Chapter 8
I tremble in exhaustion.
The blindfold teases me with hints of sight. The only sounds are what I can hear through my own body, the plugs blocking everything else. The numbing magic covers almost my entire naked skin. The areas left uncovered, where I can still feel, are predictable - between my legs, my nipples, and of course the cold metal encircling my neck. Only tension tells me about the restraints on my arms and legs. And none of it would matter if I could simply reach out with my power and know what was happening, but that is also denied me, and it is the worst loss of all.
I've lost all track of time. Her touch, when it comes between my legs, makes me scream and twist from the sheer shock of sensation. Her magic rips the orgasm out of me, making a mockery of pleasure, and I hate the animal I have become. There is no room for humanity, or logic, or decisions. She simply does things to me, and I do my best to survive.
Slowly, oh so slowly, she removes everything. First comes sound, and my cries fill my ears. Then vision, a world blurred by the tears I have no chance of stopping. And finally sensation returns to my skin all at once, and I scream and thrash again as silk sheets rub like knives against my back, after so long feeling nothing.
Her gentleness is the counterpart that highlights her exquisitely pleasurable cruelty, and I loathe it. But I don't resist, even as she cradles me like a lover. I look up at her, and all I can do is ask. I cannot fully form the word, only move my lips in a pantomime of speech, but she understands anyway.
She leans down, and I wish with all my heart I could port away. Her voice is soft, and the lust and arousal in it make me shudder. "Because I can, dear Port. Because I can." And then Mayhem kisses me, her lips branding mine like a hot iron, and all thought flees as I once again become a creature purely of pain and pleasure.
* * *
I jerked awake and almost fell out of the chair. Agent Hughes stared at me disapprovingly from across the table, and I realized this time I'd fallen asleep in the "interview" room. But my heart was pounding, I couldn't stop myself from looking wildly around, there wasn't enough air, and I just couldn't bring himself to give a damn. Only the Boss's solid presence at my back - plus most of my remaining willpower - kept me from scuttling to a corner.
I took deep breaths, and slowly the room settled. Then I gave Hughes the same false smile I'd given every other time, and tried to keep my words from showing my exhaustion. "I'm sorry. Could you repeat the question?"
He gritted his teeth, glaring at me, then started over. I listened long enough to realize he was asking me - for at least the fifth time - about a museum job in Berlin, and then I tuned him out. Fatigue pulled at me like a living, grasping thing, and I had to reach down and pinch myself to keep my eyelids from closing. Two days, and I doubted I'd managed more than fifteen minutes at a time before I would be awake again, usually with some screams, sobs, or falling over involved. Then it was back to being a delusional paranoid in the corner until the next time I literally couldn't keep myself from nodding off.
I realized he'd come to a stop, and I put on my false thoughtful face. "Gee, Agent Hughes. I really wish I could help you. But I think I need a lawyer." And back to my insincere smile. I wondered if I was pouring it on too thick, then decided that was another thing I was going to not care about. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then the door slammed open and a female agent strutted in.
I'm sure she was aiming for a grand entrance. But it was a bit spoiled when I started at the sound of the slam and turned to look. I realized, way too late, that I'd moved too quickly and unbalanced myself, and with my hands cuffed in front of me I had no way to stop what happened next. To his credit Hughes tried to catch me, but he was too far away and had no chance. I cried out as I slammed into the floor, my shoulder wrenching from the impact.
Hughes swore and started around the table, and I heard the Boss start to get up as well, muttering something angry sounding. But the woman made it to me first, turning me over and starting to help me up. For a second, my heart stopped.
But... no. The face was just too thin, eyes slightly a different color, hair shaded slightly more toward brunette. Not Refill. My heart restarted, and something else started to replace it. How dare they. How
dare
they fuck with me like this. I nurtured it, embraced it. Anger was better than this cloying fear, and I let it fill me up. I made it show on my face, and she took a step back, startled. For the first time since I'd arrived in prison, I felt powerful, and I opened my mouth to share my outraged hurt.
The Boss slapped a hand on my shoulder, and I jumped in place. I would have fallen again, but he steadied me. He leaned down, his voice a deep rumbling river. "Do not let it get to you. You must resist the fuzz."
It made me laugh, his attempt at slang, and his smile let me know that's what he intended. I felt my anger drain out of me, leaving only the leaden tiredness, and I leaned against him for a moment. I would have been lost without him, and I wondered for the thousandth time how I could be worthy of such loyalty. Or what had happened to his daughter, to drive him to such lengths for someone like me simply because of a chance resemblance. I glanced over at the agents, and for a second I saw the calculation on the woman's face before she replaced it again confusion and sympathy. It
had
been intentional. And I'd almost fallen for it.
I pushed off the Boss, wobbling a bit, then moved back over to the chair and thunked down. Then I leaned over and, ignoring the woman, gave Hughes my best apathetic stare. He slowly sat back across from me.
I spoke slowly, softly. "Last thing I'm saying today. Just get me my lawyer, Hughes. Stop wasting your time."
Then I sat back and did my best impression of a (slightly neurotic) statue until they finally gave up and let me go back to not sleeping in my cell.
* * *
I stared down at my bowl of gruel.
Conversations with the Boss had revealed quickly that he was under some sort of gag order. Questions about the Professor or the Flying Five (meaning: Refill) were met with a slightly embarrassed silence. I'd stopped bothering. Same with questions about our ordeal - had it leaked yet? That we were... well, I guess I'd call it dating. Did people know how we'd stayed alive? And if yes, how many blowjob jokes were the late night comics making?
Still, I'd managed to put together a few data points. The Professor had been defeated, although I only knew from the context of an overhead conversation. No real details, but I