After the party things slowed down for Susan. In fact, they started to get kind of boring. There wasn't much new training with 10 or the others, and there were no new calls for her services. She was permitted to interact more with the other women, and they were even allowed to have a girl's night in the Hotel room. She, Veronica and Sheilah spent an evening in the palatial accommodations, sharing their dinner together and talking about their time in the facility. They laughed when Susan recounted the tale of the Senator falling asleep on her back, and consoled Sheilah as she explained the traumatic first time for her. She had been a virgin and given to a man for just that reason, who used her brutally for the sheer joy of breaking something so precious. They held her as she sobbed, then Susan told of what Sheilah had done for her in this very room and how they had worked to save each other. No one mentioned Emma, she had never come back after she disappeared into the library with Farouk. Eventually, the three of them fell asleep in the bed. There was nothing sexual, just three women bonding over shared experiences.
The next week, Sheilah was gone. Susan asked 14 about her and was told that Mercy had summoned her up to work in the household. It happened once there was no point in the women being held in the cells any longer, and Sheilah had certainly proven her worth at the party. 14 also mentioned that Mercy had taken a personal liking to the girl and wanted her to be more available. That left Susan and Veronica alone in the now empty basement, until one day when 10 and 8 showed up with cuffs and gags. Bound and silenced, the two women were brought to the elevator and felt the lift take them up into the main house. They passed the library and went several floors further up until the doors opened into a large office.
The two women were herded across the deep pile carpet and sat down in chairs that faced a large ornate desk. Veronica's chair was pulled to the side while Susan was left facing the desk and the large window behind it. She saw that they were on an island, or the tip of a peninsula as there was only rolling water as far as she could see. "Makes sense" she thought. "Luthor definitely has enough money for his own island and it makes escape or interference a lot harder." Here musings were interrupted as a side door opened and Luthor and Mercy entered the room. Luthor took the seat behind the desk and Mercy moved off to the side, resting her hand on the back of Veronica's chair. Luthor nodded to 10 and the woman moved forward to remove Susan's cuffs and gag.
As she worked her sore jaw and rubbed her wrists, Susan watched Luthor, wondering what was going on. She was surprised that her nakedness did not bother her, nor did it seem to interest the mob boss either. For a long moment, the two assessed each other, then Luthor reached into a drawer and pulled out a pistol. It was an LAPD service automatic, just like the one Susan had carried that night. In fact, it was her gun. She recognized where she had buffed the trigger to give a better grip for her finger, and the scratch on the upper slide from the red dot sight she had put on until her supervisor made her take it off.
Luthor gave the gun a cursory glance, then with a practiced motion removed the magazine and locked the slide back. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a single 9mm round, placing it in the chamber and releasing the slide lock. Susan was in front of Wilson Luthor and he was holding a loaded gun. She tensed, was this the end of everything?
"I am aware of what Heinrich has told you, Ms. O'Connell." Luthor said with a calm voice. "He likes to play this game. Putting me in a difficult situation to see how I get out of it." The mob bosses mouth twitched in annoyance. "It can be trying, but it does keep me on my toes." He set the loaded pistol down on the desk in front of him and leaned back in his chair. "Mercy advised me that you have performed well over the last several weeks."
"Has it been that long?" she thought as she eyed the distance between her and the gun.
"The question is now, what to do with you?" Luthor continued.
"Looks like you are going to kill me." Susan replied with fake confidence. "If that is the case then get it over with."
Luthor sighed. "Do you really think so little of me Ms. O'Connell? Do you think I would have wasted the effort and resources of this facility on you just to kill you?"
"From my end, it looks like you turned me into a fucktoy for your henchmen." She snapped back. "I am sure a lot of your men would love the chance to fuck a cop."
"Indeed" Luthor replied. "It is a bucket list item for several of them, but as you should be aware I do not need a real police officer to grant that wish. A uniform, a fake ID and any of my ladies can fit the bill."
Susan thought "Damn, he's right. What the hell did he need me for then?"
Luthor leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. "Ms. O'Connell, several years ago you took an oath to serve and protect. I am now going to give you the chance." He spun the pistol and slid it across the desk at her. It stopped just tantalizingly out of reach, handgrip facing her and the barrel pointed at Luthor's broad chest.
Susan heard a sharp intake of breath and looked over to where Mercy stood behind Veronica. There was finally a readable emotion in the woman's eyes, and it was fear. She stared at Susan, then at the gun, then at Luthor, her gaze darting back and forth between them.
Luthor sat back in his chair. "This is your opportunity, Ms. O'Connell. With one bullet you can avenge the death of your father, get revenge for what has happened to you, topple my empire and wipe me from the face of the earth." His voice was disturbingly calm for a man trying to convince a woman who hated him to kill him. Then he took a deep breath and continued "the only price will be your friend's life."
Susan heard a strangled whimper and looked over to where Mercy was pressing the barrel of a small automatic hard against Veronica's temple. Tears streamed down the helpless woman's face as her wide eyes watched Susan with terror. The fear had left Mercy's eyes, and a cold fury had replaced it as she stared hard at Susan.
"What will it be, Ms. O'Connell. Will you serve humanity by removing a predator from their midst? Or will you protect your friend by sacrificing your lifelong dream?" Luthor swiveled slightly in his chair, squaring his chest towards where the gun sat in front of Susan.
The room was silent, save for Veronicas subdued whimpering. That sound though, echoed through Susan's soul. She looked over and saw her friend's terrified face as Mercy ground the barrel of the pistol hard against the side of her head. She looked at Luthor who sat calmly in his chair, as if waiting for his lunch order to arrive. She leaned forward slowly, picking up the gun in her right hand. The weight felt comfortingly familiar, by instinct her finger lay along the trigger guard and the weapon nestled into her palm like an old friend. "5lbs of trigger pull, that is all it would take." She murmured to herself as she tilted the gun left and right in her hand, barrel never straying from Luthor's chest. Then with a deep breath, she reached up and pulled back the slide, ejecting the round.
She dropped the gun on the desk and collapsed, sobbing. She had it all, everything she had worked for over the last 15 years, and she had given it up. She looked up at Veronica, who was also sobbing but with relief instead of fear. She watched as Mercy pulled the pistol back and engage the safety. Then she saw another emotion flicker across the woman's face. It wasn't relief, or anger, or even satisfaction. She saw that Mercy was staring at Luthor with what could only be described as sheer animal lust.
She heard the pistol being pulled back across the desk and she straightened up into her chair. Luthor nodded and 10 moved forward, offering a bottle of water to Susan who accepted it without thinking. She gulped it down, the cool liquid bringing her back to the present. She wiped her mouth and regarded the man across the table.
"Now what?" she asked.
"Now, we talk business." Luthor said as he leaned forward, his sharp gaze fixed on the woman across from him. "This facility has run here for years, and many women have made their way through it. Some, like Sheilah Parker have moved on to higher levels of service, while others like Emma Watson never left. In order for it to function effectively, I require staff."
"Are you looking for a maid?" Susan asked sarcastically. "Before you hire me you should look at my apartment?"
Luthor gave a small, dry smile. "No, Ms. O'Connell, I am looking for a trainer."
Susan sat back with shock. Did this asshole really think that she would help him turn kidnapped women into sex slaves? "I don't know if you read my resume, but I just spent the last 3 years trying to destroy you. What makes you think I would ever work for you?"
Luthor sat back. "Officer Susan O'Connell did that, and she died for it. She got a small funeral which few people attended and a plaque in a cemetery. As far as the LAPD is concerned, she quit in disgrace and her name is not on the End of Watch Wall." He paused, letting that sink in. "You on the other hand, Number 24, have shown insight, compassion, strength and a surprising ability to adapt to your situation. Not something that happens often in this place." He stood, moving around the desk to sit on the edge like a lecturing professor.
"This facility will keep running, whether you are alive or dead. Women will be brought in to be trained and tested. In fact, new arrivals are coming in this week. Whether they adapt and live, or fail and die depends on the work and skill of their trainers." Luthor waived a hand at where 10 and 8 stood silently by the elevator. "Do you really think that you would have survived as long as you have without having 10 to guide you? I am sure you hated her at times, but many students hate their teachers. However, many also end up appreciating those who were hardest on them when they needed it, and gentle with them at the right time."
Susan thought back. She would have happily killed 10 when the woman was torturing Victoria, but she had also been on the edge of killing herself after what Farouk had done to her. But that was before 10 let her stay with her friend that night. Hadn't she said thank you, and meant it. Hadn't she told 14 that if it wasn't for her efforts she would have failed long ago?
Luthor sat there silently, giving Susan time to think.
"I can't stop this, not yet" she thought. "But maybe I can learn enough to bring it down from the inside. And if I can keep one girl from ending up like Emma, it will be worth it." Susan looked over to where Victoria sat, still bound and gagged. "What will happen to her, can she stay with me?"
Luthor shook his head. "Ms. McNaughton does not have the temperament to be a trainer, but I can employ her in other capacities here." Luthor said, acknowledging the small blonde woman for the first time. "Perhaps in time she could serve on my legal team. One does not survive long in my business by wasting resources."
