Foreword
: This is a sequel to
A Different Kind of Sex Toy
(series page)
. There's a smidge of MM in the first Miguel section (Wednesday Afternoon Jul 12), so if you choose to avoid that, just know it's his roommate's revenge for the prank with the tainted almond milk.
Dog Days of Summer
Part 1: Bitches and Does
Chapter 3: Penny Wise and Pound Foolish
Wednesday Morning (July 12)
Dana stared at the ceiling of the interrogation room from the uncomfortable cot she'd spent most of the night on. The police, bolstered by state and federal officials from the Department of Public Health and CDC, had sent physicians in HazMat suits into the room to take a variety of samples and conduct various tests, which had been even more humiliating than a regular visit to the doctor. They'd at least had the decency to provide food, bedding, and toiletries to the captives in isolation, since they anticipated that no decisions would be made until at least the following day. And, after a naturally-occurring episode of lust afflicted the three women around nine in the evening, they were told that the observation windows had been blocked to allow them a modicum of privacy. Officer Barnes hadn't been very impressed; she'd confided to the two younger women that a pair of cameras had recorded everything, and that it was extremely unlikely those recordings would be destroyed.
"At the very least, I doubt anyone will leak them onto the internet," Gwen had said. The idea of people being able to watch her have sex online had sent a bolt of arousal through Dana, reminding her once again of the allure of sex work that she fetishized, thanks to her dalliance with that Allie girl. She'd tried quietly masturbating to the idea under the thin blanket they'd provided, but the sounds and smells had seemed blatantly obvious to her, so she'd reluctantly abandoned her efforts, slipping in and out of restless slumber all night. Neither of the other two women seemed to find it easy to sleep, either.
The intercom crackled to life and a voice asked, "Detective Barnes? Are all of you decent?"
"Yeah, what's the news?" the officer responded, sitting up abruptly. "Tell me you're letting us out now!"
"Not quite yet," said the intercom voice, "But hopefully within the hour. We finally managed to get in touch with someone from the doctor's office Ms. Ramos mentioned, so once he gives us the 'all clear,' we can proceed."
"About time!" Detective Barnes huffed, giving Dana an annoyed look from the side of her eye. For her part, Dana was worried and a little confused. She'd stalled for time the night before by saying she needed her phone to provide the contact info for the fictitious doctor she had claimed diagnosed her, mentioning only that it was a Doctor Ryan. The name had no doubt popped into her head because Cassie had mentioned her parents were doctors, or at least one of them was. When the police had grudgingly returned her phone, she'd given them Cassandra's number and texted the redhead, begging her to play along. No reply had been sent, so amongst her other anxieties, Dana had spent all night wondering how badly she would be punished when her lies were exposed. But if the intercom could be trusted, apparently Cassie had found a way to make things on her end sound believable.
Not quite thirty minutes later, a knock sounded on the door, and it slowly opened to reveal an extremely tall man with steel-gray hair and a massive beard. He was wearing a lab coat and carrying a thick metal clipboard that looked like the kind with a container inside. "Good morning, everyone," he said in a deep voice. "I hope you all slept well."
Detective Barnes scoffed again and asked, "Are you Dr. Ryan? Are we done here yet?"
The man, who'd had to duck to enter the room, appeared to be at least seven feet tall, if not a couple of inches more, and the size of his arms suggested he was powerfully built beneath the shape-concealing white coat. He held out a massive hand to the police officer and replied, "No, I'm a colleague. My name is Dr. Eriksen. And yes, you're free to leave now, as is Ms. Kask. I'll need to talk to my patient for a few minutes before she can go anywhere, though."
The detective wasted no time departing the room, although her shoulders were slightly hunched, as if she wasn't looking forward to facing her colleagues despite her desire to leave. Elena hesitated by the doorway, finally saying, "I'll wait for you in the lobby or something, okay?" Dana nodded her head to show she'd heard, wondering what was about to happen. She hadn't ever heard of the doctor, but she thought perhaps he might be the sketchy one Cassie had mentioned as being amenable to bribery.
"So, how are you feeling today, Ms. Ramos? I understand you had a roughly four-hour episode last night, so you're probably at risk of another one at any time, is that right?"
Dana nodded her head again, cautiously. The doctor seemed to understand at least some of the details or timing of her condition, which suggested Cassie had confided in him. The thought made her uncomfortable, but if that was the case, she supposed it was mostly her own fault for putting her friend, and potentially her parents, in such a tight spot.
"Alright then," he said, placing a black bag on the nearby table and pulling out an inflatable arm cuff. "I'm going to take your blood pressure and check a few other things, and then I think it'll be okay for you to go home." As he leaned over to attach the cuff, Dr. Eriksen whispered, "It was very unwise coming here, Ms. Ramos, and especially making your situation so obvious to the authorities."
In an equally low voice, Dana replied, "I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do! I was afraid they'd find out anyway, and one of my roommates was threatening to turn me in!"
"You're referring to Stacia Hernandez?" the doctor inquired. Dana was a little surprised for a moment, but then deduced that the police and other authorities had probably learned just about everything there was to know about her by now. She nodded her head again as the tall man inflated the cuff and consulted his sphygmomanometer. "I'll see if there's anything I can do about Ms. Hernandez," he replied. "In the meantime, continue your efforts to shift to remote learning, and keep your future episodes private. If anyone seems like they've inexplicably forgotten about these events,
do not remind them
. We will not help you a second time, Ms. Ramos."
"We?" Dana asked, perplexed. "Who are you talking about?"
The doctor simply shook his head slightly, then proceeded to conduct a few other seemingly pointless tests, including checking her reflexes with a small rubber mallet and staring down her throat with a flashlight and tongue depressor. Dana was deeply confused; it seemed almost like the man was just pretending to be a doctor, and an old-fashioned one at that, and she was worried that if he
was