Page 35 of Mistress A-0002
Seconds dragged out as my mind spun with savageries.
“Melissa?”
My eyes slowly cut up with anger, and the top part of Muriel’s body eased back from me in shock.
“You’re…consideringit.”
“Don’t look at me like that,” I snapped. “He’s done nothing but bring trouble into the Gardens since he’s been here. Having him in my life has been nothing but a burden. You’ve been with me long enough to know I speak the truth.You’ve seen.It’s one scandal after the next. I keep waiting to see if he’ll change. I thought maybe with this new path there was hope, but no. He just doesn’t stop.”
“But…he’s your son.” For the first time, I found my walls coming up concerning Muriel. Her aghast tone. The tinge of horror in her slightly accusatory stare as she moved her hands in some desperate attempt to find more to say. Weren’t there times my father gave me the same look? Lots of times? “Surely, you’re not considering letting him die. I know Jett is…difficult at times, but he’s your child.”
“And? Do you want me to lie,slave? You act like I care what you think. I don’t fear your opinion of me. I fear nothing at all.”
“I know that. I didn’t mean to upset you, but this anger will pass; you’ll see. Jett’s actions were severe, but not unforgiveable. He’ll change. He’ll grow wiser and learn from his mistake. You can fix this. If you just talk with the Main Master.”
“Ah, yes. Talk with Elec. That’ll surely change everything.”
She paused. “You’re being sarcastic.”
I hurled my purse at the sofa, heading for the bar as it bounced from the cushion, falling onto the floor behind me. I wasn’t a drinker. I rarely indulged. With the way the last week had played out, I needed a break.To think.To really, really dive deep into what the fuck was happening. I was drowning in the whirl of events. I wasn’t seeing the entire picture clearly. There were too many pieces to this puzzle, and Elec was peering down at all of them from a throne. I may have been good, but I wasn’t God. I wasn’t the Main Master.
“Forgive me if I’m making this harder on you. This is bad.” The last was but a whisper as I poured the drink. “What can I do, Mistress? How can I help?”
Fire burned my throat, and I cringed. As warmth took over my stomach, I stared blankly ahead.Delusional. Delusional.The white wall blurred. I refused to believe I was in over my head. I had to remove myself and see out of Elec’s eyes. I had to get into his mind and dissect the urges he’d be tempted to act upon. My creation lusted for power. For control. Games. Traits weren’t only hereditary. Impressions were made. Behavior was imprinted and instilled by the environment. By the teacher. Elec was in large part…me, just male. What I lacked, he had. I always thought my power kept me stronger, but I was starting to see my disadvantage. Elec was strong too. My downfall was that he’d taken my skills and created his own. Elec’s ability to break out of my triggers was proof of that. So was the exception of Braddock’s female blank slate. Maybe all the blank slates. They were, after all, programmed to obey the Main Master.Dammit.I still had to take care of Braddock and that bitch who survived. If I could alter Allison, I could at least have an advantage over Elec if I needed it.
“Mistress?”
Calmness returned as I poured another drink and turned to face Muriel.
“It’s time to prove your place at my side. First, you’re going to help me with my patient and his blank slate. You’re going to watch, report, or kill if you have to. And when they decide to execute my son,because they will, you’ll bury that fucking axe in his neck if I demand it. Who the fuck does everyone think they’re messing with? Don’t they know who I am? I’m Dr. Melissa LaRoe. It’s about time people start remembering that.”
Main Master
There were many things that had made me into the man I’d become. Many people who contributed to my behavior, my characteristics, and discipline. After all, Melissa may have altered my personality, maybe even some of my memories, but she couldn’t take full credit for the man I’d turned into because of it. Despite her hold and presence, I never gave myself to her completely. To do that, trust would have had to have been established, and she would have had to know the real me. The one I hid from everyone. She didn’t. Not even from the very beginning. Motives were a very powerful thing. Mine were deep and dark, even back then. I was smarter and more powerful than anyone knew, and the true man inside me was always lurking within, waiting for his opportunity to rule me.To rule all.
“Due to inability for my desired results with my guard leaders, I’ve come to the best. This is simple,” I said sternly, running my gaze back and forth over the line of blank slate soldiers I’d chosen. “You do exactly as I say. This is your mission. There are two targets. Half of you are programmed to Mistress Two, while the other half is programmed tome. Your assignment is to keep your targets alive at all costs. If you detecta threat to your mission, you are to neutralize it as quietly and as inconspicuous as possible. Mirror yourself to your surroundings. Imbed yourself in this world of masked killers.Work together when you have to.You will dress the part. You will act the part. Under no circumstances will you get comfortable participating in these roles. You have a job, and youwilldo it. Mistress Two may appear harmless, but cornered, she is anything but. She may try to manipulate your mind. She will not. You take your orders from me. Your mind only records her actions. It is not persuaded by them. Do you all understand?”
“Yes, Main Master.”
The response was in unison. I paced the length of them, staring at the mix of elegantly dressed women and men posed as Masters, Mistresses, and guards.
“You’re the best. You have special phones. All ten of you will give your report to me at your designated times. I want updates. I want insight. I want fucking answers. You have the ability to read targets. Those assigned to Mistress Two will give me your analysis as part of your weekly brief. This is most important. There is no room for mistakes. Watch. Read. Be ready for anything. Do not blow your cover. Not a single one of you. This cannot get out. If you think you’re discovered, you know what to do.”
“Yes, Main Master.”
“There are triggers you will take note of but not be affected by. I’ve made sure of it. This consist of tapping, clapping, snapping, clicking the tongue, hand gestures, and words. They’re in your mind, you know them. When you see them from target one, you’re to take note of the time and who you believe they’re focus is on. You should have no problem distinguishing the occupants who reside here. You know them all. When you see this happening…” I made sure to meet all of their gazes, one by one. “You. Do. Nothing.I want a record and a visual. Thanksto the cameras you’re wearing, what you see, I see. I do not want her to know you’re watching. I will be leaving shortly. During my time away, you will report to Nineteen, your High Leader. When I do return, we will not meet other than by phone. You must know, if at any time she and I are together, again, make sure you’re recording. You will not interfere with what happens unless you feel one of us is trying to hurt the other or ourselves. Out in public, we’re fine, but we’re never to be alone. Not in her office. Not in any apartment. If you’re unsure, you come check with me by asking a question she won’t find suspicious. You’ve been trained on what to do. If I wish to kill her, you’ll know, and you’ll….do…nothing. Understand?”
“Yes, Main Master.”
I nodded, clasping my hands behind me.
“Some of you have apartments and titles. Leave me and begin your mission. Use your new status to make friends. Find out what you can and get me evidence of wrongdoing by Mistress Two. Each of you have your times to follow her. Work together if for some reason something comes up with one of you. There will always be eyes on her location. Do not fail me.”
I watched my chosen slaves file out, pulling my phone from my pocket as I weighed priorities. My life was not measured by single events. I lived in a massive puzzle of personalities, and each person’s life was just a fragment I fit into. And not even a large piece of me. For every story, I was a mention. Maybe sometimes even the shadow of the plot. But I was never the lead in their tale. While the days passed, my hours stretched with commotion. Sometimes a breath of peace. But not this week. I almost couldn’t believe how it played out. Or how fast. Melissa’s destruction called for decisive action. And maybe this was what I had been waiting for.Dreaming for?Planned? Was I behind this? I didn’t think so, but lately I was questioning everything.
It was hard trying to decipher my own mysterious mind. I played my own tapes meant for the slaves, hooking myself to my own demands. Grooming myself. Trying to make myself immune against her triggers. It had to be working, just not as fast as I wanted. Melissa was starting to feel cornered. Instead of backing down and staying low, Jett’s arrest and Ally’s failed murder had somehow stirred an impatience inside her. Melissa’s objectives were becoming her focus. She stalked Braddock’s apartment, passing by his door to walk to her own apartment almost every other hour. To make it worse, she’d cornered Ally down by the lab to try to get her to kill her Master instead. Did I have proof of any of this? No. Not aside from Ally’s testimony. The video was once again gone, and Ally wouldn’t lie about this. She wasn’t physically capable of it with her programing.
But not everything was bad. I allowed Ethan to sign the contract on Pearl. They’d be married in the next few months, and Pearl’s surgery for her face was underway. Sebastian’s slave was released from the hospital from her injuries. I was seeing progress with my plans, but they wouldn’t matter if Melissa came out on top and derailed everything. I needed…proof. No, I needed more than that.