Alex Goode arrived back at camp, only to find it a flurry of activity before he was even briefed. Upon entering the small Head Quarters building, which directed all activity outside of the engineering compound, he realised work had resumed, and reflected, 'A lot can happen during a day!'
Alex wasn't a career civil servant. He left government employ nearly twenty years ago for more lucrative opportunities in the private sector. Yet, there he was, at the age of forty-seven, back in the government bureaucracy and in a position he'd occupied for the past five months.
He found the brigadier in his office.
As he rose to his feet, the brigadier had a look of triumph on his face as he said.
"Alex, she did it! That young corporal didn't even hesitate. She went straight in, yesterday, and everything is back on track."
Alex walked over to the brigadier, offered him his hand, which he enthusiastically shook, and said.
"We got there in the end, Percy."
He knew the brigadier had been taking the brunt of the pressure from the prisoners and from every other agency involved. The strain had begun to show, but he looked to be a new man.
The brigadier suddenly became maudlin.
"It kills me to send that young woman to them, and allow those bastards to have their way with her. Who knows what they'll want to do with her?"
Alex sensed the brigadier needed reassurance.
"Look, Percy, this needed to happen. If we'd done it months ago, we probably could've managed it in a more controlled way."
He had a reassuring smile.
"I read her file. She's a strong, fit young woman. They're not going to do anything to her that she can't deal with."
He met the brigadier's eyes.
"My advice is to leave her to it. Young women, like her, have their own way of dealing with men. Let whatever happens in the compound, stay in the compound."
The brigadier nodded and then took his place behind his desk.
Alex asked.
"What about the other female soldiers?"
The brigadier looked puzzled.
"What about them?"
"Well, have they shown any inclination to participate in the project?"
"I haven't asked, but I don't think so. Why would they change their minds now? Just because we've found a soldier who is willing to participate?"
Alex sat on the chair directly in front of the desk.
"We chose the soldiers for the program using different criteria. With Corporal Jones, we emphasised proven commitment to the Army and loyalty to the chain of command—her other attributes were secondary. We experimented while trying to find the right soldier from a limited pool. For example, with Lieutenant Kershaw—"
As soon as he'd mentioned Kershaw's name, he saw the brigadier flinch before he said (with a grimace).
"That woman! She has no business in the Army!"
He hesitated and a look of shame came over his face.
"It's to my eternal disgrace that I—"
He hesitated, again.
The brigadier had never attempted to hide his relationship with Lieutenant Kershaw from Alex. He'd called Alex the night he'd first had sex with her just to confess everything. It'd taken Alex hours to calm him down. He wasn't sure how it'd initially happened because he'd never asked Percy for the details.
However, he did know it'd happened the same day Lieutenant Kershaw had been caught trying to access a phone line. Alex suspected the brigadier had called Kershaw to his office to reprimand her, and she probably did what she had a reputation for doing—turning the tears and charm on—until, eventually, he'd taken the sex she offered.
Alex found Kershaw slightly maddening. At first impression, she appeared to be composed and confident, but when under the slightest pressure, she'd collapse. She had burst into tears when the project was revealed to her, and they'd taken that as a refusal to participate. However, she had then proceeded to fuck just about anyone who'd expressed any interest, including two of the guard force, which had caused a potential security issue.
"So, in Lieutenant Kershaw's case, we identified an officer with a known promiscuous nature and whose sexual exploits had gotten her into a degree of trouble. She'd actively sought out relationships with superiors, as well as subordinates.
She has an agreeable personality, but with a habit of using her sexuality and sex to get whatever she's wanted. However, in the end, her chronic unreliability and poor nerves have made it impossible for us to employ her, on her own, but as a part of a group, she could perform quite well."
The brigadier shrugged.
"God knows there's only one thing she has any aptitude for. What about Lieutenant Howes and Private Gerard?"
"Well, in Lieutenant Howes' case, we again picked an officer, but with a significantly better record. She was more career focused than Kershaw and had a reputation for being a motivated officer. We also knew she had a high sex drive and was known for poorly picking her partners."
Alex saw the brigadier smile—he'd seen the videos of Howes having an ill-judged relationship with an infantry sergeant who'd made several secret recordings of them having sex. The recordings had been identified by Security Services while investigating the sergeant for an unrelated matter, but had marked Lieutenant Howes as a less than ideal candidate.
The brigadier smiled again.
"I haven't ever seen anything quite like those videos before."
He shook his head.
"That infantry sergeant really went to town on her!"
Alex nodded.
"She has a taste for BDSM, which in fairness, is far more popular than people think."
Exasperated, the brigadier said.
"Yet, she said no then proceeded, as Kershaw did, to have sexual relationships with several of the guard force, as well as a lesbian relationship with young Private Gerard. The little hussy spreads her legs for everyone, except the people we want her to."
He sighed and added.
"At least she's more discreet than Kershaw."
Alex smiled.
"Initially, she said no. Think of it from her point of view. As Corporal Jones had thought, she thought she'd been selected for a secret, high-importance program. When she discovered what her role was to be, she was obviously disappointed. Also, she's an intelligent woman."
Alex sat back in the chair while warming to his subject.
"She immediately realised the thinking behind using female soldiers, and I think she could've been persuaded...at the time."
The brigadier sighed.
"Perhaps we have of her through application of the videos?"
Alex knew the brigadier wasn't a bad man. Using the videos to force Lieutenant Howes to participate had been considered. Alex had been against it for practical reasons, blackmail wasn't a suitable way to motivate people with complicated assignments, but the brigadier had refused for moral reasons.
"Actually, when I informed her about the videos, some time back, the first thing she asked was why we hadn't used them to force her to volunteer."
The brigadier shrugged.
"Too late now, I suppose."
Alex replied.
"Not necessarily. Watching the videos had a very profound effect on her because she knows we've seen them."
The brigadier laughed.
"I'll bet. What's she like these days?"
Alex hadn't ever attempted to hide the fact that he'd had regular sex with Lieutenant Howes and Private Gerard.
Alex simply said.
"Very accommodating."
He knew the brigadier didn't like too many details and employed euphemisms whenever possible.
"While she's quite assertive during normal, social, and professional interactions, she's quite submissive during sex and has only grown more so because of it."
He looked at the brigadier and felt the need to make a suggestion, once again.
