tammy's head bobbing under the counter. He'd been with many women but this woman gave the most incredible head he had ever felt. With effort he kept his voice sounding normal

"Yes, I am very lucky to have her"

Jessica looked coy for a moment before she spoke

"No more lucky than me Mr Connor. Tony's my first every boyfriend, I'd never so much as held hands with a guy before him, and I know he'd never so much as look at another woman. He's Mr faithful and I love him for that"

Tony felt so much shame as he heard that remark that his head fell. In doing so he was forced to see Tammy blowing him again, her fingers stoking each ball whilst her breasts swayed with her motions. The sight intensified the sensations and he moaned softly, something he quickly turned into a cough as he felt Jessica's quizzical glance descend upon him.

Bastion continued to stare intently at his computer screen

"Searching Washington. No Match. Los Angeles. No match. Istanbul. No Match. Come on, come on, he has to be in there somewhere"

Connor decided that he'd had enough fun at the bar and so he invited Tony and Jessica to eat with him. Jessica accepted for both of them before she enquired

"Are you here alone Connor?"

Connor smiled again as he looked at Tony's discomfort

"No, my girlfriend is around her somewhere. I expect she'll join us at the table. You'll like her because she's a very polite lady. Always uses the right knife and folk and never speaks with her mouth full"

Jessica and Connor went over to a table whilst Tony, citing the need to close the bar, remained. Tammy waited for a second and then, denying Tony his release, she slipped out from under the bar. Jessica was walking with her back turned to Tammy which allowed her to exit the bar entirely without being seen. She winked at Tony before walking slowly towards the table.

Bastion was becoming more desperate as each flashing white dot turned red.

"Searching Madrid. No match! Paris. No bloody match! Rome. No match for God's sake!"

In exasperation he wheeled round from the screen. He was just about to bring his fists crashing down onto the table when he heard a soft, small bleeping coming from his computer screen. He turned slowly and saw that one of the dots, on a tiny island off the coast of India, was flashing green. Underneath the dot it read

Match Found

Bastion hurridly punched up the location and then typed his command

List record found

To which the computer responded

Unable to comply. The record is from Sentinel. Access restricted to Sentinel cleared users only

Bastion shouted down the channel to Aegis

"What the hell? What is Sentinel, Aegis?"

"If you were not so wound-up you'd remember yourself my friend. Sentinel is the central computer for the Guild, accessible only by full Guild members or with permission from a full Guild member. It's C's brainchild and contains only records too sensitive to the Guild to be allowed to be stored anywhere else"

Bastion groaned.

"Is there any way I can get C to grant me access to the file without telling him exactly why? I don't want to call a breach unless I know who Connor is and I need that file in order to do that"

Aegis thought for a moment.

"Well, C allows the lower systems to interrogate Sentinel. That's why your search brought up the file, albeit with a lock on it. He does that in order for the other watchers to know that the Guild has information, which then encourages them to ask his permission for a specific file. If he's not been watching the show then asking for Connor's file should not cause him concern, though you will need a good reason to ask for it. Bastion, you have no choice. Call him and pray"

Bastion put Aegis on mute and went to a separate computer. This was the only channel to C and it was seperate from all the others. He placed the call.

"C? This is Bastion"

The voice at the other end of the line was automatically disguised, making C sound more like an alien than a human.

"Nice to hear from you again Bastion. How are things in Lexington?"

Bastion tried to keep his tone light

"Fine thanks. I am sorry to disturb you but I wondered if you would send me a file from Sentinel?"

There was a pregnant pause.

"Ok Bastion. Name it and it's yours."

Bastion was just about to speak when C cut him off

"May I ask why you need it?"

Bastion found himself breathing heavier.

"It's just a routine enquiry which has thrown up something that is in the file. I am sure it's nothing but I like to be thorough and maybe some background from Sentinel will help"

Another pause.

"I see. Nothing to worry about though?"

Bastion smiled despite the fact that this was voice-only

"No, nothing at all C. As I said, just routine"

"Good. Well, send me the request and I will send you the data. Goodbye Bastion."

"Good day sir and thank you"

Bastion let out a huge sigh of relief as the channel closed. He sent his request to C via the secure link, then opened the channel to Aegis again

"Did he buy it Bastion?" Aegis asked

Bastion laughed a little too much

"You betcha!" Bastion said as he looked into his monitor at Connor laughing with Jessica. "In a few seconds we'll have all we need to know about our beloved gate-crasher"

Tony and Jessica were sitting on opposite sides of the table, leaving Connor and Tammy to fill the other two. The table was covered with an overflowing tablecloth that reached to the floor, indicating as much as the stains that this establishment did not spend money on the decor. The food, which had come, was edible in a technical sense but was certainly not appealing to either the eye or the mouth.

Connor noted that Tony was attempting to get Jessica drunk, thorough a combination of surreptitious mixing at the bar and encouragement to consume at the table. It was clear that Jessica was not used to such intake and within half and hour she was best described as heavily intoxicated. Connor half-joked to himself that if she vomited it would improve the look of the food.

Connor wrote a note to Tammy and passed it quietly to her as he engaged Tony and Jessica in conversation. She read it and it said

The Guild audience will love this. Make Tony orgasm in front of Jessica

Tammy thought for a moment. This was going to be tricky with Jessica so close. She dismissed a hand-job as the movement would be too obvious and a blow-job was also too blatant with Jessica sitting next to her on the right. Eventually she decided there was only one way to achieve her aim. She silently removed her right shoe and sock whilst she pushed herself tightly under the table, allowing the cloth to cover her completely. Crossing her legs, Tammy grabbed Tony's zipper between her toes and slowly undid it. Tony froze as he felt the touch, despite his instinctive arousal at the interest from this beautiful woman, but knew he was compelled not to object. Instead, to help protect Jessica from seeing anything, he too pushed himself tightly under the table.

Continuing to engage Jessica in conversation all the time, Tammy pulled down the front of Tony's underpants through his open zipped and freed his erection. She could only get the tip in between her toes but it was enough. She began to pump him whilst her hands remained safely in view on the table. Jessica was too drunk to have noticed any of this but Connor had guessed how Tammy was stimulating Tony. He smiled at her resourcefulness.

Bastion opened the file that C had sent him before sending a copy to Aegis. The more they both read the less they both believed what they were reading. Headed "deceased" the record talked of an individual who had beaten the old Guild spy-interrogation facility in the 1960's, the only one who had ever survived long enough to convince the Guild that he could not be broken. The Guild released him but only on licence, warning him that if he ever challenged them or attempted to expose them he would be killed. He lived an unremarkable life after that in London until he died in 1984. The Guild had ensured that he had genuinely died before closing and sealing his file. His DNA had been extracted from the many samples taken from him during his incarceration, in the hope that Guild geneticists might one day find what had given him such intense focus and strength of will.

Bastion looked at the photo on file and then at Connor

"He cannot be this man, Aegis. Not only does he look nothing like him but also he's no more than 36 at most. He's about the same age as the man on file when he was released in the 1960's!"

Aegis spoke in a quiet voice

"His DNA is pure. There is no way he's a clone and no way that even the Guild could clone a human. Even if someone had done, he'd look identical to his clone-parent. Having said that he's got the same personality, the same focus, the same desire not to be beaten. Look at what C says about him when C was number 2 at the facility, it's Connor down to the last detail"

Bastion sat back in his chair

"There is no way I can allow this man, back from the dead or otherwise, to live. He's far too dangerous. He's beaten us once before and I can only assume he intends to again"

Aegis sounded exasperated

"So, are you finally going to call a breach?"

"What for? We know all there is to know about Connor now and I do not want to explain how I let that man, that individual, to invade my show and threaten us. It would be highly embarrassing at best."

"Forget your ego will you? Dammit Bastion, C needs to know this! There are all sorts of questions that emerge from Connor, fundamental ones that relate to the Guild."

Bastion snapped back

"C will know this. He'll know it all, after my men have presented Connor's balls to me on a plate. I will let C know when he needs to know, with my victory over this intruder fresh in his mind as well. It's my call to make, it's happened on my show and I will take the consequences of my decision"

Aegis sighed

"You're mad Bastion but as you say it's your call. Just get rid of Connor"

"I will tonight, at the house. That will make it cleaner and also the Guild can have its last bit of sexual titillation from him first. Just look how many of them are watching tonight! It's a record. Word must have spread. Bastion out"

Tammy continued to masturbate Tony with her foot as the eating continued. Tony was still highly stimulated from her clandestine blow-job under the bar and he felt himself reaching a climax quickly. In desperation he turned and mouthed to Connor to distract Jessica. Deciding it would be a favour soon returned, Connor agreed.

"So Jessica, have you and Tony ever done anything naughty together?"

Jessica looked at Connor with drunken, confused eyes

"Naughty?"

"You know, sexually naughty. Have you ever had sex in a place you were not meant to, that sort of thing?"

Jessica laughed too loudly but it covered Tony's orgasm effectively, so he blessed its presence. Tammy felt the warmth of his semen on her foot as she withdrew it before placing it back into her shoe.

"I only wish" Jessica slurred "He's too much of a wimp for any sort of sex outdoors. Not even a fondle, much less a hand-job"

Connor laughed a little

"Well we can change that I am sure. Here's $1000 that says Tony cannot give you an orgasm at this table, in full public gaze, without getting busted by the management"

Jessica looked at the money that Connor had produced. The drink inside her, mingled with her own pent-up exhibitionist frustration, caused her to look excitedly at Tony

"Go on then Tony, I dare you to try" Jessica said

Guild or no Guild Tony wanted to protect Jessica as best he could.

"Ok but there is to be no exposure of Jessica"

Connor held his hands up in mock surrender

"Of course not. The table cloth is long. All you need do is climb underneath and lick Jessica to climax. Tammy and I will not see anything other than Jessica's face. I suggest, though, that Jessica close her eyes throughout as it will help her concentrate on maintaining her facade. We don't want her climaxing in too obvious a way or people will notice"

Jessica eagerly closed her eyes and Tony stood up, preparing to go under the table. Connor indicated he should sit again and then went silently over to him, whispering in his ear

"Not you. You are going to lick Tammy off. I am going to lick your fiancee's pussy. I know all about who you really work for and unless you want me to say it out loud, so that those watching know I have busted you, you are going to give me the most precious thing you save for yourself. You are going to give me Jessica's vagina"

Tony slumped forward as he knew that his life depended on compliance. He rued the day he'd ever sought the quick ad abundant money of the Guild.

"Be gentle with her. She's never had another man"

Both men went under the table leaving Tammy and Jessica the only ones visible. Connor could feel Tony watching him as he spread Jessica's legs apart, her skirt revealing her silken white panties beneath. Moving them to one side Connor could see her pussy, glistening with an excitement he wagered it had never experienced before. He whispered to Tony and made him call to Jessica

"As I go down on you, whisper words of encouragement to me my love" Tony said softly

Connor began to lick Jessica as Tony went down on Tammy. It soon became clear to Tammy that Tony was inept at giving head and she pitied poor Jessica having to know only his tongue. She was glad Connor was about to give her, albeit in secret, her first taste of a real man.

Connor was working expertly with his tongue on Jessica's vulva, causing her to squirm with delight. He heard her whispered soft voice from above the table and it thrilled him to know that Tony could as well

"Oh baby, that's wonderful. You've never eaten me so well before"

Even the thrill of having Tammy's vagina all around his face could not lessen the hurt that Tony was feeling. Not only was his fiancee no longer exclusively his but also she was clearly enjoying this stranger much more than she ever had him.

Tammy was bored with Tony's pathetic attentions by now and she pushed him off. She silently went under the table and told him to fuck off back to his seat before her curiosity led her to look at Jessica's pussy. Tammy had always been curious as to what a pussy tasted like and she hungrily pushed Connor to one side. As Connor returned to his seat Tammy took Jessica to new heights of pleasure and again found herself revelling in the power she had.

"Oh Tony, how do you know just where to hit all of a sudden?" Jessica whispered breathlessly

Because I own a pussy as well, thought Tammy as she continued to stimulate Jessica. Finally Jessica shuddered deeply, the waves of orgasmic energy washing over her even as she tried not to express the joy they brought in their wake.

Connor stood up and moved behind Jessica as she recovered. He said in a soft, conspiratorial voice

"Ok, now for another $1000 let's see if you can toss Tony off. Keep your eyes closed and I will get him for you"

Connor went over to Tony and whispered

"Facilitate this for me and I promise you that I will leave you both alone"

Tony rallied a little at hearing this. He knew Connor had done him a favour that he did not deserve and he also knew, after tonight, he would do everything in his power to escape from the Guild's employ. Tony could only imagine how many people had hoped to do the same and he shuddered when he imagined how many had actually managed to do it.

Tony and Connor moved over to Jessica and Connor sat down. Tony knew what Connor wanted him to do, it was self-evident given how the evening had gone so far, so he placed himself just over the shoulder of Connor. In this manner his voice came from just the right angle to convince Jessica that he was sitting beside her.

"Take me sweetheart. Here, let me guide you" Tony said, with all the sincerity he could muster. The very last thing he wanted now was for Jessica to open her eyes and destroy her faith in him.

Connor unzipped his erection and guided Jessica's hand to it, under the tablecloth. It warmed Tony's heart to see Jessica smile and it comforted him that, in her mind at least, she was remaining true to their union. Jessica whispered as she began to masturbate Connor

"Oh Tony, you feel bigger tonight somehow"

Tony thought quickly and Connor applauded his deftly calculated reply

"It must be the excitement of the situation sweetheart, making me harder than ever"

Tammy sat and thought as she watched Connor becoming more aroused. Tammy knew Connor had to keep the audience happy and that meant packing as much variety into the sex as possible but, even factoring this, he'd barely touched her. He could have chosen to stay in tonight knowing she would have fulfilled his every sexual demand, yet here he was getting thrills that were cheap by comparison with strangers. Tammy could not help but compare Connor to Green. Both were men who could have used her as a sex toy but both had preferred to manipulate and humiliate others instead. Tammy wondered if this was simply a part of the male pshyche, to dominate and control, or simply a part of the pshyche of dominant males.

Connor and Green were chalk and cheese when it came to the power they commanded, with one fighting alone the very organisation that empowered the other so greatly, yet their sexual focus was very similar. Tammy was glad that Connor was on her side because, if she had to choose a nemesis, she would have chosen a faceless bunch of cowards who hide in the shadows over a man who stands in the blazing light and challenges the sun to burn him.

Jessica was thoroughly carried away by a mixture of alcohol and sexual excitement with the result that the hand-job she was giving Connor owed more to enthusiasm than technique. The main thrill for Connor was, in any case, forcing Tony to watch and the knowledge that he had scored another little victory in his pursuit of the grand prize. Tony's face told Connor all he needed to know as he relaxed in the motions of Jessica's soft hand. As he felt himself reaching a climax Connor deftly exposed Jessica's pussy once more and ensured that Tony could see his gaze fixate on it, drinking in her most private possession as her hand finally gave him release.

Connor was mindful that Jessica could open her eyes at any moment and so, with almost unseemly haste, he moved away from her hand and zipped himself back up. By the time Jessica opened her eyes again she found herself sitting next to Tony with Tammy and Connor a respectful distance away. She cuddled into Tony and was too far lost in afterglow and alcohol to realise that he was not even panting. Jessica whispered into Tony's ear

"Thank you my darling. Those were wonderful moments between us"

As Connor enjoyed his minor victory Bastion was revelling in his own victory over him. He kept his gaze fixed on Connor as he opened a channel

"Undertaker Unit 17, this is Bastion. Do you copy?" The voice of the professional assassin replied

"Yes sir"

"Go to the house and observe Connor. When they are asleep tonight you are to enter the house and execute him but, and I empathise this, the girl is neither to be alerted nor harmed in any way. I will advise when you are to enter."

"Very good sir. We are en-route"

Bastion instructed the computer to track unit 17 and he watched with satisfaction as a flashing black dot began to close on the house.

After dinner Connor suggested that Tammy, Jessica and Tony join him on the dance-floor. Tammy was relieved that she could speak freely to Connor when Jessica and Tony were too far away to hear

"What now?" Tammy asked him

"We dance for a few minutes more and then we go home. I don't know about you but I've had enough excitement for one day and I am sure the audience will be happy to give us another day at least. As long as we keep the sexual element alive, the Guild should have no reason to want to terminate either of us." Connor said with a reassuring smile that did not quiet ring true to Tammy. She smiled back despite her feelings.

A short while later Connor maneurved himself into a position where he could talk to Tony. Connor leaned into Tony's ear

"I sense you are new to all this cloak and dagger stuff Tony, so I'm going to give you some advice"

Tony looked at him with suspicion and then, seemingly willing to take any advice right now, he asked

"What advice is that?"

"You are not cut out to be a Guild agent. The money attracted you but you do not have the ruthless edge. You clearly love Jessica and that is why I did not engineer any situation where my semen entered her, in deference to that love. You need out, now, before you get swallowed in and take her with you"

Tony looked scared

"I know but how do you get away from the Guild?"

Connor looked at Tony with a serious expression on his face

"If you want it hard enough you can but you really have to want it. As for the practicalities I'll leave that to your imagination but I have found in the past that one of the best places to hide, as far as the Guild is concerned, is in plain view"

Before Tony could ask his questions Connor had moved over to Tammy. With a quick goodbye to Tony and Jessica, Connor led Tammy out of the club and into his waiting car. They drove away as the Guild mobile camera units pursued at a discreet distance.

By the time they arrived home many of the Guild watchers had logged off for the night. Bastion was counting on them all having gone by the time Connor went to bed. He hoped to time the assassination so that he could spare the more squeamish members, with highlights available for those who wanted to see it of course, whilst still being able to present the news of Connor's death as the first item on tomorrow's daily digest. Bastion drank a cup of coffee as he watched Tammy and Connor sit in front of the TV, with all his god-like feeling returned.

At about half-past ten Connor knocked the remote control from the arm of the sofa. Bending down he cursed and shouted at Tammy

"Watch what you are doing will you!"

Tammy was shocked by both the force and unfairness of the outburst and she shouted back

"What? You knocked it over!"

"You made me knock it over. You are hogging the sofa just like you hogged everything today"

Tammy could not believe how petty Connor was being, screaming at her about nothing when he should be comforting her about the danger they faced. She knew she could not be specific but she alluded to her disappointment about how he was failing to give her support when she most needed him.

Bastion chuckled to himself as he watched the two of them enter into a full-blown, petty domestic argument about everything and ultimately nothing. For twenty minutes they bickered until Connor finally shouted

"Oh forget this! You can have the bedroom and I'll take this sofa tonight. Get out of my sight!"

Tammy went to the bedroom and slammed the door.

Bastion could not have been more pleased as he saw Connor storm his way around the living room, preparing the sofa with venom and muttering to himself. Connor had separated himself nicely from Tammy and was now even easier meat. Bastion waited for half an hour after Connor lay down, to ensure he was asleep, before opening a channel. " Bastion to undertaker unit 17. Go. Target is on the sofa in the living room, asleep. The girl is in the upstairs bedroom, also asleep."

"Understood sir. We are approaching the house now"

Five hooded shadows approached the front of the house. Each was wearing dark clothing and moved with the military precision that marked a truly professional unit. Although they were swift they barely made a sound as they used a silenced pistol to shatter the exterior light, plunging the garden into a darkness which covered them perfectly as they approached the front door.

Bastion had to switch to infrared in order to see his unit in action. He was impressed at the precision and the skill being demonstrated, even though he knew that every member of an undertaker unit was handpicked from the finest military establishments. They never missed and they never were detected, no matter the mission. Bastion was so intent on watching them that he only saw the movement from within the house out of the corner of his eye. Suddenly alerted he swung his head round and saw that Connor was no longer in the living room. He opened a channel quickly

"Unit 17. Hold"

Bastion saw the unit squat and assume a defensive posture.

"What's up sir?"

"The target has moved from the living room. I am trying to acquire him now. Standby"

"Standing by sir"

Bastion cycled the cameras in the house until he found a yawning Connor moving up the stairs. In a few seconds he had entered the bathroom and had closed the door.

"Unit 17. Target is now in the bathroom. Proceed"

"Initiating breach procedure"

The shadows danced and the front door was silently forced open. They entered the living room and scaled the stairs, with not a single footfall registering any audible sound. Two of them took up a position outside of the bathroom whilst the other three, via a series of hand-gestures, told each other to move to the bedroom where Tammy was sleeping. One of them opened the bedroom door and then placed a canister under the bed, releasing the valve before quickly retreating and closing the door again. The silent gas filled the room in seconds and they knew that no sound on Earth would disturb her now.

The three joined the others back at the bathroom and one of them placed a listening device on the door. All heard the sound of showering and Connor muttering something to himself as he bathed. Another series of hand-gestures prepared them before they slowly opened the bathroom door. The leader moved in the darkened bathroom towards the shower unit and then, with one movement, threw it open whilst bringing his weapon to his shoulder.

As the unit opened the leader saw two small tablets, dislodged by the sudden movement, drop into the water. Even though his eyes suddenly began to stream he was able to see that the shower unit was empty, except for a small digital which had been making the sounds they had heard. He tried to turn but his strength left him before he fell down dead at the feet of his colleagues.

Bastion saw a figure run from around the side of the house. It took him a few seconds to recognise it but only one to scream a warning

"Connor's running from the house. 17 report!"

"One man down. Gas. Breached bathroom window, professional job too. We are withdrawing from the bathroom and will pursue target outside"

The four shadows abandoned stealth in favour of speed. They ran heavily down the stairs and breezed through the living room with practised ease. Nonetheless they arrived back in the front garden only in time to see Connor's car racing away.

Bastion was furious

"Get him!"

The voice was breathless as it ran towards the vehicles

"Don't worry sir, he's a dead man"

The undertaker unit had two cars waiting and Bastion fed data into their on-board computers. It had only taken him a second to track Connor's car using the city CCTV network and the pursuers knew there was no chance of losing their target. They drove fast enough to keep in contention but slow enough not to make potential eyewitnesses stare.

As the pursuit continued it became clear to Bastion that Connor was not fleeing randomly. His own speed was designed to maintain distance but not draw too much attention and he was heading into, not out of, the city. Bastion thought a warning was in order

"Unit 17. Be advised. Target seems to have a place in mind. He's not fleeing widely"

"I would not have expected anything else sir"

"Really, why?"

"The target clearly knew we were coming and where we were as we approached. It stands to reason he also planned his escape with equal care. I know I would have if it were me and, to be blunt sir, I think we have to assume that Connor has been trained to our level"

Bastion felt himself going cold inside. Despite the odds a small trickle of doubt was working its' way down the back of his shirt. Bastion sounded worried

"Can you take him out unit 17?"

"Ain't a man alive who can beat us sir. He's just making it fun that's all"

Connor's car raced into a disused underground car park, smashing the inadequate barrier as it passed. Once inside Bastion lost him as the car park CCTV had long since ceased to function.

"Unit 17. I've lost him. I'm blind in there"

"Just listen to the com-traffic if you want to know what's happening sir. We'll take it from here"

The two cars split and blocked the two main exits from the car park. Bastion saw the four men enter with caution, weapons raised. He could do little more than listen to their commentary

"Ok listen up. 1 and 2 take the first level. I'm with 4 on the second. He's come here for a reason so we have to assume it's a bolt-hole. He'll have weapons and possibly body-armour. He's not going to run he's going to make a stand. Just make sure you stand taller when the time comes. Move out and stay alert"

The two pairs split up and began to search their chosen levels. They were aided not only by their low-light vision, which defeated the gloomy environment, but also by the wide open space they now searched. After a few minutes they reported to one another

"Level one clear though we found fresh tire-marks. He's gone lower"

"Two is clear as well. Anyone see how deep this thing goes?"

"At least four levels I think. Ok, move on to the next two"

The men moved down the ramps to the next two levels and began to sweep them carefully. After about 3 minutes, the two men on the third level heard the lift on the far wall activate.

"Movement on 3. Lift activated"

No response came from the fourth level

"Op 1, Op 2. Did you copy that last transmission?" "Ok 4. Assume 1 and 2 are down. Come with me and let's cover the lift"

The two men rushed over to the lift. Op 3 changed his vision from low-light to infra-red. He scanned the lift as it continued to ascend from the depths.

"I see him. Heat-source on top of the elevator. I think he's trying to jump us so he'll have sent it to this level. Get ready. When the doors open, enter the car and blast the roof"

The men prepared themselves as the lift approached. Every well-trained muscle was ready, every operational tour they had seen made them prepared. As the doors to the lift opened, Op 4 entered the lift and fired at the roof. His automatic weapon made a mockery of the steel as each full-metal round burst through it.

Op 3 was blown to the ground as an explosion shook the lift from above. 4 screamed as the lift was hurtled to the very depths of the shaft before crashing and silencing him forever. Although winded, 3 knew better than to stay prone. He spread himself against the wall before peering down the shaft with his low-light vision. Although at a distance he could make out some kind of device on top of the lift, heavily damaged by the plastic explosive that had clearly one been next to it.

"Hello Colonel Potter"

The voice had come over Op 3's secure channel.

"You know me?"

"Of course colonel. You became quiet famous after you allowed your unit to massacre all those protestors"

"Two sides to every tale Connor. I assume it is Connor I have the pleasure to speak with?"

Potter looked around level three and tried to find the best cover he could

"So, what shall we do now Colonel?"

"How about a nice game of chess? You come out and I'll even let you be white"

Connor laughed.

"I'm not much of a games-player I am afraid Colonel. Certainly not when compared to your employers. However I do intend to kill you man to man. I think that's only appropriate given that you killed so many innocents in the same fashion. Of course the main difference is that I'll let you be armed as well"

"Very sporting. Well, you know where I am. Come get me"

Connor dropped from the roof space and landed on Potter knocking his weapon from his hand. As Potter stood up from the blow, Connor said

"With pleasure"

Potter drew his knife and entered a combat stance whilst Connor drew a side-handled baton of the type beloved by law-enforcement. He waited until Potter lunged at him before side-stepping the attack and striking Potter on the arm. Potter countered with a kick that swept the legs away from Connor before he fell upon him.

Bastion could only hear the grunts and screams as the two men fought to the death. He remained glued to his computer, as impotent as he had ever been, whilst the last of his pawns engaged the white knight.

After a few more moments there was a death-scream and then silence. The channel was filled with the sound of panting and nothing more. Bastion shouted

"Did you get him?"

"Yes thank you, Bastion" Connor said quietly "I did."

"What do you want you bastard?"

"I want you to listen to me. To make you do that I need you to watch your screen and note what is about to blow up"

Bastion pulled up a full view of his network as he heard Connor activate his mobile phone. Connor did not speak but Bastion heard the mobile disconnect before he suddenly saw an automated alarm in one of his Texan facilities. The remote monitoring had suddenly ceased to work, indicating a massive and fatal explosion. Connor gave Bastion a second to absorb what he was seeing

"That was one of your remote listening stations. If you attempt to terminate the woman or me again then something worse will happen to your network. You can end this cleanly, now, by promising me that you will end your grubby little show for ever and that Miss Squires will never be hurt. If you break that promise, ever, then I will make you wish you were never born"

Bastion slammed his fists on his computer

"You go to hell Connor, or whatever the fuck your name is! You cannot threaten us, we are the most powerful force on Earth!"

"Are you? Indeed? I think not."

Connor closed the channel.

Bastion felt the anger turn into nervous energy as he opened a new channel

"Aegis are you there?"

Aegis sounded grave

"I am more than just here, Bastion, I heard it all"

"What?"

"When you shared the Sentinel file with me I took the liberty of taking your communication channel data as well. I thought that you might value my input, despite the breach in protocol, and I guess this call means that I gambled correctly?"

Bastion smiled despite himself

"You know I could report you to C for that Aegis?"

"I'd almost welcome it if it would finally make you obey protocol yourself"

Bastion was silent for a moment

"It's not that simple Aegis. Connor has shown himself to have not only abilities we did not imagine but also contacts that can strike my network. If I were to turn that over to C it truly would seem like an act of desperation which, when compounded by my initial decision to handle it myself, would fatally undermine my position. I will not allow that to happen."

"You are lucky that my friendship for you blinds me to a lot of things Bastion. It's your network Connor has targeted and, unless it spreads to mine, I will not feel compelled to report this to C myself. How do you plan to handle him?"

"Kill him"

"You heard his threat"

"Then I'll have to make sure I don't miss next time, that's all"

Aegis sighed

"What of the girl?"

"Connor is using her as a tool, nothing more. If the Guild audience see that I have terminated someone they still drool over then they will get suspicious. It's already going to be at the limit of my skill to cover-up the death of an undertaker unit without having to fend off their enquiries as well. Tammy Squires is our smokescreen as well as Connor's at the moment. Connor dies first and then we take care of her"

"Bastion, end this quickly before it endangers us any further"

"I'll need the rest of the night to clean up the mess Aegis but I promise you this. By tomorrow it will all be over and Connor will be a fading memory. Bastion out" ============================================================= Tammy awoke to find Connor sitting on a chair in the bedroom, watching her. It startled her for a moment before she saw the compassion in his eyes. She wondered what he was thinking. Tammy hoped to start the morning in a better frame of mind than she had ended the evening.

"Good morning grumpy"

Connor gave a half-laugh

"Good morning. I'd have made you breakfast to apologise but, as you see, I am in serious need of a shower"

Tammy suddenly realised that Connor was covered in earth and grass

"What have you been up to this morning?"

"Just a little digging in the garden, burying some waste we had lying around. Come on, I'll race you to the shower. The loser has to scrub the winner's back"

As the bathroom door closed behind them Connor tapped Tammy on her shoulder. When she turned round she saw the most serious look on his face that he had ever shown

"You have to listen to me Tammy. Bastion knows enough about me to know I am too dangerous to him to be allowed to live. I staged that argument last night in order to have us separate when his goons arrived and, thanks to a little preparedness, I am glad to say that I survived their close personal attention. If I had not been pre-warned I would have been dead"

Tammy had felt that this moment would come but she was not prepared for it to have arrived so quickly

"How were you warned? They have every inch of our lives, apart from this room, under total surveillance"

Connor attempted a smile but his adrenaline would not permit even the fake mark of relaxation to grace his lips

"That's their weakness. Their coverage it too total. They have this place wired up like Green's office, just on the off chance that one of their agents might drive you home I guess. Anyway, they use hypersonic channels that are beamed directly into the inner ear in order to communicate. The one thing they have never thought they might need is a detection network for the same for, under normal circumstances, their victims do not even know they exist much less try to use such sophisticated techniques. My friends were able to use their own network to beam a warning to me"

Tammy had always assumed Connor worked alone.

"Friends?"

"Like-minded individuals with no love for the Guild, free-lancers who have managed to avoid detection by working in small, seemingly unconnected groups. They know as much about the Guild as anyone outside it, even the names and faces of some of their agents. I got lucky last night, one of the units we had tagged was activated and my friends were able to follow them to the house. I am playing a dangerous game though and I wanted you know that, if I fail, your life will be measured in days. When they get bored of you that's it"

Tammy held Connor more in need of support than in a gesture of support

"What are you going to do Connor?"

"Bastion is the key. I've made this personal between him and me and now it's a game of attrition. Did you ever read about Moses?"

"Yes, the one with the staff and the split-river thing"

"I'm doing the Moses-manoeuvre. Calling down plagues on Bastion until the pain is no longer worth holding onto those that I wish to liberate. Last night Pharaoh said no but I am sure our paths will cross again today. Today, I feel, will make or break one of us."

"Can I help?"

Connor stroked her face lovingly

"The best thing you can do my sweet is to stay safe and that means playing along. Go do what Green wants today and keep your head down. I promise you that Green will suffer when Bastion falls but, for the moment, he is still not a man you want the audience to see you disappoint. Now, let's shower quickly and get moving"

Bastion watched Connor and Tammy as they left the house. By the time Connor had started the car Bastion had dialled a number on his mobile. It rang twice before it was answered

"Hello?"

"Hello old friend. It's Bastion"

There was a shocked pause at the other end before a cautious acknowledgement

"Long time no speak Bastion. Everything ok?"

"Can you still shoot?"

"Sorry?"

Bastion spoke with patience of a parent explaining why potty-training is a good idea.

"Can you still shoot a rifle as well as you used to?" The voice sounded offended

"Of course. I retired, I did not lose a hand"

"Then I have a chance for you to do some powerful friends of mine a favour. If you accept a job from me they will make you a very rich man indeed. The only provisos are that you must get to Lexington by this afternoon, you are not allowed to use anyone else and you must shoot the target without question"

Another pause followed.

"I don't know about that. Lexington is a hell of a way from here and I normally insist on having a spotter alongside me"

"When you look outside your house you will see a car and a driver. They will take you to a waiting private plane. You will be here by noon and will be provided with all your favourite weapons. They will be calibrated, as I know you require. For certain reasons I need to keep the numbers down to a bare minimum so you will have to shoot alone. I know you can do it or I would not have called you. You are the finest shot in the land"

"Ok, as a special favour to you Bastion. I am on my way"

Bastion closed the cell-phone with a snap of triumph. He opened a channel to Aegis, who sounded sleepy when he answered

"Yes Bastion? News for me?"

"Sorry to wake you Aegis"

"That presupposes I managed to get some sleep last night Bastion. You may have slept soundly but I can assure you that with the Connor situation unresolved I did not."

"It will be very soon. I have just arranged for a friend to execute Connor"

"Which one of our units is he from?"

"He's not, he's a freelance"

Aegis spluttered in shock

"A freelance? All the power you have within the Guild and you called in a criminal hit-man?"

"Connor knew that the undertaker unit was coming. He must have people who are tagging some, if not all, of the resources we have in the city. I could not take the chance of they warning him again. Relax, Aegis, this guy is the finest sniper that the army has produced in forty years."

"He's still a loose-end Bastion. If he's not working directly for us he could compromise us"

"He knows nothing about us other than that we will pay him well. I'll call you when it's done. Bastion out"

Connor dropped Tammy off at her work with a small kiss on the cheek. Tammy had barely entered the lift before he had driven away at speed, leaving the lift doors to close on one world before opening on another. She feared what Green had in store for her today.

Tammy knocked on Green's door and waited.

"Come in"

She entered the office and saw Green sitting behind his desk. Although his manner had been intimate yesterday it was as if he had never seen her before today. He motioned for her to sit down.

"Good morning Miss Squires. Your duties will take you outside the office today and you will need to dress far more conservatively. Get changed into the clothes I have prepared for you and then return to me"

Green looked down at his paperwork to indicate that the conversation was over. Tammy saw that the prepared garments were indeed very conservative and clearly designed to give the impression of professionalism. As she changed into them she expected Green to look at her, thrill once more in his power over her sexuality, but he remain steadfastly intent on his paperwork. A small part of Tammy felt disappointed and ashamed as if she were a small child that had hoped but failed to win approval from an abusive parent.

Tammy moved back to the desk when she had changed completely. She looked the very picture of modest yet highly paid efficiency and Green smiled as she went over to him.

"You look very nice Miss Squires. More importantly you will fit the expectations of a lady you are going to meet shortly. Take a look at this photograph"

Tammy looked at the photograph that Green handed her. It contained a surveillance shot of a very distinguished looking middle-aged lady who was getting out of a car.

"Do you recognise her Tammy?"

"No, should I?"

Green shook his head in mock chastisement

"Where is the interest in politics amongst the youth of today I wonder? If you watched more than soaps Tammy you'd know that this is Barbara Taylor, wife of Congressman Taylor who is heading an investigative committee right now" Tammy suddenly felt herself become cold. She did not like where this was beginning to lead.

"Congressman Taylor is, shall we say, fighting a personal crusade against the business interests of certain friends of mine. He's a fanatic about open government and the defeat of what he calls the shadow networks that he claims run everything from behind the scenes. Unfortunately he's gained powerful support within Congress and his crackpot views are in danger of becoming more universally accepted. You are going to change that by the end of the day"

The suggestion was so outrageous that Tammy found herself laughing in disbelief. Cursing herself for forgetting the danger of her situation she attempted to seem less disrespectful by turning it into a coughing fit.

"You cannot be serious, sir. How can I do that? I don't even know him"

Green seemed to forgive her incredulity but he nonetheless assumed a grave tone of voice.

"Through his wife. She is due today to meet her accountant at her house for a routine check of her personal finances. She has used the same firm for many years and trusts them implicitly. Her regular accountant has become ill today and you will present yourself as the replacement. In this way you will gain access to the house and from there I will advise you via a radio link."

Tammy became fearful again.

"I don't know the first thing about accountancy"

"Neither does she. Your credentials have been prepared and we already have a completed report for her based on her financial details, which we know intimately. All you have to do is look the part and follow the instructions that I will relay to you via these"

Green reached into his desk and handed Tammy a pair of clear-glass spectacles. Tammy put them on whilst Green took a small microphone from his pocket. When her next spoke Tammy heard his voice whispering from behind her left ear.

"As well as allowing covert communication the spectacles also contain a miniature camera which transmits to a certain web-site. I can access that via my laptop from her and thus will be able to see and hear everything you do once you are inside"

Green could see Tammy was still looking uncertain and he knew he had to settle her nerves. He used a combination of threat and promise.

"The Congressman represents a direct threat to this company and needs to be discredited. If you refuse to help then I will be forced to question your loyalty not only to the company but also to myself. If, however, you succeed in what I have in mind then you will receive a substantial bonus as a token of the company's gratitude. No-one's going to get hurt, I promise, and the threat to you is minimal" Remembering what Connor had said to her Tammy agreed. Within fifteen minutes she had left the office and was driving to the Congressman's house.

The phone sounded in Green's office. Green was unsure as to why it was being used as it was for emergency Guild contact only, so he answered with some trepidation

"Hello?"

"Green this is Bastion"

The voice on the other side of the phone sounded cold. Green became alarmed.

"Yes Bastion. What's up sir?"

"What the fuck are you up to with Tammy Squires today?"

Green regained his composure. He was not a man to be bullied even by someone as powerful as this.

"You said I had complete control over what happened to the subject during working hours. You also said you wanted more of a soap opera feel, something to give the daytime feed an edge"

Bastion exploded

"I did not give you permission to make up Guild policy on the fly! We've got Congressman Taylor under intense pressure and it's only a matter of time before we take him down"

"Yes Bastion it is but before you lose your rag entirely consider this. What's Taylor's politically greatest strength?

Bastion was taken aback for a second. It was long enough to calm down.

"Easy, his virtue. Him and that damn wife have been married for 20 years and there is no sexual scandal, no fraud, no corruption to be found anywhere. Believe me we've tried"

"Ok. Tammy Squires is dead meat one day soon when your viewers get tired of her. She's a loose end for only a short while and this way I will bring Taylor down for the Guild whilst your viewers get a voyeur-vision like nothing they have ever seen before. It's got power play, scandal, sex, danger and a real pay-off against a political opponent most of them have personal reason to hate. That, my friend, is pure drama and it will keep them locked on the day time feed for weeks to come"

"What if it goes wrong Green?"

"It won't. You hate the Congressman more than most don't you Bastion?"

"He's been a thorn in my side for far too long, that's for certain" Green played his ace card. He appealed to Bastion's need to feel powerful.

"If you let me run with this Bastion I promise you that by the end of the day not only will Congressman Taylor be neutered but also his wife will be begging to kneel down and suck your dick in front of his face"

Green heard the silence on the other end of the telephone and he knew that he'd scored. By the time Bastion's voice returned it had a strained quality as his base power lust fought his professionalism in order to express itself.

"Make it happen"

"Yes sir. She'll be there in a second so I'd better hang up and get to it. Goodbye"

Green hung up the telephone and accessed the webpage via his laptop. He could see Tammy approach the Congressman's house and he sat back to direct the show.

Tammy approached the house and took several deep breaths before she rang the bell. In a few moments the lady from the photograph appeared and opened the door.

"Hello?"

"Hello Mrs Taylor. My name is Tammy Squires and I am a replacement for Mr Jessop. He's been taken ill and so, rather than cancel the appointment, the firm have sent me to you today"

Barbara Taylor looked at Tammy for a moment. Tammy was at first worried that she'd not been convincing enough but soon realised it was her youth that was causing the puzzled looks.

"No offence my dear but are you properly qualified? You look very young when compared to Mr Jessop"

Tammy smiled in the most convincing manner she knew how and presented her credentials. Once Barbara had read the impressive list she visibly relaxed and invited Tammy in.

The house was beautiful from top to bottom with expensive furniture being framed by objects of fine art. Tammy began to pretend to work on her laptop whilst Barbara presented her with a bewildering array of paperwork and a coffee. Tammy was relieved that Barbara found accountancy even more of a bore than she did because it meant Barbara left her alone after an initial look.

Green thought it best to steady Tammy's nerves so he spoke into his microphone.

"Well done Miss Squires. Now I need you to get a proper look around the house for me but in order to do that you will have to drug Barbara Taylor. Under the delete key of that laptop you will see it has been hollowed out. In there you will find a pill which will send her into natural but unwakeable sleep twenty-minutes after she consumes it. Place it into her drink on your next break in, say, an hour" Tammy quickly found and pocketed the pill before continuing her pretence of work. About an hour later she found Barbara sitting in the kitchen.

"Excuse me Mrs Taylor but may I make myself another drink please?"

Barbara smiled warmly

"Of course you may my dear"

Tammy nervously walked over to the kettle and filled it. Trying to keep her voice light she asked

"Would you like one as well?"

It seemed like an age before Barbara replied during which time Tammy issued a silent prayer.

"Well I don't normally in the morning but yes, Earl Grey would be nice. Thank you"

Tammy breathed a silent thank you as she added the pill to the Earl Grey. It was then a small matter of making even smaller talk for about fifteen minutes before Barbara had finished her tea. Tammy went back to her laptop and began to work again, waiting for the inevitable. Sure enough Barbara popped her head around the door in about another quarter of an hour.

"I am sorry my dear but I am suddenly feeling a little fatigued. Maybe I am coming down with something and that would never do for tonight. I am going for a little lie-down on the bed. I trust you will be ok to work on down here?"

Tammy nodded perhaps a little too eagerly but the drug was kicking in too much for Barbara to really notice. As Barbara began to ascend the stairs, Green spoke to Tammy via his transmitter

"Mrs Taylor and her husband are attending a charity masquerade ball tonight down town and that's why she's concerned for her health. The good Congressman will undoubtedly use the occasion to socialise with new potential allies. You will be pleased to know Tammy that you will be attending tonight as well. For the moment, however, I want you to wait five more minutes and then use the lead we've given you to plug the laptop into the USB port of their downstairs computer. Once you have it will copy all the data on the hard-drive and that may give us a better idea about whom the Congressman is talking to"

Tammy did as she was instructed whilst Green heard his telephone sound again.

"Hello Bastion. See, it's as easy as pie"

"So far so good but I want more for the show than just a data-grab. Let me talk to Tammy myself"

Green became a little concerned at the lust he heard in Bastion's voice "Ok boss but just be careful. Barbara will be out for an hour tops and any sort of penetration will be felt by her when she awakes."

"I know how to be subtle Mr Green. Introduce me to Tammy please"

Tammy was just completing the download when Green's voice sounded over the transmitter again

"Miss Squires I have been joined in the office by another executive from the company. Do not ask his name but simply obey him like you would me"

"Ok" Tammy said

Bastion was breathing heavily as he talked into his headset

"Hello Tammy. I want you to go upstairs now and please find Barbara Taylor"

As Bastion saw Tammy move up the stairs he could feel his heart beating faster. Congressman Taylor had thwarted him for many years, having to endure his smug attitude and the self-important mannerisms of his wife. Now that wife was at his mercy albeit by disposable proxy and he intended to savour every moment.

Tammy entered the master bedroom and saw Barbara lying on her back on the bed. She was sleeping peacefully and was still wearing the outfit she had been downstairs. Bastion looked through Tammy's eyes and wished he could be there in person. Tammy would have to mimic his desires for now.

"Ok Tammy move slowly over to Barbara and kiss her, as you would a lover, until I tell you to stop. You are not allowed to penetrate her mouth with your tongue however"

Tammy softly moved over to the sleeping woman and began to gently kiss her. The old sensations flowed through Tammy as she did, sensations of shame and fear that were mingled with the sheer power she had. She knew that part of her was thrilled to exert such dominion over other people and it had ceased to shock her now. Tammy had to obey the Guild until Connor could rescue her and so, she reasoned she might as well attempt to enjoy it.

Bastion found himself stroking his erection as he watched the lesbian kissing. He knew that the straight-laced Barbara Taylor would be horrified if she were conscience and it thrilled him all the more for that.

"That's fine Tammy. Now please stop and open Mrs Taylor's shirt, paying close attention to keeping the camera in your spectacles trained on her chest"

Bastion saw the shirt being opened and the view from the spectacle-cam, with just Tammy's hands visible around the frame, made it almost seem like they were his own hands. His own hands were not idle either.

Tammy could hear the soft exertion in Bastion's voice and she laughed to herself. Whoever this clown was he was not as cool as Green about things. He was clearly masturbating and Tammy knew she had almost as much control over him as the woman in front of her.

"Remove her bra Tammy. I want to see the breasts of Barbara Taylor"

Tammy was careful to keep a good view of Barbara's chest for this idiot whilst she undid the bra. She heard Bastion's gasp as the breasts became exposed and realised for the first time that something else was happening here. Whoever this man was he had some kind of deep, personal stake in all this. Clearly Barbara was to become his trophy as well as just a woman to masturbate over.

"Now Tammy I want you to put your spectacle camera somewhere where it can see the entire bed. Not to far away though because I want to be able to see her face at all times. It's not enough for me to see a pair of tits, I want to always know that they are her tits"

Tammy placed her spectacles in position whilst Green amended the zoom to ensure Bastion saw what he wanted and called Tammy on her mobile phone to maintain voice contact. He patched the line through to Bastion who was by now lost in his own passion with all pretence at professionalism fast dwindling. He was more a two-cent voyeur than master of all he surveyed.

"Kiss and lick her tits for me Tammy"

Green intervened, alarmed

"No, don't Tammy. Sir, if Miss Squires leaves saliva on Barbara's body then the scent may be enough to alarm her when she awakens. The mouth was fine because there is plenty to mix it around in there"

Tammy was suddenly jolted by the slip Green had made. He had called that idiot "sir". Surely it couldn't be that bastard controller that Connor was trying to take down?

Bastion sounded disappointed but resigned.

"Is there anywhere else saliva would not be a problem Mr Green?"

Green knew that he could please Bastion without endangering the higher goals. He pointedly replied

"Anywhere where natural body-fluids would swamp any smell from Tammy with one from Barbara"

Bastion did not need any more signposts. He regained a new rush of adrenaline.

"Ok Tammy. In that case we need to find a natural repository for the fluids of the good lady there. Slowly unzip her trousers for me please"

Tammy could hear Bastion thrilling as she unzipped Barbara's trousers as slowly as she could. Tammy herself had lost all pleasure in what was happening knowing, as she now did, that she was helping to pleasure the sadistic bastard who had imprisoned her.

Bastion was clearly unhappy with the view he was receiving because he ordered Tammy to put her spectacles back on. Once she had done so he told her to hang up the phone.

"Now Miss Squires let's see what kind of panties our matronly Mrs Taylor wears for her husband. Remove her trousers and then stand back to allow me to gaze over her"

Tammy was as surprised as Bastion to see that Barbara was wearing a pair of very skimpy, white satin briefs. Clearly she was not as matronly as Bastion thought. Tammy stood back and allowed the spectacle camera to take in the nearly naked form on the bed. She could hear Bastion's breathing becoming more laboured and she wondered if he would come before she could exposes Barbara fully. Tammy almost pitied the immaturity of Bastion, this so-called demon who was now little more than a naughty body masturbating over the sleeping body of his mother.

Bastion gave himself a moment to rest before he implemented his pyrric victory over his enemy. Finally he prepared himself for climax before speaking.

"Tammy remove her panties and focus on her pussy, spreading her legs so that I may get a good open view. Show me the cunt of Congressman Taylor's wife and let me record it so that I may show it to others in the future. Violate their union, expose this closely guarded secret and turn her into a whore for the eyes of the world"

Tammy really thought Bastion had lost it now. He was getting almost theatrical with his statements and had even hinted about the existence of his precious television show. She removed Barbara's panties as slowly as she could and spread her naked legs wide, allowing Bastion to see deep inside Barbara's vagina. Tammy heard him in the throes of heavy masturbation as he spoke

"We've got a transcript of one of their counceling sessions from last month. Seems the good Congressman cannot get it up most nights and it's caused them concern because they are trying for a baby. Do you know Tammy that in twenty years of marriage neither one of them has given head to the other? He does not want to do it and she won't perform felatio without reciprocation. How pathetic is that!"

Tammy thought it was nowhere near as pathetic as masturbating in front of near strangers.

"Let's give her a thrill, eh my girl? Do no go too deep or you may leave a sensation she will detect but lick Barbara's clitoris for me. Go where her old man fears and give me a view of his wife's pussy he's never seen"

Tammy heard Bastion climax as she began to lick Barbara's clitoris. It made her feel a bit better that the sleeping woman had instinctively reacted as if she had enjoyed the soft yet brief tongue between her legs.

Tammy sat on the bed whilst Bastion recovered. Green remained silent whilst hoping that Bastion would now turn control back over to him. He was out of luck.

"Tammy get some cotton wool and soak up some of her pussy juices for me. Then I want you to find an identical bra and panties to the one she is wearing and when you dress her, use the new ones. Finally find some nail scissors and cut off a small locket of her pubic hair, as close to her vaginal entrance as you can. You are to bring all those trophies back to Mr Green who will forward them to me. I want to know I can swoop into their house, steal the underwear from off his wife's body and smell and taste her pussy. All without him having the slightest clue"

Green silently groaned as saw Tammy scuttle around in order to please Bastion. Nonetheless he hoped to get the main mission back on track.

"Tammy this is Green. I think it's safe to say, from her underwear and her husband's problems, that Barbara is sexually hungry for most of the time. I reckon she will keep a dildo hidden in the bedroom for when he is out. Find it for me and hold it up to the camera so that I can get a good, solid look. Then replace it please"

Barbara was almost stirring by the time Tammy had dressed her. Fortunately she was lucky and quickly found the dildo hidden in Barbara's underwear draw. Tammy moved it around to allow Green to see it from all sides before replacing it. She had to hurry to be downstairs before Barbara awoke and Tammy's heart was beating fast as she heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

Pushing her head around the door a somewhat half-asleep Barbara smiled at her

"Everything ok down here dear? I'm feeling much better for that sleep. Are you nearly done?"

Tammy smiled sweetly in relief. She had got away with it.

"Almost Mrs Taylor. I'll come find you when I am ready"

Barbara left and Tammy slip down the chair with a huge relieved sigh.

Bastion recovered himself slowly as he watched Tammy working on the laptop. She was making a good pretence and he was impressed by her acting skill. He placed another call to Green

"Hello Bastion?"

"Hello Mr Green. Just to advise you that Connor will be executed this afternoon. I need to you keep Miss Squires away from the house and yet fresh for tonight. I suggest a hotel room near the venue for the ball. Order in an appropriate set of clothes for her and give her the afternoon to rest" "Ok Sir but won't she get a little suspicious being paid to watch TV?"

"She'd doing overtime for the company tonight so it's justifiable. Just make sure she stays in that room until I can confirm to you that Connor is dead. I think Miss Squires has a few more days left in her, so long as she keeps the Guild entertained, and it would be a shame to have to terminate such a resourceful lady prematurely."

"You can rely on me sir"

Bastion thought back to his enjoyment of Barbara Taylor. It was the first time he'd ever thought it worthwhile becoming involved with his show directly and he acknowledged that he had Green to thank for that.

"I know I can Mr Green. You do good work. Goodbye"

Tammy remained in the Taylor residence for another hour before she handed Barbara the pre-prepared summary of her finances. It had been crafted with all the skill of the Guild and Barbara was suitably impressed with the presumed final results of Tammy's labours.

Once outside Tammy began to walk to her car. Green talked to her over his microphone.

"Excellent work Miss Squires. You are now to report to the Meridian hotel and prepare yourself for the charity masquerade ball this evening. I think your cover as an all-star accountant suited you and we will recycle it again for the event however you will need better clothing for a high-powered social event. You will also, of course, need a mask. I will arrange for a series of garments to be delivered to your suite at the hotel and you are to choose freely from amongst them before bathing and generally relaxing for a few hours. The garments are being delivered from across the city and so it will take a while for them all to be seen by you. Do not leave the hotel until I call you on the telephone in the room"

As Tammy drove away in her car Bastion was watching Connor sitting on the sofa in the house again. For a man who was presenting such a threat to him, Bastion thought, Connor seemed almost insultingly inactive. Nonetheless it would make the assassination all the easier and that thought made Bastion smile to himself. Today was indeed going to be a special day.

Bastion's thoughts were interrupted by a call on his radio.

"Bastion this is Aegis. Are you, shall we say, recovered from your little side-adventure this morning?"

If the mocking tone of the remark had originated from anyone else, Bastion would have lost his temper. Instead he chose his words carefully whilst his anger faded.

"I am fine and on top of my game today Aegis, thank you for asking. Green is about to bring down the Taylor's, Tammy is performing better than any other subject of the show and Connor is about to be sent back to whichever layer of hell spawned him" "I'm glad you've remembered Connor. I was wondering given your decision to participate in the show today"

Even Aegis did not have the right to question him so and Bastion's ego would not allow it to pass unchallenged.

"A little rest and relaxation that's all. You are not telling me that turning Congressman Taylor's wife into a live porn-star did not appeal to even you?"

Aegis paused to allow his friend to calm down a little

"Taylor's power-base is in Lexington. He's always been more of a pain in your ass than mine Bastion and, despite the fact that the cutesy value of what you have done will go down a storm with your viewers, I am more concerned that Connor is removed quickly. I tell you that he is more of a threat to us than he appears. I have a very bad gut-feeling about anyone who can challenge us so blatantly and yet who feels secure enough to sit on a sofa eating pretzels rather than organise himself"

Bastion looked at Connor on the viewer again and then snorted a derisive comment

"He's an arrogant prick that's all"

"Just make sure your freelance does not miss him Bastion. I hate to imagine what resource of ours may blow-up next time if that man lives. Aegis out"

Bastion looked at the clock. His man was due into Lexington in less than twenty minutes and that gave Connor less than two hours left to live. Bastion wondered how Aegis had ever risen to his role as a watcher when he was so prone to panic.

The private plane landed at Lexington airport exactly on schedule having been granted the kind of priority landing clearance normally reserved for the likes of Air Force One. The single passenger disembarked and was greeted by two men in grey suits who escorted him to a waiting car without a word being exchanged. Once inside he examined the sniper rifle closely whilst the two men sat in the front seat waiting and watching him in the mirror. When he saw that the inspection was finished the driver turned around and asked

"What should I tell him?"

The voice from the rear-seat was dripping with Texan drawl.

"Tell him it's good. Tell him I'll call him when the job is complete. Then drive me to the target but make sure you drop me at least three blocks away"

The car drove slowly attracting no special attention as it entered the Lexington mid-day traffic.

Tammy drove to the Meridian without hurrying herself. She was worried about Connor and almost called the house before chastising herself for her stupidity. The Guild would have the call monitored and she would be implicated in Connor's plans. Instead she had to settle for worrying about him whilst she maintained her friendly facade, checking and settling into her suite as if she had no care in the world.

The suite was the best in Lexington and soon Tammy almost forgot herself as she began to relax. Within half an hour a bewildering array of designer clothing began to arrive, matched only by the flurry of masks which covered the entire range from subtle to gross. Although Tammy was worried over the ball this evening she knew, for the first time since this all began that she would not be expected to perform for the Guild this afternoon. Instead, for once, she could simply sit back and enjoy their money.

Bastion watched Tammy from the clandestine comfort of the hidden cameras within the suite, enjoying a momentary voyeuristic flash of flesh before turning his attention to the main matter in hand. The city CCTV easily tracked the car as it pulled up about three blocks from where Connor was sitting and, despite himself, Bastion felt himself becoming nervous. He was remembering the warning that Aegis had given about Connor being missed yet he knew that the man behind the scope never missed. Nonetheless he felt compelled to ring him as he saw the sniper leave the car.

"Hello?"

"Hello my friend, this is Bastion"

"Bastion I heard your people tell you in the car that I would contact you when it was done"

"I know but I am monitoring the target with hidden cameras. I thought I might be able to help"

"I work best without a back-seat driver. Have a little faith, go grab a coffee and let me do my job"

Bastion felt his anger rising

"Who do you think you are talking to? You are standing in the middle of Lexington with a concealed illegal firearm in your case, not to mention a string of outstanding murder warrants from seven states. I have kept you safe on more than one occasion, do you really think I couldn't call the cops on your now?"

The ice in the reply cooled Bastions fury immediately

"Threatening me just cost you double. If you do it again I promise you it will cost you your life"

"I didn't mean..."

"I don't care what you meant. Look, if it will help you I will let you stay on hands-free whilst I do the job. Just shut the fuck up when I am taking the shot. Deal?"

"Deal. I'm sorry"

"No Bastion, you aren't sorry you're scared. That is not like you at all. Who the hell am I shooting today, the president?"

Bastion sighed.

"We own the president. Let's just say it's someone who seems to have a personal grudge against me"

The sniper laughed as Bastion heard him walking from the silent alley and down the packed city-street

"Hell, if that's the mission I may need some overtime. You've got quite a list of guys like that"

Bastion let the sniper be alone with his own thoughts as he watched him walking towards the house on the city CCTV. Even though he was about to commit murder the man looked as anonymous as a street-beggar and Bastion knew that such professionalism was born, not crafted, into the expert sniper.

As the sniper approached the street corner where the house stood he stopped.

"Ok Mr eyes and ears. I think that low-rise building across the street will do it, assuming your target is anywhere in the front of the house. It's got good exits that lead into nice quiet side streets and what looks like low-grade security that I can bypass blindfolded. Any comments?"

Bastion looked at his monitor again just to double-check.

"That's fine. The target is the man sitting on the sofa, eating junk-food"

"Works for me"

The sniper moved silently around to the rear of one of the building across the street from the house. It was an empty retail-unit and as such attracted no special attention from the passers-by, something it had in common with the sniper as he broke in and swiftly ascended to the roof. The sunlight warmed his back as he lay down and assembled his weapon before training it on the house. A few moments later he could see Connor through his scope and he began to fine-tune his movements in preparation for taking the shot. His finger was just about to pull the trigger when his concentration was shattered by an exclamation from Bastion

"Christ Bastion! What the hell is up with you?"

"The cameras in and around the house have failed. Every last one of them! Can you still see Connor?" "Yes I can he's still on the sofa but it appears that his TV has suddenly turned off. The neon signs over there are off too. I reckon we've got a localised power-failure. Don't sweat it Bastion, my rifle doesn't need electricity. If you can just keep quiet for a moment we can get this completed. Ok?"

Bastion steadied himself.

"Ok take the shot. Now!"

The sniper settled his thoughts again and his hear-rate followed. Connor had moved from the sofa by now and was kneeling over his television, presumably trying to work out what was wrong. The shot was slightly tougher in that position but nothing that the sniper could not handle. He placed his finger on the trigger and slowly squeezed the life out of his target.

Bastion heard the silenced shot over his headset and breathed easier. Expecting a comment from the sniper he sat back in his chair and waited patiently. He could still here him breathing but the lack of feedback eventually drove Bastion's heart-rate back up.

"Is it done? Is he dead? What's happening?"

"The shot went off ok Bastion but the window has shattered like I've never seen one do before. What was in the frame some kind of toughened safety-glass? It looks for all the world like a shattered car wind-screen"

Now Bastion was worried.

"Does that mean you cannot confirm the kill?"

The sniper paused for a moment.

"I know he's dead but if you are asking me if I can see the body then the answer is no. You'll need to get someone in there to confirm it all. I know my aim was good and that the bullet went into his head, even if I could not see the actual impact, it's just..."

"Just? Just what?"

"It's hard to say. The shot did not feel quite right. Maybe it's my age but I would have expected slightly more kick-back from the round I used"

"Is that a problem?"

"The only thing I can possibly think of is that the round itself might have been faulty. Maybe it had too little charge in it when it was made. That could, theoretically, have turned a kill shot into a severe head-wound. Your man might be crawling around in there but I'd very much doubt it"

Bastion snapped into action. He contacted the camera unit that had been assigned to follow Connor when he left the house.

"Unit 7, this is Bastion."

"Unit 7 here sir"

"Change of role. I need you to enter the house and confirm that Connor is dead. Go armed and prepared in case he is only wounded. Report immediately you see anything. Go now, quickly"

"On our way sir"

As Bastion waited for them to report he contacted the sniper again

"Ok, good job my friend with the payment in the usual fashion. Get out of there, I have people taking care of any loose ends"

"Thanks Bastion. Have no worries old friend. I never miss. Your target is dead"

Bastion poured himself a neat vodka as he waited for the report from inside the house. He did not want to calm his nerves, for he had complete faith in his friend's aim, but he was preparing to toast his victory. With Connor out of the way he could safely return to his favourite role of puppet-master over the stars of his show.

"Sir this is unit 7. We are in the downstairs front room. We have positively identified the dead man in here as Connor, killed it seems by a single shot to the head. Do you want us to take care of the clean-up operation? I am concerned that unless we get him out of here and that window secured quickly we are going to have the local police all over us"

Bastion smiled with a relief he could barely hide in his voice.

"Yes, thank you unit 7. I am giving you full authority to requisition anything you need from the network. Clean up well there and I promise you a bonus like you've never seen"

"Will do sir, thank you. 7 out"

Bastion sat back and watched Tammy in her room for a while whilst he enjoyed his drink. Vodka had never tasted so sweet. It was a full twenty-minutes before he was interrupted by an urgent call. Still enjoying the heady mixture of alchol and self-congratulations, Bastion took the call with a casual manner.

"Bastion here, who've we got calling me now?"

"Bastion this is Aegis. Tune your system over to scan channel 17"

Aegis had brought Bastion back to Earth with a shudder.

"Channel 17? Why?"

"Do it now please"

Bastion tuned his system into channel 17 and listened.

"I don't hear anything?"

"Exactly. My network as a secondary communications hub uses channel 17. I can promise you that your own channel 9 is also dead."

"We've had a localised power-failure in Lexington Aegis. Maybe that's caused some of this?"

"Wake up man! I am talking about the secondary hub for both of our entire networks. Someone has taken it down and in a way I cannot trace. I lost the cameras in the house when your freelance was shooting. Are you certain that Connor is dead? This smells of the kind of retaliation he inflicted on you last time, although now it's on both of us"

Bastion's concern caused him to snap

"Of course he's dead! My people are scraping him off the floor as we speak!"

Aegis finally lost his cool with Bastion. It was a rare event indeed from a man famed for his self-control. He spoke slowly, with every word dripping in venom

"Then it's clear that you were wrong to assume that the friends of Connor would go away when their man was dead. They must have tried to contact him and having failed assumed we'd terminated him. We have people out there who are willing and able to knock down one of our most secure systems. For the love of God will you now call a breach and get C onto this?"

Bastion felt himself go cold. His voice became weak

"I can't do that Aegis, C would crucify me. It's gone to far for me to admit that I did not bring him in when I should have"

Aegis spoke kindly, sensing that shouting was going to achieve nothing anymore

"They are now targeting me so that means they know my people have been helping you. This is spreading Bastion and, disgrace or no disgrace, C needs to be warned before it gets out of hand. I'll back you up with him, tell him that you and I talked and that I agreed to all of your actions"

Bastion knew just what a sacrifice Aegis was offering to make on his behalf. It melted him.

"No, Aegis, I cannot allow you to get blamed for this. I think it's over anyhow. It's been quid pro quo so far, we hit Connor and Connor's friends hit us. The deal offered was peace for us in exchange for the freedom of the girl and the ending of my show. I think this network attack is simply them evening the score. It should end now that their man is dead" Aegis sighed

"Are you trying to convince me of that or yourself? You are not going to tell C are you? Are you?"

"Just give me time to tie up the ends. Connor is dead and the girl will be in a few days. Whoever attacked us will then have nothing left to fight for. They needed Connor with the girl in order to operate, for whatever reason, and now he's not there then they are neutered. C need not know something that would cause me to look bad if the situation is now contained"

"Ok Bastion this is my final favour to you. I am telling you straight that you have exactly twenty-four hours from now to show me that the threat is gone. If you do not I will personally not only report the breach to C but also tell him how you have failed in your duty. Don't make me play Judas. Sort this."

"You have my word Aegis. In one day I will either mail you the dicks of those responsible or I will terminate Miss Squires, even if the viewers want it otherwise. Either way they will not bother us anymore"

"May God help us all Bastion"

Bastion sat back in his chair

"Who was it who said that God backs the general with the big battalions? We're practicaly the entire military in a can. Nothing can touch us. One day more my friend, I promise. Bastion out"

It only took Bastion a few seconds to activate the correct controls that allowed him to talk to every agent, in every sector, under his direct command.

"This is a general message from Bastion to the network. Channel 9 has been compromised by unknown outside elements. There is reason to assume that these elements may also be targeting other assets although I do not expect any hostile action against them at present. As of this moment all other priorities cease. Identify and terminate the elements. Liase with your local commanders for information on how to target your own activities to this end. Bastion out"

Bastion then switched his channel to allow only the commanders to hear him

"This is not a breach but it's too close to one to allow comfort. I am giving you twenty hours to succeed. Begin by discovering how channel 9 was disrupted. Use your imagination, your funds are unlimited for this operation and there are no rules of engagement, but do whatever it takes to regain the initiative against these bastards. Bastion out"

Tammy looked at the clock in her hotel room and saw that she had five hours before the ball was due to begin. She had selected her costume, which was the nearest thing to Catwoman she'd seen outside of the movies, and now it was just a matter of filling in time without arousing suspicions. There are only so many showers a girl can take in an afternoon, she thought before settling down to watch TV.

Bastion did not take pills as a rule. He was a believer in his own inner-strength and quite often suffered unnecessarily with colds because he refused to medicate the symptoms away. Today was very much an exception to that rule and he was on his third set of tranquillisers when he was notified of an incoming transmission. It was from one of his field commanders.

"Bastion? This is the commander of blue section"

"It's been over four hours commander. I had expected at least a summary of action report before now"

The commander was used to Bastion. He knew the best way to handle him was polite-belligerence

"I've been a little busy, sir, given the far-reaching remit you handed the network and the limited starting point we had to work with. Anyway I think the delay may prove worthwhile"

Bastion became very focused, very suddenly.

"Worthwhile? You've found them?"

"Channel 17 is now active again sir as is our own channel 9. It took our best efforts to locate the source of the invasion because it was routed all over the globe and, in the end, came from the very last place we expected."

"Where?"

"Ourselves. Sir, the communication network was compromised from our primary relay in London. Once we found the programmes responsible we were able to erase them and also do some secondary tracking. The computer programmes fell into two categories, with one being signal-activated and the other being on a timer. The signal they were programmed to respond to was from one of our transponders here in Lexington which, in turn, was activated by a mobile-phone call"

"Let me guess, commander. That call was made by Connor?"

"Indeed. We recovered his mobile from the corpse and analysed it. It piggy-backed off of one of the defence networks, by-passing our normal scans, and was pre-programmed to call the transponder after a code was entered into the handset."

"I presume, commander, it was one of the usual alphanumeric codes?"

"You would have expected that sir, given the complexity of the operation behind it, but in fact the code was almost childish. It made us second-guess ourselves for a while"

Bastion was about to move on when he hesitated. Something inside him made him ask.

"What was the code?"

"04-02-1968"

"A date? The second of April 1968?"

"Yes, maybe his date of birth? He looked around that age. Anyway the initial explosion at the Texan listening station used explosive that were radio-activated, from a signal that emanated from the London relay. The attack on our channels was timer-based and could only have been prevented if Connor had dialled the relay. It, and a series of others against our network, were programmed to re-set by twelve hours if contacted. The fact it went off indicates that no one was alive to prevent it. In short, sir, it's our conclusion that Connor was a highly sophisticated but ultimately solitary intruder. The threat has died with him and I recommend we stand-down the network"

Bastion was already placing a call to Aegis as he spoke

"Of course. You have performed excellent work commander and I will not be ungrateful. Bastion out"

"Aegis here"

"Aegis! I presume you have been copied into the data from blue commander?"

Aegis sounded, if anything, a little drunk

"Yes Bastion and I must admit it's a huge relief to me. I was beginning to become a little stressed over this whole Connor business. It seems he was a loose-cannon after all and that means that we can all relax a bit more now he's dead. There only remains the one niggling thing"

Bastion was too excited to listen properly

"Of course he was! I told you Aegis, my network can handle anything! An you wanted me to run to C, tail between my legs!"

Then part of Bastion's brain processed the end of what Aegis had said.

"What niggling thing?"

"The code on his phone Bastion. It's a date"

"Yes I know. Probably his date of birth or something, so what? "He had a British accent and used our primary relay in London. It's not a massive leap of logic to assume he also used the British means of dating, with the day first. That makes the date the fourth of February 1968"

Bastion felt himself becoming annoyed at the way Aegis was always nit picking.

"Fascinating Aegis. Remind me to invite you to my next pedant-themed party"

Aegis spoke with thinly veiled malice

"Just be careful you do not exceed the tolerance limits of our friendship. If you had bothered to read the Sentinel file properly you would have remembered that the Guild interrogation centre, within which the man with Connors DNA profile was first recorded, was defeated by that man. After that the Guild closed it down, on the fourth of February 1968"

Even the tranquillisers could not prevent Bastion from suddenly feeling cold. Recovering after a few moments he tried to clear his mind.

"Aegis, Connor is dead. That man from the interrogation centre is dead. There must have been an error in the DNA analysis because one could not possibly have been the other anyhow. Even if they were, it's over. The threat is over"

"All I am saying Bastion is that the evidence suggests that this man was buried in London in 1984. It also suggests you just had him assassinated today. If your agents have any holy water on them I would think a little sprinkle on Connor would not go amiss, eh? Death seems to be a way of life for this guy"

"I don't believe in ghosts Aegis. If Connor had enough access to our network to do what he did then who is to say he did not alter the original record from the facility? Who cares anyhow? He's dead and I have a show to run. At least we can agree that C need never know about this?"

"I wish you would reconsider Bastion. You know as well as I that it is your duty to report all this to C. Nonetheless I will not be the one to do it if you decide not to. The immediate danger seems to be over"

"Thank you my friend. Sorry to cut you short but I have to prepare for this evening's main event. Miss Squires is about to go partying. Bastion out"

Tammy received a phone call from Green in her hotel room.

"Miss Squires, it's almost time. I just wanted to brief you a little before you attend the ball because we will only have the transmitter in the glasses once you are in there. Your targets tonight are Senator Taylor and his good lady wife. I have them under surveillance now. Once they leave their house I will have my people install hidden cameras inside their house, to capture the final act of our little drama."

"What should I do when I attend?"

"Just listen to my instructions and relax. I have people in there as well to assist you. Perform well tonight Tammy and there is nothing you cannot ask for in return"

Other than my freedom, Tammy thought.

Green sent a car to collect Tammy from the Meridian. It was, in his typical style, far too large and far too expensive for a lady of Tammy's age but nonetheless it made her feel special as she was driven to the masquerade ball. As she was driven up she saw paparazzi and knew she had entered another world.

Once inside she was assailed by the opulence of her surroundings. Ostensibly for charity the ball, nonetheless, looked like every possible chance to waste money had been seized upon with glee. The only thing more exclusive that the fabrics and furnishing was the guest list.

Tammy was offered a welcoming drink of champagne that she accepted with a little too much eagerness. She felt more nervous than ever and not just because she had never mixed in such circles before. She was missing Connor and wondered if he would be able to get to her soon. Tammy needed his strong, soothing presence here and instead all she had was a sea of masked, swirling strangers that rose and fell in time to the orchestral accompaniment.

Her isolation did at least give Tammy a chance to examine the other guests. In a variety of costumes they looked more like a travelling circus than the great and good of Lexington society, although the accents and mannerisms betrayed their social status even though they had been robbed of their usual attire. From the voice, Tammy was able to identify that the woman near to her was Barbara Taylor. She was dressed conservatively yet somehow managed to be awash with artificial feathers, a combination that amused Tammy despite herself. From the bird-mask Barbara was wearing Tammy could only assume she was mean to be a bird of some kind, though she looked more parakeet than bird of prey. Tammy presumed correctly that the man on Barbara's arm, dressed as the Phantom of the Opera, must be Senator Taylor. He was one of at least five "Phantoms" in the room, proving that money cannot buy imagination.

In due course the guests were escorted to dinner. The centre of the floor became dominated by one almost endless dining table adorned with every conceivable decoration imaginable. When the gold and silver plates were presented it finally achieved the heights of vulgarity or, at the very least, those heights could be seen from there.

Green watcher Tammy from one of the many hidden cameras in the building. He placed a call to Bastion

"There's our girl sir. In position"

Bastion could feel his heart speed up as he relaxed into his anticipation.

"Is Barbara Taylor there?"

"Yes sir. If you would care to make your way down here I will make good on my promise to you before the end of the night. I would suggest you come dressed as the Phantom of the Opera, to ensure maximum blending"

"On my way"

It took Bastion twenty minutes to get changed and leave the building. He entered a black stretch-limousine that was driven by one of his Praetorian Guard. Bastion entered the city with typical overstated secrecy and headed for the ball.

Green opened a channel to Tammy

"Ok Miss Squires. As you see you are seated next to Senator Taylor however you would be wasting your time if you attempted to seduce him. He is a man devoted to his wife. Leave that element to my people for the moment and just enjoy the meal"

Green thought for a second. Knowing Bastion would be watching and equally knowing his taste for power-games, Green decided to make Tammy play.

"Look for a chance to be sexual however. That guy next to you is Simon, he's only 24 and his girlfriend is next to him. Fall into conversation with him and see how seductive you can be. Arouse him without arousing suspicion"

For the next twenty minutes Tammy flirted mercilessly with her neighbour. She found Simon to be charming and that made the chase all the more pleasant, despite the obviously jealous glares that she occasionally received from his girlfriend. During her conversation Tammy encouraged Simon to drink as much of the wine as possible and, in the manner of a young man trying to impress, he obliged. It was clear he was not a regular drinker by the time he had consumed his fourth glass. Simon was clearly merry as his body language began to betray his lust for Tammy.

Bastion arrived around fifteen minutes into this seduction. He silently went to an upstairs room before setting up his laptop again. Within a few seconds he was able to watch the show again and he smiled, guessing that Green had set Tammy a seduction task as an appetiser.

Green opened a channel to Tammy again

"Ok Miss Squires, let's test Simon. Move on to suggest directly. If he is willing we can arrange for something there at the table. I doubt his girlfriend would allow you to go upstairs with him alone"

Tammy was surprised at what Green had said but nonetheless leaned over and whispered in Simons ear.

"Would you like a little sexy fun Simon?"

Simons eyes nearly popped from their sockets. It was clear the decision was made but his fear of being caught was great, despite his drunken state. He whispered back

"She'd never let me be alone with you"

"That's not a problem. I can arrange something. Do you want me too?"

Simon flushed red before he whispered his consent.

Green talked to Tammy again

"Ok, good. We are going to have a package and some silk gloves brought to the table. You are to tell Simon that you market erotic toys and that you have something new from Europe. Give him the package and tell him to go to the toilet. There he is to follow the instructions and return to you. Tell him he has five minutes maximum or else his girlfriend may become worried. The gloves are for you Miss Squires"

Tammy relayed the instruction once the package had arrived. Looking puzzled but aroused Simon went to the toilet to prepare. Tammy put the gloves quietly onto her hands before she made small talk with Simons's girlfriend. Once Simon was out of the way the other woman visibly relaxed and Tammy found her easy company.

As Simon returned, Green briefed Tammy on what was to happen

"Ok Miss Squires. If he's followed instructions Simon will have changed his underwear. He's now wearing one of the toys I have had specially created. They are boxer shorts and contain a myriad of electrical conductors. Suffice to say that as you move your fingers in the gloves a series of signals will duplicate those movements around Simon. If you stroke they will simulate the stroke, if you grip then they will grip. You need to programme the gloves with spatial awareness. Take three wineglasses and make them into a small triangle in front of you. Two are to represent his buttocks and the third is his penis. Mark the buttocks with a sharp point from your left hand and the penis with one from your right. Try it when he sits down"

The idea appealed to Tammy and she winked at Simon as he sat down. Tammy placed three empty wineglasses and locked them into the programme in the way Green had indicated. She began tentatively by stroking the left glass with her finger and was pleased when she heard Simon pause in his conversation for a moment, clearly feeling her invisible touch as he chatted. Tammy knew she had a new toy to play with and it had a pulse.

Green spoke again

"Miss Squires, they are about to offer after-dinner mints. You will be secretly handed a special sensor at this time. It will expand upon contact with any warm, moist environment and take the shape of that which surrounds it. The shape will be mimicked by the penis part of the boxer shorts, overriding the gloves as long as the temperature is maintained, and will also take the shape of his penis. Place it in your mouth to stimulate him but be prepared to remove it, of course, as he becomes erect. The sensor is made to look like a candy stick and I am sure you do not need to be told why"

Tammy began to talk to Simons girlfriend again, this time learning that she was called Sheila. As the sensor was passed to Tammy she quickly popped it into her mouth whilst she distracted Sheila. Simon felt the front of his boxer shorts mould and warm, simulating the pleasant warmth of Tammy's mouth. As Tammy talked to Sheila she licked all around the sensor, invisibly stimulating Sheila's boyfriend whilst he remained fully clothed. Simon went quiet and allowed the two women to talk, all the while becoming more and more aroused. Soon Tammy felt the sensor hardening and made an excuse to look in her handbag. When she returned she was holding a phallic-shaped candy-stick in her hand. It was the exact size and shape of the secret erection that Simon was hiding in his trousers.

When Sheila saw it she giggled a little drunkenly

"What's that Tammy?"

Tammy giggled back in order to bond

"As a franchisee I market erotica over here from Europe. This is one of our latest and most popular, regular candy made up into a novelty shape"

Sheila blushed in the style of most women who have elected to go to an Ann Summers party.

"No need to blush hun, it's only a bit of fun"

Tammy demonstrated by taking the candy into her mouth, sending Simon into silent joy with her tongue. Finally she locked eyes with him for a split second as her head began to bob up and down. She stopped to ensure it did not look like anything other than a tease. Sheila giggled again

"You'd better be careful Tammy, Simon might get ideas!"

Tammy laughed and Simon laughed as well. The only difference was the mild-hysteria in Simons's voice.

Sensing that Sheila was also drunk by now, Tammy decided to push the female-bonding process a little. She leaned over to her

"Do you fancy a go? It's a little unhygienic I know but I've flossed today, honest"

Sheila laughed again as she took the candy

"It's always been a fantasy of mine Tammy, to give head in a public place, but I've never had the courage. I guess this is the next best thing"

Tammy had an idea

"Go for it girl. Close you eyes and imagine you are blowing Simon right here and now. It's only a sweet after all, they cannot arrest you for it"

Sheila hid the candy as best she could before closing her eyes and beginning. Clearly from the look on her face the fantasy, mixed with the alcohol, was arousing her and that pleased Tammy. She liked Sheila and was pleased she could share a small piece of liberation with her. As Sheila worked, Tammy whispered to Simon

"How does it feel?"

"It feels just like when she does it at home. This technology is wonderful. I just wish she did it as good as you just did"

That comment sparked another idea in Tammy's mind. Telling Simon to stall Sheila when she had finished, Tammy began to look around the room again. Most of the men had formed power-groups, leaving their wives and girlfriends to wander around drinking. With a little bit of intuition, Tammy began to identify those women she thought young and drunk enough to be of use. She then began to fall into conversation with them and, from the giggling, it was clear to even a casual observer that they had begun to talk about sexual matters.

Ten minutes later Tammy returned to Sheila and Simon with four other women. They pulled their chairs into a circle, alongside one of the darker corners of the room, before Tammy began

"Ok ladies. The gents have decided to be boring but as you know I sell erotica. Well, the candy stick held by Sheila is one of our newest and best-selling items. I fancy a challenge, anyone up for some Ann-Summer's type fun?"

More giggling.

"The gent here is Simon. He's the very charming boyfriend of Sheila and he's agreed to give us some focus and to be a judge. The game is about blowjob technique and we will take it in turns of a minute each to play. Simon will place the candy-stick between his legs at a distance, to ensure no one is embarrassed, but close enough to simulate the real thing. The player has to kneel in front on him and give the candy a blowjob whilst the rest of us shield them from everyone else. The winner is the only that Simon reckons did the best-simulated job, so really go for it. I use this at demonstrations all the time, as it's a real icebreaker

To help Simon remember you, tell him your name and who you are partnered too before beginning. Sheila and I have already played before we opened the game so who's next? "

Sheila cuddled Simon from behind his chair as he placed the candy-stick between his legs, feeling his own fingers on his erect cock as he did so. The first lady, with a figure to die for, knelt in front of him. She locked eyes and introduced herself

"Hello Simon. My name is Mandy Bernard and I am the daughter of Senator Bernard. I am an abstainer outside of marriage but if I were to blow a guy, I guess I'd do it like this"

Simon knew of Mandy from the trash media. She was a famous member of the abstinence movement, of which her father was a major supporter, and there had been many lurid fantasise printed about what she would be like on her wedding night. Simon thrilled to know he was about to be the first man ever to find out.

Mandy went down on the candy-stick and Simon silently groaned as he felt her mouth sucking on his cock. Mandy had the technique of a clumsy virgin but that was more than compensated for by the media-images that flooded Simons mind. Time and again, like so many men, he'd seen her on screen and fantasised about her. To have her head bobbing up and down in front of him now was wonderful.

Tammy could see that the drink was beginning to have a serious affect on Sheila and so she suggested that she support Sheila as Sheila cuddled Simon. Sheila was glad of the offer and both women nestled in tightly, allowing Tammy to feel the thinness of Sheila's dress against her "catwoman" suit. Tammy decided to see if she could push this a little further. She whispered into Sheila's ear as Mandy continued to blow Simon.

"No-one can see your crotch from here Sheila because it's shielded by Simon and the chair. The chair has openings in the back. If Simon leant forward a little he could put his hand behind him, freeing his fingers to stimulate you. All you would need do is unzip your trousers"

"I don't know if I should" Sheila whispered back

"Go on, no-one will know. These women are simulating oral on Simon and you can bet he's enjoying the thrill well, knowing him, he'd be delighted to let you get a thrill as well. Ask him whilst they are all staring at Mandy and his crotch"

Sheila whispered to Simon and it was clear by the change in his position that he had agreed. Sheila wriggled into position but her state of drunkenness was making it hard. Tammy smiled. She had hoped it would. She whispered again to Sheila

"Look honey it's tricky I know. Do you trust me?"

"Yes"

"Ok, let me alongside you and I will guide his fingers. I won't touch you of course but I can make it all work and look natural as well. Close your eyes and concentrate on staying still until it is over."

In one fluid movement Tammy had not only positioned herself next to Sheila but also had unzipped her fly in her own costume. With his back to them Simon did not know exactly where Sheila was so he had no reason to worry when Tammy took his hand. Tammy guided Simons's hand inside her own trousers, thrilling as he began to work softly on her clitoris through her thin panties. To cover for herself Tammy moved her own hand inside Sheila's zip, carefully positioning it so that it would feel as if it had come from Simons's direction. Tammy began to half-heartily rub through Sheila's panties, knowing that the woman was probably too drunk to really care much about technique just as long as the situation itself thrilled her. Bastion watched Tammy on his screen as he was driven to the ball. By the time his car had arrived he had already signalled ahead to his agents at the hotel, letting them know that he would need them to keep themselves available for the evening. Bastion made doubly sure his mask was secured before he exited the car and he also tested the built-in microphone that would allow him to talk to his forces. The driver of the car leaned out of his window,

"Would you like me to accompany you sir?"

Bastion thought for a moment. Guild protocol insisted that watchers must have at least one bodyguard available at all times but, with Connor dead, Bastion did not feel in the slightest danger. He did not want a mere underling around him tonight unless they were going to actively aid his plans, for mere underlings bored Bastion almost as much as intellectual conversation.

"No. Park about a block away and wait for me. I will summon you when I need you again"

"As you wish sir. Enjoy your evening"

Another pair of eyes watched Bastion as he entered the event. Bastion being dressed as the Phantom of the Opera, they thought, was very appropriate for he lived in the shadows far more than anywhere else. As Bastion disappeared through the door the eyes could not help musing to themselves. They whispered softly to themselves,

"Remember there are worth things than a shattered chandelier"

Simons's hand was just about to bring Tammy to climax when one of the women in front of him happened to look up. Sudden she hissed,

"Someone's coming!"

It was all Tammy could do to extract her hand from Sheila's crotch before Sheila opened her eyes. Simon had withdrawn his hand with equal shocked speed, a speed similar to that shown by Mandy as she quickly resumed her seat. Tammy grabbed the candy stick from between Simons's legs as, with a movement whose deftness surprised even her, she zipped herself up again. A quick check reassured her than none had seen her do so.

Tammy felt robbed of her climax and angry that she'd been interrupted. She spun to see who was coming and saw a mime-clown approach, complete with a dark and somewhat grotesque mask. As the clown noticed that the group were looking at him he performed a theatrical bow and handed Tammy a single synthetic rose, much to the amusement of those around her. Tammy looked at the gift and saw that its core contained a small, white piece of paper. Smiling back at the clown she thanked him before extracting and reading the words on the paper.

Acknowledge me and tell me that your dance card is full. Tonight things will end Tammy, one way or another, and you will not hear from me again unless you are free. Connor Tammy was shocked but her resilience won through. She smiled at Connor as he stood, cupping his left ear whilst he stood with his head at an angle.

"Sorry to say, Mr Clown, that I've already promised enough people that I will dance with them tonight."

Connor placed his hands on his heart as if he had been shot with an arrow before moving sadly away. He relaxed as he re-entered the party before he began to subtly shadow a certain phantom.

Tammy's moment with Simon had been shattered when Connor interrupted her but she was determined not to be robbed of her pleasure. The others had moved away when Connor had approached but Simon and Sheila were waiting for her. Suddenly the music began and a series of couples walked over to the dance-floor. Tammy had an idea that made her smile. She leant over to Sheila and whispered.

"Fancy a dance with Simon? I'm happy to sit out the first couple. I will meet you both by that table when you are done"

"Ok. That sounds like fun. Come on Simon, we're dancing"

Sheila led Simon to the dance floor whilst Tammy went towards the ladies lavatories again. Green spoke to her in her ear.

"You cannot need the toilet again Miss Squires?"

"You are right Mr Green but I need to privacy for a moment. Just watch whilst I finish my business with Simon, assuming I have enough time before you need me to approach the Congressman?"

Green saw Congressman Taylor and his wife on the dance floor. They were going nowhere for the moment.

"You have time Tammy. I'll let you know when you need approach the Taylor's"

By the time Tammy had returned from the lavatories she had made the candy-stick erect again, via a series of strokes and kisses, before she had inserted it inside her moist pussy. Simons's initial distraction at her foreplay was as nothing compared to his sensations when the candy was inserted. It felt to him exactly like Tammy had wrapped her nakedness around his waist. As Simon continued to make small talk with Sheila he saw Tammy sit down at the table, making his invisible penetration of her complete. He groaned silently in pleasure because his underwear had simulated Tammy's vagina down the last millimetre, including the temperature, making the sensations he was feeling as he danced incredibly erotic.

Tammy began to rock imperceptibly back and forth, combining her own movement with the movement from Simon as he waltzed around. Soon they had formed a very effective rhythm and Tammy looked at Sheila, thrilling in the knowledge that Simon was fucking her in front of not only his girlfriend's face but also the entire assembled crowd. Green found himself once again impressed with Tammy's ingenuity. She really was the finest star of the show they had ever had and part of him mourned the day she would be executed. He sat back and looked at the viewing figures as they began to soar again. Clearly word was getting round and the Guild members were enjoying every moment of the evening's performance.

Tammy enjoyed a nice, long screw with Simon as the dancing progressed. She knew there was no hurry or fear of discovery. As the music changed Simon grabbed Sheila and held her tightly. Sheila took the gesture, along with the soft thrusting, to be an indication that he wanted her later that evening. It made Sheila beam at him. Only Simon and Tammy knew he had done so in order to use Sheila's body to thrust deeper inside Tammy's vagina. Tammy could see from his body language that he was on the verge of climax and so she slowed things down a little until she too was ready. In one triumphant thrust she finally felt orgasm from Simon and she knew he had climaxed simultaneously. Simon held weakly onto Sheila as he recovered whilst Tammy sat and felt his erection slowly, deliciously, ebb away inside her.

Connor had been discreetly listening into Bastion's conversations as he sipped a glass of white wine. Bastion could have chosen any cover story at all but, true to form, he had chosen one about being a Hollywood screenwriter. Such a glamorous job had attracted much interest, if feigned a little in some case because a few moments of conversation from Bastion was enough to tell anyone exactly the kind of man he was.

Despite their best efforts base politeness had allowed Bastion to trap three women in a corner. His conversation was circular, with all attempts by the women to broaden the topics beyond Bastion being clumsily hijacked by bluster. Under his mask Connor smiled. This must be the first time in years that Bastion had ever talked to someone who did not know the power he wielded. The women were talking to him without fear and with that stripped away Bastion was unable to command their respect.

As Bastion launched into another wave of self-praise he slowly became aware that the women were looking past him, trying hard not to show their amusement. Turning slowly he saw a mime standing behind him, mimicking every movement he was making whilst exaggerating them in a comedic fashion. When the mime saw that Bastion had spotted him he ceased immediately and began to whistle his innocence.

Bastion felt embarrassed in front of women, mocked by a stranger and impotent. This trilogy of emotions did little to ease his mood. He looked hard at the mime and spoke with thinly veiled rage.

"What do you think you are doing?"

The mime looked thoughtful for a second before giving a soft shrug.

"If you don't go away and do it somewhere else I will make you regret it."

With a deft movement the mime turned his back and pulled out two long, thin balloons. In a couple of seconds he had inflated them with a small canister of gas that was concealed within his costume. Bastion watched with almost masochistic wonderment as the mime began to twist them together before suddenly turning around. The mime pointed the balloon-sword at Bastion and went into a theatrical "en garde" stance, much to the amusement of the ladies. The laughter crushed the bully in Bastion and now he just wanted to get away from the situation. He stormed past the mime and sought solace not only in another corner of the room but also within his guild-granted powers. He hissed into his mask.

"Green, it's Bastion. Do you hear me?"

"Yes sir. You sound a little upset"

"Who the hell is that mime? That fool is showing us all up"

"It could be anyone sir. We set the invite list but the costumes were the decision of the guests"

"I want him hurt"

It was all Green could do not to laugh. He had to wonder how C would react to a Guild-hit on a mime clown for the crime of waving a balloon-weapon with intent to mock. Nonetheless he knew better than to contradict Bastion so he sought instead to deflect him long enough for it to blow over.

"We can find out after midnight sir. He'll remove his mask along with everyone else. After that we can assess his importance and take appropriate retaliatory steps."

It seemed the inclusion of a mention of retribution was enough for Bastion however, being the man he was, he still felt the need to kick someone to make himself feel bigger again. His attention turned to the main event of the evening and he suddenly felt better.

"Move Miss Squires over to Congressman Taylor and his wife"

"It's a little early sir. I was planning to keep things low until the dancing was well under way"

Bastion was not in the mood to wait. He needed his power-fix now and decided to start with a veiled threat to his subordinate.

"Move her over Mr Green. Begin whatever you had planned and make it good. The Guild is watching your work closely"

Connor watched as Tammy moved towards the Taylor's. She caught his gaze for the last time before two dancing couples blocked her view of him. They were there for a matter of seconds but, in that time, she saw her mime clown had vanished. Only the softly closing door behind where he had been gave any clue as to what had happened. Green, speaking via her glasses interrupted Tammy's thoughts, and she no longer had time to worry about her protector.

"Miss Squires as you approach I want you to fall into conversation with Barbara Taylor. Through her you will be introduced to the Congressman. Just keep it nice and light for the moment and wait for my instructions."

Tammy approached Barbara nervously. This was the part she had been dreading the most.

"Hello Barbara. My name is Tammy Squires, we met at the house today?"

Barbara looked a little surprised.

"Hello Miss Squires. It's nice to see you again especially as we don't see many accountants at this type of function."

The response had been polite enough but the meaning was clear. Barbara was wondering how someone who was a mere accountant was able to gain an invite to such a high-calibre event. Tammy wished Green would advise what to say but he clearly was leaving this one up to her.

"I'm here with my partner who is a financier. I seem to have lost him at the moment and I thought I could maybe share a drink with you. It was nice to see a friendly face, though in these costumes it's hard to tell!"

Barbara laughed and Tammy knew she had broken the ice. That was the main thing although it annoyed her than she had used the "my partner is someone important" ruse. She felt it had somehow demeaned her although the thought of someone alone, in socially unfamiliar surroundings, clearly had melted Barbara's heart.

"Yes it is, isn't it my dear? Please let me introduce my husband Joseph. He's a Congressman as you know."

Joseph smiled as he lifted Tammy's hand. He had the airs of a real southern gentleman, with the accent to match, even though he was dressed as Zorro. Placing a kiss on her hand Joseph held her gaze for a moment before speaking.

"A pleasure to meet you Miss Squires. My wife tells me you did a fine job on the accounts this afternoon. Thank you."

Tammy highly doubted if Barbara had actually thought the accounts worthy of conversation with her husband but she appreciated the attempt at warmth nonetheless. Soon the three of them had fallen in polite, if staid, conversation and it pleased Green. Stage one had been accomplished. Now all Green had to do was get his idiot boss out of the way before Bastion could interfere. Green contacted Bastion after a long think. He hoped he had phrased this correctly.

"Sir, it's Green. I think it might be better if you waited at the Taylor residence. You can watch the show whilst you wait for them to be delivered to you and it would make you more secure."

Green cursed himself as soon as he had finished. He had meant that Bastion, a watcher of the Guild, could be safer if not lost in a crowd of people that the Guild did not fully control. Given his emotional state, however, Green suddenly realised that Bastion might take his comments as meaning he was feeling emotionally insecure at the party. It would have been a fifty-fifty call with anyone else but with Bastion it was a racing cert.

"I can handle myself here just fine thank you"

"Sir, I didn't mean to imply..."

"Just get me a room upstairs and bring the Taylor's to me when you are ready. I will watch the show from there"

Despite how his mind was racing Green noted that Bastion did indeed feel uncomfortable enough to want to leave the main room. He smiled at just how inept his boss had been when forced to talk to people who did not have to fake an interest in his opinions.

"That would be dangerous sir. We prepared the Taylor's residence because it would reduce the number of potential complications. With so many people around one of them may see or hear something"

"Then just make sure you are careful. You promised me something special tonight Mr Green. Make it happen here and make it happen soon or else I may begin to think I misjudged your abilities"

Green knew better than to argue when Bastion was in this mood.

"Ok sir. Go to room 108 and wait there. I will contact you when we are ready. Green out"

Green turned his attention to Tammy again. He saw that she was still talking to the Taylor's but clearly now the conversation was waning. Seeing that the Taylor's had almost finished their drinks Green decided to grab his opportunity. He spoke into Tammy's earpiece.

"Suggest that you find them some more drinks Tammy and then excuse yourself somewhere we can talk."

Tammy made her excuses and walked to a quieter corner where she could speak without being overheard.

"What should I do now Mr Green?"

"Here's the deal Tammy. That waiter at the bar will give you two drinks. You must hand the one on the left to Barbara and the one on the right to the Congressman. The one on the left contains a drug that will allow us to separate them."

Tammy was worried at the idea of having to drug Barbara again.

"A drug?"

"Don't worry Tammy, it will simply cause her to feel faint for now. I have people who will guide her upstairs to a room for a lie-down. I am betting that this gathering is too important to the Congressman for him to leave as well, once he knows his wife is in good hands. Move quickly before they locate drinks from somewhere else."

Tammy went over to the bar as Bastion watched her via the feed from the show. He called down to Green,

"Why do you want them separating?"

"The drug will knock Barbara Taylor out for about ten minutes. When she awakes she will be in a state of incredible arousal. We need that for the next part almost as much as we need her husband to be elsewhere"

Bastion could feel himself becoming erect as he thought of what Green had promised him that evening.

"Ok, just don't tire her out"

"Have faith sir. I will make good on my promise. Green out"

Tammy returned to the Taylor's and handed out the drinks. It was only a matter of a few minutes before Barbara began to look pale. Concern for his wife rushed over Joseph.

"Are you ok my love?"

"I feel a little odd."

A waiter came over to them immediately.

"Is everything ok sir?"

"My wife feels a little ill. Do you have a private place she could sit down for a moment?"

"I will get one of the rooms upstairs opened for her, sir. We have a doctor here and he will also be sent. If there is any cause for concern I will arrange for you to be contacted"

Congressman Taylor looked about to argue but Green had gambled correctly. Taylor had too many people he needed to meet tonight to be distracted by a minor fainting fit.

"Ok, thank you. Keep me informed please"

A few staff members helped Barbara Taylor upstairs whilst Tammy did her best to reassure Joseph. It was clear, however, that he wanted to circulate around the room quickly and he made his excuses. Soon Tammy was standing alone again with only her wine for company. Green checked that Barbara was in position and then he contacted Tammy again.

"Miss Squires you are to go upstairs now. You will find room 110 open and Barbara Taylor will be inside, unconscious on the bed. Hurry please, she will not be asleep long"

Tammy was nervous as she entered the hotel lobby. As she approached the lifts she saw a man who was waiting for her there. Green spoke again.

"Say nothing to that man but take the package he will offer you. Ascend in the lift and enter Barbara's room before opening the package."

By the time Tammy had entered the room she had already guessed what was in the package. The phallic shape and texture were all too obvious. It was therefore no surprise to her when she found it contained a dildo and, given Green's request from earlier on in the day, no surprise either to find it was an exact replica of the one she has shown him in Barbara's bedroom.

"What am I meant to do with this?" Tammy said, dreading the answer.

"We hope she has her own in her handbag. It was missing from her residence when we installed the cameras and, we think, she must keep it close to her for fear her husband might discover it. This was not our primary plan for tonight, although I had hoped it may be the case when I asked you to show me her own dildo, but we are using it as a long-term back-up.

Impregnated inside the dildo we have provided is a mixture of a chemical compound and semen from one of our agents. When she awakes she will be in a state of arousal and we hope she will use the dildo, releasing the compound that will then mix seamlessly with her vaginal fluids. In a few months we will have a scandal that will bring down the Taylor's, when we reveal that the baby she is carrying is not his. Exchange it for the one in her handbag Tammy"

Tammy went cold. No matter the need for pretence and no matter the danger to herself, this was simply a violation she could not allow to happen. Whilst she was waiting for Connor to punish these bastards she knew she was the only one who could prevent this. She did a very courageous thing. She pretended to exchange the dildos but in fact, with clever slight of hand, she did not. She was gambling that Green would not have seen.

"Well done Miss Squires. Now return to the party please"

Tammy breathed heavily as she descended to the party again. She had got away with it and she silently thanked whichever force of decency had protected her. It had been different with men who, for one reason or another, had placed themselves in the line of Guild attention. Barbara was innocent, in her way, and Tammy simply could not allow her to be violated.

"Bastion this is Aegis"

Bastion was shocked to hear from his friend tonight and the call grabbed his attention away from the show.

"Yes Aegis?"

"Get out of there now"

"Why? What's up?"

"I have heard a distinct rumour that C has been informed about your appearance on the show tonight. He is most displeased that a watcher is appearing, albeit masked, on a feed that is going out to lower Guild members. I have also heard that he has begun his own covert investigation into the explosion at your Texan listening station."

Bastion became weak. All he could say was,

"Christ no!"

Aegis sought to comfort and reassure his friend.

"Don't worry too much just yet. All you have done so far is appear at a fancy-dress ball. I was more concerned that you would have to explain why you got your dick out live on camera. As for the facility, tough it out. Let C prove it was anything other than an accident. Go back to your headquarters and prepare your arguments. You can expect his call in the morning"

Bastion mind was racing.

"What about Connor? Does C know about Connor?"

"There is no reason to assume he does Bastion. Connor is dead and your network is loyal. No-one is going to tell him anything about Connor unless you authorise them too"

Bastion called down to Green.

"Green I am leaving. Keep Tammy occupied for tonight and then have her return to the hotel"

Green sounded surprised at the sudden change of plan.

"What should I tell her?"

"Anything you like, just keep her busy until I contact you in the morning."

"Sir, I thought you wanted Barbara Taylor?"

Bastion was ashamed at how his own lust had brought him endangered him with C. It was all he could do to say,

"Not any more. Bastion out"

The channel closed to Green as Bastion reopened the channel to Aegis.

"I cannot find the words to thank you my old friend."

"Just keep calm, act professionally and you will be fine Bastion. Aegis out"

Bastion hurried down the stairs and into night air. He went to where his car should be waiting but found nothing but trash blowing in the breeze instead. Frustrated he called on his radio.

"Driver? Where the hell are you?"

The reply was the very last thing Bastion expected. Instead of a voice he was now hearing music.

I'm so high I can hear Heaven. Oh but Heaven, no Heaven don't hear me

Before Bastion could react his attention was diverted by a single, silenced gunshot. It missed his head by an inch and ricocheted off the sidewalk, causing him to instinctively duck behind a nearby tree. As Bastion panted heavily with the exertion he tried to clear the radio in his mask but all to no avail. The music was on every channel.

And they say that a hero could save us, I'm not gonna stand here and wait

"Driver? Anyone? I am under attack. Respond!" Bastion screamed in terror. Nothing but the music replied to him.

"Bastion to anyone in the network. Can anyone hear me?"

The music dimmed as a familiar, British accent came over the radio.

"I can hear you Bastion."

"Connor?" The question was asked with incredulity mixed with terror

"Of course Bastion. I warned you that you would be punished if you did not listen to me" Another shot clipped the tree, forcing Bastion to cower in the dirt beneath.

"You're dead! We killed you!"

Connor paused for a moment as the dimmed music played in the background.

"Well, I had a bit of a headache earlier today but it's cleared up nicely thank you for asking."

Someone told me, love would all save us. But how can that be? Look what love gave us.

Bastion found that his natural indignation, the ego that was his fatal weakness, now gave him strength.

"Switch off that damn music! You want to kill me, is that what this is all about?"

A world full of killing and blood-spilling that won't every change

"The music blocks your friends for the time it will take us to talk. If I wanted you dead, Bastion, I would have killed you with the first shot"

"Then what do you want?"

Connor paused and gave a small sigh.

"I'm getting a little tired of repeating myself Bastion. Safe passage for me and the lady and the ending of your petty little show. I have arranged punishment for your humiliation of her tonight and I assure you that Hell will come with me if I have to punish you again. End this cleanly, now, or I will end it for us both"

Connor empathised the threat with another shot. It was so accurate that it went through the arm of Bastion's shirt, even though he was prone.

Bastion knew he needed to play for time.

"Ok, agreed. Let me just return to my headquarters and I will grant all of that."

"See that you do"

Bastion saw Connor beginning to climb down from the rooftop opposite and took his chance. He began to wildly search for his car even as the music continued to render his radio useless.

Now that the world isn't ending, it's love that I'm sending to you

As Connor climbed down he began to wonder why he had chosen this particular song. Inside his heart it was resonating too much. Only one final line got through before he switched it off.

It isn't the love of a hero and that's why I fear it won't do

Connor reached ground level despite his eyes having filled with water. He became angry with himself and wiped them with his hands before sprinting for his vehicle.

As soon as the music had ended Bastion called on his radio.

"Any Lexington unit, this is Bastion. Urgent assistance required. Respond please"

Bastion's ears nearly surrendered under the weight of responses that flooded him. He located his car and knew that he simply needed a bodyguard to drive him. A short reply from him was all that was needed to summon one from the hotel.

As Bastion waited for his driver he opened up the back of his limousine. Inside the rear seat was the body of the sniper, his head almost removed by what appeared to be a single clean shot from above. Bastion knew that his driver would also be dead at the front of the vehicle and so it did not shock him when he received visual confirmation. Bastion felt alone, scared and more unsure than at any time in his Guild career. His next radio call was filled with base emotions.

"Aegis!"

Aegis had never heard Bastion like this.

"What's up Bastion?"

"Connor is alive!"

Bastion had expected a shout, a cry, a curse or something. He got nothing but stunned silence for ten seconds. Then Aegis came back on again.

"Excuse me?"

"What part of Connor being alive did you not hear? He's just nearly taken my head off with a sniper rifle!"

"Calm down. If he wanted you dead I suspect you would be already. Did he say anything to you?"

Bastion was too worked up to listen properly.

"What?"

Aegis spoke with cool, professional detachment. He hoped he could yet inspire Bastion to do the same.

"Did Connor say anything to you? He must have or else you would not know it was him who was shooting. What was it?"

"Just the same threat to do worse to us unless I ended the show"

The next thing Aegis said stunned Bastion. It was said with quiet steel.

"Then end it"

Bastion could not believe that Aegis, of all people, was suggesting surrender.

"No! Why should we give in to that prick?"

"Because that prick, as you call him, is running around our network despite having been confirmed dead twice in forty years. With C sniffing around as well it is only a matter of time before this whole Connor issue gets out of hand. End your show and he will go away. It is the only way to ensure he does in time."

Bastion's fear had gone now, replaced by anger more intense than even he remembered feeling before.

"No. It is my show and my finest achievement. No man will ever take it from me!"

Aegis tried to calm Bastion down.

"Look when Connor is no longer an active threat we can search for him again, locate and this time make sure he's dead even if we have to feed his atoms through a sieve. When that happens your show could re-start. It's not a surrender, it is a tactical withdrawal that's all"

By now Bastion could see his driver running towards him. His mind was clouded by his emotions and he crossed the Rubicon.

"To hell with you, you coward! I am ending that Bastard, now!"

Before Aegis could say anything else, Bastion cut the transmission and blocked all but his own network from talking to him. He shouted to his driver,

"Toss the bodies out of there and then drive me to headquarters!"

"Yes sir"

As the driver removed the corpses Bastion made a general announcement to his forces in Lexington. He gave them the description of Connor's vehicle and demand that they tell him where it was. In moments an agent responded.

"We have the vehicle sir. Heading at high speed towards the city limits. We are in pursuit at a distance. Should we intercept?"

"No, attach a tracking device and then withdraw. Confirm when done" A few moments later the agent came back on the radio.

"Device deployed sir. We are withdrawing"

As Bastion entered the back of the limousine he contacted his local network again.

"Bastion to all Lexington units. Withdraw. I repeat, do not attempt to engage or pursue the target"

Bastion paused for a moment before allowing the full venom of his childish anger to present itself in his voice.

"He's mine!"

Bastion's limousine drove at speed towards headquarters whilst he activated a certain unit that was opposite him. The unit spoke with the voice of a cultivated lady.

"Good evening commander. Please enter your activation code"

Bastion punched in an eleven-digit number and smiled with satisfaction as the computer acknowledged him again.

"Activation code confirmed. Please state the nature of the military units required."

"Just the one. Deploy the nearest drone aircraft available immediately"

The computer worked silently for a moment.

"The nearest unit to your signal has been deployed. Would you prefer automated or manual control?"

Bastion looked at his monitor and saw the tracker device beaming Connor's position to him. He knew he needed to feel this victory himself.

"Manual. Project cockpit controls to this location"

"Very good commander. Standby"

The back of the limousine was flooded with a holographic projection of the cockpit from the drone aircraft. Bastion took the controls and looked out of the cockpit window to see he was flying over the desert. He cursed when he realised it would take about fifteen minutes to reach Connor's location but then relaxed. Connor was, if anything, making things easier for him by driving into the middle of nowhere.

"Contact. Bearing 180 by 15. Single plane. Identifying now" The well-trained voice of the airforce radar-operator echoed across the operation room. "Contact is a plane of some kind but it's a configuration I have not seen before. Alert the General please. We need him in here"

General Hamilton was reading in his office when he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in."

The airman had clearly been running because he was out of breath and that made Hamilton concerned.

"What's up son?"

"Sir, operation centre reports an unidentified contact on their screens. They need you in there, sir"

"Unidentified? You mean it's not one of ours?"

"Not only that sir but it's not of a type we have in the database either"

Hamilton dropped his book and activated his wall unit.

"Operation centre, this is General Hamilton. Who have we got on standby?"

The voice that replied sounded garbled as if communications were suffering interference. Nonetheless Hamilton was able to understand.

"Three F-35's. Commanded by Captain Mathers, sir"

"Scramble them and tell them to intercept the target. Contact the Pentagon and advise them of the situation. Sound the alert in case we need anyone else airborne quickly. I'm on my way"

Bastion was too intent on piloting the plane to notice much of the other information that was being sent to him. Fortunately his computer was programmed to bring vital information to his attention.

"Commander, AFB Laughlin has been placed on alert. Three F-35's are being scrambled to intercept your aircraft"

Bastion had anticipated interference.

"Are you blocking their communications computer?"

"All local military units are being disrupted, Commander, as per standard procedure. Unfortunately Laughlin is equipped with a new communications system. Our attempts to block them will only result in partial success"

Bastion made a mental note to upgrade the Guild's jamming system.

"What will the jamming do?"

"It will prevent Laughlin from communicating at all but the most local level. They will be isolated from their command and control"

"That will be good enough. Plot me the course of those F35's and display it on the main viewer"

Bastion noted where the F35's would have to fly and he smiled. He knew his plane was safe.

Inside the operations room General Hamilton watched as his fighters appeared on the scope. He recognised the familiar voice of Captain Mathers despite the interference on the transmission.

"Command this is Fox 2. We are on station. Proceeding to intercept the target"

Hamilton activated his radio.

"I copy that Fox 2. We need a visual description of the target and the usual challenge procedure please"

Hamilton shouted across the operations room.

"Can someone please clear up this signal? It's like talking through a snow-storm"

Airmen worked quickly in a professional but ultimately futile attempt to break through the interference. The combined shrugging of his subordinates told Hamilton that he was out of luck. He turned to his staff sergeant.

"Any word from central command?"

"We can't get through sir. Nothing is getting in or out beyond a radius of around forty miles"

Hamilton knew he had to warn his pilots quickly or else he would lose his chance.

"Fox 2 this is command. Be advised that our communications are malfunctioning. We will lose you in about thirty seconds. You are authorised to proceed under your own judgement until communications are re-established. Good luck."

"Yippee ki yay, going cowboy. Fox 2 out"

Bastion watched as the F35's continued to close on his plane. Connor was continuing to drive at speed and had now cleared Lexington altogether, entering open country that provided scant cover at best. As his limousine approached his headquarters Bastion knew he held all the cards and some of his usual swagger reappeared in his voice.

"Computer, activate defence post 19"

"That is a breach of Guild protocol commander. Defence posts are not to be activated until the Day of Atonement"

"Command override. Activate the defence post" "As you wish commander. Defence post 19 is now active"

The F35's flew over the open desert. Even though they had no one else to talk to they continued to chat amongst themselves.

"Fox 2 this is Fox 1. I have the target on local scope. I have never seen anything like it though"

"Copy that Fox 1. Initiate challenge procedure"

Mathers heard his colleague attempt to contact the intruder.

"To unidentified aircraft. This is Fox 1 operating out of AFB Laughlin. You are in violation of US airspace and are ordered to identify yourself immediately"

Bastion smiled as he heard the challenge. He began to operate secondary controls.

"Fox 2? This is Fox 1. No response from the target"

"Check the weapon status of the target Fox 1 please"

There was a pause whilst the check was made.

"Confirming hot, repeat hot. Target has weapons activated. Weapons include air to air and air to ground."

Mathers wished he could have instructions from his command but all he had to guide him was his own instincts.

"Ok Fox group. If that thing is hot then so are we. Once we have visual we will challenge it again"

"What if it remains silent sir?"

"The target is hot and heading for Lexington. If it still refuses to acknowledge us then we will use warning shots followed by the real deal"

Bastion was close to Connor now. It was time to remove any distractions. He activated the automated defence post and filled the air with lead.

The sky around Fox group suddenly lit up with intense activity.

"What the hell? Under fire! Fox 2 to command, we are under attack"

Bastion left the computer to finish the task. He just concentrated on flying his plane whilst he heard the screams of the other pilots. Bastion did not care if they lived or died, merely that the dots representing his opponents no longer appeared on his screen. Once that was achieved he focused again on Connor, seeing that his plane was now in visual range of the speeding car. Bastion was about to initiate weapons-lock when the car entered a tunnel, forcing him to fly to the other end and circle. It was only a matter of seconds before he had re-acquired Connor and of a few seconds more before he had released a missile. Bastion watched the resulting explosion with intense satisfaction before he pressed another button, causing the drone plane to vaporise into a million pieces that would be impossible to analyse correctly.

Bastion stepped out of his limousine and ascended back into his office. The sudden realisation of how he had treated Aegis hit him and he cursed himself for allowing his anger to rule his actions so completely. He hoped he could make amends with Aegis in the morning, along with handling C, but for now he was tired and in need of sleep. It was nearly 20 minutes before Bastion was ready for bed and he was just about to lie down when he received radio signal. Cursing, he went over to his console and shouted.

"What?"

Bastion froze as he heard Connor speak.

"I warned you. Watch the monitors"

The feed from the show was replaced by the faces of the viewers. Underneath each face was their personal information.

"These men are about to be exposed to the world Bastion. With a simple press of a button I will have not only their details but also what they represent broadcast across the world. I will cause a breach so wide that C will feel himself squeezed as never before and I am sure he will want to express his gratitude to you for being the cause"

Bastion did something he had never done in his life before. He pleaded.

"No, please. Connor please don't!"

Connor paused.

"I will make you a trade Bastion. I will not broadcast their details and I will show you how I discovered them. In return I want your show ending immediately and safe passage for the lady and me. I will bring the data to you personally if you agree"

Bastion smiled. He knew he had a chance now.

"I am surprised you would trust me enough Connor"

"Your Guild is very tradition-based. I know that you all value your promises beyond anything else. If you promise my safety when I visit you, on your Guild honour, then you are duty-bound not to break that promise. Give me half and hour and I will be there. Deal?"

"I need to tell you where I am and I need to arrange another car for you Connor"

"I've always known where you are Bastion and as for the car, thanks but no thanks. I have one on the way now. It's an old friend from long ago but it drives like a dream. I warn you, if I so much as scent one of your agents anytime between now and when we meet I will transmit the data"

"You have my word as a watcher Connor. No one will be close to you and you will come to no harm. See you shortly"

Bastion closed the channel and then opened one to his network.

"This is Bastion. The man called Connor will be entering the city on his way to visit me. Absolutely no-one is to interfere or attempt to track him in any way. I will use CCTV to watch him from here"

Bastion switched his control and contacted his personal bodyguards.

"When Connor arrives I want none of you to be visible. Clear all corridors and wait for my instructions. He must be allowed to enter this room without interference"

"What about when he leaves, sir?"

Bastion looked over to his desk and smiled to himself.

"He won't be leaving agent. Bastion out"

A few minutes later Bastion was watching Connor enter the city. The car was driving at speed and Bastion was glad that local law-enforcement was under his control or some unit might have caused Connor to become concerned. Bastion watched as Connor entered the underground car park in his building, driving beneath the barrier even as he took a ticket, before parking. Connor strode purposefully towards the marked exit and stormed through into the corridor beyond.

Bastion was behind his desk when Connor burst into the room. He smiled at the intruder despite the tension he felt inside.

"Come in Connor. Would you like a drink?"

Connor walked over to the desk.

"I don't sup with the Devil. I see from the monitors that the show is still running."

"You have my word Connor. Give me the information on how you gained the details of my audience and it will end. You and Miss Squires will be free to live in peace ever after"

Connor reached into his jacket and retrieved a compact disk and tossed it contemptuously on the desk.

"It's all on there Bastion. With this you can secure your network again. Now end the show"

Bastion inserted the disk into his computer. It was indeed a treasure-trove. He flicked a switch and the monitors now showed nothing but darkness.

"Quid pro quo Connor. You are free to go"

Connor turned on his heel and was halfway across the office before he heard the safety-catch of a pistol being removed. Slowly turning round he saw Bastion, brandishing the weapon and smiling in triumph.

"You did not think I would really allow you to live did you?"

Connor showed no reaction. Instead he walked slowly towards the desk.

"You cannot shoot me, you gave me your word."

"I can do whatever I like. Adieu Connor"

Bastion fired until the gun was empty. Each round sounded loudly but none left the weapon. The monitors came back alive, this time showing the two men standing in the office. The unmistakable voice of C came over the channel.

"Drop the weapon Bastion, there's a good chap"

Bastion froze before meekly placing the gun on his desk. Seven of the monitors changed to show seven figures, silouhetted except for their eyes, all staring at Bastion. Connor turned towards them and spoke softly.

"This man is a pompous fool and you are fools for ever having entrusted your security to him"

C spoke harshly.

"Steady on my boy, remember who you are addressing"

"I know exactly who I am addressing, Caspian. These are, I presume, the other full Guild members?"

Bastion suddenly found his voice again

"Caspian? I had always presumed that C stood for..." Connor interrupted him with a smile.

"That would have been a little egotistical, wouldn't you say?"

Connor looked at the shadows again as he continued to address Bastion.

"These are your lords and masters. Seven of them, each named after the sea that designates their area of global control. Caspian, appropriately, is in charge of internal affairs and I am a product of his imagination"

Bastion turned towards the monitors.

"Who is this man? Why did you send him to torment me?"

Caspian spoke with fatherly tenderness.

"He is my greatest gift to the Guild. I bred him from the DNA of our strongest adversary, schooled him with everything that individual knew and then turned him loose. I was concerned that the Guild had lost its way, that it had become decadent, and I was determined to test our internal security in the harshest manner. No better way than to turn our historically greatest enemy into our agent, eh?"

Bastion became angry.

"Why against me though? I served you well!"

Connor turned to him and his words tore through Bastion's soul.

"Your show was the very essence of the decadence Caspian is speaking about. He tolerated it whilst I was being schooled but it was clearly going to be the first thing to be tested when I was ready. That is why he made you leave the bathroom clear for, one day, I was going to need a place you could not observe."

Bastion slammed his fists down on his desk.

"What kind of a test was this? It was impossible to defeat this man if every action I performed was going to be undermined. My agents lied to me, you sacrificed some of them in the process! Why did you have to kill the sniper?"

Caspian spoke softly.

"The sniper was not anticipated. We thought you would only use Guild resources and I must admit you threw us when you recruited him. It was all we could do to sabotage his bullets without alerting you. That and the glass we had in the house saved the experiment. He died because he could not be allowed to compromise us.

The test was not about whether you could defeat this man, Bastion, it was about whether you would perform your duty. Aegis was blinded by his friendship and went beyond his brief in actively trying to encourage you to report all this. Despite that your ego caused you to fail the test. You even exposed some of our military capability to outsiders. The final test was not one of competency but one of honour. If you had not broken your word to that man we could simply have demoted you but now, I fear, you have broken the very essence of your Guild membership. In respect to your past service I am giving you one chance to resign."

"If I choose not to?"

"If you do not resign we will be forced to expel you. You know the penalty for expulsion is death. If you resign we guarantee that you will not be killed so long as you maintain discretion. You can keep your assets and have a future."

It was only his ego that caused Bastion to hesitate.

"Ok, I resign"

Caspian clapped his hands together.

"Good for you my boy, good for you. Well, don't let us keep you."

The door to the office opened electronically and Bastion took the hint and walked out. Connor watched him as he descended to the car park and drove away.

One of the other silouhettes spoke.

"You cannot leave it at that Caspian. We must maintain the status quo."

"Don't concern yourself with that Caribbean, I have the matter in hand. The man formally known as Bastion will be taken to our new coastal facility. There we will work out what went wrong with our screening, how he rose so high and yet was so fundamentally flawed. Believe me, by the time we are through with him, he will wish we had killed him."

Connor watched as a black hearse silently began to tail Bastion's car. His gaze was interrupted when Caspian addressed him again.

"So, sir, are you ready to become the new Bastion?"

Connor looked at the seven.

"First things first. Tammy Squires has served us well by allowing me to expose that idiot. You will promise me that, so long as she maintains discretion, she will be given all the support that the Guild can provide. Her future must be as gilded as the cage we placed her in. Secondly, I intend to tell her everything she needs to know about me. I want her to make an informed decision about whether she would choose to become my companion, without pressure or sanction if she declines."

Caspian thought for a moment.

"As long as you do not give away any operational secrets then you have my word."

Connor continued, knowing his primary aims had been achieved.

"I also decline your offer to be the new Bastion. Go find some other patsy to play ball with"

There were cries of outrage from the shadows followed by silence. Caspian sounded puzzled.

"Why, sir? It would give you more power than you can possibly dream of. It is why you were bred, it is your destiny. The Guild is your mother and father"

Connor held out his hands, palms up.

"You see? No handcuffs. I prefer it that way. You made me identical to that individual in the facility, why are you now shocked that I choose to decline to serve you?"

Connor turned on his heels and began to walk away. Caspian called after him.

"Wait! You cannot think you can just walk away from us. We will destroy you."

Connor turned around with a thin smile.

"You are welcome to try. This building contains no one and your network in Lexington is currently un-contactable. My last gifts to you as your lap dog. By the time you re-establish command and control I will be long gone. You will then only know where I am by the trail of destroyed Guild assets I leave behind."

Caspian let out a trademark laugh.

"Wonderful! You see gentlemen? He's exactly what I promised you. A freethinker, a blast of fresh air that will revitalise us! Oh, my sweet boy, is there any role I could offer you that would make you reconsider serving us?"

Connor thought for a moment.

"Make me above the watchers. Let me go anywhere, have acess to anything. Allow me to root out the diseased parts of the Guild and advise on how to augment it's control over the world. I will settle for nothing less."

Caspian paused.

"I will need to consult with the others. You are asking for a great deal."

"Take your time. I need a few minutes anyway"

As the shadows conferred Connor sat at the desk and inserted another CD into the computer. He opened a file headed "Matthew Chapter 4" and began to read. Connor had created this file in secret over many years, knowing that this moment would come. No matter the illustrious individual who had inspired his creation Connor was still human. He still lusted and he knew he could still be corrupted. Connor had placed into the file everything he knew about the history of the Guild, every assassination, dirty trick and war they had created. By the time he had finished Connor had reminded himself of why this abomination needed to be brought down.

With anger burning in his stomach, Connor returned to the monitors.

"Well?"

Caspian sounded subdued.

"I am afraid I have been out-voted son. There was insufficient support for your new role. I guess we must have you as a nemesis after all"

Connor was about to leave when he saw a new image on one of the monitors. This image was only of a pair of eyes, red in colour, and Connor wondered why this individual was not silouhetted like the others. Perhaps even darkness could not contain their secret? When the eyes spoke the room listened.

"The Guild agrees. Caspian, make it so"

There was a note of distinct reverence in Caspian's voice as he spoke.

"Yes number one, thank you. I am sure your wisdom will guide us into a new and stronger future."

The eyes vanished. Caspian addressed Connor once more.

"Congratulations my boy!"

Connor had a small smile on his face. Only he knew that the Guild had been too perfect, too thorough in his preparation. Only Connor knew the way he would be going. Only he knew the true meaning behind his last remark.

Connor gestured to the shadows and said,

"Be seeing you."