Once the invitation is sent and answered, the devil has his way with you.  It’s later when repentance is necessary and seemingly comes too late. And, even a devil sometimes has to pay the piper.

PART ONE

With utmost decorum, Edward walked Tala as far as he could keep her upright.  Finally, in the elevator the ‘drops’ hit maximum effect and she almost collapsed.  Still, he maintained his manners; he knew that Lothos could still see all that was happening.

        Once on the floor for the single adult female residents of the complex, Edward carried Tala to her door, and requested Lothos to open the door.  Lothos complied and Edward went in and carefully closed the door with his foot.  Once he heard the door latch click, he smiled lasciviously at the unconscious young woman in his arms.  In Tala’s room, he’d learned from certain sources, unless she specifically voiced the wish to speak to Lothos, Lothos could not hear anything that went on in these quarters - only when Tala asked to speak to him.  But right now… she wasn’t saying anything.

Nudging the light with his chin, a soft light illuminating his path, Edward Grant crossed the living room and entered the bedroom and laid Tala on the bed.

“Now my dear,” he said conversationally to her limp form.  “It’s time for you and I to get better acquainted.  If fact, you have something I want.”   With practiced ease Edward began to disrobe her.  Cocking an eyebrow, he looked quizzically at her face, as if she had asked him what that ‘something’ was.  “Why my dear, your virginity.  What else?”

Even as the words passed his lips, Edward heard a low almost imperceptible moan slip from Tala’s lips.  ‘Dammit, Larry!  You didn’t use enough,’ Edward thought furiously, but almost instantly, he relaxed.  He knew there was enough of the drug in Tala’s system that she wasn’t going to put up any struggle that he wouldn’t be able to handle.  ‘In fact,’ he smirked to himself as he sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled off his boots, ‘it might be more fun this way.’  He heard Tala moan again, fighting the drug that held her at bay as he continued to undress slowly and methodically.

Tala tried to open her eyes but it was as if there was a veil covering them.  She fought against the sleep that overwhelmed her and she slowly began to move her arms and legs as she lay on the bed.  It took her several times to manage it, but she finally managed to raise her hand up to her head and rub lightly at her face.

She finally opened her eyes but all she saw was blurred, fuzzy objects around her.  She squeezed her eyes closed then reopened them with no success.  It was then that she looked as best as she could around the room.  From what she could tell, she was in her own bedroom, but that didn’t make sense.  She had been in the Moonlight Hideaway… hadn’t she?  It was then that her blurred vision came to rest on a form that was moving somewhat before her.  “What… what… happened?” Tala managed to slur out as she pushed herself up on her elbows, looking down at her body.  It was then that she realized how cool she felt and though her vision was blurred, she could most definitely tell that her body had been rid of her restrictive clothing.  “Where… are my… clothes?” she asked.

Edward listened, amused as Tala struggled against the drug.  He was even impressed when she managed to open her eyes and then move around as she was, but he knew that her vision was far too off with the medicine in her bloodstream for him to be concerned that she could identify him.

“Who…?” she began to ask but when the blurred mass turned to look at her, she decided another route.  She knew that all she had to do was call out his name and Lothos would turn up the volume in the room and the camera’s that he normally kept turned off and she would be able to converse with him to find out what was happening.  “Lot…”

As soon as the beginnings of the word slipped out, Edward was up and his hand was already on her mouth as fast as a vice could be.  “Shhh, Tala,” he said softly.  “Don’t try to talk.  Just go to sleep.”  

Tala struggled, as much as she could, against the pressure of his hand on her mouth, but finally slumped down on her pillow.  In the few seconds that she was quiet, Edward took out the roll of surgical tape from the pocket of his uniform and quickly slapped several pieces of the tape over her mouth. 

“That’ll keep you from saying something nasty,” he muttered softly.  “Especially that name.”  Knowing that Tala’s only means of help was cut off, Edward stood over her for a moment, raking Tala’s nakedness with eager anticipation.  He scanned her body from head to toe noticing how she began to move slowly, her hands coming up toward her face.

Without too much force, he was able to pull her hands back down toward her side, and then he sat down beside her once more.  It was then that he put a hand on her cheek, caressing it softly then began to move his hand down her body.  It was when his hand came to her collarbone that he brought both of his hands up to boldly run them over her breasts, fondling her roughly.  When she whimpered behind the tape, her hands clumsily trying to fend him off, Edward laughed at her.

“Oh, we’re just getting started, Tala,” he told her as he trailed one hand down her belly, another destination in mind.  “You’re going to give me… no, I’m going to take whatever I want.  Pity you won’t remember it… but you’re damned sure going to feel it as it happens.”  As he talked, Edward’s hand continued to scan lower down her torso, then onto her thighs before his hand dipped between her legs and he let his fingers probe her sweet warmth.

Tala jerked at even the touch then struggled to try to push him away, but Edward laughed more than a bit heartily as he pushed her hand away and continued his ministrations. He knew that the night was young, but he also knew that Tala was going to be years older in experience by dawn.

Tala was mindless of who the man was who would be doing this to her.  Her mind was reeling and spinning from the drugged drink that she had and even as she tried to fight him off, every push, shove and movement only irritated her body.  It was still tender from the twenty-four hour beating that she had received only a short ten hours ago.

She whimpered behind the tape and successfully brought a shaky hand up to her mouth, but once again Edward caught it and roughly pulled her hand down with his free hand as the other continued it’s attention else where.  “Ah ah,” he cautioned her roughly.  “None of that.” 

It was then that Edward picked up the roll of surgical tape, once more, this time using it to secure her wrists to the bed’s headboard.  Once her arms were spread wide apart, Edward grinned at the aspect and decided that he needed to do even more for this special morsel lying on the bed.  Grabbing her foot, he pulled her slightly on the bed so that she would be stretched out, then using some rope that he kept especially for such purposes in his coat; he tied her ankles down to the bed frame as well.  When he was finished, he once again stood by the bed, admiring Tala’s young, firm, and for another moment or so, inexperienced femininity.

“Oh sweet Tala,” he murmured as he got on the bed with her.  “I have wanted you for a long, long… long time.”  Lying beside her, he toyed with her, caressing her body as his long fingers ambled over her body, his hands fondling her breasts, and even forcing his kisses on her taped mouth.  He wanted her to at least get a sense of the foreplay.  It wouldn’t be right without it… at least… not for him.

Part of Edward’s pleasure was watching his partner, whomever she might be, squirm and struggle to get away, but not a one had ever had that opportunity to get away from his charming, winning attitude.  And though Tala had no way of knowing it, her struggles and whimpers were encouraging him to do exactly as he wanted to with her.  As he rubbed against her side, Edward knew that it wouldn’t be much longer before he took what he had been lusting for since she was a teenager.

Slowly, lazily, Edward at last made his move over her, laughing when he saw tears come into her still unfocused eyes.  “It’s time, Tala,” he whispered as he ducked his head down to lick at her breast.  “Are you ready to truly become a woman?” he asked as his hand slid down between her legs once more to feel how ready her body was even though her mind was not.  It was more than ready… so much so that he didn’t wait for an answer of any kind.

“Okay, sweet, succulent, Tala,” he told her, positioning himself between her legs, “Here it is.” 

Tala went rigid with the shock at the moment of pain.  As that moment passed, Tala’s anger toward the man doing this to her flared and she began to buck against him, trying to get him off of her.

Edward laughed lustfully as he felt her anger flare and used her attempts to throw him off to achieve his own pleasure.  He watched her face as tears and then muffled sobs came.  It didn’t faze him as he took her slowly and deeply.  He continued at an almost lazy, languid pace enjoying every movement, every nuance that she could share with him.  It wasn’t until he finally felt her give up that he took his opportunity to finish his pleasure with her quickly and roughly.  Tala turned her face away from Edward when he at last groaned and went very still on top of her.  After a moment, letting his hands roam where he wanted, grasping at her, only then did Edward Grant finally move away from her.  As he lay beside her once more, he leaned toward her ear. 

“What’s that great, Tala?” he whispered.

Tala turned her head away from him and closed her eyes and just sobbed.  Being raped was the one thing that she thought would never happen to her, and here it was… actually happening.  She felt tainted.  In the fog of the alcohol, her sobs slowly faded but she still felt him lying beside her, his hand tracing circles on her stomach.  She knew that he wouldn’t leave… not until he’s had enough. She knew that she would continue to suffer in her own bed.

‘Lothos!!!’ she screamed out in her head.  ‘Why are you letting this happen?  You already punished me enough, haven’t you?’

        She had no idea how long she had laid there tied up, with Edward touching her so intimately, taking pleasure in her plight; laughing even as she tried again to move away from him as his hand slowly began to move down once again.  It was when she heard him say, “Oh yeah, Tala, that’s right… we’re going to have a couple more hours of fun baby…” that she realized that he was going to use her for as long as he wanted her.  “Come on, Tala. Let’s dance.”

        It was when Tala felt this man move between her legs once again that she just laid still and let him do whatever he wanted.  She couldn’t fight him, not anymore.  She not only didn’t have the energy… she was incapable of stopping him.

        She had no idea how long it was before he decided that he wanted to move her onto her stomach.  Tala felt degraded as the ‘masked’ man decided to take her in more than one way….  The moment that she realized what he was doing, the way that he put his hands up to her face to cover her mouth before he entered her.  Tala screamed out in agony but Edward didn’t pause for any reason as he went ahead with his pleasure, enjoying himself even more so.

        Edward couldn’t help himself.  Tala was young and supple, firm where a woman should be, soft where she should be and tight where it was best for her to be.  Even her just laying limp beneath him didn’t faze him in the slightest.  He continued to talk to her, praising her for her actions, and how he needed and wanted her.

        Tala couldn’t count how many times that he had his way with her, but it was during one of the last ‘sessions’ as he called it that she managed to look over to the clock and see what time it was.  Her vision was beginning to clear slowly and she could vaguely make out the numbers on the clock beside her on the bedside table.  It read: 5:15 AM.

        Turning her head back to the man as he finished yet once more, she looked up into his face and finally saw whom it was taking her over and over again.  Edward Grant.

        Edward noticed her staring at the clock on the bedside table, so he looked as well.  “Hmmmm,” he murmured, “Five fifteen.  Well, I think it’s time we said our adieus, my fine one,” he said as he smacked her appreciatively on her butt. 

        Getting up off of the bed and before he dressed, he took a syringe and a vial from the other pocket of his uniform and prepared an injection.  Walking over to her, he thumped the syringe making sure there wasn’t a bubble in the medicine and let a little of the medicine escape the needle.  As he administered it, he said to her, “Don’t worry.  You’ll be able to sleep now.  We all need our rest because you never know when we can have our fun again, love.”  He watched as Tala slipped quickly into unconsciousness.  He knew that she’d be out for at least twelve hours.  Then and only then did he dress and cut the tape away from her wrists, and the ropes away from her ankles.  The tape on her mouth was the last piece of evidence that he took away.  Only then did he decide that he needed to walk back over to her once more and press his lips to hers.  Standing back up, he saluted her haphazardly.  “Thanks my dear.  It was… wonderful.”

        With a chuckle, he walked out of her bedroom, through the living room and out the door.  Once outside the door, he waited to hear the locking mechanism slip into place, and then walked calmly away as if nothing had happened inside.  ‘It’s a good thing that I have today off,’ he thought to himself with a grin. ‘I’m very tired.’

PART TWO

Twelve hours later

        Tala opened her eyes slowly feeling as if someone had taken a hammer and had hit her with it over and over and over again.  Bringing a shaky hand up to her head, she moaned and turned lightly on the bed.  It was then that she noticed that she was naked and that she ached everywhere.  Tala turned away from her bedside table and curled her legs up toward her chest.  “Lothos?” she asked as she winced.  Just the sound of calling out his name was enough to make her head throb with pain.  Tala frowned when he didn’t answer quickly as he usually did.  “Lothos, what time is it?” she asked softly.

        Lothos heard the soft calling of his name and then focused on it, recognizing Tala’s voice.  He turned up only the volume in her quarters and spoke, “It’s 5:45 PM.  Did your clock stop?” he asked quietly, not particularly concerned with the question that she had asked.  He knew that she had been under some stress in the last couple of days and he thought it best to let her sleep in.  The work that was now appointed to her – the care of Dr. Malvison could wait.  His daughter needed rest.  He had told Dr. Hugen to assign Heather to assist Zoë after he had informed Zoë of his decision to let their daughter sleep in.

        ‘5:45 PM,’ Tala thought to herself.  “5:45 PM?” she questioned aloud then blinked her eyes.  It was then that she moved on the bed and felt the stickiness that she had around her legs and then slowly recalled what had happened during the early morning hours in her own room.  Her mouth then took over her brain as she began to talk to her father.  “Oh God, why?  Why did you let him do that to me?” she asked softly.  “Hadn’t you already punished me enough, father?  Wasn’t I whipped enough? Did you have to have him come into my own quarters and take my virginity? Isn’t that what the cells are for, father?” she asked with anger filling her voice but even she knew that in the state that she was in that Lothos could easily have someone come into the room, take her to the cells and be whipped again.  Thinking on that, she immediately rolled over to the side of her bed and fell to her knees.  Although he couldn’t see it, the oomph that came out of her mouth would be sufficient enough for him to assume.  “Oh… I’m sorry… please… I… I… don’t want any more punishment…. Oh…” she stuttered at him and felt the oncoming asthma attack begin to hit her again.   “Please…” she begged, “…please… no more.”

        Tala’s first words didn’t make sense to Lothos.  She had been punished but it was over and done with.  He was about to respond to her at first then paused and really listened to her.  And with each word, her meaning became clear.  He felt his fury begin to erupt.  His rage burned so hot that he did not even notice the anger in his daughter’s voice; however, he did hear the pleading when she fearfully apologized and implored him not to be punished further.

        Instantly, Lothos sharpened the several cameras that were in her room.  Cameras he rarely turned on in deference to his daughter’s personal privacy were now used to bring her image to him with absolute crystal clarity, and the audio system that was also rarely used was brought up to the point where, if needed, Lothos could listen to her heart beating in her chest.

        Seeing Tala cowering on the floor on the far side of the bed like she was trying to hide herself from him, only infuriated him but not toward her.  Whoever it was that had instilled such fear in his child would beg for death to ease his suffering.

        “Stand up, Tala and come out where I can see you,” Lothos spoke into the room.  When she hesitated, Lothos started to bark then, though now so much more a computer than a human being; still he realized that her situation was not her fault.  “Do not be ashamed, Tala,” he eased his tone, trying to put understanding and a semblance of comfort and reassurance in his words.  “Let me see you.”

        Tala hesitated still at Lothos’ words to come out from hiding.  She was scared to death that he would send someone in to take her away to a cell.  But, when his words came again, Tala stood up and approached the other side of the bed with her right hand on her left shoulder.  Tala’s eyes were on the floor as she wheezed trying to control the asthma attack that was trying to come over her.

        Zooming in closely, Lothos noted every bruise and scratch on Tala’s body that was visible to him.  He tried not to notice her trembling, not from her efforts to control the asthma attack that was trying to overcome her, but still from fear.  When she moved a hand before herself in a semblance of modesty, he saw several long scratches and blood on the tops of her thighs.  A glance upward to her face revealed the crimson staining her cheeks.

        “Who did this to you?” he demanded of her, his voice and tone as cold as his fury was hot.  When she hesitated yet again, Lothos warned her albeit as gently as he could, “Do not try to come between the animal that did this and the punishment that is his.”  Lothos paused the demanded even more sternly.  “Name him, Tala!  Now!”

        Tala jumped at his stern words and ducked her head in shame.  “Dr… Dr. Grant,” she said softly.  Tala trembled and found that her knees were giving out.  She fell to the floor landing on her hands and knees.  “Please… no more,” she begged him.  “I… I can’t… bear this… please.”

        “Did you come here willingly with him?” Lothos demanded of her.  She might not want to think on this any further, but Lothos would have his questions answered.  Dr. Edward Grant was going to know what unleashed animal fury was, but Lothos wanted to learn all he could from his daughter.

        Tala shook her head as she leaned back then tumbled onto her side.  “I… I can’t remember,” she said softly.  “I… I remember going to the Hideaway, then… waking here… with him…” Tala stated as tears slowly began to fall.  “He… tied my hands… feet…” Tala could see images flicker in and out of her mind and she looked up at the ceiling toward one of the camera’s hanging down.  “Oh God, he raped me… over and over again…” Tala trembled at the memory of it and she couldn’t stop shaking from the memories that continued to run through her mind.  “Make it stop… make them stop…” she whimpered.

        As Tala spoke in a gasping whimper, Lothos summoned Dr. Hugen telling him, “Go to Tala’s quarters.  And bring a nurse with you.  She’s been raped.  She also appears to be on the verge of an asthma attack.”  Seeing Hugen nod and start for the door, Lothos added something further, “Bring whatever you need to examine her and take samples for identification purposes.”  Watching Hugen gather those items and put them into a bag, Lothos added, “And when you’ve finished with her… and she’s calmed down… get a sample of Dr. Grant’s ejaculate.”  Hugen’s stunned reaction only got him the razor edge of Lothos’ voice.  “Do it, Hugen!” Lothos barked loudly into Hugen’s ear.  “Do it or suffer the consequences.”

        Within minutes, Hugen and Susan Smith were at Tala’s door.  Lothos released the lock and watched them enter, closing the door quietly.  It was then that he addressed Tala.

        “Dr. Hugen is going to examine you…” Lothos saw the color drain from Tala’s face, but he didn’t comment on it.  However, he was proud that she listened and obeyed Dr. Hugen’s orders.

        Even in a complex the size of this one, and in spite of Lothos’ ‘eyes’ being everywhere, ugly things still happened to people, those who had nothing to do with leaping, and rape was not an uncommon occurrence.  However, when Lothos informed Peter Hugen that Tala had been raped, his first thought was sort of pity for whoever was so absolutely ignorant enough to touch Tala even if the unfortunate man didn’t know who she was.

        Tala was shaking and battered on the floor when Dr. Hugen and Susan arrived.  Leaving Tala on the floor, Dr. Hugen gave her the inhaler to use then asked her to lie back on her back to examine her.  He did his level best to put her at ease as he examined her with Susan kneeling by her side.  Every time he touched her, he noticed the muscles tensing at his presence as he took several sample swabs from her body and the sticky residue of the ejaculate on her upper thighs and pelvis.

        Getting up from the floor, Dr. Hugen put the samples in small individual containers and put them in his bag then turned back to see Tala lying on her side trembling.  Moving back to her, Peter lightly placed his hand on her shoulder.  “Tala…”

        Tala immediately reacted, her body not only jerking away, but also rolling as well away from him as she yelled out, “No! Get away from me!”

Dr. Hugen only meant to comfort and reassured her but he didn’t retreat from her either.  Neither did he treat her in a clinically aloof manner, just staying close, until he moved a bit more and put his hand back on Tala’s shoulder lightly until at least she stopped trembling.  Only then did he turn to Susan and give her specific directions on drawing a warm bath for Tala. “Stay with her while she bathes,” he told her.  Only after Tala allowed Susan to help her up and into the bathroom did Peter Hugen turn and walk out of the room to fulfill the directions given from Lothos.

PART THREE

        As Peter Hugen headed for Edward Grant’s room, he felt no pity for him, only a sense of long overdue justice.  He had at last been caught.  Unfortunately for him, Tala would be the last woman he would ever rape.  Peter had a feeling that she’d be the last woman he’d ever be alone with again.  From the tone of Lothos’ voice, there was every reason in the world to believe that Edward wouldn’t be alive at midnight.  For some reason, Lothos liked to take care of his problems at midnight.

        Peter took a deep breath and tried to hide the smirk that tried to creep into his features now that he knew Edward had been caught at his own game.  But as he came to stand at the door of Edward’s quarters, Peter cleared his throat and knocked firmly.

        When the door didn’t open immediately, he knocked again, tightening his grip on the bag, and sighed once more.  ‘This is going to be rather entertaining,’ he thought.

        Through the door, Peter heard, “All right!  All right!  Keep your pants on.”  A moment later the door opened and a very sleepy Edward Grant leered at the doctor standing before him.  “What do you want?” Edward demanded crossly when he saw the sight of Peter Hugen standing before him.  He noticed that Peter still had on his lab coat.  ‘He never takes a break,’ he thought morosely.  A knowing smile touched his lips as he thought about twelve hours ago.  ‘I on the other hand… well, I enjoy a good time… whenever I can get it.’

        Edward noticed that Peter still hadn’t said anything.  “Look, if this is a social call, I’m not interested,” he began.

        “This is not a social call, Edward,” Peter said as he raised an eyebrow at the smirk on his face.  Peter could tell just by the smirk that he did do something to Tala last night.  “Actually,” he began after taking in a breath, “… I need to get something from you, per Lothos’ orders, and I seriously doubt that you want to give this particular sample standing in the doorway, Ed,” Peter told him blandly.

        When Edward frowned then stepped back from the door, Peter entered his quarters and put his bag on Edward’s table.  Pulling out a small jar, Peter handed it to him.  “A sample of ejaculate, Ed.  Now,” he told him giving him a glare.

        Closing the door, Edward turned at the words that the doctor had just said then fixed his gaze on the specimen jar in his hand. “You’re joking,” Edward responded, putting his hands on his hips.  “You expect me to just whack off and give you some? I don’t think so.”  But he saw that Hugen’s expression hadn’t changed and he wasn’t moving either. 

        Edward began to get a prickly feeling on the back of his neck, but he had been backed into corners before and he wasn’t one to be caught unaware.  “And you say Lothos wants this,” he questioned him.  “Why?” he demanded, folding his arms over his chest, letting Peter see just by his stance that he wasn’t about to give up anything… at least not until he knew exactly why Lothos wanted his ejaculate.

        Peter brought down his hand but still held the cup as he looked at Edward his face still bland and void of emotion.  He sighed.  He wasn’t sure what it was about Edward Grant, but the man did have a way about him that just made him completely sick.  “Listen, Ed.  I was informed to come here and get that sample.  That was an order and I’m going to get that sample.  You know that I don’t question Lothos’ orders… hell, you don’t even question his orders… so… just do as your told.” With that said, he held out the specimen jar to the man once more.

        Edward knew that Peter Hugen was right.  Questioning a direct order from Lothos could bring a lot of instant pain into a person’s life, and he preferred to give pain rather than receive it.  Still, he had the beginnings of a bad feeling about this. But he wasn’t about to let Hugen see that he thought anything about it.

        “Okay,” he said with a wink at him as he took the jar.  “Just give me a minute.”  Before Peter even realized it, Edward had already pulled down his shorts and was making quick work of getting him the sample that Lothos was demanding.

        Rolling his eyes at him, Peter turned his attention to the bag that he had and with great care and interest, he placed out the other specimens that he had received from Tala, making sure that her name was plainly seen on them while he dug in the bag.  Hearing Edward finishing, he glanced back at him and waited.  When Edward handed Peter back the specimen jar, Peter placed it in the bag and then turned back to him.  “I guess that’s about it.”  It was then that Peter winked at him.  “I’ve got to get these other samples back to the lab per Lothos’ orders as well.”  Peter watched as his eyes fell on the small vials sitting on his table and saw the color fade from his face as well as the egocentric look from his face.

        As Edward’s eyes fell on the name that was labeled on the vials, the bad feeling that Edward felt increased dramatically.  “What are those for?” he nodded with his chin at the vials as Peter picked them up and put them in his bag.

        “Oh these? Well, that’s just another order that Lothos had me get from someone.  Don’t worry about it, Ed,” Peter said as he sealed the vials in his bag with a security code.  He clapped his hand on Edward’s shoulder giving him a smile that he didn’t at all feel.  “That is, unless,” he started off, “unless you feel guilty about something that you’ve done.”  Peter then fixed Edward with a cold glare and before he could control himself, Peter reared back and popped him as hard as he could on his cheek, making him tumble back onto his own bed. 

        Peter shook his hand then turned and grabbed his bag before looking at him.  “Good evening to you, Ed,” he said rather dryly then headed toward the door.

        Edward was a bit in shock at the punch as he landed on the bed and even thought of getting up when the snarky remark came back at him.  Instead of wanting to fight the man, Edward sat up on the bed, his hand touching his cheek before he stood and started toward Peter. “Are you gonna tell me what this is about?”

        Peter abruptly turned around to see Peter standing there acting as if he didn’t know what the hell was going on, Peter fixed him with a cold glare.  “You mean to tell me that you don’t know?” Peter asked him almost in shock.

        “Know what?” Edward asked.  He wasn’t fool enough to walk blindly into a leading question like that.  He watched Peter through narrowed eyes, waiting for him to answer.

        Peter turned around and opened the door setting his bag outside then turned back to him.  Walking up to the man and into his personal space, Peter asked, “Why don’t we just cut through the bullshit, Ed.  I know what you did to Tala.  Lothos knows what you did to his daughter… and you think that you’re just going to walk away and think that he’s going to let you get away with it?  How naïve can you be man?” Peter asked giving him a push only to walk back up and get into his face yet again.  “How stupid do you think we are?”

        “What did you say?” Edward demanded for a moment ignoring the fact that the slightly junior pain in the ass doctor was crowding him closer than he had ever let any man get to him.  “What do you mean, she’s Lothos’ daughter?  He’s only got one daughter…”  In that moment, Edward remembered that night almost vividly then saw the look in Peter Hugen’s eyes.  “The other one lived, too… didn’t it?” His nod was the effect of Edward Grant feeling like he was drowning in ice water.  ‘Oh my God!  What have I done?’ he thought, still not letting it show in his eyes in any respect that he had done anything wrong.

        When Edward mentioned the other child that Zoë had, Peter couldn’t help but nod when he asked about it.  “The first one, if you remember, had a small attack… what we thought was asthma at the time… that one… that was Siren… whom we later found out had diabetes, right Ed?” Peter slapped the back of his hand against Edward’s chest and saw the glare, but stepped up toward him again.  “And the other one, well… she came out and was in such distress that you left with the one that you thought would live.  The second… that red-haired little thing… is the same long legged, auburn haired young woman you raped last night – abusing her body and tormenting her,” Peter said giving Edward’s chest another slap that pushed him back again.  “Not very smart there, Eddie.  Not very smart at all.  Why did you think that her quarters are one of the only ones that Lothos doesn’t keep a constant eye on?” he sneered at him.

        The second time that Hugen slapped Edward on the chest; Edward shoved Peter back as well.  “Keep your friggin’ hands off me, Hugen,” he snarled at him.  “How the hell was I supposed to know who she was?” he demanded, now advancing on Peter.  “She didn’t exactly have a sign painted across her ass saying, “Don’t touch. Property of Lothos, now did she?”

        Edward’s thoughts were racing and he knew that he had to get that sample back from him.  Before he could think, he half turned then swung around and planted his fist against Peter’s jaw.  When Peter sprawled out on the floor, Edward dashed toward the door.

        In the split second before Edward’s hand reached the door, the deadbolt locked on Lothos’ orders.  Lothos watched as Edward uselessly tried to undo the security bolt that locked it.  It was impossible to unlock.  “You’re not going anywhere, Dr. Grant,” Lothos announced coldly.

PART FOUR

When Edward planted his fist against Peter Hugen’s jaw, the doctor hit the floor. It was as he slowly sat up, massaging his jaw at the same time that he heard the door click shut.  At the same time Peter also heard Lothos’ voice; it was cold and hard and low... menacingly low, the sound of it sending chills down his back though that menacing wasn’t directed at him.  Privately he considered that Edward might want to start castrating himself on the spot before Lothos got the first chance; for certain it would be far less painful.

        Glancing up at the ceiling, Peter then turned his gaze back on Dr. Grant but didn’t attempt to say anything.  Knowing that Lothos had watched the scene the entire time, Peter would have loved to get back up again and waylay this bastard for what he had done to an innocent girl a couple floors up from where they were at the moment.  However, he knew that wading into the middle of his colleague wasn’t remotely the thing to do.  Regardless of how personally satisfying it would be, Peter knew that he didn’t dare interfere.  So instead, he slowly got up on his feet and walked over to Edward, who looked like a cornered rat, and just stared at him as Lothos spoke.

"Mr. Grant." Lothos did not use the man's title. Why should he?  After all, he wasn’t ever going to use it again.  "You took your lust out on the wrong woman this time," Lothos informed him icily.  "I'm sure there are others that you've used.  Some worse, some perhaps not so badly as you used my daughter some hours ago."  The quasi-living hybrid computer that had once been a man who had used whatever means it took to achieve his goals, and then guarded his accomplishments, acquisitions and possessions with a jealous, and many times vindictive vengeance watched the trapped man as he stood with his back against the locked door, naked fear plain in his eyes.  Lothos watched that fear escalate to terror as he continued to speak. "But I'm sure that most of them... if they choose to reveal their shameful treatment by you... will show up at midnight to spit on what's left you."  As Edward Grant sank to his knees, tears now in his eyes, Lothos pronounced sentence on him.

"Dr. Edward Grant, you will be publicly emasculated before a select audience of women whom you have raped and defiled beyond the scope of any duties given you as a TM, and after that has occurred, the entire complex will watch on monitors as you slowly bleed to death."  The enraged hybrid computer let the condemned man think on that a moment before speaking again.  "I am giving you the same consideration you gave my daughter and other women," Lothos pronounced with harsh finality.  "I will listen to you beg for mercy.... and give you none."

Peter listened without comment as Lothos ordered Edward’s punishment, a treatment similar to and then surpassing that which the chief physician and surgeon of the complex had inflicted upon many women.  Some of those women, Peter was aware, had become pregnant as a result of Dr, Grant’s loathsome lusts.  He shook his head at how Edward was already on his knees, probably hoping against hope, praying madly that Lothos might be persuaded to be lenient. But where Lothos and his possessions, and now his daughter, were concerned… Peter Hugen knew there would be no leniency.  He knew, like every other adult in the complex who had either learned from a young age or by unfortunate experience, that you either treated Lothos’ possessions, be it equipment or people, as they should be treated or you suffered the consequences.

"Get up,” Lothos snarled at the quaking man on the floor. He watched as Edward Grant got up on his feet then stood looking down at the floor.

Looking up at the ceiling, Peter made a suggestion, something that he thought might be appropriate.  "Lothos... a suggestion if I might..." he began, paused, and then finished.  “I think that an apology is owed to a certain auburn-haired woman.... before he is taken to the cellar to await his own punishment."

When Edward looked up at him, his eyes wide as he swallowed slowly, Peter raised an eyebrow to him.  "What?” he demanded.  “Do you think that you will just get what you deserve without apologizing to her?  I think you more than owe that after what you took from her."

On his knees, his only intent at that moment being to beg for his life, one specific thought kept looping through Edward’s mind: ‘I'm a dead man.’   Except for his medical training at a prestigious university in the United States with one of the finest medical schools in the world, Dr. Grant’s entire life had been lived on Lothos’ private island and within the complex Lothos had designed.  And in all those years, he knew, as did many that Lothos had never changed or lessened any death sentence. Inwardly the complex’s present chief of medicine and chief of surgery cringed, closing his eyes and hiding his face in his hands, he listened to Lothos sentence him to a particularly gruesome death.

          Hearing Hugen snarl, "Get up," Edward obeyed, not meeting his eyes.  To try to escape or fight now would only make the hours leading up to his death worse.  Hearing his colleague’s suggestion, he raised his head, his eyes meeting Peter’s hazel eyes, hardly believing what he had just suggested. Fearfully, the condemned man lifted his gaze toward the ceiling.  Maybe...

Over the years, Lothos had kept a close observance of Dr. Peter Hugen.  Besides his obvious skills and talents as a physician and surgeon, he also knew this particular doctor to be a man of character with a strong work ethic.  The man was blunt sometimes to the point of indifference, but Lothos had also observed that the other doctors as well as the nurses and various technicians on the medical level trusted Peter Hugen’s integrity as well as his skills.  Now, Lothos gave Peter Hugen the courtesy of listening to his suggestion before returning his focus to Edward Grant.  Fear of his impending death would, he had no doubt, put an apology on his lips instantly.  Zooming in close on his eyes, Lothos discerned a faint glimmer of hope in those pale eyes.  With his next words, Lothos destroyed that hope.

"Since it was her body he violated and her virginity he stole, Tala will decide if she will hear an apology from Mr. Grant before he dies," Lothos pronounced with cold finality.  When Peter opened his mouth to speak again, Lothos warned, “That is my final reply, Doctor Hugen."  Wisely Peter didn’t press the issue further.

Unlocking the door of Mr. Grant's quarters, the guards Lothos had summoned entered and handcuffed the pale, silent man.  Dressed only in his shorts, the condemned man was led away to the Correctional Facility where he would spend the last hours of his life.

As Edward Grant was led away, Lothos ordered, "Get those samples to the lab and get me confirmation immediately!"  He watched Peter Hugen pick up his medical bag and head for the elevators.  He had almost reached them when Lothos spoke aloud, the hallway empty except for him, "When you have finished, return to Tala's room.  I wish you to be present when I speak with her about the possibility of Mr. Grant apologizing to her."  He observed the doctor nod his acknowledgment then added, "I will advise Xavier to prepare."  Peter Hugen couldn’t have hidden from Lothos the tremble that ran through his body at those last words. He noted that the doctor remained silent as he stepped into the elevator and pressed the call button for the tenth floor.

As he walked to the lab, Peter couldn’t help but shiver as he thought about what was going to happen to Edward in a couple of hours, especially when Lothos mentioned Xavier.  He couldn’t hide the shakes that he got, and purposely turned his thoughts in a different direction so as not to think about it.

Getting the samples to the lab, Peter set out to confirm what he already knew as the truth.  Tala might be a beautiful, headstrong woman, but she definitely wasn't a liar.  She didn't have cause to even do so.  After thirty minutes, he looked at the results that had printed out, confirming that the samples of ejaculate that he had gotten from both Edward and Tala were identical.  Peter began to shake his head slowly….the bastard!

With the test results in hand, Peter headed out the lab door, informing Lothos as he headed back to the elevator, "It's confirmed.  It was Edward Grant."  Lothos didn’t respond as the elevator returned Peter to the single women’s quarters’ level.  The walk down the hallway to Tala’s quarters was equally as silent.  At Tala's quarters Peter knocked once then entered the room when the door was opened to admit him.  

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