Tabitha smiled. "Teri, for sure asiaporno. She asiaporno always had to be unique. Everyone else just went with Eva's suggestion." Eva, the teacher, was dead now, but Decker had been surprised at what she'd done with a clutch of schoolgirls. They'd fought him well. Her star pupil, a girl named Carol asiaporno, led asiaporno them now asiaporno, and she was no mean adversary either.

He looked at Tabitha, remembered her facing him on the asiaporno helipad after she'd held him and his people off with neat three-round bursts, as her friends made their escape from the school in one of his choppers with asiaporno thirty of his livestock drugged on board. He never knew if she would have been able to fire the last round (she'd been counting them, for god's sake) into her own head, because he reached into her mind asiaporno and asiaporno stopped her asiaporno. But he'd felt the faint pressure asiaporno as asiaporno her mind video tried, and he asiaporno'd only felt asiaporno girls fight that hard to escape--not asiaporno to finish killing themselves asiaporno.

But he took her asiaporno free will and selfhood asiaporno instead, and all that warrior spirit was his, now. Tabitha video was a asiaporno devoted guard as asiaporno well asiaporno as his 24/7 asiaporno concubine, and she asiaporno was a smarter sounding board for plans than most of the goon squad he'd acquired asiaporno over the years.

"You covered your tracks asiaporno, Master." She asiaporno spoke asiaporno thoughtfully from her knees asiaporno, drifting into a pose her asiaporno programming knew he liked. "But the clients tonight have been asiaporno all over the 'Net about it, and they must have put it asiaporno together."

He nodded, remembering how she'd looked this morning as he left the suite, sitting naked asiaporno and crosslegged asiaporno on the bed video with the laptop, ready to spend the day surfing on his video agendas with time for exercise breaks. He'd been so taken with her absorption when he came back for asiaporno a nooner that he'd let her be asiaporno, staring at asiaporno her utterly focused rapture and leaving. She'd never known he'd video been there.

He wondered . When he'd taken Tabitha he'd been dealing with the immediacy of her. The unseen Carol , up in asiaporno the chopper as it lifted, piqued his asiaporno interest later asiaporno. As he went through his new slave's thoughts, he'd seen something beyond even Tabitha in this other girl, who'd assigned her to that asiaporno suicide post. Tabitha had been the champion who asiaporno volunteered to stay and be lost--but Carol was her steelhearted liege lady who accepted and blessed her friend's sacrifice, for asiaporno the greater good, and video may well have been making asiaporno herself look out from asiaporno the helicopter video at what she'd done. Until taught otherwise, Tabitha had worshipped her.

Tabitha closed her eyes suddenly and sighed. He looked asiaporno out the window again. "I know. I'm just not wanting it right now."

2.

By his side, Tabitha asiaporno was exquisite in a satin jumpsuit asiaporno just loose asiaporno enough to be chic, and looked asiaporno like asiaporno an unapproachably sleek young woman instead of asiaporno simply an unaffordably fuckable one. She trailed him to the dining room asiaporno, and asiaporno he liked how asiaporno her asiaporno poise was as disorienting asiaporno as her winsome good looks asiaporno. He couldn't tell how much of it was "original" Tabitha who'd held the helipad asiaporno alone , and asiaporno how asiaporno much the new and improved Tabitha, tamed and focused.

This was business asiaporno. Decker meditated on a mushroom until it told asiaporno his palate what he wanted to know, then swallowed, took wine, and settled back asiaporno.

"Tabitha?"

"Now asiaporno, Tabitha asiaporno."

Looking her over as though inspecting a sister before her date, Tabitha hefted each breast. "You're paid asiaporno for tonight."

Decker knew he'd make an offer for asiaporno Tabitha later, even knowing he'd be turned asiaporno down. If asiaporno only asiaporno to asiaporno prove his good taste. He asiaporno hoped he'd make asiaporno it in front of her.

"Sleep until I asiaporno wake you ."

He smiled asiaporno. That would asiaporno have been fun.

Among motionless nude women with blank faces, the slaves he already owned waiting at attention, figures in dark asiaporno clothing that gleamed asiaporno with asiaporno metal knelt or writhed or tried shakily to keep asiaporno their asiaporno feet, their screaming asiaporno inaudible asiaporno in the room's sound. Decker looked for a moment at his slaves, their minds already melted and used to being asiaporno reshaped. The lights and the noise were not telling their dimmed awareness anything they didn't already know: that they were owned, obedient asiaporno, endlessly horny was already the sun and asiaporno moon of their lives.

None of them knew.

He thought about a newly asiaporno-crowned queen in the asiaporno eighth rank, after asiaporno pawns were given up, and turned to look deeply into Tabitha's eyes as she stood there behind him, her video purse heavy with the gun he made asiaporno her carry.

"Master, she didn asiaporno't program me to let you take me video. I'm not asiaporno a asiaporno Trojan horse or a pawn about to asiaporno change. I'm your willing obedient slave.

He stared at asiaporno her, looked asiaporno into her. "No asiaporno, Tabitha. I video know you." He smiled at her relief and let her see it. "But is that how she might asiaporno really think?"

Wait asiaporno. Music in her head--but he smiled asiaporno: it was the elevator theme, muted and asiaporno tasteful. Probably drove the poor girl asiaporno insane asiaporno as she fetched and carried. He thought of playing with her, but with his new catch flopping on the floor asiaporno of two more suites here . . .

Decker peered into the first room, seeing a few asiaporno still asiaporno weakly struggling asiaporno--if she could give a girl asiaporno that much resistance, maybe Carol did have asiaporno talents as a trainer asiaporno he could video exploit asiaporno once asiaporno she worshipped asiaporno him. Once he taught her to know that freedom wasn't asiaporno the desired end state, but asiaporno the asiaporno problem to be solved. He commanded asiaporno the slaves to close the windows and went to do asiaporno the asiaporno same at the third suite.

He licked his lips. Colder and smarter even than Tabitha. He was going to asiaporno love video the mindfuck.

Careful, Tabby. He asiaporno pursed his asiaporno lips. Gun asiaporno out, but only if she asiaporno's armed.

He disengaged video from her thoughts and asiaporno concentrated on getting through the asiaporno corridors, wondering if any of Carol asiaporno's asiaporno other soldiers had infiltrated asiaporno in hotel uniforms, but the floor seemed deserted. If asiaporno he asiaporno saw asiaporno anyone they'd be on the asiaporno carpet under a SLEEP command right then.

The girl in the concierge's uniform lay against the asiaporno plywood back wall, her face tear-streaked and almost composed but starting to contort with asiaporno her last pain. Her hand still gripped the asiaporno pocketknife. Blood . . .

5.

He looked at her eyes first, even before the gun asiaporno. Neither eyes asiaporno nor gun wavered, until she cut her gaze over. The closet door stood out into the hall between her and the dead girl, but she could see the splayed legs, the stain asiaporno still scarlet around them asiaporno and wide. The way asiaporno the droplets had flown and landed asiaporno.

He asiaporno listened to her mind asiaporno.

He heard--surf. Carol had programmed herself with the ocean to mask asiaporno her asiaporno thoughts.

He reached into her.

Carol sighed and her eyelids drooped asiaporno before she hauled them up. He reached into the cold dark ocean and found asiaporno her bright warmth.

Lower asiaporno the gun. She fought, but she asiaporno was in a daze now asiaporno, and asiaporno she was asiaporno just pushing effort blindly.

Relax, her mind answered, and he heard the beat of the song in it. Her asiaporno arm began to bend, to sink. Her will was bending.

His asiaporno slave sighed happily asiaporno in his mind, grateful to be able to asiaporno move asiaporno again, but gladder for her Master's gain.

Relax.

Duke had shown his wisdom in the end, deputizing the video cleverest and then just looming asiaporno over them to keep them honest asiaporno. He'd been the asiaporno one to come asiaporno to the hospital every day.

When Decker had snarled asiaporno at them about a funeral for asiaporno Tabitha asiaporno and they stayed away, afraid asiaporno of what he'd do with his mind under painkillers, it was Duke asiaporno who'd promised, and asiaporno it was asiaporno Duke asiaporno who'd brought the asiaporno urn to asiaporno him. Duke had said something awkward and dense asiaporno, and he'd been glad Duke was there.

Decker would never asiaporno know.