Before she could move the screen on, a heavy hand landed on her shoulder and she shrieked.
She spun around to find herself looking up at the smiling Doug. Everyone else in the room had already stopped what they were doing and were staring at her.
"Sorry, darling, did I frighten you?"
It was a rhetorical question. They weren't allowed to speak in the control room.
A quick glance over her shoulder and Doug winced. "Oh, that looks like a nasty one. And that's a positive projection, is it?"
Marie nodded, stealing a quick glance at her blonde co-worker from the locker room. The woman was staring straight at her, her soft features projecting compassion.
"You can see why he's been locked up. It's scary to think what goes on in people's minds. I bet he's a fucking homo too."
Marie ground her jaw as she watched her boss. How did she end up working for this piece of shit?
"Anyway, sorry to interrupt, guys," Doug said. "I just wanted to tell you that we have a visit from government officials today."
Marie did her best to relax, sat up straight, and pulled the front of her top down to show off her cleavage. This was what he was talking about on the phone and she needed to be the one to go with him. A quick flick of her hair got his attention. She slowly pushed her tits out farther.
As Doug lingered for a second on Marie's chest, he swiped his greasy, side-parted hair across his forehead and laughed. "Don't all speak at once; let me answer the questions that I know you must have. How does it affect you? It doesn't. Because of the secrecy contract, the government can't come into the control room, so you may not even notice their presence. I just wanted to let you know in case any of you pop out for a toilet break and you see them snooping around."
When Doug's eyes returned to Marie's cleavage, he lost his words for a moment.
Marie stole a quick glance at her blonde co-worker again and saw the confusion wrinkling her brow. Once they were friends, she'd explain everything.
When Doug finally looked up at her, she smiled. "There's um… there's one more thing; I need someone to come on the tour with me."
This was her moment. Marie dropped a pen and leaned down to pick it up, taking her time to return upright so Doug got a good eyeful.
The fat man gulped.
It was working.
There was a distant look in his eyes, the intoxication of lust setting in. "It looks like you get to see the prison complex today, Marie."
Marie smiled at the slug of a man, taking in his broad grin and greasy head of jet-black hair. She then turned to her console and logged out. He was so easy to manipulate that she almost felt sorry for him.
Almost…
Chapter Fourteen
Click!
Click!
Click!
The white corridor was so sparsely furnished that the harsh sound of Doug's Cuban heels bounced off the walls. Every click was a pickaxe to Marie's temples. After a deep breath, she lifted her chin and pulled her shoulders back. She could do this. How hard would it be to reel the idiot in using his own libido as bait?
After a quick glance at her tits, Doug said, "Today's about showing the government around the prison. We get a decent price per prisoner, and we need to justify why we're worth it."
When he leaned in close, Marie could almost taste the fried food on his rancid breath.
"Although," he said, "no one else has been able to come close to the price we charge, so I'm not too worried about them pulling the contract." The tension in his face revealed his lie. He was shitting himself. What was he trying to hide from them?
Marie giggled and flicked her long hair from her shoulders. "You do such a great job, Dougie; I'm sure they'll be blown away by what you show them."
Although Doug nodded, his eyes were glazed as they found her cleavage again, and his voice was distant. "Thank you, Marie."
Marie pushed her chest out farther. Let him have an eyeful. If it took the attention away from the other parts of her body that were changing… Although it didn't stop her skin from crawling at being the object of the fat man's longing. What would Frankie say if he saw her behaving like this?
None of that mattered now. She was doing this for their family. Marie got back to their conversation. "I mean it, Dougie—can I call you Dougie?"
With his eyes still on her chest, he nodded, "Uh huh."
She could probably call him dick face at that moment and he wouldn't care, or notice. "Well, I mean it." The words didn't come easily and she stammered as she forced the lie out. "You… you're a great boss and… and an inspiration. You project power to everyone you meet and you're one of the friendliest people I know. I get so much from being around you." Like nausea and loathing.
Positively beaming from the praise, Doug stopped, removed a chewing gum from his pocket, unwrapped it, and slipped it onto his tongue. With his eyes locked on Marie's, he drew it slowly into his mouth as if he was licking the air. He then discarded the wrapper on the floor, grinning as he chewed.
The intensity of his stare made her squirm, but she kept her eyes on him as a vacuum bot crashed into her feet on its quest to suck up the rubbish.
Doug shrugged as they resumed their walk and conversation. "You're not the first person to tell me that, you know. I take pride in how happy my workforce is. I look after my people and they look after me." Another glance at her breasts and Doug put an ushering arm around her that ended with his hand sliding down to her arse.
It felt like being enveloped by slime. Unable to contain the shiver, Marie hugged herself for warmth and laughed. "Cold isn't it?" They were in the middle of a fucking heat wave.
Instead of replying, Doug's eyes fell to her chest again as if he were searching for erect nipples. If he paid her a credit every time he looked at her tits, she'd have enough money to get married in no time.
When they got to the door at the end, Doug stopped, his mouth slapping as he chewed. He ran his eyes over Marie's body and a sneer of approval arced his top lip.
Marie's heart fluttered when his gaze passed over her stomach. Corset or not, she didn't want him, or anyone else, looking there.
A dazed grin sat on Doug's face. "You ready to do this, sweetheart?"
Once she'd found out Doug's secret, she was going to take the fat arsehole to the cleaners. She nodded. "Always."
"Okay, darling." As he leaned forwards to hug her, each of Doug's hands found a breast, and he squeezed.
It took everything to remain where she was, especially when he took a gentle bite of her earlobe and groped her harder. Instead of pulling away, she let her neck twist into the tickle at the base of it and groaned. It felt about as natural as chugging sand, but she needed to do it to reel him in. If she was going to be able to blackmail him, he needed to believe she wanted him.
When he pulled away, the memory of his fat hands still gripped her breasts and Marie's stomach lurched. As she held his lust-intoxicated stare, she started to shake. How far would this have to go? How long could she pretend to find this creature attractive?
Doug bit down on his bottom lip as if it would tame his sexual desire. It was so rampant, Marie could almost smell it. He looked her up and down again and shook his head. "I wish we were off to a hotel room right about now." He stamped his foot hard on the floor. It as if he was about to begin a Flamenco routine or have a temper tantrum. "Oh God, I wish we were somewhere else."
This was about avoiding the estate and giving their child a good life. As long as Marie remembered that, then she could carry on. When she realised Doug was still awaiting a response, she laughed and gave him a playful jab on the arm. "Oh, Dougie, I'd love to, but we have to go and meet these officials."
Doug sighed and continued to hold her with an intense stare. "We have to make sure we arrange a time to meet up away from work. We need to get to know one another better."
Marie ran a long fingernail down Doug's face. When he opened his mouth, she removed the chewing gum and tossed it over her shoulde
r. The bot vacuumed it up. "Now come on, Doug, you can't be masticating gum like that when you're trying to show people around the prison."
The corners of his mouth turned up. "Mastication wasn't the thing I was thinking about." He lifted a fat slug of an eyebrow and his smile stretched into a shit-eating grin.
How long could she keep this up for? Marie laughed and smacked his arm. "Come on, you hound dog, let's go and knock 'em dead."
Doug howled and Marie laughed again. The insincerity of it echoed inside her skull and the smile felt awkward on her face. Anyone else would have seen the ruse instantly, but Doug couldn't see past his own over-inflated ego.
When he turned his back, her mirth slipped from her face. She had to slow this down; Doug expected too much already. But what else could she do? She was all in now and her future depended on it. Her entire family's future depended on it.
The light turned from red to green and Doug pulled his finger away from the scanner. The automatic door slid open and Marie followed Doug through. Whatever it was Doug was trying to hide, she was going to find it and expose him. She and Frankie would be walking hand in hand down the aisle before this child was born. All she needed to do was make sure it happened before things got out of hand.
Chapter Fifteen
Marie held back a step as Doug approached the government officials. Whatever happened today, he couldn't fuck up; as fun as it would be to watch the idiot fall flat on his face, if they found out what was wrong with Rixon before she did, her leverage with Doug was gone.
Doug arrived at the man first and held his hand out. "Doug Rixon; pleased to meet you."
The man and the woman stood before the doors to the prison, both of them immaculate in their suits. The man, a short dark-skinned fellow, took Doug's hand. "Max Searcher." He nodded at the woman next to him. "And this is Florence Mojo."
After the introduction, Doug flashed a smile at the woman and softened his brashness. "Pleased to meet you, Florence." As he shook her hand, he lowered his voice. "Or can I call you Flo?"
The tight, jet-black bob was as sharp as Florence's suit, which she straightened, despite her already flawless presentation. "Florence is fine."
Doug raised his eyebrows at Max.
In reaction to his gesture, Florence pushed her lips tight and inhaled through her nose.
Did Doug seriously think she wouldn't notice? It was obvious that Max wanted no part of it as he cleared his throat and loosened his tie. Sweat glistened on his brow and after wiping it, he nodded in Marie's direction. "And this is?"
"Of course, how silly of me," Doug said. "This is Marie; Marie Hadlam." After winking, he added, "Marie's one of our up and comers. She's not been in the control room long, but she's showing an immense amount of promise."
Before Doug could finish, Florence looked Marie up and down, pausing on her chest. "I'm sure she is."
How hard would the punch need to be to break her nose? With a forced smile, she stepped forwards and offered Max and Florence each a firm handshake. "Pleased to meet you both; I'm excited to get the chance to show you around." She then flashed a beaming smile at Florence. If nothing else worked, she could charm the frigidity out of the bitch.
The large entrance hall echoed the loud crack of Doug's solitary clap of his hands. "Okay, so today I'm going to take you on a tour of the prison so you can see the great work we're doing here at Rixon with the prisoners engaged in New Reality." As he leaned towards the government officials, he lowered his tone and cocked an eyebrow. "Although some might say the paradise we offer is too good for prisoners."
A brisk shake of his head and Max said, "I wouldn't say that. They still have rights. They're still people."
Doug cleared his throat and straightened his tie. "I wouldn't say that either, old boy. The point—"
"I think what Doug means," Marie said as she touched Doug's forearm to keep him quiet, "is that some people believe prisoners, as former inhabitants of the estate, don't deserve any rights. That kind of attitude at Rixon is treated with zero tolerance. We're responsible for their welfare, so the last thing we need is people being prejudiced towards them. Isn't that right, Doug?"
"For sure; thank you, Marie. The experience we offer these prisoners is amazing. It's why New Reality is the perfect solution for our ever-increasing prison population."
The frown that had crushed Max's face seconds earlier vanished.
"They go on the journey of a lifetime here." While pointing his two chubby index fingers at their guests, Doug clicked from the side of his mouth, "And you get to save a shed load of cash. I'll arrange for the financial reports to be sent to you later on today."
The frown returned to Max's face and Florence levelled a dead stare at Doug; it was going to take a lot of work for Marie to stop Doug from fucking up in front of these people. How could someone have such little self-awareness?
"Tough audience," he said under his breath to Marie, although both Florence and Max clearly heard him. He grinned at the pair and spoke louder, "Are there any questions before we go in?"
"Actually," Max said. "I'd like to ask Marie something."
Marie nodded and smiled.
"What's it like in the control room?"
Before Marie could answer, Doug cut in. "Nice try, Max, but I'm sure you're aware of our secrecy contract. The control room shows you the inner desires of every one of our prisoners and we have to respect their privacy. If we started making those images readily available, or even told stories of them, we'd be breaking all kinds of laws. Besides, it's not illegal to have thoughts, is it?"
The bullish Florence tensed as she straightened her suit. "Not yet, at least."
The temperature in the entrance hall seemed to drop and Marie shivered. Seconds later, the stifling July heat returned.
Still grinning, Doug looked at the two government officials. "Any more questions?"
There was no response.
"Good." Doug looked up at a camera mounted on the wall and clapped his hands twice. Crack! Crack!
A few seconds later, the huge steel doors yawned and creaked as they started to open.
Doug shouted over the noise. "You're about to enter Rixon's flagship prison. At Rixon HQ, we have the latest in inmate management, and we're used as the blueprint for all of our other facilities. What you see here is exactly what you'll see at any Rixon prison anywhere in the country."
When the doors had finally opened, Doug showed the government officials the way in with a sweeping arm gesture. "After you."
After the other three had set off, Marie followed them in, the large doors creaking and groaning as they closed behind her.
The loud gates had finally shut when Doug, still grinning like an idiot, stood before another security door and said, "As you know, my father, Patrick Rixon, invented New Reality. It's a system that delivers five-dimensional entertainment to those that put a headset on. It stimulates all five senses and responds to one's deepest desires. Once the headset is on, the gamer doesn't even realise they are wearing it. It's a wonderful existence for anyone, let alone an estate—"
"Resident," Marie cut in.
There was a moment's silence as Doug paused and stared at her before turning back to Max and Florence. "Yes, an estate… resident. The poor blighters have known only poverty for their entire life, so not only does it keep the streets free from crime, but it also gives them a better existence than they could ever hope to have on the estate."
Florence's words were so sharp it was a wonder they didn't cut her tongue on the way out. "Does it ever go wrong?"
Anxiety twisted Marie's guts. Poor Jake.
Fortunately, Doug didn't miss a beat. "Of course not." He turned to the next security door, tapped in a code, and pressed his face into the retina scanner. "Dad could have marketed this to home entertainment junkies and made a killing. Instead, he decided to put it to good use and solve social problems rather than line his pocket."
It was Max's turn to call Doug out. "He's hardly doing it for free
though is he?"
"No, he's not, but he's doing it for substantially less than he had to."
Max conceded the point with a nod.
"So, ladies and gentleman, without further ado, let the tour begin." Doug pressed his fat thumb against the print sensor and looked up. The light turned green, the door opened, and he led the way through.
***
The room beyond the next door was so bright, Marie had to blink several times before her eyes adjusted to the whiteness of it. Everything was white: the beds, the bedclothes, the floor… even the workers' uniforms. Identical beds ran down either side of the large room like a huge hospital ward, but with less equipment. It also smelled a lot better; there was a sweet strawberry fragrance hanging in the air rather than the acrid aroma of bleach Marie associated with hospitals. Classical music played from speakers mounted on the walls.
"As you can see," Doug began, "mixed wards aren't a problem because the prisoners never interact with one another. Every prisoner has their own space and their own headset. Once they're plugged in, they're wherever they want to be."
Other than an occasional twitch, the prisoners were relatively still. Looking at them turned Marie's blood cold; the meditative calm of what she was seeing was a colossal deviation from the active and often violent projections that she witnessed day after day on the job.
The flash of Florence's camera went off several times as she spun around to take in the entire room. Anxiety creased Doug's greasy face but, fortunately, Florence and Max were more concerned with taking photos than watching his reaction.
Two more flashes and Florence turned back to Doug. "So how do you care for the prisoners?"
"I'm glad you asked me that, Flo."
The already tense woman tightened further, her bright red lips pinching to the point where they halved in size.
Doug flipped a different finger out with each point. "We make sure we roll them a few times per day to prevent bed sores. They're drip fed a synthesised gel that gives them everything they need to survive with good health—I'll show you that later. They're kept under twenty-four hour surveillance in case there are any problems…"
New Reality 2: Justice Page 6
