by Claudia Rose
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to enjoy your demise, up close and personal.”
“No wonder Helena was pleased to see the back of you.”
“Oh, I see. You think I’m here because of that feeble-minded bitch. Sorry to disappoint you De Vos, I have a more personal interest in seeing you put down like a dog.”
“What are you talking about?”
Nigel didn’t answer, instead he turned to the technician and barked, “Pause the countdown, turn off the broadcast, and get out! I’m here on Central Administration business!”
When they were alone, Nigel crowed gleefully, spraying small drops of spittle into Brandt’s face.
“You never did get it did you? The late, unlamented Schtum didn’t work alone. He was too stupid to have managed anything as sophisticated as a city-wide racket.”
“You? You had a hand in the gassing of the J7 precinct?”
“Had a hand? It was my idea, you muscle-bound meathead. I’m happy to claim full credit for the destruction of you, your precinct and your family. Even better, I’m going to pursue the destruction of your last squeeze, my poor stupid Helena, with as much enthusiasm. With that mutant slut out of the way, the title of Chief Sociologist will be mine—as it always should have been. Don’t you love it, De Vos? The way I’ve fucked the pair of you?”
It was too much for Brandt. A blinding rage welled up in him. He let forth with a bellow of pure fury, his huge muscles flexing and popping as he strained against the bonds holding him.
Nigel retreated a foot.
“My, my. Temper, temper. You don’t seem very calm. I think we’d better get on with the job at hand.” He bent down and spoke into the intercom. “You can come back technician, he’s ready for his punishment.”
The door to the chamber remained firmly shut.
Nigel glanced nervously at the still raging figure of De Vos. The strength of the man was inhuman. One of his arms actually appeared to be breaking its restraint. Nigel called again.
“Technician, please come in and resume your countdown.”
Still nothing. Nigel decided it was time to wait outside. He pressed the button to exit the chamber but the door remained firmly shut. He turned to glance at De Vos. The man had actually freed his right wrist and now he was pulling violently on the restraint around his bicep. In panic, Nigel started hammering on the door. To his relief it began to open. Relief turned to consternation when he found himself confronted by Helena, and behind her a phalanx of New Washington sheriffs.
“Helena, what are you doing here?”
Helena smiled sweetly.
“Nothing much Nigel. Just putting into practice some of the things you taught me.”
“Things? What things?”
“Eavesdropping things, Nigel. The value of hidden cameras. You know, those sorts of things.”
“What do you mean?” he blustered.
“What do you think I mean Nigel? I discovered three hours ago that the files on the J7 Riots and Schtum’s death had been sealed under my name, but at your order. So I began reading them and discovered you’d had a lot of information about Schtum’s activities suppressed at Brandt’s trial, citing issues of city security. That made me suspicious, and I thought I should track you down and speak to you. But guess what? You were already here in the City Penitentiary. Can you imagine how curious that made me, you being right where Brandt De Vos was about to die? As you know, as Chief Sociologist it is my right to tap into any camera feed in New Washington. So I ordered an emergency tap into these camera feeds. And didn’t I get some interesting things on tape?”
“You can’t have. The technician turned the cameras off.”
“No he didn’t. He only turned the feeds to the broadcaster off. My office operates on an independent circuit.” Helena and the sheriffs advanced into the room. Nigel retreated backwards. “I think Central Administration will be very keen to talk to you about some of the things you just told Convict De Vos here.”
“You bitch! Try to bring me down and I’ll bring you down with me. I’ll bury you so deep in shit you’ll drown in it! I’ll make you pay for defying me, just as I made this over-sized gorilla behind me pay for organizing that pathetic protest!”
“Thank you Nigel. I think we have that on tape too.”
Nigel screeched in fury and launched himself at Helena. The suddenness of his attack caught her, and the sheriffs, off guard. He wrapped his hands around her throat and began to squeeze. Choking, she clutched at his wrists to free herself. Her efforts were futile. Crazed, Nigel had the strength of ten men. Helena’s eyes started to roll up. She stumbled, forcing Nigel backwards, pushing him closer to the execution chair where the struggling, roaring Brandt De Vos sat.
There was a loud snap. The strap around Brandt’s bicep parted. Nigel’s screeching cut off abruptly as a huge hand gripped him around the neck. But he didn’t release Helena.
“Let her go!” roared Brandt. He shook Nigel violently. The little man’s body flopped about like a rag doll in the jaws of a large dog. Still he continued trying to throttle the life out of her. Even the efforts of one of the sheriffs couldn’t release her from his death grip.
Left with no option, Brandt pulled Nigel towards him. Some spark of sanity must have returned, because the little man realized what was happening and squealed in terror. But it was too little sanity too late.
Brandt forced Nigel’s head against one of the needles intended for his own execution. The lethal sliver of metal entered Nigel’s skull and automatically delivered its cocktail of death. As his brain was destroyed his fingers finally released their grip on Helena’s neck. As she fell to the floor, retching, Brandt watched the life go out of the eyes of the worst mass murderer in New Washington’s history. When at last Nigel’s body was limp, he dropped it dispassionately to the ground.
“His death was easy.” He looked down with concern to where Helena was sitting. When he saw she was recovering his face brightened. “Have you saved me, Dr. Jewel?”
Helena pulled herself up, avoiding Nigel’s corpse. Angry red marks colored her neck. She gasped for air.
“I think we’ve saved each other, convict,” she croaked. She leaned against his seat, feigning more discomfort than she felt to conceal her sudden fear about what might happen next. Brandt had never directly responded to her earlier question. What if he didn’t really want her?
Brandt entertained no such doubts. With his free hand he gently lifted Helena’s chin and looked into her eyes.
“Before we were so rudely interrupted earlier in the day, I’d been about to say I love you,” he whispered.
Still Helena couldn’t believe he was serious. Such wonderful things just didn’t happen to women like her. She didn’t reply immediately. Stepping gingerly over Nigel’s corpse, she began to unfasten the remaining straps holding Brandt in the execution chair.
“You don’t have to answer now, you know,” she remarked casually, concentrating on the thick strap she was unbuckling. “Why don’t you take some time? You may feel, upon reflection, this relationship developed under abnormal circumstances, even, one could say, under duress.”
Brandt chuckled.
“Oh no you don’t Dr. Jewel. You’re not getting rid of me that easily. Besides, if my memory serves me correctly I’m still your prize for at least another seventy-two hours, and you are therefore obligated to keep me with you at all times.”
Helena finally allowed herself to believe. She wasn’t going to lose Brandt. Even at a whisper, she couldn’t disguise the absolute joy and relief in her voice.
“Oh Brandt. I love you. I love you so much. I will keep you with me…at all times…forever.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Thank you Dr. Jewel, you have been most helpful. I believe that concludes this hearing. We will contact both you, and Engineer De Vos regarding those other matters.”
With these words the Chief Judge of New Washington’s Supreme Court, along with his four fellow judg
es, abruptly vanished. With a deep sigh Helena allowed herself to relax, sit back in her chair, and stretch. As she stretched she gazed blankly at the wall of her virtual office, where seconds before the Supreme Court had been sitting in hologram, and tried to marshal her thoughts. After all this time it was finally over! She had to tell Brandt.
She rose from her chair and entered the living area of the apartment. Two things told her he was in the kitchen, firstly the smell of something delicious cooking, and secondly the deep melodious humming of a satisfied chef.
“Chief Sociologist Jewel!” Brandt said with a smile when Helena entered the kitchen, clearly pleased to see her. “How are the august members of our judiciary this fine afternoon?”
“Finished.”
“Finished?”
“Yes, they have nothing more to ask of me, and”—Helena paused for effect—”they have delivered their verdict.”
Brandt stopped smiling, when he next spoke his bantering tone had disappeared, and his voice was as serious as the expression on his face.
“And?”
“And…I too am exonerated. All my actions have been judged to be entirely proper and any involvement in the events leading to Nigel’s death has been deemed to be due to circumstances of his own making. My position as Chief Sociologist is re-confirmed and I have been asked to chair a taskforce looking into ways to detect, prevent and punish the type of corruption that Nigel and Schtum were involved in.”
“That’s fantastic.”
“Wait, there’s more. You have been re-instated to the Hydrological Engineering Fraternity with an unblemished record, and the Court has asked you to accept an appointment as my deputy on the same taskforce.”
“They want me to work under you?” asked Brandt, his face breaking into a grin.
“Indeed they do,” confirmed Helena, smiling too. “Not as much as I want you working under me. I intend to use you thoroughly!”
“Not satisfied with winning the poor man as a prize, the stern Doctor continues to exert her dominance over him in every facet of his life,” intoned Brandt, looking forlornly up at the ceiling.
“Good, I’m glad you understand the situation fully, Engineer De Vos. Now come with me.” Helena turned on her heel and headed out of the room, removing her clothes as she went. Brandt hesitated.
“Where are we going, Dr. Jewel?”
Helena, already topless, stopped and turned to face him.
“Somewhere where you can begin teaching me everything I need to know about water and its myriad uses.”
Brandt turned the stove off. Then he walked over to her and put his arms around her. Softly he asked one further question.
“Where is that, exactly, my love?”
Helena slid her hands under the loose shirt he was wearing and raised it to bare his torso. Than she moved closer, pressing her naked breasts against his bare skin and snuggling her head beneath his chin.
“In the shower, darling. Where else?”
About Claudia Rose
A native New Zealander, Claudia is an avid writer who has been published in many fields and loves to hear from her readers. In addition to writing erotic romances, Claudia also collaborates on horror novels and screenplays (horror and romantic comedies) with fellow EC author Jaid Black. Their joint pen name is Millar Black.
Claudia welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email addresses on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by Claudia Rose
Alien Games
Prey for Me
That First Interview
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
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Ladies Night
ISBN 9781843603498
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Ladies Night Copyright © 2003 Claudia Rose
Cover design by Fiona Jayde
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Electronic book publication January 2003
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