Chapter 9: The Sting

Phase two began.

The remaining human trash was tossed through a portal to Siân's waiting interrogation teams, already at work on their predecessors. Dora monitored each session for information useful to the on-going operations.

As it happened, Sheriff really was a sheriff, but from a town in the next county. A call to his office yielded information that he was on vacation in Florida. Dora again perfectly mimicked his voice and called Gus, Scooter, and Junior, instructing each of them to bring coffee and donuts to the school. Upon arrival, they were stung unconscious and removed to more of Siân's not so tender interrogations.

From the sheriff's minions came bits and pieces of information, mostly surrounding their own roles, the overall scheme and timetable. Of particular note was the plan to leave evidence that the disappearances were a Confederacy pickup, and the dead bodies of the volunteers were to be left as 'proof' of the Confederacy's inhumanity.

After Sheriff's wounds were bandaged but not numbed, he and Stevie were placed together in a room and left with a looped video running showing Patricia's entry and interrogation followed by a close-up of Billie and her pliers in operation. The only audio was Sheriff's defiant statements, followed by his screams.

After a half hour wait, the interrogation of the sheriff and Stevie proved surprisingly easy, given Sheriff's 'tough guy' stance while at the school. Both subjects, having soiled themselves, were allowed to clean up and change clothes. Sunny replaced Sheriff's penile bandages while muttering derogatory comments about his size and shape.

With little subsequent verbal prodding, Sheriff yielded all the information needed for the continuing sting operation. With Dora monitoring for lies and any sign of omissions, the team was confident that they could rely on his revelations in order to plan.

The operation was to continue under Hannah's leadership, and teams quickly reconfigured and rotated through quick naps. Siân's marines proved a huge blessing.

Together with some of their concubines, they prepared the school for the next phase. Claymores, sans triggers, were left in the lobby and other areas likely to be observed by the arriving 'customers.' The marines removed the explosives from the gym and less visible areas, while their concubines removed all traces of the occupation and violence that had taken place.

A pair of audio-visual technicians were recruited from the concubines extracted during the recent blood drives. Under Dora's guidance, they rigged three monitors in the entry lobby and added more in the school's auditorium.

Sheriff had explained the rules of the auction stipulating that payment had to be made in gold or silver. Jewels could be considered, but only as evaluated by Stevie, who was a jeweler, 'take it or leave it.' Stevie volunteered that all the necessary tools were in his blue SUV parked in a visitors' spot near the entrance.

In the recently vacated teachers' lounge, a table was set up with scales and other items from Stevie's vehicle. And yet another concubine was recruited for his skills.

From the sheriff's interrogation, they knew to expect a catering van at 9:00 AM on Saturday morning with a huge order of high class sandwiches, salads, pastas, cheesecake and specialty cookies. Rachel and Carley, dressed appropriately, were to meet them at the cafeteria loading doors. There they would have the caterers set up a buffet line, cover the dishes with specialty table cloths, and then they would usher them out.

Other preparations included providing separate security lockers for the arriving weapons and portable chests for the valuables. Several deactivated transporter portals were placed strategically in case of need, and Dora's drones let her keep an active watch.

The sheriff and his minions had videoed the capture of the school and their subsequent actions so that they could use them to conduct the auctions. Dora edited them and produced several videos featuring the former captives, much the same as Sheriff intended.

The first video showed the captives as they woke in the auditorium followed by Sheriff announcing the phony pickup. The four tallest Firsters, dressed in fake Confederacy marine uniforms, separated the excited women and girls into three groups -- 'volunteers,' 'potential concubines,' and 'don't wannas.'

The camera then followed the 'don't wannas' as they were lead away and sequestered 'for their privacy.' Similarly, the larger group was herded down the hall, into the gym, and into the circle of Claymores. The group of 'volunteers' were lead to the room where their 'briefing' was to begin.

At pretty much the same time, the latter two groups began to realize they were being hoaxed, and the look of horror on their faces was difficult to watch.

The beating and rapes of the volunteers began almost as soon as the door was closed and locked behind them. Resistance was met with a fist, a gun butt, a kick, or any combination.

In the gym, women and girls were told to "get naked" and sit. Then, virgins were instructed to line up and were called out one-by-one. Each had a number marked on her forehead and was recorded front to back -- up and down. The recording continued while each was forced to spread her legs and show her hymen or explain how she had lost it. After the virgins were led out to their own holding room, the remaining captives were also numbered and recorded.

At sometime late into the processing, Dora's drones arrived and began observing and recording.

As expected, the first group of 'customers' arrived promptly at 10. Three men wearing ski masks arrived in a large camper, exited, and walked through the front door into the foyer carrying a cooler. Michael and Jimmy were standing behind the disarmed Claymores, and Michael welcomed the newcomers. "Good morning folks; you're right on time. The sheriff is in the auditorium, but he recorded a message to be played for everyone as they arrived."

The three turned to the TV screen, where Dora impersonated the sheriff. "Good morning and welcome. So that everyone is on the same page, I'm going to restate the rules.

"One -- no firearms or cell phones past the lobby. A chest will be provided that you can use to secure everything. Anyone caught with a firearm or cell phone will be considered law enforcement and shot dead. Period.

"Two -- All transactions must be in gold, silver, or approved jewels. From here, you will go to the counting room to have your funds verified. You may leave them there secured in a chest, or carry them with you -- entirely your choice.

"Three -- You will be escorted everywhere in the building. Some of your escorts will be the merchandise who have been told you are sponsors. Keep your hands off these escorts until you have paid for them. Also, say nothing that will make them suspicious.

"Four -- There is a buffet laid out in the cafeteria. If you are hungry, ask your escort to show you the way.

"Five -- In the counting room you will be provided with a clipboard with these rules and a list of the merchandise with item number, name, age, and virginity status noted. The numbers will correlate to the videos you will see in the auditorium.

"Six -- Bidding will start at one PM or earlier if all we expect have arrived and are processed in.

"Seven -- I repeat again. Keep your hands off the merchandise. You have been warned!

"With all that out of the way, again welcome. See Michael or Jimmy to secure your weapons and phones, and your escort will meet you as you exit the lobby."

When the screen blanked, the men secured their phones and firearms, and excitedly exited to find Rachel waiting to take them to the counting room.

So it went until fifteen groups, varying in numbers up to eleven, had processed through. Much of Michael's remaining family was pressed into escort duty. Posing as Firster guards, Richard and Jackson and a few sponsors without the full marine package were issued stingers and Earth-type sidearms. They patrolled the halls and monitored the gym using their visibility to prevent trouble more than expecting to respond.

Vehicles in the parking lot ranged in capacity from Suburbans, to campers, to school buses, and there were even two eighteen-wheelers.

In the auditorium, excited and stimulated men watched the various videos, making notes to prioritize their bids. Dora recorded it all, making sure to capture the faces and comments of all Firsters present. Drones and marines assured that no vehicle was occupied and the school's grounds were checked for any lurkers.

Promptly at one, the lights dimmed, and the buzz of conversations rose, then dropped to an expectant silence. All Confederacy personnel exited the room, and a hologram of the sheriff entered from stage right and stood behind a podium. "Gentlemen, this is a Confederacy operation, and you've just been fucked!"

With that, an interdiction field went up within the walls, and buzzing stingers stunned one hundred eighteen exceedingly pissed Firsters.

And still it wasn't over. Phase three began.

Cleanup crews tossed Firsters willy-nilly through the transporter portals where they were wakened and interrogated. The first priority was to obtain the names and locations of wives, girlfriends, and children. Interrogations for criminal activity and Earth First operations were saved for later.

Other crews cleaned the school of any sign of the weekend's operations. Doctored in-house surveillance recordings showed only an empty building as recorded on a previous weekend. Teams of drivers boarded the Firster vehicles and drove them away towards Mississippi, where a recycler located in a garbage dump reduced them to atoms and molecules. More doctored photos, this time satellite, showed only the staff vehicles remaining in the parking lot.

While the cleanup was on-going, teams began visiting the locations where the Firsters' families resided or hid, according to their situation.

A typical approach would be made by one of Michael's team sponsors accompanied by a companion, both dressed in neat off-the-rack clothing. An adult answering a knock on the door was handed a PDA-looking device that injected nanites blocking disclosure of any following discussion. Children were asked to fetch an adult, and the procedure was essentially the same, then repeated if there were other adults present, followed by any children old enough to speak.

Then, "Ms. Firster, your husband (or boyfriend) has been caught in a mass kidnapping, rape, and attempted murder operation and will not be returning to you. We can spare you the details or offer proof in the form of video as you prefer." Tears, screams, curses, or expressions of joy followed.

"As part of the clean up, the Confederacy is offering you the opportunity to be extracted with your dependents and any qualified adult now present. Those over fourteen will receive much the same conditions as any pickup -- sponsor or concubine -- as their CAP score warrants. Those without CAP scores will be tested. Should you decline, and you surely may, you will be unable to speak of this visit to anyone not currently present, and a simple injection will erase the memory. You will simply not know where your husband (or boyfriend) has gone, nor the location of anyone who accepts our offer."

There had been over one hundred thirty Firsters involved in the school takeover and auction, and with families, girlfriends, harems, ex-wives, and whatever, there were something over one hundred fifty visits deemed probable to yield suitable extractions. Siân and Sam had recruited volunteer canvassers from their respective organizations, so the project was doable -- just barely.

Between referrals from the growing number of extractees and already known CAPs, no already-identified, unacceptable individuals were approached. Refusals were almost nonexistent. Those who refused or were subsequently tested and deemed unsuitable, had no memory of the visit or their offer. The result was fifteen sponsors; one hundred seventy concubine candidates; and two hundred forty-one children extracted -- and one hell of a hole in several Earth First organizations. And the arrests had not yet begun.

One unfortunate side effect was the death of three spouses at the hands of Firster interrogators, anxious to find information on the disappeared Firsters with their gold and silver.

In a small auditorium something under 200 women and girls were seated -- the entire number of rescued captives, some fresh from med tubes. Michael and his ladies and companions mounted the stage, accompanied by the Ninja Twins and Siân. The cacophony of voices quickly quieted.

He spoke, "Ladies, you have been through a terrible ordeal, but you are safe now, and we want to keep you safe. On the stage with me are the folks who did the planning, and who did the work to set you free." Following thunderous applause, Michael continued, "Some of you have had a chance to meet and thank them -- all of you will have a chance over the next few days.

"For the moment, may I present my co-sponsor, our operations team leader on the ground, who will brief you on your options and opportunities. Hannah Masters, please take over."

The diminutive beauty stepped forward to another round of applause.

She spoke, and the room quieted. "Sisters -- you are sisters now. You were kidnapped and worse by some very evil men. For them we have a unique opportunity -- personally and for the organizations that nurtured their evil. You see, these scum broke laws and much of the team that broke you free are deputy US marshals -- that's one aspect. Second, they impersonated members of the Confederacy, and under the treaty with the Confederacy, they may be dealt with as deemed appropriate without recourse to local law. So what does that mean?"

Hannah looked around the room at the silent women and continued, "Most of the time, granting justice precludes vengeance. However, this time we plan to bring down both."

Silence, waiting. "These self described 'Earth Firsters' -- who one of you pointed out are actually 'Me Firsters' -- will be trained and sent to the front lines in a penal company to fight as infantry against the Swarm. They may turn out to be Swarm chow, probably will, but maybe they can get a few first. -- That's justice. And rest assured, there will be no parole, no reprieve, no escape, and no end to the sentence.

"I'm not sure what each of you will need to heal from this experience, but if you need to confront your former captors, let one of us know," and then Hannah moved on.

"Vengeance! I did mention vengeance, did I not?" There was a roar. "First, these evil men will disappear without a trace, as will the hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold, silver, and jewels that they were going to use to buy you into slavery or torture and snuff games. Their associates will believe that the men absconded with their money or the slaves to be purchased for them. They may even believe these evil men bribed their way into a pickup."

Hannah took a sip of water, then continued, "This will cause distrust among those supposedly defrauded, and among other Firsters who hear about it. We will also be able to provide law enforcement with information known only to Firsters. We know this information will enable the solution to many violent crimes and the conviction of the perpetrators. More distrust ... .

"Next, we are already using data we've gathered to approach many of the families of these men to offer them an extraction. They too, will disappear without a trace, compounding the mystery."

A truly malicious grin crept onto Hannah's face. "But wait, there's more! You are probably asking 'why them; why not me?' and you are justified. But if you wish, it will be you too. Everything those bozos worked for will be shot down. That's vengeance!"

Pandemonium and cheering ensued.

The victims clearly needed to let loose. Hannah let the hoorah continue for several minutes before raising her hand for quiet so that she could continue. "Now I know that some of you were not going to volunteer or offer yourselves as concubines, but hear me out before you decide for sure.

"A little history will help you understand what we can offer you. Some years ago, the Confederacy took a very public opportunity to thumb its nose at Hollywood and the California State Confederacy Free Zone. Exceptions and inducements were offered volunteers in order to enhance the effect. While the nature of this extraction will be secret, in order to have a similarly salutary effect, we can and will offer inducements."

Hannah motioned to Carole and stepped back, "To provide you with a summary now, and more detail later, I present to you my co-sponsor and my team's chief of staff, Carole Wilson."

Carole smiled over her audience. "Here is the short version. Any of you who wish to be extracted, will be. Any of your children and minor dependents you wish to bring will be picked up. If you are a volunteer with a prepack, or are a member of a sponsor's prepack, we will endeavor to extract that prepack. Within reason, we will pick up your children over the age of fourteen, if they wish to be extracted."

Carole was forced to pause because of the rising babble, then went on, "If you have a special consideration, we can look at it, but we will NOT pick up an extended family of fifty or your entire Sunday school class. There are limits, and we can and will say 'no' if the limits are surpassed or the request is not practical. One of the things that makes this feasible is that you were primarily a boarding school, and we will not be picking up noticeable numbers from any one location. A few of you are not yet fourteen. On your behalf, we will contact one parent or guardian to see if he or she wishes to be extracted, or if they will release guardianship to someone being picked up.

"Understand, that concubines will continue to be possessions of their sponsor. Sex and childbearing WILL be required. Let me state -- for you young ladies under fourteen -- you will be dependents and not concubines, and vaginal penetration is forbidden until you reach fourteen -- period! Some of you may think that you were released from one form of slavery to another, and this is pretty much reality. We hope to ameliorate this somewhat -- listen on." The audience was quiet, and Carole waited for effect.

"Sponsors, if you wish to match up with one or more of those present, feel free. Any volunteer selecting someone from the school pickup will receive one additional concubine above what your CAP allows. We also have a number of available men from an earlier school pickup."

Carole noticed several young women look at each other and nod. Some snuggled up, and others waved across the aisles.

"Non sponsors! We are well aware that there are some among you who did not wish to be extracted. In an ordinary pickup, we would leave, and you would simply remain behind. Today, it was very clear that for some reason you were being targeted, and we fear that might continue. We hope that you will reconsider after you hear the rest of our presentation."

Carole motioned to the others standing or sitting on stage with her, "Michael told you that this was your rescue team. With three exceptions, who are friends, all are members of my family. Those wearing gray uniforms like me, are my co-sponsors. Those wearing sexy undies and collars are our shared concubines -- we call them our companions. There is another member who can be very important to your future ... ."

At Carole's signal, Dora appeared beside her in all her naked glory. "This is the avatar of our team's AI. We named her 'Dora.' For both sponsors and concubine candidates, Dora can help you understand CAP scores to improve the chances of a good match -- in both directions. This is not an ordinary pickup, so we have some time to do that."

Dora took over, and her honeyed tones issued from the speaker system. "Hello. I am indeed what is known as an artificial intelligence, AI for short. I will do my best to help you, so let me tell you your options. First, as you likely have heard, and some of you have experienced, except for post menopause, Confederacy technology can cure most medical conditions. We will continue that process right after this meeting."

Another buzz started, and Dora raised her hand for quiet, "And, yes, that same technology can modify -- even drastically change -- appearance. We will mostly not be doing that at this time. You may request removal of scars, blemishes, and the like, and you older ladies may start age regression, but your ultimate appearance will be totally up to your new owner."

Another buzz and pause before Dora continued on, "For those of you in need of counseling, we have a number of professionals on staff and from our recent pickups. Options include, finding a sponsor from your school, from other recent pickups, or waiting a short time for other pickups. You may also join a pool of unassigned concubines headed for a colony that has a shortage -- we call them 'filles du roi' -- think 'mail order brides.'

"My team works for the Office of Special Extractions," Dora explained. "That means colonies with special needs -- as in your case, teachers and counselors -- ask us to find individuals to meet those needs. So most of your school's staff, sponsors and concubines, could go to one of those colonies.

"Now this is very important, so listen carefully and ask if there is any possibility that you do not understand," Dora advised. "At the point that you accept your first sponsor, you may specify conditions to your acceptance. If that sponsor agrees, any specified condition is binding on that sponsor. After you accept, no more negotiating, your future life is totally in your sponsor's hands. So if there is something important to you -- picking up your kids, working outside your home as a teacher, helping you achieve a volunteer level CAP, whatever -- make sure it is clearly agreed to before you accept. Sponsors, if your concubine succeeds, you will receive a replacement and a bonus concubine, but understand -- if you agree, it is a contract and you WILL be held to it," Dora finished.

Michael stepped forward again, "I have a few more items, then we are open for questions. First, you non-sponsors all a have wrist bracelet. This has now been activated and will allow you to communicate with Dora, and through her to others as appropriate. Sponsors among you were given an implant during their first visit to a med tube. When those of you who are not sponsors are selected as a concubine or you volunteer as a filles du roi, you will be given a collar that functions the same and marks you as a concubine."

He watched them try their new toys for a couple of minutes, then forged on. "While under our care, students will attend classes as normal, taught by you teachers as normal. None of you will be idle. We will even ask you to teach and help acclimate those we pick up from Earth Firster families. Many will have been abused. Most likely, all will be fearful. None subscribing to the Earth First ideology will be picked up, so you will be directly avenging yourselves on the scum by helping their families. There will be other tasks as well -- you'll earn your keep."

Michael raised his hands and asked, "Now, are there any questions?" Of course there were, but none that wouldn't be expected after any normal pickup.