Dangerous Read online

  Chapter One

  Tain Halliday struggled back to consciousness, at first having no idea where she was. She lay on something that felt like bare metal, and when she forced her eyes open she found she was right. It was metal she lay on, just like the metal of the bars a few feet in front of her eyes.

  Damn! Tain thought as she sat up and looked around, memory returning in a literal flood. That damn female did get us caught! If I live through this and somehow manage to get away I'm going to kill Coleson!

  Rather than wishful thinking, the intention to kill was more of a sworn oath for Tain. Coleson was head of Tain's department back at headquarters, and he was the one who'd made no effort to refuse taking on one of the director's lame nieces. The girl had no aptitude for being an agent, but because she wanted to be one she and her uncle had seen no reason not to indulge her whim.

  And they still won't see why this was such a bad idea, Tain thought as she settled into a cross-legged position and looked around at the other cages standing near hers. The little imbecile was supposed to take my orders, but instead she blundered around until she set off a trap that caught us both. That will become my fault, of course, because I was supposed to be in charge. But when that happens and I'm accused of not doing my job, at least I'll have the pleasure of punching out a director. Right after I punch out his niece…

  But right now the girl, Ennie Farrow, was still unconscious in her cage. This world of Oliven, degenerated from what it had been since it was settled, was more than a little backward. Properly protected upper class women were supposedly never bothered, but all the rest were considered fair game for enslaving. Tain and Ennie had been disguised as upper class women and should have been safe to do their job of locating the various places where the leaders of the area met, but then Ennie had taken off on her own. Tain had been forced to follow, and she'd caught up with the mindless girl just as Ennie walked right into a slaver trap.

  And now Tain sat naked in her cage, seeing the other naked women in other cages. Many of those women were crying softly, the rest either silently angry or resigned to the point of depression. Tain's department had been given the job of finding a way to end the practice of enslaving women, but the job wasn't proving easy. Women on this world were raised to think of the practice as normal, so if they happened to be enslaved most of them went along with it. Not that they were given much of a choice…

  "No!" a shout suddenly sounded from one of the cages, unsurprisingly the cage holding Ennie. "No! Let me out this minute! I'm important and you can't do this to me!"

  Tain just sat where she was, a faint smile curving her lips, unworried about what Ennie would say. Coleson, the fool, had been going to leave the girl just as she was, but Tain had insisted that Ennie be rendered incapable of telling anyone about who she was and where she came from just like every other agent. When Coleson tried to insist, Tain had put her foot down and refused to take the stupid girl along. Too bad she hadn't stuck with that refusal even after Coleson backed down…

  The girl kept shouting for a good couple of minutes before anyone appeared in response. The women and girls in the other cages watched silently all the while, and when a man appeared who looked like a guard to Tain some of the other captives lay down and turned their faces away. A number of the other women wore expressions that said they were waiting for the loud-mouthed captive to be taught to be silent just the way they were being, an event that didn't take long in coming.

  The man who appeared wasn't all that tall, but he was broad in the shoulders and wore an annoyed expression. It was very obvious that he didn't like being bothered, but Ennie wasn't bright enough to notice little things like that. Tain saw the girl all but sneer at the brief body wrap and thin vest on the man, all the covering that was really required in a hot climate like the one where they were, apparently missing the fact that she, herself, was naked. The girl sat up straight, the cages being too low to stand up in, a glare in her usually-flat blue eyes.

  "It's about time you got here," Ennie spat out, her spoiled-brat attitude more than clear. "There's been a mistake made by somebody, and that somebody is going to pay hard for it! You people had no right putting me in this thing, and I demand to be released at once!"

  Rather than answering, the man Ennie spoke to simply reached to the top of the cage and moved the latch that held the cage door closed. As the door swung open Ennie's expression changed to one of smug satisfaction, but the look didn't get to stay on her face long. As she began to leave the cage, the guard put a fist in her blond hair and dragged her out rather than letting her move on her own.

  The girl screamed in outrage over the way she was being treated, but had no choice about going where the guard took her. That place was only a short distance away, near the wall between two of the cages where there was a low wooden shelf holding various items. The guard reached to the shelf with his free hand and got what looked like a thin branch to Tain, and then he was suddenly using the branch on Ennie's backside. This time the girl's screams had no outrage in them, just the sound of shocked pain.

  The guard spoke softly to Ennie, who was trying to protect her backside with her hands, and then the girl's hands were out of the way. It was perfectly clear that Ennie didn't want to move her hands, which made Tain sigh and shake her head just a little. The girl had been told what usually happened to female slaves, but Ennie's shock and disbelief showed that the girl hadn't paid much attention to the intel she was given.

  We've obviously been loaded up with the drug that makes it impossible to disobey the orders of anyone in charge, Tain thought as the guard went back to using that branch on Ennie's bottom. That fool girl can't believe anyone would treat her like that, and she doesn't even seem to know what's going on. But she's certainly in the process of finding out…

  The guard gave Ennie ten or a dozen hard swats with the branch he held, then he put the branch back and took something else from a small box. Tain couldn't see what the something else was, but the guard spoke softly to Ennie again and then turned so that his body hid what he was doing. Tain saw the way Ennie's eyes widened as she gasped and tried to cry out, but it was clear that the guard had given the girl orders about not making any more noise. Ennie was bouncing and crying even with her hair still held, but she'd stopped screaming or making noise of any kind.

  Once the guard finished with whatever he was doing, he put Ennie back into her cage. It was possible to see painful-looking welts criss-crossed on the girl's backside, which meant that Ennie went to her stomach inside the cage. Her body squirmed around where she lay and she continued to cry hard, but there was no more noise coming from her. The guard looked around once the cage was locked closed again, specifically in Tain's direction as if he knew the two women had been captured together. When Tain's quiet showed that she had no intention of doing what Ennie had, the man turned and left the area again.

  And then there was nothing to do but wait. The number of other women in cages told Tain that it wouldn't be long before they were all sold, not when there was a chance that one or more of the women's men would show up demanding to have his or their woman back. Not every man on Oliven believed in enslaving women, Tain's department had found out that much, but that group wasn't organized while the slavers and their supporters were.

  A number of hours went by with nothing happening, and then the guard reappeared in the company of others like himself. The captives had been given nothing to eat or drink, but for Tain that was more a kindness than deprivation. The only sanitary facilities available was a short bucket in each cage, a bucket that stank even without being used. No field agent was actually fastidious, not with what usually had to be put up with in the field, but there was a big difference between using a bush or tree in the woods and using a stinking bucket.

>   The guards began to open cages, starting with the ones farthest from the door they'd entered by. One or two of the women tried to refuse to come out the way the guards wanted them to, but a brisk order got them out and on their feet. Deliberate orders couldn't be refused by them any more than Ennie had been able to refuse the guard who'd punished her, which meant it wasn't long before Tain's cage was also opened. She was gestured into line in front of the woman who'd been released just before her, and then Ennie was taken out to stand in front of Tain.

  The look Ennie gave Tain just before she turned to stand quietly was filled with desperation, a silent plea Tain had no trouble ignoring. It was no one's fault but Ennie's that the two of them now had big trouble, but the girl clearly expected Tain to get them out of that trouble. Tain could have freed herself from the cage by getting a guard to take her out for punishment, but then what?

  Even if Tain knocked out the guard or killed him and then released Ennie, where would the two of them have gone? There was no knowing what lay beyond the door the guards had used, and even if they'd found it possible to get outside the building where the cages were they would probably have found themselves in the middle of the slavers' compound. Tain knew just how good she was in a fight, but taking on two dozen roving guards was beyond even her expertise.

  So Tain simply stood and waited until all the women were lined up to the guards' satisfaction, then she moved forward when they were told to do so. Ennie still seemed to be squirming where she stood, and when the line began to move the girl made very soft noises under her breath with every step. Tain now had a guess about why Ennie was acting like that, but if the guess turned out to be true there was absolutely nothing either of them could do about it.

  The women at the head of the line moved through the doorway with two of the guards leading the way, and when it became Tain's turn she could see that they moved through a rather large room with chairs and tables. It wasn't hard to see that the room usually held the guards who were now all around them, which was hardly surprising. When you have valuable merchandise, you tend to guard it well.

  Rather than being taken outside, the line was led deeper into the building. The floor they walked on was stone and the walls were plain stucco, nothing in the way of decoration to be seen anywhere. Lighting consisted of what looked like oil lamps on the walls, other rooms along the corridor hidden behind closed, plain wooden doors. Tain pretended to look at nothing but where the line was going even as she studied as much as she could of her surroundings, but the studying did no good. Without a decent opening trying to escape would be a waste of time, and nothing in the way of a legitimate opening came by.

  The line was finally directed into another room, this one much larger than the ones they'd already seen. There were a couple of women already in the room, but they were taken out by a door opposite the one Tain and the others had used even before the entire line made it through the doorway. The women were directed to line up along the lefthand wall, and once the entire line was in place the guards went into waiting mode.

  And we weren't told we could sit if we liked, so we can probably be called at any time, Tain thought as she glanced around. It's fairly obvious that we're about to be sold, and I wish they would hurry up and get it done. Once I'm out of here I ought to get some kind of break.

  Or so Tain fervently hoped. She had a small edge the slavers weren't likely to know about, but it was a very small edge and couldn't be wasted. One chance would be all she'd get, and then -

  "Do something, Halliday!" a very faint whisper came from Tain's left, obviously from Ennie where she stood and squirmed. "I can't stand any more of this, so you have to do something now! And when are they going to give us our clothes back?"

  Looking at or answering Ennie wouldn't have been very bright, so Tain continued to ignore the girl while she made sure the faint smile she felt on the inside didn't show on her face. Some of the guards were looking over the new crop of slaves, their stares very direct and not in the least shy. Ennie was squirming even harder under the inspection of one particular guard, finally having noticed that she stood stark naked and men were looking at her body. Tain wasn't particularly happy about the situation herself, but what did the fool girl expect her to do? Challenge all six of the guards and beat them to a pulp? Sure, right, maybe tomorrow.

  With the guard staring straight at Ennie, the girl made no effort to repeat her demand. A number of minutes went by with nothing happening, and then that other door opened again. The first two women in line were directed toward the door and the guard in the doorway who was obviously waiting for them, and once the women had hurried through the door was closed again. Ennie and Tain were now third and forth in the line, but when the door opened again and the next two women were taken they became first and second.

  Just about the same amount of time passed before the door opened again, and now it was Ennie and Tain who were gestured through. The guard on the other side of the door took Ennie's arm when she got close enough, and a second guard, waiting in the short hallway beyond the door did the same with Tain. At the end of the hallway was what seemed to be a considerable amount of light, but Tain's curiosity wasn't immediately satisfied. Ennie was taken ahead to a short flight of stairs and up into all that light, but Tain was held back by the hand on her arm.

  Ennie glanced back at Tain just before she was taken out of sight, the glance filled with a good deal of nervousness and downright fear. It seemed clear that it hadn't occurred to Ennie that she and Tain would be "sold" separately, and Tain wouldn't have mentioned the point even if they'd been able to speak privately. Ennie wanted what she wanted when she wanted it, and that kind of person isn't known for being reasonable. Not even when other people are suddenly in control of your life…

  It might have been Tain's imagination, but it seemed to take longer to sell Ennie than it had taken with the women who'd gone first. At one point the sound of laughter came floating down the stairs, mostly male laughter but women's voices undoubtedly adding their own amusement. Some of the upper class women also bought female slaves, which made Tain's department's job even harder. Even if they managed to get one of the male leaders talked into the idea of getting rid of slavery, if his wife liked the situation just as it was all their efforts could end up being undone.

  The guard who had taken Ennie up the stairs had come back down alone, and he finally gestured to the guard holding Tain's arm as he himself headed back toward the door they'd come through. Tain's guard moved her to the stairs and up them, and once Tain reached the top she almost had to squint against the increased light level.

  At the top of the stairs there was a stage of sorts surrounded by lots of lamps as well as mirrors, the mirrors doing their job of increasing the light coming from the lamps. Tain could tell that the large area beyond the stage held a lot of people, but it wasn't possible to make out any faces.

  "Our next offering is a nicely made little sweetie," a man's voice boomed out, coming from an area to Tain's right just beyond the stage. There was no sound equipment being used, of course, but the man obviously didn't need any. "You can see she hasn't given us any trouble like the last offering, so those of you who want a good, obedient little girl will want to bid on her. Turn around for the people, girl."

  Under other circumstances Tain would have told the man what he could do with himself, but right now all she did was turn as directed. Someone who wanted an obedient slave would be easy to take out, once they were away from this place with all its guards. By the time Tain turned back to the audience there were bids being made, but nothing to give Tain a swelled head. All the bids were on the low side, and the one woman who bid twice dropped out after that.

  The bidding finally came down to two men, but one of the two dropped out just as the amount was beginning to approach real money. The auctioneer declared the winner, his voice sounding very pleased, and the man with the winning bid went over to the auctioneer to pay what he now owed. Tain tried to get a look at the man, but he s
tood just beyond the auctioneer's narrow platform and was completely blocked by the platform side.

  Well, who her new owner was didn't really matter, Tain thought as a different guard came to take her arm and move her off the stage to the right and down a short flight of steps. After all that brightness it was hard for Tain to see anything in the relative dimness, and then she was pulled into a room that had a number of people in it. Two women, semi-dressed in very short, very low-cut tunics of a sort wore the narrow, red-cloth armbands that marked them as slaves, and they were the ones the guard pulled Tain over to.

  "Obey these slaves as if they were free," the guard said to Tain, and then he released her arm and walked away. The man was probably on his way back to his post near the stage, but Tain didn't even get the chance to see him leave the room. One of the slaves moved behind her, and the next minute there was a blindfold being put over Tain's eyes. It was standard procedure to blindfold newly-sold slaves before they were handed over to their new owners, Tain knew, but that didn't mean she had to like the practice.

  But there was another part of the standard practice that was a good deal worse than simply being blindfolded. Tain had been trying not to think about that other part, but not thinking about it didn't stop it from being done.

  "Bend over and hold your ankles," a female voice said softly from right next to Tain. "Once you're bent over, relax your inner muscles."

  For once Tain was relieved that she had very little choice but to do as she'd been told. If she had had the choice she probably would have refused, or at least she'd have tried to refuse. There were three male guards in the room in addition to the two slaves, and although she might have been able to take all three there was always the chance that one of the guards might have gotten lucky. If she tried something and it didn't work, she'd be in a much worse position than she currently was.

  A position that was more than bad enough. Tain's breath drew in when she felt the small, round thing being pushed into her bottom, the kind of thing that the guard had put into Ennie after her switching. The insertion was designed to make the new slave really hot, so that when her owner decided he wanted a taste of her she would not just be ready but would be downright eager.