It's an unremarkable black door at the top of 3 stone steps. The paintwork gleams, the brass fittings are highly polished and thousands of Londoners pass by without a glance in its direction every working day. If you ever walk the network of side-streets between St. Pancras Station and The British Museum, perhaps you're one of them. Or maybe you're one of the few that notices the nameplate on the wall, in the same highly polished brass, with the acronym 'N-S L E C' engraved on it and wonders about the hyphen.
The door never opens during the day and the street, which contains few houses, is usually deserted at night. So, the irregular procession of limousines which pull up outside on certain evenings do so largely unnoticed - which suits the well-dressed, masked women inside perfectly. As they emerge from behind tinted windows, the black door opens, throwing a red-orange glow out onto the street. There's the click of heels on stone steps, the women enter and then the door closes behind them, until the next plush vehicle glides down the street.
On a warm May evening, one of these limousines contained Kate, Sian and Sophie, 3 of the nation's favourite newsreaders, plus Kylie, Megan and Julia. The vehicle was awash with a mixture of excitement and nervousness - virtually all of the latter emanating from Julia. She smiled and laughed at the in-car chatter, but her heart was pounding and her throat was dry. 'How on earth have I ended up in a limo on its way to a high class lesbian sex club, with my friend Megan, 3 television goddesses and a rising-star reporter?' was the question that kept running through her head.
Had she asked the question out loud, the other women could have told her and Julia would have been amazed at the sequence of events that ended with her sitting in the car.
--
** 6 weeks earlier **
It was Kate that first suggested Julia's name as a possible recruit. She and her fellow newsreaders were in Sophie's London flat, helping Megan celebrate her birthday. Over the previous 2 hours all three of them had fingered, licked and then fucked the young make-up artist with a strap-on dildo (the 'associate member of the group' as Sian had nicknamed it). After Megan's 6th orgasm she'd collapsed in a sweaty heap at the end of the bed and was now dozing. The 3 newsreaders were lounging around naked - stroking, kissing and chatting.
"Really?" Sophie had a look of disbelief on her face.
Kate was equally incredulous. "You don't fancy her? The English Rose complexion, long legs, curly blonde hair and blue eyes don't do it for you? She's adorable."
"Oh don't get me wrong, she's gorgeous. I just don't think she'd go for it - she's so shy and nervous. I think she'd run a mile if we approached her."
"Well, I think she has... hidden depths."
"... Of girl-girl depravity?"
"Yes - don't forget I've seen more of her than you have recently."
They all knew Julia reasonably well and liked her enormously - as an intern she'd been incredibly helpful, always seeming to anticipate their needs and never cracking under pressure. She'd also played an unwitting role in Kylie's recruitment several months earlier. As a chaperone for the day, it was Julia who'd knocked on the green room door and led the reporter into her interview with the newsreaders.
So, they'd been delighted when her competence and hard work had recently been rewarded with a full-time job as a researcher and Julia's first assignment was assisting Kate with a special report. The two had spent a lot of time together poring over archive documents and old photographs in recent weeks.
Sophie deferred to her friend's greater knowledge. "Ok, if you think it's a realistic possibility, I'm in. How do you suggest we go about it? Sian, what do you think - any objections?"
Sian had a wicked grin on her face. "Far from it - she's lovely. And as to how - why don't we invite her to the party?"
For a moment, Sophie's face carried the same look of disbelief, but as her brain processed the suggestion she realised that it made perfect sense. If you're trying to recruit a young woman into a life of pussy eating debauchery, then a private party in a high-class lesbian sex club is really the natural place to do it. She could tell from the smile on Kate's face that the idea appealed to her as well.
Sophie nodded her tentative approval. "Ok, but that's very direct - if we're wrong about her it might end in tears... or if we're very wrong, the tabloids!"
Sian thought for a moment and then fleshed out her plan. "Megan can invite her - they're friends, so it'll sound more natural coming from her. She can tell Julia exactly what the club is like - that it's very elegant, sophisticated and exclusive, but with live lesbian sex shows. That gives our shy young friend a chance to say 'that's a bit weird - thanks, but no thanks'. Megan can't tell her what happens after the stage performance is over though. So, if Julia accepts, we won't know how she's going to react when we get to that part of the evening. It's a risk - we'll be exposed, probably quite literally, but I like the idea of not knowing and living a little dangerously, don't you?"
Kate nodded her assent, but Sophie wasn't convinced. "I don't know - if we're going to make the first move I'd like to know a little more about her."
"Hold on, I haven't finished yet!" Sian stroked her friend's thigh reassuringly. "We need to test her beforehand - present her with a situation that's worth gossiping about and see what she does. Kate, she's always in and out of your office at the moment - do you think you could oblige with something slightly scandalous?"
"Oh, absolutely - leave it to me."
"Great - then we'll just need to put temptation in her path." Sian gently kicked Megan's bottom.
"No more - not yet... tired." the young make-up artist mumbled.
Sian kicked again. "Wake-up Megan. Are you still friends with that tabloid journalist?"
Like a cat rudely interrupted from sleep, Megan half-opened an eye. "Melissa? Kind of, but I've spent the last 9 months avoiding her. All she ever does is ask me whether I've got any celebrity dirt to dish."
"Perfect - you need to stop ignoring her and arrange to go out for drinks. Julia will be going as well."
Megan was wide awake now. "Ok... wait, what? Have I missed something?"