Tales of Drysdale House (14.5) Pulled Back In (1.5)

 

The New Team: A Pulled Back In Vignette

I said goodbye to the Delegation from the First Families of America who had commandeered my house for use as an Acquisition Center for women to be sent to Gor on behalf of the Steel Worlds. I as affable and genial; there nothing to be gained by a fruitless petulant display. Woodrow Frick left in a pickup truck driven by a man I did not recognize, doubtless from the Lazy F. Elliot Emery and Robert Desjarlais left together in the inevitable black Suburban with tinted windows. Desjarlais was driving. Zach Frick went in Drysdale House. My House, still. I was not pleased with young Zach at that moment. I took a short brisk walk in Fremont Park across the street to clear my head before going home.

Mrs Magruder met me at the front door; Veronika was with her. The girl knelt and removed my outdoor shoes, replacing them with comfortable house shoes.

“The new acquisition team has arrived. They are in the formal receiving room. Before you see them, I would like a quick word.”

I nodded, and Mrs Magruder rose and preceded me to the Library across from the formal reception room. As I passed the arches leading into the reception room from the Entrance Hallway, I saw three men in dull but sharp clothing being attended to by the kneeling Juli and Lena.

“They have already brought in one acquisition. A Front Desk night receptionist at the hotel where they first stayed was both insolent and curvy enough to be interesting. They have her attention now though. And that Don Emery has been around again. He is seeking an order for more dancing silks and kajira clothing.”

I frowned at that. Don Emery was an odd little man. He was trying to leverage his position as some sort of Emery cousin into a major supplier of kajira clothing to the First Families. He had built a nice little business selling K-girl silken underwear, and lingerie to the cosplay community. Don was hanging around a lot; he had twice asked my for a loan to expand his business. Any loan now would include access to his mailing list for San Francisco and area.

“He’s a boring little man,” I told Mrs. Magruder, “but I think he is harmless. And I wouldn’t mind getting a look at that customer list of his; lots of good prospects for acquisitions there, I don’t doubt.”

“Maybe,” Mrs Magruder was doubtful. “There is something off about him, though. I know being around him upsets the kajirae. He seems to pay a lot of attention to Juli.”

“Juli is well worth paying attention to. I hope that the girls haven’t been saying anything about him or being less than pleasing. That is not their station in life.”

“No, sir.” Mrs Magruder was emphatic. “The girls are too well trained for anything like that to be happening in this house. Animals, though, often have a second sense about people, and they seem upset after Don Emery has been handling them. Oh, and one other thing. He has provided Juli and Veronika each with a silk camask for evenings, and it has caused some discontent. Lena feels she should have one as well, and Juli wants two as she is the favorite. I will, of course, remind them of their position. I just bring it up because you may have to chastise Juli. She is getting above herself because you took her on your camping trip.”

“Juli is the current favorite,” I told Mrs Magruder, “but she is still just a slave. She cannot be permitted airs. I know I am very new at this, but I am learning fast. Thank you for reminding me. Juli and Lena should receive three strokes of the switch each this evening; and Veronika as well, lest she should get above herself. Please see to it. Now you may show the new acquisition team in.”

I expected that as the household became more settled, I would be bothered less with such matters. All things worth mastering have a learning curve. 

I welcomed the acquisition team as they came into my Library. They looked impressed by the books, the old carved woodwork, the large desk facing the marble fireplace. I offered them drinks, Joshua Peralta, the leader, took a whisky; Seth and Ethan were beer drinkers. When the drinks came, I offered them food, I remembered that many of the First Families ignored the needs of their staff.

I had met the three men one week ago when the Queen Conch fishing boat carrying us home from Dragonwyck had docked at San Francisco. They had come to Drysdale House and had been impressed by the old pens, left over from Barbary Coast days. I asked them how we were to proceed.

“The first thing is to acquire new vehicles. The ones we have belong in Los Angeles, and we need vehicles with local plates. The next thing is we will need a target list for acquisitions. Once we have a list of possibles, we can have Central Research get addresses, past histories, likely suitability, and suggest acquisition scenarios. All we need do is get them names of ‘possibles’. Then Vicki and her girls will do the research.”

“Vicky?” I asked, it was Ethan who answered.

“Slave girl, tech wiz. She was an agent on Gor for a bit, then enslaved by agents of the Priest-Kings.” He almost spat, then remembered where he was. “She was rescued, but she had been collared and opened, so now she is a slave back on Earth. She is very smart, but has received little pleasure training. Not bad though.”

I got up and walked to my desk and looked in a lower drawer. I picked out a piece of paper,

“If I understand correctly, we give this Vicki a list and she researches them? Here is a list of girls from Kampus Kleaners who worked here a few months ago. All are beautiful enough to collar, some should be suitable for acquisition. I suggest we have Central Research select the three most likely and we pick them up for a start.”

I handed the list to Ethan.

“You are already good at this. We don’t want to take more than three from the group because we don’t want anything coming back here. Ones that aren’t ‘cleaning’ any more would be best, but Vicki and her girls can select the best targets.”

“Slaves are picking the next acquisitions? They don’t object?”

“They’re slaves, they do as ordered. Besides, a girl in a collar is well-suited to recognize the potential slave slut in another girl.”

I nodded. That made sense to me.

“We had a lot of temporary staff working this summer. I can get the list tomorrow and Central Research can pick another three from that list. How do we find more possible acquisitions after that?”

Joshua Peralta spoke up.

“We need a spotter, likely a woman, who can pick out possible candidates for vetting. Hard position to fill though. If you have a trusted kajira who is allowed out of the House, she can work on that: she knows what we are looking for.”

“Juli can work as a spotter. Maybe we can find another as well. I guess though, it will become easier as time goes on.”

Peralta shook his head.

“In fact, the first six months will be the easiest. In many cities, women of the target age 19-24 are wary for reasons they cannot articulate. There was the usual dangers faced by unchaperoned women of course, but they accept that as the price of their ‘emancipation.’ But girls where acquisition teams operate have an eerie sense of special unease, they sense a more powerful predator.

Acquisition teams have not been active in the Bay Area for over forty years, since the McMurtry family died out. The herd has grown complacent, without predators they have lost their instincts. It will take them at least six months to recover their sixth sense of caution.”

There was a knock at the Library door. Zach Frick came in.

“Wyandotte has dispatched Bruno and Niles from the pens at Frick House to run the pens here.”

I was pleased by that. I remembered them as efficient and I suspected that Bruno was Gorean.

“Good. They can work with Scipio Metellus. And I will bring Jerry Reiss in on this as well. We can start tomorrow, as soon as Vicki and Central Research select us some candidates.”