Storiesonline.net
-------

                           Classy Conversions
                             by irish Writer

Copyright© 2011 by irish Writer


-------
Description: How would people cope with regulated human cannibalism? What kind of society would we have if 90% of the births were Women, and one percent per year were slated for the table. Or as pet food? Like any other breaucracy? This story is not for the strokes, nor for gore. But it does change the way you look at a steak.

Codes: Mult cons reluc bi ScFi snuff swing group violent cannib
-------



-------

Prologue

The windows had been boarded up for several years. The "For Sale" sign nailed to the front of the property was faded, and the contact number had been partially erased. It had taken her a bit of research to find the current caretakers.

"I don't mind telling you we don't' get many calls about this place. The other two were razed and built over after they were burned down but this one was left alone, pretty much. I don't know what you could do with it for a business, unless you want a warehouse. You know from the disclosure statement what this place was?" The realtor asked.

"Yes. I do. I am a bit of a historian and our group was thinking of this as a museum of sorts" the woman replied.

"Sort of like those slavery museums in the South?" He replied. "I don't imagine the city administration would care too much for that. I would keep that idea under my lid while you were working on it. Mayor Hansen is not really happy with that piece of history."

"What are the current obligations against the property?" the woman asked.

"City will sell it for back taxes plus an indemnity bond to ensure that it is either brought up to code or razed to the ground. We don't want it to turn into a drug den. We have enough of those."

"What about obligations to the original owners?"

"Well, this one was never reclaimed after the arrest. When the owners beat the charges, they left. No one knows where they went. City took over the property after a year and condemned it under eminent domain."

"Can I get inside?"

"Sure. Here are the access keys. If you don't mind, I have another appointment. These are twenty-four hour access cards, and the security system is still active. The power is on the city grid, and the cost of supply for the last two months is part of the sale price. Just close the door when you leave."

"Thank you."

Walking into the front room, she noticed that the tables and chairs were stacked along the wall, instead of distributed around the area, as had been the pattern in the past. The carpets were dingy with the dust settled on them. The lamps were flickering in the beverage cooler case along the left wall. A discharged portable was sitting on the rectangular reception desk near the entrance from the employee's only door going back to the offices and break room. Setting her purse and coat down on the desk, the blonde middle aged woman walked down the hallway labeled "Examination" and stopped at the first door on the left. It stood ajar, and inside was a desk, and a box of blood sample tubes. The diagnostic machines were all gone, probably removed by the occupation. Leaving and going back down the hallway past the exam rooms, and the lavatories, she entered the room that had been for stripping. Here things were a bit of a mess. There the empty boxes that had been stacked along the wall had fallen, and mice had nested in some of them. "Guess Sylvia isn't here any more." She thought to herself.

The pregnancy examination room was devoid of any medical or other equipment. That had probably been removed as well. The overhead lights were very dim, given the years of time since their installation.

Walking down the hallway to the special events center, she noticed that the doors were jammed off their hinges. The bleachers were locked against the wall, and the scaffold was still standing. The lower platform with the guillotine was missing. Walking toward the rear, the lights in the Tub room came on automatically. The dust in the tub and on the ledges around it gave an idea of how long since anyone had been here. The boots and saddles room was empty, devoid of light and dusty as hell. She shook her head and wandered to the processing room door.

Going through the door into the processing area was a shock. The lights were somewhat dimly lit and almost everything had been stripped out. The overhead trolleys, the disposal chute, and a few tables were the only things left. The saws, choppers, clippers and all other parts of the process plant had been stripped out. The floor was covered in dust, and no one had been here in some time.

Walking back to the chiller rooms, the temperature was at the same as the rest of the building. The stale smell of old blood was present in the coolers.

Going into the hallway and down to the break room, the sense of vacancy was palpable. The counters were covered with dust, and the dishwasher was ajar, with clean dishes inside waiting to be put away. Dust in the sink showed that it had been a long time since anyone was here.

Going upstairs to the Hen house, she stopped at each of the rooms and saw that almost nothing was left. We always did have better bedrooms and mattresses then anywhere else, she thought to herself. Walking into the room that had been hers, she sat on the floor and thought back to the first time she had come here.



-------

Chapter 1

We are Not a factory experience, but a custom one

No forced early departure. It is your time, and your trip.

Every possible entertainment allowed by Law

Why wait in long lines to be Graded and embarrassed in a crowd?

Do you want others to pick how you go, regardless of your interests?

Do you want a meat market to decide what is the best way for THEM to convert you?

You should have your choice on how you leave. And from a wide selection

Come to Classy Conversions.

Where you aren't treated like meat as long as you are alive.

(Permanent) Cast:

David and Margaret Findlay

David 42

Small business owner specializing in Protein processing

Margaret 40

Housewife Degree in English Literature and some culinary studies

Mark and Helen Gester

Mark 41

Manager at Brighton Construction

Helen 39

Housewife Degree in psychology and a Minor in Art

James and Carol Burns

James 42

Managing Executive for Walker Investments

Carol 38

Senior Attorney at Dewey Cheatem and Howe

Peter and Elizabeth Carter

Peter 45

Director Marketing for UMC Financial

Elizabeth 37

Senior Manager, Marketing UMC Financial

Nancy Abbot Ph.D. 34

Associate professor of women's studies at U of Chicago

Christina Louise (Candy) Mitchell 19

Graduate Parkland High School (New apprentice Meatpackers Union 23)

By 2060, there had been a large number of far reaching economic and social changes both nationally and internationally. Arguments about Gay Marriage were far in the past. Most societies looked upon marriage as a commitment between individuals of any sex or creed. Gay relationships had gone the way of interracial relationships. Much of this was due to the serious imbalance in the human population.

There are many theories of how this state of affairs came about. Most experts agree that a large portion of this started in China. With their 1 child per family rule, the second children were often aborted in an attempt to minimize China's population problem. With the focus on single male children to support the family, a generation of poorly educated men grew to imbalance China's population with a 60/40 shift to male over female.

Chinese political theorists felt that this would cause an unstable and dangerous situation. So Chinese medical researchers sought to discover a means of offsetting sperm to force higher activity in female sperm than in male sperm. Intended as a short term treatment for a population problem, this had far reaching consequences when it was made into an aerosol compound. This in tern was distributed as an "atmosphere conditioner" for Chinese offices and schools.

In 2015, the composition of the "Mai-Luni" drug was smuggled into the Internet. Where a few very interested fundamental ministers of Islam, Catholicism and fundamentalist Christianity, all of whom felt they could make a greater and more peaceful impact in the world if most of the world's population were manageable women.

This did have an effect -- but with some unintended consequences. In 2017, 80 percent of the live childbirths in the western world were female. In 2020, it was 90 percent.

Meanwhile, in the developing world in 2017 it was far greater (almost 100 percent of all survivable live births were women).

With the Eugenic blight attacking most beef, goat and sheep, the larger world was left with eating pork (Not allowable to the Muslim, community) or other vegetable substitutes.

The Chinese led the way in a practical sense. Owning most of the western world (because of the economic transition of the early 21st century) their solution to a complex problem was quietly assimilated across the rest of the world.

In 2030, after 15 years of female only childbirths, China instituted a lottery for the purpose of minimizing the population imbalance and to also reduce pressure on the food supply. Eligible females were between the ages of 16 and 50 were entered into the database. Exceptions were granted to women who had male children younger than 18, as were women who presented exceptional potential in education achievement. The selectees of this lottery were "converted" to the status of meat animals and treated to prepare them for the table.

In 2040, this same sort of gender imbalance pressure forced other countries — those in Latin America and Africa -- to look into this sort of challenge.

The World Court found this practice acceptable (because of the fact that the World Court was owned by China by this time) and as such the United States found this lottery to be a state issue, not federal. Because lotteries were allowed for cases of financial gain, they should also be allowed for cases of loss, so long as they were to be strictly administered without any bias to race, creed, or economic status. (Discrimination was disallowed with respect to the Chinese model after the 2045 Supreme Court decision of Fergusson v. New York Meat Selection board)

By 2050, the cultural acceptance of female humans as meat and as a population management measure was global. Although the ratio of male to female births had improved to 10/90 from an earlier 5/95, the selection for termination process of human females had become culturally accepted. Enforcement in the United States tended to be economic and used confinement of the adult males as a mechanism. (Large fines and jail terms for the adult males, immediate selection for females attempting to assist in hiding selectees from the assignment board)

Not that there were not some cultural challenges. There were still some strong arguments around the handling of human blood (both from a religious and a public health aspect). The strangest upshot was the establishment of a kosher board established for finding the better methods of slaughter for perspective meat sources.

For those not selected for specific human consumption, some of the rules around conversion were not so stringent, Pet animals were more resistant to blood borne diseases that were human sourced. The processes for animal food yielded less income for the processors, however. So the challenge to those who provided lower quality "Produce" were constantly looking for a means of improving their economic model

David Findley was just one such "Processor".

Findley looks for a Way.

That, David Findley thought to himself, was the fuck of a lifetime.

He was recovering from a two-hour rousing session of sex with his wife Margaret. Walking in from a stressful day at work on Monday afternoon, he was attacked by a nude woman who was acting as if she had been without sex for a year.

"Daring, I didn't get picked this time either," Margaret giggled as she wrapped her nude body around him. "That means that I pass on the lottery permanently".

Margaret had just reached her fortieth birthday, and had gotten her monthly notice for her position in the lottery. With a number of greater then 2500, and only 2000 being called in Illinois this month, she had an assured position of safety.

"So that is the reason the enthusiastic homecoming. And I thought it was my birthday came early." David said with a smile

"I do love you, silly. I was having a bit of anxiety and survivor guilt".

"Survivor guilt? Why?" David asked.

"Helen called me earlier today and said her number came up. She is number 63 this week."

"Poor Helen. Where did they send her?"

"It looks like Hill and Stienhauer and they won't have capacity until next week. Evidently they had some problem or other and all of their stock is being held up. She wants to get things finished before she hits the out of date time, and H&S wont' talk to her about extensions." Margaret said with some emotion.

"Yeah, I heard that they had a problem with tainted product and that the USDA shut them down for a complete cleaning. I have been asked to add expanded capacity to keep up with the needs of the 4th of July week, but we don't have that capacity to spare."

"Could you process her? She is almost as old as I am, and obviously we are not prime for the table any more." Margaret asked quietly.

"Darling, I would never call either of you "past prime". I will have to call the board and have her re-assigned".

"But you know," David continued, "we are not a major provider to the human market like Hill and Stienauer are. She will end up as pet food, or in a can of soup not prime cut in the shop".

"I don't think she cares about that." Margaret said. "She is more worried about how she is treated. She and I went to the Magill's party last year and saw Mary being spitted, and it was just awful. She was thrown down on the table and clamped down like some animal."

"Margaret, outside of a controlled environment, there really is no nice way to process someone. It is especially not nice with a spit. It is very hard to do a clean kill that way."

"I know, Dave. You have told me that time and again. But it just seemed so unfeeling and cruel. And it was crude, too. I mean there was no consideration at all for her or Mark or anyone else there. I mean to tell you, it left us all a bad feeling. Even if she did taste good." Margaret said, thinking back on the event.

"Well, you know that the entire thing is for show, don't you?" David asked.

"Yes, You told me. They have to gut the body and reset the spit anyway after the woman is dead. Unless you use painkillers that USDA won't allow. And you have to go back out and clean the entire body cavity with antibiotics because the bowel will almost always get hit when the spit goes through."

"That is right. All you get is a show with a lot of unnecessary pain and noise. That is what you get for having a spitting party at home and not picking up the meal pre-spitted." David said.

"Maybe. But even after that, George was sent a bill for $1,500 for the processing in lieu of the meat value and the time and travel. That seemed like insult to injury".

"Darling, ever since that darned expose came out, people have been polarized by the romance and horror story. What they didn't' know was that Merle did a massive dose of painkillers on Meredith. They had to flush the body before cooking. That is why the USDA frowns upon commercial processing at the home like Marge did. You have to sign waivers and a host of other things. It is a real rip-off."

"Isn't there some kind of compromise?"

"Well, I wish you would think about it. Helen and I are going to have a talk tomorrow, girl to girl, and she has to start on her three day detox protocol."

"Tomorrow? Not yet. You usually don't do that until the evening before. If she has a week to wait, she doesn't need that yet. She can still drink and enjoy."

"Really?" Margaret asked incredulously. "The people at H&S told her she had to start tomorrow."

"Stupid front desk. Since we put the Hemo analysis machines in place, we don't bother with Detox before admission. If we find something we send you home with treatment to come back. We moved out of that a year ago with our process exceptions."

"Darling, can't you please get Helen shifted to your shop?"

"Marge, how would you feel about her being processed at our place? Wouldn't you be upset?"

"Not if it was done right, with respect, instead of like she is some kind of bum. We are talking about Helen, one of our best friends."

"OK. I will call the board and H&S Thursday morning. Tell her I will make the shift, and we will talk about what the next steps are for the weekend." David said.

This is not the usual favor you do for your wife, Dave thought to himself. What a strange world we live in where your wife asks you to kill her best friend because others will botch the job.



-------

Chapter 2



Making some Changes on a Thursday Morning

Tuesday and Wednesday had been unending days of problems for David. First two of his staff quit. One was offered a job in construction and the other had to move to take care of his ailing parents. As a result, David was going to be short handed on Friday when he opened for business.

That meant that his Leader and Herder positions were now open. Not a good thing.

Traditionally, with David's small operation, two men worked as Leader and Herders to move the women from reception, down through examination, and stripping and into processing. Historically, this was done by younger effete men at David's shop, and finding men who were able to perform this job were hard to find. Not wanting to have the reputation of either H&S or M&S, David usually went to hire non threatening men (and a couple of times, women) for that task.

But they usually burned out fairly quickly, and the pay was too low to retain anyone for long. Unless you were a sadist, in which case, David tried to ease those out as quickly as possible.

He was so absorbed by this that he had forgotten to call about Helen until Margaret reminded him on Thursday morning.

"Yeesh. Something else to deal with" David thought to himself as he picked up the phone and called.

"Good Morning, Hill and Stienhauer, how can I direct your call?"

"Intake processing," Dave answered. "Need to check on a re-assignment."

"One moment, please".

After a short span of music designed to bore you to death, the phone was picked up.

"Operations, Marty Burke."

"Marty, this is Dave Findley at Findley Processing. You have a Helen Gester scheduled, and I was wondering if you would mind a re-assignment."

"Dave, I would like to tell you we don't have a problem but we need to hang on to all we can with the cost of this cleanup. Who is the Sow?"

"Sow?" Dave thought to himself. This was not how to refer to Helen. She was one of the nicest people around. She was a little heavy, but sweet and always helpful. Cooked the best cheesecake in Chicago. Mark was going to have a real problem finding a good replacement for her. But with 12 women for every man in Chicago, it probably would not be too long.

"Helen Gester, 38, two children, 5'6" 160 lbs." And sweet blonde hair and could suck the chrome off of a tow hitch. Dave and Margaret had partied with Helen and Mark a few times.

"Sounds like Pet food to me. Tell you what, Dave. If you want to pay for her tare weight at, say, 85 cents a pound, we will let you have her."

"Ok, Marty, you have a deal."

"In fact, Dave, have you ever thought of servicing some of our selectees for us?"

"What do you mean?"

"OK. We do about 100 to 140 a day, with a three-day workweek. Sixty percent is parts, ground round and pieces. Probably 10 or so are Spit quality, with the rest pet food. I got to tell you, keeping the entire place human consumption is expensive. We could outsource some of this to you if you like if we could get the meat back. Our pet food does not have so strict a QC."

"OK. If we process your thirds and ship them, what will you give us?"

"How about 50 percent of the meat? That means $6.30 a pound?"

"Gross or net?"

"Net, of course. This is Pet food. We aren't real picky about the parts you throw in".

"Bones, too?"

"Only if ground up to powder. We do a lot of bone meal for chickens."

"Isn't that going to cut into your margin?"

"Dave, I got to tell you, I have 600 sows I have to pop in the next 12 days or I am going to loose my allocation for the month from the board. If that happens, I am in real trouble. If you take the pet food off the table, I got the ability to keep up. And this could become a nice deferred deal for our low-value product. Figure 30 or so tomorrow, and about 30 or so Monday, Wednesday and Friday of next week."

"Marty, I think you and I have a deal. Call the Population Control Board and tell them you are shipping Helen's tag here, and I will start to set up a line for your threes."

"Dave, we have not even got the tag yet. Call them and give them the registry number and use your own. And for helping me, I will give her to you for free."

"Thanks Marty. I will remember this. What is her registry number?"

"SSN, 414237662"

"OK, I will call them and pick up the job."

That was not too bad, David thought. Picked up her process chit, got some new business, made the wife happy and it did not cost a thing. I will not tell the wife that.

David's next call was to the Population Control Board. Like any other bureaucracy there was a collection of waiting on hold, transfers, and then finally a nice little old lady named Delores who was asking if this was a transfer for processing or for use as a Goat.

"She has been selected. Doesn't that mean she can't be a Goat??" David asked

"No. You can apply a goat card to any prospect you handle for the first 30 days with no issue. You have to file extensions for 90 day intervals by the end of the first 30 days, and you have to certify that the goat is either past breeding age or cannot be bred. But you can do that. My sister-in-law was selected and she is a goat over at Myers and Hancock for now."

"I did not know that. Any special treatment?" Dave asked.

"Not especially. You have to keep them naked and tagged, and file a completion order so that if they are off your perm or your control, they can be picked up and processed."

"What kind of tag?"

"Orange Temp Exception Tag. Let me see something. According to this you have eight exception tags on site

"You know, I think I have some Orange Collars in back. Are those what you mean?"

"Yes, those are the ones. Those have your business name and a registry number. You can transfer the tag from Goat to Goat, but the person in the collar has to be on file with us within five business days."

"Any compensation?"

"Nope. You are keeping them out of the grinder so that is enough. You should feed them though, you don't want them loosing weight and becoming worthless."

"What about next of kin?"

"What about them?" Delores asked. "As far as they are concerned, the goat is already dead. You just have not issued a Death Certificate yet. Just remember, none of the domestic relationships, insurance, or inheritance is cleared until you terminate them and issue a death certificate. Some families don't care to be in limbo on this stuff for too long. My sister was the domestic partner, and until she is processed, my sister can't inherit things like property or file taxes. So this is usually temporary. I think the longest license I have seen is 9 months. And part of that conditioning to bring a B to an A."

"Are there penalties for a livestock runaway with a Goat?" David asked.

"Not as severe as if you lost a prospect. Not for you, anyway. Fine is $20,000 and suspension of business license for 90 days. Goat gets spitted slowly though."

The sum of money was significant but the suspension of his business license would be a potential killer. That would almost wipe David out. Still, this could save him some money.

"Delores, this sounds like the solution I needed. I could use this. Any restrictions on use of the Goat?"

"You cannot have them do union work. The meatpacker's union will have a fit over that. And you cannot run a traditional brothel with them. Anti-Slavery statues will lock you up for that. They are only supposed to be used to lead and provide paperwork support."

"Delores, I want to thank you. You have been a big help. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"I saw you are picking up some of H&S stock. Good. We have to find a way to keep capacity up for the market during the holiday. Shame yours is a pet food allocation at 70 percent. Have you thought to increase the Human Table portion?"

"Not really. Human table stuff is so darn uncertain. Pet food keeps and the thirty percent we process for human consumption we send as Stew and Soup. So we don't have the storage issues that others have. We don't have our own front store either."

"Well, keep it in mind. This latest thing has caused the MPB to do some vendor review."

"Thanks for telling me. I will keep my papers cleared up"

"I don't think your papers are the issue. Looks like you have Carl German listed as on site inspector. I didn't know he was out of retirement."

"Dad and Carl were old friends. I hired him as my on-site after dad passed. With us open three-and-a-half days a week, the schedule keeps him happy. And we don't have a lot for him to do."

"Well, if you want to get a greater human stock portion, have him do the paperwork. If he says you are good, you are good."

"Thanks for the suggestion. I will think about it."

"I need to cultivate that person," David thought to himself. "She gave me a lot of useful information in that conversation."

Checking the clock, David saw it was time for his morning coffee and walk-around.

Thinking back on his life, David and Margaret had shared a lot of wonderful evenings with Helen and Mark. Both at each other's home and at clubs in downtown Chicago where Hedonistic behavior and group sex was the norm of a evening. Since the relaxation of rules around meat processing, a whole list of activities formerly in the back room were now winked at, if not totally endorsed by society. So a lot of experiences which were fantasies before were now the norm. And David, Mark, Helen and Margaret had shared a lot of those over the 15 years of their friendship.

"So, how do I want this to go?" David thought to himself.

-------

Thinking on Thursday's end.

David would have some good news for Margaret when he got home, most of it about how Helen was transferred to his plant. There were a few other things in his mind that David wanted to mull over but he had to think of them more fully before he embarked on the course he was considering.

The economics of the current system caused the processer to be constantly aware of the value of his product. And since that product was perishable, and had quality issues, there was a lot of worry about waste and loss. Add to that the fact that you had to maintain strict controls over employees and livestock for the entire time, and you had a complex business. Much like the business of a slaughterhouse, you had to have USDA inspection, blood and urine test to validate the health of the stock, and quality controls over samples. This was one of the biggest things in protecting the food supply.

The USDA Inspectors did not do any real work. Mostly they stood around and watched that those who came in were killed properly, and that the butchering processes were within the guidelines for the product market. David had followed his father in keeping the sanitation and operation processes at the Human Table level. It had kept his reputation high in the industry and allowed him to market to cachet animal food producers as having the highest quality protein for the can. That meant that he never had to worry about expiration dates on inventory.

"Free Range" processing (like Mary Magill) was expensive for a lot of reasons. You could not release the meat commercially, yet you still have to bring the commercial equipment to the location. Add to that most people did not have a proper preparation area (Spitting table, carving tables, blood juicers). So you had to bring that equipment to the party. And people tended to get uncomfortable when a woman was screaming while being spitted, which caused a lot of talk in the neighborhood. You could not use any sort of calming influence (drugs) on the subject for fear of food contamination. (Although some did, David was sure).

So how do you make money in an economy where operation costs were going up, and price pressure of a perishable product was keeping price down? Except for a few very high-end places where they recruited specific samples?

Hill and Stienauer, and Myers and Hitchcock both advertised for "Volunteers " of high quality with a premium paid to the family for anyone being brought to them. But the premium paid in the front end often resulted in extremely high priced product in the back end. That TV news reporter last year set an all time high for her carcass, but David was sure that was mostly a advertising gimmick. People had to have a pretty strong incentive to pay maximum for a meal.

So, Dave wondered, how do I compete in a marketplace for a product is in a grocery cooler? It is a shame I can't charge for the service instead of the product. Dave thought to himself.

During the drive home, David called home and broke the news to Margaret that he had shifted Helen to his plant. His wife was ecstatic and said that she had invited Helen and Mark over for dinner (fish) to talk about how to proceed. David thought to himself after hanging up "I never thought I would eat dinner with a future meal".

-------

Thursday Night Special

Margaret was almost naked when David got home. He did not even get a chance to get into the door before she had his slacks open and his rapidly stiffening cock in her mouth with a serious interest in getting his total attention. After about two minutes of this oral play, Margaret backed up, zipped him back up and said "More of that after dinner. Get your clothes changed stud."

"Woman, you leave me like this?" David asked.

"Sure, but it won't last long. Helen wants to make you cum until you can't any more in appreciation for your actions on her behalf".

"Margie, you realize that this is not a permanent thing, right? She will be scheduled for processing when we open on Monday."

"I know that and so does she. But being able to pick your place is a great relief. And she really wanted to see the girls a last time on Sunday."

At that time, the doorbell rang.

"Come in," Margaret yelled

With that, Helen opened the door and came in, followed closely by Mark. Once inside the door she opened her coat, and dropped it to the floor, revealing her completely nude body.

"Hello. What is the occasion?" David asked, taking in the sight of a lush and still enticing body.

"The occasion is you making my end a lot less of a mess then going to H&S," Helen answered.

"Well, we won't let that happen" David said. "In the meantime, let's have a more happy physical recreation, OK?"

With that, Helen walked over and grabbed David on each side of his face, and began to kiss him on the lips, chin, neck and ears, all the while unbuttoning his shirt. When that was finished, she pulled the shirt out of his slacks, and began to sink to her knees while unbuckling David's belt and loosening his pants. Down went the zipper and out popped the cock that had not yet fully softened from Margaret's earlier attention.

Not to be outdone, Margaret walked over to Mark, and led him by the hand to the ground level master suite that was on the other side of the kitchen.

"We will see you two in about 10 minutes and save you a space on the bed?" Margaret said while helping Mark to shed shirt, shoes, socks and pants on the road to the bedroom.

"Don't wait for us," Helen exclaimed, while taking her mouth off of David's cock. "We will catch up in a moment".

"Oh god, Helen, I am going to lose it if you keep that up," David gasped.

"Does this have an adverse impact on my meat quality, if I swallow sperm?" Helen asked. "I know that I am supposed to avoid some foods and most drugs."

"I don't remember seeing sperm on any prohibited or tested lists," David answered, on the point of cumming.

"Then let me finish you up this way and then get you into my cunt for a nice long ride. Cunts are not part of the meat process are they?" she asked while jacking David's cock toward her face.

"No, not unless you are being spitted. And then it is only a little lube. It is a natural product and so if the donor is healthy, it has no impact," David said, while on the edge of losing control.

"That's good to hear. So you can cum in me at both ends," Helen said as she went back to trying to swallow David's cock.

"Oh god, I am cumming," David gasped as his orgasm wracked his body.

Helen did not miss a single stroke, gently massaging David's cock, balls and the back of his hips while he was bucking trying to get deeper into Helen's throat. Helen swallowed right at the end of David's cock, causing her throat to constrict just around the end, in a squeezing motion on the sensitive end of the helmet, causing David's knees to buckle.

I would really miss that, David thought to himself. No way that any man would want to give that up. Mark must be really upset.

"There. Nice and clean, and with a good start on another hard on," Helen remarked as she licked around the base of David's cock. "I guess I am no longer just your favorite Slut. Does that mean I am a Sow now? I hear that Merle calls all the women he processes Sows. Aren't I good little sow?" she asked.

"You are no sow. You have never been anything less a great lover and friend," David said while trying to catch his breath and get some strength in his knees.

"I know that's how you feel. That is why I wanted you to take over my processing. If I have to go, I want it to be at the hand of a friend. Or at least know that the person managing it cares for me," Helen said with a tear in the corner of her eyes.

"Helen?" David asked, nervous about the subject. "How do you want to go?"

"I know I don't want a spit, like Mary did," Helen replied. "I know that it is some sort of honor, but that was just crude and gross the way she was done. She asked three times for a short breather so she could be ready, and the guy just kept shoving. It was like he was on a time clock and had to get back to the office. And after she was dead he had to do all that cleaning and stuff anyway."

"In this business, you sometimes quit thinking of the subjects as humans," David said by way of explanation. "That helps you keep your distance about what you are doing".

"Do you ever do that?" Helen asked.

"Sometimes I think I do." David admitted quietly.

"Will you with me?" Helen asked just as quietly.

"Never with you, dear," David replied. And made that a promise to himself as well.

This heartfelt conversation was interrupted with a long drawn out scream from the bedroom, followed by grunts and the shriek of "OH GOD, do it harder".

"I think Margie is adapting Mark to doing without me already," Helen snickered.

"He does seem to be totally into what he is doing."

"And who he is doing," Helen joked. "I hope you don't mind him coming here for a while to adjust after."

"Of course not, Helen. How are your girls adapting to this? Have you told them yet?"

"Yes. Gerri is a little upset. She wanted to visit first but she cannot get here before Sunday, and I was scheduled to be "By Saturday". Marie is in town, so she is going to drop by tomorrow. We are going to do some shopping and spend the afternoon at home."

"You know, we could do a reschedule extension for Monday if you would like to help me around the plant on Saturday," David said.

"Wouldn't you get in trouble with that?" Helen asked?

"Not if you stay on the plant property on Saturday and Sunday. Once you are there, you have to stay on location, or you could be picked up as a runaway. But if you would help me out on Saturday, Gerri could visit with you on Sunday. So could Mark."

"That would be wonderful. Oh David, I am so going to fuck your brains out."

"There are some things we have to talk about first." David started.

"They can wait. Let's go to the bedroom and tuck this into me so you can get another nut and coat the inside of your sow with a load of cum."

That combination of statements gave David a jolt of both energy and a fresh rush of blood to his "little" head He had never thought of the women he processed as anything less then people. When he first took over the business from his father it had been a traditional butcher yard, with mostly sheep and goats in one line and with pigs on the other line. And you did not fuck the livestock. As such, David had passed up a lot of opportunities that he was sure other processors had enjoyed. Some of the women were extremely horny about the prospect of their end, and as such wanted to go with a "bang". But he had frowned on that sort of activity. So had his wife.

As Helen lead David by his cock toward the bedroom, the sound of grunts and moans greeted them form the doorway. Margaret was on top of Mark, rocking back and forth in a solid attempt to pull Mark's prick off of him.

"Dump it right here," she said, as she pumped her hips up and down.

"Oh, shit" Mark exclaimed as he jolted and jerked up toward Margaret's hips spurting deep into her body. "Here it comes"

Margaret felt his spurts deep into her body and kept up the rise and fall of her hips in a steady rhythm until Mark cried "Enough, You are pulling me out by the root."

"Don't kill him," Helen said from the door. "If you do, I will come back and haunt you."

"I won't kill him. He will just think he died and went to Heaven," Margaret retorted.

"Well, we don't want them to get too far ahead," Helen said as she grabbed David by his returning erection. "Follow me, fella."

David proceeded to follow Helen onto the bed, and between her legs. When he started to kiss his way down, Helen grabbed his ears and said, "Come up here and fuck me. You can eat me later. Then we can talk about how you can really eat me later."

David was a little shocked at this tone of conversation, but put it down to a combination of relief and stress. Later he would talk with Helen and Margaret about what was going on. Right now, he had some serious fucking to do.



-------

Chapter 3

Friday Morning Breakfast.

Helen and Mark had left very late. She left her notification papers with David to properly inform the Selection Board of her placement and report, and agreed to come back later to talk about tomorrow, and how she wanted to be processed.

Margaret had brewed coffee and had that waiting at the table for him.

"Honey I really appreciate what you are doing for Helen, but you aren't going to get us in trouble are you?"

"No, I don't think so. I am just going to look up some material that the Selection board sent me on Judas Goats" David replied. "There have been some regulatory changes and I think we can use them to our advantage".

"What kind of advantage?" Margaret asked.

"I think we may be able to use Helen in a our operation in a way that will delay us having to process her."

"What do you mean?"

"Two of my employees quit earlier this week, and I have been thinking about how to replace them in a way that offsets some of the costs of the business, and also improves the flow." David said.

"How so?" Margaret asked.

"Most of the woman that come to us are pretty depressed and broken. Some are tearful and a few are panicked and almost violent. It spoils the meat when there are so many toxins released. A lot of them are scared of the process, and are in a mental fog. I understand the shock, but I can't help but wonder if we could use her to help make the process better somehow. We used to have a Goat, but she slipped and died in an accident two years ago, and I have not wanted to have another accident on my insurance. That is why I have been using men as "Leader and Herder" positions. But the kind of person for those positions is hard to find. If I use Helen and she has an accident, it won't count against my workman's comp costs."

"My husband, the humanitarian butcher and smart businessman." Margaret mused. " Would you have felt that way if it was me and not Helen?"

"I think I would have been more interested if it was you and not Helen."

"I am flattered. I never thought you would feel that way considering what you do every day".

"I don't do it. I have a team that does. And they do it very quickly and smoothly" David remarked.

"How exactly do you process someone?" Margaret asked.

"Well, you never really asked before, and you seemed uninterested." David responded "But if you want to know I can take you to the plant and show you"

"I would like that. I was always curious, but did not want to know too much in case my number came up" Margaret replied. "You know that sometimes too much information is Too Much Information".

"I can see how you would feel that way" David replied. "Get dressed in something easy to come off and we will go to the plant".

"Why easy to come off?" Margaret asked?

"Because it is easier to get the blood off of bare skin then clothing". David responded. "Also bring your placement letter so we have it on file in case we have an inspection while you are there. So there are no misunderstandings"

"OK. Is there anything else?"

"Just your sweet smile."

I guess I am going to get up close and personal with some of this today. Funny that knowing it won't happen to me makes me want to know more about it Margaret thought to herself.

The drive to the plant was uneventful. David parked at the rear of the building, next to the entrance that served employees and was next to the loading dock for cooler trucks leaving the plant.

"Do I have to wear anything special, or anything when I go in?" Margaret asked

"Yes, I need to put an orange collar around your neck now, so you don't get mistaken in case of an inspection. And I need your placement letter now so we can put it and a copy of your identification into the files."

"Ok"

Margaret and David entered the "Employee Only" entrance and ducked into the loading office. In a closet on the top shelf was a box marked "Illinois State Meat Management Board". Pulling down and opening the box, Margaret eyed the orange-coated stainless steel collars with the locking ends. It looked like an old time bicycle lock, which used a round key. Putting it on, the collar was comfortable around her neck. It hung like a large piece of heavy jewelry with a lock at the front. The keyhole was round and had a cover over it.

"You will take this off, right?" Margaret kidded David.

"Sure. But while you are in here, it will assure that there are no accidents. Women without these are candidates for processing, and we have to keep them straight.

"Oh". Not the sort of mistake that Margaret wanted to have happen by any means.

Suddenly the overhead paging system blared, "Would David Findley please come to the front office? We have a situation."

"Wonder what that is? Want to come along with me?" David asked.

"Sure." Margaret said. Following David down a hallway, Margaret was able to look through windows on to the process floor.

I will have to come back here and study that a little Margaret thought to herself. It looks interesting. Especially since I am not on the table.

Going down the hallway they passed an open area on the left leading into a break room. Margaret noticed that inside there were two large men who were naked, but putting on white plastic uniforms and shoes.

At the end of the hallway was a door labeled "Reception". Underneath it were the words Do not leave door propped open.

This was where David was going, with Margaret right behind him.

Reception Bedlam

The Reception area was bedlam. The usual number of women for processing was twelve to fifteen a day. Seating for that number was provided along the walls and around three tables scattered about the room. In the reception area today were thirty-two women, twenty of them having being bussed over from H&S.

Devony (the receptionist) was overwhelmed and trying to sort women out while getting files straight.

"I didn't sign up for this much work," Devony snapped as David walked into the reception room. "There is just too much work for any one woman here."

"David, do you need me to help?" Margaret asked.

"Who is this sow?" Devony snapped.

"Hi. I am Margaret. How about we see how I can help you with this?"

"Do you know how to file?" Devony said.

"I think I can learn pretty quickly. How about you let me help with this".

"Ok. Take this pile and go over to that desk and I will take this one." Devony said, turning back to her desk.

"Ladies!" David said above the din of conversations. "Will the clients for H&S move over to the right, with your papers and identification, and the ladies scheduled for processing here at Findley please come here to the left. And we will work extra hard to minimize your frustration and discomfort."

"Devony. How many do we have for us today" David asked.

"We had 15, but 3 have not shown yet". She responded. "And who is that sow you brought up?"

"That is my wife. And she is no sow, as her papers cleared her permanently."

"Oh Shit. Sorry boss" Devony answered. "I saw the collar and just assumed".

"No problem" David said, thinking to himself.

Margaret in the meantime moved to the right hand desk and grabbed the group of file folders from H&S. Collecting the identifications and letters of notification one at a time, she opened a file for each of the 20 subjects in her group. Some were surprises.

"Elizabeth Carter. I have not seen you for months. How are you?" Margaret asked the tall brunette.

"Until this, things were not bad. I was notified earlier and I was going to just get it over with. Peter and the kids are at camp and won't be home until next week, so I will miss seeing them. I wish I could delay until next week"

"I am sorry about that. I am not sure what we can do".

"Ask if you could" Elizabeth asked. "It would mean a lot to the kids to say good bye".

"When were you scheduled?"

"By Monday the notice said". Elizabeth replied with a catch in her voice.

"Let me talk to David. He owns this plant"

"Really? I wish I had known that. I could have talked to you about this before. I did not know your husband was in the business. We have only heard of H&S and that other one".

"David has been running this for 12 years. He inherited it from his father, who passed while we were making the product change from beef to people."

"Really?" Elizabeth asked. Last week this would have been a first page human-interest story, Elizabeth thought. Now it is my interest story.

"Have a seat and I will get back to you when we get this paperwork organized. Today is my first time into the plant with David. I had never had the chance to see his work before, with my writing and the kids." And there were some things I really didn't want to know, Margaret admitted to herself.

"I know what you mean. I spent most of yesterday transferring job responsibilities to others and setting up interviews for Doug to do to replace me next week. It was the least I could do for him in exchange for a Quick Shot he arranged." Elizabeth said.

"What is a quick shot?" Margaret asked.

"Doesn't it say there in my form? I was supposed to get a quick shot to the head instead of normal processing. Doug paid $2500 to H&S as a special process fee"

"You know, I don't see it, but I will have David check it out. We will just wait with you until we get that straightened out".

"Carol Burns paid the same thing. She and I rode together to H&S. James drove her and I while he was on his way to work. In fact, we have to call him to collect the effects later today"

"Honey" Margaret said "he does not have to do that. We ship those things home to him. We can drop them off at your house on our way home". Margaret was happy that she knew at least that much of how David ran his business.

"Could you?" Elizabeth asked. "That would be excellent of you. Carol stayed at H&S, but I was bussed here. I guess I did not make the Human table cut".

"Darling, neither would I. And does it really matter?"

"No, I guess not. Still, I have been so competitive all my life, I was sort of on a ego trip of being on a spit like that woman last year on the six o'clock news"

"I am not sure how David processes here. We can talk later. Let me finish getting all these folders together, and get things organized and we can talk in a bit. I am sure that we will have some time given this crowd."

"Ok" Elizabeth said, as she walked to the chairs near the door.

David and Devony had gotten their 12 organized already, and were starting to move the group toward the processing hallway.

"Devony, can you take this group through to the house floor, and into the back?" David asked. It would be a great help if Devony would do the Leader work today while David helped Margaret organize the rest.

"I don't like to do that. "Devony replied. "I don't like to get too close to the meat".

"Well, at least get them into the exam rooms and pass out the blood and urine cups so Barbara can get started." David countered.

"I don't like doing that. I rather sit here." Devony said with a whine.

"Devony, does the phrase other duties as assigned mean anything to you?" David whispered into her ear.

"Yes. It means I quit this flunky job and I am out of here. I told you I don't get close to the meat". Devony said with a snarl.

Ok, David thought. I have had enough." All right. Get your bag and get out. I will work this myself."

"That will be the day. You and that Sow?"

"Remember" David interrupted" the laws around creating a disturbance in a processing plant let me mark you as selected right now. So shut up and get out of here before I fill out a folder for you. So unless you want to be a blue plate special tonight, I suggest you get your bag and get out of here."

I had never seen a black woman blanch like that, David thought as he looked at Devony while she got her bag and left by the employee door. Next time I see her, I will process her myself.

"Margaret, we have to talk" David said a few moments later.

"Sure honey. I am almost finished here, and Liz and I are going to have a short talk"

"In a moment. I need your help. Can you take this first group into the examination rooms down the hall and get them their sample cups and blood sample kits?

"Sure. I can do that."

"And have Barbara give you access back up to here when you have them settled so we can talk a little".

"Sure. Ladies, if you will come this way" Margaret said as she picked up the folders from the desk" And follow me to the exam rooms".

It took Margaret 15 minutes to get all of the first lot of 12 settled into the exam rooms. She put them one by one into the rooms and slid their folder into the holder on the outside of the door, and then distributed the urine cups and the blood sample tubes. All of these were to be aligned as part of the grading process.

Barbara Knowles was a 25-year veteran nurse who had worked for David for about 6 years. The routine was down to a science with her and she was a tad taken back by a woman in an Orange collar leading and organizing the women. She had not worked with a Goat since Carol Markham was processed last year. It was an accident; she slipped on the floor and hit her head on the table. Poor woman died in front. It took three hours to clean up the mess. The outer hallway was carpeted up to the process revolving door, and you don't want a mess like that to be seen. It upset the stock.

"Thanks for the help" Barbara said to the new Goat. "Are you here for processing?"

"I hope not. I am David's wife. I am Margaret Findley"

"Oh. Hi. I am Barbara Knowles. Were you selected?"

"No. Just traveling with David. He put the collar on me to keep from any mistakes. He said that the boys on the floor were pretty strict and that inspectors wanted a clear identifier"

"Yes, he is right about that. And with the mess at H&S last week, we don't want any inspection problems" Barbara replied. "The rumor mill has it that they had e-coil spread due to bad cut strokes and no one bothered to clean up".

"Wow. That is not good. I hope our crew is more careful"

"They are. Chris and Marty are all real wizards with a knife. And there is not much to distract them."

"Ok. David said for you to buzz me back to the reception, he wanted to talk to me a little more, unless you need more help"

"I won't need any for about — hour. After I am done collecting blood, I give the women a tonic that increases urine, so I can get a urine sample. Then they leave the rest rooms and they move to 2nd stage processing. You can help me move them if you like."

"Ok. Can you buzz me back?"

"Sure"

Meantime in reception, David was organizing the names on the next selectees. He realized he had about 30 to 45 minutes before he could send the next batch through. And he also knew based on the stack of folders that he had a lot more to go through today. 3 of his had not shown up yet, and 12 more were coming from M&S. I better tell Marty to start the generator in the reefer trailer, in case we have to store all of this today, David thought. And have Chris and Marty move everything out of the Chiller and Freezer into the refer trailer so we have some chiller room. Glad tomorrow is Saturday. We are open but H&S is not. So we won't get any more from them tomorrow in case we have to walk store a few of these here.

"Walk Store" was slang for holding women prior to processing. Usually you had to hold them in a pen. David had converted a small area of the plant to a dorm area with 8 rooms and queen beds for just such an occasion. He did that after a power failure had him keep a day's processers in house over night. No use having spoilage affect the product.

Still, walk store meant heightened security, and overtime. All of which ate into the profit margin. Would be nice to have a better system.

Margaret interrupted David's thoughts as she came back from the examination rooms. The buzz of the door from the other side released it to swing inside and let Margaret back into reception.

"Honey, Is there anything I can do to help here? Now that I know I am safe, I feel pretty curious about this place". Margaret whispered.

"You sure can. We have to figure out how to handle this load and I just fired Devony for mouthing off. Thanks for leading that first group back."

"Barbara said that we had about 30 minutes before moving them to the next stage. What do we need to do then?"

"Well, they go to the bathroom, and we get the urine samples. After that, they go to the strip room, and remove all clothes, and jewelry and personal affects. Those go into a box, which we send back to the next of kin. I don't charge for that."

"Oh. So they are naked?"

"Yes. Then we take them down the hall to the revolving door. One the other side they are processed one at a time."

"How is that done?" Margaret asked, felt herself get a little nervous. And she also got a little wet.

"Easier to show you then tell you. And it makes the stock nervous to talk about it".

"Oh, By the way. Liz asked about a "Quick Shot" special treatment. What is that?"

"Quick Shot?" David asked. "Never heard of it"

"Well, she paid H&S $2500 for a shot to the head instead of regular processing. So she said Carol Burns supposedly paid the same thing."

"Hmm" David thought to himself. This was something he had never thought of before. Special Services based on the client request. Guess some would pay a premium to stay out of the crowd.

"After this next group, why don't you, me and Elizabeth talk about this? I wonder how exactly what is being done. In the meantime, let's you and me take a walk.

"Sure. Can we really leave these women alone here?" Margaret asked, looking around.

"Sure. Let me tell them we are going for some water and to bring up more chairs." David replied.

"Ladies," David said to the group, "We are sorry for the delay. Margaret and I are going to pick up some water bottles for you and some additional chairs. Wait here, we will be right back."

David and Margaret went down the hallway to the break room where Chris and Marty were finishing dressing.

"Guys, I want to introduce you to my wife, Margaret. She is going to be working here today which is why the orange collar. So if she comes through the door by mistake, don't process her".

"You sure you mean that boss?" Chris wisecracked. His own wife was processed last year and he had been playing the field for a while. It was funny how many women were interested in a man who worked in a slaughterhouse in Chicago. Some of them he had dated he later saw in the line. For 30 seconds or so they recognized him. Until they passed out from blood loss.

"No. It's too much trouble to train a new one". David answered. To which Margaret smacked him on the shoulder.

"Now is that assault of a processor?" Marty asked, getting into the jokes.

"Not yet." David answered. "Guys, we have a lot of work today. You have to pack all of the stuff from the chiller into the reefer trailer, and have Gus crank it down. We have 3 days worth of work out there today. H&S dumped 30 on to us so far today. Guess they don't have any holding pens. They also are going to be dumping 30 or so on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of next week. So we will have to crank it up."

"I can't work late. I have kid duty this evening" Marty said. "Both girls are going to a recital tonight and my Ex is working late at Ortho Ford"

"Ok. I guess I can pick some out to keep in the holding pens over night"

"We working — shift tomorrow, right?" Chris asked. "With cleanup in the afternoon. Some might have to keep until Monday".

"I hate to do that. Feed and oversight cuts into margin. But you may be right. We may have a few weekenders"

"Liz and Helen would love that. I am sure they would help to keep things organized".

"Do you think they will be able to do that and not freak out?" David asked. "Remember escaped livestock is a real risk in court".

"I don't think so. Besides, it is harsher on them then they would want. They don't want to be slow spitted in public"

Runaways were always taken to the public square and mounted on a spit that was staked into the ground. It was adjusted to be six inches taller then the inseam of the woman being placed on it. When the woman was stood over it, it was guided into the vagina a depth of 6 inches and locked. With her hands tied behind her, and nude, a woman couldn't do anything while she was there. Some women bent their knees and got it over with, piercing their lower organs and bleeding to death. Others stood for hours, waiting until their strength gave out and they too slid to the ground, often with the spit sticking out of their chest or neck. Most women thought about this before running.

"You are right. That buys them some time. Besides I want to talk to Helen and Liz anyway to get some ideas from them" David said. "I might have a way of getting a better margin on this business".

"If you do, boss, you going to share the wealth?" Chris asked.

"Of course I will. When have I ever abused you guys?" David asked.

"Does watching all that good Pussy go by count?" Marty asked. "Sorry Ms. F" he added a bit embarrassed.

"No problem. Besides, it is all dead when it get's to you. Or they are dying fast. Chris is our cutter just inside of the door." David explained.

"Maybe we can intercept some of that in route to save you some once in a while" Margaret intoned with a smile looking at Marty.

"Don't do that. He is lazy enough with out taking all of his energy away." David remarked. "Of course, we could keep a few more overnights. But would your wife like that?" David asked with a smug smile.

"So long as they don't come home or send me home with anything" Marty replied.

"Well, we will have to see what we can do" Margaret snickered to the group.

"Ok" David started" we need to get some chairs and a case of water up to reception. Margaret, I want to ask you to strip and take the first group into the Stripping room. Help Christen and Casey with stripping and boxing, then lead the first group down the hall and through the revolving door. You go first so that the group follows you. Marty and Chris don't stun her when she comes through the door. Show here where to stand out of the way while you process this group. She can watch. Margaret, when they are finished with the first few, you come back up to the reception room and we can talk to Liz and any of the others while we are waiting for spaces in the interview section. Make sure you wash off first in case you get blood on you when Chris makes his cuts."

"Ok" Margaret answered, feeling a little funny in the stomach. She realized that the women she was talking to in reception, and had taken into the exam rooms were going to be killed in a few minutes while she watched, and after that she was going to go up to reception to talk to another group. This is kind of wild. Like my first orgy, she thought to herself. It was the same funny feeling in her stomach, and the same drip down her thighs.

Margaret pulled off her clothes and shoes and deposited them on the table. She then walked over to pick up two folding chairs. While she did, David, Marty and Chris picked up additional chairs, and they all walked to reception.

First Time as a Goat

Marty made the second trip to reception after David and Margaret were setting up chairs. Margaret felt a little self conscious standing nude around all of the women in reception, and a couple of them gasped at the sight of her body with the orange collar.

"My, I guess that means that this is real" Elizabeth said when Margaret brought over her chair.

"Now Liz. You don't have anything to worry about. We aren't going to abuse you." Margaret replied.

"I know. But you are going home and I'm not". Liz replied

"Unless David sees your lovely body and decides to trade me in." Margaret retorted. " Besides David and I want to talk to you about your arrangements with H&S and see how we can honor it".

"Thank you, Margaret. It really would be sweet of you".

"Ok. I will be right back in a few. I have to see how the first group is getting along. You and the others stay here and David will keep you company"

As Margaret moved toward the Examination hallway door, she saw another group coming in. A crowd of about 15 women entered, with a single man wearing a uniform with the H&S logo on it. "Looks like a Busy day. Better get things moving I guess" Margaret thought to herself as she went into Reception.

On the other side, Barbara was just finishing up drawing 12 samples of blood, and moving the first set into the bathroom. She saw Margaret coming and nodded toward the lab room door.

"I need you to collect the urine samples. We don't usually use them except as a clarifier. The blood tests do most all of the drug, cancer and other disease testing. We use the urine as a last check for pregnancy and any other agents"

"What is special about pregnancy" Margaret asked.

"David's dad had a rule on second verification of sex on all pregnant subjects. All subjects are supposed to be checked for pregnancy and child sex. If the child is male, the subject is excluded from processing. If female, they are processed normally and the baby is snuffed as well. Mother first so there is no revolt."

"So what do we do?" Margaret asked, amazed by the additional work.

"We verify pregnancy. If pregnant, you take them to the imaging room over there, and when we finish with the day's normal load, we do a Geocentisis of the mother. If the Geo shows male, we keep her out of the herd and send her home. If female we send her on last.

"We have a Geocentisis machine?" Margaret asked, astounded by the implication. "Isn't that almost $300 thousand?"

"Yes. But we buy them as upgrades every year. David can always sell the old one to other processors or to hospitals. Devon Cartwright at Major Medical brings a new on in every year and sells the old one. Our cost is only about $1200 a year in depreciation"

Wow, thought Margaret to herself. This was news. I didn't ever think of the implication of dealing with pregnant women in the plant. And since Male babies were so rare (Only one in 10 at this time, with the effects of the gas finally wearing off) every one was needed to keep the Species going. Her son had kept her out of the lottery for 18 years, and she had slipped through the last two to make it to safety.

"You will have to show me how to work that one. I will get the urine samples to you quickly and get these to stripping"

"I see you are already for the part" Barbara remarked

"Yes. David always liked me naked and wet. And I admit that I am getting that way here."

"It is natural. Our old goat, used to chase Chris and Marty around after the run, she was so horny. David never got any, he was too stodgy"

"He is not stodgy. He just did not have permission to play around if I was not there," Margaret said. And she felt good that David behaved when she was not there to watch him. I guess that means I am going to rape him at the end of the day.

"Well, he sure had opportunity. He has a lot of rules for treatment that are left over from his father, I guess. And he is almost never down here in the process plant. Usually I move the women into the Lavatory and down to stripping in groups. David feeds them into me from reception and intake, and the girls line them up and send them into processing. But he sure does know what happens. He had new cabinets and instruments for me set up last week even before I mentioned to him that we needed them."

"Yes. He is like that at home. Focus on all of the details." Even on mine, Margaret thought to herself. "Well, let me get these women moved on" Margaret said, as she moved toward the rest room.

Like the back to the reception room, the bathroom door was locked to the inside, but opened to allow entry. Inside, several of the women were milling around in front of the sink cleaning their hands and holding their specimen cups.

"What are these for?" a short older brunette asked

"Pregnancy verification. If any of you are at this time. We have to do further testing before we continue". Margaret said with her newfound knowledge.

"Excuse me," a young blond asked with a whisper" Is this where they"

"Oh no" Margaret said, eying the young woman up and down. " We have to do some processing first before you are converted"

"You mean before they kill us?" She whispered.

"Yes," Margaret replied. "Before they kill you. We have some things to do first."

"I figured. My uncle had pigs on the farm back in Tennessee. There was a lot of cleaning we did before and after we slaughter. And I guessed that the same sort of thing was with people. I just don't want to be stunned with a club like we did with the pigs."

"Really? And what did you do on that farm?"

"Normal stuff. I did the herding, feeding, cleaning, and hanging. Did field dressing for the pigs and when we went deer hunting. Shot my first deer at 12. Always knew I might end up on a skillet. The people at H&S told me I was a spit candidate. Told both Stacy and me. I was happy they bussed me here when they said that. That news show last year made me realize that was not how I wanted to end."

"Well, you are lucky I guess. We don't have a spit here." Margaret said.

"Well, Thanks. That was the thing I was really afraid of. Don't mind death and dying so much as pain and suffering"

"We try to keep that to a minimum" Margaret replied.

Maybe we can keep this one around overnight, Margaret thought to herself. If we are going to need to manage more people for a while, this one might be useful. I need to talk to David about her a bit after I get back to reception. I could give her to David for a while. Cute little thing would look great bouncing up and down on David's lap with his dick in her. We will know if she is clean in a few minutes from the blood work, so it could be a fun interlude" Margaret blushed at her thoughts of the little country girl.

She was not exactly "little". She was probably 5'7". and about 145 lbs. or so. Decent structure from what she could see. Margaret was looking forward to seeing her naked.

"Ladies, please follow me into the next room and set your samples on the shelf by the window to the left of the door." Margaret said as she walked toward the door marked Exit.

As she opened the door, Margaret scanned the room. There were 4 long tables with bags and bins under them, and the two women she had seen earlier walking around. Like her, they wore orange collars marking them as "not meat" in case the inspectors came by.

Along the wall to her left was the shelf and window leading back into the lab section opposite the lavatory. Farther down the wall were two doorways. The first one marked "Holding" and the second marked "Overnight"

Across the room was a narrow hallway that ended in what appeared to be a revolving door.

"Hi Ms. L" the older of the two women said" We heard that you were in here today. Glad to see you helping us out. Ladies, if you will please come over to the tables, each one has three positions, and a bin for you. Just like at the airport, please put your shoes, jewelry, and all of your clothes into the bin and mark it with your name and SSN so we can get things back to your family"

"You really send all this stuff home?" the young blond from the restroom asked. "At H&S they told us to wear disposable clothes".

"No, we send your things home. Which is why you have to fill out the forms correctly. We don't want to mess up. You said you had a friend go with you to H&S?" Margaret asked.

"Yes. My friend Stacy and I volunteered since it would give our mothers a pass on this year's lottery. Both of them need to take care of our fathers and sisters."

Margaret was intrigued. That was a lot of sacrifice. She wondered if the young woman really understood what was going to happen to her.

"What is your name, child"? Margaret asked.

"People call me Candy, but my name is really Christina Louise Mitchell."

"OK. Well you pack your stuff like the others, and we will be moving on in a few minutes".

"Hey ladies" Margaret addressed the older one of the two women working behind the tables. "I didn't get your name."

"I am Christen. This is Casey. And we are glad to meet you".

"Christen, what is the process for placing one in holding?"

"You want to cut one of these out for now?" Christen asked.

"Yes. Could you cut that little blond out for the "Overnight" door?"

"Getting David a present?" Christen remarked with a snicker.

"Am I that transparent?" Margaret asked.

"No too much. I Just wish I could get some of him. My Henry died last year, and if it were not for Joey being 16, I probably would be in this group or one like it. Same with Jackie and her boy Saul"

"Well," Margaret remarked, "We may have a use for this one for a few days with the workload we have to pick up. Maybe keeping one out of the pack to assist here would help us out. In the mean time, what do I do next as a goat?"

"Well, I will cut out that blonde for you, and her friend if she comes through, and drop them into overnight. Then we will line you up first and tell these ladies you are leading them to showers for exterior cleanup. They think that they have to do exterior and interior before they are processed, but that is not the truth here. We do all that later, but you will see. Take them through the door and step to the left when you get through. I will alert the boys you are first. Just don't stand there, because the next one will be right behind you, and the door will brush you off the platform."

"Ok. And thanks" Margaret said as she moved toward the hallway. "Ladies", Margaret shouted. "Time to move to the showers"

All of the women were in various stages of undress. The nude ones were moving toward her as she moved toward the door. Margaret saw Christen move toward the blonde to cut her out of the line with a whispered direction, while the rest of the group finished undressing and started to follow her down the hall.

"Ok, ladies. We will go one at a time into the door, and into the shower. This is a hot and brisk external rinse that will last about 30 seconds or so and then we move onto the processing floor. Stay in line and I will see you as we move along"

"Will this take the curl out of my hair?" An older former cheerleader asked from the back.

"You know, I don't know" Margaret replied" My hair naturally straight and I have kept it short all my life so I would not know. Ok Ladies, one at a time, follow me" and Margaret stepped onto the turntable of the door. Shortly, the light in the corner winked from red to green.

Through the Door.

The door revolved quickly and jolted to a stop, with Margaret staring at Chris's smiling face. His white uniform was sparkling clean and his right hand was casually behind his back.

"You might want to step off of that, the charge sometimes leaks from up top," he said to Margaret.

Margaret stepped off of the platform to the left just as she had been told earlier, and looked up to see a two inch diameter steel globe suspended down from what appeared to be a rubber ceiling above the platform she had just left.

"That is 200,000 volts right there. It is enough voltage to jump down about 3 feet to anyone standing on the ground grid. Current is enough to stun you completely, and may cause a heart attack in some folks. I am holding the block off switch. Usually, it triggers automatically when the door spins and stops. When I step on this floor lever, it starts the next spin and drops the next shock. " Chris explained.

"Neat. So, if you were not holding the block off switch?" Margaret asked.

"Well, unless you were sitting down on the bottom of the platform, you would be in for the shock of your life. But you don't want to stand too close. The charge can raise the hair on your arm even standing away. Don't touch the platform or the woman while the light on the door is still red. When the charge is done, the light blinks green, and I can move in and move the woman into processing."

"Ok. So what can I do now?" Margaret asked.

"Just stand there and say hi as the women come around the turnstile. If they see you, they probably will relax a moment and be wondering what is going on. That minimizes the chance of anything going wrong before they are stunned. Sometimes they run back or turn around in the trap, and it causes the next in line to wonder what is going on. If you know their name, call it out and get them to focus on you"

Damn, Margaret thought, I wish I had known this earlier. But what do you expect for my first trip.

"So, here we go" Chris said as he pressed the large round button on the left side of the door labeled "START"

Suddenly the door started to rotate clockwise, with the screening panel coming around past Margaret. The brunette from the other side was standing, nude, on the aluminum panel of the bottom looking around. She locked onto Margaret's eyes and said, "Damn, this floor is cold"

Just as the light blinked from green to red inside the door and a sharp crackle went down from above the brunette. Her hair flew up and out for about a second, and then dropped down again, as she sank to the floor with a groan. Her eyes were open and staring, and her mouth was moving like a fish.

When the light blinked to green again, Chris reached into the doorway and grabbed one of the woman's feet and dragged it to the edge of the turnstile. He grabbed the other one, putting the trembling woman on her back.

Wrapping the restraint of one end of the spreader bar around the woman's left ankle, he then flipped the other end of the bar around the woman's right ankle. The buckles slid in securely and held the woman's feet about 20 or so inches apart. Chris then grabbed the hook to the winch from overhead, and pulled effortlessly down to the eyelet in the center of the spreader bar. He then walked over to the side of the door and pressed the control marked "UP" that was just under the button marked "START". The winch effortlessly raised the feet first and then the entire body of the still quivering woman into the air next to a roller track with a group of hooks suspended from the ceiling. Quickly Chris slid the hook into the center of the spreader bar, and then walked over to the winch controls and pushed the bottom button marked "RELEASE".

The woman, hanging upside down, and then dropped onto the hook suspended from the trolley line, and slid about two feet down the track and stopped.

Chris then stepped up, and unhooked the winch from the spreader bar. The woman was now hanging upside down, and starting to move a little. She was still trembling and starting to moan.

"Step Back" Chris said to Margaret as he reached behind his back for the sharp serrated knife he had in a sheath at the small of his back. "Sometimes the blood sprays quite a bit."

Holding the brunette's head back with his left hand Chris made two quick decisive motions across the woman's throat. First left, then right, slicing the Jugular vein and Carotid arteries on both sides of the throat.

At this time the woman's hand were becoming more reactive and responsive. But it was entirely too late. Reaching up between the legs of the bleeding woman, Chris made two quick second cuts on the thighs, opening the femoral arteries as well. Reaching down to the wrists, he sliced first the left then the right, opening up all six easily found arteries.

Patting the woman on the fanny and sliding her down the track, Chris said "Good bye. Well Margaret, ready for the next?"

"Sure" Margaret replied. That was quick. It was probably only 30 seconds from the time Chris hit the "START" button to the time that the woman was hanging, bleeding, and on the way to the next stage in processing.

The next client in the doorway was the shorter older blonde. Who was almost curt when she asked, "What was going on here?" just as the electric jolt hit her. She dropped and in 30 or so seconds was hanging next to the brunette. At the same time, Marty was now coming up from the back to collect and move the brunette onto the butcher floor.

"Ready for another one?" Chris asked Margaret.

"Sure am. So long as it is not me," She replied.

The next one came and went, and in a period of 10 minutes total, 11 women were hanging on the trolley, bleeding out, waiting for the next stage in processing.

"Thanks for the education, Chris. I have to get back up to David, and see how the next group is setting up," Margaret said to Chris. "Where is the shower so I can get a bit of a clean up to keep from spooking the herd?"

"You are talking like one of us now" Chris laughed. "Shower is on the left hand side of the break room. Barbara is probably going through the next group already checking blood. So you better hurry if you want to say good-bye to the next batch. I do appreciate you being here. It settled them down a lot none of them bolted before they were shocked. Sometimes they do that and it makes a lot more noise. Which scares the next one."

As Margaret walked up the hallway to the break room, she was amazed at herself. She was shocked at her lack of disturbance after watching the death of 11 women she had been talking to earlier. She was wondering how she would feel when Helen had her throat cut by Chis, and her body was slid down the rail to bleed out. Maybe she could use the knife herself some time. Chris could teach her that.

H&Ss Second shipment

Carol Burns was a little upset. She had paid this money to H&S expecting special treatment, only to be told that she was being shipped to Findlay for "Processing" and that H&S would arrange a refund to her husband. She did not want a refund. She wanted a painless end, if it had to end, and not to be wiggling around on some stake or worse. Her ideal way to die was from her old Romance novels, where the heroine was either beheaded, or strung up slowly on a Gallows, in the view of all. Not spitted like a pig in a market.

Despite her romantic notions, she knew that Hanging and the Block did both have some level of discomfort and embarrassment. But it was worth it in her mind. The best she and her husband and Liz could get as a deal with H&S was a shot to the back of the head. And that was $2500.

Now she was in the "Findlay Processing Plant". Not the sort of ending she had intended for herself.

Walking through the door gave her another surprise. Actually several. First she saw Liz sitting in a chair talking to a nude woman. Then she recognized the nude woman as Margaret Findley. Oh dear, she thought to herself. Was Margaret the Findley on the door?

"Carol" Shrieked Liz. "You are here too?"

"Yes, Liz. I am surprised to see you too. And Margaret. Do you have anything to do with this place?" Carol asked.

"Yes, David owns it. This is our family business." Margaret answered. Carol had always been a bit holier then thou as a senior attorney, first in prosecution and later in corporate law. It had not kept her out of here, however. Margaret thought that she was going to enjoy having Carol pass through the door. Or maybe do something else.

"We were just talking about a few things, but first let me help you get your paperwork in order" Margaret said as she moved toward Carol. "You know that the world runs on paperwork".

Carol smiled at the rejoinder. It had been one of her favorite sayings. And her being here was an example of how even she could run afoul of it.

As Carol and Margaret moved to the desk with the other newcomers, David walked over to Liz and asked if he could talk to her for a moment.

"Sure. Whatever time I have is up to you, now" she replied with a laugh.

"Well, that is what I wanted to talk to you about. What exactly was your arrangement with H&S?"

"Well, You know I have this thing about being competitive. And when I was told that I was too old for a Spit, based on my age and the 2 kids, I was upset. So I asked Carol to arrange to have me special treated like her when we came in for processing."

"And what would your choice be, if it were offered?" David asked, thinking about how to improve his bottom line in an unexpected way.

"Well, as I said, properly on a Spit. Or like Anne Boleyn, with my head and shoulders embracing a block."

"Those are sort of extreme, aren't they?" David asked.

"Well, I am always a bit extreme" Liz responded. "Besides, they appeal to the romantic in me. Spit me like a slave of ancient Africa, or beheaded on the block for being a loose woman. " Liz laughed. "And I may be free, but I am not loose. I am still pretty tight".

"I never would doubt that at all" David smiled at the implied meaning. "And you paid for that?"

"Yes, I did. But apparently their spits are all down for detail cleaning and inspection, and I was not considered prime enough to keep around. Next thing I knew, I was on a bus to here."

"Well, we will see what we can do about finding you an acceptable substitute."

"Something more interesting then a shot in the head?" Liz asked.

"I can think something much more interesting." David replied. "You should grab a chair over there and we will talk some more in a few minutes"

Seeing that Margaret was finished with Carol, David walked over to her and brought her over to the other table.

"Carol, first off, I am sorry you are unhappy to be here instead of H&S"

"Actually, I am unhappy to be anywhere like this. But I do have to say seeing Liz and talking to Margaret was a surprise. I did not expect to see Liz again after we were split up."

"Well, strange things happen to all of us. Liz said something about a special arrangement that Doug had paid H&S for. What exactly were the services they were going to provide?"

"Yes. H&S had a surcharge of $2500 for special handling. And it was not even the way I really wanted to go, if I had a choice."

"And what is your choice, if I can ask" David enquired.

"Hanging. Slowly hanging on a soft rope in a ruffled gown. No underwear, and able to leak down my legs onto the sawdust under the gallows."

"Wow" David replied. This is a pretty intense image she has here. And it would not too hard to set up here. Post transport of the body and bleeding out would be a pain, but she is not going to be table food. Dog food can tolerate a bit more blood.

"Would you want this to be public, or private?" David enquired.

"David, I am lawyer. We are always a born show off. What is the fun in private?"

"Family and friends? Or camera for them to have at home?"

"If I am dreaming, why not both?" Carol laughed. Then she grew more serious "What are you thinking?"

"Carol, Liz and I were talking. You and Liz both have some pretty explicit desires on how you want to end. I have a business that is break even at this time. Price pressure has driven the market down, and costs have climbed a lot. The only way you can make it is to be either a Boutique market or mass producer. I am a mass producer for the animal market. Sorry, but all of you are not going to be family table unless it is your own. And you pay for unique at home processing."

"That is out of the question" Carol interjected "You heard about Mary's fiasco last year."

"Yes I did" David answered. "And that was horrible. I would not condone women treated as meat until they were processed. I have never done that."

"David, that is why you were such a success at parties. Ladies loved how you loved them. Which is the real surprise as why you are in this business". Carol wondered a bit at this. She had shared David once at an orgy at the Hellfire Club. He was both considerate and long lasting. Pity we can't do it again before.

"Well, I keep my professional and private life separate. Margaret just spent her first day here"

"I see. She is naked already. Which is no surprise. Why is that orange collar on her?"

"That is to make sure she is not mistaken for a subject and processed."

"And how much do those sell for?" Carol asked. No loss by asking. She was dead anyway at some point. Why not delay the process. Lawyers are always looking for routes of appeal and stay of execution.

Carol's heart did a flop when David responded, "We might be able to negotiate something about that. Margaret will be leading her next group through shortly, but you and Liz stay here. We will talk about it some more".

Margaret was watching the interplay between David and Carol. Margaret knew that Carol was always being the negotiator and trying to get an advantage for her client. She would probably be very focused when her client was herself. But what did that old saying go? "When you have yourself for a lawyer, you have a fool for a client." She was just going to see what David hatched up with this conversation.

At this point, Margaret had taken two groups through. She had pulled Candy on the first trip. After she came up, she talked with David about keeping Candy pulled out as possible "Goat" work later. David's reaction was to remind her that he already was thinking of bring Helen in for that job.

"Actually, we could use Helen up here for intake." Margaret said. "That gives us two desks for intake. And if Candy can be a Goat, too, that lets us improve things with no headcount."

"Ok" David agreed." I see your logic. But we need to make sure that we can use her and that she won't freak. Goats are temperamental and we have had some good and bad experiences in the past."

In the second trip, Margaret had brought Candy's friend Stacy down as far as Stripping before having to come back up to help with registration again. Barbara told her to come back in about fifteen minutes while she finished the pregnancy tests. And there were now twenty women properly documented now in the reception room. If David kept Liz and Carol here and one more it would make a full trip and finish up what was in reception. It was getting on and almost time for a late lunch.

"David, Do you want me to take another group through to clean up now?" Margaret asked. Clean up being the shop floor where the blood was being hosed down right now.

"Sure. Leave Liz, Carol and a few of the others here for now. You don't mind another trip later, do you?"

Margaret realized that David was giving her a choice of who to keep here until after lunch. Who to keep? Nancy Abbot was the one who seemed most interesting. She was a college history and female studies teacher and had talked with her about the historical significance of cannibalism, slavery, and women's fantasy worlds. She taught feminine studies at the University. That is, until she was picked this week.

"Nancy, you stay with David and keep Liz and Carol from dragging him away." Margaret whispered into Nancy's ear. "And Jane, Stacy and Caroline, you stay too." Walking to the others, Margaret helped them to get organized and follow her down to the Exam rooms.

Jane, Stacy and Caroline were all pretty gabby about their homes and families. Nice to have someone to talk with while you are waiting to die, David thought to himself.

"So, Nancy. You are a history major?

"Actually, Feminist studies teacher" she responded.

"So I can imagine what you think of this" David responded.

"Actually you might be surprised. Women have always been adaptable to changes like this, and except for the loss of choice, this is not all that bad"

"Really" David asked with shock in his voice.

"Really" Nancy responded, falling into teacher mode, "the population imbalance is tragic. Men would have to have four point five wives to properly service the population. And the birth ratio is still ten to one or greater. From an anthropological perspective you have to have a purge mechanism. If you did it with an elitist tilt, you would not be fair. So by having it globally it is "fair" in the legal and strict sense of the way. And most plants are USDA run so there is minimal abuse of the women in process. You have not abused anyone here that I have seen. H&S was not abusive. Just casual." And a bit cold she thought to herself.

"So" David began" With your knowledge of history and the female mind, what would you do in my position as a business man?"

Nancy's heart stopped for a moment. Where is this going? she thought to herself. What is he trying to do? If this was only to make idyllic conversation to a doomed woman, then she was going to go out with her head high.

"For starters, quit running this as a meat market. Face it, 40 % of the women selected are grade 3 or lower. That is why we are here. That means ground round or stew meat. Or bound to the pet food chains"

"True" David answered. "In fact, most of my product from here goes to the pet marketplace. That is why I am so concerned with cost containment".

"So" continued Nancy" the real political and social goal is decrease of the female population while funding the process at a make even profit ratio"

"Never thought of it that way," David answered. Carol and Liz were following this exchange with great interest. Where is this going?

With Jane, Stephanie and Carolyn chattering in the background, David asked his question that would determine how and where Nancy went. "So, if the financial problem is to decrease in compliance with the law, and the funding mechanism is food at most, what other means can a business man set himself separate from his peers?"

"Well, he can do what H&S did by having special handling packages". Carol interjected.

'"What special handling?" Nancy asked. Surely there was no exception from the lottery.

"Painless and un-embarrassing ways to die. Shot to the back of the head. " Carol responded

"That is not nearly romantic to my thinking." Liz responded.

"Not mine either, but it was the only guaranteed alternative. Unless you wanted to end up like Mary" Carol said.

"Mary?" Nancy queried.

"A friend of theirs, and my wife's too. " David responded. "She was the victim of a inconsiderate technician with a Spit who was not too polite when he spitted her to put on the fire".

"UGH" Nancy shuddered, even though she had been to a few cookouts. The meat was already on the spit when she got there. Not her idea of how to do. She liked her stakes warm and fleshy, not steel.

"So think about it ladies. What would a lawyer, a history professor, and a marketing manager do to alter the treatment of women on their way to the table? And what economic model would you use to finance it? And how would you make it profitable?"

With that, David stood up to go to the bathroom, and to listen to the conversation between the other three at the table.

Nancy, Carol and Liz got into an animated conversation, which lasted almost an hour. In it they talked about how to pique fantasies, what fantasies to pique, How to get around the law regarding human consumption, what the ethic were, and what the funding model would be.

While they were talking, David was sitting talking to the three other women, trying to get some idea of how they were adapting to the situation. None of them made much of an impression, and were pretty shallow. He would have screwed any of them, as their bodies were pretty good. But not much more interest.

No one immediately noticed Margaret coming through the hallway door into reception. She was still naked, but had some small stains on the top of her feet. Not really noticeable unless you looked.

"David, honey" Margaret whispered into his ear "Christen and Casey say it is getting late, and we need to get the last set of boxes packed and ready to send out."

"Ok Honey. We have these three, plus these other three and the two you have in the overnight. How about we take the whole group, with you in lead, and have Jane, Stacy and Caroline at the end. I will meet you with Chris and we will talk to all of them when we get to the end?"

Margaret pondered this development. David wanted to keep 5 from the day? And what about Helen tomorrow?

"Pretty ambitious, aren't you?" Margaret teased.

"Not how you think at all. Can you think of a better way to get a captive group of business consultants for a short-term contract? And also pick up another Goat? And for this price?"

Gaining a glimmer into David's thoughts, Margaret thought to herself "Now this is an idea that has merit". David was always the sharpest tool in the drawer. That was why she married him.

The Last Trip of the Day

"Ladies, Please follow me" Margaret spoke to the groups. The group with Nancy, Carol and Liz were deeply locked into a discussion and at first ignored the summons. The other group of Jane, Stephanie and Caroline looked up and paid immediate attention.

"And this means you three sluts too" Margaret repeated, with some larger volume and emphasis on the "three sluts" statement.

"Oh. I guess we need to move along," Liz said

"I guess" Carol repeated.

Nancy gave a nod of her head with a tight lip. "You know, I haven't been with a man for a long time?"

"Now, that is a pity" Carol said. "Maybe you can ask Margaret to borrow David. He is pretty good".

"So you know each other?" Nancy asked.

"I would say in the biblical sense, yes. In the personal sense, I don't know him so much. We are a bit surprised to see him here, much less the owner" Carol replied.

"I was really surprised," Liz said. "David is one person I would never have thought as an owner of a butcher shop. I didn't know what, but not a shop in this business."

"So, what do you think" Nancy asked, bringing up the question everyone had.

"I think we just need to play this out and see where it goes," Carol said.

"I agree" Liz said.

All three had their private thoughts on the events of today. All of them knew they were supposed to be on a table tonight or on the way to a can food producer. None of them had any misconceptions about that. The question of "How was it going to happen" was uppermost in all of their minds. One thing was sure. None of them wanted to be on a stake in the city square. So running was not an option.

Margaret led her little brood down the hall to the exam rooms, and dropped one off in each room, just like last trip. The same speech of "Please go in, Sit down, and roll up your shirtsleeve so we can draw blood. And when that is finished, please get ready to move to the bathroom for a urine sample" was so mundane that it felt like an old friend. To her three closer acquaintances, she also added "There is nothing to be afraid of. David is not going to have any of you be hurt. Pain is not an option"

To the others, she gave a similar assurance. "Girls, this is just something we have to do. We make sure no one suffers."

When the women were settled, Margaret went to Barbara to collect the sample cups.

"I need you to bring Stacy back up here. Her urine test came up positive. I need to check her for pregnancy sex"

"Ok. Her and Candy will be so excited".

"Don't get her hopes up to much. Do you want to bring her up after this crowd?"

"No. David wants all of them in a row with Jane, Caroline and Stacey to bring up the last.

"What does he have in mind?"

"I don't know" Margaret answered. "Dave has some interesting ideas in his head. He was pretty specific about those three being the last."

"Do you need a tail on your train?" Barbara asked.

"No. The tail is OK. It is the ones in the lead that will likely give the most trouble. None of the three of them are too happy at being switched."

"Listen to you. One half of a day and you sound like a expert".

"You don't know the half of it. I will tell you later."

As Barbara made the blood rounds, Margaret went through the ladies lavatory and into the stripping room and retrieved Stacy. She had Jackie buzz her back up to the examination rooms through the women's lavatory. It turned out that there was a card key system that allowed you to go upstream, but Margaret had not been given one yet. I got to get that rectified today, Margaret thought to herself. Or find a better system for going upstream.

Margaret and Stacy were chatting when Barbara came up from the last of the occupied exam rooms.

"Let me get Stacy on the table and fire up the Big Blue Box and see what is going on here"

"I didn't know I was pregnant," Stacy said. The only person I have had sex with was supposed to be sterile.

"Who was it?" Barbara asked.

"It was my father's best friend. Jacob Sorensen".

"Well, let's see what kind of package he left you with, Stacy".

After 2 — minutes on the viewer a clear picture of the cells were blown up. "It looks like you are about 6 weeks along" Barbara said. "And it has successfully attached to the uterine wall. And it is a BOY!"

The cry of joy was echoed all around the exam rooms. Every one of the women came out to look at the most unusual picture any of them had seen. Almost none of them had seen one in person. Stacy had changed from "Selectee and Steak" to "Mother with Son".

"Can I see Candy? Can I tell her?" Stacy was bouncing on the table to ask"

"No, Stacy. I am afraid Candy is going on with them and you are going to wait here for social services to pick you up and take you to your new home" Barbara said.

"But she has to know. I have to talk to her"

"I will tell her for you, Stacy" Margaret said. "And your most important job is to take care of that baby. Social Services will take care of your family from now on with him. And Candy's compensation will take care of her family for a long time to come"

"Do you mean she is going to be a roast?"

"I think she might make the grade," Margaret answered with a smile.

"Tell her I love her" Stacy whimpered

"I will," Margaret said as she kissed the brunette on the forehead. "I will."

Going out into the hallway, Margaret spoke to the group and said "Ok Ladies. Let's move onto the bathroom so we can check if any more of you are pregnant, and then get on down the line"

None of them really wanted to move. Here was an example of someone who was going home. This was the only one who came into the front door that would not go out the back. That was pretty sobering to all of them. Even Margaret did a little pause while she moved the flock into the bathroom.

The bathroom break took about 15 minutes. Which meant that the group had taken about 45 minutes to get to this point. Figure stripping another 10 minutes and then through the door, with about 7 minutes there and we will break for lunch one hour from the time we started this trek from reception. Margaret was feeling pretty good about the rhythm she had for this. And she found she actually enjoyed it. I wonder how David feels about me doing this full time with him? Margaret thought to herself. Make it a family business.

As everyone exited the stalls and handed their urine samples over, there was a beginning of tension with some of the members of the party. Liz and Carol were visibly upset. Nancy was nervous. Jane, Caroline and Stephanie were anxious and wondering what was next.

Stripping the last group

As Margaret led the group out of the bathroom into the stripping room, there were the usual wide looks around from the six travelers.

"Ok ladies. Walk over to the bins and start putting your personal belongings in them please. Put your name, address and SSN on the bag in the box so that we can ship all of these things back to your families tonight. " Margaret carefully said with authority to the group.

"Oh God. This is really happening" Nancy said quietly to Liz and Carol.

"Yep, it sure looks like it" Carol agreed.

"I wonder what the next step is," Liz asked.

"Well, I am sure we will find out. I had never taken Margaret for such a leader before but she sure is one here." Carol said with a nervous smile

"Yes she is. I wonder if she would be so calm if she knew she was not going home either" Liz asked.

"I don't know how either of you can be so calm right now" Nancy whispered. "I am scared"

"I think that is why we go to the bathroom first and then strip," Liz said. "That way you don't have to pee when things hit you for real".

"You know, you might be right" Carol added. "You might have a point there".

"Is Stacy going to be Ok, Ms. Findley?" Candy asked Margaret in a quiet tone.

"Sure she is, Candy. She is waiting for social services right now with Barbara. She has a beautiful boy in her belly and she is going from here to home and then onto her new group home where she will raise her son to be big, strong and healthy"

"That is wonderful. Will it be long now for me?" Candy asked

"Not too long. We have to strip these others, and then go through the shower room for processing. It will probably be about another half an hour. Are you scared?" Margaret asked

"Yes, I am. I almost wish I could go to the bathroom again".

"I think I saw one on the other side of the shower room. We can use that one there"

"Is that where they will kill us?" Candy whispered.

"Not directly, but it is near by".

"Will it hurt?" Candy asked.

"I don't think you will be hurting. All of the other women who passed were over in just a minute and I don't think they felt anything".

"How will they do it?" Candy asked.

"I will tell you what. I will put you in the middle of the line, and you can watch the ones in front of you. How is that?"

"Ok. Will you be there?"

"Sure. I won't let you hurt". Margaret said with a smile.

By now, everyone had stripped and put all of their belongings in a bag with their name on it. The bags were then put into a bin with their name, address and SSN ID.

"Ladies, please check your name and spelling and SSN one last time. We don't want to have any keepsakes lost". Margaret stated. She waited while Christen and Casey collected all of the bags of belongings and verified the SSN. Just like the three previous trips, everything was sealed, and the owners signed along the seam.

"Ok Ladies. We are going through a shower on the other side of the wall. You can see that the floor is wet. So please stay on the pad in the center of the revolving door. After the short shower, you will please walk down the isle and listen to the instructions as they are given to you. We will all be done in about thirty minutes or so."

"Nancy, I want you to follow right behind me. Candy, you are next, then Carol, and Liz. I want you to be in single file behind me. Then Jane, Stephanie and Caroline. I will go through first to set things up for all of you and I will be there as we move through the processer room. This is not like the place you saw last year; we do things much differently here. So remember your order, and come through one at a time right after me. " Margaret said with a smile.

Waiting Ahead

David mean time had gone down the employee hallway to butchery and found both Chris and Marty working hard on carving up the previous 39 bodies. There were boxes of pieces stacked in neat rows waiting for the freezer, with most of the people already quartered. The lower torsos were all stacked near the band saw to be cut into smaller portions for shipment. Carl (who was the resident USDA inspector) was doing his usual standing around watching people work. But the scene still did not look as confused and busy as David expected. There was no hanging meat up there.

"Chris. You are doing a hell of a job here. I did not expect to find all of this cleaned up this fast."

"Thank your wife. She is one of the fastest knives I have seen in my life." Chris rejoined. "It is a good thing she is your wife, or I would make her get a Union Card."

"What do you mean?" David asked.

"She cut the last two groups herself. She stunned them, hung them, and slit their throats faster then I could. Then she slid them down here for processing while they were still bleeding. Some of them were not fully bled out when they were at the table, and so I waited."

"Really?" David asked incredulously.

"Hell Yes. Did you know she went to Chef School before you guys had met? She is wicked fast with a knife. Scares me even. But there was no muss, no fuss and just six strokes quick as you please. She is even using the lightweight ceramic. She hits just the veins and arteries and misses bone and the windpipe. So the blade does not chip. She is just plain fast".

"Wow" David thought. I didn't know this about my wife. Wonder if I should sleep too soundly tonight?

"So do you know what is the program now?" David asked.

"She said she had 3, possibly 4 left, and that she was going to clean those herself near the revolving door when she gets them in, then slide them down here for me to quarter and cut up. She field dresses faster then anyone I have seen. Anus tied off, intestines out and on the floor, Liver, bladder and kidneys in the bucket waiting for typing and transport to the organ bank. It takes her about three minutes to Cut and Gut one. She had me time her on the last one."

"Well, I guess we need to not delay the lady any."

"Let me tell you boss, She is fast. And she treats those people great. Quietly talks to them and keeps them settled while they bleed out. Lets them know she is careful with them. They see her and they have no fear. Lot better then me."

"You are saying I should hire her?" David kidded.

"No. Just use her for cutting and gutting. Let me and Marty do the rest."

The blue light flashing was the signal that someone was standing on the pad of the revolving door. David walked over to the door and got ready to hit the Start Button when Chris Yelled "Don't forget to squeeze the Breaker box. Remember the first one through is a Goat"

"Oops. Almost forgot. Thanks for the reminder" David yelled back.

Picking up the breaker box and walking over to the Start Button, David engaged the block and then hit the rotator of the door.

Last Group for today

Margaret came through and reached her husband for a hug and a kiss. "You stand there on the right while I get ready for Nancy. She should be right behind me."

"You processing her?" David asked.

"No. You said you wanted to keep the three of them, Carol, Nancy and Liz. They are right behind me. I wanted to have them really feel what they could go through if it was not for you. We already talked about keeping Candy. Stacy is pregnant, with a BOY. So she is going back upstream. Barbara has her. I am going to keep Candy here behind me to distract the last three. Keep an eye on her for me so we can see what she is. The last three I am going to process and field dress myself. That should answer all of everyone's questions about how the normal people are processed."

"Wow" David said. "You sure have had a busy first day. This is a side of you I have never seen. Chris says you have taken over here."

"You don't know the half of this. We have to talk when we get this finished. I got to get back to work. The livestock is probably getting nervous. I doubt you will forget this" Margaret snickered.

The first one through in the door was indeed Nancy Abbot. Her face showed total confusion as she looked around "Where is the shower?"

"There isn't one for you while you are living. Step off the platform and stand next to David and keep your mouth shut."

"Yes Ma'am" Nancy squeaked in reply.

The next one through was Candy. Standing wide-eyed, and alert, she looked at Margaret and asked, "Ok. What do you want me to do?"

"Can you stand here behind me and keep quiet. Not cry or do anything, like a good girl?"

"Sure."

"Ok. Stand here behind me, and look into the door like this."

The next one around was Liz. She too was a little disconcerted and wondering why she was so dry. "Where is the shower"?

"We don't have one for you just yet. I need you to stand next to Nancy and David. And be quiet."

A confused Liz moved over to Nancy and David and stood looking around. The gleam of the stainless steel tables, and the white walls was a bit dazzling at first and she did not see anything clearly.

The next one around was Carol. Shivering and shaking like she was already drenched from cold water, she looked around to see David, Liz and Nancy standing to her left.

"Step off the platform and stand there and be quiet." Margaret commanded. Carol jumped and almost slipped to comply as she moved next to her friends.

"Now, you three stand there and be quiet. Do not make a move or a sound. Understood?" Margaret commanded.

Everyone nodded.

"And you, Candy, stand here in this marked square box on the floor and be quiet. Can you do that?"

Hesitantly Candy nodded. Wondering what was going to happen next.

Margaret put down the breaker box, checked the blue light, and hit the Start button.

The first one around was Jane. When the door stopped Margaret spoke up and said "Hi Jane. Could you step here a minute?"

As Jane moved forward, Margaret she hit the button discharging the capacitor above Jane's head.

A quick grunt and Jane hit the floor of the turnstile with her head in the corner and her legs akimbo.

With a practiced grasp, Margaret pulled Jane's left ankle and lower leg straight, then fastened one end of the spreader bar sitting at her feet. Grabbing the right ankle she swung it around to the other end of the bar. This moved Jane onto her face and chest on the bottom of the floor of the revolving door. With a practice quick motion Margaret grabbed the hook of the winch and connected it to the center of the spreader bar. A quick press of the up button and Jane was hoisted upside down and her spreader bar was next to a waiting trolley hook. Margaret guided the spreader bar into the hook, and hit the release button on the winch. Unhooking the winch from the spreader bar and then pulling all of the slack out of the winch and setting the hook behind her, Margaret then turned around to Jane's hanging body and spun her around to face the huddled women.

Kneeling down, Margaret whispered into Jane's ears, and stroked her hair for a few moments, taking in a calm monotone to the woman. After a few moments, Margaret was heard to say, "Ok, honey. We are going to move you along now." Suddenly Margaret made a fast slash down the left and right side of Jane's neck, near the jawline of the woman's distended head. "See, that was quick. You will be asleep in a few seconds. Just a second, I will be right back" Margaret then stood up and quickly sliced into Jane's thighs about an inch above the inverted woman's pussy and opened up the top of the femoral artery on both legs. Jane was fast started to bleed out. Coming back down to Jane's ear, Margaret continued to whisper and talk for another few seconds, while Jane drifted into unconsciousness. Margaret then quickly grasped Jane's left wrist and slit the radial artery, which was pulsing with the decreasing pressure of Jane's blood supply. Another quick slice on the right wrist, and Jane was open at all artery points. This was followed by quick push on Jane's fanny and she slid down the track toward Chris, who was cleaning off a table. Total time for Jane was 90 seconds.

Caroline quickly followed Jane in the same rhythm of step forward, Stun, Hook up, Slice, Slice and Slide with her soon draining her blood over the drain in the center of the slaughter house floor.

Stephanie was a pure picture of shock seeing Margaret standing there with a bloody knife in her hand and a smile on her face. She instinctively backed away, until Margaret said "Stephanie, Come here". Stephanie walked forward toward Margaret and quickly followed Caroline down the same trolley as Jane and Caroline.

"Well, that is enough for today, don't you think" Margaret said to the women clustered around David standing next to the revolving door. "David, why don't you order pizza for all of us and I will finish cleaning up here and helping Chris get these three cleaned out. Take these ladies with you and I will meet all of you in the break room?"

"Can I stay and help you?" Candy asked hesitantly. "I would like to see what all happens".

"Sure you can honey, if you want to" Margaret said. "You might as well get used to it while you can so there are no surprises in the future".

Nancy feinted at that remark. Carol had the dry heaves. Liz just looked at Margaret and said, "I always knew you were one touch bitch".

"Thank you darling. I love you too" Margaret replied, as she helped her husband get Nancy up from the floor and moved toward the break room. "David, you get these three settled. Candy and I will be along directly".



-------

Chapter 4



Recovery and a Break.

Carol, Nancy and Liz were all sitting at the tables a few minutes later while David ordered some pizza and pasta for the group. He had poured some water for Carol to clean out her mouth, and an ice pack for the back of Nancy's neck. Liz snickered at the other two while she thought about why and what she had seen.

"I have to give Margaret credit. She had us all fooled there. I never would have expected her to be the terminator beneath that nice sweet exterior." Liz opined.

"Would you believe that this was her first day here? In fact the first day she even set foot near the building?" David asked.

"Hell no!" Liz and Nancy said almost simultaneously.

"Well I sure feel she found her calling. So sweet and considerate right up to the time she was cutting throats and bleeding people out. Almost like she really did care for what was going on," Carol said, with awe in her voice.

This was seriously scary for Carol. She had dwelt with violence as a prosecutor, and knew that the human meat business was violence of a permitted sort. But the combination of murder and quiet whispers was something that shook Carol to her core.

"I wonder what she was really whispering to them. I don't think I ever want to find out myself," she said out loud

"I believe that it was all good and intended to comfort." David said. " Margaret has always been very considerate of people and I think she was seriously concerned that these women were panicked and distraught. And I believe that she did have a positive influence on them right up to the end."

"Maybe so" Elizabeth said. "But I won't see her in the same light again after that".

"I won't either" David said. "I see her in a better one. I used to think she was disconnected or that she looked down on me for the business. Now I see her as a partner."

"Now" David continued. " Do the three of you know why you are not hanging down the hall being cut up into shipping box sized pieces?"

"I had wondered about that," Carol asked. Ever the lawyer, she knew a lot about the process law. She had a personal interest in finding loopholes around becoming a selectee in this particular situation, and there were not any. The fact that she was sitting here was a shock enough to her. And she was anxious to see what the immediate future held for her.

"Ok. Now for the three of you," David began. "There are some rules regarding process plants that are holdovers from the old days of Stock processing. Some are from tradition. Some of those traditions have been codified into law. Carol, what is the legal status of a Judas Goat?"

"Judas Goats are individuals trained as a part of the handling system for stock in both pens and slaughter houses. They can be receptionist, or movement workers or clean up and other assistance. They are not allowed to slaughter, but they are allowed to prepare stock for slaughter. My God, Margaret is a Judas Goat? But she killed those last three women"

"And she is my wife. As such she is part owner so the participation block does not apply. I was informed by my union membership of that little fact."

"So what does that mean to us?" Liz asked.

"Wait a second" Carol continued. "There are rules around Judas goats though".

"Yes" David continued, "there are. The ones that apply to your particular situation are as follows. The three of you are more valuable to me as consultants then as meat. Under these circumstances I can hold you as working property for an initial 30 days from a date of filing. That allows you to move about the property or anywhere else in my control. So long as you do not become pregnant with a female child, or run off outside of my control. As owner and operator I have some responsibilities to the public, but very few toward you. I do have some strong recommendations from the Population Control board."

"And what are those" Carol asked. Ever the lawyer she was looking to understand how this would work in a legal system. She did have to admit that temporary servitude beat hanging down the hall at the moment.

"First off, I have to properly tag you. Second I can only use you in the development, operation or management of enterprises associated with activities of a human slaughterhouse. Third, I have recommendations that I feed you and care for you as any other livestock and that you be humanely slaughtered when your service is finished."

This was a shock to Nancy and Liz. Carol however saw the implications immediately.

"You can't use us to replace union labor tasks which are part of a bargaining unit. And you cannot have us work in activities not associated with a slaughterhouse. Which means you cannot pimp us out or have us work in a bordello outside of here".

"I had not thought of opening a bordello here, but thank you for the suggestion" David replied.

"You are welcome " Carol responded with a snicker. "So what do you want to do with us?" She asked. "And how much can we accomplish in 30 days?"

"Oh, it is not just 30 days" David replied. "I have it on good authority that I can legally extend the duration in 90 day increments indefinitely. And that these extensions will be granted as long as I do not use you to conduct activities outside of those necessary to develop my business as outlined in my business charter and license."

That got Liz and Nancy's attention as well.

"You schmuck. You are opening up a slave camp" Nancy interjected.

"No" David replied. "Slavery would indicate that you have no choice. You have infinite choice. At any time you can choose to be processed by me or any other plant in the US. All you have to do is walk out the door and flag down a cop or a cab."

"Hear the man out" Carol said as she shushed her two compatriots. "What are you really trying to do?"

"Simple" David said. "I have one of the finest legal minds in the state. I have one of the best and most brilliant market development managers in the country. And I have one of the most capable and ethical academic authorities on Women's Rights in the country. I could not plan or steal better talent to develop a Custom Conversion house that would appeal to every woman in the country. For all of the women who do not care about being on the table but who do care about how they leave the world. We can provide painless, or painful, fantasy or horror. For all of the fertile imaginations of upper middle and upper class women who do not want the risk of a botched skewering at a party in front of their friends."

All three looked at David with a blanched nod. "And we can be artistic, we can interview, we can design a death that fits the client, and charge them properly for it. Carol, how much for a slow dance at the end of a rope in a semi public Venue would you pay? And Liz. Beheading or the spit? Which do you seek? And Nancy, you want painless. If so, a warm bath and a sharp pinch of your wrist lets you slowly bleed out in a bathroom while sipping brandy and listening to music."

All three heads nodded. David had something. Now how to market it and what to price it at was the key.

"How much do you intend to charge" Nancy asked.

"I think we can keep it in the 3500 to 5500 range. The meat is irrelevant unless they are grade A and those we could give to H&S or someone else in exchange for samples to use in demonstrations"

"Samples?" Nancy asked

"Sure. Samples. Suppose you have a half a dozen women interested in a slow hanging. Or who want a quick drop hanging. We do a few samples free of charge, and then book the women in advance. If their number comes up, their arrangements are already made. All they have to do is show up"

"You are talking about pre selection contracts here" Carol interrupted. "You have to be really careful here."

"And that is why I have you here dear" David explained. "Design a contract that is legal, binding on us, and which will refund the money in the event of either non specific termination or accident, or maturity past age of 40."

"Some states won't allow travel out of state when you are selected".

"Ok. So those we don't write. Or we get the client to get a waiver to travel first"

"Ok. How long do we have on this?" Nancy asked. Carol and Liz both listened closely for an answer.

"For as long as I am above ground and alive, and this business is economically viable, and or until the state selection board no longer has any interest in any of you. Is that open ended enough from my end?" David asked with a challenging glance.

"I'm in" Carol said. "This is the best deal I have ever heard of for my circumstance.

"I guess if Carol says it is the best deal, then I am in too," Liz said.

"Do I get laid before I die?" Nancy asked.

The others laughed sputtered while looking at Nancy's face. "I am serious. I want to be a harlot. I was a good girl all my life and now that I am almost dead, I want to have some fun".

"I think we can take care of that," David answered with a smile.

David left the three "Consultants" talking while he moved up to get the pizza from the delivery at the front door.

In the meantime, Candy and Margaret were moving Jane over to the table for her field dress. She had quit moving a while ago, while Stephanie was still twitching a little. Caroline was also occasionally moving a little.

"Ms. Findley, I want to do like you do"

"What do you mean, Candy"?

"You sat with these women, talked with them while you brought them through the reception room, exam room, bath room, and into the stripping room. You cajoled them and talked with them and made them feel better about what was going to happen. And then when it happened, it was still a surprise and they were over it real quick. That is a real gift to give a woman on a day like today".

"Do you think that they appreciated it? " Margaret asked.

"I know I would. I know that Stacy would have. There is a lot of fear about coming here. You know you are not going out. And you know that someone is going to kill you. Having it be a surprise from someone who is friendly is probably the best thing that can happen. Lots nicer then other ways I can think of. It's always best to get things from a friend"

"Well, thanks Candy. I think we have to do some research into how far and how much we can do and what you can do. But before we go any further, I better get a collar on you right now. So we are not in trouble if we have any inspections. I wouldn't have to process you after you did so much hard work. Then we can come back and finish up Jane, Caroline and Stephanie"

"Sounds good to me, Ms. F."

Margaret and Candy walked back to the shipping office where David had gotten Margaret's collar earlier today. Picking up one marked "16", she placed it around Candy's neck. They had just gotten it locked when there was a loud commotion was at the back door. People were banging and yelling for someone to open up, A loud voice said "Open up, this is a USDA Surprise inspection."

Grabbing the box of collars and putting it into Candy's hands Margaret ordered "Quickly now, Candy, take these and run to the break room up the hall and give them to David to link up the other three. Do it now before there is any trouble"

Candy took off fast up the hall with the box, while Margaret wandered back to the rear door. There she saw Carl standing around.

"Well, do we open up?" Margaret asked him

"I would suggest you do. But take your time. He does not need to know you have an inspector on site assignment just yet."

"Opening up" Margaret yelled as she moved toward the door and started to open the locks

When the locks were withdrawn, the outside door was yanked open by a burley young man who was followed by two of the Chicago Police.

"This is a surprise USDA inspection. We need to see your management team and check the area for violations of the Meat Management Code"

"Sure" Margaret said" Do you need to see our license?"

"That too. But first I want to see your papers of status. You look like Meat attempting to escape to me".

"I doubt that I would want to escape my own business, now would I?" She asked.

"Your business?"

"Yes, I am Margaret Findlay"

"Do you have any identification?"

"Not on my naked body, but I do have it in the office out front."

"Well we will hold you here until that checks out. And we will start with a step by step search of the rooms and the different people here on the property"

"Excuse me young man" Carl asked as he came forward.

"What do you want?" the officer asked.

"Your inspection certificate, your identification and your badge number. I'll take those for starters."

"And who wants to see them?"

"Former deputy director Carl German of the USDA. Currently in active retirement as a location inspector paid for by David Findley of Findley meat processing. Now who are you again?"

There was a sudden shift in behavior while Carl reached into his pants and drew out his wallet. No one moved while he opened it and displayed it to the non uniformed USDA officer and Chicago Police officers (Who were now standing and wondering how they could disappear without leaving a trace).

"Uh, We had a complaint." the young man began.

"Produce it". Carl's voice snapped like a rattrap.

"Uhn, I have to go to get it"

"Not without first providing your identification as to who you are, and who your manager is. I already know who your division director is and I am just going to make his job easier to find you"

"Here is my identification. The summary complaint is in the car."

"Officer. accompanying him to his automobile and then back to here with his necessary documentation?"

The first cop behind the inspector nodded with a smile coming to his face. He had a funny idea that this kid was about to get an expensive legal education.

"I most certainly can accompany him. I don't recall seeing any formal writ of inspection. We were responding to a call as a request for support of service."

At this point, Margaret was slowly backing away from the door. Carl appeared to have more control over this situation then she would ever have, and so she was going to wait and see what happened next.

"But I am a sworn inspector for the USDA and I have a written complaint."

"I believe you are, son. But I believe that you will probably have to write a lot of paper over the next few weeks regarding search warrant and inspection protocols Now once again, where is your inspection book, your inspection documentation, and who is your supervisor?"

"I have to go back to the car. This was a surprise inspection"

"Officer, if you can accompany this young man to his car so he can produce his documentation, I would appreciate it. Margaret, can I please use the phone in the office?"

"Carl, you can use anything in this building you want".

"Later, I might consider that, Ms. Findlay, but right now the phone will do".

Carl walked into the receiving office and dialed a number from memory and waited for a few seconds while someone picked the phone up

"Davenport, this is Carl German. I have one of your eager beavers trapped here in a cage of his own making in front of my current place of business and two of Chicago's finest. As soon as I figure out what his name is, I am going to hand him the phone while you talk with him."

"I am sure he is a honest young man. I am also sure he abused his authority. If he had called here first he would have found out that this operation pays for me on site every single business day that they manage conversations."

"Davenport, I don't really care about H&S or Myers and Hitchcock. This man runs a legitimate business and most of his produce goes to pet food processors. And your young man stepped into my sandbox and tried to take a crap. Now what are you going to do about it?"

Margaret listened quietly while she heard some mumbles over the phone, and then saw the USDA agent returning with the police officer beside him.

"Thank you Mr. Weaver," Carl began as he was reading the identification. "I have a mister Davenport on the phone right now who wants to talk to you. Here he is."

The following conversation consisted of Weaver saying "Yes Sir. No Sir. Yes Sir" a number of times followed by "I understand sir. Right away sir" followed by "Mr. Davenport wants to talk with you for a moment Mr. German if you don't mind sir"

"Hey Charlie. Thanks a bunch. How is the wife and kids? Really? Daughter got a conversion notice? What is the due date? Well I will tell you, send her here if you want her treated like you would want her treated. These people only usually do fifteen to twenty a day, three days a week, and a few odd stragglers on Saturday. It is a quality operation. No fuss and no stress. I like them. Ok. Give me her name and registry number and I will ask David to pick her out of the pot. I am sure that H&S want to co-operate with you on this. So do you need Weaver again?"

"Ok. I will tell him. You have a good day and send me that number. I will have David get on it."

"Mister Weaver. Do you know how to stand at attention?"

"Yes Sir."

"Good boy" Carl continued without raising his voice "Now I am sure you have been informed of the error of your ways in this matter"

"Sir yes sir I have"

"Good. Now I am assuming you are going back to your normal assignment at Hill and Stienhauer and to perform your duties there to the fullest extent of your ability, is that correct?"

"Sir, yes sir".

"Good. Now you have a good day and mosey on down the road."

"Yes sir. Sorry ma'am to bother you. Please accept my apologies and have a good day"

After the door closed and Margaret heard the sound of tires leaving, she turned to Carl and said "Carl, are you married?"

"Yes, but she passed naturally several years ago"

"Well, I was quite serious about you using anything that this building has, including the owner's wife"

"Ma'am. I can't do that around the meat".

"Carl, who the hell said anything about around the meat. Hell you can do it WITH the meat from this place if you want."

"Not really. It might violate sanitation laws"

"You know we clean them up while processing"

"Yes ma'am. I know how well you do that. I watch it every day. But I still feel a little funny fucking what might be my dinner".

"Ok. How about what isn't on the menu? Like me"?

"Ms. F, we will have to talk about that some other time. If you don't mind, I am going to get back to watching Chris and Marty and Gus finish up with this lot. They have a lot of work to do today, and we want to pay attention to the little things to keep things up to code. And please let your husband know that the USDA area manager wants him to do his daughter who just got selected and ordered for processing by next Friday."

-------

New Goats from Older Stock

Meanwhile, David had returned from ordering pizza to find Candy with the box of collars in a panic to collar his three new Goats. He did so, and made sure that the collars fit correctly. "I am also going to look into a ankle band as a substitute that is locked in place so I can take you out securely".

"David. Can my husband and Liz's husband visit us here?" Carol asked.

"Sure. We have enough room in the unused part of the plant to house two or three families. In fact, Physical plant to match business plan is right up on our task list. So far as I am concerned, as long as what we do does not endanger our license we can do it. And that, Carol, is what your first order of business is to discover what we can and cannot do. And you Candy, go back to Margaret and see if she needs anything."

"Ok Mr. F."

"Now, ladies. I expect you to start to work on some sort of plans for our new venture in providing quality terminations for the discriminating housewives of America. And I will go see what my wife is up to"

What his wife was up to was her wrists in Jane's body, pulling out intestines, bladder, kidneys and female organs. "Candy. Good, you are back. Can you go over and get me the Wyoming knife on the shelf there. I should have started using that from the beginning"

As Candy brought over the strange blade she looked up and saw a host of organs falling out of Jane onto a paper mat on the floor. A lot of guts in a body she thought.

"Chris. I know that neither Candy or I can cut meat, but do you mind if I work with her to field dress?

"Candy? Is that your name? Do you know anything about field dressing?" Carl asked.

"My uncle had me help clean and butcher hogs in his farm in Ohio all the time. I must have cleaned out a hundred of them" Candy responded.

"Ok, Ms. F. If you will finish up with these that will leave me and Marty doing the chop and box work. Go for it"

"Ok. Jane is ready for Chris at the table. Let me show you how to get started on Caroline using a Wyoming Knife and then you can do Stephanie" Margaret said to Candy.

"Ok" Margaret started" First you take the raw blade of the knife and make a one-inch incision just above her Clit on the pubic bone to her belly button. Don't go too deep. See"

"Sure do. She don't' bleed any"

"Nothing much left in there. Ok. Now we take the backside of the knife and we slide it under the skin tissue. This lets us slide the knife down toward her sternum or breastbone. See? Just like a zipper"

"Yea, I see that" Candy replied paying attention to the fast movements.

"Now you want to make two horizontal incisions from where you got to the zipper along the hip and pelvic bone in both directions. Just like this"

"Wow, this opens her up completely"

"Yea, it pretty much does. Now you go down and make lateral incisions all along the rib cage from the sternum, under the tits, to the bottom of the armpits."

"Wow. She is opening up like she was popping"

"Yes. That is the way you get it open quickly. So now we pull open the skin, using the Wyoming knife blade to slice ligaments while we peel the skin away on both directions. Once that is done, you pull the organs out slicing the veins, arteries and ligaments as you go. Pretty soon you can have her as empty as a drum"

"Ok. So what do I do now?" Candy asked.

"Why don't you start on Stephanie? Be careful that you don't cut any intestine, or bladder or kidney shell. We don't want anybody's pets getting sick. She is not much more then cat food anyway"

Twenty minutes later, Jane, Caroline and Stephanie were completely clean of stomach, lungs, heart, liver, intestines, bladder, vagina, ovaries, endocrine glands, and other non-meat products (like mammary glands). Their heads had been removed, along with hands. They were rolled over to the tables to await decomposition.

For the next hour Chris and Marty worked to reduce the bodies of 42 women to the components of meat, bone, organs, and waste to be disposed of in landfills. From the average 150 lb. woman, there was about 45 lb. of meat, 15 of bone, and 12 of organs usable for first line feed. The rest went into second line containers for rendering of fat and other tissues. Much like slaughterhouses had been doing for a hundred years. Only some of these used to have wedding rings.

-------

Late Lunch

The pizza had arrived and nothing stimulated appetites like survival. Candy being a late teenager kid had an automatic appetite. Margaret and David ate with almost as much gusto. Carol and Elizabeth were a little more restrained and disconnected. Nancy was the only one still a little peaked. She did not eat a lot normally, and watching three women sliced and slid down the trolley was still on her mind. She saw herself hanging up there with the rest of them and it was a sobering thought.

Much of the conversation was around the discussion of economics. David brought up the point that 6 people were involved in converting forty-two women to roughly twenty thousand dollars of revenue. And while this was successful day, it still was a day where half of those forty-two bodies had to go to S&H.

"Actually" David said, "I should send all of it their way as compensation for you four. You guys are worth the money. And the 15 we did on our own covers or allotment. I would rather have the four of you meat exchanged free and clear so there is no issue later in case anyone asks"

"Thank you, Master" Carol replied with a smile" That makes us little old property pieces very happy"

"Yea" Liz chimed in. "Funny how you can't abuse us, neglect us, or breed us, but you can kill us in any manner you want."

"Now girls, David is not like that" Margaret spoke up. "If he was, none of you would be wearing those collars"

"For which we are eternally grateful." Carol broke in "But you do realize that we are on borrowed time."

"We are all on borrowed time." Margaret piped in. "But just to set the table level, I will tell you what I will do. I will burn my release letter"

"WHAT?" From everyone in general

"Sure. If I burn it, then I am just as venerable to the whim of fate as any of you. Stay or go"

"Not so fast lady." Carol broke in. "If you burn that letter and David dies, we are all in shit shape. While you have a release letter, you can inherit all chattel and property. That means us. Without it, we are on the table by dinner. We have twice as good a chance of living to a ripe old age with you released."

"Leave it to Carol to find the legal angle" Elizabeth said.

"And that is why she is here" David said.

"So. Ladies" David began. "What we need is a plan. A marketing plan. A delivery plan. A legal plan. And last we need a product-listing plan. Who wants to do what? " David asked.

"Nancy," David continued, "I think everyone has their piece of the pie, except of what the products are that we are going to deliver. And since they are services, we are going to have to depend on you to help to define them."

"Let me get this straight. You want me to help devise the favorite female fantasies on being snuffed?" Nancy incredulously asked.

"That about sums it up. You are the authority on the feminine here, and as such you should be able to tell us what would turn women on. And more important, what they would pay for. Or even advance us money to use in the case they got picked."

"How far in the pain direction do we want to go with this?" Nancy asked. "It is one thing to stake a woman or skewer her, it is another to have her screaming her head off so loud that the neighbors for miles around run from it."

"We have a consumption problem with pain management. The tranks we introduce to the subject may still not be metabolized when the subject terminates. That means we have to flush the meat. Either chemically or literally"

"You know" Liz opined" we might also want to think about something else. We may capture ten percent of the market that is selected each year. That is one percent of eighty percent of the population. But what about the population that is not selected, but is still facing painful death. Cancer or others who won't make it through over time and yet cannot be admitted to a real meat house because they are diseased?"

"That is a market, but we have a couple of problems. For starters, how do we address it, and then how do we set up the facility that allows us to do meat in one area and non meat in another?"

"We could ask Carl" Margaret suggested. "I bet he would know what we have to do to insulate the two facilities. Consider one a mortuary and the other a butcher shop. How do we selectively separate them?"

"Candy, if Carl is available ask him to come up here".

"On the way".

"Now that she is away, we also need to look into another issue. We need to find a means of recruiting additional butcher/ killers. I mean licensed in case we get overload. We had 47 today and it almost ran us into the ground."

"Actually we only did 42. Remember 3 are here, one is down the hall and one went home"

"Yes. So we need at least 2 goats running full time if things get big Monday. And we need more interviewers, right, Carol and Nancy and Elizabeth?"

"We also have Helen coming over tomorrow. Do we have a collar for her?" Margaret asked.

"Geesh. I forgot about her. Yes we do. We will have to juggle things a bit. What do you think of Helen as an interviewer, Margaret?"

"She is the one with the shrink degree. Abnormal psychology as I recall." Margaret said.

"Ok. Now who is second goat?" David asked, eying the people at the table. "I think that Margaret is pretty much in the position of First goat. Who is second?"

"I nominate Candy" Margaret said. "She has a touch with people, I think she has confidence, and she actually likes the helping people aspect. And she has no more problems with this job then I do".

"OK. That works. Is this going to get us into any problems with the Union?" David asked his new corporate lawyer.

"The law prohibits a Goat from doing any job of any union employee in a business. It does not prohibit a goat from being in the Union and then performing those activities" Carol replied.

"Carol, that is splitting hairs" David said

"Let's talk to the union rep. That is either Chris or Marty, and see what they say"

"Ok. When we are done with Carl, we will ask. Where is he by the way?"

"Right here." Carl answered. "Your little princess came down and asked that I come up. Chris and Marty are cleaning up and she is helping swamp floors. So what are you thinking about?"

"We want to offer termination to critical and terminals. But we can't do it here with the USDA and other laws about health. So we have to find a way to isolate and prevent contamination, and at the same time keep costs and location the same."

"Sounds like a hell of a problem. What does the place next door look like?"

"Like the other half of this building" David said." We used to process pork here and sheep there. As you know there are diseases and religious issues requiring separation of them"

"You mean you had pigs next to sheep and goat for Moslems and Jews?"

"Yea, and in 2018 we had Kosher here and pig here".

"That could be made to work. Especially if you had the entire waste disposal go to there and none come to here. Then you could dispose of all of it as human and medical"

"You know, we had a high temperature furnace there. Could we use it as a crematorium?"

"If you have a complete demising wall, and venting away from the process area, then maybe. Depends on what kind of scrubbers you had. But it could work." Carl agreed.

"Ok" Elizabeth said" We have a pair of Custom processing houses. One for meat possible products and one for not possible products such as disease and otherwise."

"Do we say "One stop kills all"?" Carol said.

"In this day and age, that might work" Elizabeth said. "You would be amazed at the slogans that stick in the mind today."

"Carl, how about you and me taking a walk. I pay you until 5 today anyway, so we have some time to book. Let's look next door," David suggested.

Meantime, in the butcher shop, Candy was swamping a mop across the floor. She had been told to wear some sandals with gripping feet to avoid slipping and had already poured bleach down where she was mopping around the floor. Chris and Marty were both eying her young body working up a sweat.

"Shame she is a meat pie" Chris said

"She will be around a while. I think David is going to keep her. She is useful and a go-getter" Marty said.

"She can come and get me if she wants."

"Leave the kid alone. It is hard enough to work here when you are male. Got to be tough when you are female.

"I don't know. I looked at that one she cleaned up. Sliced short, neat and very professional. Even around the bowel with no problems. Nothing but clean sausage casing pulled out and the anus tied off. And this was her first".

"So you think they will keep her around or process her"?

"My take is keeping her."

"Why the old broads?"

"One a lawyer, one a marketing guru, and the other some kind scientific type. I think David is trying to build up the business".

"That would be good. The local needs more members."

"Hey, we could make the kid a member." Marty said with a smile.

"You think so? But she is a goat". Chris said.

"Local hasn't got any bylaws against Goats." Marty said.

"Maybe not. But still she is sort of meat. Isn't' that kind of flying in the face of the rules?" Chris asked.

"If she is paid union wages, she pays union dues. With the owner's wife doing her stuff we need to keep a handle on it." Marty said.

"That is a thought," Chris admitted.

"Hey, Candy. Knock it off. We can get the rest later. Let's go and get something to eat" Marty said.

"Ok if you say so. Do you want me to bring you some Pizza?" Candy asked.

"No, let me come with you" Marty said, putting down his mop. "We have a few things to talk over"

"Ms. F. We got to talk a bit," Marty said in opening when he came to the break room. The pizza and sodas were everywhere.

"Sure Marty. What do you need?" Margaret answered. Everyone else at the table was silent.

"We don't have a beef with you doing the cuts. And we don't have any problem with the kid helping to do the field dressing. But if she is going to do anymore, we have a problem"

"What is it, Marty" Margaret asked.

Carol was looking sideways waiting for the issue. She knew what it would be, but she was happy someone else brought it up to him or her and not the other way around.

"Well, lots of that is union wage work, you know".

"I see" Margaret replied. "So what can we do to resolve it?"

"I don't know. What do you think?"

"Marty, I am a simple housewife. What do you think we should do?"

"Well, if it is union work we should have the people doing it have a union card. Pay the wages and the dues".

"So. Do you have a union app for Candy to fill out?"

"Huh?"

"Yea. You say that if we want to do the work, we need union membership. So, if we want her to do it, we have to have a membership for her. And that means dues too?"

"Ms. F, you sort of side tracked me there. The girl is. I mean she is."

"She is a Goat. That means that she is not meat. And no one is meat here until conversion is finished here, right?"

"Yea, Ms. F. I know. Same rules for everyone as always".

"So. Do you have a membership application for Candy?"

"Yes I do. The initiation fee is $200. She has that?"

"I do. Do you have a pen and a receipt book?"

"Yes, Ms. F, I got a receipt book."

"Fine. Here is my pen. Candy, fill out the application. Use this building as your home address for now. Marty, She will need a temporary card for Saturday and Monday."

"Monday? What is happening Monday"?

"Marty we will probably have as many here Monday as we did today. H&S is still in cleanup mode."

"Gese. What do you think?"

"I think we did 42 today, and that was with me running goat and you and Chris doing the cutup. I think we will need both of you working on cut up on Monday and me and Candy doing Goat, with us both doing Kill and clean after the first two strings.

"Wow. We are getting busy. Good to hear"

"And Marty. Did you ever do any executioner work?"

"What kind?"

"Gallows, Ax, Sword, and Guillotine. Also stake and skewer"

"I did Skewer when we did that before. Ax and Sword no."

"Well get in shape. We may be doing that in a couple of months".

"No Kidding? That is top pay work".

"Yea, I know. More money. But we can make it work".

"Ok Ms. F.

-------

The Future of Custom Euthanasia

Meanwhile, David and Carl were looking over the building next door. The warehouse was accessed from a double door in the Stripping room. This lead to a short hallway with a stairway going up to the upper floor and a double door going into the empty warehouse. The large center area was the size of a one half-basketball court. It had been rented as a boxing gym, with bleachers on both walls and a regulation ring in the center. The regulation ring was long gone, with the floor having been resurfaced for other general use.

.

This upper floor layout was larger, with an open area, triple shower, and joined by a double door across the two third floors of the buildings. Like next door there were also eight single rooms on the third floor with adjoining doors through the building at that level.

"Looks like you got your eight room bordello over top of a funeral parlor and a Slaughter house." Carl joked.

"Not a bad idea" David answered. "Anything wrong with a Bordello over a Funeral Parlor"

"Don't know. Might want to chase regulations and zoning on that."

"Carl, I want to thank you for your running interference for me."

"Don't bother, Mr. F. You run a good ship here and you did not deserve those people poking around. I was glad to see you got the collars on all the goats quick though. That was something I was going to talk to you about."

"I know. I think that Margaret was trying to scare them into understanding what was in store for them."

"I think she succeed. Your wife is one scary woman. And Candy is too. Both of them are quick and sure with a knife. Chris is faster, but he better watch it, they both will catch him."

"Yes. But he does not have to worry. With things the way they are, we will probably be doing more of H&S work on Monday and Wednesday. And may some of our own custom on Tuesday"

"How custom?"

"Well, Liz and Carol both paid for a clean shot from H&S. And they didn't get it. The only option they had was that. One wants a spit as an ego thing, and the other wants a soft noose as a fantasy thing. Neither qualifies with H&S. Too time intensive. We could offer that as a term service and do fewer for more money"

"So you want to do them all in house custom?"

"You got it."

"Ok. And hey, I got your first client for custom. Marty Davenport's daughter got picked. She is due next week sometime. I will get you her SSN if you want to transfer her here from H&S."

"Sure. No problem. We will treat her like I treat my family"

-------

Late Friday Afternoon

The process area was cleaned up for the day. All the meat was in cold storage. The trailer had been picked up and taken off to the pet factory. H&S was sending over a truck to pick up their share of the process. Chris, Marty and Carl had left for the day. It was David and his "Harem" (as Margaret called it" sitting around drinking a few beers.

"Ok. We have places for all of you to sleep. And we have to find a way of getting things here that you need. The regulations say specifically that you cannot leave the property. But they do not say that you cannot have friends or that we cannot move things into here. So tomorrow, we start to set up some bedrooms for each of you and set up a travel schedule so you don't go bug nuts" David announced.

"I had left a message for James to bring some things here for Carol and I." Elizabeth said. "Nancy and Candy, I didn't have a list from you."

"I need to get of my toiletries and things. I had not expected to need them." Carol said.

"I need everything," Candy said. "And I need some Tampex next week".

"Yea, that reminds me." David said. "Candy, one of the restrictions is child birth control. Not just birth control but some level of surgery. I can take you to County or to a Clinic to have your tubes tied. But we have to do that before the end of the first 30 days"

"We can plan that later. Right now we have to get some personal things here for all of you and shower things and some clothes to wear outside" Margaret continued. "Lets go get new sheets and pillow cases and pillows"

"You should not have to go to all that expense," Candy said.

"Yes you should" Carol said." You are getting 1500 dollar advise from legal, academic and marketing experts. You should pay at least that much for it."

"Ok. So it is linen shopping we go". Margaret agreed.

"And pick up some general groceries" Liz said.

"And pots and pans to cook with" Carol said

"And coffee. We need Coffee in the morning" Nancy interjected.

"Ok, Ok. I will go shopping. We will be back as quickly as we can."

Once in the car David leaned over and gave his wife a deep soul searching kiss. "Are you ok with all this?"

"Of course I am. I broached the subject didn't I?"

"Yes you did for Helen. But I am talking about Liz and Carol and Nancy"

"They are all right. You are smart to get their advice to get things started. But Carol will look for a way out. That is what she does. So we probably ought to figure on closing her soon. We can build a fancy gallows as part of the service offer and use her as a demo. She would like that"

"You going to pull the trap?" David asked.

"Hell no. I want it to be Candy. The girl makes a great executioner. Sweet, innocent smile and slices like a razor. She get's the honors".

"Well it won't be for a few weeks. We have to get some other things done first. One good thing out of all of. We are saving money right now. With two people quitting, and my firing Devony, we have dropped overhead. That gets us pretty well on track. If Helen works out we can use her for a few weeks and have two receptionists running. I might want to try Nancy in that slot. She can do the interviews and we can build a portfolio from that."

"You thinking of keeping Nancy long term?"

"Yes. Her and Candy for sure. If that is Ok with you?"

"Sure. I was originally going to keep Candy as a Fuck toy for you. But she has kind of wormed into my heart. I would hate to have to loose her right now"

"We won't. I can keep her for 120 days no sweat. And who knows what happens then. Hell, if she has a Union card, we can get them to work for keeping her"

"She has one now. She can legally cut now."

"How much we paying her?"

"Union scale. But only the dues and taxes have to be paid. We can keep the rest in an account for escrow. Keeps us out of trouble with the meat board and everyone else."

"Is that Carol's idea?"

"Of course, who else would think of that?"

"Well, let's set up the beds there and then get home to ours. You have had a busy day."

"Oh Shit. Helen is coming over tonight to talk about tomorrow."

"Nuts. Call her and tell her we will be a little late"

With that, a round of shopping included new sheets, pillows, pillowcases and blankets and comforters to match. That and toiletries that were not at the plant added up pretty quickly. It was almost cheaper to get the legal services for real cash David thought. And that was before groceries for at least four for the weekend.

Margaret and David got back to the plant it was just getting dark. Outside the back of the plant they saw a strange car, which turned out to belong to Carol's husband, James. Seeing that Margaret and David were back, Carl German went ahead and left, saying he would be back tomorrow to supervise the remaining packing in the plant.

David and Margaret started the task of moving the boxes into the plant and up to the third floor (which was exactly like the warehouse on the other side of the building) and setting the beds up in each of the four bedrooms. Getting all the toiletries carried up and base things into the kitchen was a chore. But after two hours and willing hands from James as well as all of the women, everything was pretty quickly set up. David needed to get lamps for all bedrooms, as well as some drawers for storage. It was like setting up a bordello, he thought to himself.

"I will get you each out individually next week and we will pick up things to suit your taste. We might as well make this as close to home as we can".

"David I don't know how we can thank you" James said. "Carol and I were at the end of our rope. Elizabeth's husband Peter sends his regards as well".

"Don't mention it. I was glad to help and besides, I am getting the better of this deal with consulting. Carol told you that, right"

"Yes she did. And she is pissed that she can't charge hours against it. But we both understand" he added with a grin.

"Well, Ladies," David said. " Enjoy your evening. Set the alarm after James leaves. And remember you cannot leave the property. If you do and the police catch you, you are runaways."

All of the women nodded at that. None of them had any belief that they would not be caught. It was just too much like how their luck was going to think they could avoid it.

With that, David and Margaret left for home.

-------

Friday Night at Findlay Processing

"Well, this is an pleasant turn of events" James said to all concerned. "And I am happy to meet you, Nancy and Candy".

"Don't turn that charm on too much, lover. You need to take care of me first. And after my day I am going to need a lot of it"

"Well it turned out well, didn't it?" James said to his wife.

"If you can say watching 3 women slaughtered in cold blood in front of me ok, then yes, it turned out well." Carol replied.

"Were you one of them?" James asked.

"No. But this system is not fair. This should not have happened" Carol replied.

"Carol, you have argued about and against the legislation a number of times. You know it better then almost any one can."

"Yes. But now it is applied to me, and I hate it"

"I am not too happy with it either" Liz broke in" But thank god David is working the system for us and not against us"

"I don't know enough about what you all are talking about" Candy interjected" but right now all of us are the same. Except I am younger and a higher price for meat."

Silence lasted for a few moments while everyone digested that remark.

"She is right." Nancy said. "We are all the same right now. If David or Margaret decided we were no longer worth putting up with, we would be down in the locker with Jane, and all the rest of the women who were processed today"

"You don't really mean that" James asked.

"Yes, I am afraid we do" Carol replied. "It is wonderful that Dave Findley, of all people we know, is in the right place and time to do this. And we would never have guessed that he was in this business. Because if he had not had his half baked idea we would all be cooling in the cooler"

"What idea?" James asked.

"Honey. It is still in the formation state. I don't want to talk about it until we have contract" Carol answered. "Suffice to say it will have to turn a profit or David will be looking to cut his overhead. And the three of us are overhead. I am not counting you, Candy, because I don't think you are in any danger of being declassed by David."

"I wish I had your confidence in me, Ms. Burns. I am sure glad that my meat price is going to my parents as well as keeping my momma out of the lottery for another year"

"Is that how you ended up here?" Carol asked.

"Yes. Stacy and I volunteered at the meat board and they said that our mom's would be exempted from this year's lottery."

"Darling, we can draft a permanent exception for both of your mothers. Stacy because she is carrying a boy child, and you because you were, well, termed. Even though you are still alive."

"Really? A permanent exception for her?"

"Sure. "Carol replied. "I did a lot of these. James can draft the documents for us and file them on Monday".

"Hey now" James interjected" What do I get out of this as compensation?"

"How about two women making love to you all night long" Liz answered. "With Carol's permission of course".

"Of course you brazen Hussy" Carol replied.

"Hey. What about us" Nancy interjected.

"We will get you your own tomorrow. Or loan you James later"

"That is OK. I want to do some reading anyway," Candy said. "I need to find out what all I can do with that Union book I got".

James, Liz and Carol left to go upstairs, leaving Nancy and Candy alone in the break room.

"What are you reading so intently?" Nancy asked.

"What I can do and can't do. I figured out that I could actually do most everything that Margaret does as an apprentice. I only have to make sure that a Senior Union member signs my card when I fully dismember a woman to put in the cooler"

Nancy blanched at that. "How do you feel about doing that?" she asked.

"I don't think too much about it. When we were standing in the slaughter room waiting for Jane to come around on the revolving door, I was just glad it wasn't me. When she got hit with the juice, and was strung up, I was just so happy it was not me or my momma"

"I guess that puts things into perspective," Nancy answered. "So how did you feel when you were following Margaret through the process in the plant?"

"I thought she was great. She was like one of us. Sure, she was leading everything all that, and us but we had to go anyway. It wasn't like we had a choice. And even when I saw her cut Jane's and Caroline's throats, I saw her talk to them and help them to keep calm while they bled out. It was nice to for them to know that they were not alone"

There was a strange sort of logic in what Candy was saying, Nancy realized. This was definitely worth writing a paper on.

"So, how about sex? Do you have a boyfriend"? Nancy asked.

"Not really serious. I have had a few experiences. With women too. I think on the whole men are great for the rough, but women are what you want when you like soft and caring."

Nancy blushed at the frankness of Candy's admission. She felt the color rising in her face and heat in her chest. "Really" Nancy squeaked.

"Really. Would you like to have some company tonight?" Candy asked.

"I really would like that" Nancy answered. And sometime soon, I need to get a man, she thought to herself.



-------

Chapter 5



Friday Night Homecoming

The drive home was quiet. Both David and Margaret were in their own thoughts. Both were thinking about how their actions had changed their lives and relationship. Margaret was now a cold-blooded killer with sixteen women's death at her hands. David was looking forward to selling retail high-end services to women that would kill them, often in painful and spectacular ways. And they were still married.

And they were on their way home to meet with a couple that they had known for years, and the woman they would probably kill sometime later next week.

This is a pretty complex change of events, Margaret thought to herself. I do know that I love being a Goat. I enjoy working with the client every step of the way, from reception to conversion to skinning and butchery. It was unlike any job I have ever done and I am good at it.

Mark and Helen were at the house when David and Margaret drove up. As everyone got out of the cars and headed to the door, David noticed a bottle of wine in Helen's hand.

"Party goods?" David asked. "What is the occasion?"

"Two more days of life and seeing my daughter one last time" Helen answered. "And I get to have a couple of great last fucks with friends of mine".

"Well, we need to drink to that". Margaret said.

As they opened the door and entered the house, Margaret grabbed Mark and started to drag him toward the living room. "Honey" Margaret said" I am going to fuck this soon to be widower, while you fuck next week's dinner".

David and Mark were in shock.

"Yes" Helen grabbed David's hand and started to drag him toward the other couch.

"Come play with your dinner now and you can play with it again next week".

As the evening progressed, Helen got more and more vocal. "Fuck me. Spit me with your cock like you can spit me with your roasting spit later this week. Roll my fat ass over a slow fire and watch it sizzle and pop"

And when David came, Helen said "Oh yea. Deep. Just like a spit will feel".

Margaret was vocal in a different way. "You going to come over here and fuck me after I finish cleaning out your wife and putting her on to roast? Are you going to enjoy my pussy after I stretch hers out with a six foot steel pole? You going to come and fuck me and remember her?"

After the first round of sex, everyone retired to the kitchen to open the wine and recover. Once the wine was open and the first glass was poured, David broached the subject of the weekend and Monday.

"Well, Helen, how do you want us to do you next week?"

"Well I expect you are going to kill me and chop me into pieces, David. That is what I expect. I guess we should talk about how. Unless you want to surprise me."

"Well, what are your preferences?"

"I don't really know. The spit idea was fun to talk about, but unless it is pretty pain free, I don't want to go through with it. Mary's suffering was enough for me"

"Any others? Hanging Fantasies? The Block or the Guillotine?"

"Mark and I play choking games sometimes. We never went too far. And it takes a long time, doesn't' it?"

"Depends" David replied. "If you do a long drop, your neck breaks and all sensation stop. You still choke but you don't feel it. If you do a short drop, the sensation is more intense for a longer period of time.

"The guillotine sounds like it would be quick. Chop, plop, the head drops" Helen said.

"Yes they are. But we would not have one built by Monday." David replied.

"Too bad. Anyone in your office good with an Ax or a sharp knife?" Carol mused.

"Don't know about an ax, but I am pretty good with a knife" Margaret said.

"I am not talking about chopping kitchen vegetables, Margaret" Helen said.

"I am not either. I went to work with David today and did 16 women. Stunned them, strung them up, and slit their throats. And after they bleed out, I helped field dress 5 of them".

Conversation stopped. Helen and Mark both looked at Margaret in shock.

"You did what?" Helen asked.

"I went to work with David today and we did 42 women. I lead all them to the slaughter floor and helped process them. I killed 16 and helped with the rest.'

Helen turned to David. "Is this true?"

David took a drink of his wine. Looking at Helen and Mark

"Yes. Margaret has decided to take a more active part in the business" David replied succinctly. "And has found a lot of joy in her hands on approach"

"I guess she did" Mark laughed out loud.

"I guess so," Helen agreed. "You weren't kidding, were you? I don't know how I feel about that"

"I know how I feel. You have to die some time. If it is in our place, one of four people is going to kill you. I am one of them. And all of us will take the time to be gentle, kind and be with you all the way. No one is going to hurry you, and no one is going to keep you from enjoying your trip".

"So, what are we doing tomorrow" Helen asked.

"I think we are going to do an intake tomorrow with you." David said. "You need to bring some clothes because we are going to keep you upright until Monday so you can spend Sunday with your daughter at the plant. If you want to leave, Margaret or I have to go with you. And on Monday we will probably process you. Unless you wouldn't mind doing some work for us"

"What kind of work?" Helen asked.

"Paperwork The worst thing about any business is paperwork," Margaret laughed.

"What kind of paperwork?"

"We can show you tomorrow. When a woman comes in for processing, we take the letter of selection, and the identification and verify a matchup. And we have to prepare a file to go to the selection board. That includes blood test results, urine test results and some other things. We are also starting to ask questions about how women feel about termination methods. We want to branch out and offer wider selections as time goes by."

"Sounds like a receptionist job"

"It was. She quit yesterday. Actually I fired her. So if you want to do the job as interim you are hired."

"How long is Interim?"

"At least 30 days if you like. You can select to terminate any time earlier then that if you want" David explained.

"Really?" Helen asked.

"Really. There are a few limitations though. You have to stay on the prem. You cannot leave. You also have to wear a marking device like a collar the entire time to mark you as a "Judas Goat" or trained employee."

"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?" Helen asked while looking at Margaret.

"Yes. And after today, I think you would be great at it. And we think you could do this while you got things straighten around the way you want. And Mark could come and visit. Of course, we have four hens in the house now, so he might get some variety as well"

"Four women? Who? Do I know them?"

"Some you might. Elizabeth Carter, Carol Burns, and Nancy Abbot. And a new young woman named Candy. I forgot her last name. She is 19 and cute as a bug. I was going to keep her for a fuck toy for David for a few days, but she is such a good worker I am going to have to talk David into keeping her around."

"And me. That is five, not six"

"Don't forget me, you bag of wind. I belong there too," Margaret snapped jokingly.

"You don't' count. Mark can have you any time he wants."

"Anyway, the work is easy, you are working with people. And we are finished up shortly after noon. So the paperwork can be finished at the end of the day. Oh, and you have to be naked". Margaret added with a grin.

"Naked? Why"

"Cause the Meat Administration Board has rules and for a Goat you have to be naked while on the property. So do I"

"But naked?"

"Helen, one day we are going to strip you and scrub you in a shower before we kill you and cut you up. So you might as well get used to being naked". Margaret said.

"Well, when you put it that way, it is not too much of a thing. But it takes some getting used to. Of course, being naked right now has its advantages" Helen said as she reached for David's cock.

"Come here and play with your food some more" Helen said as she slipped her mouth over his cock.

-------

Findlay Home, Saturday Morning

"I honestly don't think I can survive" David thought to himself as the alarm went off at 6:30. "But if this is how I go, I won't complain"

David said this from the middle of his bed. Helen was on one side of him, snuggled up against him, her bottom pressed nicely against his left hip. Margaret was on the other side of him, wrapped around his torso, her leg over his, and her left hand wrapped around his sore penis. It was sore because Helen had tried to strip the skin off of it with her cunt the previous night. While ED drugs had some a ways since the little blue pill, they weren't going to keep up with the likes of a woman in sexual overdrive.

Mark was on Helen's other side. Margaret had tried to wear him out, but her energy did not keep up with Helen's. Helen had attacked her husband at about 3 AM after leaving David sore, tired, and totally out of fluid on the bed.

The room reeked of sex. Mattress technology had come a long way, and fortunately the pillow top was removable and washable, because it was soaked.

"So, are you awake, sleepy head?" Margaret asked from David's shoulder.

"Barely. I think I am dead".

"No. I hear your pulse. And you are still breathing. I've been listening to that for a while."

"Really? Why are you awake?" David asked, a bit confused

"Honey. I love you" Margaret said. "But we need to get moving and talk".

"This is a new side of you. You usually want to snuggle back down under the sheets."

"That is one of the things we need to talk about. Let's get a move on"

A snore from Helen on the other side caused Margaret to giggle "And we can leave them here while we shower. What time should Helen come in?"

"We open at 9 on Saturday, and close at 1. No need to wake her up just yet"

David and Margaret moved to the master shower, and started the water running. Gently David soaped his wife, and she soaped him. The play was gentle and affectionate, not sexual and passionate. They both wrapped it up in about 10 minutes. This was followed by quietly dressing to not awake the sleeping bodies in the king sized bed.

Migrating downstairs to the kitchen, David popped split bagels into the toaster, while Margaret started the coffee. Both were ready in just a minute.

"Honey, I need to ask you how you feel about me now?" Margaret asked.

"Darling, there is no change that is not for the better. You are still the same wonderful woman I married. I am surprised that you had this hidden ability to be a serial murderer, but that is a pleasant surprise, given the circumstances".

"So you still love me today? " Margaret whispered.

"Yes. I wonder what the cause of the transformation was, and how long it will last."

"I think the trigger was the knowledge that I was going to be excluded from being meat. I have always been afraid of it since my sister was called 10 years ago. You remember? You and I drove her to H&S." Margaret said quietly.

"Yes. We did not have the health department license to move to humans yet. I was afraid you always held that against me." David said.

"I was a little. I was madder then I knew. I guess I was really torn. I knew what was going to happen, and I felt so powerless." Margaret said choking a little.

"And there was nothing I could do to help." David continued.

"You know, I was really pissed at you for a while. I think that the last pass of selection was just a big click inside. Like I said, survivor guilt and release. And after seeing that news special last year, I was pissed at how H&S was so very cavalier about what they did. And I think I wanted to see what you did, and how it was different. I was really shocked the first trip through and saw how Chris worked. Those women were totally surprised. They honestly did not have time to really panic. If I was pissed about anything yesterday, it was that you had no goat for such a long time." Margaret said with a vengeance.

"It takes a special person to work in that capacity. I keep my eyes out for people that have that ability, but hiring in the human food business is tough. It took a long time to find Chris and Marty, for instance. And the turntable cost a lot of money to build. It is our secret, I don't let anyone know about its' existence. If I did, it would be published and probably spook the people. Which would make things less manageable with the small crew that we have."

"I have to admit to being surprised. It was really a shock to me when I saw how effectively Chris was when the first string followed me. I guess that was why I felt I could do this myself. And as the day went on, I wanted to talk to the women and keep them calm. That was why I stepped in for Chris later. I actually wanted to replace him on the second string. When I cut Maggie on the third string, it was a surprise how easy and fast it was. A really sharp knife helps. And watching how he slit was easy with all the bright light I that whole back area."

"That is Carl's idea. He said that light is the enemy of dirt and areas where dirt can live. Dad listened to him when he was the regional general manager for USDA. We had the lighting upgraded so it keeps the subject a little dazed and lets a butcher see everything. And keeps cleanup easier." David said putting on his shirt.

"He was worth his weight yesterday. I see why you have him on payroll".

"Yes. You have to have an inspector. And you have to be able to do testing for disease and infection. Having Barbara doing that loosens up Carl. He did enough for dad while we were setting up. There are only three human process plants in Chicago today. We are the smallest. Overhead is a bitch. Ditching Devony was an improvement overall. Having you jump in as much as you did will improve things."

"David. You never needed to be in the business, did you? Your dad's real estate holdings do a lot to keep us independent."

"Honey, the real estate was from income from the meat business. Dad did most of that earlier. It was the Imam and the Rabbi that kept him in the business. That was how we got onto the kosher board. He had too many friends to back out of the business. When we had the economy in a slump, he had to shift the focus to the most profitable product. Human for meat was the biggest profit. He did that while the realty income was low. Now things have shifted. But do we want to leave the business?"

Margaret was quiet for a moment. "To be honest. No. I don't want to. It sounds scary but I am had too much fun yesterday. I don't want to stop. And we would not be able to help anyone else. What if Cathy, or Danni were picked? Do we want our daughters to go to H&S? Nope. So long as humans are on the menu, we need to stay in the business."

"Well, we better get on the road. We need to track down our three missing people, or publish a runaway warning. And we need to figure out how far we bring Helen in." David said.

"What do you mean?" Margaret asked.

"Well, part of what works for us is the surprise element. If we take Helen in, she will know exactly what is going on. That means she won't be surprised when we walk her all the way through processing. The same applies to all the others. We need to plan for finishing all of the goats." David explained.

"I told you what we should do with Carol. Use her as a demo. And we could do the same with Liz. Helen can go Monday or in a couple of weeks. Candy is indefinite. Or I could do her by hitting a shock when she led a string."

"You have thought this all out, haven't you?" David said with a smile.

"Remember the old saying that the female is the deadliest of the species"? Margaret asked. "Don't you forget it, fella. Just be happy it is only Human Females that are candidates for Meat."

"You know. We could look into that. Execution at the hands of the state is pretty amateurish compared to what we do. " David replied

"Naw. I don't want to spoil my knives cutting into some dick to sell it as sausage."

"That image scares the shit out of me". David said, opening the door.



-------

Chapter 6

Findley processing, Saturday Morning

Carol realized she was not in her own bed when she woke up hugging James. And after a moment she remembered where she was.

The collar was a reality check.

Liz must have left after I fell asleep, Carol thought to herself.

Last night had been pretty wild, Carol thought to herself. She and Liz had attacked Jim and each other repeatedly. It was as if the stress and shock of the roller coaster just made them both hungry to make up for lost time.

Carol nudged Jim and then started to kiss his neck.

"Mm mm" Jim replied. "Didn't get enough?"

"Never enough. Always want one more."

"Honey, I couldn't get it up this morning if I had too to save my life."

Carol froze at that statement. I wonder how many more mornings do I have? She thought to herself.

"Well, could you if it was someone besides me?" She whispered.

"After last night, I could not for anyone. Regardless".

"Well, you will probably have a lot of opportunities in the future to get some variety".

"I don't want to".

"Honey, you have to. I don't know how long this life here will last. And I don't know how long I want it to last either."

"Carol"

"Shh. Listen to me. David and Margaret have given us a gift. We have a few days to settle things and I get to see the girls. But being in this place? I don't think I want to last too long here as a slave."

"Carol, we can do something. Remember, delay is our friend."

"Jim, it is not a friend or fair. The whole thing is crazy, but this is a prison. Worse it is a prison with an execution chamber that runs four days a week. I can't live in that environment for long. I don't want to."

"So what are you going to do? Let Margaret or someone cut your throat like you and Liz described to me?" Jim asked anxiously.

Jim had been shocked after the first sex and a few drinks with Liz and Carol. They were laughing in shock talking about the slaughter of the three last women in the "pack' that followed Margaret. He did not know how to feel about Margaret after hearing that she had slit the throats of the three women, all the while talking to them. It seemed almost psychotic to him.

"Either that, or get David to build a Gallows. I think that will take a while. Or I'll ask him to bring in a block and ax. Jim, I am going to be slaughtered. I am going to be either table food or dog food. I hope it is table food for you. But either way, I am going through the freezer some time. I will be cut up and packaged. And you or someone is going to buy the box marked Carol. And I think you need to get that in your head now."

"But" James began.

"You will need to get another bed-warmer. You need to get ready to move on with your life. Best thing going for us right now is we have time to finish up our relationship. No regrets. And don't' get upset with Dave and Margaret. They did us a favor by giving us at least one more night and maybe 29 more. When this is over, remember they were our friends. If I had not been sent here yesterday, I would already be in cute little plastic packages in a meat counter."

Jim was quiet while he listened to what his wife was saying. He also knew when she was on a roll like this that he should not argue.

"You sure do know how to present your case. Ok. So how much will a Grand Gallows cost to build?" Jim asked

"What do you mean? You intending to pitch in?"

"Darling. If you are going to use it, I will build the finest ever built, just for you."

"Jim, you are the sweetest man." Carol said, as she rolled over on top of him all the while trying to get him hard one more time.

Liz had gone back to the room that was "hers" after Jim and Carol fell asleep. She could not stay there. The semen running down her legs felt good. And there was no doubt that Jim was an impressive lover. Hopefully Carol would loan him to her again.

The sounds of Candy and Nancy in Nancy's room had greeted her as she left Carol's bed. The open door was an invitation to watch as Nancy and Candy were locked into a 69 that both sweating and moaning. Liz watched for a moment, then went onto her bed feeling too agitated and sore for any more.

So how do I feel? Liz asked herself. Liz was glad that she would be able to see her kids and husband a few more times. And she was very happy that she was not going to be dead for the immediate future. But the impact of watching Margaret slit three throats, and knowing that she was going to do it again today was disturbing. And her cheerful persona with everyone right up to the time they stood on the revolving door was comforting. It was wrapping her mind around what happened next that was the problem.

I guess I better make some coffee, Liz said to herself. Forcing herself out of the bed she picked up the robe that was brought over last night and went down the stairs to the break room below.

There were two stairways downstairs. One was off of the stripping room downstairs, and the other went down to the break room where the refrigerator, stove, microwave and pantry were. Liz went down to start the coffee in the break room. The coffee pot there was older and needed to actually have water and coffee put into it, and the new pots and pans were in the dishwasher ready to use. Breaking some eggs into a bowl, Liz started to make the basics of omelets and put some bread into the toaster. Turning the stove on and placing the skillet in place to warm up, Liz was well on the way to making breakfast.

The smell of coffee drew Carol out of bed, leaving a totally exhausted Jim behind in the bed. Grabbing her robe, she wandered downstairs following the scent of coffee toward Liz in the kitchen.

"My, aren't you energetic." Carol said to Liz when she got to the bottom of the stairs

"No. Hungry. How about you? I have toast up and we can split the omelets."

"Sounds great. What can I do?"

"Break out the dishes, knives, forks and spoons".

Setting the table for four, Carol brought two plates and she and Liz divided an omelet and brought it to the table.

Carol said. "We freaked Jim out a little last night talking about our practice run. And Margaret's demonstration"

"Freaked Jim out? How did he think we felt?" Liz asked.

"I don't think he really thought about it from that perspective. I think you have to be there to really experience it first hand to really understand it."

"That is an understatement. I did not know Margaret was capable of that." Liz replied.

"I have been a lawyer for 10 years, and I can tell you she surprised me totally. I thought she was a sweet compassionate lady until Judy came through the door. I had no idea of what was coming. It was like a wild horror movie. I would have peed myself if I hadn't already"

"I think that is why the things run the way they do. You have to admit, this process really is very well thought out," Liz said.

"Well, I guess you would have to. I just never expected to come out of there. And if I go down that route again, I don't think I can without shivering. I was scared silly the first time"

"Well, you better eat." Nancy said. "If that omelets get's cold, I won't make another one"

"Food?" Candy said from the bottom of the stairs.

"Aha yes. Youth arrives" Liz said. "Just a second, Let me make you something quick".

"Thanks, but finish your own first. I will get a cup of coffee and some juice first"

"So, how did you sleep?" Carol asked after Candy sat down next to her and Elizabeth.

"Pretty well. Nancy and I were up for a couple of hours. I wore her out and let her get to sleep".

Carol's eyebrows rose at that remark.

"I didn't' have a man like you two did" Candy said. "So we just made do with what we had".

"You were doing pretty good when I saw you" Liz snickered

"We saw you. I wondered why you didn't come in."

"Too tired. Jim and Carol wore me out".

"Yea" Candy said. "Can I borrow him some evening? Nancy wants to as well. In fact, she said she wants to be in a gangbang, now that she does not have to be a good girl."

Carol blushed at that. She had, after all, told Jim to look around. She was not sure she wanted him looking around here. After all, except Margaret, none of them was leaving here alive. "I guess this could be his own private brothel for a while."

"Hey" Liz interjected "What about Peter? Can't he come here as well? It is not fair that he isn't able to enjoy the fruits of his pending widowhood. Candy, I think you would like him. He is my husband."

'You wouldn't mind?" Candy asked.

"He has to fuck someone after I am dead. And since I am not able to go home, he should fuck someone while I am alive. I don't mind if you wear him out some. Just be careful. Don't want you getting knocked up and loosing your status."

"Thanks. I wanted to ask first."

"Does that offer extend to me?" Nancy asked, as she came around the corner from the steps.

"Sure. I don't think Carol or I have any real claim to Peter or to Jim based on our current circumstances.

"You know, I hadn't thought about this all the way through." Carol said. "There is a problem with David's long term storage of us. Legally, we surrendered our identification and our letter to report. After we are dead, there has to be a filing of a death certificate to match the order. That becomes sent to our next of kin from the MAB. Until that is sent, Peter and Jim can't claim insurance, close accounts, or do any of the other things to settle and move on. They are in limbo until the death certificate is issued."

"That doesn't seem fair" Liz responded. "In fact, that sucks."

"Yea." Nancy said. "It's almost like having a wife in a long-term medical facility waiting for the end. That used to happen a lot in the old days and it really tore families apart. I don't know if this fits the same legal definition. We are not sick. We are just not dead yet."

"Well, I don't really have that problem. Mr. F. said he was going to send on the hoof price to my folks already." Candy said. "I wonder if I could pay him back with wages from working here?" she thought to herself.

"Carol, what would happen if David filed the death certificates?" Elizabeth asked.

"Falsifying those would put him in a lot of trouble. Record falsification of death has all sorts of penalties from local to state to Federal. And once we are legally dead, since Parker vs. New York, anyone can convert us. Any way they want. So I don't think that is a good idea. And false documents are too difficult and dangerous a way to do. And I think David is too ethical to do that anyway. I think we just have to work with this as it is." Carol said in summation.

While this conversation was going on, Nancy went to the stove and started more eggs. She also put the bacon into the microwave for 30 seconds to cook up. The smell reminded her of the shock in the slaughter room yesterday afternoon, and oddly she was not too disturbed.

I guess I am not as squeamish as I was she thought.

The smell of bacon, plus coffee and eggs brought Jim down from upstairs. He was wearing pants and a shirt as well as shoes when he got to the bottom of the steps.

"Aww. The girls wanted to see you in the buff, dear" Carol teased Jim from the table.

"I don't think it is safe to be naked around here for a man. Even if it is the rule for women" Jim retorted.

"Shit. I forgot. Girls we have to loose the robes when David gets' here. And be ready to be naked if an inspection happens." Carol told the group.

"I think you are all right for times like now," Jim said. "But definitely during business hours and when other employees are here. Don't' want stories being spread".

"You know, there was a book written about this sort of issue many years ago." Nancy said. "It was about a group of people trapped in a house avoiding the government. And like that family, we are trapped in a manner of speaking. And like them, when the government found out something was going on, all of them died."

"Leave it to you, Nancy, to find the historical reference." Liz said

"She just needs to get laid" Candy said. "Can she borrow Jim for a while, Carol?"

"Sure. She will have to wait until he recharges."

"Actually, a bit longer. I have to go to the office and do some things this morning. Will you be here when I get done?" Jim asked.

"I will be either in one piece or pieces. I think David will let you know if my status changes. We have time. Get out of here." Carol said

"I will let you out. Margaret gave me the combination to the alarm last night" Candy said.

Jim poured a cup of coffee and followed Candy to the front door. Nancy sat down with Carol and Liz and asked, " Do you think I am a depressing influence? I am trying to keep up my spirits. But I am really having troubles".

"We all are" Carol began. "Last Saturday, I was planning a trip to the Bahamas. Liz and I got our notices on Monday. Which means we should have been dead the day after tomorrow. We all are. But we have to make the best of it and enjoy what this offers."

"Didn't David say he has half days on Saturday." Nancy asked. "Doesn't that mean he could "catch up" with us today?"

"More likely the three no shows from yesterday that I heard him talking about" Liz replied. "There were three folders on the front desk when I went with Candy to lock the front up last night."

"I hadn't thought of that. Sunday is conversion catch up." Carol said." The MAB does overnight census review of the previous week, and does the lottery for that week on Sundays. Any one out after Sunday morning from the previous week is subject to pickup. Not that the police are interested. But if you are picked up in even a traffic stop after the following week, without an appeal in process, you are on the stake that day. I used to think it was barbaric, but I have to admit that it insures compliance."

"You don't sound very happy with our society right now" Liz interjected.

"Actually, I am." Caro replied. "Do you realize that the general population has almost 90% fewer crimes overall than we had in the 2010 crime statistic? Violent crime is down to almost nothing. Human on Human violent crimes are almost non-existent today. You are safer walking down the street today than in any era in history. People are accountable for the most minor things because avoidance of guilt is a major crime. My caseload as prosecutor dropped to one a month in Major Crimes."

"That is because of the population ratio," Nancy said. "Women are habitually less prone to violence, and when they are, they are more likely to accept guilt for it."

"She is right there," Carol agreed. "The men usually tried to evade or rationalize their actions. The women usually tried to explain it. Different focus entirely."

"DONUTS!" Candy shrieked when she came back into the room from the front door. "There was a Cream Donut delivery outside, and they do them each week".

"Oh God" Nancy said. "Fat Pills. I might as well just put this on my ass now".

"I would not worry too much, girlfriend. I don't think we will grow too much over the next month to drop in the market grade". Carol rebutted.

"Thanks bitch. Just when my mind was off of the subject". Nancy murmured.

"Nancy, you are alive right now. And we are not living in the pictures of the old WWII documentaries. We are going to die someday, but not right now. Eat a Donut"

Grabbing for a jelly filled éclair, Nancy said, "You are right. Not much place for guilt here anymore".

Driving toward the plant the plant, David and Margaret were continuing their conversation that they had started at the house.

"So what is on the agenda for today?" Margaret asked.

"Well, My receptionist is supposed to call any missing from the week's process and let them know we do "catch up" for the week on Saturday's. At the end of the day we have to electronically file the death certs with the process notices to the MAB. Any no shows are broadcast as Be On the Look Out, although if they do appear here during the following week we allow for processing. We are so small that we can usually fit any in."

"Ok. I can start on that. What do you want to let Helen see? If we don't keep her separate from the others, you know that they are going to talk. It might raise her nervousness and make her unmanageable. Is Mark allowed to stay?" Margaret asked in a rush.

"Absolutely Not. No partners in processing. Dad was emphatic and so was Carl. The risk is too high. Ever since we had the last demonstrations 6 or so years ago when we first opened, we have been very strict about that. In fact, we don't allow males on site during business hours that are not employees. The insurance risk is too great."

"Ok. So, What time should she show up?"

"Well, it's 7:45 now. Let's see what mess we have, and call her at 9 with the rest. We should be able to chase Jim out and get the place cleaned up upstairs. We have to decide how domestic we let the dorm get. I don't want to have to repaint walls and stuff when we move our tenants along."

"I see what you mean. We have to move them out when we move them along. You know, I had never really thought this all the way through. There is really is going to be an end for them, isn't there?" Margaret asked.

"Yes there is. Like it or not, people are not pets. The biggest thing is that we get to help decide the day for them. Candy included."

"I hear you. But you can't term her before you show me her bouncing up and down on your cock."

"Margaret. I told you, I don't mess with the meat. And I don't let the staff do it either. That was one of the things that turned my stomach about last year's news piece was the screwing of the reporter while she was on the spitter. There is no excuse for that. Remember how cold you were to me after that piece came out?

"Well, Yes. I do. I should have had more faith in you when you said you didn't fuck with the meat. Barbara told me that yesterday. She was pretty much hero worshipping you."

"Barbara's story is pretty sad. She had two sons. Which permanently pulled her from the lottery. And they were both killed. One in that mess in South America and the other in the Mid East in the last dust up. Her Husband was killed in a car accident two years ago. All the angst of the last thirty years and she is alone."

"She sure did enjoy Stacy yesterday. Everyone did."

"Everyone does. Chris hates cutting pregnant women. And cutting out the uterus and leaving it on the table until it quits moving makes him pretty dour for the rest of the day."

Margaret was quiet. That would be part of the field dressing process she was taking on. None of the women she had cut yesterday were pregnant. Having two girls herself, she was wondering how she would feel when she did that. She just realized how very, very lucky she had been her entire life.

Nothing was really decided when David and Margaret got to the office. By silent agreement, they were going to play it by ear. David noticed that Jim's car was gone when he arrived. Walking up to the rear entrance he saw that the alarm was set, and that the door was properly secured. In fact, it was a little too securely locked to enter without calling someone first. The inside release/ panic bar was locked into position, meaning that no one from the outside was going to go inside without a metal saw and a lot of time.

Margaret laughed, "I guess they took you seriously to lock up. Want me to call them?"

"Sure. And ask them if I can come in? Dial the land line and lets' see if anyone picks up."

"Findlay Processing, How can I help you?" a voice that Margaret recognized as Candy's answered.

"Well, thank you for taking my call. This is Margaret and we are at the back door trying to get in."

"Oops. Sorry. I locked that back up last night not knowing when you guys were coming. I will be right there".

Candy was a little nervous as she trotted down to the loading dock door. She knew she had double locked the door after everyone left last night. She had intended to wait there for David and Margaret this morning, but she had gotten sidetracked and had been back to the break room eating. So she didn't know what was going to be the experience when she let David and Margaret in.

When she opened the door, David said "Boo". After a second, when Candy realized he was playing with her, she laughed.

"Candy, you did great. But in the future, remember to check the cameras first before you unlock. I will show you where they are so you can use them from now on."

"So I did ok?" Candy asked.

"Candy, you did good to lock up like this. I assume you did the front too?"

"Yes. We were all a little afraid after the USDA visit and wanted to be secure."

"No problem. I need to give you a control access code and a few other things. First where are the others? Everyone still here?"

"Carol's husband left about a half hour ago. The rest are all finishing breakfast. That is where I was when you called. I locked up after I let him out."

"Good. Take us up to the rest of the group."

David and Margaret were happy to see everyone finishing up coffee, and that all dishes were in the dishwasher.

"I see the Saturday donut connection arrived. Any left?"

"We had a few. I did a double order when I went to pick them up. Is that OK?" Candy asked.

"Should have ordered a triple. Could be a busy weekend. Everyone Ok?"

Carol, Liz and Nancy all shook their head nervously. "We are doing ok. One day at a time. So what is the next step?" Liz asked.

"Ok. Here is our drill. We had three "No shows" yesterday. We have to reach out to them this morning and let them know that they can turn themselves in today and be processed without any adverse consequences if they are here by Noon. At noon we shut the doors and finish up whatever we have and then clean up. Barbara, Chris and Marty leave and don't come back before 8:00 on Monday. Tomorrow another of you will be here, and she is going to be spending time with her family in reception. I want to work with the three of you on your spaces to make them comfortable for you while you are here. And I want to get some input on what changes we need to make to get this place in line with a new business plan."

"Candy and Margaret, you go out to the office and start calling. Also let Helen know she can come in here at 9:00 for her processing. Mark can stay for a little while if he wants to help out here."

"David. How much can we bring here for the time we are here?" Nancy asked.

"What do you need, Nancy?" David replied.

"If you want me to do some research for you, I probably would need my computer. And Internet access."

"Computer definitely. We have to talk about Internet access for a few reasons. Carol and Liz, do you have workstations we can have brought here for your rooms as well?"

"That would be great. I could ask Jim to bring that over this afternoon". Carol volunteered.

"Good. There are some Pillar business desks in one of the rooms upstairs that I have been using as storage. I think I have some office chairs there too. We can move those into your rooms later and set up things here."

"Nancy, I can ask Jim to go to your place and pick up your things if you want." Carol offered.

"That would be great. My keys and things are in the box in the stripping room. I can go get them." Nancy replied.

"There is time for that later Nancy. Carol, Jim can't come over until after 1:00 PM. We will sort things out then."

"Next on the agenda. All of you are wondering "How Long?" Well I will be filing Goat status on all of you tomorrow. That gives us the minimum of the first thirty

days. After that, I file for ninety-day consecutive extensions. I have some thoughts on what we are going to be doing, but first, I would like your opinions. Carol, you first."

"Well, I guess what I have to offer most is Legal advice. I can look over the regulations regarding the different regulations and see how to keep us out of tr1ouble. But most of that will depend on what Nancy thinks we have as a service set."

"Ok. So I have to be the inventor here?" Nancy said. "I have the book I co-authored on abuse of women and the articles we have on trends in the subject. Things like home roasting parties, and the like. We can see what some of the more erotic execution scenarios are in the D/S set, and look at how to position that to the market."

"And I guess I need to see both the positive and adverse marketing reactions to those offers as we develop them." Elizabeth said. "Lots of that I can do by looking over the backlash and front pull of the US and European articles on marketing and customer acceptance. That should give us some parameters for the product offers. From that I guess we have to develop a financial plan and budget."

"Ok. I want to ask you about interviews. Can we do developmental interviews for our clients as they are in reception? Get a market study of what they want as they come through? I don't think questionnaires will work. I think we need to work with actual interviews." David said.

"I don't' think we can get realistic information from women in pending process. The answers and comments are likely to be skewed due to stress." Liz said.

"Ok. How about interviews on non-process days? Like Tuesday and Thursday. Bring people in for interviews in advance of their process date, and see what they think. Maybe we can work to develop a few low cost alternatives and use the data to further develop formal offers." David asked.

"Ok. But who does the interview?" Nancy asked.

"All of you. Nancy, you work on the interview material needed to be covered, and I know that Carol and Liz are great interrogators."

"And Candy?" Carol asked, with curiosity.

"I am going to use Candy as a Goat here. She has expressed an interest, you know she has a Union card, and I think that we will need her in that capacity. Margaret ran 3 full groups plus our little abbreviated one yesterday. She was busy. And with the situation leading into the holiday of the 4th of July, I don't see it getting any easier. It is too easy to slip up if you are working too hard. I think that the three of you can be best helpful on your projects and the combination."

"I agree with that," Nancy said. "The sorts of interview skills are probably outside of Candy's current skill set. We can definitely add them to her skill set later as time goes by."

I sure am glad that I am not the runner Nancy thought to herself. Carol and Liz were thinking similar thoughts.

"Ok. Now we have a couple of rules. I will have to ask some of you to stay in your rooms for the morning. We will get things organized later. I will re-build the my office to give you all a "Bull Pen" office area. That is independent of any desks and office stuff you want in your own rooms." David said "Nancy, I need some ideas from you on the following: Hanging, Roman Bath, Seppuku, and ritual beheading. Both mechanical and manual. With a machine or an ax. Also the different types of Gibbet, and any ideas of cooking while alive experiences. Not that we are going to do them but the simulation should satisfy the mental image of the subject. Also Carol I want opinions on Family presence at these events. Why go to the expense of staging at home when you can have it at a solid professional venue? Any questions?"

"Phew. Remind me not to ask again what you want us to do" Carol said, with a grin.

"Don't stop asking. You might get a pleasant surprise." David said with a laugh.

"On a more serious subject, we have one other rule. All four of my male employees know that there is no sex on the job. Not with co-workers, not with the subjects and not with themselves. Not during business hours. If there are any violations of this, do not feel pressured to comply, and do tell me. This is a business."

David's look at all three of them convinced them he was serious. All three nodded their heads. "Great. I have to check mail and go and see how the front office is. Talk with you later."

Checking mail in his office, David saw that there were pending notification of status e-mails for all of his collection. Quickly replying with registration as goat for Carol, Nancy, Candy and Elizabeth, David also set a reminder notice for twenty days hence to extend all four. No need to take any chances.

Walking into the reception room, David was taken aback. After yesterday's mess, there were 8 round tables set up with four chairs each spread evenly around the reception room. No more chairs against the walls. On the right hand wall were two rectangular tables with coffee and juice. As well as a mail slot board that he recognized from his desk in the back. In the top were clean information forms. In the bottom were standard envelopes.

David also heard Margaret on the phone at the desk where Devony used to sit. She was evidently talking with a prospect on the phone.

"Of course you can come in. It would be a terrible thing to have this happen just because you and your husband were on vacation. Come by today and we can get most of the paperwork done quickly. I will help you with processing myself. That's fine. No, your husband can leave you here. We will send any personal belongings back to him."

Hanging up the phone, Margaret turned with a grin. "I got to all 3 of yesterday's missing, they are coming in. Two had family issues that they had to wrap up and the third was stranded without a car. Her brother is dropping her off. And I found that one of last week's cases was on vacation. She was due last week, but they didn't get to the notice until yesterday. She is scared liverless that she is going to be caught."

"Melissa Gilbert? I wondered what happened. I got onto Devony to call her. She said the phone was disconnected."

"I got to her on the first ring." Margaret said. " And she said there was no message"

"Well, that is another thing that slipped. Margaret, I am sure glad you are here. This sort of thing was happening too often. Where is Candy?"

"She is doing a walk through down to set up things. She was going to set out the boxes and bags in stripping. You know, we could let the two girls there stay home Saturday and run this with a short crew. " Margaret said.

"I don't want to do that. We will have problems if I start using goats and cut wages and hours on employees. I am not sure but I think that is what happened at H&S"

Candy stopped first in the exam room hall and checked Barbara's office. There were 12 baskets with blood tubes and urine samples containers as well as paperwork neatly stacked. She grabbed the four that were associated with the names on her list and took them to exam rooms 1 to 4. She put a paper with the person's name on each door. Next she went down to the lavatory and checked that all of stalls were clean. "I guess that is what Christen and Casey did before they left."

Next she went down to stripping, and laid out 4 baskets and bags for newcomers. "Not much further I can go from here. I am not going through the door without knowing that the breaker box is flipped." Finally she went up the stairs to the dorm and down the other side to the break room.

Christen and Barbara was just sitting down with coffee. "Did you make this?" Barbara asked stirring her coffee.

"No. I think Nancy Ayers did. She is upstairs. By the way, can you bring back her box, Carol Burns box and Liz Carter's box? We all are sort of being kept around for a while."

"David building a Harem?" Christina asked with a smile.

"No. He is having us help him with some stuff. We are going to be goats for a while."

"What about you Candy?"

"I don't have much that I need. I was kind of empty when I got here."

"I'll bring it anyway. And if you need anything, let me know" Christen said.

Saturday Morning Business as usual

Candy had bounced back up to the reception and was talking to David when the first person came in at ten o'clock. Melissa Gilbert was scared, but almost relieved that she had the call from the nice lady at Findlay. She had no idea of what to do. Her stupid sister-in -law had put the notice on top of the refrigerator at home and had not told her a word. The whole time they were on vacation, she had not said a thing. She "Didn't want to spoil the last time together". If Melissa had been grabbed in South Carolina at the beach where everyone was, it would have been devastating. At 8 PM when they got home she had no idea what to do. The phone call this morning from the very helpful woman told her to come in now and there would be no issue on the family.

As she looked around the room she saw two nude women and a man at a desk at the front. Walking toward them she said "Hello. I am Melissa Gilbert. I called"

"Hi Melissa. I am Margaret. I am the one you talked to. Glad to see you had no problem getting here. Let's sit down over there and go over the paperwork."

After David sat and talked with Candy a few minutes he went downstream to alert Barbara and Christina that there would be some traffic in a few minutes.

"So, I know you are in shock at all of this, but let me tell you your family is not in trouble here. " Margaret began with Melissa.

"I am so relieved. I am so pissed at my sister in law. She has no brains sometimes."

"I know how you feel. Now Let's get this paperwork filled out and we can start moving you along."

"Are you here to be processed too?" Melissa asked.

"Any time now" Margaret answered. It was not totally a lie. She could die at any time herself.

"Do you know how they do it?"

"I think it has something to do with blood loss. I don't know myself. I always stopped at the second set of showers. I can show you where we go if you like?"

"That would be great. I am so afraid I am going to screw something up."

"Well, we both will see that does not happen".

"Ok. Lets take these papers with us and we will get going. You and I can work on the questionnaire in the Exam room. Candy can you watch the desk for me and call Chris and tell him we are coming down. We should be there in about an hour".

"Sure."

About twenty minutes after Margaret left with Melissa, Helen, Betty Ames and Carla Cardinale walked in. Immediately behind them was Janice Maguire.

"Good Morning Ladies. How about you grab a seat and I will be right with you" Candy said as she picked up the folders."

"Good morning" Helen said, " Do you know if David Findlay is here?"

"Sure is. I will call him in just a second. Who should I say is calling?"

"Helen Gester".

"Ok. I will give him a call. Are you here to be processed?" Candy asked.

Looking at the other three women, and thinking about it, Helen nodded her head. "Yes, I am. I told David I would call him when I got here."

"Ok. If you all could fill out these forms, they are very short, and set them with your notification letter in your folder, I will be right with you."

Candy buzzed David's office and got no answer. Why does that name sound familiar, Candy asked herself. Was this the woman that was to be the new receptionist? Her folder was here, but the assignment letter was already in it. That meant that David had it before Carol got here. Ok. Should I leave her here in reception? Or take her down with the first group?

Candy figured she was not supposed to leave stock unattended. Thinking quickly to herself, how about if I take her as far as exam, and leave her with Barbara? If I leave her there I can always collect her later.

"Ok. Ladies, if you are finished and could follow me, I would appreciate it. Helen, I don't know where David is, but I am sure we can find him on the way to processing."

This is irregular, Helen thought to herself. David would surely have told people about Monday. He did say that they would do intake first.

"Young lady, Is this intake here?"

"Yes. And the next stage is examination. We have quite a few things to do before we process you." Candy answered. "And I can call again as we go down the operation route."

Helen considered the options. Not really any here. While she did not know this young woman, she did seem competent. Perhaps this was just part of the preparation for Monday.

Gathering up her file folder and envelope and purse, Helen fell into line behind Jennifer, Carla and Betty.

Margaret by this time was into the Stripping Room, and admiring Melissa's body.

"I guess I should be proud of it. I worked in the gym three hours a day for the last three years. It is a shame it is going to be on a stick tonight."

"Actually, Melissa, we don't do live spitting here. Does that matter?"

"Hell yes. If I am going to die, I want to be the finest piece of meat at the party. I was told that I would get the full H&S treatment like they did on the broadcast last year."

"Who told you that?" Margaret asked.

"H&S did. They said if I were graded high enough, they would spit me. And I think too much of this body to have it any other way." Melissa said with a smile.

"Hmm. Melissa, there might be some confusion. Would you mind waiting here while I get this sorted out? I am sorry for the embarrassment, but we want you to get what you want."

This was a strange turn of events. I don't even know if we HAVE a spit or spitting table. And Chris said something about this being Master level work. I need to get David on this.

"Christen, please put Melissa in the Holding room while I get to David?"

"Sure Ms. F. Are you adding this one?"

"No. Just storage.

"What do you mean adding? And who are you?" Melissa asked, getting agitated.

"Melissa, nothing to be upset about. Let me get to David and we can sort this out. I am sure he wants to process you in the best manner available in line with your interests."

"Ok. Will this take long?"

"Not too long. Besides, do you really mind waiting?"

"Guess you have a point."

At this time, the short stick including Helen was in the Examination rooms, where Barbara was doing blood. Candy took the time to call David again, and then call back to the process floor. Chris answered on the second ring.

"Chris Davies."

"Chris, this is Candy. I have three in a string I am bringing down. I have a forth I am going to leave here. I will be the first, so don't jolt me."

"Candy. You are the cute little blonde that was working with Margaret yesterday?"

"Yes. And I have the string for today with me. Margaret is with a single ahead of me and I have one that is supposed to be talking to David. Is he there?"

"He is at the office. Margaret called me from stripping a moment ago to let me know we had a special request. She may be coming back up to you.

"Ok. That is good. Could you catch David and tell him that Helen wants to talk with him?"

"Sure. You take care girlie. And I won't shock you. Much".

"Thanks."

At this point, Barbara had arrived to find that all of the members of the string were in their respective exam rooms, with their papers, and their blood drawing materials. "Girl, did you do this?" Barbara asked Candy.

"Yes ma'am. I hope you don't mind".

"You aren't after my job are you?"

"Not until you are done with it. Besides, I have a job of my own". Candy replied.

"You sure are a lot more spunky today. I like seeing it."

"Thanks. Listen. Can I leave one with you? Helen Gester's name sounds familiar and she wanted to talk to David in person."

"I would but I have to leave earlier than usual. Once I get these tests done and the urine checked, I am leaving to catch up with my daughter in law. She is worried about selection, but I think that we have a defense due to her husband's death in the Service. I am helping her talk with the VA about this."

"Barbara, did you know that Carol was a lawyer?"

"No. Do you think she can help"?

"Wouldn't hurt to ask. She was pretty helpful for me this morning. She is upstairs. You could check when you finish this string." Candy continued.

"OK Candy. I will do that. Thanks."

Margaret in the mean time came up to reception to find it empty. And the door locked. And all of the file folders missing. I wonder where everyone is? She thought to herself.

Picking up the phone, she called to Exam rooms. And wasn't too surprised that Candy answered the phone.

"Exam rooms. Candy speaking".

"Candy, this is Margaret. You doing ok?

"Yes, but I have a problem."

Wondering what kind of problem 3 women could cause, Margaret asked, "What is it dear?"

"I have a woman named Helen Gresler asking for David. I was going to leave her here but Barbara has to leave even earlier today. She may be going up to talk with Carol. I know we shouldn't leave stock unattended, so what do I do?"

"Ok. So Helen is with you." Margaret thought a moment. What to do with Helen? If we pulled her out, it might spook the small string Candy had with her. The girl was young, knew what was going on and didn't need a confidence challenge. Besides, This might give her a chance to handle the situation herself.

"Ok. Here is what I want you to do. Take Helen with you all the way, but put her in the tail position on your stick. Do the first three, and then when you buzz her through the door have her come down and watch you finish field dressing. I will catch up with you. If she feints, wake her up."

"Ok boss. Understood."

"And don't give it away. Ok?"

"Like you did me yesterday?"

"Sort of. But I have a lot higher hopes for you."

Margaret hung up feeling that her friend would soon see things in a different light.

Candy hung the phone up and smiled. One day here and she was the expert. Looks like she was going to get pretty firm in the firm.

When Barbara said she was finished, and needed the urine samples next, Candy went to each room and said "Ok, we need to get to the restroom now and then move along. Please bring your envelopes and follow me"

With Helen she got a look of a lot of emotions. One of which was fear. "Did you get ahold of David yet?"

"No. But I did get ahold of Margaret and she asked me to tell you to follow me please".

"Ok. So where are we going?"

"Right now we are going to the lavatory to fill up these cups so we can get pregnancy verification."

"Ok. And then what?"

"Then, Helen. We just take things one-step at a time. Ok?"

Helen looked at the tall young woman with a mixture of fear, panic and resignation. This young woman really was quite reasonable.

"Ok. I assume Margaret feels you know what you are doing."

"Thank you Helen. I knew you would understand."

The restroom break took only 5 minutes, and then each of the women were led into the Stripping room where the baskets and boxes were waiting.

"Ladies, I need you all to strip, and put the envelopes and your clothes and personal belongings into the basket. I recommend shoes in first so your clothes don't get soiled. Everything will be returned to your next of kin next week."

At this point, Helen was almost panicked. The only thing that kept her from doing so was that Betty Ames did first.

"You are going to kill us, aren't you?" she said, as the reality of what was going on sank in. "You are going to kill me and all of us".

Candy walked over to the panicked woman with her arms held out and open. Quietly and softly she approached and talked in a low voice to Betty, all the while keeping her eyes on the other three as well. Wrapping her arms around the woman and letting Betty rest her head against her shoulder while she sobbed, Candy quietly talked and rocked Betty back and forth for a few moments. After a moment, she backed up and looked Betty in the eye.

"Darling, I need you to be strong right now. Now we have a few more things to do to process you, and this is the place where we leave your clothes and things for your family. Can you put them into the bag and the basket for me?"

"You aren't going through this and I am".

"Honey, I am already naked. You have been with me every step and I have been naked all along. I am right here with you. There is nothing going to happen to you right now. Do you believe me dear?"

"I can see you are naked, but you have been here and we just got here and you belong here and we are not going home." Betty spoke, with all the words running together.

"I know I have been here. But I am never going to leave here. We are all here for our last time. So let's be brave and not let fear get to us. There is nothing to be afraid of. No one is going to hurt you. No pain. Honest. I know these people and they wouldn't cause any pain"

"Really? You will be with me?"

"Yes, Betty. I will be with you. Now we got to get your clothes off. Ok?"

"Ok."

"Do you need me to help you?"

"No. I can undress myself".

Stepping away and leaving Betty to confront her basket, Candy went to Carla and Jennifer and talked with each for a few moments. When she got to Helen, Helen was already almost naked. She had carefully folded her clothes and placed them into the bag, and only had her wedding ring, watch and earrings and panties were left.

"Nice underwear," Candy said to Helen.

"Yes. It was a present to my husband. I wore them last week, to his office to surprise him."

"I bet he was. You will have to talk with me about that in detail" Candy said.

"Really? I would be happy to. How long before?"

"Oh Helen. It is about another half hour. We have some other processing to do first."

"Ok. I guess you know what you are doing".

"Yes, Helen. I actually do. Thank you. We will talk a little bit later".

"Ladies," Candy said. "We have to take some showers now. We have a shower path on the other side of that doorway. I will go first and I want you to follow me. Betty, you come right behind me, OK?"

"Ok. I can do that."

"Then Jennifer and Carla. Helen you please come last?

Everyone nodded, and Candy led them toward the door. "Now don't step on the door until this light is green. If it is red, like right now, just wait. It will only be a minute or two, three at the most. OK? When it turns Green, step on the turnstile and hold on to the handle here."

Candy stepped on the door turnstile. A few seconds later, it turned around to expose the next cubicle in the door. The light at the top was red when the door came to a stop. A few moments later, the lamp turned green, and Betty stepped onto the turnstile and grasped the handle. A few seconds later, it turned and she was gone.

The same process repeated itself a few minutes later with Jennifer, followed by Carla. Finally, after almost two minutes, the light went green, and Helen stepped on the Turnstile. A few seconds later, it spun her into the other room.

The sight that greeted Helen was shocking white, with multiple lights from every direction. After the dimmed lighting of the entire plant up to now, it was dazzling. Directly in front of her was David, holding a box. Behind David an inverted Carla was twitching. Candy was kneeling down talking to the woman; brushing her hair like a friend while she watched the eyes go blank and the blood finally stop flowing from the throat. After a short period of time, Candy slid the woman down the trolley toward the other two who were next to some large drums.

"Hello Helen. Do you mind getting off of the turnstile. I would rather not have you get shocked before Monday."

Helen shook herself and stepped off the turnstile to stand next to David. Her nudity did not bother nearly as much as his clothed body did. And a large man in a white uniform who was moving Betty onto a table.

"Chris" Candy exclaimed" I am not done with her yet. I had to keep Carla calm for a few, and that is why I have not field dressed her."

"Don't worry. You can get the other two. Both are small and won't dress to more then 100"

"Ok." Candy said in response.

As Helen watched in amazement, Candy made a series of sharp incisive cuts into Jennifer and in a few moments, her abdominal cavity was open. Organs began to spill out into the drum sitting on the floor. Some organs were removed and set aside on a table next to a plastic collection pan, with others being placed into the disposal bin at the floor. Candy reached into Carla with a short string, and apparently tied something off with a quick knot. Satisfied, Candy spun Carla around and sliced around the anal opening. After spinning the body half way around again, Candy reached into the woman's pelvis and pulled the last of her Intestines from the inside of her body.

Dropping the entire thing into the drum, she continued to remove parts and pieces until finally she was able to slide the rapidly cooling body down toward the man in the white suit, who was washing the body down with a hose.

"You sure are quick with that knife, Candy. You are almost as fast as Margaret. You guys will keep me busy as hell at this rate."

"I still have one to go then I am done. You need any more help?"

"No. I will put these into the cooler so we can cut and box them on Monday."

"Ok. I will be done with Carla in a few."

"Ok Helen" David began" I think you have a pretty good idea of what goes on here".

Helen didn't feint. She was a little pale as she watches a human becoming dismembered. And thought about what Margaret had said last night.

"That is where I am going, isn't it?" she said to David.

"Yes, but not today. Lets go to the break room and have a talk".

"Candy, See me in the break room when you are done".

"Ok Mr. F." Candy said while opening up Carla.



-------

Chapter 7



Saturday Afternoon

Melissa was sitting in the break-room, talking with Margaret, Nancy, Candy and Helen, and eating chicken fried rice, when David walked back into the room. He had asked Margaret to retrieve the young woman from holding while he went to see what he could do about a spit. There was no doubt about her status or the status of her company. Orange rings were now prominently displayed around Helen's neck, as well as Candy and Margaret.

Carol and Liz had been down for their lunch already and were back upstairs eating and talking a mile a minute about contracts and market demographics. Nancy had gotten a few spring rolls and was introduced to Findlay Processing's first perspective "Spittee".

"You see, Melissa, we are a general butcher shop and most of our process goes to the food industry as cuts or even rejects. We are a grade 3 or 4 shop normally. While you are an excellent prospect for a 1, we don't normally do that here. And if you really are looking for that experience, we would have to either establish a protocol or send you to a shop that does that."

"You mean I would get a choice?" Melissa asked.

"That is what we are trying to do here for everyone who comes to us".

"Wow. That is wild. I never thought of it that way before". Melissa said.

"I told you they were different". Candy said. "These are some really good people."

"I know this place was different. Margaret was so neat when she brought me here by way of the dormitory. I get the feeling that you don't normally do that."

"No dear, we don't want to take chances with sanitation in the processing area, so that is a better route," Margaret said.

That was nicely done. Candy thought to herself. No use letting Melissa know what was the real process until confronted with it. I am a bit surprised at how well I adjusted. But I knew from last night and yesterday a little more about this. It was just confirming it is all.

"So," Melissa said, "What are the choices here? I mean, after all, I am a week late. What are we going to do?

"Well, we could normal process. Or I could look to rig up the spit and you could be our practice selection on Monday. I would like to research it a bit to make sure it is as best an experience as we could provide. If you don't mind being our practice run for this, while I do some research?" David said.

"Where would I stay?" Melissa asked.

"I think the girls would not object if you stayed for a couple of nights here for Monday."

"That's kind of wild. Do I wear one of those collars?"

"No, Melissa. I am afraid not. But you can wear clothes if you like."

"With this body? Not on your life. I was naked all week at the beach and I want to be for the rest of my life."

Candy snickered at that. She felt the same way.

"Nancy. Can you stay here for a while with Melissa? In fact, why don't you use her as your first interview subject and we can get started on some of the profiles we want to do?

"Sure. Let's you and me move over here when you are finished." I guess I am getting started earlier then I wanted to, Nancy thought to herself.

As the two women moved away, Helen turned to David asking, "Do I get an interview too?"

"Sure. We want everyone to have a chance to give us his or her thoughts. And I want a few of yours too. What did you think?"

"I think we should move out of earshot while I talk about that with you. How about back down to processing?"

Curious, David led the way back down the hallway to the rear, and into the processing room. Chris and Marty had turned out the lights as they had finished up, the three women were in the cooler after they had been washed down inside and out with salt brine to keep them moist, and the floor was scrubbed clean. Helen led the way to the turnstile.

"Ok. So I am standing here and what happens?" Helen asked.

"Look up" David said. "See that little golf ball sized stainless steel at the end of the short thick rod?"

"I didn't pay attention. It is just over my head."

"Yes. We charge that with 200,000 volts and send the charge down through your feet into the aluminum disk on the floor."

"So I am electrocuted?"

"Not normally. It is a DC voltage shock. It stuns you and denies muscle control for up to 3 minutes."

"So I fall down. Now what?"

"We hook you up to the overhead, and Candy or Margaret slits your throat, thighs and wrists and talks to you while you bleed out. After that we slide you down the line for gutting.

"Show me. Without the stunning if you don't mind."

"Ok. Get on the floor."

In a few moments Carol was upside down and swinging gently over the drain. Her inverted view of the room was just as dazzling with just as much distraction.

"And now what?"

"After your throat is cut, we let you rest here for a few minutes to bleed out. Candy and Margaret usually take this time to talk to you to keep you calm. After a while you pass out"

"I see." Helen looked up and saw the drain beneath her head. It had been washed down and she smelled the scent of pine in the bleach that was used to scrub everything down. The tile was white with wide grout. Made for easy cleaning, I guess, Helen thought.

"Now we slide you down the trolley to the dressing table." David said as he moved Helen along the trolley." Here we remove internals as you saw, and head, and hands, and move you down to the butcher tables."

"David, would you please let me down?" Helen asked in a quiet voice.

Once Helen was lowered onto a butcher table, she sat up and looked around.

"Who designed all of this?" Helen asked.

"My father. He felt that humans were a larger challenge to a small staff, and did not want to have a bunch of gorilla's doing security all the time. So he kept the process secret all the way. The turnstile cost a mint to build and it is a pain to maintain. But no one knows about it, even in the industry, and we have never had anyone fight away from this. We have had a few bolters. Those are usually from stripping. But once they walk into here, they're down instantly, they are dead usually in a few minutes. And exsanguination is pretty painless. And it keeps the meat from being damaged while they are bleeding out.

"You have a very solid psychological setup here. Women don't feel threatened throughout the entire process. I didn't get the least bit nervous until I was naked, and that was only for a short time. I knew that something was coming, but it was so well hidden that I didn't dwell on it. Not at all like that news program last year."

"That damn program. If I could get my hands on the throat of Merle on that deal, I would probably be in jail. He caused me months of problems. Now every woman that comes in here expects to see spits, and a Guillotine. And they all expect to see men at every corner. That was why I hired Devony in the first place. Women get freaked when they see a man in a slaughterhouse. They tense up and get all upset."

"Well, you sure did a great job here. If I had not listened to Margaret last night, I would have no idea of anything. And Candy is a real asset. She had me thinking I had another hour, when I didn't'."

"That is the key," David said. "You know it's going to come. You don't know exactly when but you think "later". You don't know how, but everyone is telling you not to worry. Keeps everything calm and business like"

"It sure worked for me. Even Candy managing Betty was good. All of us felt that she really cared, when she was actually going to slit everyone's throat. I imagine someday soon she will do mine."

"Her or Margaret. So what do you think of this situation with Melissa? Should I use her as a test or send her to H&S?" David asked.

"Your call. And I think you are smart to let her decide. Might get some real interesting information out of her."

"So. What do you think of the receptionist job?"

"I can do it. Not sure I can take people through processing. But I can sure do the reception and the interview stuff."

"Good. Monday is going to be 40 or so. And Wednesday will be at least 50. Candy and Margaret will be able to handle process, but I need reception services that are warm and friendly"

"So, how long do you want to keep me around?" Helen asked.

"Dear, I would keep you forever. But it is really your decision. There are some restrictions. Like Mark can visit here, and so can the kids. But it has to be after 1 on Saturday, Sunday, or on Tuesday and Thursday. Not during business hours"

"They travel a lot anyway."

"And you should talk to Carol about the legal issues. You and Mark have to look at those."

"I don't worry about that. Not yet anyway. I will just satisfy myself being your goat and happy pussy for a while".

"And that is another thing. I have to keep Margaret happy as my wife. So, while the games are fun, I can't let anything get in the way"

"I know that. She should not be too upset. How many women want to legally slit the throat of the other woman?" Helen grinned.

Hmm Gallows Humor?" "Well, I am not sure. Never thought of it that way"

Nancy was finding her visit with Melissa fascinating. Competitive spirit to be the "best" was very high. And Melissa really was impacted by the news story last year. She idolized the idea of being spitted and roasted alive. This needs a bit of research with David. There were probably a segment of women that thought this was expressive of them. Liz fit into that. If we could find the segment that wanted it despite the classifications, and the pain management, then this could be a great draw. Or at least generate some good money.

"So, Melissa, Here is the real question. What is the pain point?"

"I don't know. The whole thing seems so erotic. I have one kid. The pain there was not too bad. The Saddle block worked pretty well. So if the Spit was like that, I should be able to tolerate it."

Hmm. Need to look into medical anesthesia, Nancy thought taking notes of this conversation.

"And if that was not available as a live sow, how would you like to be if just spitted and cooked?" Nancy asked.

"You mean already dead? That would be Ok. I just want people to see me as me. Not just a bunch of meat in a freezer case."

"I had not thought of it that way". Nancy said, while taking notes. "That actually makes a lot of sense to people with a highly visible profile. Like an actress or other person in the media."

After their talk, Carol and David rejoined the rest in the break room. Margaret and Candy were talking in one corner. Nancy and Melissa were still talking at another

"You mean you were able to talk her down and get her finished? Great, Candy. I haven't had any break down with me, so I don't know how I would do yet." Margaret said.

"Yes, and I stayed with her and talked to her the whole time she was bleeding out. Took about two minutes before the lights went out. And the fear went out right after I started talking. It was great" Candy gushed.

"Well, I guess you are a veteran. Going to have to keep you around now, as things get busy next week."

"Chris promised to help me learn quartering, sawing and boxing. I guess I can get help with grading from Carl. That would be great too. Separate human food from the pet food"

"Well, I am sure he will help. Carl is really a nice guy"

"Biggest problem, Margaret, is a lack of dick. I need to get laid. I get so excited after yesterday and today that I want to hop on a bed post."

"I would loan you David, but Helen and I wore him out. I do see the problem though. I need to get some dick into here to keep the group happy or we will be as bad as outside. Don't want that to happen. Do you want to borrow David?"

"I would love to if you don't mind. But isn't it against the rules?"

"Not really. He has my permission when he asks. And he is a great fuck, if I do say so myself. He is just squeamish about fucking a woman he may have to kill later. I don't have those compunctions. I don't think you would either".

"Not if it was in a good way. I am not sure I could do it other than how we do it here."

"I am glad of that. Don't want to turn a serial killer outside. Just inside" Margaret laughed.

"So what is Melissa?" Candy asked.

"She wants to be spitted. So I think David is going to do her Monday as a special to get things tested and running." Margaret replied.

"Oh. That was what Stacy and I were supposed to get. " Candy said.

"Yes, I know. We need to look into the economics of it. Figure out how to price it."

"Margaret, you promise me something?"

"Sure, if I can."

"When it is my time, Walk me through and don't spit me. I liked how the others died. I think it is probably pretty good".

"Ok. Unless we develop something better."

"Thanks. Love you"

With that, Candy reached over to Margaret and kissed her. At first, sweet and simple. Then, looking into Margaret's eyes, it became open, and with passion. After a few moments, it subsided and they broke apart.

"Phew. Now that was nice," Margaret said.

"Yes it was. Did I tell you I liked girls too?" Candy asked.

"No. But I can see that it would be a fun way to pass some time. We are going to have to do that soon". Margaret replied.

"Yea."

At that time, everyone noticed Carol and David returning.

"Well come on in, you two. Grab a seat" Candy said.

For the next half hour conversation circled around general events and impressions. Melissa thought that Findlay was "Cool" and that she was glad that she was assigned here. Candy thought that her first day was pretty good and that she felt good in her new job. Helen felt that the receptionist work would be great for her time and that she would be happy to help.

Nancy, thinking that this would all make a fascinating paper (If she lived long enough to publish it) was taking occasional notes for herself for later.

Hearing the commotion, Carol and Liz came down and joined into the conversation. It was wide-ranging and very open with no real worry about the subject of business plans or projects. David felt confident that none of the people here were going to circulate much information, since at least two of them would be dead next week. And the others would be dead sooner or later.

"I will tell you one thing, David. You got to get some Dick into here. The "Lay" dies need to be "Laid." Candy said with a laugh.

"I was thinking about that. Carol and Liz. Do you two mind sharing this next week? Need to keep the stress level down here. And Helen, can Mark come here to play?"

"I don't mind, but variety is good. We need to look into other possibilities. " Carol interrupted.

"Yes. I don't want to have Peter to get too comfortable," Liz said.

"Carol. Your next task is to find a way to legally bring in some dick. I will worry about the selection process, you worry about the legal protections"

"Yes sir. So far I have legal planning and Dick exceptions. Anything else?"

"Not yet, but I will bring it up as I go along. Is Jim going to come over with the computers for you guys? Also any personal stuff?"

"Yes. Christen gave me my box, so I can give him my key." Nancy said. "I also need to cancel my lease. I didn't do that. And call my sister to execute my will."

"Can't do that yet, you aint' dead yet. You can have her put your stuff in storage or distribute it now, though" Carol said.

"Yea, I forgot about that. We need to develop a legal plan, Carol" David said.

"You know, I had not even thought of that," Melissa said. "Could you help me with that?"

Carol looked to David for some guidance. Melissa was real meat here. She was the only one going to be surely dead on Monday or Tuesday. So how we responded to this was an executive decision.

"You know, Carol, I think we could help her with that. Might even be something we want to look into for our clients. I am sure that a lot of them don't have any plans in place. Could help to occupy time in reception." David said.

"So long as it does not increase stress" Helen advised. " I imagine that there is a tough enough time in reception without adding anything else."

"True that" Candy said. "But it might make things more stable. I think that when you get to un-dressing, if you know all the loose ends are tied up, it makes things easier. What do you think Melissa?"

"Well, to be honest, I hadn't thought of it. Your gig seemed to be pretty painless for the most part. Everything was smooth and simple. I don't know if asking a bunch of dumb questions in reception would be good or bad. I guess it depends on the person and their circumstance."

"I guess we can play that by ear. " Helen said. "I know my stuff was finished early in the week."

"So was mine" Carol said

"Mine was too," Liz said. "In fact I had talked with Peter a lot about this."

"I didn't have much to do. I guess I was not old enough to have a lot to handle" Candy said with some disappointment in her voice.

"Not to worry. We will get things sorted. And Melissa, you and Candy can help us to set up what has to be done for younger prospects. " David added.

"Now when Jim get's here we can finish setting up everyone's room. Liz, call Peter and let him know he can meet with you and you can spend time with the kids. And who made the arrangements in reception? I want to thank them." David asked.

Everyone turned toward Candy, who blushed. "I just thought that having a bunch of seats around the walls looked too much like a doctor's office. Putting the tables up didn't take long. I found them in the store room".

"It was a great idea. And it seems natural there as well."

"You know David, none of the personal coms work here," Carol said. "Liz and I both tried ours and they don't' seem to work".

"Yes. That is because the building has a jammer during the daytime. I don't know if it is on a timer or not. We could shut it off now I guess."

"I thought those were illegal? " Nancy said.

"No. Theaters and other places use them. I assume you have one here to keep from outside interference". Carol said.

"Yes. We had protesters and other issues about 8 years ago. But that has all died down. Mainly I am worried about cellular cameras sending material. Don't want things getting out. Myers and Hitchcock had a couple of hidden cameras in their shop last year and it made it to the 6 o'clock news."

"Do you think that is what started the crackdowns?" Margaret asked.

"No. H&S had the biggest issues with tainted product in the last two years. That party at the commodity exchange with their three spitted women caused 40 people to get sick. And that other incident in north St Louis where two people died was even worse. That is another reason I don't do much people food. Too easy to have taint get through."

"Well, I have not seen any sign of slop anywhere on that front" Melissa said. "Of course I have not seen the back, so I can only assume that is even cleaner. This place looks pretty classy on the inside."

"Thank you dear. We try hard to get it that way," David said.

"So, when can we get open communication? Liz and Nancy have to do research and I need to get to my law library if we are going to get things done, Oh Master of ours" Carol said.

"The voice outbound dialing is always open. I will create accounts for you to log out to the Internet now. I will use your name and SSN as a password. That lets you get a path through the firewall. Voice outbound is open for anyone."

"Really?" Candy asked. "That is pretty strange."

"We get one or two "Phone Home" requests every week. Once had a mother call to check on her son's football practice while she was in stripping." David laughed.

"That's not funny" Liz said. "I know I would want to check on my kid."

"Same here" Carol said. "In fact, Jim probably has talked to them already about me being here. I don't doubt they will be with him tomorrow."

"Peter and the girls won't be here until late Sunday. David, would it be possible for them to see me here?"

"Sure Liz. Margaret, what is our schedule for tomorrow?"

"I am not sure tomorrow. But I think tonight we need to get the things that everyone feels they need to make everyone feel at home. David, can you and Jim make the rounds for the computers from everyone's home and we can set up the desks? I think that will help a lot. Candy, do you have anything we need to get for you?"

"No Ms. F. I don't even have a computer to work with."

"Candy, you can use mine in the office. How about you and Melissa come with me and we will get you two set up, and I will build the other access passwords now. Carol, see what time Jim is going to get here. The phones are open. And I will shut the jammer off. Everyone, please don't take any pictures other than in reception or in your Dorm rooms." David said.

Everyone nodded their assent, and David, Candy and Melissa headed to the office.

The remaining five women sat at the break table in social quiet, each with their own thoughts. Liz broke the silence after a few moments.

"Is David really going to spit that girl on Monday or Tuesday?" Liz asked.

"If we can do it in a way that is not a disaster like Mary's, then yes if that is what she wants." Margaret said. "I know he does not want to do live spitting, as it is too much of a hassle. We talked a lot about Mary and he was not impressed."

"It made an impression on us" Helen said.

Nodding in agreement, Margaret continued, "I know. But David says he wants to provide the similarity of the experience without the pain or the mess. Remember he talked about tainted meant? He is convinced that live spitting is what causes that. He feels that live spitting is for show and pet food. Not for human consumption. Like brains. Eating human brains causes three different diseases. Not worth it. Besides, most spitted meat dries out unless you clean it and gut it correctly. That is why our last three are sitting in brine. I have to go take them out by the way."

"No you don't. They are hanging up now in the chiller. I saw them when I was talking to David." Helen said.

"So you went back to processing?" Margaret enquired, with her eyebrows raised.

"Yes. I wanted to know all of the steps. And I have to say I feel comfortable. Margaret, you left a few things out. But you had a good reason. I am confident I won't give you any problem when we go through the door. " Helen smiled.

"So what are you going to do about Melissa?" Carol asked.

"Truth in advertising for starters. If she insists, and if we can offer something similar, we can do her here. If not, we will ship her to H&S. But we are not lying to her. Isn't worth it to our sleep" Margaret replied.

Nancy was thinking about a lot of what Margaret had said. Much of this was an interesting twist on her teachings over the years. She wished she had gotten into this a long time ago. It would have made great publications. And she decided that she was going to find a romantic and painless way to die even if it killed her.

Carol went to the phone to call Jim, while Margaret, Helen and Liz continued the conversation. Jim answered the phone on the second ring.

"Jim" Carol said," are you busy right now?"

"No, as a matter of fact, I was just finishing up. The girls called and I was going to go and meet them."

"Well, how flexible are you?" Carol asked.

"How flexible do I need to be?"

"Well, if you could go to Nancy's and Liz's places and pick up their computers, and a few things for them and bring them over, it would make a difference in how we are enjoying our stay at this lovely place."

"Ah. Should I call the girls and say change in plans?"

"Yes, if you could. Perhaps they could come over tomorrow? " Carol said as she was looking at Helen, Margaret and Liz.

Seeing that none of the women had any objections Carol continued, "That would be great if you could do it. And maybe pick up some groceries on your way over here?"

"Sure. Give me a list."

Helen and Margaret composed a list of food items for Jim to pick up, and let him know that Mark and David would help to move things over.

David came back from the office to discover that he had to clean out the van and get ready to do furniture and furnishings moving tonight for Nancy, Carol and Liz. Candy would get more things as time went by.

I thought I was in charge of this place, David said to himself. And like all wise men, he kept his thoughts to himself.

When Jim arrived with groceries, he was immediately tasked to drive David out to collect the things on the list that the ladies needed to set up housekeeping. So off they went.

Jim and David stopped first at Nancy's house and picked up her research computer and it's adjuncts. That and a couple of boxes marked "Personal" that were asked for. At the next stop for Liz, they picked up her computer and adjuncts as well as a portable files storage she had. At Carol and Jim's the load was pretty light. Most of the things were already sorted. David noticed that most of Carol's things were moved out of the bedroom.

"Yes. She insisted on doing that when she got the notice. She said she did not want another woman being uncomfortable in our bed. She is funny that way".

"So. How off are you with this?" David asked.

"It is kind of funny. She is gone and yet I get to talk to her. It is almost as if she is in prison. Only I get to visit and she and I get to talk, depending on you and I guess Margaret. I am not used to not being in control. We are not used to being dependent"

"I can appreciate that." David said. "Believe me that we don't see people of Carol's quality walk through the doors. I would like to have her be useful for a long time, if she wants. But I don't control the situation outside of our plant. Except to say that she can't leave."

"David, I am a lawyer as well as finance manager. I know all of the issues here. And believe me when I say that I realize what you are doing for us. As a lawyer I would advise you to make sure you don't expose yourself to any risk. The safest thing for you to do is process my wife. The husband in me asks that you provide some stay for a while. Every day is precious. And a week is not enough time to get things in order."

"I can appreciate that Jim. I have heard that before."

"David. Is Carol being useful? I mean really? Because if this is make busy work for her, then she is going to see through it and become depressed quickly."

"Jim, I don't know how long it will take to explore doing some of my ideas. But as long as I need legal advise, I think Carol is going to be fine. But does she have any hobby materials as well we can bring over?

"Come to think of it, I have a craft box of hers. She loved to work with it but said she had no time." Jim said.

"Bring it. It will let her know that I expect her to be around long enough to be bored once in a while"

"Thank you, David. That means a lot"

When David and Jim parked in the lot, they noticed that Mark's car was not there. Knowing that the back door was double bolted again, David called the second business line and after 2 rings, Candy picked up.

"Candy, it is David and Jim at the loading dock. Can you open up and let us in?"

"Sure, Mr. F. Be right there."

David and Jim entered to find that all of Jim's groceries had been put away and that chicken in crème sauce was simmering on the stove. A pot for boiled pasta sat close by and two bottles of wine were in the chiller.

"Margaret and Mark went out to get some things after he dropped Helen's stuff off. Helen is upstairs now trying to get settled. If you want, I can help get the computers set up in our rooms.

Admitting that Candy probably knew more about computers than either of them did, David and Mark focused on bring things upstairs and setting up the desks in each of the dorm rooms for everyone. Dorm rooms do not really do justice to the 12 X 16 foot rooms that had been built. Initially with 2 queen-sized beds installed, now there was only one in each of the eight rooms. With the desks, lamps and chairs, soon they would have all the comforts of home. After setting things up, David and Mark left Candy and Melissa to the business of setting up the computers.

Downstairs, Jim asked, "Who is your newest?"

"Oh. That is Melissa. She is being termed Monday or Tuesday. Only reason we didn't do her today was because she told Margaret she wanted a spit, and we are looking into how we can do that. If we can't without too much trouble, I will ship her to H&S."

"Shame to let that lovely young body be Un-Fucked. And Candy is a sweetheart too."

"Well, If Carol does not mind, you can ask them both. I won't condone any force, but I heard Candy saying earlier that we needed some Dick in this place."

"I will have to talk to Carol about that. Last sex instead of a last meal?"

"It's something like that. " David laughed. "Just remember, regardless of how good Melissa is, she goes on Tuesday at the latest."

"Ok. I think Carol can live with that." Jim remarked.

Later, after Nancy, Carol and Liz were all logged into their workstations and able to access the net and their respective research and amusement sites, they all came down to the break room where the chicken Alfredo smelling up the room. David wondering where Margaret and Mark were. It was getting late. Today was the longest and hardest working Saturday he had ever done. And at 6:00 PM, he was starting to get a little worried.

Just then, the phone rang. "Can you open up the back door?" Margaret asked. "And also open the loading dock door at the rear entrance."

When David and Jim opened the door, there was a truck parked at the rear of the dock. Not the car that had left. Looking around, Mark's car was seen as well. "We loaded the stuff from our Rec Room, and Mark's Rec Room. We are thinking of bringing it into the place tomorrow for the reception area, and also to put a couple of couches upstairs. If we have to have people stay up during the day, they might as well be comfortable. I also brought the old Gym equipment we had in the garage. People might want to use it over the weekends"

"Honey. Are you thinking of moving into here?" David asked.

"Not exactly. But these are our friends and this does make things more comfortable. Besides you know how I am about pets."

David did know. He had a three-story doghouse and a five-room cat playhouse at home. For the kids it was worse. At least these were housebroken, and he didn't have to change the litter box.

"How about we get this tomorrow. I am hungry."

"We need to at least set up the flat screen viewer. I saw you had an outlet in the reception and in the break room. So we need to do that at least. But you are right we can do that after we eat." Margaret said.

Dinner was great. And the 6 bottles of wine for the 9 people was excellent lubrication for the dinner discussion.

"Margaret, what is on the agenda for tomorrow? " David asked after his third glass of wine.

"I think we should get over here about 9:30 or so and help these people get the Video screens up and the couches in to the reception room and here in the break room. I think we should expand on Candy's excellent work at furniture arranging and getting things set up in reception for Monday. It is going to be busy. In the afternoon, we can break and let everyone visit with families while we pick up any odds and ends that anyone needs."

"Are you going to get a spit and spitting table for me?" Melissa asked.

That question stopped conversation for a moment.

"We could do that in the afternoon, I guess. I will have to check out the warehouse storage to find it."

"Can I come help? Melissa asked. " After all, you did say it was my choice."

"Sure." David replied with some mixed feelings.

David was not the only one with mixed feelings. Helen thought it was an interesting psychological development. This was a development that she wanted to watch close for herself.

"How about I come with you two when you go looking?" Helen asked.

So it was generally agreed that David would go Sunday afternoon with Melissa and Helen in tow to look for a Spitting table and the materials for a rotisserie. That was something that he had not seen since the days of the pork processing at Findlay.

-------

Saturday Night At Findlay: Players all.

At 8:30 David and Margaret prepared to leave for home. The flat screen viewers were set up in the break room and the reception, and all of the dorm room computers had open outside access to the Internet. David did draw the line on Camera viewing. He also told Candy not to let anyone see the monitor cameras in the processing plant.

"Candy, you are in charge of physical plant. So you lock the doors and windows and make sure that it is secure."

"Gee, Do I get paid?" she asked with a smile.

"I guess we will have to negotiate that". David said with a smile. I am sure glad that this kid came here, he thought to himself.

"Call first in the morning and I will make sure you can get in. Sorry again about this morning" Candy said with a blush.

"Don't be. Better secured than unsecured. And call if you need me. Number is speed dial 4 on the office phones."

"Ok." Candy said, locking the door and then throwing the security bar in place.

Trudging back down the hall to the break room, Candy was thinking over the last few days. On Monday, her mother had gotten the notice to report here. Her mother had guilt tripped Candy to feel like a throw away person. The MAB accepted the offer as a straight swap, and her mother was on the one-year wait list. Which put her over 40.

Now through a lot of luck she ended up here. She was pretty sure that Margaret did not intend to keep her around too long. She was past and she had a great marriage. So there was no need to keep a 19 year old hanging around too close. She might have done herself in with the "No Dick" comment. But she didn't think so. Not for a couple of weeks anyway. And that was a couple of weeks more then she had yesterday.

Melissa was cute, she thought. Not much older than herself, and a great body. But she was a bit spoiled. She would have been a pain in a string. Sure glad Margaret took her down alone.

Nancy was neat, for an older woman. She hadn't gotten a husband (most people didn't) so she was pretty open. And the things they talked about last night were amazing. She had no idea that women's studies had such a wide amount of stuff.

Carol and Liz are a real interesting pair. Both of them had been friends for a while and while they knew Margaret casually they knew Helen a lot more. Helen seemed to be a den mother type. Short and sassy, blonde hair (natural) and a smile that was constantly on.

Coming back into the break room, most of the lights were out. And no one was there. Probably everyone's upstairs. The lights were on in David's office down the hallway so Candy walked over to there. Melissa was in a conversation with someone. It seemed like she was trying to get a party together and have some people come over.

"Of course we can party." Melissa said. "I even have my own room for the moment. And tell your stupid sister that this was almost a disaster. I know she didn't think about what it could mean. But I am lucky as hell I have to tell you, I heard some things that shocked the heck out of me. Did you know that news thing was just for show? They had to gut and clean the girl out later? That the spit was just a show place to kill them? I didn't. But after talking to people here, I got my eyes opened up. Listen, let me talk to the other freak here and see how I can sneak you in guys in, and then we can see what we can do. I am sure the dumb blond won't twig to anything. And the rest of the people here are pretty clueless or doing their own thing. There's nothing to worry about. Let me call you back as soon as I get the door codes."

ESD guns were a development from the Taser and shocker police weapons of the past. David had some in most of the areas of the plant. You never knew when you had to deal with unruly stock, and these cut the party short quickly. Candy thought that getting her hands on one of those was a good idea right now. Problem is one was in David's office. So that was out. There was one in reception and one in stripping and one in processing. Good thing David had talked about those earlier. Might be a good idea to give him a call.

As Melissa hung up the phone, she turned and saw Candy in the doorway. "Hi there. How are you?"

"Pretty good. Did I hear you say you wanted the door codes?

"Yes. Kirk, Adam and Maria were going to come over later and party here."

"Don't you think we should talk with David about that first? Candy asked.

"Aw. What he doesn't know won't hurt. Besides, every one else is playing. This gives us two more men into the mix. You don't mind, do you?"

"Actually, I do. I would not mind if David clears it, but I am on borrowed time here and I don't want to take any chances. Why don't we call him first?"

"It won't matter. I am getting done on Monday or Tuesday, and I sure don't want to spend the last few nights in a convent. Do you?"

"I admit that we have a shortage of Dick here. But we all have a lot to lose, you included."

"Candy, when you get older you will understand that you need to just do it. It is better to beg forgiveness than ask permission."

"I have a better idea." Candy said. "Let me get you one of the pass cards to take with you and you and your friends can leave. Just come back in the morning"

"Hey. That would be neat. Where are they?"

"I think they are in the stripping room. Let's go see."

Candy lead the way with Melissa right behind. They went up the stairs, through the dormitory and down to the stripping room. Once there, lead the way to the desk that Christen used. She had told her that inside the top right-hand drawer was a fully charged ESD. Chris had shown Candy how it worked in case any of the herd got out of control. With a smooth move, Candy pivoted, raised the ESD to Melissa, and pressed the switch and discharge button.

For a second, nothing happened. Then Melissa dropped like she had stepped on the turnstile.

Opening the door to the room marked "Overnight" Candy dragged Melissa in feet first. Inside the room were a lavatory with commode, water drinking fountain and 4 beds with covers and blankets. A lot more austere but a lot more secure. Even more so after Candy dropped Melissa's feet on the floor, and left the room and double locked it.

"You are right, Melissa. It is better to beg forgiveness for zapping your ass, and to ask permission to do whatever it takes to keep the building secure. Of course, I already had permission to do that."

Leaving Melissa secure and safe (and having taken the double lock key out of the door) Candy went up to the dormitory to call David and to check on the others.

David and Margaret had just gotten into the house when the phone rang. Answering it, David's first words were 'Candy, is anything wrong?"

Margaret only heard one side of the conversation, which consisted of "Ok. Yes. Yes you did the right thing. No problem. We will sort it out tomorrow. Call me if anything happens."

"What happened" Margaret asked after David hung up.

"Melissa tried to plan a little party of her own and had invited some people over. Candy overheard her and zapped her and put her in the Overnight room"

"Really?"

"Yes. Apparently she was going to get the entry codes from Candy and have friends in. And said to Candy that "No harm. Better to ask forgiveness than ask permission".

"Wow. Not good. The penalties for loose livestock are pretty steep."

'Yes. Remind me Monday to have Barbara get Candy a medical ovary tie. That girl is a keeper for sure. You did good picking her, Margaret. Really Good."

"We better get her some Dick too. She deserves it. Do you want her?"

"Honey, you are awful generous with the hired help."

"Not really. If she is interested, go for it and wear her out. Any time and as many times as you want."

"Thank you sweetheart. " David replied. Safest woman is one already selected. No chance of a divorce here.

At the plant, Carol, Liz and George were in a complicated three way. In the next room, Liz and Helen were wrapped up arm and arm with Mark. Seeing how very involved everyone was, Candy withdrew to David's office and opened up the online version of Grey's Anatomy, Meat cutters Edition.

"I have a lot of studying to do," she said to herself.



-------

Chapter 8



Sunday Morning.

David and Margaret woke up to an early morning light in the windows. It was just another day. Sex last night had been very good, and David was pleasantly rested. Margaret was snoring a storm.

David wandered down to the kitchen, and opened up the electronic news paper. There were two messages for him. One was from the alarm security company that reported a perimeter breach attempt the previous evening. Photos of three people banging on the door of the plant were transmitted to the police for processing. The alarm company reported no breech of the property.

The second was from the Chicago police who had identified the two of the three trespassers and asked if he cared to fill out a complaint. If so they would be picked up on Monday.

David returned an e-mail thank-you to the first and an e-mail tentative appointment for Monday afternoon for the other. Then he called the plant on the incoming private number.

"Hello?" Candy's sleepy voice answered on the third ring.

"Hey there, how are you?" David asked.

"Sleepy. Your couch is not very comfortable"

"Why did you sleep on my couch?" David asked.

"So I could keep an eye on the cameras. Everyone else was busy so I came here to study when the alarm and cameras triggered. I answered the remote and asked what the people wanted. They wanted Melissa. I told them she was unavailable and to go away. They were pretty pissed. And drunk I think"

"So you slept in my office?"

"Sure. It let me see everything that was going on."

"Ok. Well, we will be down in about an hour. About 8 o'clock. Where are the others?"

"Nancy and Helen are with Mark. Liz and Carol are with James. And Melissa is locked in overnight."

"You know, when I said you were in charge, I didn't think you would have this much to deal with this soon. I am proud of you kid. What do you want for breakfast?"

"Steak and Eggs. Hash browns and toast." The sleepy woman replied.

"Ok. Tofu steak and eggs with hash browns and toast coming up. " David said as he was hanging up the phone. Leaving his wife sound asleep, David picked up keys and phone and headed to the office.

Stopping by the Morris carryout on the way David picked up a "Buffet Tray" breakfast with materials for ten servings. From there, he drove to the plant. After calling Candy from the car, they both met at the door and carried the two steamer trays down to the break room. Which was becoming a combination eat in kitchen and family room at this time.

"Anyone else up?" David asked.

"No one is up here. I peeked into the overnight room and Melissa is sitting on a bed. She does not look too happy."

"You did the right thing. I got two e-mail missives that someone was trying to get into the plant last night. The alarm company called the police. They didn't come out because there was no entry. But they could have if there had been."

"Glad I did the right thing. What are we going to do now?" Candy asked. She was wondering if she had put the other woman into a dangerous situation.

"Well, I will just have to talk to her about that. You keep an eye here and I will take her some breakfast."

With that, David prepped a plate, reheated it, and started over to the stripping room on his way up the stairs he heard the sounds of some people waking up and moving around. Someone was making soft moans, and there were the sound of bodies moving. "Well, glad someone is getting some", he thought.

Knocking on the door, David waited for an answer before opening it up.

Melissa had had a lot to think about. A graduate of college in management science, she was accustomed her to being in charge. Being tricked and then zapped and left in here overnight was not her idea of fun. She was used to having things her own way, and this was the last straw. It was bad enough she was being terminated, but to not have a little fun first? That really sucked.

"Who is it?" she asked when she heard the knock on the door.

"David with breakfast."

"Great." Melissa said, thinking to herself that this was more like it.

As David entered and put the tray on the single table he was careful to not turn his back on Melissa. "So, here is breakfast and I thought we could talk."

Moving to the chair, Melissa's stomach growled. "YES, this sure smells good. And yes we do have to talk about that bitch zapping me".

Ok. This is going to be not good, David thought to himself. "Actually, she was protecting all of you. If the police had entered the building and seen that there was no formal security here all of you would be taken to holding and then the MAB would assign you this morning. And I would have been in some serious trouble legally and financially. So she did what she was supposed to do and I fully support her."

"Really?" Melissa asked after swallowing her first bites. "And what would that have meant to me anyway?"

"Well, you wouldn't get your choice that is for sure." David replied. "You would have been publically staked."

Melissa had pretty much lost her romantic thoughts of the spit after talking to Helen and Liz last night. Both had convinced her that the pain was not worth it. And finding out that it was all for show anyway did not induce any more interest by any means.

So her reaction to this news was a cold chill. About what could have happened. "I didn't think it would make any difference. I guess I probably should have talked to you about this. But I didn't think it mattered. " And to herself, Melissa thought, it doesn't matter to me.

"Well, now we know that it does. Finish your breakfast and I will be back in a few minutes and we can talk about your options."

After a few short calls from the communications screen, David came back into the room, as Melissa was finished with breakfast.

"Ok. As we see it we have a few choices. First I can send you to H&S tomorrow for grading and spit processing.

"After talking with Helen and Liz that romance is pretty much gone. " Melissa said. "I don't think that has any real good end for me."

"Ok. So what would you like?" David asked.

"I don't know. I guess I would like to see what the options were. I know I don't want to be a bunch of ground round and pork chops in a freezer."

"I can understand that. You have an absolutely beautiful body. And it should be shown in style."

"That is what I think. " Melissa said, thinking that this was easy to get this man to do what she wanted.

"Ok Well why don't I show you what we do here and you can help me to craft something suitable."

"Sort of a guided tour?" Melissa asked.

"Sure. Bring your plate and we will go through processing. " David said.

"Ok."

David led Melissa out and across the stripping room to the turnstile door, where the green light had just come on over the entrance.

"Do I leave the plates here?" Melissa asked?

"No, take them with you if you don't mind. We can carry them back to the break room when we are finished."

"OK. " Melissa said, as she stepped onto the turnstile.

The turnstile rotated and the overhead lamp changed from Green to Red. After 5 minutes it turned green again. David stepped on it and was whisked around 180 degrees to the sight of Melissa's body sliding down the trolley and Candy standing holding a plate and fork in her hand.

"I didn't want to leave this on the turnstile to jam up anything."

"Everything go Ok?" David asked.

"Just like the others. Do we do her as parts?"

"No. Let's go up to the break room while she cools a bit, and then field dress her. I will have Carl look at her and grade her first thing in the morning. If she is spit quality we will put her on one and sell her direct or sell her through H&S. They said they would pay $3500 for her in that shape for a dinner that is being had this week. Some fundraiser."

"OK. Can I get a shower; She threw up a little while she was hanging before I cut her. Bit of a mess I am afraid. I will come back down and clean up"

"Sure She can keep for an hour or so to cool out. I can help to clean up if you like"

"No. I can get it. Do you pay overtime for Sunday?" Candy asked with a smile.

"Talk to the union. Just don't let them get me in stack over seniority on this. That is why Marty has to do the Spit mounting. Him or Chris."

"We haven't even talked about pay-scale yet." Candy remarked. "I hope it is enough to pay for food, room and board."

"You earned it here. And we will let the others know why".

Leaving processing and going down the hallway to the break room/family room, Candy and David got another cup of coffee. Helen, Liz and James were sitting at a table with Carol. Mark and Nancy were absent. "Mark is getting variety" Helen remarked. "With my blessing."

"Good."

"Is Melissa going to join us?" Carol asked.

"No, I am afraid that we had to pass Melissa on" David answered.

"Why?" Liz asked.

"Last night, she invited her husband, sister in law and his husband over to party. After I had left." David replied. "Candy understood the situation and put her into overnight and secured the doors."

"Not good" Carol added. "With no owner or management employees here, breach of the facility would draw police."

"So you termed her for that?" Liz asked.

"No. I termed her, to use your vernacular, to keep her from doing the same thing tonight, which I was afraid she would do again if given the chance".

"Liz, don't get too upset. "Carol said. "If the police had come, we would all be in holding right now. Slaughterhouses were attacked a lot over the years, and the laws put in place are pretty concrete. We all would have been removed, and probably not brought back here. David leaving us alone without management supervision would have been a bad thing for him, and all of us."

"I see. But how bad would it have been?" Elizabeth asked.

"You and me and Nancy back to H&S. Candy and Helen revoked. Melissa on a spike in public on Monday. David fined and loss of business license."

Liz blanched at that thought.

"That's right." Carol continued. "Our little lifeboat would have been sunk. David I think we need to come up with some rules."

"I agree. And we need to run them by our resident counsel to keep us out of trouble."

"Smart ass. Ok. First, I think our little lifeboat has enough passengers for now."

"Agreed. Besides, you all are expensive to feed."

"I will chip in on that, David." James offered. "Besides I reap the benefits of it"

"In more ways than one." Carol remarked. "Although we do need to do something for Candy for keeping us out of trouble. Candy, Do you like my husband? Want to borrow him for a while?" Carol asked.

Candy's blush caught everyone by surprise.

"My goodness!" Helen said. "Carol you need some couth when you offer a woman your husband. Not everyone is as calloused a slut as we are. The poor girl has some manners."

Candy, recovering, replied quietly "That might be very nice. But I should shower first."

"Want me to wash your back" James asked, playing the part of the gentleman.

"Sure you can. Can I finish breakfast first?"

"Better hurry. The girls will be here at noon."

"It won't take that long" Candy replied. Then thinking of what she had said she blushed again.

"Honey, I know my husband. Not as good as he once was, but as good once as he ever was. You will be a while." Carol said laughing.

The conversation continued in that manner until James picked up his coffee, looked at Candy and said, "Ok, enough of this nonsense. Candy let's go upstairs. We won't get any peace sitting here so we might as well go and get some elsewhere."

After a look at Carol, Candy smiled, and picked up her juice and the two of them departed for the upstairs.

"Did you see how cute she blushed?" Helen asked. "Carol, you hussy, you were picking on that poor girl".

"No I was not. Not really. Besides the norms don't really apply any more. Not that we were ever "normal" to begin with. And James needs to get used to variety again."

"So, David, What is the agenda for today?" Helen asked.

"Well, when Margaret wakes up, I will give her a long list of things to bring over. Looks like most of the residential stuff is done. Need to get some things from the old furniture store down the street. And I have to find out and clean out the space next door for any "Special Effects" plants we are going to offer."

"You know, I have been thinking about that." Liz said. "We can do a combination of the several different styles, depending on how far into the S&M we want to go. I think we need to stick with some of the simulations of the older methods, like decapitation and hanging, and possibly some of the decadent styles, like Roman baths and Greek stages. Nancy had a few ideas. When she and Mark are done we can ask about them".

"Speak of the devil, do I hear them coming down now?" Helen asked.

Moments later, Nancy peaked around the corner. She was flushed and glowing. With traces of Mark running down her thighs, she walked over to the hot trays and started to prepare some breakfast for her and Mark, who followed a few moments later.

Walking over to the table, Nancy sat next to Helen and giggled "Thank you. You were right, he is good."

"You are welcome dear. He needed some variety too. I was glad to accommodate." Helen said with a straight face. But the eyes were clearly laughing.

"And as for you, mister, wipe that shit eating grin off of your face." Helen continued.

"Now darling," Mark said "You know I only have eyes for you".

"Yes, but your dick goes almost everywhere".

"Not without permission". Mark replied.

"Well, permission is a lot easier to give now. " Helen replied. "Just don't get too carried away until I am on the table, OK?"

"Yes dear", Mark replied.

David thought to himself that this was an interesting side of the equation to be thinking about. Helen was obviously much better adjusted to the situation she was in than the others were. Perhaps that psych degree from Michigan State gave her the balance she portrayed. That or Helen was just adjusted to the situation.

"So, where is Melissa?" Nancy asked.

"Hanging in the cooler," David replied.

"Oh." Nancy said in small voice.

"The woman put us all in danger last night, and David decided not to risk us and his business by letting her try again" Carol said coolly.

"How do you mean?" Nancy asked.

"Legally she was getting ready to do some things that would have gotten the police involved in our little lifeboat. Which would not have been good for all of us. " Carol replied.

"Ok." Nancy answered. Not wanting to have her mood killed, she moved onto other topics. " What is the agenda for today?"

"I have to get some more furniture here and next door. We need to set up more process space. And depending on what you guys develop as a selection, we have to have room for those. The termination is not as serious a sanitary issue as the butchery is. So we have some flexibility there. I think some interview rooms next door separate from reception would be a good idea too. That way we can separate the paid herd from the paying herd. Also a price list would be good."

"I have a few ideas," Nancy said. "For starters, live spitting is out. Agreed?"

Everyone nodded his or her heads at that. Mary Magill's experience has permanently put Helen, Margaret and Carol and Liz off of that idea. "Still meat on a stick is a pretty fancy centerpiece these days. So I would guess head on post-mortem is a good market"

"That is how Melissa is. And it is marketable today. It is how we get them there that counts." David said.

"Ok. So we have some equipment development there to do. Now gallows, raised hanging, Guillotine and ax with block are all pretty easy. No real complexity there. I don't think anyone wants draw and quartered. Not as a participant. We have a few others we can provide variation on. Most other executions are variations on that theme."

"No hazardous chemicals" David said. "That leaves out gas chambers. Drowning is a nightmare to manage. We can do electrocution as a variation of what we normally do with stunning"

"That might be asked for. Most of the romance literature pretty much idolizes the stuff of the 19th and 18th centuries. So we are in keeping with that theme."

Suddenly everyone was interrupted by a long drawn out moan followed by a shriek.

"I told that girl he was as good once as he ever was." Carol laughed.

"Judging by the sound of that, I would say both are doing very well."

"So, where were we? Ok. So that covers most of the romance stuff. Harder stuff we have to do studies for. Also we have to look at the feminine. Women generally have slashed wrists, poison, carbon monoxide suffocation, that sort of thing.

"Ok" David said. " We do need to disqualify poison. Suffocation by CO is out too. Co2 is ok because that is a natural byproduct. But both of those are also a construction issue that is harder than the gallows."

"David, how do you feel about attendance?" Liz asked.

"You mean public or invited guests?"

"Both."

"Public is out. Security is a nightmare. Invited guests would be ok if we could provide for a weapons search first. And that would be case by case. Have to make sure the attendees were stable enough to be there."

"That means interviews," Helen said. "If you are going to do this you have to price it high enough to recover your costs".

"So, how much are you costing me?" David asked.

"Same as these other sluts, I guess." Helen answered.

"Only one here paid union scale is going to be Candy. Maybe she can loan us some money?" Carol joked.

"Candy is too generous for her own good." Nancy interjeced. "She is one nicest people I know. Do you know why she was busy Friday? She was studying Grey's anatomy. To find where the nerves were to avoid while she was opening veins and arteries. To cause minimum discomfort."

"I am sure Melissa appreciated that," David said.

"I know that when my time comes, I would rather she do me than someone who didn't care" Helen said.

All the heads at the table nodded. Just then the phone rang. Margaret was at the door and needed entry. Helen went to open up and let her in, while David went to his office to follow up on the police report on the trespass.

"Well, I guess we all know the penalty for stepping out of the box" Nancy said.

"Actually it would not have been just Her. If things went bad it would have been all of us. Melissa almost sank our lifeboat" Carol added.

"I heard you. But still it sheds a light on what we have to be careful of. David is taking a risk keeping us alive."

"Well, I for one am keeping in mind how long that term is. I get to see my kids tomorrow or Tuesday, and after that, I don't mind as much" Liz said. "I am on borrowed time now".

"Same here" Carol said.

"I don't have kids, or even a pet. And my partner is probably already waking up with my replacement" Nancy said. "Other than a few books and things, I don't have much".

"You have us, girl. And we care. Even the little throat cutting bitch cares." Liz said with a smile.

"Funny. I think she does more than anybody" Nancy replied.

Every one sat quietly, thinking that she was probably right.

Carol and Helen's daughters came over to visit, James and Mark had to leave to check pick up a few more things from their houses and bring over. David left Margaret to manage the group while he went next door to look around in the warehouse. Candy wanted to tag along and look around next door.

Looking around in the warehouse, David found a dozen six-foot long pig skewers with mounts. These were stainless steel, but needed clean up. They carried those back to processing to be cleaned and sterilized Chris would have Melissa mounted on one of them tomorrow.

Most of the rest of the things were strictly junk and odds and ends. There was some scaffolding that could be assembled as well as stack of decking lumber. Depending on how to design things, much of the needs for a scaffold were already here. And a cross beam on the scaffolding would be relatively easy to make, depending on the design. "All we would need is stairs," David thought to himself. "And a trap door.

The open atrium of the warehouse, with an additional 3rd floor dormitory above made for a good open area. Cleaning the floor would the challenge. David and Candy took very careful measurements of the area to make drawings of the floor space.

At the rear of the adjacent warehouse was a large stainless steel tub some eight feet by four feet by four feet. This had been used as a high-temperature scalding tub to remove hair from pork processing. The temperature control went from one hundred to two hundred degrees.

"If you painted the outside of this, it would make a great Roman bath" Candy said.

"Why would we do that?" David asked.

"Roman baths were often used for suicides. They would get into a hot tub with a drink and open their veins. " Candy said, "I had a book report on the Roman Empire and that was how the senate expunged disgraced members."

"Good thinking. We would have to make some variations on the theme to keep clean up easy."

Looking around, David saw that this area was as clean as the processing plant next door. It needed some artistic touches to be an ancient roman bath, but that would do for some.

"I guess we have some weekend projects. What do you think?" David asked.

"Works for me. I get bored not having things to do." Candy replied. "Can we furnish our rooms?"

"Sure. Go online and check out what you want. I will go pick it up."

"How much can I spend?" Candy asked.

"You know, we have to figure out what your salary is going to be. Need to talk with Chris tomorrow about that. Whatever it is Today is time and a half for 4, according to the union contract. Don't let me forget it".

"Goody."

Later that evening after Helen and Carol's kids left, and David, Margaret, Mark and James had left, Carol and Elizabeth were sitting with Helen and Candy in the break room watching a movie on the display. It was a girl's night in with popcorn and soda, and everyone was adjusting to the quiet of the building.

During a break, Helen noticed that Candy was reading Grey's Anatomy in hardcover.

"Studying still?" Helen asked.

"I just want to know everything I can" Candy answered.

"Candy," Helen started, "How did Melissa go?" A bit of morbid curiosity was growing with Helen about the subject. Especially as she could be going as soon as tomorrow.

"Real quiet. Her stomach passed some back after I hung her upside down. But I didn't hit any nerves or anything so she didn't feel but a pinch. She bled out real quick."

"Nancy said that was why you were studying Grey's. To know where the nerves were and to miss them."

"Yes. I watched Chris and Margaret some. They are good but I was not sure that I could do the job right. I know how I would want someone to do me. So I am trying to do it right. If that makes any sense"

"Actually it shows a lot more responsible attitude than most people have today. Your mother and father would be proud of your attitudes." Helen replied.

"When we were on the farm in Tennessee, I always wanted to make sure the stock didn't suffer. And when we had to come to Chicago, I saw that a lot of people were pretty inconsiderate. I didn't like that"

"You know, I do want to thank you. I would not have seen my daughters at all if you hadn't prevented Melissa from doing what she was going to do". Helen said. She had talked with Carol, Nancy and Elizabeth at length about the issue. And all were in agreement that they owed Candy a debt. The young woman had acted when they had not even known that they were at risk.

"It was not much. She was not too smart. She was used to having her own way all the time and thought I would agree with her. She was more interested in partying than anything else. She was kind of shallow".

"Well, she could have impacted all of us. Thank you. I think we all trust you to do the right thing at the right time."

"I will try" Candy replied. She was aware that Helen was talking about a lot of different things. "I sure will, I promise".

"I am sure you will."

At the Findley house.

As Margaret and David got ready for bed, the conversations went around a wide variety of subjects. Most of them focused on their current "guests"

"So, How expensive is it to keep our "goats" Margaret asked.

"Getting tired already?" David asked.

"No. You know me. I am a focus on expenses."

"Not too much. And lots of that was recovered by Friday. We deducted one salary, and increased our production for the day from 15 to 42. Even with a half reduction shared with H&S that gives us an extra half-week of production. Plus we have at least another 12 days of that level we have to do. And if H&S makes this permanent, we will be doing net increase for some time to come."

"Do you think we should have Mark, James and Peter kick in?" Margaret asked.

"Well, Mark already did with the furniture. And if James and Peter do as well, the up front expense won't be bad. Food is higher, but our consumables are not bad. I think we are ok from that perspective. Poor Candy is the only one who is not supported, but she sure does carry her own weight".

"Yes. Of the group if they have to go, I think Candy should be last"

'I agree. We do have to explore the union issue. Her situation might be more long term then the others."

"Isn't that a risk?" Margaret asked. "I mean she is a lot more clever than the others and younger too. I think she could become a runner as well, if given the wrong situation"

"I agree it is a risk, but no more so than the others. She did do the right thing for us last night and this morning. And you did pick her out."

"Yes. I guess it is my judgment that I am worried about. We have taken a pretty big risk here with the people. I would not want to loose everything due to an ungrateful person. And how are we going to actually term them when we do? Hardly a surprise any more"

"Well, my little grandstander, that is your fault" David laughed.

"Yes it is. Which is why I am worried."

"Honey. I am not worried about your making mistakes. Melissa was my decision. Your decision kept her from getting us in trouble."

"Are you telling me you were wrong?" Margaret teased.

"When is a man ever right?" David asked.

"Don't you forget it? Now. I have a couple of suggestions, based on what we know."

""Ok" David said as he leaned back on the bed.

"Tomorrow, since we have the tables and chairs in reception, why don't we take smaller groups. Taking a string of 12 is probably efficient, but what do we do if we have a breakdown like Candy did? If we have a larger group, that could be unmanageable quick."

"Ok. I can see your point. But you would be hopping around a lot to do the process flow. If you had 3 or 4 in each stage, a trip still takes time and focus. A day like today would have been 10 or 12 trips."

"True. But we have two goats now. So that is only 5 trips each. And the time in the pen is much shorter for each group."

"True. Your time would be 20 for each string instead of 45 or so. But that still extends the day"

"But it gives Chris and Marty time to level out. We had a log jam on Friday. Even with 10 minutes to quiet people down, and space between moving to the butcher tables, we have a lot on hangers."

"May need another butcher or two. I don't like to do that because the team we have is pretty good and I don't like introducing problems. I had to go through 30 people to get the right mix. And that was not totally good."

"Well, with the income we have we can afford a few stringer. And besides, the MAB may be upping your allocation permanently so we better are thinking ahead."

With a lot of thoughts going around in their heads, David and Margaret were too disconnected for sex tonight. Besides, it was just the two of them.



-------

Chapter 9



Monday-Monday

David awoke with Margaret wrapped around him like a snuggly blanket. It was early, even before the alarm went off, but David went from sound asleep to wide-awake. He had been dreaming of scaffolds, ropes and a host of other projects, in addition to running the business. And dealing with those projects and the Population Selection Board was going to take up a lot of his morning. Kissing Margaret on top of the head, he extracted himself from her and wandered to the bathroom, checking the mail on the way for any notices or events. Seeing one from the plant, he looked at it. It was a request for milk and breakfast food from Candy.

I thought Helen was going to be the den mother David thought to himself. And what to do about Margaret second guessing herself? I will just have to play this out and see how it goes.

Margaret came into the bathroom while the shower was running. After a short visit to the commode, she joined David in a short game of scrub, tickle and kiss that ended up with David taking her up against the wall with a hard fast fuck. It was too quick and not totally draining for either of them but they had to get to work.

Don't need to think too much about what I am wearing, cause it won't be on long, Margaret thought as she looked into her closet. I guess I need to pack a bag later this week to bring to the office in case we go out from there. Margaret had not been thinking like that for several years. Ought to bring things for David too.

After a short shopping jaunt for breakfast and lunch fixings, David and Margaret continued to the plant where a refrigerated truck from H&S parked behind the loading dock. As David and Margaret parked their car and walked toward the building, two men got out of the track and started walking toward the receiving door.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" David asked.

"Marty Burke send us over here to do a pickup of Friday's Processing."

"Ok. It is all in the cooler, and if you wait a few while my team get's here, they can help you load it."

"Sure. Don't want to jump no union fences."

"In the meantime, you can come in for some breakfast, if you like" Margaret offered.

"Sure. Let me help with the bags". The taller of the two offered.

Calling Candy from the receiving dock phone, everyone waited while she came down and removed the security latches from inside.

"Glad to see you have it secure. Marty will be happy to hear it".

"Yea. You have any idea how many you are sending over here today?" David asked.

"Well, since you did so good with the last run, Marty wanted to know if you could handle forty five today?"

That plus our fifteen meant sixty. Shit. Margaret and Candy will be hustling like sheep dogs to get that all moved through. Might want to tell the guys to work overtime and come in tomorrow to do butchery, David thought to himself.

"We can try. Going to be busy. Don't know where to have them sit in reception"

"Don't matter. We just push them along. They don't need to sit anyway. They get ornery when you have to move them" the taller one said.

"We try to do things a little different here". David replied.

The two men followed Margaret, Candy and David to the break room, where Nancy was pouring coffee.

"Nice broad" the shorter man, Gus, said to his partner Tim. "Good looking rack on her".

Nancy blushed when she heard that and said, "Thanks. I am proud of them. I didn't expect guests. I only have foam cups for the coffee, if that is OK?"

Tim was taken aback. "Your goats talk?" he said incredulously. "All of ours are muted so they can't stir the stock. You let yours talk?"

"And she aint got a shock collar" Gus observed. "We do that to keep them from running out of controlled areas".

"I haven't had those problems," David said. All the while thinking to him that he could have if Candy had not been paying attention.

"Ain't there some rules about that?" Gus asked.

"No. We checked with the MAB about containment and management, and there is nothing specific beyond the tags".

"Can we fuck em?" Tim asked.

"Not this morning, boys, I am sore" Nancy said.

"Don't matter to me" Tim responded.

"It does to me" David replied coolly. "I think you gentlemen can wait in the truck for my team to load it."

"Hey man" Gus started" Don't get all belligerent here".

"I am not," David said. "What you are forgetting is that you are on MY Plant. My rules. Not yours. And if you interfere with my operations, I will press charges."

That took both Gus and Tim aback. Belligerent husbands and boyfriends and brothers occasionally came to the plants to drop of the selectees. They had become accustomed to handling those men with no nonsense. They were not used to being treated like this.

"Look" Tim said. "We are on the wrong foot here. You are right this is your plant. And we are guests here. Obviously you do things different here. We don't mean offense."

"Ok guys" Nancy said, wanting to break the tension. "Why don't you sit there and we will see what we can scrabble up for breakfast?".

"Great." Tim said as he guided Gus over to a table. A few whispered words passed between the two and they stay there.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Margaret asked, stripping her clothes off. "We have some synthetic sausage, peppers, onion, and I brought some biscuit mix."

"That sounds great" Tim said, looking at the woman as she undressed. "Could I ask you a question?" Tim said toward David.

"Sure"

"Aren't goats supposed to be naked and collared all the time?" Tim asked David.

"You mean my wife? She was exempted this month. Don't look 40 does she?"

"No. She looks great. So why the collar?"

'The collar helps to keep things straight and orderly. We had USDA here yesterday and they were a little confused. And it reduces the possibility of any mistakes in processing"

As the smell of fried onions and synthetic sausage filled the air, footsteps down the stairs announced Liz, Carol and Helen coming into the break room. All were nude of course.

"Oh, company" Helen said as she entered the room. "Can I help?" she asked Margaret.

"Get some plates out and pour some juice." Margaret said. "Candy can you put toast in the toaster?"

Tim and Gus were somewhat amazed. 6 collars in view, all of them talking and hustling around the kitchen. Not at all like H&S had in their break-room.

"I don't see any security," Tim said to Gus. "I wonder how they run this place?"

"I don't know." Gus replied. "Strange way to run a operation. Sure different from ours. Course they are smaller."

"You know, I think a couple of them I delivered here yesterday" Tim mused. " The young blonde and the older one doing the helping of cooking were on my transport"

"Yea, Sure seem to be settled in here now. Wonder what the boss would say?" Gus asked his partner.

"Who cares? Meat is meat. If what we get back is what we put in, we don't care". Tim replied.

"Yea, but it doesn't seem right, does it?" Gus asked.

At that time, Carl and Chris and Marty came in following the smell of food.

"Hi guys" Helen asked in a chipper voice. "What will you have, coffee, tea or me?"

"Can they have a rain check on that, Helen? I have a couple of things that they have to do first. " David interrupted.

"Shit, boss. Always spoiling the fun." Marty said.

"I need you, Chris, to go with these two gentlemen and help them get the stuff for H&S loaded. Also send along about 300 lbs. of trade weight in legs and thighs and hams. I will talk to Marty to square things up. Marty and Carl, I have one hanging that I want you to look at and grade for spit. If she is spat quality, I want you to mount her and load her as well."

"Sure boss. Did the misses do the cutting over the weekend?" Marty asked.

"No. Candy did. And you check how she did that too. I told her she gets time and a half for 4 on Sunday."

'Boss, she has no seniority. " Marty spoke up.

"I know. So I will give both of you premium time for Sunday to make up for that."

"I don't know. That is out of the contract."

"Exception clause. Emergency operations. She was already in attendance. So you get paid anyway for a Emergency Call Out."

"Marty" Chris said. "Please, shut up."

"Ok, Ok. Just want to keep the books straight. She got a timesheet?"

"Sunday time. Sheet has to be in on Saturday. And she did one for Saturday."

"Ok. Just keeping you honest boss." Marty replied. "Got to defend the contract".

"I know. Now get the good one spitted and show these guys where their stuff is. Also get the tare weight on the 3rds so they can take them a receipt."

"Not until after this breakfast is done." Helen said, putting plates on the table. "Sit down."

David took his plate and coffee and went to his office to call Marty Burke at H&S. He had to do some wheeling and dealing.

"H&S."

"David Findlay for Marty Burke"

"One moment"

"Burke"

"Marty. This is David. Got a proposition for you."

"Sure. And thanks David. You guys got me out of a jam. Saved me money doing weekend operations. Would have cost me a mint."

"No problem. And I want to square up with you for Friday. Stacy Ingram. Was rated by you as Prime? She was pregnant with a male."

"NO SHIT. You didn't process her did you?" Marty asked, sweating. This was the kind of thing that would be a nightmare.

"No. Our final check did a verify and she is already at Social services."

"Great. Are we splitting the bonus money?" There was a bonus for interception of male pregnant selectees. In Sandy's case, it was a total recompense of her weight and grade. A nice piece of change.

"Nope. In fact, I am going to do you a better gig than that. I am going to send you the entire finders fee and am going to send you back a prime A for the other one that you sent. Going to use the one you sent me as a goat and toy for a while. And I am sending you 300 lbs. in weight of seconds for the papers on two others."

"What the fuck you doing over there, David?" Marty asked. A little suspicious about this turn of events, he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. This was a great economic deal for him and H&S. What did David get out of it?

"Turns out that two more of yours were friends of my wife. So I am going to have a hen house here for a while. Or more accurately a goat pen."

"That is your business. I will do the swap. Just be careful. Until the papers get to you, they are all on my list."

"Marty, you sent the papers yesterday with them. All I need to do is shift assignments".

"Yea. That is right. Forgot about that. Well, it is your thing. Just don't keep them around too long. Sooner or later they try to break. That is why we don't keep many or for long"

"Sure. Don't worry. I will send your guys back with the trade as soon I finish feeding them"

"Feeding them? What do you mean?"

"One of the selectees was a epicurean cook. I am eating great."

There is no justice, Marty thought to himself.

-------

Loading Dock Gossip

"So" Gus began asking Chris. "What is the story here? You have goats that speak, no shock collars, eat like kings in the morning?"

Smiling, Chris replied. "We do things different here. The bosses' old lady is a goat and a cutter. She slices throats like a pro. Better than me. The young blonde goat is a union member since Friday. She cuts like a pro as well. So she is a goat with a card. The rest are all some friends of the wife's that want to go out custom"

"How do I get a gig here with this place?" Tim asked. "Those broads looked older but they looked fine"

"Oh yea. No fucking the stock," Chris said. "Boss said that you don't mix meat with pleasure. Old time rule"

"Well that one older blonde there made the offer."

"Yea, that must be Helen." Chris said. "She is a friend of the boss's wife. Things may change here a little. Marty is the only one married. I wouldn't mind getting some of Candy myself".

"So what is it with this place. Just the 3 of you back here? And the boss aint no big guy to intimidate. What do you do for security?" Gus asked.

"Can't talk about it. But it 's covered." Chris answered mysteriously. "We haven't had a bolter here in 9 months. And that one quit at the front door. Boss walked her all the way back all by his self and got her quiet. With Candy and the Ms. F, I don't think we will have that any more either."

"How do they do it?" Gus asked.

"Sorry, guys. I can't tell you. I could but then I would have to process you."

"No jokes guy." Tim answered.

"No joke. The bosses' old lady will slit your throat quicker then you can say shit and then I can clean you out and send you back in a package."

"Smart ass." Gus said with a smile. Looking around, he said, "So, the broads are the cutters, eh? And it's legal?"

"Not all of them. Just two. Shop steward says it's legal, and so do I. This place is nice and calm and quiet. Pay is good and no stress. And if they are going to be feeding breakfast, that is a new fringe."

By 8 AM, the H&S transport was on it's way back to deliver their contents to H&S. Included was Melissa, now nicely mounted on a stainless spit, through the mouth, totally cleaned out professionally and with a USDA Prime sticker on her ass. Soon her unaware father was going to find that she was the centerpiece of his political reception this evening. No rubber chicken for his guests.

-------

Monday Opening the doors.

Monday reception was a totally different experience from the week before. At 8:30, the doors opened and women entering saw a number of round tables with 4 chairs to the table, a set of drinks and sodas along the wall on a set of square tables. The lighting was subdued and there were two desks at the end of the reception furthest from the door, with two women at each. All were nude and wearing orange collars

"Welcome Ladies" Margaret said from the front. "Please pick a table and we will be with you in a minute. Please have your notices out and we will start shortly."

As the women filtered in and sat down, they naturally talked among themselves. Those who knew each other sat together, or introduced themselves to others as they came in. An older brunette and a young blonde came around to each table with some folders that included documentation for the processing plant and asked if the women wanted a drink.

Pencils and pens were available and returned to the two desks, where Helen and Nancy provided assistance on any of the documents. As a group finished, Candy and Margaret circulated to get drinks distributed and to verify documents. At eight forty-five, Candy approached one of the tables and asked the women if they had finished, and if so could they please follow her. The first four followed Candy down the hallway and through the door to the exam rooms.

At nine o'clock, Margaret approached another table and asked that the ladies bring their drinks if they wanted and please follow her. "Don't forget your bags ladies. We won't be coming back here for a while."

At this time, Helen and Nancy began to circulate and distribute folders, drinks and sit and talk with the women who were now filling up the reception room.

As they prepared documents and verified completeness, they then prepared the third group for Candy's return at nine thirty. Where she easily helped the third group of the day to start down to the exam rooms. Followed by another group with Margaret at nine forty-five.

At this time, the first bus from H&S arrived. The driver was Gus from the morning, and he was greeted with a kiss from Helen who said, "You have to drop by sometime if David will let you"

Smiling and a little aback, Gus responded, "I would like that. I really would. Here are the documents I have"

"Oh, Gus. Can you have the ladies keep their documents? We have them fill things out here. " Helen said, whispering. " And it keeps them busy while they are waiting".

"But what if they loose them?" Gus asked.

"We can look it up here in reception from their name and SSN. We have time." Helen said.

"Ok." Gus answered. Looking around he saw his load of women greeted by Nancy who had them sit down, was getting them drinks and bringing them folders. The 16 from his load were all seated comfortably and the general mood was calm and friendly.

"You sure do things different here," Gus said.

"Yes. We do. Don't you think it is much nicer?" Helen asked.

At ten fifteen, Candy appeared from the entry door, and approached Nancy. Looking around quietly, Nancy directed her toward a table of women who were sitting chatting. A few moments later, Gus saw the four women pick up their envelopes and follow Candy down the hallway to the exam rooms.

Gus marveled at the quiet and calm. No stress. No crying or screaming. There was no one arguing or struggling. "I wonder if it is this way all the way through?" Gus thought to himself. At ten thirty, Margaret came through the door and the only thing that Gus noticed was that her feet and lower legs were wet. Grabbing a towel, she dried them while talking to Helen, who indicated another group to move down the line.

Getting ready to leave, Nancy approached Gus. "I was told to ask you to please do us a favor. Can you have your next load already eat before you get them here?"

"We don't usually feed them" Gus replied.

"Please give them something to cut their hunger. Give them some Pasta or something. Hungry women are cranky" Nancy said with a smile.

"Ok. Pasta. Like Pasta Salad?

"Yes. And keep a receipt. We will pay you back"

Hearing Candy coming back, Nancy gave Gus a quick kiss and went back to work with another group.

"Sure are funny people?" Gus thought. Nice. But nutty as a squirrel turd.

At noon, the second group from H&S arrived, and Tim was the driver. Thinking that his instructions from Gus were crazy but knowing better than to not follow them, he had stopped at the grocery store and gotten all of the stock a pasta salad. Something light and digestible, he was told. He had the women pick out their own. They all carried their paperwork too. Opening the door he saw an almost empty reception room with lots of round tables and chairs. The older blond, Carol greeted everyone. Getting all the women settled, she and a brunette named Elizabeth soon brought water and forks over to all 16 of his passengers while Candy came over to one of the tables and soon that group followed her down the hallway.

Carol came over to an astounded Tim and asked, "Can I get you something?"

"Gus said to bring a receipt?" Tim asked.

"Oh yea. Follow me" the blonde turned around and led him to the front desk. There she opened a drawer and pulled out a signed check with no amount" how much was it and who do I fill it out to?" She asked.

Tim gave the woman the receipt, and said he had paid out of pocket. So Carol carefully filled in the check for the amount and gave it to him.

"So, Excuse me Ms." Tim began

"Carol"

"Carol. I am a bit confused."

"I can understand. If you have a moment, we can go sit down." Carol said quietly.

After seating next to the door, somewhat away from the selectees, Carol asked, " All Right. What do you find confusing?"

"You are a sow" Tim began.

"Actually David would hit you if you said that. He happens to think of us all as women."

"Ok. So, you are a selectee than."

"Right."

"And all the others are too?"

"Except Margaret. But she could be"

"But you are working here and talking and socializing with all the other sows."

"Ah Ah. Don't use that word"

"Sorry. I am just not getting my head around this place."

"Tim is your name, right?"

"Yes."

"Tim, we are all going to the same place. But should it be a bumpy ride or a smooth ride? Should it be full of fear or calm and business like?"

"I guess so. So how did you get selected to help?" Tim asked.

"I am not quite sure. And I am also not quite sure how long it will be before I am boxed and frozen and in soup. But right now, I am helping people here, and it seems to be doing well."

"I sure do see that. My mother would have liked this."

"Was she selected?" Carol asked.

"No. She had a cancer that did not respond to treatment" Tim replied. "Brain cancer"

"Ugh. I am so very sorry to hear that. Was she allowed Self Termination?" Carol asked.

"No we could not afford it. Hospice was all we could do."

Sensing some information for market research, Carol seized the opportunity. "Tim, Why don't you come back by here after 4:30. We are finished with intakes by then, and we would like to talk with you."

"I have to pick up my wife at 4:00. That is why I worked early."

"Bring her with you. We won't bite. Or process her."

"Ok. I got to get going. This is our lunch break"

"For us too."

Seeing Margaret coming from the examination room hallway, Carol patted Tim on the cheek and said, "Have to go. Margaret needs some direction"

At 1:30, Marty Bruke drove the last group of the day from M&S to Findlay processing. He had heard some wild and weird stories from Gus and Tim about how their operation ran, and he wanted to see it for himself. He knew that Findlay normally did only 15 to 20 a day. But he had dumped 40 today and his people said there was no stress. And they told him that there were only 4 men in the entire team. How did that happen?

He thought Gus and Tim were both cracked at the Pasta Salad and soda and bread that they had gotten this load, but when he got there, he saw that it had worked. The bus was quiet and calm. And all of the sows had their paperwork with them when they got off of the bus.

Entering the front room, he was surprised to see the 4 goats at the front, eating takeout. All for of them got up and started to accompany his passengers to seats at tables and bring over envelopes of information and documents. And ask if they wanted sodas or water.

After all of them were settled, a young brunette in a collar came over to him and reached out her hand. "Hi. I am Margaret Findlay. Can I get you something?"

"David Findlay's wife?" Marty asked.

"In the skin." Margaret dimpled. "Like what you see? And you are?"

"Marty Burke. My two guys were telling me about your operation and I wanted to see for myself."

"Oh. Let me call David and have him come down."

"Actually they said you ladies knew what was going on and that I should talk to you".

"Well, I can help some. I have to watch the clock though. I have to take the next group down in 15 minutes."

"So you are a actual goat?" Marty asked.

"Sure. Did you think your guys were kidding?"

"I didn't know if they lost their mind or what. I think my wife would if she was here. After she told me to behave and quit looking around".

"Well we won't slap you here, Marty. We are just a small operation that does things a little different. We are trying some things and setting a good pace and so far it is working very well"

"Can you tell me more?" Marty asked.

"Now, I don't know how much of what we do is trade secret. You will have to talk to David about that" Margaret smiled coyly.

"Well, I do know this. Findlay never did more than 20 on a busy day before and that was holiday for thanksgiving. I know cause the MAB posts intake figures. We dumped 48 on you today, and you had 16 of your own. And I see just the load I brought and that is all."

"Yes, we do seem to be doing well, don't we?"

"And with very few people. So how do you do that?" Marty asked.

"Like I said, Marty. Trade secret. Now if you excuse me, I have to get back to work. Are you going to bring any more here today or is this our last load?"

"Could you take another load?" Marty asked.

"Bring them no earlier then 2:30. I think we can handle it. If not we will walk store them" Margaret answered.

"Ok. Last load today at 2:30. How many?"

"Make it same as this, 16"

"You got it" Marty said. Thinking to himself, I wonder if I can dump my nasty's here too.

At 2:45, David was down in reception when Marty drove up with the last load form H&S. At this point 12 of his own 16 for today had been processed as well as 48 from H&S. The entire butcher crew was going to have to come in tomorrow to finish up the last of the hanging stock. Plus this bunch. As David watched what was being unloaded, he knew that Marty was dumping him on at this point. Several of these women were obese, some were ghetto rats, and a few were nasty and uneducated. Thank god that Candy and Carol and Helen had thought up the distribution idea. No way you could handle a 15 or 16 person string of this type. Might have to send an ESD for groups of 4.

David took Marty aside while all 6 of his goats circulated among the women and settled them down. Getting the more belligerent women to sit down and getting them drinks seemed to help, and the obese women were just plain uncomfortable and uneasy. Obviously they had been waiting all-day and then shipped here. Cranky unhappy and nervous. A recipe for confrontation. Not good.

"Marty, we have to talk" David said, taking Marty along to the reception door marked "Office"

"Sure, David. But don't you need to be here?" Marty asked.

"No, I especially need to not be here. Follow me"

Leading Marty down the hall to the break room David grabbed a coke out of the refrigerator for both of them.

"Ok. Why the junk?"

"Well, We have holding pen problems and USDA wants minimum overnight due to sanitation issues. So we have to watch and only keep the ones we know we can manage without problems."

"So you dumped the problems, at the end of the day, on me?" David asked.

"Well, David, you know they aren't all coeds. You have to take the bad with the good."

"Marty, I am doing all of your bad. Candy and Stacy were a slip up and you know it."

"Yea. Good catch on that Stacy though. If it ever came out that we snuffed a male child in addition to our other issues, we would be nothing but dog food. How did you find out anyway?"

"Trade Secret. You were lucky you sent her here all right."

"Yea. So when do I get Candy back" Marty asked with a smile.

"You don't. You traded the assignment, remember?"

"Did I? I forget. I'm not sure. She sure is a juicy little thing. No telling what she could help me with."

"Marty, I am sure you don't intend to try to pull that on with me. So sure that I think that when Delores hears you tried to pull it back, you may have more inspection issues than you bargained for.

"What do you mean?" Marty asked.

"Right after I called and talked with you, I called the MAB. I told them the deal and they did the trade while I was on the phone. I have the computer confirmation for Carol, Liz, and Candy already. They were traded, my friend."

"Damn. Aint you the slick one. Well what if I protest?"

"I think I can arrange for day and night USDA inspections of your plant for the next 8 or so months. Remember what happened when your boy came here?"

"I don't ever remember you being this sharp before Findlay. You grew some balls boy"

"You never tried to crap in my sandbox before. Dad always said not to be nasty until you had to. And that when you did make it hurt so you won't be forgotten."

"I grant you that. Ok. I won't bitch. But don't you bitch about my stuff either."

"Let's make a deal. If you have a bunch you are worried about, send them first thing. Not last. Makes things easier. I don't like spooky herds."

Conversation went along in that vein for the next hour. Looking at the clock, Marty spoke up to David "Do you need to check on anything?"

"I doubt it." David said as he saw Margaret walking up the hallway. Seeing him there, she stopped and poked her head in.

"Sheesh, David. The two fat ones almost didn't go through the door. And I thought that the winch was going to break raising the one up. I thought we were doing people not real cows."

"Bit of a challenge" Marty said with a snicker.

"If you send them to us again at the end of the day like that, don't drive yourself. You might have an accident. " Margaret sweetly said with a smile at Marty.

Marty started to laugh, until he saw the blood on Margaret's feet. He decided that maybe he should not be so flippant.

"Honey, Your feet and legs?" David said.

"Oh. Yea she did bleed around a lot. I have to go wash off." Margaret said as she walked down the hall.

"Tim said your guys said your wife got into the business personally," Marty said a few moments later.

"Like I said, Marty. It's a trade secret".

-------

4:00 PM Monday

Barbara was tired. She had processed a constant chain of blood and urine samples, four every 15 minutes, for almost six hours. "I didn't work this hard at the hospital," she thought to herself. Except for the last batch, all of them had been quiet, calm and no fuss. And that last batch was just uncomfortable. They were really stressed. Margaret and Candy had moved people through like a traffic cop all day long.

It was busy here today. Small groups but it was constant. And we only had 8 rooms busy instead of 12. So there was less to clean up.

"We did have a lot of venereal disease in that last bunch." Barbara thought." Going to have to Clorox the rooms good tonight. And one of them had bad lice."

Sitting at her desk, Barbara couldn't help but think that this would have to either let up or we would have to get more help.

Coincidentally, David happened to be passing through. "So, how was today?" He asked Barbara.

"Busy. I just looked around and we did 77 blood and urine tests. If this keeps up I am going to need help. Someone to prep rooms at least"

"Yes. I was thinking of either moving Nancy here or moving one of the girls from stripping up. With smaller groups, we really don't need two in stripping."

"That could work. Candy and Margaret have been like locomotives. People have been moving through quickly but not too quick. No breakdowns today. How is everyone else doing?"

"That is what I am going to check" David replied. " Need to see how badly things were jammed up at the end."

Moving into stripping, David noticed that all of the boxes were stacked at the back. And there were a lot of boxes.

"Well, ladies. How was today?"

"Almost too busy. Moving smaller groups makes it seem like less work, but when you start to stack things up you see that you really have done a lot. The smaller groups work well. We can calm the women through stripping and the fear is not as high. It helps that they think that they have another hour from here."

"Really?" David asked.

"Yes. Both Margaret and Candy tell the groups that they have another hour of cleaning before they are topped. And the cadence has had the last one going through the door as the next 4 are coming in."

"Do one of you want to move up to Exam on Wednesday to help Barbara there. She needs to have help in the blood and urine work ups." David asked.

"I can help with that on Wednesday, but not tomorrow.

-------

4:45 PM Monday

Helen, Carol, Nancy and Elizabeth were all sitting at one of the front tables finishing up the process tally for the day. Of the 16 scheduled for Findlay, 13 showed up. 3 called and asked for a delay until Wednesday for personal reasons. H&S. Chris had delivered 64 and Marty and Gus and Carl were coming in tomorrow as a full workday to finish ups the butchery and cleanup. 22 were hanging in the cooler awaiting space on the table. Margaret and Candy were getting a shower.

"Well, this sure was a busy day." Helen said. " I guess I understand why David made his offer to keep us broads around. He isn't building a harem. He is offsetting labor costs"

"No kidding" Carol agreed. " I haven't worked this hard since I was running the Sorority in Michigan State".

"You know," Nancy said. "At this pace, we really aren't going to be able to get much valid interview information"

"You are right" Liz agreed. "I think Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday will be the interview and discussion days. As well as the day to do special effect requests."

"That last batch was upset" Helen said. "Can you imagine spending hours sitting around, stressed to the max, while people all around you are processed in front of you. And then being told to get dressed again and that you were being bussed to a Pet Food Outlet?"

"That one queen sized woman was totally irate. Glad you were able to calm her down, Nancy. I am not good at soothing people." Carol said.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I need a drink and a dick." Elizabeth said.

"Here here." the heads around the table replied.

At that moment, in walked Tim followed closely by his wife. Who was nervous at being a non-selectee in a slaughterhouse. Kathy knew what her husband did for a living. Sort of, But she did not know the details. And she really was not too interested in finding out.

"Hello Carol. I came back as you asked. And this is my wife Kathy."

"Hi Kathy. I am Carol, and this is Elizabeth and Helen. And that over there is Nancy. Welcome to Findlay. Tim, did you talk with her about what we were talking about?"

"No. Not really. Mainly because I don't really know what you want to talk about."

"Well, Kathy, when we talked with Tim earlier, he had some different ideas of how a well run house should be. And his experiences here were a lot different. While we talked, he told me the story of your mother in law, and I wanted to ask if we could talk with you about that."

"There isn't much to tell. She had terminal brain cancer and the only thing that was appropriate was Hospice. We petitioned for early termination, but the courts were backed up on a lot of other things."

"Did she petition for a early selection for the MAB?" Carol asked.

"No. With the brain cancer she was not fit to be a food stock. And with a grown son and over 40, she was not a selectee either."

"So she was outside the system entirely," Carol said.

"Yes. I don't think she would have liked being selected anyway. What I have seen of that tells me that it is humiliating and scary. And probably painful."

"It may be in many places," Liz said. "But we are trying to change that here."

"Now are all of you selected?" Kathy asked.

"Yes. David, the owner, has us pulled aside for the time being to act as helpers here."

"They call them Goats" Tim interjected.

"That is right. Mainly we help women with paperwork, answer questions, work with some of the release and other forms and make sure all personal affects are brought back to the next of kin."

"Really?" Tim asked. "We don't do that".

"Once again, we are a little different" Helen said.

"Can someone request you if they are selected?" Kathy asked.

"I am not sure how that would work" Carol replied. "I think that is one of the questions that David is asking us to look into."

"Well, It would be comfort to know that you were going to be treated better then that program showed last year" Kathy said.

"I agree" Helen remarked. "That is why we all feel feeling lucky to be here. Even if we end up on the table tomorrow, we know we will get there in a smooth manner."

"Or even maybe a manner of our choice" Carol said.

Tim was listening to this with some guilt. He did, after all, work in the plant that was on the broadcast last year. He had seen a lot of difference in the women after that show. Now they were scared more. There were more bolts and fights. Some of the men liked it because it gave them an excuse to be physical. But it had some drawbacks too.

"So. Kathy. I offered to fuck your husband when he came in earlier. Would you mind?" Helen asked with a smile.

"What?" Kathy answered while totally shocked.

"You don't' see any large quantity of dick here do you?" Carol asked. "We are not meat yet and won't be for a few days, so we would like to have some fun. If you are worried about us being possessive, remember we are all on borrowed time" she added.

"I'll have to think about that, ladies. If I give him a permission slip, then you can have him. In fact, if you are around next week, while I have my monthly, you can have him then."

"It's a date," Helen said.

Tim sat there in silent shock. He sure hoped his wife didn't ask him if he had fucked any stock before. That would get him in real trouble.



-------

Chapter 10



Tuesday Morning.

For two nights in a row, Margaret was too tired to fuck. David shook his head and thought, "Either we must be getting old. Or she is having bigger reactions than she wants to admit with respect to the business." David thought to himself as he roused himself form the bed.

Margaret was sound asleep. She had helped kill and butcher 77 people yesterday, 40 of them she had killed herself. She was bone tired. David's overtures were carefully dismissed by saying "Honey, I am plain tired".

At Findlay's, Helen was up dicing peppers and onions to put into egg substitute to make omelets for everyone. Adding the imitation bacon bits, mushrooms, and processed cheese food, and soon she would be joined by a hungry group of people, she was sure.

The first down was Candy. Kid woke up happy in the morning. Not at all like Helen's two daughters. You needed dynamite to get them out of bed.

"Good morning, Sunshine" Helen said. "How are you today?"

"Tired. I did a lot of work yesterday, especially at the end. Had a bit of an argument with that last woman about going through the door. She was nasty, argumentative, and she said that, "if she was white, she wouldn't be here". So I told her, "Well, don't take it out on me, argue with the folks on the other side of the door." Got her to follow me. That was the only time I was not real nice. I cut that woman and let her hang by herself."

"You going to be OK when we do the same thing tomorrow?" Helen asked.

"I think so. I bounce back pretty good normally" Candy said. "Don't like people who are mean, though. And I don't like myself when I run into them".

"Darling, that is the advantage of a Greek membership and a college education. You have the ability to do the nastiest things to the nastiest people in the nicest way. And never get your skirt dirty". Helen said laughing.

"Helen, you have to teach me how to think like that."

"I will, darling. If you promise me that you won't cut my nerves when the time comes?"

"I promise. I probably won't be the one to do you anyway. Probably it will be Margaret or Chris".

"Actually, I prefer you to Margaret. I would prefer to have my husband not fuck the woman who slit my throat."

"Well, that is kind of hard on me" Candy said. "Mark is cute and I need some dick too. If you put it that way, I won't get any from him. And Margaret will. That isn't fair. She get's to go out and I only get those who are let in."

"When you put it that way, I guess I am being kind of selfish. Ok. For you only there is an exception. And I will put it in writing. But you have to deal with him. I can't order him." Helen said.

"Well, if you don't order him not to, I can work the rest." Candy said with a smile.

"You minx" Helen retorted.

"A very good friend of mine told me to be adaptable. Which is why I took James upstairs"

"How was he?"

"Ok. He was kind of shy. I don't think he had a young woman for a long time. But he was good and hard for a long time and I got off on top."

"So we heard". Helen teased.

Candy blushed, embarrassed. "I tried to be quiet." she said quietly.

"Honey. When you are cumming, it is God's gift to you to be as loud as you want as long as you want. Don't ever worry about that." Helen admonished. "All three of us hussies laughed at it. We laughed at it, not at you. Happy laughs. Ok?"

"Ok. If you say so." Candy said with a blush.

At that moment, the rear entry door chimed. Going to the admission panel Candy hit the answer code.

"Hello. Who is it?" She asked.

"It is Tim from H&S. I am here to pick up"

"I am sorry you are early but we can't let you in until the Findlay's or a management employee arrives" Candy answered.

"Aww. But I got a permission slip" Tim said.

"What does that mean?" Candy asked.

"It means his wife gave him permission to fuck around. Here is your dick for the day dear"

"Not until David or someone else get's here. Remember what Carol and David said about third parties? That was why I had to top Melissa."

"But child, we are all on the short stick anyway. What do we have to loose?"

"We all have it to loose" Candy said. 'Remember, we all get rounded up and termed. Besides I think I want Barbara do to blood tests first. Just because we are here, does not mean we have to get something venereal."

"Party pooper. But you are right on the last point. No need everyone coming to a bad ending."

"Sorry, Tim. But we have to wait until someone is here" Candy said.

"Ok. I understand"

Chris, Marty and Carl arrived about 30 minutes later. After buzzing the door, Candy came down and let them in. Marty told Tim in no uncertain words to behave him self.

"We have a lot of work to do and we don't need any problems. We have your last batch to carve up. They have been hanging in the cooler and we need to get them pieced and boxed."

"Marty said you didn't have to carve them small. Just box in loin, roasts, hams, thighs and calves. Our meat cutters can do the rest. In fact, I could take them on hooks in the truck"

"Let David talk with you guys about that. I don't want to get any flashback about not piecing things out and marking."

"Well, none of you are supposed to do anything until after breakfast. Helen and Carol are cooking and it smells good." Candy said, while leading the way to the break room.

"You know" Marty thought to himself "Maybe this place needed a woman's touch all along. Breakfast is not a bad fringe."

Coming into the plant, David was not surprised to see the truck from H&M. He was surprised to see Barbara's car as well as Christens'. Christen only worked 3 days a week.

After Candy buzzed him in David was greeted by the sound of giggling and laughter down the hall. Coming down the hall to the break room he saw Helen, Carol, Liz and Candy as well as Barbara and Christen all drinking coffee. The laughter was light and stress free.

"Well, Ladies, it is a pleasure to see all of you here. Even the ones that don't have to be here" David said.

Barbara look up and said, "I just wanted to get a jump on tomorrow. 80 was a lot of sample kits and it was a rush to make them up as we went."

"And I just wanted to meet all the new people you brought into here" Christen said. "We are all wondering when you are going to relax the rules on dragging the men upstairs"

Candy got red in the face but bravely said, "Yes. We have to have some recreation here."

"You got pretty well recreated yesterday morning, as I remember" Carol remarked with a smile.

"And yes I thank you very much. But we are going to need more."

"Hussy" Helen said.

"Takes one to know one" Candy rejoined with a smile.

Sensing that this sort of banter was best left among the females in the room, and being outnumbered, David took his coffee with him and went down the hall to his office.

Going through his e-mail and voice mail only took a few minutes. He was at first surprised to see e-mail from USDA division office. Suddenly, David remembered what Carl had said. Better get onto that.

"USDA. How may I direct your call?"

"David Findley for Mr. Davenport".

"Hold on sir."

"Mr. Davenport's office. How may I help you?"

"David Findley of Findley processing."

"And what is this in regards to?"

"A private matter" David replied.

"Just a moment." About a minute later the voice came back onto the call and said, "Just a moment and I will transfer you."

"Charlie Davenport"

"Mr. Davenport, this is David Findley. Carl German told me to expect your call and I am returning your call."

"Thank you for returning my call, Mr. Findley. I normally don't interfere with local government, but my daughter was selected, and she was supposed to go to Myers and Hitchcock. But they aren't much better then H&S. Carl told me that the plant you have is a lot better and that Carla would be treated better."

"Well, Carl has watched our plant for a long time and he keeps us straight. We do have some programs we are putting in place that he likes, and we also have some special processing we are doing as well. If your daughter would like, she can call us here and come in today or Thursday for an intake discussion. No processing on Tuesday or Thursday, and we will help make things easier. Then we could do her on Saturday which is our catch up and light day."

"What do you do on an intake?" Davenport asked. This sounded a little strange.

"I have some counselors here who help to make sure that all the loose ends are tied up. Will's, documentation, last minute things that you don't want to forget. We are developing a checklist. We also make sure that any special requests that we can provide are taken care of."

Davenport was quiet for a moment. It was strange that a slaughterhouse was doing this. "How long have you been doing this?" he asked David.

"It is something I have had in mind for a while. We started last week. And we have a different model for mass production as well. My wife just passed exclusion and she is now getting involved in the business. She is telling me all the things I didn't do."

"They do that, don't they?" Davenport laughed.

"Yes. But in her case, she was right. I should have had her come in with me a long time ago."

"So. What are the next steps?" Davenport asked. He really had no clue.

"Tell you what. Have her call me, and if she can come down today we will do intake. If she likes us, I will help her to get through the re-assignment process. No use doing it behind her back. Leave her some choice in this." David said.

"Ok." Davenport said. He was shocked. He would not have expected to have them allow his daughter to interview them. Cows, sheep and sows don't get to select their slaughterhouse. This fellow was a little strange.

David's next call was to his new friend at the Population Control Board. Delores had left him her personal line and he wanted to ask her a couple of questions about the reassignment process.

"Assignment Board, this is Delores."

"Delores, this is David Findley at Findley Processing. I was wondering if you had a moment."

"Good morning, David. What can I help you with? You getting another re-assignment?"

"Actually I wanted to talk to you about that too. I have a young woman that may want to come here from Myers and Hitchcock. And I was wondering if the selectee can do any of that legwork themselves?"

"Well, they can, to a certain extent. If they log into the PCB web site, and select status at the information page, they go into an area where they can see their assignment. If they enter in their SSN, they can then modify their selection. There are only a few selections on the page. Let me see something."

David was entertained by the sound of keys typing for a few minutes and suddenly Delores said "Now that is interesting. The selection for H&S and for M&H was listed but yours was blanked out. I need to get that fixed. Just one second. There. Now your place is listed too. I guess we didn't get a feedback from your father when we made this web page. David, could you do me a favor, dear?"

"Almost anything, Delores."

"I am going to send you a e-mail as a request to be included in the selection page of the assignment support services page. If you could agree to that and send that back to me so I have electronic copy in file that would be great."

"I sure will. Now when would a selectee make this choice or modification?"

"Any date prior to the last report date. We don't start to block until last date of report."

"Great. Now I have another question. Can a woman who is not a selectee but is in the lottery make a preference choice?"

"Now you know we had a lot of dust up about that a few years ago. H&S and M&H both wanted to keep allocations guaranteed to their operations. But there was a lawsuit on that which opened up the choice. So we were required to do this page I just talked to you about. Now on the lottery page, we have a page for input choices, but no one ever does. Most women prefer to wait until their number is called and just show up. I know I put it out of my mind as much as I could."

"OK. So I go to the lottery page and go to where?"

"Customer services. Two pages down you have a link that goes to customer choices. From there it looks for your SSN and PIN and gives you selections. Wait just a second. Yes, you are there. And you aren't blocked. So someone who is in the lottery could select you in advance of being picked. Are you looking to advertise? H&S does."

"Really? Where?"

"On the page of selections they have a box at the bottom for their business. It has a link to that reporter's story from last year."

"So I could put something there too?"

"Sure. You have to pay for it. Advertising is about $1500 a month"

"That could be money well spent."

"I am not sure, I have only seen 8 women who chose their slaughterhouse before they were picked. And two of them never did get picked."

"Well, you have to do what you can. It is a tight market. I got your e-mail, and I am signing and sending it back to you right now."

"Thanks, David. That just keeps everything covered if there is an audit."

"Delores, as always thank you. I have to go to get some things done here. Let me know if I can ever help you."

"I am too old to be selected, but I will keep you in mind for anyone I know."

After adding the two pages to his browser favorites, David pushed them to all of the computers on the network at Findlay. Now all he had to do was teach his "staff" how to sell.

Three hours later, leaving his office, David noticed that the break room was empty. He refilled his coffee cup and went down to reception where he was greeted by Helen and Candy talking to three women.

"Hello David. Clair, Jeannie and Amy missed yesterday and I was going to ask you if we could help them today? And this young woman is Carla Davenport. She said that father said he was going to talk with you and that she wanted to as well."

"Ladies. We would be happy to help you. Helen, why don't you help these three with standard intake and Candy, keep Carla company for a few minutes while I check in back."

Standing next to Helen, David whispered, "I have to help you a bit with Carla, and we are doing a re-assignment. We will do that when I get back."

Helen nodded her head and started to prepare envelopes for the three late arrivals.

David walked down the hallway to the examination rooms where he found Barbara setting up trays for tomorrow. "Barbara, Want a full day's pay?"

"What for?"

"I have at least 3 to be processed, maybe a fourth, and I am going back to check on the status of storage."

"OK. I could use the money". Barbara said.

That reminds me, I have to get to Marty and get settlement for Friday and yesterday. David thought to himself.

Going on to stripping, David asked Christen if she could help with 4 today. "We will be finished quick. I will pay you for the morning"

"David, I can always use the money. Thanks."

David went through the back access door and around to the plant and found that Chris, Meyer and Gus were all working on bodies. By count, there were 12 on hooks left. "Hey guys. Got room for 4 more? " David asked.

"Boss, we will but we will be working the whole day."

"So I pay you. Is that so bad? Where is that driver for H&S?"

"Sitting in his truck. Barbara did a blood test of him and found out he had the clap. He has to figure out how to explain it to his wife."

"Why did he get a blood test here?"

"Cause Helen told him he couldn't fuck anyone here if he didn't have a STD test as of today. Barbara pulled it and found it."

Hmm. My people are changing my rules on me, David thought to himself. Still, women peak at 40 and he had 3 in that range. And Candy was a sweet little thing too. I guess I better think this through some more.

"So, Do I have to talk to the ladies about what is acceptable behavior?" David asked.

"Sure. You do that boss. Let them tell you what is acceptable behavior" Marty retorted wit a laugh. "I am sure your Misses and the rest of these will pretty soon tell us all what the rules on pussy are."

David snickered in agreement. Smiling, he moved on through and back up to the office. Have to get that settlement done. Don't want Marty to drag it out.

Meanwhile, Helen was helping the three women with their paperwork while Candy was talking with Carla.

"Do you work here?" Carla asked.

"Yes. I do a little of this and a little of that. Mainly I just help people," Candy answered.

"So, how are they? How do they treat people?"

"Well, I am one of them and I think I treat people pretty good?"

"Yea but you are a woman. How do the men treat you?"

"Actually the men are very gentle. And I will be with you all the way through"

"Really? I was afraid of all kinds of things. Like being abused. I mean I am meat, but I'm still me."

"Honey," Candy leaned forward saying, "Do you see anyone here that is meat? We are all people. You come in a person here. You don't get treated like meat until you are just meat. And that is not while you are alive."

"So. How do they kill you?"

"Carefully. It is almost painless."

"Really?"

"Yes. So tell me about yourself."

"I am 23 years old, married for two, and I think I am pregnant. What will they do about that?"

"We have a nurse here that verifies pregnancy. And we do a sex determination of the baby. If it is a boy you go home. If it is undetermined, I guess they keep you here until they can figure out if it is a boy or a girl. How far along are you?"

"I am six weeks along."

"I don't' know how well we can determine, but they sent my friend Stacy home Friday and she was only two months."

"Wow. She was lucky".

"Sometimes luck happens. Anyway, I think Helen is finished with Clair, Jennie and Amy. I am going to take them on back to the Exam room. I will be back up here and we can talk soon".

David came into the reception just as Candy was disappearing to the back with her string. Carla was sitting with Helen looking at the computer.

"Howdy ladies. Sorry I was doing that boss thing and walking around bothering people. So, Carla, What do you think of us so far?"

"Different. Dad said you would do an intake today and maybe do processing tomorrow or Thursday?

"Sure. We are normally open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but we have had a much larger workload lately and we are doing catch up. Has Helen taken you through the questionnaire?"

"We were just going through that now," Helen said.

Going through the new questionnaire, Carla said after a few minutes "Wow. You guys check everything. Bank accounts closed, credit cards closed, will finished, utilities notified, Pets taken care of. This is like a real checklist."

"We don't' want people to worry about last minute things they forgot about." David said. " My wife would kill me"

"Your wife works here?" Carla said.

"His wife is my best friend. She has a very active interest in the business." Helen said." In fact, I got reassigned, just like you are thinking of, so David and his team could process me. Instead of a bunch of strangers."

"Wow. That is kind of neat. I guess you really want people you trust for this."

"That is how we feel. Would you like something to drink? Soda or water?"

"I thought you couldn't drink when you came here." Carla said.

"Nonsense. What you drink does not interfere with any of our processing."

"But the guys at M&H said no liquids after midnight."

"Different rules I guess." David said. His wife would be furious if she heard that.

"So, how do I select you guys?" Carla asked.

Carefully, David showed Helen and Carla how to navigate to the election page on the PCB page that he was given by Delores. Having Carla log into the web page, she then moved the check mark from M&H to Findlay. After a brief delay, a web page popped up with a new assignment notice for Carla Davenport to report to Findlay by Monday. David printed it out and gave it to Helen to put in the file for Carla.

"See, That was not so bad. And you have until next Monday for us to process you." David said.

"Wow. That was pretty easy. Helen, Mr. Findlay, I think I am pregnant. Is there anything we have to do about that?"

"Well yes there is. I can have Candy take you down for a Blood and Urine sample to confirm. Then we can confirm the sex of the child while you are here."

"Candy said you could do that. You could determine if it was a boy or a girl."

"That is a part of processing for everyone that comes through here. We sent one young woman home Friday with a boy."

"Could you do that today? Without me being killed today?"

"No reason not to. Candy should be back here in a few minutes."

"Is she with those other women?" Carla asked.

"Yes. She or my wife is with every woman here throughout the process."

"So, they are killing those last three right now?"

Looking at the clock, David saw that almost 45 minutes had passed since Candy started town the hallway. "I expect that they are shortly. It usually takes about an hour from when you leave here."

"Oh". Carla was silent for a few moments and got up to get a drink.

"I think I may have shook her up," David said.

"No more than anything else. We all have different coping mechanisms for this. I don't know the girl well enough." Helen said.

Just then, Candy arrived. Her feet were wet, indicating that she had been in a washer. "Chris needs to talk to you, boss".

"Ok. Can you take Carla down to Medical to get her pregnancy screening done? And bring her back if she wants to."

"Ok. But you need to talk to Chris about any more for today."

"Ok" David said as he headed down the office hallway.

"Good Girl" Candy said to Carla. "Get a lot to drink so you can pee in that cup".

"You are funny, you know it?"

"It is my wonderful sense of humor. Want to bring your papers and purse along."

Picking up her envelope and purse, Carla followed Candy down to the exam rooms where Barbara took blood tubes, and Candy gave Carla a urine specimen cup. Talking quietly and giggling a lot Carla and Candy moved into the restroom. After collecting the sample, the left for the stripping room and put the sample on the windowsill.

"Ok. Let's look at your paperwork." Candy said.

"Ok. Why?"

"It is just habit. I go through everything with my people one last time here. Make sure that all the items are checked off. This is where we leave our clothes and all personal belongings to be sent home."

"Really? Dad said that most of the time stuff was just thrown out".

"Not us. See those boxes? They are already tagged and addressed to go to the home of the women who just left. Later today we will ship them to their homes."

"So, they are already."

"Yes. They were done before I came back up." Candy said.

"Wow. That was quick. So, how do you?

"Trade Secret. We don't talk about it. I can just promise you it is quick and painless. And I am with you all the time."

"Carla Davenport" Barbara said. "Could you come with me a moment?"

"Does she need her clothes off?" Candy asked.

"Yes, please."

"So, I guess I am naked, huh?" Carla asked, embarrassed.

"Yep. Just like me." Candy said.

After Carla stripped and put her belongings into a bag with her name on it the two women went to Barbara to check on the sex of Carla's unborn child.

David, in the mean time, was dealing with an interesting problem. The H&S truck's refrigeration system was not working. Which meant that David was calling H&S to get another truck over to pick up the entire shipment of processed product. "Marty, I don't have enough chiller and cooler space to store any more. If I don't get your stuff out of here, I won't have process capacity for tomorrow's work of my own, much less yours."

Marty explained that he had problems of his own. Apparently the e-coli problem that had cropped up earlier had returned over the weekend and the Health Department was combing H&S processing with a fine toothcomb. With the entire product reported as suspect, H&S meats (the butcher shop) had no goods to sell. Except for the lower grade product that Findlay had done earlier.

"So David, can you help me out?" Marty asked.

"How would you like me to do that?"

"Can you drive the product over to H&S Butcher shop for me? All my people are tied up. And have Tim bring the truck back here".

"Sure. But there will be a delivery charge."

"Wise ass. If this situation does not get fixed, you might have to do all my stock and yours too. This bacteria has almost put me out of business."

"Don't even think about that. We were working full tilt as it was."

"Well, the PCB may press you on that. Anyway, can you get the stuff delivered?"

"Sure. Let me see. Can you do the unloading?"

"Yes."

So that was how David Findley, in Findley Products, made a delivery to the H&S flagship butcher shop, using a truck clearly marked Findlay Products. While there, Gus waited around and picked up the check for settlement of processing for the load and the processing from Friday.

All of which was caught on camera. And it was on the 6:00 news.

"I don't know for sure" Barbara said. "But I think I see a dick in there."

"Really?" Carla asked. "What do we do?"

"We write a medical delay confirmation for two weeks and you come back here." Barbara said. "We'll see what we have."

"Really? You can do that?"

"Honey, I am a registered Nurse using the latest in technology. And I am a trained technician. If I feel that a delay is needed than yes I can write it. And you have to be back here in two weeks from today so we can see what we have. Candy, take her back up front and I will file with PCB and Public services office."

Leaving the exam rooms to go back to stripping Carla asked Candy" So what happens if it is a girl?"

"Then you come back here in two weeks. And after confirmation, I take you on down for processing" Candy said.

"And if it is a boy?"

"You are 23. 18 years from now your son will be age of majority. And you will be 41 and out of the lottery. And you will never see this place or us ever again."

"You know, it doesn't have to be that way. You have been real nice and I would like to get to know you better. You could come out"

"Actually no I can't. There is a lot of legal stuff for me and Helen and the others. See these Orange collars? If I am out of the plant with this, I can be picked up. I can't leave the plant. Except in boxes."

"Wow. That sucks. So I guess I would have to visit here."

"I don't know if you want to do that, Carla. The people are nice here, but the job is the job. If you get a pass on this place, take it and run."

"If it is a girl, are you going to take me through processing?" Carla asked.

"If I am still here, then yes I will if you want." Candy answered.

"I think I would like that. You have been a friend."

"Thank you, Carla. Let's get you dressed and out of here. And I will try to see you in two weeks. I promise." Candy said as she escorted Carla to get dressed.

Barbara had overheard the conversation while cleaning up. She made up her mind that she wanted to talk to David about his Goats project. This had been the most interesting development since he had taken over the business eight years ago.

-------

Tuesday Night

At the Davenport house

Carla was sitting at her parent's home with her mother and a surprised father eating a dinner when the evening news came on. The elder Davenport was shocked that his daughter was here, pregnant and due to be re-examined in two weeks. More surprising was his experience his daughter described.

"Dad, when I got my notice I was scared. I had this vision that I would be treated like boarding an airplane and going through security. But from the moment I walked in, I never felt scared. I was a little upset a couple of times, but everyone was very supportative. They have a checklist and they take you through all of the things you are supposed to do before you report, just to make sure that everything is done. And then they have you do blood work and urine work, and then they keep you until sex is determined. And the nurse is real thorough. She could not determine the sex so she made me an extension for two weeks."

"That my dear is the law" Charlie Davenport replied." Many of the plants are not as thorough as Findlay appears to be, but I am happy if they are."

"Dad, I know that when I go back there, I will probably die. But I don't want to go anywhere else, because I know that I will be treated like a person, until I am dead. Not dead when I show up."

"I believe that is enough of that kind of talk," Myra Davenport said, bringing dessert out to the table."

Charlie thought to himself that he was going to have to give Carl a call tomorrow and ask him about this. USDA was being pressured to take a greater involvement in humane treatment after that mess in Ohio, and if this operation was doing some things, maybe we could get it put into inspection regulation. His daughter was telling him a different story from what I was hearing from other teams. What was going on right with Findlay?

-------

At the Findlay House

David came home to a house that was quiet, and a dinner that was on the table. Margaret had been in the kitchen most of the day. Cooking helped her to think. Monday had been as close to a real assembly line operation as she had been since the culinary school she took when the kids were young. And it had given her a lot to think about.

First in her mind was the numbers. She had personally talked to, walked through and killed 40 people yesterday. And except for a few really argumentative women at the end of the day, it had been very smooth. The big shock was how easy it had been. With the exception of the last three minutes, it was just like being a hostess or housemother in college. She had gotten some ideas from Candy on doing some things to keep the sheep settled and they worked. The trick of talking to each individually about the form kept most women distracted and they found it easier to get stripped and then taken on to the next station. Thinking that they were just going to a shower was a stroke of genius.

Margaret was disturbed a little about Candy. Margaret did not really know how she felt about her young work mate. Some of it was probably the natural jealousy of a woman about a younger, fresher face. Candy was easy to pick out of that initial group, and as long as she was not a threat to Margaret's relationship, she was a nice piece of fluff for David to play with. She was pretty, blonde, and attractive, and any man would be interested in playing with her. At least, that was her thought. But Candy was so open and friendly that people reacted to that positively and followed her without question. And Candy's knife work was different. She moved quicker and the women reacted less to the cuts ... Margaret had a lot of fun playing in the shower with Candy yesterday at the end of the day. The girl had a deft touch on a woman' body and had Margaret's knees turned to jelly at the end of the day. What a way to relax.

Margaret laughed at herself. She was free to come and go and she was jealous of a woman who could be cut and cooked on any day? That was just silly. This was just a young woman like she was who was trying her hardest to do her first real job the best she could She remembered that Candy had been reading Grey's anatomy over the weekend. Checking it herself, she found that there were nerve endings in different places around the neck and throat. If she sliced closer to the jaw, the nerves were smaller and fewer. Have to try that out tomorrow.

When David called that he was on the way home, Margaret made a decision. Dinner would be a little late. Two nights in a row was too much. David was going to be royally fucked. And so it was that while the 6 o'clock news came on, David was underneath Margaret, balls deep into her, being sucked into her like she was a human vacuum cleaner.

"My god, you are amazing. Woman, you are going to kill me with that thing" David said as he was struggling to hold onto his load.

"Like it, eah? Well, so do I. Having the day off was just what I needed to recharge my batteries." Margaret said, while rotating her hips around, scratching the itches inside of her with David's cock. "I am so glad you saved this up for me instead of dumping it into one of those hussies at the office." Margaret continued. "I am sure that they would love it as much as I do."

"Honey, we have had an agreement that no sharing without permission" David said.

"And I am very happy to know you have kept up your end of the deal". Margaret gasped, her cunt starting to convulse.

"Besides, I wouldn't to ever loose this sort of homecoming." David said, as he forced his last thrust up and lost it into his wife.

"MMM. Got you didn't I?" Margaret giggled.

"Yes you did." David gasped as he shuddered on the bottom.

"Honey, do you mind if I keep coming to the office with you?" Margaret asked." I really do enjoy working with people."

"Honey, you know that you can get whatever you want after a great fuck. It is not fair to ask now. I have no willpower."

"You don't need it. And David, I want to tell you that we should revisit the rules for you."

"Not you too." David said. "It seems that the women at the office want to change them too. They were all set to hump the driver from H&S until Candy insisted he have a blood test. Barbara found out he had the clap."

"No shit?" Margaret said. Sitting there squeezing her cunt she was trying to milk even more out of her husband. Or at least keep him from getting soft. "Smart of her to make sure he was tested."

"Yes it was. Made everyone do a second thought about sex at the office and put the brakes on with everyone."

"Not for long, honey. You are going to have a bunch of women in synch sooner or later and that will mean a lot of stresses building up. And we have to think about this as well. We should have Mark, James and Paul tested before they spend the night."

"Why?" David asked, feeling himself start to deflate.

"Because, darling, if they are not their every night, hosing their women, they might be elsewhere hosing someone else. Mark, Peter and James are all almost widowers. When word gets out that their wives are not at home, the horny honeys' are going to be sinking hooks in quick. Their wives are dead, pretty much you know."

"Are you saying we have to impose STD testing on their husbands?"

"A hard dick has no conscience. In this society there are few restraints any more. I am surprised you were as well behaved as you were."

"Not really. I have seen the result of that sort of playtime. Aids may be gone, but there are still a lot of nasty bacteria around. And it is a slaughterhouse. No sense getting the dick damaged and have to explain when you come home."

"Well, I am proud of you. But we should relax things a little. If you want to play with the toys at the office, you should. And so should the other men there."

"Honey, as long as it does not interfere with the business. But if it becomes a distraction, then it stops. And the distraction is either fired or processed. And no means NO."

"Swingers rules. Girls have their own room?"

"Well they already do for as long as they are there."

"Then we have an agreement." Margaret said, carefully rotating her hips to keep David inside.

"Yes." David said, starting to get harder. "I will let you work out the details with the other girls."

"Won't be a problem. I bet I have it settled at Breakfast tomorrow. I better leave you alone or you won't be able to function tomorrow."

"I can always get a ED prescription. Or pick up some over the counter tomorrow on the way to the office."

"Honey, I got you a prescription. It is in the medicine cabinet. Barbara called it in for me."

"Oh shit" David said, feeling the blood rush to his smaller head. "Well I guess I have to thank you for that."

"Do tell. My turn on the bottom" Margaret said, as she threw herself to the left pulling David over on top of her.

Sinking his knees up against Margaret's hips and spreading her thighs as wide as he could, he began to slowly pump into the squishy space that he had so recently filled. "So, I am supposed to leave management in the hands of my capable wife and sit back and fuck the help?" David said with a thrust.

"Yes dear. Leave the throat cutting to us ladies. We are better at it. Now hammer me."

David and Margaret were sitting down to a late dinner when the first reporters started to call. They hadn't seen the early news, and were surprised at some of the questions.

"Mr. Findlay" the woman said, "This is Sherry Garrison of Channel 9 News. What is your answer to the allegations that Findlay is providing sub standard stock to H&S markets?"

"What allegations?" David asked.

"Mr. Findlay, were you delivering your product to M&S, even though your operation is known for primarily producing foods for the pet market and for the canned food industry?"

"I was not providing product to H&S. I was shipping back to them their own assignees"

"Why would you be processing people for H&S?"

"They asked us to help them with their production issues while they were working through their issues with the Health Department. So we were taking their assignees that they can't do while they are working on their production line."

"Mr. Findlay, Is H&S shifting their production to you plant?"

"Not really. Just a portion while they are getting their line back up."

"And what portion of their production line are you processing?" Sherry continued.

"We processed whatever they sent to us. Grading was done by the USDA in accordance with rules and regulations"

"So you are saying that there is nothing out of the ordinary here, even though H&S has a long standing advertising policy of only selling their own product?"

"But they were selling their own product. We were just doing processing for them. It is just an ordinary business practice."

After which, David hung up. No need to continue that conversation.

"Tomorrow might be a interesting news day", David thought to himself.



-------

Chapter 11



Wednesday Morning,

Helen was up early again, fixing breakfast for at least 8. Mark had stayed home last night; James had come over (again) to spend time with Carol. And he ended up with Nancy and Carol. Peter came over with the girls earlier in the day and spent the evening with Elizabeth. Liz was absolutely radiant and had gone from highs' to lows and back during the evening. It was the same thing that Helen had gone through on Sunday. When Candy had to be the evil den mother and chase everyone out at 10:00 to secure the doors, everyone had cried and complained. Peter promised to come back the following evening and stay the night. James said he had to work on a late evening client and was not going to be able to come this evening. Carol had raised her eyebrows at that, but said nothing. Helen thought that was noticeable.

Helen sighed while stirring onions, peppers and mushrooms in the pan. She and Mark had a long talk on Sunday about attendance and time away from home. With the girls present, she had been able to wrap up a lot of good byes and the emotional angst that went with that. But she also realized that she and Mark were de-facto separated now. This was like military service of a sort. Subject to an end at any time. It was a different situation from any she had studied.

"I thought I smelled something good," Carol said as she was at the bottom of the stairs." Need any help?"

"Not really, just simmering these to put into omelets later. I made fresh coffee".

"Can we talk?" Carol asked as she came closer.

"Get the coffee, let's go."

Moving over to one of the seats next to the coffee table, both women put their cups down. After a moment, Carol began.

"Helen, you said you were a therapist when we met at the party at Mary's. What did you specialize in?"

"Abnormal behavior. I guess this place counts" Helen said with a laugh.

"What about grief management?" Carol asked.

"You worried about James after?"

'Well, I am a little worried about James now. After is not my problem."

"Ok. Talk to aunt Helen."

"Ok. James and I were swingers before. We have friends and did things and we were always a couple. But now we have a situation where I am not dead, but I might as well be. Sort of terminal illness confined to a hospital. But we can still fuck. But he can't be expected to be here all the time. He has a home to go to. So what do I do? How can I feel?"

"Well, How do you feel?" Helen asked.

"I mean," Carol, continued, "we are all in the same bucket except Candy and Nancy. Candy is too young and Nancy didn't land a relationship that was permanent, but the three of us did. So did Margaret but she does not count."

"True. Her situation is different. Fortunately for us." Helen said.

"Why do you say that?" Carol asked, sipping her coffee.

"I have known Margaret since college. We were both in the same house. Both of us were humanities majors. I can assure you that if she weren't exempted she would not have been able to think outside the box about this situation for me. And she would not have primed David to do it as well. In fact this whole situation is a mass of lucky exceptions. And I don't know how long it will last. I know that I am going to have to let Mark go, and he will have to do the same with me."

"Yes, but that is the complication." Carol Interrupted. "Legally if we die, our spouse inherits. I love James, but he is very tight with the money. And patience is not his strong point. Nancy is amusing him now. And Candy is candy. But sooner rather than later he will be chafing to get this over with so he can move on with plans of his own."

"Divorce?" Helen asked.

"Not on your life. That means dividing the wealth. James won't do that and I don't want to divorce him. We worked our asses off to build things and I am a little pissed I won't be there to enjoy it. But I also love him too much to deprive him of it."

"I see. It's complicated. Living Trust?"

"We have one. But I put a catch into it for as long as I was sane to have full informed consent on any and all transactions. He has the same protection."

"That is why Lawyers should never get married." Helen laughed.

"No. That is why they should never get divorced." Carol answered.

"But you have an idea, or you would not have started this conversation." Helen said to Carol while sipping her coffee.

"Margaret said you were the smart one. There is something that would work in the mean time. If I were classified as Insane, James would be able to manage all elements without any issue. That would take the pressure off and give him the freedom I think he needs."

"Carol, if you were classified as insane, we would have to term you immediately. We don't do long term housing of the insane. In fact, those who are in the lottery who are selected are moved during that day. Remember Jones vs. Michigan?"

"Yes, but David would not do that preemptively. Would he?"

"He would have no choice. You would have to go to a hospital for classification. Then you would be checked against selectees, and then it's tits in the garbage and ass on the grill".

"So that does not work?"

"Nope. You are the legal expert. You tell me. I know the medical field a bit. But here is the real trouble. How firm is your relationship with your husband?"

"I love him and he loves me. I just know that pretty soon he is going to say that enough if enough. He will see the emotional wear and tear on the girls and think of some legal action to compel David to term me and send a Death Certificate. And if David refuses James will petition to have me relocated to someone who will."

"Do you think he will start that before the first 30 days are up?" Helen asked.

"No. But after six months I am sure he will"

"Well, we have to get specific acceptance at 30 days for an extension from the MAB. There have been almost no requests for this in the last 8 years and none from Findlay ever. So you may be worrying about a moot point. I think you need to worry about something else a little closer to home."

"What?" Carol asked.

"Emotional abandonment. Physical Abandonment. How are you going to cope with the interim process while we are alive but here? He is going to start to come over less and less. And that is going to be a slow disconnect for you. How are you going to cope with that? How are we all?"

"I guess I don't want to think about that, because it is tactical. If I think long term and worry about that, I don't have to see the nose in front of my face." Carol said with a sad smile.

"I wish I could help you there. I can't help myself," Helen said. "Mark and I had a long talk about it. I was supposed to go with the mob on Monday, but things got delayed. Tuesday came but we had intake and then things just got to be so much fun I got sidestepped. Now with this thing in the news it may be longer. And I don't know how long I want it to go on. I am not sure but that some day I won't ask Candy to take me down the hall all the way. " Helen said.

"Don't you want to do something different?" Carol asked.

"We all do. But I have to tell you; I think that Candy and Margaret are great at what they do. The surprise element is missing for us. But they sure do seem competent. And it is all over in a couple of minutes. And I already gave the throat cutting minx permission to fuck my husband. I don't think Mark will do it but it but I will tell him it is OK."

"I would do the same. But I don't think James will ever come back here afterwards. Hell I am wondering if he will keep coming now."

"I think he is better than you think he is."

"On to more cheerful subjects. What thing in the news were you talking about?"

"Evening news showed our truck delivering to H&S. Now we have a news article that Carla put a lot of stuff in her Blog about us. And the local news has jumped all over it."

"Really? What do you mean?"

'Well, she was here yesterday. Her dad sent her in here rather than to Myers and Hancock, and we showed her how to do selection. And we also showed her how to do pre-election assignment. So she selected to come here today or Friday. Candy and I got her through the questionnaire and finished the intake, and then Candy took her down to Barbara for blood and urine. Pre-screening stuff. Turns out she was pregnant, but Barbara could not tell what sex because she was not far enough along. So she sent her home for two weeks to come back and be re-screened. So she went home and posted a blog that makes us look like a resort. And the morning news is catching it up."

"Holy cow. What do you think David is going to say about that?"

"I don't know, but I think we will all find out."

"What do you think that means for us?"

"Time will tell."

What David thought, as he looked at over two hundred e-mails and messages, was that all hell had broken loose. The MAB, Department of health, and USDA calls were all asking that he call during normal business hours. The call from H&S was a little more urgent. Marty Burke wanted a call at 8 AM. And it seemed that almost every news media in the area wanted to talk with him too.

But that amounted to twenty calls. The other one hundred eighty were from individual private numbers. What was this all about?

"Honey, I think I want you to come in today. I think I am going to need all the help I can get. And I think I need more phones."

David called the office from the parking lot at seven forty five, and was let in by Candy. Catching James on the way out he asked how things were.

"Great" James said. " In fact a lot better than I had ever hoped when this started last Monday. David, I can't thank you enough."

"Well, James, I was just happy that things worked to all of our advantage."

"David, I have been wanting to ask you something. How long do you mean to have Carol stay with you?"

"James, That is pretty much up to Carol at this point. I think that we have more than enough to keep her busy and happy."

"David. If there are any incidental expenses, or anything you need that I can help with, please let me know. I don't want you to suffer in any way for keeping Carol. We will make adjustments. But it is important for me to tell you that I thank you for every day."

"Sure, James. No problem."

Walking to the break room following the now familiar smell of breakfast, David was thinking that he needed to get here earlier. "Helen, what time do you guys start cooking around here?" He asked.

"We started the coffee klatches at about seven I guess."

"Good. Let me know what we have to bring in to keep things going here. Don't want my people hungry."

Helen was already setting up a plate, while Candy was busy putting the first dirty dishes away into the washer. There was no sign of Elizabeth or Nancy. He assumed they were upstairs.

"Boss," Candy said from the dishwasher "I think we need some more computers in the reception room."

"You reading my mind again?" David asked.

"No. Just looked at the messages on the phone from last night and this morning. We have a hundred and twenty two."

"Shit. Ok. Margaret, get dressed. We need four portables for the reception room. Extra long duration on the batteries.

"David, I don't know anything about what you need".

"Check with Candy and? Liz I guess. See what they think we need and bring four of them."

"Ok" Margaret said while getting back into her pants suit. "I wonder what is going on?"

"Candy, do you have the portable phone for the second dial in number?"

"Yes, but it does not work after 8 o'clock."

"I will shut that off. When Margaret gets to the store, help her with what we need for intake as a portable."

"Sure boss."

"Helen, If you can get one of the others to help you look at the phone calls and see what they are about, and track the numbers for call back, that would help."

And David took his plate, his coffee and went into his office to see what the heck was going on.

The first call was Marty at H&S. That call started explosively.

"Findlay, what the hell are you doing?" Marty asked.

"Marty, what's wrong?"

"Findlay, Merle just called me and said to tell you that he was not sending any more stock over to you if you were the last place on earth and the only storage was the Hilton."

"What the heck is wrong?"

"Did you see the news last night?" Marty asked.

"No. I was fucking my wife. Why? What happened?" David asked in response.

"Did you tell some reporter that you were selling stock to us because we couldn't do our own business?"

"No. I told a reporter that we were servicing some of your own stock while you were doing the clean up. And that the stock we sent back was exactly what you sent us."

"Findlay, did you screw me?"

"Nope. I sent you one prime for one prime. Already spitted and mounted. And I sent you all of the commish on the male child. And I sent you 4 choices for 2 choices to make up the weight difference between what we had. And gave you discount on storage. I can back that up in court."

"Ok. I believe you. And you got the assignment right. But what you told that reporter, are you sure?"

"Sure am. Why?"

"Cause she is saying that the implication is that you are selling pet food as human through our store."

"Marty, I have USDA stickers on everything that went onto that truck. With paperwork to match. And I think you know what will happen if you drag my USDA inspector into this."

"Yea. That would probably stand up. Listen, there is a shit storm running around and you might want to tidy up. And maybe we can do business again later. But for now, I got to find some other way."

"Ok. We will see how things work out. No hard feelings. Just business."

"Yea. Just business. " Marty said has he hung up. The news reporter really had not said anything different from what David had. But on top of the FDA and other stuff, it might be a good idea to just say "No" to the MAB for a while. Tell them he could not process without getting these FDA pricks out of his shop. Maybe David was smart for staying in pet food.

"Well" David thought to himself" that was a bad change of circumstances. "Easy come easy go. Good thing I got commitment to help with support for Carol and Helen. My guys will miss the overtime but hell."

"Boss" Candy said from the doorway." We have to talk. I think we have a situation"

-------

Assignment Blues

David grabbed his portable communicator and terminal and followed Candy into the reception area. There was a line outside the door waiting for Findlay Processing to open up. Almost thirty women were outside, standing around, talking and waiting for them to open up. And it was only 8:15.

"Open up" David said. "Check the registry and see who are ours and than who are the rest."

"Boss, There is a hundred and thirty messages on the phone from women who want to reassign to here from H&S and M&H. And a news team outside too. " Candy said.

"Shit. Call Margaret and tell her to pick up extra sodas, and bring all the stuff we have down here. Get the guys to help. We will delay start for an hour while we get things straightened out. H&S is not sending anyone so I don't think it will keep us too late."

Carol came into the reception room and asked, "What do you need from me?"

"Intakes. We have lots of intakes. And phone calls. Take over my office, you and Liz and send Nancy here to help with intakes here. Please?"

"Sure boss." Carol replied. So this was what the outcome was of last night's news story.

"Boss." Candy said, "There is a news lady here banging on the door."

"I will take care of it" David said. The door was on private property. The public street was 10 feet back from the building with an ornamental fence as a boundary marker. David had dwelt with this during the protest demonstrations 8 years ago, and he knew what to say.

Opening the door to the crowd, David said in a loud voice "Those of you who have actual business with this company may please enter. Those of you who represent the media have no business with this company at this time without an appointment and if you are on the property inside of the ornamental fence you are trespassing."

"Mr. Findlay? Grace Miller of CWBC News." A mid twenties woman said while forcing a microphone into David's face.

"Grace. Are you here to be processed?" David asked.

"Not today." Grace responded smoothly turning around to the camera to get into the picture and try to position David in front of the camera.

"Well, so you are trespassing. And you are on camera. And if you remain I will press charges. I have nothing more to say."

"But Mr. Findlay" Grace tried to continue.

"Not one more word. Good day to you."

As David watched Grace and her news camera move back to the street blocking the entrance of this facility, David triggered the alarm to the police. Let them handle this, he thought to himself.

Meanwhile, about a dozen of the women around the front of the building came past Grace and around David and into reception where Helen and Candy greeted them. Seeing them settling down David moved away from the door and watched as Candy began distribution of intake forms. Seeing Nancy come in, and Helen gesture her toward the other desk, David went over to give her his take on the situation.

"I don't' know what this is, but help get the intake forms filled out. If we have reassignment requests, sit down with Helen and have her show you how to do them through the MAB if they have been selected. If they have not, we will take it from there."

10 minutes later, two CPD officers came through the door to request the copy of the film of the news team's activities in front of his business. The news team had moved to the corner and was no longer blocking any access by this time.

After giving the officers a copy of the capture from his security system, David signed the blocking doors complaint. It would not result in much, as the news team would have legal representation. But it would keep them from blocking his doors.

Turning to Candy who was moving from table to table, David said quietly "Get me a count from Helen and Nancy when they have a break of who are ours and what is going on here. I am going to the office and see what Carol and Liz are getting. Don't start processing until we have time to talk."

"Ok Boss."

Walking into his office David saw both Liz and Carol on the phone. Carol was on David's computer doing something, while Nancy was taking notes and numbers. After a moment they both stopped.

"Ok," Elizabeth said. "Out of my 40 phone calls, I have 29 assigned tomorrow and Friday requesting to change to here. I sent them the link to make assignment change. 4 are due today and are real scared and want to come here directly. 7 are in the lottery and want to make pre selection and also want to come in to talk about special handling. Those I scheduled for tomorrow."

"My results are the same," Carol said. "I told the ones due today that we probably could not help them at all, and that they should call the MAB directly to request re-assignment. Those were the ones in a panic. Apparently the MAB lines are all jammed. What caused all of this boss?"

"I don't know."

Margaret in the mean time was at the electronics emporium and had contacted Candy on the private line. She had picked out the right portables to bring back, and was in line to pay for them when she saw the news program above the head of the cashier.

"Hello. I am here at Findley Processing, where I am interviewing women who are coming here today to talk about their chances of getting into Findlay's for processing instead of their assigned location. The common thread with all of these women is the Blog last night by Cathy Davenport, who was sent home because the sex of her pregnancy was not clear. She wrote that, "At Findley, they say you are human until you are dead. And that is how they treat you." This is a direct quote, ladies and gentlemen.

Ms. Davis, Is that why you are here?"

The camera moved to include a pleasant looking blonde woman in her late 20s. She looked directly into the camera and said, "I don't want to be treated like some animal. I was selected and my report date is Friday, and I don't want to be treated like some suspect by a bunch of drop out thugs who couldn't qualify for airport security. I want some dignity and respect. I know I have to go, but I want to go with some dignity."

"There you have it, ladies and gentlemen, a description of what people are looking for here at Findlay. We tried to contact Findlay processing earlier but they have not returned our calls. Respecting the rights of passage of these women, we are not intending to approach Findley for any further comment. We would like to have some time later, however, to get their perspective on why these women are trusting their processing to this small business which has had no real name in the human meat market. Back to you, Charles."

"Wow. A place where women want to get into to die. What a strange turn of events " the talking head said after the studio cut back to him.

"This story as initially awaken as a result of our cameras seeing what appeared to be processed meat being delivered to H&S's flagship meat market by Findley's freezer truck late yesterday. Our reporter got this commentary from Findley when they called the owner, David Findley. "This was a normal business transaction. We were simply processing those people that H&S was not able to accommodate today due to there clean up". But based on what we are seeing here today, we cannot help but wonder if something else is going on."

"Holy Shit" Margaret thought to herself. "This is going to have fall out." Thinking about the impact this would have, Margaret ordered two additional portables. Everyone was going to be running around a lot.

David walked into the break room to see Carl, Chris and Gus finishing up the breakfast that had been set on the counter. "Carl, I think we have a situation here. I have no idea how many we will process today, but if things go as they are looking we may have to work full shift on Saturday and possibly tomorrow. I am not sure what the heck is going on. But our allocation and planning just got shot to hell. And some of that stock out there is not going to be pet food. There are a half dozen primes and a choice out there. I am going to have to find buyers. Which means different boxes."

"Isn't success a pain in the ass?" Carl said. "David, I think I know what happened. Davenport's daughter posted a Blog last night and it may have been viral."

"Really? What did she say?"

"Check it out.

At that time, Elizabeth came in and said "David, I think I know what has happened. I found"

"A blog that went viral?" David finished for her.

"How did you know?"

"I didn't' Carl just told me. I think no good deed goes unpunished. Let's see this."

"You go see it. I have interviews to do and I can't get through to the MAB. I have twelve women asking if they can just stay here instead of going anywhere else. Carol and I are both going out front and help keep order with the others."

"Give me their initial assignment sheets and I will see what I can do." David said. " And let me know what else you get from the phone."

David went to his desk with eight intakes for H&S and 4 from M&H, all due today. His first call was to Marty.

"Burke. David here. How would you like a favor?"

"What are you offering, David."

"I have 8 of yours here. Do you want me to pop them for you and send them over? Or send them over on the hoof?"

"David, you are killing me. Why are they there?"

"I don't know. They came in here like kittens. What do you want me to do? If I pop them here, I can guarantee honest meat grading and no taint. I will have Carl sign off on the carcass and send them to you graded. If they are Choice, I will spit them cold for you even. You just pick them up on your transport. Or we can meet somewhere in the middle and transfer if you don't want to come here."

Silence for a few minute. "It's that damn news stuff. If you send them here, they will be crying and whining and things are already bad enough. How much do you want for it?"

"Half of what we agreed to on Friday. You are in a jam and I don't need to take advantage. I might some help myself someday."

"You got eight you say??

"Yes. So far it is. Don't know if any more are walking in."

"David. I can't risk it. Tell you what. You want, I can transfer them at the MAB."

"What do you want for them?"

"Nothing. I will send the reassignment e-mail and copy you. And ask the board to copy you back. Should only take about half hour".

"You really want to do that?"

"David, 8 or 10 or 20 sows won't cost me the headache that more news coverage will. Give me their numbers. I will copy you on the request an the reply."

"Ok." David said as he was typing the request for reassignment. "Marty. Let me know if there is anything I can do to smooth things out."

"Don't sweat it. I know you didn't screw me, Findley. It's just how things are."

David sent that off. Next was the call to M&H.

"M&H Meats. Carla speaking how may I direct your call?"

"Hi Carla. Could you put me through to Operations, This is David Findlay"

"Mr. Findlay, Mr. Miller is expecting your call."

"Oh Shit. What is going on here?"

"Miller here. Findlay I was wondering when you were going to call me."

"Hello Mr. Miller. How are you?"

"Call me Jack. And how can I help you?"

"Ok Jack. This is David on this end. I have a few of your sheep down here and I was wondering if I could pop them for you for gratis, and ship them to you cold. I will have FDA evaluate them here and ship them to you your choice, hanging, boxed or on a pole."

"And was that what you were doing for H&S?"

"Yes it was. I was taking care of his overage. This news thing was taken all out of context. These four came in here and were with my intake people and when we found out what the situation was, I agreed to call you."

"You aren't stealing into the market are you, David? Just to get into the human stock business?"

"Jack, I resent that. I don't have to steal market. I have my market and all I was doing for H&S was their 3rd round and pet food. I sent his own stuff back to him because he has production problems and I had to use my truck because his reefer didn't work. Otherwise I would never have done this. And none of this would have happened if he didn't have problems. Now, if you want I can send these to you walking. Or I can send them to you cold, clean, and treated for $ .20 a pound. Your choice."

"Tell you what David. If they want to be done at your place, you do them and you sell them. Just make sure you tell them and their loved ones they are going to be Pet food."

"Do you want the numbers?"

"Hell yes. Send them to me and I will send you back a blanket authorization. In fact, I will tell Carla to do that with any that request it.

"Ok Jack. I will do that. And I will have them sign a pet food waiver and send it back to you."

"Ok. That works for me."

Jack cut the connection and felt pretty smug. If any woman wanted to stoop to become canned food for her pet that was OK with him. He had a higher class of people.

David sat for a moment in silence. Then he dialed M&H back.

"Carla speaking. How are you Mr. Findlay?"

"Hello Carla, I just got off the phone with Jack and"

"I know what Jack said, Mr. Findlay. I am sending you the blanket e-mail now. Just send us the SSN and PIN of any you process and a copy of their agreement on the Pet Food Classification and we will be straight. Delores told me you would probably be calling. Tell you what. Use the word REASSIGNMENT in all caps as the subject."

"She is a very sweet lady." David said." And I appreciate your help. And I think that the ladies here will too."

"David, if I send you my number can you handle me too?"

"Carla, I will come pick you up myself."

"Thanks. That was what Delores said about you. You send that on. I have another call I have to catch."

David sent the e-mail to M&S and was surprised to see a response of "Reassignment Granted for the following" and his own e-mail. Carla had set it as an auto responder for his e-mail and this subject. Well, she was just following orders. And all she had to do was ask and he would pick her up.

A moment later the e-mail from the MAB advising him of the re-assignment of the 8 from H&S was confirmed. Twelve for twelve. And people just giving them away.

David printed out hard copies of the M&H E-mail and the H&S e-mail to take with him back to reception. Time to let these ladies relax.

-------

A much warmer Reception

The sight of Candy's lovely body interrupted David's walk down to reception. Naked and wet footed, she obviously had been down the path and was on the return. Her excitement was almost palpable. "Boss, Margaret told me we are doing some new rules for Rest and Recreation here and you are included. Is that true?" she said with an impish grin.

"Darling, if my wife tells me that there are changes, then there is changes. But until she tells me, than I have to behave. But I will say that I surely would not be opposed." David said with a grin. This blonde was always appealing. And youth should be served. And it should be serviced.

Opening the door, David was stunned. There were forty people in his waiting room. Young and old, some obviously past selection age, as well as a few men who were either husbands or older. Many were either sitting in groups or standing and talking in pairs or trios. At the front, Helen and Nancy, suitably dressed in skin and orange, were talking to a small group each. Nancy was gesturing for David to come over.

"David," Nancy said as he approached, "These young women were originally assigned for H&S this morning, and they had come down here to see if we could re-assign them today. Now I told them that we probably couldn't help them because I can't get to the MAB myself. So what could we do?"

"Have you filled out intake files for them?" David asked.

"Yes I did. Margaret said that you would not mind us doing that for them. And Liz said something about demographic capture, so it seemed smart."

"OK. Well, I just got off the phone with H&S and we came to an agreement. We do need you ladies" David said, addressing the group "to sign food designation waivers. We cannot guarantee you will be sold as table quality or that you will be table processed."

"I don't give a damn about that. What I care about is not being treated like cattle by a bunch of thugs". One of the taller women said. David was taken aback when he recognized the senior VP of one of the largest commodity brokerages in Chicago. She had been on the news last week talking about how meat prices were declining as production in pig and chicken were finally beginning to grow.

"Christine Javits. I am very happy to meet you" David said, offering his hand.

"Well I am not happy to meet you, given the circumstances," she said to David with a rueful smile.

"I understand. Let me look at your paper work along with Nancy and we will see what we can do for all of you."

A quick review showed that there were two more new people on the list for H&S, including Christine. This brought the total from them to 10. "Well, that is less then I did for them Friday and Monday," David thought to himself. "Christine and Gloria Martin. If you could come over here with me and we will find a seat, I will work on your intake."

"Actually, boss, I need you over here" Carol said coming up to David." I need your help with some arrangements that I am not sure how to handle."

Laving Christine and Gloria comfortably at a table with forms and knowing he had about 10 minutes, David followed Carol to a young couple sitting with four other women at a table. All were dressed stylishly in business suits. "Hello, I am David Findlay and how may I help you?"

The young brunette with the sharp features looked up and said, "I am Jenny McCarthy, and we were wondering how long a lead we needed for a special request. I am due by Sunday, picked for this week, and we wanted to know if we could have a bit of a Stage Execution."

"What did you have in Mind?" David asked, cringing inside. This was going to be another curve ball.

"Post Louis the XVI era. The French "Reign of Terror". But we don't want to play the nobility gig."

Looking at Carol, David said with a laugh "I can see that someone else has your flair for the dramatic. Ok. Carol, do her intake first. Since she is not due until Sunday, we have a few days to see what we can arrange. Maybe a Harlot's Saturday night followed by Sunday service. Glad you didn't come at the last minute. Now about expenses."

"I have my trust fund that I obviously don't need any more. That would help defray the expense of building a Scottish maiden. Or even a Full post 1900s Guillotine. Complete with large basket."

"Isn't that out of period?" David asked with a smile.

"We aren't that serious about this. This is supposed to be Fantasy. "Jenny continued. "The reality sucks enough, so why not a fantasy first?"

"Ok. Carol, Get some details. Don't go all Titanic on me, we are on a clock. And Jenny, you have to find your own clothes, unless you want to be naked."

"Ooh. Naked sounds interesting. Oh, and can my friends come?"

"Depends. We will have to think about it. Carol, check out permits on assembly if we need to do that."

Smiling broadly, Carol said "Sure. And I will work with Nancy later on history and props. I have to warn you, Jenny, that this is not going to be cheap"

"We were planning a vacation for a month in Hawaii. It can't be more expensive then that."

Moving back to Christine and Gloria, David sat down to look over their forms. "Christine, Your birthdate does not link up. Your assignment date is after your fortieth birthday."

"Yes, but my selection day is before it. I tried to talk to the people at H&S about that but they didn't care." Christine answered

"I will have to look into that a little more. You don't mind waiting until the afternoon session while I get this figured out, do you?"

"No."

"Gloria, I am afraid there are no such complications in your case, other than you are here instead of at H&S. If you want me to get you reassigned, you would be staying here and done today." David said.

"I knew that. I just wanted to know if I could be treated better, somehow. I already filled out the form here. There was a lot I hadn't done. Do I have time?"

"Sure. Let me get someone here to help you get the rest of these checked off. I will take and get things re-assigned."

Seeing Elizabeth coming away from a table of women and a couple of men, David gestured to her to come over and help Gloria with her process materials. He looked around and saw that the room was a little less crowded, and Margaret was coming into Reception from the office hallway. Gesturing to Margaret as well, he stepped away from the table.

"How are we doing?" Asked both of them. "First, what is their story?" David said gesturing to the table group.

"They came here do to pre-assignment selection and also look for any special accommodations. One of them wants a Gallows. The table over there is some of ours for Friday; they want to get processing over now. They want to know what they need to do. I gave them a checklist to bring back. I told them not to show it to anyone"

"Did you verify they were ours?" David asked.

"Yes. The four of them met here for the first time and they are planning a card party tonight."

"Ok. That is a new social aspect we had not considered. How is production going?"

"Candy was bringing her second string in behind me in stripping, so I assume she will be here shortly. That means we are 12 down so far and it is not yet 10:00. Those are ours, we have not started on any others yet."

"OK. Here is what I am going to do. I have Christine and Gloria here. I need to get them re-assigned. Helen you help Gloria with intake. Margaret, talk to Christine, I want to find out what happened with the MAB. She should not be here, as she had her birthday and her due by date was after her birthday. I have an uncomfortable feeling about this. And get me one of those handy dandy portables. I think it is time for some upgrades here."

"I got extras. And David, I want to talk to you about the intake forms and processes." Margaret continued.

"Yes Dear." David answered.

Getting back online in his office, David called again to Delores. "I need to send that woman flowers" he thought to himself.

"Good Morning David." Delores answered. "I am getting to know your number. Careful or your wife will get suspicious".

"Delores, My wife is never suspicious. She just says permission first. I have permission," David answered.

"Careful David. Old women love sex too. What can I do for you?"

"I have a question here. Christine Javits showed up here. Her report by date is Sunday, but her birthday was yesterday. Isn't that a bit of a issue?"

"Only if she signed a volunteer status and we have it on file. If she didn't than we can't legally force process. If she did, then she has to get status rescinded and that has to happen with the assigned processor. Is she one of yours?"

"Not yet. She called H&S and they told her to report. Not that I am surprised."

"I am not either" Delores said. "Christine had a major dust up with Merle over at Hill's years ago and he is a mean man with a long memory. He would spit her for spite if he got her there. He has said so many times. So, you re-assignment is for her?"

"Yes, if it fits. First I need to see if there is a volunteer sheet on her. Do you have those recorded?"

"Yes. Just a second. Oh this is not normal. Her husband, not her, requested the volunteer status. She didn't countersign. But we processed it as a volunteer anyway. David, I am going to send this to you once you get the re-assign. But you got to get that quickly."

"Sure will" David said.

Next call was H&S. "David Findlay for Marty Burke".

"Mr. Findlay, Mr. Burke has asked that you speak to account processing unless it is urgent. He is in a meeting right now. One moment while I transfer you."

"Account processing, how may I help you?"

"David Findlay looking for re-assignments"

"Mr. Findlay, we can help you with that. Do you have the numbers?"

David rattled off the SSN for Christine and Gloria. A moment later he got a new notice in his Inbox from the MAB as a re-direct request.

"Looks good. Thank you, I have the re-direct"

"Is there anything else I can help you with? We have a lot of stack up here that we may need to ask you to take."

"I thought Marty was upset about this."

"That was probably before the health department suspended all of our processing for the next thirty days."

SHIT David thought. "Really? I didn't know."

"I just now found out myself. I am supposed to call both you and Myers and Hitchcock and then call the MAB and ask that we get reschedules and extensions on all borderlines. This is going to raise hell with business for a while."

David walked down the hall toward reception watching his youngest goat's attractive ass in front of him. She seemed to be leaking a little. "Candy, are you OK?" He asked.

"Yes. Just Really horny. That last group was talking all the way about blowjobs and screwing. Evidently they had a real party last night and we are going to have to clean them out real good. Makes 16 so far today Mr. F.

"Wait up a second". David said, catching up to Candy. "How are you doing?"

"What do you mean, Mr. F.?"

"I mean I have come to depend on you a lot over the last few days and I was hoping that you are OK."

"Well, Not enough Cock. And it sometimes get's boring here at night. Wish we had a gym and stuff. Be nice to be able to talk to people. I miss the normal social stuff."

"Well, one of those portables will be yours if you want. Or if you want something different, let me know and we will provide it to you. And let me know what you want your room to look like."

"Really? That is great. I never had my own place before. The 4 of us were in one room most of the time at home. This is really Ok. Beats what would have happened to me at the other place. I don't want to be on a spit."

"Candy, honey, I can't do much more than what we can do here, but you have what ever you want here as long as you want to. And I want you to want to for a long time."

"Thanks Mr. F." Candy said, hugging David. "And I think we need to get a lot closer sometime soon."

"If Margaret says it is ok, I sure will enjoy it." David responded, kissing Candy on the head.

"I had better get going. "Candy said with a smoldering look in her eyes. "Got so see what is up next."

"We will continue this later, I promise" David replied." I will be right out after I get a cup of coffee."

-------

Once more, Into the Breach

Reception looked a lot less crowded. At least 16 people less, David thought to himself. Nancy was sitting at the front desk talking with several women and a couple of men and across the way Carol was at the other desk talking with an attractive pair of women who obviously were from the upper society. Dressed very well, and not the norm for a group that showed up here for processing.

Helen was standing with next to the intake hallway with Gloria chatting. "Oh David" Helen said. "Did you get Gloria's paperwork straightened out?"

"Yes, I have it right here." David said, walking over to the women at the hallway.

"Ok. Good, I was going to take Gloria on down, since things are quiet here, and Candy is going to meet us at processing. I promised Gloria I would stay with her as long as I could."

"Ok." David mused at this change in program. And at Helen taking such an interest in a client all the way to the end. "Is Margaret still with Christine? I have her re-assignment order here too."

"No. We were running out of sodas and things and lunch is coming up so she took Christine with her to a grocery run. Carol, Nancy and Elizabeth are here in front. Candy just left for a trip in back and we are going to follow along."

"Ok." David thought to himself. Well, he had the assignment letter so they could not get into any trouble. "Did she at least get dressed?" David asked Helen.

"I think so. You know, I don't remember." Helen giggled.

"Well, if she is not picked up for indecent exposure they won't get into any trouble."

Turning to Gloria, Helen asked her "Well, are you ready dear?"

"I guess so."

David watched as they walked down the hallway to the exam rooms, Helen nude and Gloria still dressed and with her purse over her shoulder. Both were talking and giggling as they went through the door.

Lunch was pretty casual affair. Margaret had borrowed Christine's raincoat to go shopping and said she only flashed the clerk when she bent down to pick up the sodas on the bottom of the basket. She and Christine had evidently an enjoyable outing, and the food that was on the light and easily digestible. The 9 clothed women in reception were joined by the 5 members of "Findlay's Staff" along with David while the back members had come up and picked up lunch to take down to the break room. All of the process staff had put on clean clothes before coming up, to ensure that the women in reception were not spooked. The mood was light.

Margaret had picked up some wine after talking with Carl about possible challenges to grading. His answer was that alcohol was only an issue with Muslim intended products, and they were still sorting that out. So long as it was not marked Kosher, it was not an issue. Alcohol was not considered a health threatening drug second hand. Some of the women were into their third glass.

Walking over to where Margaret and Christine were seated, David sat in the open chair.

"So, Christine, What did you do to piss Merle off so much?" David asked.

"You heard about that, did you?" Christine asked. "Merle had tried to sue me when I pointed out last year that food stock in chicken and pork was resurging as was lamb. I said that the market price for them would probably drop below human by the end of next year if we stopped price supports".

"And how did that affect him?"

"He doesn't want to have to compete on protein to protein comparison in the marketplace." Christine replied. "So long as beef, pork and poultry remain so high above human, they will be out of reach. With the increase in production levels, and if price supports are pulled out, then the market will take over and we will have equalization of prices. Then the only thing keeping this going is the MAB one percent rule."

"That could sure put a kink in my business model." David said with a smile.

"I think that the population stabilization act is going to go the way of prohibition. When it does, then there will have to be adjustments in the market. You will have to find something else to do besides slit women's throats." Christine finished.

"I don't do that now." David said with a smile "I leave that in the hands of the real pros."

"Don't like to get your hands dirty?" she asked with a giggle.

"No. It is a combination of Union rules and the fact that I don't compete with the real experts in that field." David retorted.

"Is that how you do it?" Christina whispered softly to the table.

"Trade secret" Margaret replied. "I can only say that it is very smooth and less painful than you would imagine."

"I am getting a bit morbid" Christina said to Margaret. "But how many have you taken through?"

"Probably about a hundred or so."

"Any one you know?"

"Christine, I know all of them. " Margaret said with a smile. "None of them are strangers. Except for our first few. But we changed that. I know their names, their kids, and we took care of them every step of the way."

"So, when do I go? Was this my last meal?" Christine asked with a quiver in her voice.

"David, should we go now?" Margaret asked.

"No, actually, I think we should take Christine later. I have not gotten all of her paperwork back yet."

"You aren't just teasing me are you? Because this is kind of rough when you know how it is going to end, but not when."

At that moment, Candy and Helen both stood up with their tables and started toward the hallway to examination. David was a little surprised that Helen was so involved.

"Candy goes through first or meets them in Processing. Helen is going to follow with the group". Margaret commented to the table at large.

"I saw her take Gloria down earlier. That was a change in roles for her."

"She is like me, She get's attached and wants to help keep things on track." Margaret replied, taking a sip of wine.

"I noticed that Candy was drinking non-caffeinated fruit juice. Why is that?" Christine asked.

"So her hands don't shake. Kid has no tolerance for drugs or alcohol. One glass and she is loose as a goose. Well, probably not physically." Margaret snickered.

Looking around, David saw that there were only 4 clothed women besides Christine, and that Nancy and Carol had left them to go start to make phone calls back to people from the voice mail lists. Margaret looked at David and when he nodded, she got up and went over to the other tables and started to collect the remaining women.

"I got to admit, Findlay. I thought that Blog was half crap. But I have been here all morning and never really felt scared. It is kind of in the back of the mind, but there really is no panic. And it is something that I have been preparing for all week. So I guess I should just get it over with." Christine said.

"Actually we have to wait a few minutes, for Candy to come back up".

"How long is that?"

"Time enough for another glass of wine and some conversation. How well do you get along with your husband?"

"We have had some problems. Why do you ask?"

"Who would he be with when you are gone?"

"Hell, any of a herd. I don't know. We seldom talk to each other."

"Did he know Merle?"

"David, why are you asking?" Christine asked.

Seeing Margaret starting down toward the exam rooms, David waited. Then he signaled to Carol for a moment of her time. She came over when she got off the phone.

"Christine, have you met Carol? Carol Burns, this is Christine Javits."

"Oh my. Carol, are you that Carol?"

"Yes. I am the woman that prosecuted Barry Phillips eight years ago for fraud. We locked him up and threw away the key."

"Sexist son of a bitch. Boy did you shake up the market with your prosecution. I am happy to meet you. Except here, of course."

"Actually, you are very happy to meet our resident attorney. " David said grinning.

"You getting ready to fit her with one of our collars, David?" Carol asked with a grin. Just what I need, another hen in the house. She is nice though. And she was pretty special with what she did investment portfolios. Shame to term her. James said she was great.

"No. I think she is going to wear one of Margaret's"

"No Shit? How so?"

"Carol. Sit down and look at her drivers' license, the assignment letter, the reassignment letter and this interesting volunteer letter. Take your time. I am going for a coffee."

After getting some coffee, David stopped and talked to Nancy while Carol and Christine were talking and going over documents. "So, how is the research going?"

"Very interesting. We need to get the scheduling program up and break things down a bit, and I want to change the intake form to personalize it. You know, put a photo at intake onto the document so we can send be sure to visually keep everything together."

"Ok. We can redesign it to do that. Take a photo along with other things at intake. You think that will reduce stress?"

"I do think we have some kinky people out there. We have six women who want guillotine treatment. One of them wants an orgy as a French whore followed by her beheading. I think the others were similar but shy to talk about it. We need some men to come in here and fulfill that fantasy."

"I will put that on my list. Clean lovers wanted."

"Who cares how clean? Oh yea. Tainted meat."

"Exactly. What else?"

"Strangulation fantasy. Some by hanging. Some by fingers around the throat."

"The fingers we leave alone. I don't want to present the appearance of violence."

"Well, than we have a few others. I assume burning at the stake is no good, nor the inquisition stuff."

"Absolutely. That is not how we are going to go. Mechanics only except for our general stash."

"One woman wants to die by Sybian."

"Really? How so?"

"Ride a Sybian for 10 minutes and then electrocution from the dick inside of her. She was creative. Don't know how that would work."

"Actually would work the other way around. Put aluminum foil on the ground around the Sybian, and then pass the current down from the neck like we do between the orgasm and the shock, she would be totally out of it and never feel the bleed out."

"And one more for a Roman Bath. Dying while sitting in Hot tub of water with a glass of wine, slit wrist and watching a movie. I liked that one."

"I'll remember. I think we may be able to actually do that one. Need to paint a room first. Candy is working on the Stainless tub we have in back. I think we can get a cement surround on it like a ceramic tub. Use a radial catheter for the arterial drain and it will be just like she is looking for with no mess."

"Cool. Now how do we do the others?"

In the mean time, Candy had come back up and went over to Carol and Christine. Margaret had told her there was only one left, and that the line was moving into part and pieces mode soon. Candy didn't want to hurry anyone, so she asked if anyone wanted anything to drink and then went and got another juice.

Returning she heard Christine say "Shit. That bastard. You are kidding?"

"No. You were on the way down the tracks my dear, when you were derailed to here. You would already be in the cooler or cooking by this time. You were screwed. Almost"

"What do you think David will do?" Christine asked.

"I think that is why he sent me over here." Carol said "Oh David" she yelled.

Coming over to the table and sitting down with Carol, Christine, and Candy, David stole Candy's fruit juice box and told her to get a glass of wine.

"But I". Candy began.

"No Buts. We are done unless someone else walks through that door. So, Carol. What did you discover?"

"I don't have enough to indict on conspiracy, but I do have a very strong linkage. Merle is slime." Carol said with some venom in her voice.

"What do you recommend that Christine do?" David asked with a smile.

"Fuck you for as long as she can. As many times as she can." Carol said with a smile.

"Not without Margaret's permission" David said. "Besides, I am supposed to be doing stud stuff for Candy tonight."

"Ok. So next, Christine, as your lawyer, please give me a dollar."

"Ok. But why?"

"Never mind. Pay me later. First off, you have a letter of volunteer status. David, Please refuse this for me?"

"Sure. Signed or electronically?"

"Both. Signed first. That sets the stage."

David smiled as he patted pants, shirt and pockets for a pen. Then took one off of the desk. And signed where Carol pointed his fingers.

"Next?" David asked.

"Christine, guard that with your life. It is your life. Now notice that this new date as of today ordering you to report to Findley's for processing is a week from today. And the order is as of today. Cute David. Nice touch. I wonder. Shit. Never mind."

Christine looked at the new order that was a new report order. It announced that it superseded the previous order with a new date of selection. "I see this but does it mean what I think it means?"

"It means, honey, you go home, pack your bags, personal belongings put them in a storage place, and get to a hotel and live there. We can contact everyone on the checklist and undo it. You are now age exempted."

"And" Carol continued with a gleam in her eye "As soon as David electronically rejects your volunteer status, The MAB will kick out a permanent exemption letter. Which we can print here and give you a copy of."

"And I want to do one other thing" David said. "Carol, open up the Lottery Selection Page a moment."

Helen did that and read the fine print on the page. Smiling she looked at Christine and said "David, you should have been a lawyer. Christine, select Findlay processing here please?"

"Does that mean I am going to be processed?"

"No. It means something entirely different. You selected Findlay so your recorded selection is pointed here. You volunteered but you were rejected. Then you were selected, but the date was after your birthday. Thus you are exempted. All avenues covered and blocked."

Sixty seconds later, a exemption notice was sent to Findlay, informing them that the rejected Christine Javits was now exempted due to age.

"So. I am not dead. But I am out of a job. And I don't dare trust my husband after seeing what this was set up to do. Where can I stay?"

"Christine, I can have Margaret give you a ride to your house. Pick up a few things like your communicator and terminal, and what clothes you need for a few days, and you can stay with us while you flesh things out."

"Christine, Are you generally bonded for investments?"

"Yes. With specialization in commodity and mutual."

"Good. James will use you. So you are not a bag lady. And you are safe here."

Just then Margaret and Helen came out of the Office corridor door. "What is the hold up here?" Margaret yelled. "People want to go home. Let's slit this bitch and get her in the cooler."

Christine's face blanched white, at the mental image that she just had.

"Now dear, you know you aren't supposed to talk that way in front of the stock." Helen said to Margaret while punching her on the shoulder.

"Oh. Sorry. So, Christine, would you like to take a walk with me?" Margaret said in a sickly sweet voice.

"Actually, I think I am supposed to go home, if you don't mind" Christine said, regaining her composure.

"Good choice, kemo sabe" Candy said.

"Margaret, Don't shock the rejects, it may make them blog about us. And that has already gotten us into trouble. Drive this one home so she can get some personal stuff and take her to our home. She wants to stay with us for a few days where it is safer while she unscrews her life. When you guys get stuff picked up from Christine's house, go shopping again and lets stock the fridge. Have the Police meet you at Christine's house."

"Just had to shock you with that one" Margaret said. "My sense of humor was always a little suspect."

"As her longest and best friend, I can attest to that" Helen said.

"And, Margaret, what are these new rules you have established? I have not had a chance to catch up and ask what the were." David asked.

"Swingers rules, darling. We are now hosting a permanent swingers party. Anyone healthy and who says yes is fair game. Anyone who says no or is not healthy is not fair game. Blood tests required on all attendees. And since we have our own medical department, we probably should do that whenever we have overnights. Including you."

"I don't really feel comfortable including selectees on that. It is a little too much like coercion." David replied.

"How about if they ask for a break during intake, or as part of a fantasy finish?" Margaret asked.

"Ok, in that case. But only as part of a fantasy, not an ad-hoc fuck"

"Agreed. Print it and post it. Where everyone can see it."

"Does the union get included?" David asked.

"Of course. Call it an unadvertised fringe benefit. But that does require blood tests regularly. And they need notes of permission from any wife. Verifiable permission slips."

"Ok. Bulletin board in the Break Room?" David asked?

"Already posted. So, Christine, ready to roll?" Margaret asked.

"I sure am. David, Thank you. Honestly. You have treated me better than anyone I have ever worked for or with. I am so happy I came here."

"Let's go, hussy. I want your stuff out of your house before anyone get's home. You should want that too. " Margaret said. "And I need to borrow your raincoat."

As David watched the two of them leave, he noticed the wistful look on Candy's face. "Want to go with them sometime?" David asked.

"Yes. But I don't want to chance getting scooped up."

"We will work something out. Want to help me look for a way to get a gallows, a guillotine and a block and ax setup and also disguise a hot tub as a roman bath?"

"Wow, You have a lot of projects boss."

"More than you know" David thought to himself.

-------

Wednesday Evening

Well, the accomplishments of the remainder of the day were pretty good, David thought to himself. I have construction vendors to assemble the scaffold with three-foot deck and a twelve-foot deck in the atrium warehouse next door. And he had a plumber that Carl knew coming in to enclose the steam tub with tile in the small wash down room at the rear next door. Candy was looking at doing sponge mop painting to make it look Roman. There were dimmers on the Halogen lights and the florescent were on a separate circuit. So light control was not too difficult. Hiding the plumbing to the location of the tub was problematic, but you could only do so much in two days.

After hearing about H&S David was scared silly about any elements of dirt. All walls were checked, washed and all garbage boxes and storage was moved outside of the process area. All walls were clear and visible and scrubbed. In fact, the processing area looked like an operating room. Carl looked at it with a smile. No one will have any issues with any inspection. Findlay was never keeping things around that collected dirt, but Chris, Marty and Gus went after all of that with a vengeance. And Candy and Margaret swung a mean mop. They even had the steel blockade grates over the all drains bolted in place to prevent any rat or bug infestation coming up from the sewer. And the production crew was going to be using a power washer on the ceiling of the process area on Sunday, with overtime being paid for it.

The swinger house rules were posted on the company bulletin board with the following requirements.

For Union members, the process floor had to be clean and sanitized first, and all meat either in the cooler or chiller or boxed and processed. All uniforms to be in the sanitation bags.

All male persons had to submit to STD blood tests. No exceptions.

All married males had to have permission letters from their wives. No exceptions.

No means No. Yes means Hell Yes. When the doors were locked at 10:00 P.M. no one came in or left. Sex allowed on the Dormitory floor only. Not in offices, not in common break room or any other area of the business. Open door meant come in but must ask first. Closed meant don't come in.

The union support was loud and clear in favor. Even for the married Merle. He knew he would probably get a note. But Findlay refused to put it into the contract. This was discretionarily fringe.

David had also called every registered market within two hundred miles regarding delivery and pricing of goods. Since he was going to be taking up a lot of slack he figured he could see what he could do for the next thirty days. Most of the calls got a lot of interest. The Findlay name had been seen state wide, and the meat taint problem was confined to H&S. When David said he had a FDA inspector on site full time, and that it would be USDA grading, the issues became a matter of price and delivery.

Fifteen of the stores wanted their stock graded but whole. Some wanted head on for spit mounting. Since there was a lot of waste involved, and a lot less time in preparation, David was able to get a premium above pet food, but below choice fully butchered. The estimated profit was up almost 300%. David mused to himself. "I am going to need a driver though".

David's musings were interrupted by 5'7" of 19-year-old naked blond coming up behind him and reaching around his neck. "I think you have been working entirely too hard here and you need to relax some" Candy whispered into David's ear. "You already passed the blood test, so come on and fuck your goat."

David shut down his system and followed nicely out of his office, down the hall and up the stairs. As they passed Helen's room, they saw Mark inside with Carol in his lap and Helen sitting next to him touching Carol's breasts as she rotated her hips around on Mark's erection.

Across the hall, Nancy was with Peter and Elizabeth. Peter was behind Elizabeth, casually fucking in and out of her while she tried to concentrate on eating Nancy alive. Obviously they were enjoying themselves.

Tugging David away from the sights, Candy led the way into her room where the sheets were turned down, and soft music was playing in the background. Reaching up around his neck, she began to nibble on his chin. Exactly the way his wife liked to. "Ok" David said, "who is giving you coaching?"

"Your wife. She told me what you liked and what you were like. We talked a lot in the shower. She said to tell you that this place had Swinger Party Rules and that you were to dump your first load as deep into me as you could reach. And I do have to say I like that idea."

-------

Conference Calls and a War Room.

Jack Miller answered his phone knowing that the person on the other end was not going to be happy, and not caring. Merle Hill was a jerk that acted like a statesman in public and was an unsympathetic asshole in private. He had started the "Live Spit" market eight years ago, and was the only one who did not have humane slaughter treatment. His personal opinions and actions were not well known outside of the packinghouse circles, and he was lucky. No one who worked there stayed long except a few of the executive management team. It was looking like poor pay and bad working conditions had caught up with him.

"Hey, Jack. How is business?" Merle said, with his faked southern voice. Merle often talked southern, but had never been farther south than St. Louis.

"Doing pretty good, Merle. Heard you have some troubles. What can I do to help?"

"Getting right to the point. That is what I like about you Jack. Don't mince words. Well, l got a little problem as you know. That Findley fellow has put the screws to me."

"How did he do that?" Jack asked. I wonder how he is going to spin this.

"Them damn health department people. They have to be working for him. I sent my boy over there on Friday to snoop around and he came back here with his tail between his legs like he had been whipped. Wouldn't say a word except that Findlay's place was in order and that I had better get mine done too. Then the next thing I know a bunch of inspectors I don't know came in here and started opening doors and looking in corners and taking samples and the next thing I knew I was closed down. Told me I had to sanitize the entire place and get uniforms for my people and shit. I have to sanitize blades on saws, housings and get new knives and sterilizers and all kind of stuff. It is going to wreck me."

Jack had heard a bit of a different story. The tainted meat issue had almost landed on his door two weeks ago when an entire family almost died of e-coli poisoning in Peoria. The restaurant had been a buyer from him for years, and the Health and USDA had come knocking on his door first. Only when he showed that he had transferred the order to Merle did they agree to only do a tier one inspection. They found a few dirty rags not in a disposal can in the cleaning room, but that was ahead of the sterilizer area. Everything below that in the process plant was clean. They must have found a lot more than that at Merle's plant.

"So you are sure it was Findlay?" Jack asked.

"Got to be. No reason to come snooping around here. And they had my boy here on a short leash. He has been doing backtrack of paperwork since Sunday here in my office with two people and I am not sure what they will find. I will probably have to find a few new people when this is over and try to pay off a new inspector. That is going to be a pain. And him dumping dog food at my butcher shop in front of those news people was almost the last straw."

"I thought he just sent you your own stock back to you after processing?" Jack said.

"Well, not really. Some of the tags didn't match up. There was a USDA seal on all of that but you can buy that sort of thing. I am not sure that he didn't just do that to start the mess. And everyone knows he does pet food.

"So, how can I help you Merle?" Jack continued.

"Well, I was wondering how much you would charge to process some for me?" Merle asked.

"I am not sure. Depending on how many and what grade. You know I am pretty much at capacity here. I would have to increase a to accommodate that. I already have some assignments I am sending back to MAB. Or redirects to Findlay."

"Don't you send any business that boy's way He's going to bite us both with his fair treatment shit. That stuff is going to cost us a mint in process costs. You mark my words if we don't nip that boy in the bud now it is going to come back to haunt us."

Not wanting to get drawn into any commerce fights; Jack decided to keep it straight. No sense in doing anything with H&S while this situation was unsettled. Besides, Merle would steal clients and market-share any way he could. Better to not get too close.

"Merle, I am not sure what price would be for me to process for you. Probably is a better idea for you to just re assign your stock to me while you are closed. Or send it back to the MAB. " Jack replied, smiling and smelling blood of opportunity.

"Now Jack, you know if I do that I loose allocation. And that's just going to increase load on you anyway. Then I have to petition to get it back when the USDA and Health Department are done. That red tape is a bitch. Probably have me out of business for 45 days or so. Can't you just handle my stock and deliver whole carcasses to me and my clients?"

"Merle, that means I take the risk for just process and transport fees. I don't feel comfortable doing that. And if I was seen delivering to your shop, wouldn't people think I was delivering seconds to you?" Jack said with a smile. "After all I wouldn't want you thinking I was dumping grade a and b on you when you were looking for prime and choice."

"We got our refers fixed. That was the only reason Findlay delivered to us in the first place. Damn Refer was broke and he had a truck to deliver with."

"So, he delivered your product from his plant, or at least like for like" Jack said.

"Yea but you bet your ass he called those reporters to have them there to watch".

Sensing that Merle was changing facts around, Jack was even more convinced that he didn't need to be part of Merle's solution. "Merle, I think you need to handle your own problems. I have enough with mine".

"I won't forget this" Merle said, angrily as he hung up the phone.

-------

Nighttime at Findlay's house

Margaret and her new best friend Christine were making the guest bed up while talking about the events of the day.

"Margaret, I don't know how to thank you." Christine began. "I am so very lucky to be alive."

"That is how David is. If it is your time, then it is your time. But he cares. All of the women there besides me are on borrowed time."

"Margaret. How would I have been killed today, if it had come to that?"

"Same way everyone else was today. It is easier to show than to tell. You could watch tomorrow. But you can't talk about it. Trade Secret.

"I am not sure I could do that." Christine said. "It seems kind of violent."

"It's no car wreck or anything. And someone is with you the whole time. You don't die by yourself."

"You make it sound like Hospice" Christine laughed in a small voice.

"I guess we do. Only you have to be healthy when you die with us."

"Is David the only man at the plant?" Christine asked.

"No. He is the only one who ever comes up front."

Sensing a story here, Christine asked her new friend why that was.

"David has always had women in the front. We are a small business, and didn't do many in any day. You know that. Well, after I was exempted, I got interested in how this business really worked. So I spent a day there last Friday. Most of the processes made sense, but I made a few changes."

"So this is a woman only proposition?"

"In front it is. You don't need to know what or who is involved. Just suffice to say that it works."



-------

Chapter 12



Thursday Morning.

Waking up in Candy's arms was a different experience for David. He had not woken up in a strange place with a different woman in almost 20 years. He and Margaret always woke up together. But seeing the note that Candy gave him from Margaret last night convinced him that he might as well stay here. There was also the fact that Margaret had the car and left him here when she went home. She did promise to bring him clean clothes when she came in to work. The light peaking in the window told David that a new workday was starting, and he might as well get started.

Gently untangling from they young woman wrapped around him David walked down to the lavatory at the hallway end. Need to look for a towel or something, David thought to himself as he was relieving the pressure on his bladder. Coffee? Do I smell Coffee? David thought to himself. Following his nose downstairs to the break room, he saw Helen standing in front of the stove with an apron over her naked body. Coming over and reaching around he gently grabbed each of the familiar nipples with his index finger and thumb and gently touched them.

"Careful" Helen said.' They were damn near chewed off last night. I thought I was never going to get to sleep."

"Better than normal, eah?"

"Something about a busy work day that makes you constantly horny.

"Yes, it does seem to have that impact on you guys." David said. "And it appears to be universal. I do have to say there are flying libido's here. Need to be careful to not get hit"

"No. Just careful to be clean. Once you get past the blood test you are fair game here."

"So," David said, pouring a cup of coffee, "How are you doing? You seemed to take a jump in here yesterday?"

"You mean with Gloria? Poor girl was a state. She was so afraid she was going to H&S. They did a replay of that news show of last year, and she was in such a panic that she was going to go that way. Things were quiet so I took her on down through processing. I sat and talked with her while Candy cut her throat. I think she was on only scared for a moment when the first slice went in. Then she looked at me and we talked a little. She said it felt like a pinch and then warm. And she was gone in a minute while we talked. No hyperventilation or anything. Candy is a wonder with that knife."

"I hear that she is. Margaret says she has to spend time watching and learning from her. So, no worries about you helping again if things get busy?" David asked.

"Darling man, so long as we women are running this front end, without interference, I have no problem taking these sluts to get slit."

"Listen to you. Talking like that. You are terrible. " David said.

"Oh you have no idea. The gallows humor here is pretty funny once you get used to it. I think back to Friday with Margaret talking casually about cutting me up and I realize that she was serious. And that she may do it some day. But she is going to have to get a lot smoother than she is to catch Candy. Right now, when you do me I want Candy to do it. And I don't need any shock. Seeing how little Gloria twitched, I don't think it is necessary for me. Just hang me up, bleed me out, clean me out and put me on the grill." Helen said with a smile.

"Not any time soon, darling. I want to chew on these tits some more."

"Yea. There really isn't anything in them to eat. You know there is not a lot of meat in a woman. Guess that is why so many of us have to go."

"Well, there sure is a demand. I have full day sales committed already. I need to get a driver for on the road as far as St Louis."

"Well, I think Gus and Tim would jump at it. And at us too. But you have to be careful I think. I can't help but wonder if the drivers were part of the H&S problem."

"Why so?"

"Both of those guys were pretty dirty. Bad hygiene. I had never thought about the sanitary issues of meat before I came here. And they both thought of us as something less then human. I don't really want them handing me." z

"Carol won't like that".

"Carol just needs variety and a lot of it. She is having her own problems. I don't think she is going to be really happy for long. You better get that gallows built for her soon."

"We are doing that pretty quick. I have contractors coming in next door today for scaffolding, platform building and also a tile man to do the tub. Now If I could find a Guillotine"

"Merle has one that is condemned. Seems it won't clean up. It was on the news last night"

"Hmmm. Really?" David said with eyebrows raised.

"Yes. He had it build like the one of 1904 Paris. All out of wood and with baskets too. Seems that it does not pass health department code. And he can't use it any more."

"I guess another call to Marty is in order," David thought to himself. "It would save me a lot of work if I could rescue it from his junk pile."

After a quick breakfast and flirting with the ladies (all of whom were in a bright and shiny faced mood, David took his third cup of coffee to the office and looked at the clock. 7:30. Let's see if I can get to Marty Burke, David thought as he dialed the number

Knowing Marty's extension from earlier, David called Marty's desk, expecting to leave a voice mail. To his surprise Marty answered. "Burke here."

"Marty, David over at Findlay. How are you doing?"

"David, I am cleaning out my desk. Merle fired me. Says he can get someone else to be operations manager that won't get him into trouble"

"Shit, I am sorry to hear that. What are you going to do?" David asked.

"Well, I don't know. I was a sales man before, and then I came inside because I was too good. Merle is cutting overhead like a madman. Know anyone hiring?"

"Yea, Me. Bring your resume and drivers license. You have a CDL for 20,000 lbs.?"

"Sure. Got one for twenty ton. But you need a driver?"

"Combination Driver and Sales. Was calling last night and have about 15 places looking to place orders."

"Shit, I will be there when I clean out my desk."

"One more thing. I heard that Merle had to throw out his Guillotine. Is that true?"

"The wooden one? Yea. Seems it had a lot of stuff in the wood that didn't clean out right. They took it apart and threw it in the dumpster. Why, You want it?"

"If it is not a problem."

"Sure. I'll have it thrown in the back of my pickup. What you paying?"

"Union Scale for driver, pure commission on sales." David felt that this would work pretty well.

"I will be right over. I'll have the guys throw the chopper in back of my truck." Marty said as he hung up.

"That takes care of three for four. Build the gallows today, clean up and assemble the Guillotine, and then get the Roman bath coated in tile. All I need is a Block and Axe and someone to swing it. Classy Conversions here we come." David thought as he was whistling to himself.

And just then, David frowned, and wrote down the new name for the auxiliary business. The real profit center.

Seeing that it was almost time to open up, David checked the front door cameras to see what the situation looked like. No news van. But the crowd of people was larger then yesterday. Some of them with forms in their hands. "Guess I better get the girls tuned up and get the guys ready.

Walking into the break room, he saw Chris and Marty in the break room. Marty was giving Carol a toe curling kiss, and Chris was standing watching while his hand was resting on Elizabeth's ass.

"We were all just giving the guys a reason to get to work," Helen said.

"Hell, it looks like they won't get started if they keep up like that."

"No" Carol said breaking the kiss" Just want to remind him what I look like in case I get caught in a door today. Remember, you can't fuck the dead. Or at least they can't fuck back".

"Ladies grab your portables and get to the front. We have a crowd as big as yesterday. Guys full dress for work. Probably start the line in ½ hour" David said, patting Helen on the ass.

"And I will go let Margaret in" Candy said. Giving David a kiss she went down the hall to the back door.

Margaret had driven by the front of the plant and seen over forty people standing around. She grabbed David's overnight bag with the day's clothes and hurried to the receiving room door where Candy was opening it up for her.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" She asked Candy coming into the door.

"Absolutely. I can see why you keep him. He is pretty good. Lots of staying power".

"Good. Now understand that I don't want to sleep alone too often." Margaret said with a smile.

"You could join me. I don't bite. Much" Candy replied with the same sort of smile.

"Candy you sweet kid, I am not getting in bed in competition with you. It is not fair."

Candy's face suddenly looked serious. "Margaret, there's no competition. You are first in his mind. He even whispered your name to me when he was asleep last night."

Margaret dimpled and smiled at that. She was sure glad she pulled Candy out to play when she did. This kid is priceless.

Going to David's office, Margaret gave him his bag, told him to get dressed, and then stripped. Grabbing her collar from David's desk she picked up her computer and walked to reception.

The first person she saw was Carol, talking to an angular faced young woman in a group at a table. Nancy was at the front desk checking assignments against the list from the MAB. Helen was at the other desk with an older woman and a daughter about Candy's age. Nancy and Candy were at other tables working on intakes

"Margaret, you are just what I was looking for," Helen said. "Could you come here and give me some help?"

"This is Ms. Carmichael and her daughter Cindy." Helen continued. "She wants to talk about substitution assignment and I told her she should talk with you about it."

"Ok. Let's get a table and we can talk." Margaret replied.

Sitting at a table Margaret looked at the intake information and saw it was for Cindy. "She is pretty prime," Margaret thought to herself, looking at the pale redhead." So what are we looking at here?" Margaret asked.

"My daughter was selected. First lottery she was entered into and she was picked"

"That is really rough. As David would say, some people can't get any break" Margaret said." Let me see her papers and we will see what we can do."

Unfortunately, it was totally legitimate. Cindy had the absolute worst luck of being picked the first time she was eligible. And her due date was Monday.

'I noticed that she has not been registered for a location yet. That is irregular." Margaret said.

"The notification said that due to a constraint in resources, I should make my selection anywhere." Cindy said.

"We were wondering if we could talk to you a bit about what our options would be if we chose here." Jane Carmichael said.

"What kind of options?"

"Well, for instance, could someone else substitute for her?" Jane asked.

"It has been done. People have petitioned the MAB for that sort of exception. It is for one year, however, not permanent. And it takes a bit of work to do. Did you intend to substitute for her?" Margaret asked.

"No. Her older sister wanted to." Jane continued. "But there is a complication. She was injured three years ago and has a spinal disconnect on the fourth vertebra. So she is quadriplegic. I am afraid she is pretty badly atrophied. None of the other houses would talk with us. I had read that your business was not just a butcher shop. So we came here to ask if you had any ideas or options?'

"Did they try stem cell regeneration of the spinal cord?" Margaret asked.

"Yes they did but the cells rejected."

"I need to have someone else help you a bit to see what the law entails on this. Oh Carol" Margaret raised her voice to get to Carol and raise her attention. She saw a lot of giggling going on at the other table and carol was reluctant to come.

"Whassup Mistress of the knife?" Carol asked when she arrived.

"You're in a chipper mood. That group seems to want to draw you in."

"With their fantasy, I might join them. We need to get a safe word."

"David said no pain".

"Not for pain. To stop the scene. Go talk with them and you will see what I mean. Now how can I help here/"?

"Legal issues my dear sweet beagle. They want substitute a blood relative for Cindy there. It is her older sister who happens to be a quadriplegic. Don't know enough about it, which is why you. We will do what we can but I want to know what we talk about. You do this and I will go talk to the girls and see what you had so funny."

"Enjoy and think about it. These ladies are pretty kinky. Now, Jane, what can we do to help you?" Carol began.

"Ok ladies" Margaret said when approaching the table." What is your wish to command us to do?"

"Hi. I'm Jennifer, and what we want an evening of debauchery, with men, women, wine and song. We want to start Saturday evening at dusk and to continue for as long as we are able. And at dawn, to be taken down to the public floor and beheaded, one after another. Chop, Plop the head into the bucket and flop the body onto the wheelbarrow where it is wheeled away in full view of the party. No catcalls, no Jeers, no fruit or other things. For me, it is a designated Termination. For them it is a volunteer. They sign the papers and are taken to the block locked down, and if they don't remember to say the word, Chop, Plop, and wheelbarrow behind me. Totally up to them up to the last minute." The angular faced young woman said.

"Actually we can give them the rope. If they pull it, the blade falls, and it is over. Not for you, of course, we pull the rope on you." Margaret said with a smile.

"Sounds fantastic. And you have a Guillotine?" Jennifer asked with a grin.

"I believe we will have something appropriate by Sunday. Let me ask all of you. Ladies, since you intend to volunteer, how do you all feel about being a substitute?" Margaret asked, thinking to herself that if all of them do, then I gain several bargaining chips. If none of them do, we are no worse off.

Katie, the blonde headed girl piped up and said, "I'll do it. We will all do it and draw short straws to see who goes first."

Nodding heads were in agreement.

"Ok. Saturday you drop by and help us finish the stage for it's final setup. Saturday night we do the Sapphic degrading acts of total debauchery. And Sunday you pay for it with your heads. Sound like fun? How many guests?" Margaret asked, getting into the mode of the discussion.

"At least the entire drama club from school. They will freak when they see it is for real." Jessica, a young redhead spoke up. "I doubt anything will top this for this semester."

"And our budget?" Margaret asked.

"I figure $5000 for the chopper for me and $1500 for each one extra. You have to put it together and test it for me, but the rest is just raise and chop."

"We have a deal. We will have the contracts drawn up Saturday. You and five ladies in waiting? Shall I assume the same number of men?" Margaret asked looking around the table.

"For the night, at least ten. We like to move them around see. And at least twenty or so for the morning services."

"Admission extra. $500 each for the overnights." Margaret said. "And that includes meals and medical screening to make sure none of you catches anything from anyone."

"Got to protect the meat supply, I guess. Ok. Sold" Jessica said. And for the next half hour everyone worked on the 6 additional selection processes both voluntary and assigned with open dates. That meant that they could be revoked unless they were selected in a lottery later.

With that mob leaving with a promise to return Saturday Morning, Margaret looked around to see a dozen women working on documents with Helen and Nancy. Candy and Cindy were nowhere in sight. Ms. Carmichael was with Carol locked in a deep conversation. Approaching the table Margaret asked if anyone wanted any water. To both yes answers she went over to get some water and tea for herself. Wondering what the women were talking about and why Candy and Cindy were gone, she wandered back to the table and asked, "Well, Ladies, what do we know and what can we do?"

"Always ask the tough questions first." Carol said. "I think that what we need to do is term Cindy in a nice way before Monday. I do not believe her sister is qualified under the law to be a substitute. Candy is taking her for a walk to do intake with her and get blood and urine done. And get to understand her a bit better. Then bring her back up here.'

Jane's face was ashen and on the verge of tears with the calm way that Carol made her announcement.

Not knowing what Carol was thinking, Margaret said to Ms. Carmichael, "Can we have some private space to talk?"

"Ok. What is on your mind?" Margaret said.

"Ok. Here is the thing. That little party on Sunday sounds like a great way to go. Romance out the ass and dead at dawn. I might join them. If I don't this time, it will be some time. Depending on how stable Cindy is she can take over a lot of what I do here. I am not Helen. I can't walk someone down the hall and wait fro them to come through so I can string them up and cut them open. I don't belong here doing that. " Carol said earnestly.

"Carol. If you want to go, don't you want to wait for a choice? We will have a gallows today, and a raised deck for a Guillotine. David is looking for bleachers and a seller of drinks and beer to do for the masses. I want to study rope for soft and for hard drops."

"There is a big difference." Carol asked.

"So I have been told." Margaret agreed.

"And when will we have all this ready?" Carol asked.

"Over the next two weeks." Margaret replied.

''So we are doing Bread and Circuses? What else? Men for orgies over night?" Carol asked with some rising excitement.

"Any men that stay overnight have to have blood tests"

"Even Jim?"

"Even David" Margaret said with a smile. "No sense having all the hen house out of order because of one little dick infecting one little chick. But I wanted to ask you something else. You know that four of those ladies in waiting are volunteers?"

"Yes. Oh. You are thinking of substitution forms? Not easily done unless you have compelling reasons and blood relatives. That is to prevent Slavery sales. Remember?" Carol said smugly.

"No. I didn't know the law as well as you. Even if it isn't coerced? No sign of economic transfer?" Margaret asked, knowing the answer already.

"You have to have a pretty binding element. Having the substitute pay for the transfer while no third party contributes. That is what makes it sticky." Carol said, dropping into Legal Counsel mode.

"Well, my dear, we have the weekend to figure it out. You are a live law dog and I intend to use you as such until the last minute. So why is the quad sister not a viable substitute? Isn't that denying her equal access and opportunity under the Handicapped Rights act?" Margaret said blandly, wanting to see if Carol took the bait.

"I am not sure how we could petition the court for that with the specific exemption from the involuntary euthanasia act. Remember the hospitals and medical unions fought real hard to keep the sick and handicapped out of the lottery citing "humanitarian" reasons."

"Yes, but here is a different thing. Here is a woman who wants to volunteer to substitute for a sister. Regardless of the handicap issue, this is a voluntary gift. Obviously the law was not supposed to prevent such an occurrence." Margaret replied.

Carol's face went through range of emotions from surprise, to shock, to being aghast, to finally settling into an evil grin. " You know this would start to set precedent and kick over a large pile of ants, don't you?" Carol said with a wolfish grin.

"And if we loose the initial, it will have to go through the appeals processes. You are one of the key litigators on the Equal rights for Handicapped law extension here in Illinois." Margaret said with a smile.

"You bitch. You read my CVA? Of course you did. What is in it for you?" asked Carol with a confused look on her face.

"Carol honey, we all worry about each other. We all like you enough to keep you around. And getting you something to do will keep your mind off of being depressed. Besides I get to keep your pretty blonde ass here for David and occasionally jump Jim's bones. " Margaret said with a smile.

"I don't know how long Jim is coming around here or for how long," Carol said with a sad smile.

"Well, if he quits, David still does. And we'll just drag a few in for good measure." Margaret said. "Don't' worry about missing the boat with this little drama group. I think we will have plenty of more where they come from."

Candy and Cindy in the meantime were talking in the stripping room. Carol had said to start the process for the young woman, but not worry about taking her all the way through. Things were still getting organized, and Barbara was fussing about needing to order supplies early for tomorrow. "Cindy looks as curious as I must have" Candy thought to herself.

"So, you work here, but you were selected too?" Cindy asked Candy. "How does that work?"

"Pretty strange actually. I was a substitute for my mother. Me and a friend of mine. She was pregnant with a boy so she was exempted. I wasn't but Ms. F. Pulled me out for work here. I sort of help where ever I can. Paperwork and leading people around, mostly."

"So, How do they?" Cindy started to ask but stopped.

"Term you?" Candy replied. "It is a secret. Tell you what though, it is smooth. Painless and almost nothing to feel. Couple of sharp pinches and after a few minutes you just go to sleep. Usually one of us is with you the whole way. We talk and listen and it just is kind of drifty."

"Have you seen many?" Cindy asked with timidity.

"Probably about a hundred. Not sure. Didn't' count." Candy said calmly.

"Wow. That is more people than I know. Mom is at wit's end about this. First Heather in the accident and then I get selected. She was just past selection herself three months ago. Heather has been trying to get passive since last year but the doctors won't let her. Say that there is always new medical opportunity. I think they just want to keep her there because we have insurance."

"I don't know about that. But I will tell you a secret. This place is funny for what it is. If we want to get something done, we usually find a way. " Candy said with authority.

"Hi Cindy. You are clean and no pregnancy, I can buzz you back up to the front." Barbara said. "And Candy, can you please tell David I need to get a new order of blood filter cups for the lab. I am down to my last 50 or so and that we will definitely need them tomorrow."

Just then David walked through the door into the stripping room from the restrooms, "Hi ladies. Just passing through. Candy can you help me next door? I have to open the door for Marty Burke to back his truck into the loading dock next door. Unless you have to take this young lady along."

"No boss, just doing some prelim. Margaret is talking with Carol about her situation. Cindy, this is Mr. Findley."

"Hi Cindy. Call me David. That means you too, scamp." David said shaking Cindy's hand and sticking his tongue out at Candy.

"Well if she is not being processed, then I will use her help. You can get back with Margaret and see if she needs help. Cindy, come on next door." David Continued.

David opened the center door of the back wall of the room. It was a double door that had been in place when the access to the building next door was in use. It hadn't been used for quite some time. Going through led into a rear corner of the open space of the warehouse next door. The roll up door and front entry were to the left across the floor. Along the right wall was another double door leading to the rear where the scalding tub was located. When David had rented the space to a boxing gym years ago, the tenant had installed collapsing bleachers along the wall to David's left. The ring was gone, having been torn down years ago, and the bleachers on the far wall were wrecked and unusable. But the one set still worked. David was thinking that this was pure luck.

Going to the far front corner of the building, David kicked open the locks on the roll up door and started to pull up the chain. The contractors that were waiting came in looking around at the open spaces.

"Ok." David said after introductions were complete. "Guys I want everything on that wall stripped and junked. I want to take those scaffolding and set up a scaffolding midway along this wall with stairs down one side and I want the scaffolding to be ten feet up. Make provisions for an overhead bar another eight feet above that. This is a twenty foot ceiling so we will have some space."

"Ok. No problem with this stuff. How long and how wide?"

"I want the scaffolding to be ten feet tall, twelve feet wide and twelve feet deep. I want prefabricated straight stairs running up this end." David said as he gestured to the end nearest the front door. "And I want a smaller twelve by twelve platform three feet tall also built on wheels that are lockable at all points. And I want all joints welded and the wall scaffolding bolted to the wall along the top and down the uprights."

"Don't want to collapse or be disassembled, I guess. Do you want us to use two by six or seven quarters tyvex?"

"Use the artificial stuff. Cleans up easier." David said. " And build a box for a four foot by four foot trap door In the middle of the platform."

"Ok. Henry and Hank and I will get this torn down now. Probably have the stuff wrecked by noon. Are you going to paint behind this first?

"Good idea. If you build this in the middle, I can get the painting done this afternoon and we can move this back against the wall tomorrow and then bolt everything up."

"Works for me. Won't take that long to build this. These are standard scaffolds. Getting them welded is a pain. You only want cross pieces in the back and sides, right?"

"Yes. We shouldn't need them in the front, do we?

"If we bolt it to the wall in back and along the rear of the deck we won't need on in back either. Just the sides." Henry said.

"Ok. Put them on the back until we slide this up against the wall and bolt it fast." David said.

While they were walking away, Cindy asked "Mr. F. What is all this for?"

"We are hosting some special parties here and we need to get the audience pieces in place." David said.

"I see. This is an awful lot of platform for a nightclub. You will have people falling off the platform if you don't have any rails, won't you?"

"Not really. And those who fall off the platforms won't be worried about being injured." David said calmly.

"Oh. I think I see. " Cindy said in a very quiet voice.

"Cindy, why don't we sit down over here for a few minutes and you tell me about yourself."

For the next hour and a half, David found out that Cindy was, among other things, an accomplished pianist, on honor roll for her entire life and was supposed to go to Cornell. "Guess that won't happen" She said. "I was going into business major. Then take over the business for Dad. Heather was going to but she was in the accident. Now we don't know what to do. I am kind of out of it I guess."

"Did Candy tell you how she came to be here?" David asked.

"She said she volunteered so her mother would be able to take care of her father and the rest of the family. Sounded to me like she got a real raw deal. Being pressured into giving your life away like that. I am not happy about this either. But I don't want Heather to die either. Mom was pushing her to sub for me. I thought it was kind of shitty myself"

"Not really good for anyone is it?" David inquired.

"No. I don't know how I would feel if Heather died in my place. I think I would feel kind of rotten. Not that I want to die myself. It is just screwed up all around." Cindy said with some tearing in her eyes.

Looking around, David saw that the construction team was well under way. "Let's go out the front and next door. I am getting thirsty." David said.

Cindy followed David out front and around to the reception entrance. Coming into the room he saw Carol, Margaret and Cindy's mother talking in a corner table. Nancy and Helen were working with different groups of women, their portables up and active on contract forms. Ms. Carmichael raised her hand and gestured for Cindy and David to come over.

"Honey, we are going to have Cindy come be with us on Saturday and stay for a while so we can figure out what we can do. If you don't mind she can help fill in on paperwork here out front. Ms. Carmichael and I are going to visit with her other daughter Heather later next week." Margaret said.

"She can still come and go until then. She won't have to be Goat status until Sunday. Have you seen Marty Burke?" David asked.

"He came around here a few minutes ago. I sent him to your office. He said he was parked in back with the stuff you wanted. Are we going to put him to work for us?"

"I think so. I need a driver and he can also do the sales work for us. Most of these ladies are too good for Pet food." David said.

"I would hope so," Ms. Carmichael said.

"Just remember, Jane, Most of our people end up like that. But we treat them like they are all top shelf." Margaret said firmly.

"I see that. And things here are so smooth and quiet. Candy was just here and went back with some women just like Cindy did." Jane said.

"Actually, there are a couple of differences. All of them are naked by now. And most of them are already dead." Margaret said coolly to Ms. Carmichael. "Don't forget that is what we do here. Cindy is going home with you today. She won't after Saturday."

"I hear you."

"I just don't want you to have unrealistic expectations." Margaret continued.

"I don't have any. I guess I pretty much understand. Well, We will see you Saturday?"

"Look forward to it" Margaret answered.

Seeing them leave, David asked Margaret for an update.

"She had hoped that we would accept Heather instead of Cindy. She had already talked at H&S and they said "Why take dog food when you can get prime steak". So they weren't willing. She came here today hoping that she would be able to work that sort of deal, but Carol disabused her of that notion. Now we might be able to work something out, but I am not going to make any offers without talking it over with you first. We sort of threw this together quickly and it is working. I am not going to stir anything up" Margaret said.

"What are the legal opportunities for us here?" David asked.

"Her mother is used to having control. Jane was on the board of realtors for several years and I am sure she thinks she has more clout. Throwing her weight around probably has caused more problems for her than she would have otherwise. The best we could offer is a Goat status, and that is not what her mom wanted for her daughter." Carol added.

"Well she is a nice kid, but she is not going to be offered any spot in this lifeboat without everyone wanting her here. And I mean wanting. Not just saying it is OK." David said. "I have a great thing going here with all of you and I am not going to let that get fucked up. Carol, this means you especially. Ok?" David said with emphasis.

"Yes sir. David can we go somewhere and fuck? I need to be cuddled." Carol asked with a smile.

"Look lady, He is my husband and he was here all night. I slept alone." Margaret teased.

"Not my fault. Come join us if you want." Carol said invitingly.

"Not now. Go-ahead dear, screw this wench and I will be upstairs later." Margaret said.

"Actually, I have to talk to Marty Burke first. Meet me in my office in 10 minutes and we will see how well he treats women here. How he acts toward you will determine if I hire him."

After checking in his office, David went on a search for the ex-manager. David found Marty in processing. He was wearing a set of clean whites and foot covers and watching Candy field dress a young brunette. The body had some steam coming off of it under the air chillers overhead. Candy was working with her usual speed and short precise cuts to remove abdominal muscles and extract organs. Sliding the carcass down to Chris for further grading and dismembering, she looked over her shoulder and saw that there was no blue light on the turnstile.

"Boss, Do I have to go up front or do I have time to work with Chris and Gus and learn some more?" Candy asked as she turned to David.

"Stay here if you want. We will call if you need to come up to help. Marty, you want to come to my office and talk?" David asked.

Once Marty put his white suit into the laundry bin with all of the other used clothes, he followed David to his office.

"David, I have to hand it to you. I see why you were so stubborn about keeping that one. And the rest. This whole thing is a machine. The women here never see a man do they?" Marty gushed.

"We try to keep it that way. No stress, everyone flows. No shouting or arguments. Small groups managed closely and before they know it, it is all over. Most of this was Margaret's idea mainly. And Candy doing the reception room to be more like a home has helped a lot." David answered

"I can see that. This place looked like a church social. Everyone sitting and talking and doing papers. Except for the few nude goats. Everyone just kind of settled and waiting. Got to hand it to you, the news people had it right. I can see why people are dying to get into here." Marty continued.

"Ok. Now let's talk about us. I can pay union scale and complete new order commission to you for the entire Illinois territory. Down as far as St Louis. All of the Chicago stores except Merle's. Not unless he reaches out to me personally." David said as he sat at his desk.

"He won't do that." Marty replied, sitting in the guest chair next to the desk. "I know you didn't do any dirt and that the delivery was you doing me a favor. But he doesn't see it that way."

"Well, then let's look at what we have to work with. I have orders for 15 today. Carl is going to grade them so he can seal each of them before you leave. I already called Human Food and told them I was going to take over delivery and that you would call them to make sure that they were ready when you arrive. I have one load for sure for them of pieces and parts. Lots of shoulder and arms. Get over there and get that done. If you like I can do mile or hour pay. I think it would be better for you to do Hour right now. And we need to get that toy unloaded next door. We can put that up tomorrow."

"Hey boss" Carol said from the doorway" Is it time for your midmorning blowjob?"

"Not just yet. Can we come back in say thirty minutes? I have to do some moving next door first?"

"Only if you shower first. Who is our guest?"

"Marty, this is Carol Burns, Chief legal counselor and one of my senior sluts. Carol, Marty is coming to join us here."

"Are you married, Marty?" Carol asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"Yes" Marty answered, figuring that telling the truth was a good policy.

"Good answer. Get a permission slip and blood test from Barbara and one of us or most of us will fuck your brains out. If you don't want me, boss, I'll get back up front."

"What did she say?" Marty asked after Carol left, with some shock in his face.

"It is on the Union Bulletin board. Got to have permission slips signed by the wife and a blood test. Most have them."

Following David out to his truck, Marty thought to himself that this place was going to be fucking different.

After driving around to the front door, the two of them made quick work of moving the eight-foot uprights, the six foot base bars and the sliding table into the warehouse. The forty-pound blade and slide guide was the heaviest. Getting all of the pieces under a tarp away from the walls took some effort.

David saw that the high scaffold had been extended out and the area underneath the new installation had been swept clean. The painting contractor called by the scaffolding contractors had already started to do the walls behind where the scaffolding was to be mounted. The sprayer was using an electronic head that applied the paint evenly and with no over run. The white gloss was a stark backdrop above the cement floor. Going to have to do something about that too David thought to himself. Probably a sealer with grit embedded to prevent slippery surfaces.

Leading Marty to the rear area, the old stainless dip tank was already taking shape with its new tile surround. A nursing hoist was nearby for removing expired clients from the tub. The sandy desert yellow walls were waiting for the sponge treatment to finish a Roman decor. Candy was going to do the decorating here.

"What the hell are you doing on this side? All this open space you won't get any production. And that wooden chopper is not going to be very good with having to scrub it down every day." Marty said.

"Marty." David replied. "This is for special processing. Client request. For those who are going to go with the flow, there is next door. For those wanting to make a dramatic exit, there is here."

"You mean this is a custom shop? No going to the client place, have them come here?"

"Yes. Within reason. And we have some room for special expansion."

"Do I get commission if I sell this?" Marty asked.

"You bring in the leads, we have Carol do contracts, and Helen and Nancy do intakes. Sales are something we don't have worked out yet, so we can make that up as we go along."

-------

Lunch intermission

Marty Burke and Gus had loaded up the small refer truck and Marty had taken off for Human meats foods. The processes for the day were hanging and cooling, awaiting dismemberment, and Cindy and her mother had left for home. Carl was upstairs with Margaret getting the best fuck in years and Chris and Marty were getting ready to do the same thing with Helen and Nancy. Carol was in her room doing legal research on volunteer client substitutions. Looking for loopholes and precedents for a wide variety of reasons.

Candy and David were eating a sandwich in the warehouse area with Barbara. The old scaffolding was being powder coat painted as well and the wall behind it was dry. Soon the team would move it back to the wall and secure it. Then the platform would be laid out on the scaffolding.

"That sure is open" Candy said. "With the supports on the ends and bolted to the wall, the entire front is open."

"Yes. And the Trap will fall to the rear and bang against the bumpers on the wall, so there is almost no obstruction of view." David said.

"So what is next? The guillotine?" Candy asked.

"Yes. I am going to get that assembled later, when the gallows scaffold is done. But your project is waiting for you." David said.

"What's that?" Candy asked.

"The back room is waiting for your sponge painting for the Roman bath. The tub heaters are hooked up as well. We have to manually regulate temperature but the circulator has a thermometer that will let you set the burner manually for the heater. The water heater will raise temperature one degree every five minutes for the two hundred gallon tank. Start out at 100, and by 106 the patient is sleeping and gone. Barbara, we need to prep the client with a radial artery drain. Something that will keep the blood flowing into a container so we don't have too much mess to clean up." David said.

"Ok. I will add that to the list of things I have to order this afternoon. We almost ran out of blood test sample vials. Don't want to do any re-use. Also we need more urine cups. You know we went through almost an entire month of supplies this week?"

"Yes I do know. Get what you need. Do we have storage?" David asked, taking a bite.

"Yes we do. I have kept orders short in the past for inventory purposes, but we have enough for a month of inventory. I will order for two weeks and then re-up every week for a supply. That way we have a week of reserve."

"Good. Any problems with machine support?" David continued.

"We need to get the monthly testing done on the blood analyzer. The other is not due for service for a couple of months. Just couldn't see clearly on Carla the other day. Once the fetus matures we will get a better idea." Barbara replied.

"You know, Barbara, that may be the luckiest thing that you ever did for us. Her writing up of us went totally around the city. Everyone was quoting it. Happy accident for us" David said with a smile.

"Yes. Just wish I could send more home that way." Barbara said with a frown.

"I understand." David said. "If I could sent them all home I would."

"I believe you mean that" Barbara said.

"I do. But If I send them home, someone else like Merle Hill is going to do them. Might as well do the job that Margaret would have wanted for her sister."

"So what are we doing about Cindy?" Candy asked.

"What do you want to do?" David asked. "I am not going to goat anyone that does not get along with the rest of the crew that is already here. So if she is a problem, I would rather term her and get it over with quick."

"She seems nice enough. She is not real happy with the scheme her mother wants. She feels guilty about it and don't want her sister pressured like that. I sure know how her sister feels. My mother did that to me."

"Have you talked to your mother, Candy?" Barbara asked.

"I left her messages. But she hasn't called back. Stacy left me a message that she is in a house outside of Northwood, and that Social services are looking after her. She hasn't heard from her mother either. I think both of us were just thrown away".

"Maybe. But you were thrown here and we are sure glad we caught you" Barbara said.

"You know, Stacy can visit here if you like. We will even pay transportation." David said.

"Thanks. I will tell her that, David. I am going to go look at the Roman bath. Maybe if the paint is dry I can start to sponge on it."

After Candy left, David turned to Barbara and asked, "What do you think?"

"About Candy? I think she is sweet and was abandoned. Her mother used her to get free and sacrificed her to do it. She knows it and is dealing with it. Pretty well all things considered."

"Should I worry?" David asked.

"Don't ask me. Go talk to Helen. She is the shrink we have here. I am only a vampire and medical tech jockey. I do think she is fixated on you and Margaret though. You are the parents she doesn't have, and if you are going to term her, you better do it soon and as a surprise. The longer this goes on, the more she is going to think she is a part of this abnormal mess."

"So you think I am doing damage to her?"

"You can recover from damage. You can't recover from dead. She is doing nasty things the nicest way she knows how and working to fit in. I think that is enough for now. Now I have to get on the phone and get some things ordered."

Barbara left David to supervise the rest of the construction. By evening, the scaffolding was done, the portable platform was finished and all the welds were secure. The paint on the wall was dry and would set overnight

Candy had finished the painting of the walls of the Roman bath, and the tile work was complete around the tub. All the pipes and fittings were disguised under a platform at the rear of the tub to the rear wall of the room. The body hoist had been moved through the double doors to hide it from sight. Candy planned to draw out a mural along the other wall opposite the tub as well as paint columns to replicate a picture of southern Italy she had seen. It looked all in all like a very nice and super large family bath.

Helen, Margaret and Nancy had wandered down to the break room, family room after their break (where they had left three men totally wiped out) and re-opened the doors. During the next few hours they fielded calls and returned calls to selectees, and to prospects who were interested in visiting on Friday and Saturday to either get termed or to enroll with Findlay in case their number came up. Margaret returned a call to a woman named Delores with an interesting conversation.

"Margaret, My niece is in the drama club at U of Ill, and apparently one of the seniors is slated to be termed there this weekend. She is a sweet little thing but others very easily influence her. If you could do us a favor and help her not make any stupid mistakes, I would greatly appreciate it."

"You mean the little party we are hosting here Saturday and Sunday?" Margaret asked.

"I think it may be that. Katie is a bit of a follower and get's herself into positions that are kind of risky. It would make me feel a lot better if she was kind of left out. If you know what I mean."

"Of course dear. David has told me a lot about you and I would love to help. What is her full name?"

"Katie McCoy. Short blonde with a super chipper attitude."

"Aha. Yes. She was here earlier. I think we can find a way to keep her out of trouble. I'll put my best girl on it. Make sure she draws the longest straw."

"Do I really want to know what you mean?" Delores asked

"Probably not. But I will send her home to mother alive and upright Sunday afternoon."

When David and Candy returned after locking up next door, the scaffold was done, all the walls were painted off white in the auditorium, the sand colored walls had faux painting of orange and pale red in it, and a Mural was taped off for the wall opposite the tub. This room was not scheduled for anything, in fact it may not be used for some time, but David wanted it in his catalog.

Tomorrow the contractors would move the gallows back to the wall and bolt it in place and install the trap door and the overhead beam. The only person interested in hanging at this time that David knew was Carol. And he intended to keep her away from that for a long time. But some others had expressed interest.

Marty Burke and Gus had made 4 deliveries already and were going to do an early load to complete orders in 11 other stores on Friday. With their return, everyone was available for a meeting in the reception room after six o'clock.

"Ok, everyone. Listen up. Next door's bottom area is finished, and I am going to have the contractors knock out walls on the third floor tomorrow and open up the floor to a larger guest and play area. It will be sort of a rumpus room. That will still leave us with eight rooms over the other warehouse, as well at the eight we have here. I will need both security and some oversight on Saturday Night. So it is open for overtime Saturday night, 5 PM to Noon Sunday. Barbara I will need you for Saturday evening for about two hours to do blood and urine tests of all participants if you don't mind."

"Not a problem. So long as I am home by eleven o'clock."

"Marty Burke, this is open to you as well, but you have to have permission and blood work first. No exceptions."

Some catcalls and laughter followed that. But everyone agreed that supervision of an orgy was too good of a job to pass up."

"Ladies, we are being told that twenty men will be in attendance for Saturday night's festivities. So you are invited as well." David continued.

"Now Sunday Morning we are going to service at least one and possibly six of these young ladies on our new Guillotine, compliments of M&H's trash dumpster. So Saturday afternoon you bozos will earn your keep by helping to assemble this little piece of wooden wonder for it's debut here at Findlay's. Chris, you are the master of ceremonies for those Sunday sunrise services. We might even find some pigeons to fly around once the blade drops." David continued.

"David, bird shit is a contaminant that you cant' get rid of. We need to keep this clean. " Carl said.

"Ok, no pigeons. We have an old style wheelbarrow to load the bodies onto and take back to processing through the back door from stripping. We can load the carcass through the auxiliary door into processing. We will have to clean up some more and I want to put plastic down across the stripping room to keep blood off of the carpet."

"We cutting them naked or clothed?" Marty asked. "Makes a difference in the mess if we do them naked. Clothing is ruined from decapitation so we won't be able to re-use it."

"That is something we will negotiate Saturday with the Princess being chopped. Now we are going to have guests for the ceremony on Sunday, and we want believable and favorable press on this. These people will blog about this as well, so if we make them sick it should not be due to anything excessive we do. I will make sure our scene is in contract. And the volunteers are to be given outs all the way up to when the blade drops."

"Honey" Margaret interrupted" one of the anxious ladies is Delores's niece. She asked if we could find a way to keep her off the block Sunday. She is Katie McCoy, the little blonde who was talking about drawing straws."

"Ok. You and Helen and Candy come up with some idea on how to sidetrack her. Barbara do we have anything that we can administer to keep her asleep?"

"David. Drugging a young woman is unethical. But I will see what I can do. You are having trouble sleeping right?" Barbara replied with a wicked smile.

"Right. Now we have another issue on the table. We may, and I mean may, have our first intentional short-term goat. Most of you have talked to Cindy Carmichael, or seen her. Her mother wants to do a substitution of some sort for her daughter, and the kid seems like she would benefit from a pass. This was her first lottery and she was picked. Before I offer this, I want to set some standards. One, none of you is being traded for her. I would term her tomorrow myself before I let any of you go. Carol, this especially means you."

Carol smiled back at David at that and said, "Love you too, dear."

"You can love him," Margaret said. "You just can't keep him."

"Thank you ladies. Second item. This is a one-week extension. If we don't have a legal means of sending this woman home alive a week from Saturday she goes home in boxes or hung up. And we tell her that repeatedly during the week so there are no surprises for her come next Saturday. Candy, do you agree?"

"Sure. I can understand. She had none of her shit in order when we went over the questionnaire. That will at least let her get that in order."

"Good. Now any new business from any of you?" David asked.

"Are our guests catering their own food and drink Saturday, or are we doing it?" Helen asked.

Blank stares from Margaret, Carol, and David gave Helen a laugh. "Ok. We are going to have twenty to thirty people here Saturday night from late night into Sunday morning and on to noon and we have not thought about food, drink, wine and booze?"

"Well, dear, you have us at a miss. I appoint you chief caterer on this." David said with a smile.

"I may be chief caterer on this, but I appoint Margaret chief chef and anyone else to help with service. If they are coming here Saturday Morning, we need to get food orders in and figure out menu and service times. As well as getting more cooking utensils in here. Probably do buffet style in reception first with hot plates somewhere else."

"Helen, you are in charge. Your wish is our command."

"Speak for yourself buster. This bossy bitch has sent me around the corner a lot" Margaret said.

"Well, you are the one with the car keys. And you can put on clothes."

"There is that." Margaret said with a smile.

"Boss," Nancy interjected. "We have a full day tomorrow. Looks like we have sixty" coming in for service and another twenty-one coming in for early intake discussions for next week. Not to mention some who want to make an appointment for intake on Saturday and a few curiosity seekers."

"I expect it will get worse before long. If Sunday is a success, the blogs will be viral again. Ok folks. Looks like a busy day tomorrow. Is there anything else that needs doing?"

"I have medical supplies coming in. Should be here tomorrow afternoon." Barbara said.

"Uniform rentals needed for Marty Burke. And if we are doing Saturday too we need to get a few. Do we need costumes for Sunday?" Marty asked.

"We will work that out in contracts Saturday." David said. "People, I want to thank all of you for your efforts today. I know we are used to this being a light day, but we got a lot done. What was the tally?"

"Sixty eight with fifty sold whole. Those were choice or prime. The remainder were boxed and delivered to Human Pet foods."

"Wow. That was a lot. We have enough freezer space?" David asked anxiously.

"We do. Human Pet is leaving us a trailer here. So we don't have to store for them. They want to swap out every two to three days."

"At this rate it may be every day. I will ship to them before I deal with spoilage."

"Got you boss. " Marty Rodgers said. "Other than that, we are good."

"Marty. Do you think we need any additional help?" David asked his steward.

"We might need another one or two. Have to check with the hall."

"Just remember, they have to get along with everyone and no attitude. No offense Marty Burke but I don't care for anyone that was at H&S. They probably have a lot of bad habits we don't need."

"Understood Mr. F. And I agree. We will look around." Marty said

"Get one or two part timers. We will vet them out and if they work out we can make one full time." David continued.

Marty nodded thinking that he had a bit of a job to do. Most men wouldn't fit in easily. The Goats here were now a lot more in charge then he had ever heard of. And it worked. Some men wouldn't adapt to that very well.

"Ok folks, unless there is some new business, this meeting is adjourned. Punch the clocks before you go upstairs, guys. I aint paying you to get laid."

With gentle gaffes' and kidding, the group broke up. David drew Candy aside before leaving with Margaret and said, "You're in charge of security. Any of the guys give you a hard time, call me."

"No problems there boss. Everyone treats me well. We have Jim, Paul and Jim and Mark coming over. Should be a full house. I talked Carl into staying the night too." Candy said with an impish smile.

"Aha sweet youth. Enjoy.

David and Margaret were joking and laughing as they went home. They had forgotten entirely that Margaret had a houseguest at home.

-------

House Guests education

Christine had been busy all day today. Finding that David's liquor cabinet was not locked, she poured a few good drinks during the day to toast her good fortune. After reading and following the Blogs from today, she was really happy she went to Findlay's yesterday. And Carol was a godsend. I have to find some way to do something to express my appreciation. Soon.

This whole "Goat" thing was confusing. Evidently David had kept a few people out of the slaughter line for his own reasons. Looking back, Christine remembered that David was the only man she had seen all day. So who ran his shop?

Her husband was not pleased when she called him during the afternoon to let him know she was still alive and well. I think he expected to buy me as a steak, she thought to herself. And that damn near happened.

She had thought about doing her own blog about how Findlay's had treated her. But she didn't know what the repercussions of that would be. Better to enjoy her good fortune and not push it.

David and Margaret came home to an energized woman who was slightly tipsy and very affectionate. "David, Margaret and I had the most wonderful evening, and I would love to do the same with you" Christine said when they came through the door.

"We would both love to, but could you give us a chance to rest a few minutes. It has been a very stressful day."

"Really? What happened?" Christine asked.

"Well, sometimes things happen that we can't help. And there are some twists in the business that we are exploring that are a little unexpected."

"Tell me. Now that I am not a prospect, I can be curious without panic. Sort of detached." Christine said.

"I know exactly what you mean. When I passed my date, I went through a roller coaster myself. And then things settled into the strangest pattern."

"I'll say" David interjected. "From no involvement to totally involved."

"So what is happening?" Christine asked.

"Well for starters, H&S have been shut down for thirty days while they clean up. Which has put everyone else on overload. Especially us."

"So you have to do more processing?"

"Yes. And it is better stock so we are making inroads into the human meat market instead of animal foods."

"Well, that can't be bad for income." Christine said.

"No. But that also means that the MAB has thrown open assignments to the selectees. Which is good for us in that we now have lots of people asking to get to our facility." David said. "It is going to put a strain on our process. Probably need to bring in more people if this pace keeps up. But I don't want to change the process line as it is far better then it was before and I think I like it" David said.

"And I find I am liking it too. Even if I do have to learn from a 19 year old how to do a better job of slitting throats." Margaret said.

"Really?" Christine asked with a stunned look on her face.

"Yes. I can tell you now. Candy and I term almost all of the women who come in. It is quieter, safer for the livestock, and they are not as upset while they bleed out."

"I see." Christine said. Working hard to get her head wrapped around the idea, she continued. "So you would have killed me yesterday too?"

"Me or Candy. Either way one or the other of us would have done you."

"How do you do it?" Christine asked.

"Quick. Painless. You feel a pinch for a moment. Then one of us sits with you and talks while you bleed out and loose consciousness. When your heart stops we open you up and field dress you, then Carl grades your carcass, and we decide how to cut you up. Or we send you out whole. That is new since today." Margaret continued with a smile on her face.

"And how long have you been doing this?"

"Since last Friday. Tomorrow is my anniversary. And I did my hundredth today at about three o'clock."

"I think I can use another drink," Christine said.

"Now dear, don't fret. You are outside of that thanks to the diligent observations of my husband."

"Yes. And I am so going to suitably reward the two of you. Right after this next drink."



-------

Chapter 13



Friday Morning, An Anniversary

David awoke between two women in a large wet spot of their joint making. He was tired, smelled like sex, and needed a shower and coffee.

I never used to be this tired, David thought to himself. Or this fucked out.

Extracting himself from a sleeping Margaret and Christine he wandered into the shower. Thirty seconds later he was under the water scrubbing off the remainder of last night's celebration. While shaving he noticed a female body come into the bathroom and sit on the commode. Shortly thereafter, having finished his shave and smelling human, David opened the door to see Margaret standing there holding a towel.

"Hurry up fella. You have a busy day ahead of you."

"I know" David responded. "And my six sluts will be too. Sixty to process and twenty-one more to interview means that everyone will be busy. Probably need another computer or two. You and Candy will be running your Asses off."

"Not really. Total of fifteen trips means about four hours on short schedule. Hour break and we are done at three o'clock. We don't really start until nine o'clock. We do have to stop to pick up lunch stuff on the way thought."

"Can I help?" Christine said standing in the door. "I don't know what all I can do but I can at least talk."

"You can. But you have to be naked and in an orange collar" David said. "No clothed people in the front office."

Smiling, Margaret added, "That is right. Did you notice how relaxed everyone was talking about us and not about what was going on?"

"Funny. I didn't think about it. It was odd, but after a few moments it was not unusual." Christine replied, after thinking for a few moments.

"It also keeps things settled when we have you strip in the stripping room ahead of processing" Margaret continued.

"Well, what else can I do?" Christine asked, not really wanting to be spending time naked.

"GROCERY SHOPPING" both David and Margaret said at the same time.

"Salad and Pasta fixings. Don't get anything heavy or meaty. Faux crab and seafood work best with salad and pasta. Light lunches. And get about a case of white wine. That worked well for the afternoon yesterday." Margaret said.

"How much?" Christine asked.

"At least enough for fifty. Bring it by at about eleven o'clock."

"Ok." Christine answered. This had to not be profitable, Christine thought to herself. But it was sure nice to do it that way.

After stopping at the bagel shop on the way and having picked up milk, crème and regular bread on the way to the office, Margaret broached a subject with David.

"I have to hand it to you, David. You handled Carol great"

"How else could I? She is getting a bad case of the crazies. Jim said to me that I had to keep her involved or she would get depressed and go crazy."

"We can do that. Once you got her thinking about legal angles for Cindy, she settled down. We might have to break your one-week rule with Cindy to give Carol a chance."

"Problem is, once we go past that time, it is almost impossible to term them. We get attached and how to you kill someone you are attached to?" David asked.

"You give them to your wife or Candy and have them do it. That girl would slit my throat if you asked. And if the time comes I will do her too." Margaret said calmly.

"Glad you can. I get sentimental about that shit." David said. "Women are harder I guess."

"Damn right and don't you forget it." Margaret said with emphasis.

Getting to the office, David saw that Carl, Gus, and Marty Richardson's cars were all there already. David called Candy to buzz them in, and was waiting at the door with armloads of groceries when the door opened by Carl, wearing pants and shoes and no shirt.

"David, I have to say your rules are going to get me killed. But a great way to go." Carl said by way of greeting.

"Girls wear you out?" Margaret asked.

"Wore us all out. Mark, Jim and Peter just left. I think we are going to have to have some closet or locker space here for our next overnights."

"Put that on the union issues list. Lockers for overnights for members getting laid." David said with a laugh.

"Right. I will have Marty circulate that around the local next week. Not."

Entering the kitchen, David saw Helen at her usual place (front of stove) in her usual uniform (naked except for collar and apron) doing her usual cooking of peppers, onions and eggs. The bacon was cooking in the microwave and the smell of fresh coffee was in the air.

"Oh, bagels" Candy said from the table. "Did you get lots of crème cheese?"

"Yes my little eating machine" Margaret replied.

"Glad you got bagels. We are almost out of bread. Oh, you got some. Good." Helen continued as she stirred breakfast.

"Hey boss" Nancy said from another table. With her coffee in one hand and looking at the screen. "We picked up some overnight committed traffic. We had sixty yesterday, but we have eighty now committed. Plus the twenty one from before is now thirty for intake and interviews."

"Shit." Margaret said." That is twenty trips. That is five hours constant. Still not full capacity if we work it right."

"We are going to have to nudge Marty to get some more butchers." Carl said,

"Well wake him up and tell him," David said.

"He is awake. It is just that Liz has him locked into her when last I saw and didn't want to let him go."

"Shit, he won't be worth anything," David laughed.

"Who says?" Marty said from the doorway. "I admit that she tried. But eventually I ran her down."

"Good. So we have eighty now coming in today. I don't want to change anything, but do we have the ability to get two more butchers to do field dress and clean out as well as cut up?"

"Might be one or two. I will call in to the hall and see if the two I am thinking of are available. You won't want them in front office, right?"

"That is right. If I could get another female cutter, I would do that. I think Margaret has shown us all the way".

"I think so too. Find another one and we will unionize her."

After breakfast, all naked goats went down to reception, followed by Carl, Marty and David carrying drinks, glasses and snacks. The uneaten bagels went there too. After setting up, all of the men left for their respective offices and process areas. Promptly at eight thirty, the door opened and the first group of women entered. Of the twenty-three that came in, sixteen were scheduled. Helen, Margaret, Elizabeth and Candy quickly got forms distributed to the first group, while Carol and Nancy worked with the remainder to get the others settled and the intakes started.

Carol was surprised to see Sue Barksdale and Cathy Cox here. Sue was another attorney, while Cathy was a reporter. Neither of them it turns out, had been selected.

"Good morning, ladies" Carol said in her best lawyer voice. "And what can I do for you?"

"Carol" Sue began, "This is not a formal inquiry yet."

"Come back when it is." Carol answered firmly. "Petition the court under rules of discovery and then call me back."

"Just a second." Cathy interjected. "We are getting off on the wrong foot. What Sue means is that there are a lot of unfounded allegations regarding the Findlay operation that we would like to see clarified."

"Cathy, if you want to stay and talk, I am sure I can get someone to speak with you both on and off record. That is a public relations issue. Sue, you are here on discovery. As such your inquiries should go through the formality of orders from the court."

"Damn, Girl. That smacked me so hard my nose is bloody. You didn't used to be so tight assed." Sue replied, trying to get things onto a friendlier ground.

"I wasn't legally dead but waiting for it before. Tends to change your perspective. You can have anything that Cathy has permission to print for free. Other than that, you are either representing a client or looking to find one."

Sue had to think about this. She had intended to ask a few innocuous and leading questions, but finding Carol here threw her off. Being recognized she had tried to play the nice lawyer card. That didn't work. Time to shift tactics.

"So, Carol. If I did want to pre-select here, whom would I talk with?" Sue asked.

"Are you asking as a Lawyer or a woman?" Carol replied.

"Woman."

"Ok. So here is what we do to look into that. First we bring up the Population Selection Board Web site. Let me show you." Popping the browser link, Carol opened it up to the PSB. "First we select Options. Here we have the listing of the three current Chicago houses. Notice that H&S is greyed out for the moment we check mark Findlay Processing and it asks you for your SSN and PIN. Sue, do you want to enter yours or Cathy do you want to enter yours?" Carol asked.

Both women had the wide-eyed look of caught in the headlights. "Does this mean we volunteer?" Cathy asked.

"Absolutely not. This is a preference indicator in case you are either selected or volunteer. That is done through the Lottery board. That was changed last year after the other news article. Poor woman didn't know that she had been volunteered without her knowledge. An amendment was driven through the legislature based on that. I worked on that legislation." Carol said with some pride.

"Ok. Let me then. You wouldn't lie to another officer of the court." Sue said. After entering her SSN and PIN, Sue saw a banner message that said, "You are selecting your preference of a termination location if you are either selected by the lottery board or if you volunteer. This in no way change your assignment or guarantee that the processer will have capacity to handle you on your due date. If you agree, please select yes."

"So does this commit me? " Sue asked, curious now about this turn of events.

"No, it indicates preference. It is not binding on you or us. All it really does is establish a slot."

Sue clicked Yes, then Yes again for a confirmation, and then saw a banner message that said that a confirmation of her choice was to be sent to her. If she changed her mind at a later date she was encouraged to review quarterly in the event of business changes in the area.

"Ok. Next stop is the Selection board web site. Here we check status to verify that you are within the age range and to review your actual status."

A short time later Sue was looking at her status in the Selection board. She was surprised to see "Volunteer pending confirmation" in her name. "What the hell?" She asked.

"Hmm. looks like we should do a review on that. Mind if I drive a second?" Carol asked.

Following a now familiar set of checks Carol soon found that Sue's sister in law had started to nominate her for a selectee volunteer. For the next week. Looking at the acceptance page in a View Only page, she carefully printed the content of the page to give Sue copy for her records to take home with her. "I think you and your husband need to have a talk about this. If you had clicked accept on any ghosted pages or if you had accepted any certificates then you would be on the way. At least you could come here so we could straighten this out."

"Carol, how often does this happen?" Sue asked in a shocked voice.

"This is the second time this week. You are a good lawyer, so I would think you would be able to look into this a little deeper for yourself. We found one this past week that was actually committed. We were barely able to avert that one."

"Can you give us any particulars?" Cathy asked, smelling a story.

"Sorry. Client confidential. And Sue, you can buy lunch."

"Shit. I will buy a lot more than that. Do you guys check everyone?"

"It is part of the check list. Here, Let me take you both through the whole list."

For the next 10 minutes Sue and Cathy went through the entire checklist. Everything from closing bank accounts to notification of the utilities and pet adoption was listed with both check boxes and lines for information. Cathy was surprised at the depth of the information. There were a lot of things she would not have thought of.

"You surely do cover all the end of life business," Cathy said.

"Yes, we do. And if you were a selectee then from here we would proceed through processing." Carol continued.

"Could I look into that?" Cathy asked.

"I don't think so. David has been pretty firm on this rule. Once you leave here all of your outside business is pretty much finished."

"What do you do with these forms?" Cathy asked.

"You bring these with you and they go home to your address listed for next of kin along with the clothes and any personal items you had with you today. I would ask if you had driven your car here so we could arrange for it to be placed in storage until it is picked up. Had one of those on Monday. No one else would bring her down."

"No taxi service?" Sue said in a teasing voice.

"Sue that would be seen as coercion. We don't do that here. Nor do we intimidate. Do either of you feel that way?" Carol asked carefully.

"No. I sure don't feel that way. Where are those women going?" Cathy asked seeing four women at a table getting up and following Candy toward the hallway.

"They are going to the Exam rooms for blood tests and then to the restrooms for urine samples for pregnancy testing. All in accordance with the current law. All medical information is confidential. The main issue is to review grading and catch any male children."

"Such a small group. Is that normal?"

"Cathy, we are getting into an operations area that I would rather have external affairs and press release handle."

"Ok. Who does that?"

"Good question" Carol thought to herself. "I believe that Elizabeth would be able to help you with that. Elizabeth, could you come here for a moment?" Carol said, raising her voice. "I will work with your team if you like."

"No problem. My girls here are just finishing up their questionnaires. Margaret will be up in a few minutes to work with them. How can I help you?" Elizabeth asked.

"Elizabeth, this is Sue Barksdale, an attorney and Cathy Cox from UIN News. Sue was here initially to do an ambulance chase, and we saved her from some problems. Cathy is trying to fill her show with whatever you tell her so be careful. Ladies, I will leave you in Elizabeth's competent hands."

"Elizabeth, do you all do intake operations like this for all women you process?" Cathy asked.

"Everyone since I have been here. That is about a week."

"Really? How did you come to be here?" Cathy asked.

"I was selected. So was everyone else here. Except Margaret. She is the wife of the owner. Helen interviewed me when we were arriving, and asked if we would put off our processing to help here for a while. We had a talk with David and so we agreed to help out here for a while."

"Was there any coercion?" Sue asked. Dreading the answer." Was there any implied exchange of favors?"

"OH yes. We got our fantasy ending if we want, and we get to help people here as a part of our sticking around. I think David is one of the most unusual men I have ever met and definitely not what I would think would be in this business. This is just a pause on the way out that lets us do some things we want to do, and help a few people while we are here. We helped re-tool the questionnaire based on our own experience, and that has made some real improvement."

"So, How are your peers terminated?" Cathy asked, suspecting she had built enough trust to ask that question and thinking that a story was in there somewhere.

"Trade Secret. It is performed in compliance with USDA guidelines and observed by USDA, and with absolute minimum stress and discomfort. No damage to the meat and no taint." Liz replied with a straight face.

"Really, you can tell me." Cathy said, trying to work the lead.

"Actually, it is easer to show you than to describe it. Come back when you are selected and we will show you." Elizabeth said, with a smile.

"Well, I guess that is it then. Elizabeth, I want to thank you for your time. I guess we should leave you to get back to work." Cathy said getting ready to stand up.

"Cathy, Don't you want to check your status as well? You don't want any surprises in your future, do you?"

Sitting back down, Cathy went through the same series of actions that Sue had, and found the same result. Her Network had done her volunteer status. Shocked at the information on the screen, Elizabeth pointed out that the pending acceptance letter had been sent to her inbox for her personal account and her business account.

"You might want to check that when you get home. Letters of pending notification sometimes get qualified after sixty days automatically. And you might want to look into a job change."

Horrified, Cathy pulled out her personal communicator terminal and found the validation e-mail in her junk file. Elizabeth showed her how to send the rejection back to the Selection board and copy it to her own stored folder. "Now you have to do that when you get to work as well. That is because it was sent to both addresses. And copy the rescind as well." Elizabeth said.

"I wonder how many other women have had this done to them?" Cathy asked.

"We can't speculate. But I can say that we look at everything here as part of intake. And you two are both exceptional. Makes me almost think you were planted" Elizabeth said with a cocked eyebrow.

Sue's flushed face and Cathy's red one belied that suspicion. "Speaking for myself, I can only say that I would not want to be placed in jeopardy like that for any story," Cathy said.

"I didn't think so. But some people will go to great lengths."

"I have a question," Sue asked looking around. "Weren't there a lot of people here earlier?"

"Yes. There were." Elizabeth replied.

"We didn't even notice" Cathy said.

"Yes, it is quiet like that." Elizabeth agreed.

In the stripping room, Candy was dealing with a problem that would not have been good press. One of the women was four months pregnant with a girl. No avoiding the process. She had broken down in the lab once the sex was determined and was quietly sobbing. Candy asked Christina to keep her in holding and she would come back for her after she finished the other three of her string. Coming back from processing she could hear the woman sobbing in the holding room. Margaret had her string ready to move into processing and asked Candy to go and take her four on while she worked with the Pamela to help her calm down.

"I can't believe this is happening to me." Pamela said. "It is so unfair. I have miscarried three times and when I finally get to hold on, this happens to me. And she won't even get a chance to be born."

Sitting down next to her, Margaret put her arms around Pamela's shoulders and let her cry. After about twenty minutes, sensing that Candy had completed her cycle and was coming downstream again, she started to get Pamela' to talk with her. Quietly drawing all of the stories and grief out of the woman, finally after about a half an hour, she got her to stand up.

"I must look horrible," Pamela said." My hair is a mess and I am a sight."

"I think you will feel better after a shower." Margaret said. "I know I do."

"Do we have any on this side?" Pamela asked.

"No. They are in the processing section next door."

"Will anyone see me like this?"

"No, dear. Just me. But we want to hurry to get there before the next group comes in."

"Will you show me where?" Pamela asked, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Sure. Just follow me. We will get there and clean you up, and make you pretty again."

Margaret hit Pamela with two charges of the ESD platform. The second one as soon as the capacitor had recharged. She stayed with Pamela the entire time she was bled out. Opening her abdomen up she saw the still moving uterus in the front of Pamela's stomach behind and below the naval. Pulling it out and setting it aside until it stopped moving, she continued to clean Pamela out of organs and then roll her body (now a carcass) down the rollers to Chris and Marty's workstations. Before she left she dropped the no longer moving uterus into the dumpster along with lung and other rejected tissues.

"I guess that is what Chris didn't like to do" Margaret thought to herself as she left processing to wash up on her way back to reception.

David was next door watching the finishing of the new showplace. The gallows scaffolding had been placed against the wall and bolted in place. Faux wood supports had been nailed around the scaffolding base to give the appearance of a wooden structure. The trap door was installed and released from the front with a simple pull lever.

The smaller platform had faux wooden panels around the base to hide the steel and the four steps were wooden like the thirteen on the gallows. David had borrowed a portable grinder and worked on the edges of the Guillotine blade to remove all nicks and bends, and to start to put a sharp edge on it. They would assemble that tomorrow when the pace was slackened.

Christine had dropped lunch by at eleven o'clock to see that the crowd in the reception room was almost capacity. There were forty women doing their questionnaires, and talking with everyone. They descended on the pasta and rice like a flock of locusts.

Hearing that David was next door, she went over there to see what was going on. The sight of the gallows was a little terrifying. Seeing the other platform with a few pieces of the base in place was not so bad. Until she recognized what David was doing with the portable grinder.

My God, what is this? Christine thought to herself. Speaking aloud she said "David, I brought something for you to eat."

"Thanks Christine. What do you think of our chamber of horrors?" David asked, as he gestured around.

"I think it is better that I don't attend." Christine said, trying to quiet her churning stomach.

"Nancy said something to me and I thought it was a good idea." David said. "Could you get me a dozen wicker baskets about the size of an office trashcan? Not real expensive ones but something rustic. They can't be more then sixteen inches tall and should be at least twelve inches at the bottom. Square if you can. Also a dozen different scents for clothes drawers. Things like Vanilla, Sandalwood, and Lilly, that sort of thing. The sort of perfumes you would have on clothes and in drawers."

"Ok. What for?"

"Nancy said a little known fact of the 1800s in France was that they would scent the baskets that caught the heads with the scents of flowers. Helped hide the smell of blood."

"Now that is a piece of trivia I didn't need to know" Christine replied.

"Before you go, let me show you something"

Following David and expecting to find a rack and thumbscrews in the room at the rear, she was surprised to see a room with indirect lighting framing a large tiled Roman tub. The rear wall had a large area marked off for painting, but the end walls were a sandstone color with streaks of red orange and green as though an old wall.

"So what is this?" Christine asked. "A hot tub? A drowning pool?"

"Sort of. Early Romans would sit in a tub of very warm water and open their veins as a means of dying. Sip some wine, eat some cheese, in a hot tub that would let them bleed out."

"So you have 1900s American cowboy, 1800s France, and early Rome? This is your Fantasy shop?"

"Actually it is. We have eight requests for fantasy decapitations and five for hanging. And we have not even talked about this yet."

"You charging extra for choices?"

"We will. We have a stage play for Sunday morning, if you want come and attend."

"If you don't mind, I think I will pass. I am a little curious as to how you did this."

"Found out that the condemned Guillotine from H&S was being thrown out. I had Marty bring it over here. We scrubbed it down and we will use it on limited production for special occasions. The gallows was something for one of my goats. She asked that she be termed that way. Since then I have had four other requests. The tub was for someone else, but I am pretty sure that there will be others looking for that sort of painless departure."

"You mean that you did this for your own Goats? David you are changing the economic paradigm. Moving from Meat to Meat and Service."

"I kind of figured that. Margaret gave me the idea. She said that there should be some choices. And the whole questionnaire and other ideas were hers and Candy's and a few others. So you don't want to come to our Gala on Sunday?"

"David, I think that once I get things settled I probably won't be here again at all. No offense"

"None taken. But I do want you to do some shopping for us please. And keep the receipts. It is part of the expense of the extravaganza. Shoot, I forgot to check if I needed a permit."

So David spent the next two hours going from one department to another in the city government and finally discovered that.

IF he had a Public exhibition, it would require a permit. And probably would be denied due to the nature of the exhibition. OSHA and fire marshal issues would hold things up for three weeks.

If He sold or distributed alcohol to people for fee, he needed a liquor license. If he gave it away, as in a party, he could not recoup the costs without a state Liquor Tax permit and license. He could dispense people their own beverages IF they brought them.

Food was another entire story. Giving it away worked as part of the party, IF he could get the health department to approve the preparation area. A butcher shop did not constitute suitable preparation area. But a Delicatessen did. Fortunately a butcher shop had more stringent standards then a delicatessen. So he applied for a delicatessen license at the shop and was given a temporary thirty-day license. That let him get the food sold. So he would have high priced food and free drinks.

Fortunately it was going to be Beer. Hard liquor was not in keeping with the time period.

But he would have to have a bar for the overnight and that would have to be stocked.

"I actually might not make money on this thing," David thought to himself.

Looking at the clock, David was shocked to see that it was five o'clock. Where had the day gone?

Leaving his office he saw Margaret walking up to reception. "How are you doing, Honey?"

"Pretty good. Had one that was a little rough. Got to me. But we can talk later."

"How many done?" David asked.

"I honestly don't know. We need to check with Helen. She was doing production management today. And she took two strings down herself. She had them right behind me while I went through first. Damn woman kept me cutting. I felt like Chris for a while."

Opening the door to the reception, David saw that the room was empty except for Goats. Candy was sitting at a desk with Helen, and Nancy, Carol and Elizabeth were clustered at the other desk sharing what appeared to be a beer.

"There is a cold one waiting for you, Marg. David get the woman a chair. " Helen said.

Sensing everyone quiet and tired, David went and brought two beers back and dragged a chair to let Margaret sink into it.

"David, You need more Goats" Carol said.

"We popped 80 today, and took in interviews for 25 for Monday in addition to the ones scheduled. We may have as many as today."

"And we had reporter girl and lawyer girl in here snooping" Carol said. "Lawyer girl was shocked that her husband volunteered her and she was a stroke away from accepting."

"Reporter girl found out that her paper did a volunteer for her as well. And sent the revocation to both e-mail addresses. If she didn't check both, one may have timed out and she would be here." Elizabeth said.

"We need more goats." Candy said. "We did twenty trips today. And had three balks. Two were borderline violent and the third was a mess of tears."

"Any of us get hurt?"

"No" Candy said. "I had two that wanted to balk, but I got them onto the turnstile. The last one Margaret handled."

"She was four months pregnant with a girl. Emotions and all that nonsense all crowed up in her. Finally got her to go to take a shower. " Margaret said. After taking a swallow" I couldn't blame her. I was upset too. I can see why Chris hates that part of the job."

"I got license for three more but I am not bringing them in without all of you liking them. So you all have to agree. Even if it is short term" David said.

"I hear you boss, but we did a lot of work today. I for one am too tired to Fuck. To keep this pace up we need help." Candy said while draining her beer.

"Well, we have tomorrow to do some interviews, plan the party and then enjoy a night of bacchanalia. So I think pizza and beer and rest are in order. Someone order them." David said. "Margaret, call Christine and she can fetch."

David left his crowd in reception while he went back to processing to see how well things were cleaning up.

Opening the door, he saw Carl stamp the last flank with a USDA Prime stamp, and roll it toward the cooler. Chris was washing and scrubbing the floor while Gus and Marty were cleaning up tools. Marty looked up and said, "You better figure on at least one more guy if we are going to have days like this. Of course, a lot of them are wholes with no cut-up, so it makes things easier. Still eighty is a lot for us for one day."

"Yes, but it could be worse" Carl said. "You guys would be here all night if it was pieces and parts. David you had 35 primes and 20 choice in this lot. Plus a lot of good quality for chops and roasts. This was a hell of a good day."

"Well, having M&S closed down won't last forever. I am sure that they will be back up soon. So this won't be a permanent thing. Still the revenue is good for the time being. When you can, call Margaret and give her your Pizza order. We are posting it now."

Christine came in with two cases of beer and four pizzas. Coming into reception she saw the entire team in clean clothes sitting at the front desks waiting for her. Sitting and listening for an hour while the group unwound from the day she couldn't help but think that these people were not what she thought of. There was not a lot of stories or gadfly talk. Just about everything but what they did was topic of conversion. Including Candy being too young to drink. "I am not going out, I am not driving, and I sure am not going to operate machinery. So I think getting a little drunk is good for me."



-------

Chapter 14



Saturday Interviews, Contracts, and a Party

David awoke by himself. Christine had grabbed the guest room and Margaret had decided to stay at the office overnight to have a Hen Night with the girls. She was a little worried about the workload of Friday having impact on the other people. The load had been pretty extensive and while everyone was serviced, there were some signs of overload. Everyone wanted more goats to keep the program working, but David was afraid that anyone they added would change the mix.

The situation with Christine was interesting. She had been a good go for yesterday after the issues around her were resolved. And Nancy and Carol's story about the lawyer and the reporter gave him some worries that he may have sent some women down the process who were not supposed to be there. Tightening up the intake had found three, and two more that should be exceptions in his opinion. Now the goal was to find other women to waylay on the way down. He had eight collars. Margaret wore hers for no real reason except to be seen as part of the group. So he had three spares to staff up with.

Expense growth was minimal. All were supported externally except Nancy and Candy, and both were well worth their costs. In fact, he had to get a payroll deposit to Candy today. In her first week she had done as much as any other full time employee.

Business had turned almost completely around in one week. Time to pause and reflect, except that he was already a slug a bed, and had to get to the office to help with intakes and the contract for Jennifer's pageant.

Margaret had a couple of bad dreams during the night. The sight of the uterus she had cut out of Pamela kept coming back to her. After she awoke in the unassigned room the second time, she went downstairs to make some tea.

Waiting for the tea to brew, Margaret was thinking over the list that the girls had come up that the place needed to keep everyone healthy and happy, it looked as if gym equipment was going to be one of the key items. Another thing would be synchronization of everyone's periods. With so many women, it was going to probably be a natural identification sooner or later. Assuming everyone stayed.

That was the real worry. Helen and Carol were showing some signs of wanting to just get it over with. Nancy and Elizabeth were a little more cheerful. Candy was Candy. The mood swings of a teenager were no surprise to her, but the girl was remarkably stable.

Maybe we should do interviews with employment history? Margaret thought to herself with a laugh. Advertise for women to select us if they have specific skills and want to be indentured for a few months and then given the ending of their choice?

Somehow that would probably be illegal. Need to ask Carol about that. If she is going to be such a depressed slug, she should be responsible for finding her replacement. Margaret smiled at that thought. Telling Carol she could not leave until she found a replacement might get her to laugh.

Helen was the real problem for Margaret. Shrinks were a depressed bunch anyway, usually with their own problems. Helen had not had an active practice for a couple of years, and now was alternating from totally involved to totally depressed. There weren't many other places where a shrink only worked with clients who were going to die. Margaret found that she really did not want her best friend to disappear into the freezer.

"Good morning sunshine" Helen said to Margaret, startling her out of her revere. "What brings you down here so early?"

"Going over the stuff from yesterday. Got to get gym stuff in here. Burn off energy for some of us." Margaret answered.

"You know, Margaret, we all know you didn't have to be here. We appreciate it but we all realize you aren't really one of "us"."

"Well, maybe I am closer to you then you think. Helen, I want you around for a long time. I know that this is just temporary, but I want you to be patient until we can find something more permanent."

"Margaret, dear friend, you worry too much. I think I am pretty well adjusted to the situation here. Mark and I talked last night and I have seen my girls and you have given me an excellent chance to help people. And I don't have to worry about insurance forms or payment. For now I am doing ok. Carol is the one I am worried about."

"I am too. But I know you better then her so I am more worried about you."

"I hear you. But we need to keep Carol engaged. Thursdays challenge from David worked wonders for her. And her interfacing with Sue was good for her too. She was a damn good lawyer. She needs that kind of activity to keep her happy. " Helen said.

"Well, the challenges for helping Cindy should keep her busy for a few weeks at least. I doubt that she will come up with any strategy soon and I know better then to think she will quit." Margaret said with a rueful smile.

"Actually that is another thing. She is looking for loopholes for herself and us. Having sent home some of the women she has makes her a little depressed when she can send them and not herself or us."

"Well, we are all constrained by the law. Which she of all people should have an understanding," Margaret continued.

"I think she does. But lawyers have larger egos then most. And they feel anything someone can write they can get re-interpreted. So while she thinks that way, she is doing good. It is when she doesn't that she is in trouble."

"Well then, we will just let her think what she needs to think to get by. And keep her engaged whenever we can." Margaret said. "Besides, if she is successful we all benefit."

Conversations then turned to lighter things, and finally the empty stomachs demanded enough attention to stir both to action in the kitchen. The sounds and smells of which soon attracted the attention of the remainder of the crew now starting to stir upstairs.

Nancy came down first, followed closely by Candy. That girl wakes up early all the time and never in a bad mood Margaret thought to herself. She really is a jewel

'"How can I help?" Candy asked.

"I will start cooking if you can set the table." Margaret said. "Unless you rather cook?"

"I'm not good enough to do restaurant production yet. But I set a mean table." Candy said as she walked toward the dishes.

Breakfast was a production line. As soon as the women were finished, Chris, Marty and Barbara arrived. Yes, they would love breakfast. As soon as they finished, David arrived. And when he was finished eating, it was almost eight o'clock.

Going to his office and checking his calendar, David saw that Jennifer was due to get there at ten o'clock for contract review. Opening the mail was a different story. There were thirty-six applicants wanting to review both status and intake processes. And there were thirty-three additional for Monday. A notification from the MAB that Findlay processing was now listed for 80% human food and 20% pet food meant that he had to start to get the sales engine going.

That was Marty Burke's issue, David thought to himself. Let him work for his money.

Sue Barksdale sent a personal e-mail thanking David for his staff's attention to detail and promised that she would be happy to represent him in any Illinois court for a single dollar. She felt that she would be able to win with any case that Carol researched and that she would be an associate on any case that Carol would care to bring. Nice touch.

Cathy Cox's e-mail was more interesting. She announced that she was leaving UNI News and would be more then happy to work as a press agent for Findlay in any capacity that they felt they could use. She wanted to come back on Monday and talk about that.

Some people just can't thank you enough for saving their life, David thought

The other e-mail that caught David's attention was the notification that the MAB was no longer allocating assignments. Due to processor problems, they felt that the marketplace was the best solution to the issue of capacity management of terminations and that the various independent operators would be allowed to execute within the market. They would no longer get allocation notifications; they were leaving the appearance to the selectees while M&S was being sanitized.

That is going to impact the marketplace? David thought to himself. I wonder how that will be enforced.

Noting that it was almost eight thirty, David went down to reception to see what was the crowd. The sight of about fifteen women and a few men sitting with Helen, Carol, Nancy and Elizabeth greeted him. Margaret and Candy were nowhere to be found. Carol was talking with Janet Carmichael and her daughter. The conversation appeared to be pretty intense.

"I can't believe that the people at M&S were just going to process her right there and then. They said that they didn't have any retention or support operations. And that the would not trade Prime for dog food." Janet said.

"Well, I warned you. You are dependent on the kindness of strangers, my dear Scarlet"

"That "Gone with the Wind" stuff was ages ago, Carol. What will this owner of yours promise to me? And what guarantee do I have?"

"Nothing and nothing" David said, coming up behind Carol. "The only guarantee you get is that I back any deals my ladies in orange make. Without reservation."

"So you won't mind signing a contract?"

"I absolutely will not mind at all. But the contract will say that I reserve the right to terminate at any time at my convenience with no cause". David said, smiling.

"That is ridiculous." Jane said.

"That is the deal. Take it or go. It does not matter to me." David replied calmly

"Listen. I have been a business woman for a lot of years here" Jane began.

"Once again, it does not matter to me." David interrupted. "Get it clear. If Carol promises something, then it is my word. If she says take a hike, don't let the road hit you where the good lord split you. There are three places in town, one is closed, one wants your daughter on a stick and one is willing to help you. You are out of options. Carol, if this woman won't come to her senses, move on to another group" David said with finality.

Smiling and turning away, David left Carol to deal with this woman. He felt sure he had left her with the power card.

"Well, You wanted to talk to the boss." Carol said.

"Unacceptable" Carmichael began.

"So go." Carol said. "We close the doors at noon. On Monday your daughter is expired. If we have room for her Monday, then we do. If not, then take her to M&S and buy her piecemeal later. It is a Binary solution set."

Carol started to stand up, and saw that Cindy started to panic. "Shame the kid does not realize that at 18, she is now on her own. Well, she won't get any older if she does not get it now." Carol thought to herself.

"What guarantee do I have?" Jane began.

"My word. And David's word."

"That isn't enough." Jane repeated.

"It is for me," Cindy said. "Mom, you said it yourself. There are no choices. I would rather be here then dead. Wouldn't you rather have me here then dead? Today?"

"Daughter, it is the principal of it" Jane Carmichael explained.

"You're right." Carol interrupted. "And based on principal of your lack of trust I am telling you both to leave now. Go."

"But you have to give me something" Jane began.

"No. I don't. I am not selling anything. I am not buying anything. And I am tired of talking with you. Now if you don't mind I have work to do." Carol said

"Mom. You can go. I am staying. " Cindy said.

"You will follow me right now or I will drag you out."

"Cindy" Carol said. " Can I see your order document?"

Cindy handed the document over to Carol, who then looked at Janet Carmichael. "It seems in order to me. Are you reporting?" Carol asked Cindy directly.

"Don't answer that" Janet began.

"Yes. I am."

"Ok. Thank you Ms. Carmichael for bringing her in. You can leave now. Or be removed. Your choice."

Sensing defeat, Janet looked at Carol and asked, "Will she be safe?"

"For one week from today, yes. Beyond that, we will have to talk". Carol said.

"Can she call me?"

"Every day." Carol said. "But don't wear your welcome out."

"Call me, Cindy, please. Let me know you are Ok?"

"I will, mom. Honest." Cindy replied.

"Margaret will call you to get her sister's location and to talk with her. In the meantime, I think you need to get out of here."

Watching her mother leave, Carol drew a deep breath and then eased it out in a sigh. "Well, let's see what you have." She said to Cindy.

Candy, in the meantime, had come up to review what needed to be moved down the line and saw Carol and Cindy sitting together. Helen was talking with four older women and Nancy had two women and a man in a deep conversation. Elizabeth waved her hands to her from a table with three near the front.

Approaching the front table, Candy walked to Elizabeth and asked, "How can I help you?"

"Candy, these ladies are due here today and we have worked through the questionnaires. Seems that everything is in order and I was wondering if you could take them back to the exam rooms?"

"Sure, no problem. Ladies if you will bring your envelopes and follow me?" Candy said as she started leading toward the exam room hallway.

"Candy, Can you take Cindy here down to overnight while you are helping these ladies? Make sure Barbara gives her a complete workup." Carol asked as Candy went by.

"Sure. Let's go. Cindy, bring your envelope, please."

As normal, everything moved smoothly from exam, to restroom, to stripping. When in stripping, Candy left Cindy with Casey while she led the others into processing. Cindy noticed that it was a pretty slow process, with the showers and all. It took about ten minutes before the last woman went through the turnstile. About five minutes after the last one had gone through the turnstile, Candy came back through another door. Coming back over to Cindy, Candy talked with Christina about some shipment issues and then asked Candy to follow her to a room marked "Holding"

Once inside, Candy explained a few simple rules. Lie down, sleep, use the terminal or just read. But don't make any noise. In about three hours Candy would be back for her and take her to her dorm room.

"Where are the other women I came down with?" Cindy asked.

"They were dead when I left them. They are probably cleaned out and going to the parts table by now" Candy said.

"You're serious?" Cindy asked, in shock.

"Yes. Figure three minutes per, and I took them in intervals. So yes. It took a minute to get back up here after the last one died. Now they are parts or steaks." Candy calmly said.

"Shit. That was fast."

"Yep. I am pretty quick." Candy said.

"You mean you" Cindy asked.

"Yep I termed them. Takes about three minutes per if you do it our way. It is quick and painless. If I do say so myself."

"So how?"

"Today, you really don't want to know. If we make you a goat you will know. If we don't it is better you don't'. That way it is a surprise."

Sensing that this was probably good advice, Cindy meekly replied "Ok."

"I will be back for you later" Candy said. "Relax and enjoy."

It was a pretty boring period of time for Cindy sitting naked on a twin bed in the Holding room. She had a bottle of water and a toilet, and a terminal to access the web. But the uncertainty and hearing the people passing through the room outside were nerve wracking. Eventually the boredom and stress won over and she lay down. She wasn't used to being naked, so it was a little strange. But after an hour in holding, she did fall asleep.

David, in the meantime was watching the finishing touches being put on his theater next door. The Gallows was fully finished and bolted to the wall, the bleacher seats had been folded out and were being cleaned and refinished. The stairs going up to the gallows and to the platform were wide and solidly attached to the two structures, and handrails were placed up the steps to the gallows. There was a handrail along the ends, but not along the front, which was facing the bleachers. A long table with provisions for a sink and water was mounted along the front wall between the entry door and the roll up doors. Both were hidden from view with a movable divider wall. The front windows were reflective tinted to the outside so no one would see in.

At the rear was a hallway with a door and large window into the Roman Bath on the left and a large open room the same size on the right. At the end of the hallway was a double door leading back to storage and through there to the Production facility.

"Spread a little sawdust and some straw under these platforms and we look good." David thought to himself. Seeing that it was almost ten o'clock, he went back to the reception to see if his appointment was late.

Coming into reception, David was greeted by a strange sight. There was a collaboration of his "hens" and no clients. A few men were at one of the tables with job applications and Marty was talking with them in a group. Barbara and Christina were sitting with the Goats and David noticed that his wife was dressed.

"Well, ladies, how is everyone?"

"Well, darling, all of us are fine. " Carol answered.

"And all the rest have either gone home or are hanging in back." Helen said.

"Marty is interviewing men for part time work and we will be talking with them when he is finished. " Margaret said. " I have to go out and get some groceries for this mob and for tonight's party."

"And after the men are interviewed, I get to bring Cindy up for us to interview her" Candy said.

"Any issues? What is production today?"

"Sixteen in the cooler, Cindy in holding, lots filled out questionnaires to get things finished by Monday or Tuesday. Looks like a full Monday." Candy said.

'She is turning into a traffic director" Helen said.

"No. Production Manager" Carol said watching Candy's face get red.

"Overall Production manager" Nancy said while Elizabeth laughed along.

"We will just call her the hustler. " Margaret said, watching Candy get red.

"Ok so what else is going on?"

"David, One of the people Marty is talking to is the man that did Mary two months ago." Helen said.

"Ok. He's out. Anything else??"

Shaking heads at the table let David move toward the table where Marty was talking with the three men who were doing applications.

"Can I speak with you?" David asked.

Walking to the refreshment table, David told Marty that one of the people being interviewed was not acceptable to Helen, or Margaret.

"OK. I will file his application away. The older guy, Collinson, is from M&S. They were getting on him for being too slow. He said that they want people to do a woman field dress in under 3 minutes. We usually take 5 to 7 on a busy day, so he can keep up that pace."

"Use your judgment and let the girls in on the interview. They will be dealing with him as much as anyone else. Also we will be passing Cindy around for you guys to talk to later. I want you to tell me if you think she will fit in with the others. She may be here for a while depending on what Carol comes up with."

"Sure. Still working on keeping this place family?" Marty said with a smile.

"Absolutely. Why break what is working?"

Leaving reception, David went back to his office.

At ten o'clock, Jennifer and a trope of people came into reception, looking for Margaret. Seeing Carol, Jennifer approached and said' Ok, do we have planning today?"

"Oh yes, we have some plans for you. Let me buzz David and we can show you what we have and get your ideas."

"David, Your first party is here to see you and what we have available." Carol said when she called David.

"Be right there."

Coming into reception, David has brought along a pad of paper, sensing he would need it.

"Good Morning Jennifer. I see you brought your friends with you."

"No. These are my partners in crime. The friends and family will be here tomorrow. Well, what have you got for me?"

"I believe we have something that will titillate and amuse you." David said.

Sitting down, David was introduced to the followers, all of whom were requesting volunteer forms. Looking at Carol, David left it to her to get all of the information compiled on the seven young women who had come for the adventure of their lifetime.

Jennifer was extremely organized. She had provided a list of guests (46) as well as an order of ceremonies, and each of her friends had brought along wardrobe. There were to be lots of Wardrobe. And also requests for lots of snacks. Expecting to stay there until tomorrow, Jennifer was surprised to hear David say that she could go out and about and check in later. "Just like a hotel" David said.

"Ok. We could get a light dinner, do some dancing and get back here with friends before ten o'clock?"

"No problem. If you like we can take your things upstairs for the evening and I can show you the toy. We finished assembling it last night."

"Sounds like a plan." Jennifer said enthusiastically.

"Carol and Candy, why don't you show our guests through processing and then upstairs next door to the party room. Ladies, we have to get urine and blood tests first. I will have your stuff brought up to the rumpus room and we can organize that after we get the formalities out of the way."

Watching the girls leave down the hallway to examination, David called back to processing and said to Marty when he answered, "I need you guys to move some luggage up to the rumpus room next door. Probably you and Chris and Collinson and me to move everything. Yea, 7 women checked in for the night. You know how they are. Probably as least six bags of makeup."

Candy had Jennifer, Susan and Carla while Carol had Janet, Jessica, Katie and Carlie in two groups in the exam rooms. Barbara was her usual efficient self and all were ready in the twenty minutes needed to get the bags moved from reception up to the Rumpus room over the warehouse. Moving the two groups into the restroom for urine samples and then into Stripping was about another fifteen minutes where the troop was confronted with the need to strip.

"So, you aren't going to snuff us early are you?" Jennifer asked.

"No, dear. This is just usual processing. We strip you here so we can get personal belongings into boxes to ship back to your next of kin."

"I thought you just junked it."

"No. Not here. We check over your questionnaire again with you and make sure that you did everything, and that gets attached to the bag for shipping later."

"Wow. That is different "Janet said. "My cousin was converted last year and we got nothing. They told us that everything was thrown away."

"We do like to say we are different. Now we are going through that doorway and then up the stairs to the left. Or would you rather see the auditorium?"

"That would be cool" Jennifer said. "Get up and personal with it."

'Ok. First, Jennifer, pick up that basket. We can leave the rest here." Candy said.

Walking through the door and down a short hallway they came to a doorway into the warehouse area. The bleachers were extended, so they walked along the side and out across the middle of the floor to the opposite wall. The area was about ½ the size of a basketball court, with the guillotine platform close to the center. Behind it was the gallows, with no ropes set up yet.

"Wow. This is like a theater set." Jennifer said. "Only I bet that blade is real."

"That would be a valid assumption," Candy said with a laugh. "Your basket goes here."

"So, That is where my head falls, huh?" Jennifer said with a nervous laugh.

"Yep. Here, let me show you something" Candy said as she reached down and picked up some bottles. "Sniff this."

"Scent samples. Do you have Rosewater?" Jennifer asked.

"Yes, do you want any combinations?"

"How about Cinnamon. I love cinnamon". Jennifer said.

"We have apple, maple, pumpkin, here. Cinnamon."

"Can we combine them?"

"Which ones?" Candy asked.

"Maple and Cinnamon." Jennifer said. "Like breakfast or a cinnamon bun."

"Sure." Candy said, sprinkling some of both on a cloth and mixing them. "How does this smell?"

"Wonderful. So what is it for?" Jennifer asked.

"Let me show you." Taking the cloth and pouring the combined scents on the cloth, Candy liberally rubbed them around the rim of the basket and down the inside. Carefully covering the entire wicker that she could she then set the rag aside. "Smell"

"Wonderful. Delicious. Wow. I guess this is the last thing I will smell" Jennifer said with a tremor in her voice.

"Would you rather something different?" Candy asked anxiously.

"No. No this is great. Are you going to pull the rope?" Jennifer asked.

"No. That will probably be Chris or Marty. They have the permits for mechanicals. I don't have the permit for it. Union Rules."

"Really? So you are in a union?"

"Yes. I do a lot of the normal processing here." Candy said.

"Wow. So you like killing people? " Janet asked.

"Yes. Does that make you uncomfortable?" Candy asked.

"No. You said you can't do me cause you are in a union. So how do you do it?"

Suddenly aware of being the focus of attention of all of the girls around her, Candy felt a little uncomfortable. Bravely continuing " I can't really talk about it. It is a trade secret here. We do things in a way that is quiet, quick and there is almost no pain. And I sit and talk with you the whole time."

"Is it with a gun or something?" Katy asked.

"I bet it is" Carla said.

"How many have you done? Janet asked.

"Probably fifty or so." Candy answered. "My first few it was a little funny. But I am good and almost no one feels anything. At most a little pinch."

"Would you show us how?" Susan asked. " Really?"

"If I show you I have to finish the job." Candy said, getting the conversation back under control. "Then you wouldn't get to the party tonight."

Janet gave a nervous laugh and said, "Now girls. Do we want to pass up an open bar and free boys? Let's leave Candy alone and get back to partying."

Candy led the girls back past the bleachers and up to the rumpus room. They saw a bar at one end, with lots of blankets and pillows along the wall. The baskets had been brought up from downstairs and were stacked next to the bar. All of the suitcases and bags were neatly piled along the wall opposite the pillows.

"Girls" David said from behind the bar." Please set your items where you want your beds to be set up. We have blow up beds and foundations with pillows, sheets, and I will show you where the showers are. This door here leads to the dormitory next door, where our live in's are, and you have your own shower room at the end nearest the stairs you came up."

"Candy, why don't you bring Cindy back up to reception where the others are and let her get acquainted. I will be down in a few."

"Jennifer, we have dividers here that will allow you to set up some privacy between beds, but I didn't know how you wanted to lay this all out. So give me some idea of what you want and where."

"I had never expected this to be like this. This place is pretty neat. Shame I can't stay longer" Jennifer said. "But I am sure going to make it enjoyable while I can. David, we are going to drive home and get a limo to bring us back here this evening. Give us some business cards so we can get in if we get separated, please? And what time do you close the door?"

"We have a couple of rules. No one here without a blood test. That means for any male partners you bring back we have to do them too. That is for sanitation purposes here. So I have to have Barbara do that testing when you get back. So we want to not make it too late."

"Ok. How about say before ten o'clock? After that, who ever is out is off the list."

"So long as you are not the one missing. Don't want to ruin your plans by having you end up downtown."

"I can guarantee I will be here then. But we will be able to bring people back with us?"

"They have to have blood tests. I guess I can get Barbara to stay late. Unless you want to bring a few for her too."

"I think we can do that. She like young cock?"

"I will ask her," David said with a smile. "In the meantime. Set this up your way."

Leaving the ladies to their own devices, David went through the door and down to the reception room. Looking around he saw Cindy eating a sandwich with Candy and Margaret. Margaret was still dressed. Helen and Elizabeth were the only others here at the moment.

Walking over to the table, David bent down and gave Margaret a kiss. "Hey, Share" Candy said.

"Yes. You can have some" Margaret said.

With that, David moved over to Candy and gave her a deep down kiss. "MMM. I like that Mr. F." She said

Cindy was a little shocked. She knew her dad had several lovers and that her mother was content with the situation. But none of that ever happened at home. Or in public.

"Don't look too shocked, Cindy. I share him with everyone here. But only if they want to."

Cindy's blush colored her entire face to the roots." I guess there isn't much in the way of modesty here," she said.

"Not when you spend all your time naked. By the way, dear, Barbara said that she agreed to come at nine o'clock to do catch up. What time did you say the doors were closed?"

"Ten o'clock. Any time after that and no on gets in. There is a legal issue too for Jennifer and she knows it. Figure some late night screening for any overnight guests. They are leaving shortly though."

"Good. Well, I have to go get more supplies for the bar and nibbles. I will bring back the chaffing dishes from home too. We haven't set those out for a long time."

"Mr. F. do you want me to go get Cindy's collar?" Candy asked.

"Well, that is something I suppose all of us should talk about. Unless you know something I don't, squirt." David said.

"Well, I can speak for the others." Margaret began. "Nancy and Helen have no objections. Carol is a little concerned that one week may not be long enough and that we may have to ask for an extension from you for getting through the legal issues. Elizabeth says she is competition so you have to screw her more often for her vote. I have no problem, and we need another walker. I don't think she'll need a Union card yet unless she is going to be her longer then we expect. The guys said she is cute and Chris said she was a Spinner. Whatever that means."

Cindy blushed at that statement. Chris was big, blond and burly with kind eyes. She could not see him as a butcher, but he was. Marty had been a bit gruff but kind. The others were friendly but reserved. I guess I understand that, Cindy thought to herself.

"Ok. But we have to establish some rules."

"Yea" Candy said. "The rules speech."

"Hey squirt. Go get a collar and no lip."

"Yes sir. " Candy said as she hustled off to the office.

"Ok. First, we have a few rules here that are kind of cast in stone. Legally you have to be wearing a collar and nude on the premise. You cannot leave the premise. If you do, we will notify the police, and if you come back you will be termed. You do not allow others to enter here without permission from me. I can guarantee you that if you ask first I will probably say yes. Our rules are you can do anything inside of here after hours. But the door is locked and secured at ten PM. and does not open until six AM. No violence to each other. If you do help here you will be expected to be polite to everyone who comes through here. They are all here for the same reason, and we try to treat them as kind and with as much dignity as possible. It is not easy. You do NOT talk about our process to anyone outside of here. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes sir." Cindy said.

"Hopefully Carol can work the magic she thinks she can and get you the chance to get away. But if it becomes obvious that you are not going to be able to be removed from selection, we will have another talk about what to do then. Ok?"

"Ok. And thanks Mr. F. I guess that's what I call you?"

"Sure. Now, when Candy get's back, tell her to put on your collar and put the key back in my desk. Ok? Honey, I want to get back upstairs and check on what is going on in the rumpus room. Come with?"

Standing up David and Margaret went upstairs to check on the overnight.

Actually this is not bad. The airbeds were all inflated and they were secured to the portable headboards. Each had a basket at the head except one. The luggage was all secured at one end of the room, and the girls were putting dividers up between some of the beds and grouping some together. At one end there were four beds grouped together in a giant pad. David could imagine what was going on there.

Helen was overseeing the arrangement efforts and having as much fun as the girls were. David imagined Carol and Liz were in their rooms getting ready. All of the goats were going to be den mothers tonight. And all of David's male employees were going to be here too. Even Chris had a night out pass.

Peter, Mark and Jim had promised to be here as well, both for their own wives and to share the wealth. It promised to be quite a party.

Margaret couldn't resist tweaking Helen's ass while she was bent over. "Oh, you dog you" Helen said.

"Now, I just wanted you to know you had my attention."

"David, did you get Cindy settled in?" Helen asked.

"Yes. We had our talk. Is she going to be part of this tonight?"

"I hope so. Her mother is a trip. Carol worked with her on a ladies committee once and said she was a control freak. Well, we will help her relax a bit while she is here."

"I still say don't let her get too attached. We will probably top her next weekend if things look dicey." David said.

"Now. Don't go bothering my chick yet." Helen said.

"Ok. I will let you guys figure this shit out. I am going back downstairs." David said.

Downstairs things were more normal. Reception was empty, with all the trash thrown away. Walking around through the line, he saw that all of the exam rooms had fresh sample kits, and fresh towels in the lavatory. Going into Stripping, there was a wall of new boxes neatly stacked. The door to the warehouse was open and Carol and Nancy's voices were coming from there. Going over, David saw Carol on the gallows,

"Wow, this is high up. And you can see everywhere" Carol said.

"Careful, or you will fall and break your leg and I will have to get a doctor to come here," David said.

"So, when are you going to string me up?" Carol asked.

"As soon as you really want to. But we are not doing it this weekend". David answered. "Besides, Cindy might be upset at loosing her lawyer."

"Yes, don't forget about her" Nancy reminded her, jabbing her on the arm playfully.

"Yea, I hear you both. This is pretty sturdy. And that beam overhead looks pretty strong. Are you going to mount ropes here soon?"

"Actually we are going to mount a rope pulley there in the center and then have it track to the end and down the upright. That way I can adjust the drop. You know that for long drops you have to do different distance based on weight. The English had a formal hangman's manual."

"Yes, I did know. And I am so happy you are following up on the details. That chopper down there looks pretty detailed."

"It is. Took most of the afternoon to get it assembled. The drop is accurate. And I sharpened the blade yesterday before we put it together. Want to see the bath?"

Coming down, both Carol and Nancy paused at the basket and looked at the cloth over it. "Why is that cloth over the basket?"

"Candy told me she was going to put scents into the baskets. I think this is to keep the scent from fading away." David said.

"David, you better keep that young bitch around. She has the makings of a good mistress." Carol said with a laugh.

"Well, it is up to you guys. Anyway, let me show you what she has created in back."

Turning on the lights in the bathhouse, the walls were lit up indirectly. The pale sand yellow color was marked with vertical brush marks of red and orange along the wall behind the tub. The opposite wall was adorned with the outline of the Mural that was going into its place. The entire room was tiled and painted with a huge tub.

"Wow. Is this nice or what?" Nancy said. "A Roman bath?"

"Yes. You asked about leaving in a hot tub with a glass of wine and slowly falling to sleep. So Barbara ordered radial catheters for the wrists so you can sit, drink and slowly bleed out. What do you think?"

"Now this is my way to go," Nancy said. "I'll just sit in the tub and fade away."

"Yea but how do we get your ass out when you are dead?" Carol asked, nudging Nancy's ass.

"That is what the invalid hoist over there is for. " David said.

"So you bring in a crane to get them out? I am hardly that fat" Nancy said.

"No, but OSHA and IOHA both don't want people lifting weight above fifty pounds. So this makes the moving easier. We still have to drain and sanitize the tub after every use."

"Why? Oh. Yes. The urine and feces. Ugh. Not nice to have to fish around to bring someone out."

"Yes, that is why we have a wash down here. The invalid crane actually has a maximum height of seven and a half feet. We strap around the ankles, and then lift up. Pull the upper body over the side and then roll you to cleanup and processing. There is just enough to still clear the doorway."

"Who dreamed this up?" Nancy asked.

"Well, I did. But Candy did the finishing touches. Margaret got the invalid crane from a hospital supply store. Had a dickens finding one that would test at 250 lbs. and still go this high. The crane is stored in back normally." David explained.

"David, I have to hand it to you. You have three of the most common female fantasies here that don't involve too much staging. We have to figure out how to sell this." Nancy said.

"That, Nancy, is your and Elizabeth's job."

"So when do we have time?" Nancy asked.

"That is something we have to figure on. Tomorrow is probably pretty busy in the morning. Afternoon and today are pretty good. Monday to Friday is shot for a couple of weeks."

"And what do you need me for, Kimo Sabe?" Carol asked.

"You are the legal eagle for this. Find a way to keep us out of trouble. I imagine that will be necessary for a while, if you are patient."

"I can see that. I want to look at the angles about Cindy's situation. I am not sure we will be able to get a validation on the volunteer. While there is no grading requirement per se, there is a pregnancy limitation requirement. We may have to sterilize Cindy to get the court to approve the trade."

"How about donor conditions?" Nancy asked. "Couldn't we do the organ donation for familial relations thing?"

"If we had a damage that was organ. But the issue here as I hear it is spinal damage. And her sister did not respond to treatment already. They may just write her off anyway. Which means no swap possible." Carol continued.

"Well, that just means we have to do something fast before she has to go." David said. Thinking to himself that this should keep her engaged for at least a week or two.

Sitting in her new room, Cindy was talking to her mother. "Yes, mom, I am comfortable. Candy has been showing me around. Mom, she is the same age as I am. Yes I talked to Mr. F. and he explained everything. No, I don't need anything except my personal terminal. Everyone here has one. Yes, and they are newer then mine even. No, don't go buying a new one. I don't know how long I am going to be around to use it. I know you think that something will happen, but I am not so sure. Just bring my own one over. I will have to check with Candy. I think we have to lock down the place at ten o'clock, so this afternoon would be good. I don't know what I will be having for dinner, but I am sure it will be good. Ok. Love you too. Bye".

"Your mother sounds pretty neat" Candy said.

"She is pretty restrictive on me. But she does buy me stuff all the time. How about your mom?"

"My mom has not even called me or asked about me. Since Stacy and I got here I haven't heard a thing from her." Candy said.

"Wow. That sucks. I kind of thought Margaret was your mom. Or Helen. They both seem to act like it a lot"

"Yes, I guess they are now. Margaret pulled me out of lineup like I did you earlier. Then we all went through the process room to see how things were actually run. I saw how Margaret treated everyone, and I wanted to be like her. So now I kind of am."

'So, how do?" Cindy began.

"Trade secret. I can show you Monday if you like. But you have to follow a few rules and not freak out. It is important to never get upset when processing is going on. It is a business. Nothing personal." Candy said with the voice of old age.

"How can it not be personal, when you are killing someone?" Cindy asked.

"You have to separate what you are doing from how you feel. Otherwise you mess up and someone get's hurt."

"I guess I don't' understand."

"Don't worry. It will make sense after a while. So, tonight we are having a pretty big party. Are you going to come out and PLAY?" Candy teased.

"I don't know. It's all so strange and different. This kind of sounds like an Orgy or something."

"Or Something. I think that you can assume that it is." Candy said with a laugh.

"Ok. But how do I act?"

"You've never been in a scene like this?" Candy asked.

"I told you, my mom is really strict."

"Well, she isn't here tonight. We have half dozen girls going to celebrate their last night on earth and I can guarantee you they are going to be screwing all night long. And if we want to join in, we can get some too. Whatever you can imagine, little lady. " Candy said teasingly.

"I am not that much younger then you are" Cindy said. "I bet we have had as many parties as you have."

"I don't doubt that. But I also bet you haven't had more and better dicks then I have had since I got here."

"Probably. Like I said, mom was pretty strict."

"Well, Mr. F. gave you the rules, right? Just remember. We termed the last girl who started to do something stupid. That's because if you mess up, we all get termed. The boss looses his business and we get termed."

"So the rules are pretty strict, you say?" Cindy said.

"No. There are only a few. The violation get's you killed. That is how it is."

"Copy that. So, what are the limits tonight?"

"Screw your eyeballs out, but don't invite anyone without permission. And you have to share" Candy said with a laugh. "Don't Bogart the dick my friend."

"I don't have my birth control."

"Don't sweat it. Barbara can do that. Remember, it is in keeping with the law that you don't get pregnant."

"So we party all night? And hope we don't die tomorrow?"

"Got it, girl friend."

David at this time was sitting in the reception room with a troupe, awaiting a car to pick them all up. Jennifer had signed a contract to cover expenses that Carol had drawn up, with an initial fee for services of ten thousand dollars and ownership of all bodies transferred to Findlay processing.

"You want my advice? Get a new name" Jennifer said. "This one has no ump."

"My marketing manager has already said that to me. Probably change it to Classy Conversions" David said.

"Staid, but solid. Just make sure you don't advertise in the body shop business."

"I will take that under advisement. So we can expect you back here at ten o'clock?"

Pouting, Jennifer answered, "Yes. Who do we call?"

"Candy and Cindy will be up waiting for you. And Barbara will be on hand to do blood tests and urine of all of you before you stay overnight. And tomorrow's festivities start at nine in the morning."

"Hear that girls? Eat drink and be merry. Tomorrow we die." Jennifer said as she led the group out the door.

That is a seriously unusual girl. Helen thought. "I am going to keep an eye on her tonight to make sure things don't get too off the rail."

"I think all of you should." David said. "Margaret and I are going home tonight to get reconnected. Before we leave, we will finish setting up. Call me if anything goes really wrong. We will see you early tomorrow."

Getting home, David and Margaret found a note from Christina that she was not going to be there tonight. She was staying with her aunt downstate in Normal, and not going to worry about anything. She asked in her note if she could catch up on Monday and plan her next moves. She also offered a retainer for Carol's work.

"I guess we now have legal aid services." Margaret said. "Wonder what we can have for a rate?"

"Don't know. Want to make sure I am not the one paying, though. Carol will not make a mint off of me." David replied with a smile.

"I wonder how IRS is going to treat all this/," Margaret said with amusement. "Bartered services have value too."

"Ugh. Why do you have to think about that?" David asked.



-------

Chapter 15



Chop. Plop. Flop. Sunday morning coming down.

Well, Jennifer thought to herself, it had been an evening of legendary bacchanalia. She had been fucked by a half dozen different men, licked by the same number of women, and watched a whole host of people fuck and get fucked.

If I got to go, this is the way, She thought to herself. I wonder if I could get breakfast first before the final performance?

Looking around, she saw the woman named Helen passed out over Jack's dick. She was like the den mother for everyone here. And she was stirring over Jack.

Looking around, Helen saw Jennifer sitting watching her. "Good morning?" Helen said with a question in her voice.

"Great morning" Jennifer answered. "But I am HUNGRY."

"Let's see if I can stir up something to eat. Onions, mushrooms, peppers and cheese over synth pork? And maybe some Belgian waffles?"

Jennifer's stomach growled at that idea. "Shit. Where do I sign up? And do we have time?"

"It's six thirty. Guests are not admitted until after nine. We don't start the festivities until nine thirty or ten. No reason not to have a great last meal."

Following Helen, Jennifer went down to the break room. While breakfast was cooking, they were joined by several of the men who had been upstairs in the Hen House section. Jennifer teased and flirted with Marty and Chris, who she knew were going to dismember her soon. "Hope the stomach popping wont' make too much mess" she giggled.

"Not enough to worry about." Chris rejoined. "You will clean up very nicely once you are dressed. Or undressed as the case may be."

"When will I be graded for sale?" Jennifer asked.

"That is Carl's job. We don't do grading. He is USDA and does it after you are dead and cleaned in compliance with FDA regulations. We never final grade meat on the hoof." Chris said, shoveling in a mouthful of eggs into his mouth. "Bad practice and you don't want any complaints about grading."

"Damn. That doesn't seem fair. A girl should know what she is worth. That is what Diamond rings are all about." Jennifer retorted.

"So, Helen." Jennifer asked as Helen sat down with her. "How many do you think will follow me?"

"Janet definitely. Susan definitely. Carla definitely. Jessica and Katie I am not sure." Helen responded with her analysis.

"Well, Katie has the best talent and I don't want her up there. The others are sycophants who should go. They don't have enough independence to make it themselves. Besides they are second or third daughters. No big loss. With Jessica, I am divided. You could either watch her pale skin jerk and jump or not. You guys decide."

"Actually, Jessica has to decide. Right up to the last moment. Even if we have to back her off the bed." Helen said.

"You paid for all of them. Don't you care?" Chris asked.

"After me, I won't really care will I? If three follow me, that is enough. The idea is to have repetition of the event to set the events into the minds of the audience. To get them to see the real elements of the terror." Jessica said, shoveling a piece of waffle into her mouth.

"Well we sure will do that. Finish your breakfast child. Don't let it get cold. Preparation for show time starts in an hour." Helen said, as she picked up her coffee.

The group chat continued with some lively conversation about effects. No one had done a real execution like this in some time, and no one did pageants any more. Jennifer was having a lot of fun directing her own act with a lot of flourish. Chris and Marty and were to be the stage handlers and executioners. They were going to be bringing Jennifer down for her beheading. They agreed that she was going to do a struggle and jerking around the entire way to the stage. Then they would rip her dress down to her waist front and back and force her down onto the munnion and secure her in place.

'Wrists tied or not tied?" Chris asked.

"I don't know. Like to be able to struggle but the helplessness of being tied is neat too. But I want the audience to see my hands and feet while I am there so I don't want to be immobilized." Jennifer continued.

"How about arms tied at the elbows behind the back. Stand up a second. " Marty said.

Standing behind Jennifer, Marty brought her elbows back behind her and almost got the points touching. Jennifer's hands were free to move within a limit of movement but clearly visible. And it would limit the length that could be covered on the back when the dress was ripped.

"We can do that upstairs and that way I can be bound when you bring me down. The other girls will not be because they are bringing their own basket." Jennifer said. "Now I expect you to handle me a little roughly. After all, I am not being too compliant here. Weeping, crying, struggling. Realistic."

"We can do that. But if it is too overwhelming remember that we need a safe word to stop and give you time to adjust. What word would you like to use?" Chris said.

"Oh my. You have been in scenes before, haven't you?" Jennifer asked.

"At U of Illinois I was in the Thespian society for four years. Can't make much money with that so I wound up working here."

"Great. OK. The word is blueberry. If I am getting panicked I will say something about blueberries." Jennifer said.

"Ok. Now remember one last thing." Chris continued. "When we have you locked in the stocks, and the blade is up, you still have the ability to talk. Until you say Goodbye, we won't drop the blade. Once you say that, I pull the cord and down it comes. So you can act out all you want and say anything you want up until then. The microphone you saw will pick that up whatever you say and we will hear it over the speakers. If you say Blueberry, we stop and give you time to either calm down or ask we process you normally."

"Darling man, with the big dick, after paying all my dad's money for this party, you can be sure I won't be doing some secret process. He would kill me." Jennifer said with a laugh.

Conversation continued in this vein for the next hour with the gallows humor overcome by fine food and a bottle of last night's wine for Jennifer and a couple of the other girls who had followed the sounds of conversation and the smell of food down.

Checking the clock and seeing that it was almost eight thirty, Helen broke into the conversation and said, "Ok lady. Time to get this show on the road."

Returning with Helen to the rumpus loft, Jennifer selected a peasant dress with a full skirt and scoop blouse had a lot of open chest. Easily opened down front and back to expose her breasts it would make a great sight. Sitting there while the rest of the girls were down in the showers at either end of the loft area, Jennifer looked around.
She saw that the six different baskets had been put at the foot of the beds of the ladies in waiting. David had a very organized way of deciding what to do if a woman didn't want to complete. Six wicker baskets, each with separates names on the bottom and separate scents inside. The last thing you ever smell. There was one for each girl. Sitting at the foot of their beds. If they decided to bring them downstairs, then they would be standing at the bottom of the stairs watching the ceremony and waiting to be next in line. To give the girls an out when they were on the platform, they had a choice of carrying their basked open side up or open side down. If they were open side up, then they were in queue. If the basket was open side down, or sideways, then they were passed over.

If they didn't bring them down then they would be sitting in the bleachers watching the entire show. This much was in keeping with the historical behavior of the rein of terror in France. You carried your own head basket and rode to the execution on top of your own coffin. For those too poor, a common basket was re-used.

Jennifer knew that her basket with a combination of maple and cinnamon was already down next to the blade. She had placed it there herself yesterday before the party started. Candy had gone with her to place it and to also throw a cloth over the opening to keep the scents from fading overnight. She also noticed a small microphone and camera along the bottom of the Munnion block that held her head in place. Candy told her that was so she could give any last minute comments right up to the end.

"I got to give David his due. He had some nice touches here". Jennifer said.

"You said wanted something different. You got it. People are starting to stir next door. We have an hour to get you ready. " Helen said. "Anything you can think of that we left out?" Helen asked.

"No. We went over the questionnaire again yesterday. Boy that thing was thorough. And the contract specified all of the things that were going on. I do have a question though. None of you seem to have any human meat here. Why is that?"

"Well, that is a good question. Really I think it is because we sell it and we get used to seeing it going on away. And I kind of lost the taste for it myself since I became a Goat." Helen said.

"So you really are supposed to be killed too?" Jennifer asked.

"Yes. All of us with collars are past due. That is why we can't leave here. If we are on the street we are subject to being picked up and public termed." Helen replied.

"Ugh. That does not seem like fun. So you guys do all this work to help little old sheep like me to get slaughtered nicely?" Jennifer teased.

"You have read blogs about us. We do a lot of careful screening first. Especially with substitutions and inadvertent volunteers. We don't want anyone here that is not supposed to be here. David is a real stickler. The reason we have so many goats is because we do all intake and process preparation. Like with the blood tests and urine tests. Got to protect the food supply." Helen replied with a snicker.

"Well, I would think it an honor if you keep part of me here for dinner tonight. Fuck me last night eat me tonight. That sort of thing appeals to my sense of humor."

"The last night before I came here I told David to fuck his dinner. When he was doing oral I got a kick out of saying to him "Eat me now and you can eat me for real later". Helen said.

"That is how I feel. David was not in our rumpus last night. But he can still eat me."

"Well, I will put that under the heading of last requests. Or is it a bequest?"

"Whatever. Just don't let me go to waste" Jennifer said. "Should I have my hair up or down?"

"It is almost long enough to do a French Braid." Helen remarked. "Unless you want the peasant girl looks with pigtails. That would look cute."

"No. I have the wrong face for that. I have angular not round. I think a braid off one shoulder would work. They can move that up when they lock my head in place, right?"

"Sure. Is all of this costume jewelry?" Helen asked.

"Yes it is all junk from the costume shop. You know, I wonder how Marie Antoinette felt when she was waiting for this same sort of thing? You know, if she had talks with her ladies I waiting. I am not that you are a servant or anything. But if this is how she felt thinking about it?"

"Thinking you want to go as Queen instead of a Whore?" Helen asked. "And am I your Rosalie?"

"It does fit my flair for the dramatic."

"Well, we can do that. We can talk to the guys when they come up and we can stage it then."

Meanwhile, downstairs, the listed guests were coming in. Jennifer had posted the event as part of the Drama club's study of reality-theater, and the history of the 1780s. When David saw that there were over sixty attendees. He knew he would have a crowded bench and hoped he had enough food. (And wondered how much would end up on the floor.)

Gus and Marty Burke were leading and directing people in from the front door, while David and Margaret were welcoming and checking names against the guest list. David was a bit shocked to see Jennifer's mother, and sister come in with her stepfather. Joe De Fortes was an alderman in Chicago, and one of the most powerful people in Chicago government circles today. David suddenly realized that De Fortes was related to Jennifer. Scanning his portable, he saw that Joe was listed as her father and the address was where her belongings were to be shipped. "This should be interesting," David thought to himself.

Cindy and Candy were wandering among the seated guests filling orders for beer and wine and sandwiches. When people asked about drinking at so early an hour, they both responded that it was in keeping with the scene of 1780s France, where wine was safer than water and coffee was unavailable. Besides, a little drunk was good for the spirit.

At nine fifteen, David locked the door and took to the shorter stage. Looking toward the audience, he said "Ladies and Gentlemen I want to thank you for attendance today to our live act play and festivities. Jennifer had asked me last week for something out of the ordinary for her termination party and we happily worked with her to make this happen. As you can see, she had something planned out of her history studies for today. As occasions of that time were often riotous and celebratory, we are encouraging that theme with the service of wine and food. Please feel free to sample what you see, but do so with respect. Our ladies are to be handled gently." David said with a smile.

"In a few moments, our star will be led down here and will be accompanied by some of her ladies in waiting. For them this is voluntary and none will be serviced unless they ask. For those of you in the audience, please don't be disrespectful. Decorum of a higher level then eighteenth century France is in order here." David said with a laugh.

Circulating with the crowd at the bleachers, David was given a glass of beer and sandwich along with the others. After a few moments, Helen came up to David and said, "We are about to come down. Some small changes in plans, but nothing to worry about."

Before David could say anything, Chris came around the corner and said, "Could everyone sit down in the bleachers, please?"

As people moved to seats, Chris disappeared back into the hall and shortly re-appeared with a struggling and loud Jennifer between Marty and himself. She was partially walking and partially carried across the floor to the waiting platform. Following close behind her was six of her friends from the previous evening. Margaret was happy to see that Katie was at the end of the group, and not carrying her basket. Margaret pointed her to her mother and aunt's seat at the end of the bleacher.

Moderately struggling and crying out frequently, Jennifer was obviously in role as a reluctant victim. Chris and Marty were struggling to keep control as well as a straight face when she loudly proclaimed that she was a duchess and not some commoner to be dragged to her death. Stopping at the foot of the stairs, she suddenly shifted personality in Chris and Marty's arms. "Ok" she said.

"The previous scene" Jennifer said" was how the Countess de Roche acted when she was taken to the block. Others were more dignified. Chris, will you do the honors?"

With that, Chris offered her his arm as though an escort, and they walked up the steps to the waiting guillotine. "Now, What ever do I do?" She asked standing there looking toward the crowd.

'With your permission, my lady" Chris said, getting into role. "I will loosen this a bit." He said as he untied the bow at the back of Jennifer's neck and another between her breasts. This allowed the blouse do fall down and forward. Removing her arms from the sleeves, the dress now fell to the waist, revealing beautiful breasts. Kissing her neck along the rights side

"If I may have your arms?" Chris continued as he pulled Jennifer's elbows to the rear of her body, forcing her breasts to jut up and out.

Quickly tying a loose figure eight knot around the elbows to keep the lower hands free but the arms to the rear, Chris made short work of a moderate tie. Then pressing down from Jennifer's hips, the peasant dress fell to the floor, leaving her nude body to the view of the entire stage.

Marty, in the meantime had brought the wheelbarrow around to the front of the stage just in line with the bed of the Guillotine. Seeing that approach, Jennifer commented, " "So I see. And it's already to catch me and cart me away. What a utilitarian carriage."

"You do love to talk" Chris said.

"Yes I do. Don't forget to pull the cover off the basket, please?"

Hearing this, Marty pulled the cover away and set it aside the basket. The then moved back to provide an unobstructed view of the stage.

"Chris Dear, am I wet?" Jennifer asked.

Reaching his hand down and sliding his finger along Jennifer's vulva, he felt a fresh spurt of female moisture along her lower lips. Playing for a few moments while she was standing there, Jennifer gasped for a moment.

"Now dear, you know I am sore. All of you wore me out last night. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am sorry that I don't have more time to play, but as you can see, last night's proceedings have worn me out."

Walking Jennifer over to the foot of the Guillotine table, he had her step up on to the step and lie against the board of the narrow bed. "OH. This is cold. Don't let me be here too long, dear," Jennifer said.

Stepping on a foot treadle, Chris raised Jennifer up along the table until her head and neck were clearly above the top of the table she was lying against. Fastening a belt around Jennifer's waist and knees to prevent lateral movement during the first few moments after separation, Chris made sure that they were firm, but not binding.

Releasing the lock, the Table laid down across the fulcrum and along the roller, where

Chris then rolled the bed forward and raised the lower munnion and locked it in place. Moving Jennifer's French braid out of the way, Chris then lowered the upper Munnion into place, he then secured the locks that would act as a blade stop.

"Are you comfortable, darling?" Chris asked, standing away from the machine.

"Wonderful. Thank you. Mmm. That smells delicious. Well, everyone, I guess this is good bye"

Hearing that word, Chris pulled the cable that released the blade stop. The sound of the blade cutting through Jennifer's neck was picked up by the microphones and amplified by the speakers and echoed as a hollow "Whock" sound. Followed by a plop as the head fell into the basket. Jennifer's hands flexed and flopped nervously as did her legs and feet. The ladies in waiting, waiting at the foot of the stairs did not see much of the blood, but they did see the urine pooling around Jennifer's hips on the table. The smell was both sickening and arousing. After a few moments all twitching stopped and Chris signaled to the next in line at the bottom of the stairs that was holding her basket open side up "Next?"

Janet Carmen, ascended the steps lightly and watched as Chris unlatched the two belts holding Jennifer's body in place. Giving it a roll it fell off of the table and bounced onto the stage. Reaching up Marty rolled it off of the stage and onto the waiting wheelbarrow. Setting the basket between Jennifer's legs, he then started the trip back to processing, with body fluids leaking along the way.

Chris in the meantime was using a bucket and brush to clean the munnions and blade as he raised them back into the locked position. He then scrubbed and dried with a towel the area where Jennifer had urinated after her body had died. Janet watched these proceedings with angst and anticipation. "God," Janet said "I am so wet right now. This really is a rush. And it is real"

"Yes it is darling. Is this clean enough for you?" Chris asked the trembling brunette.

"Yes. I think so. What do I do now?" She asked.

"Put your basket over there open side up so we can catch you when you drop.

Following instructions, Janet placed her basket in the square marked at the end of the apparatus. Standing up Chris then undid her dress and allowed it to fall to the floor around her feet, just as Jennifer's had. Gathering her hair in his hand, Chris wrapped a rubber band around her hair at the back of her head.

Chris then whispered, "Can you bring your elbows back please?" Quickly tying the elbows together had the same effect on Janet's small breasts that it had on Jennifer's substantial ones.

Janet was extremely excited. Seeing the reality of Jennifer's execution and feeling her own nudity in front of a crowd was almost overload. Chris's fingers then moved down to Janet's slit and began to slide back and forth along her surfaces, feeling her wetness growing. "Darling, we can stop at any time. All you have to say is the word." Chris said into her ears, while kissing her neck. "This is a scene you don't have to follow through."

"I know. But we better get moving cause I am holding up the line. Help me?" Janet said as she started to bend down to the table. "Oh that is cold. Warm this up for the next time"

"I will do that" Chris said as he repeated the procedure of getting Janet properly positioned on the table. Chris then quickly secured the lower belt over Janet's knees, and then moved up to her waist as well. After lowering the table back to the horizontal position, and sliding it forward between the uprights, he then asked, "Comfortable?"

"Sure am. My head is hanging over though. Can you do something about that?" She said with a giggle.

"I think we can." Chris said, while raising the lower munnion in place and locking it, Janet asked Chris "Can you smell the rosemary?"

"I sure can. Smells good. Just like you do." After moving Janet's hair up and out of the way and locking the upper munnion in place, Chris stepped around next to Janet's head and gently rubbed her forehead. "Are you ready dear?" he asked.

"Oh yes. This table is cold. Good bye everyone."

Hearing the phrase, Chris pulled the lever dropping the blade. A moment later, Janet's head was in the basket surrounded by the smell of rosemary and her own blood.

"Next" Chris said to the remaining women at the foot of the stairs. Raising the blade into the locked position, Chris unfastened the belts and rolled Janet off the table and onto the stage. Marty in the meantime had returned with the wheelbarrow and started to collect the different parts of Janet to take her back to processing.

For Susan the smell in the basket was violets. For Tracey the smell was Lilies and vanilla for her basket when she followed Susan. Carla preferred roses and said to everyone as she followed Carla, "I can't believe this is happening. Oh well, good-bye".

Jessica set her basket open side down and waited at the foot of the stairs after Chris dispatched the others. The girl was terrified and the reality of the events was too much for her. After Carla was rolled onto the wheelbarrow Chris came down the stairs and signaled to Helen come over to take Jessica back upstairs to collect her regular box and get into her regular clothes.

Seeing that the there were no more women to be serviced, David stood up and addressed the group in the bleachers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I hope that you enjoyed our show. I know that Jennifer, Janet, Susan, Tracy and Carla appreciated it and that they were happy you all attended our service this morning. Please feel free to help us drink up and eat up the food we have set up here and if you have any questions, feel free to ask any of the women in orange collars. They won't be hard to pick out because they are naked."

Seeing that Helen had taken Jessica upstairs, and that Candy was watching over Cindy to keep her out of trouble, David moved over to Margaret who was talking to one of the women who had optioned out of the ceremonies. Standing next to her was an older woman. "David, this is Delores, your friend from the MAB".

"Well, I am very happy to meet you in person. I see you have met my wife" David answered.

"Yes, and she said you do have permission to play with older women, so I am going to have to get on the dance card here. But with the crowd you have around you I feel I would be a pale imitation"

"Delores, don't worry about that. So, Welcome to our place. I know you have heard a lot about us"

"Yes I did. Even from Katie with her own perspective about how you deal with people. My friend asked if she would be able to come here from M&H because she thinks that they will be terming her soon. I wanted to talk with you about that." Delores said quietly.

"Delores, you tell Carla we will treat her like family. I think you see how that is. I will pick her up myself if you need me to."

"So you remember her name? That's surprising. Well, I do see how your Custom operation goes. I can imagine that your standard operation is equally as stress free and painless. You sure did get a lot of things covered in advance with the questionnaire."

"You can credit my wife and the others for that. Why add to anxiety if you can reduce it. Getting all of the last things listed and removed reduces everyone's stress."

"You do that well, according to the blogs. I also wanted to let you know that H&S filed a few complaints last week. Unfair treatment is the favorite one." Delores said with a smile.

"How am I treating them unfairly? All I am doing is running a business in an effective and low stress way." David said with a smile.

"Maybe they don't want to make the investment in stress relief." Delores said. "I think I can find a way to change Carla's assignment to you. But you have to do transport, or else she is subject to public termination. So we need to have that timed right."

"We can work that out. Talk to Carol over there, and she can help you. And I am glad that your niece decided to sit this one out."

"Even if she was prime?" Delores asked with a smile.

"Delores, I turn down prime or better every day. If it aint your time, then it is not your turn. Talk to Carol about the transfer issues so we are on good legal standing. I have to go see about clean up."

Helen in the mean time was talking a lot to Jessica. A combination of survivor guilt and general lack of self-esteem was uppermost with the slim redhead as she sat with Helen. "She is really gone. So are the others. It was so fast. They just were here and then they were just bodies on a cart." Jessica said to Helen.

"Yes. And for all of them it was a choice to go this way today. Jennifer was due to leave anyway, but she wanted to go out with a show and she offered the same thing to everyone else. But it was a gift you didn't have to take." Helen said.

"I know. Katie and I thought it was neat that we could all go together. But when Katie didn't and I saw what happened, I didn't want to either. I was so happy that I was last and didn't have to embarrass myself in front of them."

"You mean the others who went first?" Helen asked.

"Yes. Janet especially. She would have teased me forever. And Susan and Carla. They would be so disappointed in me." Jessica said with a sob.

"Now, don't think that way. Just remember. If it is your turn go ahead. And if you can't then remember it isn't your turn. Today was not your turn. So go home and enjoy today and remember that you have a lot of things you want to do now that you can. And we will shred your volunteer papers and delete the notice. You can still keep us on your selection though if you want." Helen said.

"After today I don't want to go anywhere else. You people treated us nice. Really. But I have to tell you, I am kind of sore."

"With your fair and delicate skin, I can believe that. Last night was a little much for me." Helen said. "Not all nights here are like that."

"What is it like being here?" Jessica asked.

"Kind of different. We live in a dormitory and we can't leave. Clothes are not allowed for us while we work here, so we kind of get used to being nude. It is kind of restrictive, but we are working as well. Kind of like a full time job you live at. We all have to make adjustments though. We are all older and used to being in charge of our lives, and now we don't really have much control. Which is a real adjustment. I am not sure how much longer we will be here. David is running a very good shop, but I am not happy that this is all there is for me now." Helen finished.

"Gosh. I guess what I was doing really wasn't too bright, was it?"

"You need to live before you give it away. I don't think your friends understood that. But it was their call to make. So. Let's go get your box and send you home." Helen said, standing up.

Margaret meanwhile was having a not so fun discussion with Ms. Carmichael. Apparently she had an invitation for the proceedings and had multiple shocks of seeing her daughter nude in public, hearing about her attending an orgy from the night before and seeing her acting as a guide for some of the decapitations today. Add to that her seeing her daughter so close to Candy, and it added up to a lot of agitation.

"Ms. Findlay, is this how you conduct business?" She asked when she approached Margaret.

"Is something wrong?" Margaret asked, keeping her temper on hold.

"I am not very happy about my daughter living like this."

"Are you happy that she is alive?" Margaret asked.

"I an not happy that she is exposed to all of this." Jane said emphatically.

"Ms. Carmichael, do I need to remind you of the alternative? Singular." Margaret replied sternly. "And might I ask you how you managed to get an invitation to this our little presentation?"

"I am an alumnus and member of the Thespians for many years."

"Good. Then you understand Jennifer's desire to have a pageant as she left. This was her plan and direction." Margaret said.

"That is not what I am worried about. I don't want my daughter exposed to all of this banality."

"Then you want me to transfer her to H&S or Myers and Hitchcock tonight? I am sure she will fit on a spit for either of them tomorrow."

"I am sure they would be more reasonable then that." Jane said.

"Then get her dressed and let me get the collar off of her and you can take her now. But don't let anyone see her before tomorrow, because if she is off out property she is subject to staking. And you know that."

"Mother" Cindy said as she heard the ruckus " What are you doing?"

"Getting you away from this nonsense."

"Mom, You are going to get me killed. I won't go with you."

"Nonsense. Get dressed, you are coming with me."

"Jane" Carol broke in, hearing the noise "I think a bit of quiet would be appropriate here."

"Carol, I don't know what has come over you to act like the rest of these people. This is not the sort of place where I want my daughter to be. I am taking action right now to rectify this." Jane said, raising her voice.

"Actually, what you are doing is getting yourself into a major legal problem, and your daughter made into meat today or tomorrow. I don't think you realize that." Carol continued.

"Don't be absurd. Surely there are some means of getting around this. You found one"

"No." Carol said, "I didn't. And there isn't. This is like Taxes, no one is happy but no one is able to beat it."

"So you are saying that this situation will have to continue?" Jane said incredulously

"For a while. This may be a holding tank, but at least it is a nice one. And if you don't get a substitute by Friday, Cindy is coming home as steaks."

"That won't happen. I won't loose both my daughters" Jane started to shout.

"Cindy. Go with Candy to your room and I will be there in a moment" Margaret said.

Turning to Jane after the girls had left, Margaret continued. "Jane, my husband and I did you a favor. Cindy is prime selected meat on the hoof. For people who have no scruples she would already be boxed. Or sold as a roast for your next association meeting. Or maybe even on a spit to be cooked in front of you. And if you don't believe that will happen, then I will send her out the front door to you. But you may want to talk to a lawyer, or the woman who heads up the MAB and get your facts straight. Because this is not about a real estate sale, this is a butcher shop."

With that Margaret walked away leaving Jane with Carol. Who had a smile on her face.

"Do you believe this?" Jane said.

"No. I don't believe you are so stupid." Carol said. Continuing into Jane's sputtering face." Want to end up on the block over there? Or worse? You were verbally assaulting an owner of a processor plant. And you are assaulting them at their plant. Don't you care about the rules? The law applies to you too lady. The first girl chopped up there was Joe De Fortes stepdaughter. Alderman Joe De Fortes. And he had no more control over this situation than you did."

Her face turning white, Jane said, "you have to be kidding. People like him don't let things like that happen to their family."

Knowing that the De Fortes had some alleged criminal connections Carol continued. "Yes they do. Especially when you are under investigation for RICO and a whole list of other things. When it comes to this you don't rock the boat. You have too much to loose."

"You might have tried to do something before the selection notice came. Or you could have tried to do something before the selection was transferred to here from M&S. But now you should just shut up and let this play out for your kid to live any longer." Carol said with finality.

"But what kind of person will she be when she get's out of here?"

"If you are lucky, she will be alive and whole. You need to understand that she is already dead, just still breathing. And that is just like all the rest of us. If she goes with you I will call and turn both of you in myself." Carol continued with a smile. "I think you will look good wiggling on a stake."

Hearing that, Jane blanched. Turning and walking toward the door, she vowed that she would not let this happen to her remaining daughter.

Margaret had caught up with Helen, Candy and Cindy in the Hen House. Cindy was packing her box while Candy and Helen were sitting on the bed talking with her.

"Where are you going?" Margaret asked.

"I was packing to leave. Isn't that why you sent me up here?" Cindy said with a sniff.

"No. I sent you up here to keep you out of the way of the argument your mother and I were going to have. We gave you our word that we would work with this for this week. So put your stuff back unless you want to hit the road." Margaret said with exasperation.

"But my mother" Cindy began.

"I imagine your mother is getting some good legal advise after I outlined what I know to be the consequences of her disruptive behavior. Some of those involve you and her sitting on a stake. I don't think she wants that for you or herself." Margaret continued.

Later that afternoon Marty and David could see why the FDA had such a fit with the old Guillotine that H&S had been using. The blood pooled around the munnion blocks and had to be scrubbed clean. Probably need to put some sort of paint or urethane finish on the wood to make it easier to clean and resistant to liquid penetration. Might use one of the new high polymer coatings on it to seal the surface. The bad thing was you had to detach the guides to remove the blade to clean it as well. Need to do some re-engineering on this, David thought to himself, If we are going to use this frequently. Fortunately the apparatus was far away from the clean processing plant so there was minimal risk of contamination.

Fortunately the entire apparatus was not too heavy to move around to clean up underneath. Washing the blood down onto the floor and then mopping it up was a minimal chore.

Cleaning up under the bleachers was worse.

"I think that people are Pigs" Marty said as he was fishing the last of the wrappers out from the bleachers. "You would think that they would be better behaved. Must be twenty spilled drinks we have to wash down".

"I think that a lot of them were shocked that this was real," David said by way of explanation. "Once Jennifer's head hit the bucket I heard a lot of stuff from the crowd. By the time Chris was finished, we had a few upset stomachs." David said with a laugh. "Funny thing, though, her parents were not too upset. Her stepfather thanked me for being able to make her fantasy come true." David said.

"Helen tell you what she asked as a last wish?" Marty asked.

"No. What?"

"Jennifer told Helen that she would be honored if we had a part of her for dinner tonight." Marty said. "Seemed she thought it odd we didn't have more human in our diet."

"Well, I don't know how the girls would feel about that. They all got to know Jennifer while she was upright. Don't want to spook them. I think I will let Helen handle it."

"Probably smart." Marty said. "Things sure have taken a change since you brought her into the business, boss."

"Like it?" David asked.

"Oh yea." Marty replied with a smile.

Dinner that night was an unusual meal. Jennifer's left thigh was skinned, and the muscle was roasted carefully with a basting of vegetable broth. Everyone agreed that it was sweet. But probably needed some salt.



-------

Chapter 16



Abby's Story.

Abigail Sanders was on the way up. After finishing her residency at Cook County general, she was getting into a major practice. Then came the notice on Monday morning's mail.

One percent. One percent per year selected. How could I get caught up in those odds, she asked herself.

Like most intelligent women who ignored problems until the happened, she had no real plan of attack to cope with this. Getting the notice was a shock, she began a search into what she could do to delay or undo this horrible mistake.

By Wednesday, things were becoming pretty bleak. Legally there were no loopholes open to her. The equal selection act had made it pretty difficult and the lack of familial sufferance (no others picked in her family) made it even harder. With four girls in the family in addition to her, the odds of selective substitution were high, but Abby had no interest in sending one of her sisters in her place. It looked like plain dumb luck.

Wednesday night, while drinking with a few friends she was asked if she had seen the blogs of the previous weekend's festivities at Findlay. Figuring that any information was better then no information, Abby decided to see what her options really were.

Three drinks later, what she read did surprise her. Thinking to herself, if you are going to have to go, this place seemed like the place to do it. Looking at the web page, she saw that there was a schedule posted. Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays were considered primary method processing days, with Tuesdays and Thursdays being focused on intakes, consultation, and end of life planning. Catch up, specials and requests were provided on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

This sounds like a Hospice for the healthy, Abby mused to herself. Leave in your own way. She especially liked the "You are not meat until you are dead. And that is how we treat you. Human and humane to the end" statement on the web page. Really, how nice could you treat someone you were going to kill and turn into steaks?

Looking at the web page she saw a section of consulting appointments for Thursday. Selecting ten thirty for a review and appointment, she entered her name and her SSN id as the form requested. A few seconds later the form came back with a confirmation notice in her name. Additionally there were instructions for driving and parking, and an agreement that she would not be processed unless she specifically asked to be on Thursday.

That was different, she thought to herself. Not what I expected.

-------

Thursday Morning

David had a lot on his mind driving to the office. It had been over a week since the Sunday party for Jennifer and her friends, and a lot of very interesting things had happened.

Monday following the celebration, the two women who decided not to go through on Sunday had written extensive blogs. So did several members of the audience. No photographs were shown but some of the descriptions were pretty graphic.

The frank discussion of the Friday night celebration had gotten Findlay picketed by the Reverend Billy Bob Freeman of the Fundamental Church of the Fallen Soul (non denominational). Apparently death should be a painful exercise causing the pertinent to beg for forgiveness as they cross the divide (Billy Bob's words) and that anything less then the greatest of pain was unforgivable.

Merle Hill was calling everyone he knew to try to get his business re-opened, and had a rage when he found that his own Guillotine was used at Findlay after the USDA forced him to throw it out. He tried sidestepped the issue that the unit had not been cleaned in several months when it was removed, and that it was in his primary processing plant. The USDA was not sympathetic.

The Selection Board had responded to the closure and license review by opening all selectees to the location of their choice, rather then assignment. Which meant that the team of ladies was doing interviews non-stop almost every day.

Monday was an eighty-six-woman day. Tuesday was interviews and thirty-four. Wednesday was ninety and Candy and Margaret were leading strings down and waiting while Helen, Carol, Nancy and Cindy were following with short strings behind them.

Collinson was working out better then expected, finding that he could do field dressing with Chris, Margaret and Candy in the afternoons. Gus, Marty and even Marty Burke were busy doing parts and cut ups.

Need to get another cutter, David said to himself. The quality is going up now. Almost none of the stuff is pet food any more. We are doing more carcass shipping then ever before. We even had to provide to Hill's and Stienauer' on Wednesday. We need cutters and dressers more then we need hamburger grinders. Moving that downstream lowered his per pound price but it was still above pet food in whole. Even the H&S butcher shop didn't complain about quality.

Margaret was not happy with the interview she had with Cindy's mother and sister on Tuesday. Margaret felt that the situation was coercion by Jane against Cindy's sister, and that Cindy didn't want her sister to give up any chance to recover. Carol was not too optimistic about the Equal Opportunity for Handicapped statute, as it was never intended to bring pain to the handicapped. The medical team Margaret met with was not very sympathetic either. They were more interested in having an insured client then any sort of deal.

Problem was that Cindy did not appear to have what it took to be a cutter. She could do intakes, and move women along, and talk to them while they bled out. But she was not really settled in using the knife. So she did not really fit into the goat situation. Unless something changed soon, she was going to be going down to processing on no later then Monday.

Margaret had agreed with David that Cindy was on the bubble. She was bright and friendly, but not as outgoing as Candy was. And she seemed a little fragile. With her mother's influence, she had not really going to be able to be much more then an occasional toy for the boys. And with the need to keep up with the pace of growth, Margaret felt that Cindy was not really someone to keep taking up space (and a precious collar).

-------

Enter Abby

At ten-thirty on Thursday, Abby drove into the parking lot and parked. Walking around the corner she saw a plain brick building with planter boxes in the front and a large glass double door in the center. She was surprised to see just a few women siting at tables with some sort of forms, and a few nude women walking around with tablet computers. As she walked in, a group of women got up and followed a nude woman down a hallway marked "Examination".

Walking up to the desk, she saw an older woman sitting talking to a younger girl. Both of them were nude and wearing orange collars. "Can I help you?" the older one asked.

"Hello. I am Abby Sanders, I have a ten thirty appointment?"

"Ok. I am Helen and this is Cindy. Just a second while we look you up. OK, you are here for intake consultation. Cindy, do you mind helping Ms. Sanders?"

"Not at all. Please come with me over here. Do you want a coke or coffee?" Cindy asked.

"Sure. That would be good. Coke if you have it."

Sitting down at the table Cindy indicated, Abby looked around. Another group of women had just gotten up and started following a younger blonde down the same hallway toward the rear, and she noticed that another group was walking out the doors.

Cindy shortly returned with drinks and her portable. "Well, let's see your notice, please" Cindy asked Abby.

Looking over the form Cindy saw there were no selections or registration. "Abby, we have to do some paperwork here first. How did you hear about us?" She asked.

Thinking that this was absurd, and being a little upset, Abby replied, "I looked in the phone book under butcher and your name came up".

"Wow. I didn't know we were advertising." Cindy replied.

Thinking the girl was either dense or playing her along, Abby got ready to snap back. Then she realized that it really wasn't this girl's fault. She was in the same situation as Abby according to the blogs.

"No. I did some research and the blog articles said that this place treated people different. I looked you up and you had a no commit appointment. I figured I had a little time and I would come down." Abby said.

"Well, you made the right choice." Cindy said

"I would rather not be here." Abby said quietly under her breath.

"Neither would we. And if things were different, the boss would send us all home." Cindy said.

"Really?" Abby asked.

"Yes. We have derailed or extended at least six today alone. Some for legal, some for selection issues, and some because they don't' have their shit together." Cindy said with a smile.

"Ok. So, Where do we start?"

Using her portable, Cindy helped Abby do go through the selection process on the MAB web page. Then went to the Selection Board and did a status check to verify status and reporting date. "Looks like everything is in order. You have until Sunday, so we have some time. Do you want to go through the questionnaire?"

"You have a questionnaire for getting killed?" Abby asked.

"You know, the job is never finished until the paper work is done." Cindy said with a smile.

Going through the questionnaire with Cindy was not as Abby expected. The quantity of tasks was pretty thorough and it was surprising that it listed a lot of things that a lawyer would suggest. Things like locations of wills, keys, distribution of pets, accounts, credit card information and contacts, and a whole host of personal issues. Even a question of where the car was parked (in case the woman had driven herself). Profession was also listed. "Why profession? Aren't you more concerned with my meat quality then my mind?"

"Our boss likes to know and so do we. Sometimes we take advantage of the time we have with you to talk and learn. Or maybe try to make things easier for you."

Struck by the earnestness of the young woman, Abby started to ask questions. Soon she found she was in a deep conversation with the young woman and that it was almost lunchtime.

"Want to stay and eat with us?" Cindy asked.

"No. I have a lot to do, according to this questionnaire. I hadn't thought about most of this stuff."

"Well, when do you want us to schedule your intake?" Cindy asked.

"I guess tomorrow? What time should I get here?"

"Things slow down today at noon, but Monday, Wednesday and Friday are pretty much full tilt all day. Probably at eleven o'clock tomorrow, Friday, we will have time to talk. Or you could get here for lunch. We have pasta on Friday."

"Last meal, huh? Ok. Save me a seat for lunch?"

"Sure. If I am here." Cindy said.

"Why won't you?" Abby asked. Then felt stupid.

"Because my expiration date was last Saturday, and I am just helping around here for the time being." Cindy said.

"Oh. I am so sorry." Abby said.

"So am I. But doing something to help others while I am waiting is pretty good. I don't have a lot of time to get depressed. So we have a date? Lunch tomorrow?" Cindy asked.

"Sure. Friday. I can get here about eleven thirty?"

"Works for me. " Cindy said, standing up with Abby. "Don't forget to take the intake form with you, and if you come up with anything we forgot, write it down." Cindy said, as she gave Abby a hug.

"Ok. Thank you. I will see you tomorrow." Abby said as she picked up her purse and left.

In the car, Abby was in an emotional turmoil. She had sat down with a nineteen-year-old child and calmly talked about closing out her life. And it struck her that the kid she was talking with had made those same decisions herself last week. And was just sitting around waiting for the axe to fall. How did this kid get so mature? Or was she just hiding it?

Cindy was also thinking. This woman was exactly what Candy was talking about when she said that there were people needed here. She was smart, medically trained, and probably would adapt to the people here.

"Helen. I want you to look over the last person I was talking with." Cindy said. "I think she is what David was looking for."

-------

Friday Noon. Lunch with murderers

Cindy was taking a string down behind Candy when Abby came in. She was late because she had decided to take public transportation, rather then have her car left in a lot. Of course, it was in a space at the condo she would never see again, but that was to be expected. Her last notes to her sister listed where the keys were, and supposedly all of her things would be shipped out on Monday. As a result, she had just entered at noon.

Seeing the attractive brunette, Helen waved her over to a table. "So, you are joining us for lunch?"

"Sure. Is Cindy around?"

"Yes. She is just down the hall helping a few other ladies. She will be back in an hour. Why don't you get a plate and a glass of wine?"

"Wine with lunch? That is not what I expected." Abby said.

"Thank you. We do try. Cindy was struck with you yesterday. I was going to ask you a little about yourself. If you have some time?"

And so Abby spent the next hour and a half talking about her time at Cook County General, her work as an intern, resident and then later specialization in nerve and trauma. Some of the stories were smug, some were sad.

Helen laughed a lot at Abby's stories, having done her internship at Cook as well

Cindy and Candy, seeing the two in conversation, quietly took their lead from Nancy and Carol and took another string down. When they came back, Margaret had come and sat with Helen and Abby for a short time and then left with another group. Gradually, the reception room was emptied of everyone except Helen and Abby. The conversation was so intense at times that Abby never even noticed the dwindling numbers of people. At three thirty, Cindy came over and sat with Helen and Abby at the table, after getting herself a soda. Candy came over and, after Margaret's suggestion, went and got her self a glass of wine. And brought another one over for Abby, who had several by this time.

"Phew. Time has flown" Helen said.

"Yes. Barbara wants to shut things down and Christina wants to start shipping." Candy said.

"Everyone done in back?" Margaret said.

"No. Chris and Marty are kind of backed up. They won't get out for another hour or so." Candy said.

"Candy is our production manager. I can depend on her to know what is going on." Margaret said.

Abby came to the sobering realization that she was the only one in front that was still dressed. And that the people were talking about closing up. Which meant that she was out of time.

"Well, Girls, who takes me back?" She asked, drinking a large gulp from her glass.

"Who would you like to have take you back?" Margaret asked.

"Cindy, do you want to do the honors?" Abby asked with a little shake in her voice.

"Sure. If you like."

"You were the first one to talk with me here. So I think I will go with the one who brung me, Ladies, It has been a wonderful time." Abby said, as she downed the last of her wine. "Hope this doesn't spoil the meat."

"It won't. You aren't kosher anyway." Margaret said.

"I guess I am ready. What do I bring?" Abby asked with a hitch in her voice.

"Everything" Cindy said.

Walking down the hall to Exam was scary, but talking with Cindy was a distraction. Barbara came in and drew six bottles of blood and took a saliva swab. She left Abby with a urine cup for sampling. With several glasses of wine, Abby had no problem filling the cup. When they left there and into stripping, Abby saw a single box on the table with her name on it.

"I guess this is for me?" Abby said.

"Yes." Cindy said. "You put your shoes in first so your clothes aren't soiled. First put your cup on the counter."

Abby tried to keep up Cindy's banter as she removed her shoes, slacks and blouse. Following with her underwear, she noticed that her breathing was a little rapid. Anxiety was setting in a little. Barbara calling her from the window got her attention back.

"Abby, do you want to look at your results?"

"I just finished a critical physical two months ago. I doubt that there is anything wrong. Not that it will matter in a little while, will it?"

"Don't know. Aren't you curious?" Cindy said.

"Not really. Actually, I guess I just want to get this over with. So. I am naked. What do we do now?"

"Well, follow me. We take the turnstile around, and we start processing there. First a shower and then some cleanup. We have some time to talk later."

Abby followed Cindy and watched as she grabbed the handle when the light turned green. Immediately after that, Cindy was whisked around and the light over the turnstile turned red. Abby waited. Then when the light turned from red to green again, Abby stepped into the turnstile and grasped the handle.

Suddenly Abby was whisked around, and partially blinded by the extreme amount of light. After her eyes adjusted, Abby looked around and saw Margaret and Cindy standing next to the turnstile. Behind them was several women's bodies hanging inverted in a row above the tiled floor.

"Well, I guess that is it." She said to Cindy and Margaret.

"Not just yet. Unless you are in a hurry, we would like to talk with you for a while." Margaret said.

"Well, I guess I should say that my time is all yours?" Abby said with gallows humor.

"There is that. Here, put these sandals on and follow me around." Margaret said. "How long did you work in the Morgue?"

"I did a three month rotation. It wasn't my favorite job. But none of the patients ever complained."

"No. At this point they don't. My worry is getting them to this point." Margaret said. "And that is where you come in. We are not arrogant enough to feel we are doing this the best way possible. And we don't have much in the way of medical study to work from. So, are you really in a hurry?"

Thinking for a moment that this was the ultimate intimidation, Abby said in a small voice. "I guess not."

"Good answer. Let's get out of here, it's cold" Cindy said.

"You go ahead, dear. Abby and I will be along in a moment."

Looking at Cindy's departing rear, Margaret had to smile. I think that girl may have just saved herself. She doesn't know it yet. But she didn't freak at anything she has done all week. And she has kept a sharp eye out for prospects as well.

"So. Do you want to know what you are getting into?" Margaret asked Abby.

"Yea, kind of."

"Well, here is the deal. David, my lovely husband, is running a Lifeboat here for people who are able to add value to the business. We need people who do interviews to find the loopholes for some to go hone instead of into a box. Just like we did with you. In the last three weeks, we have sent home pregnant women, women who were selected in error, women who were volunteered by malicious husbands and relatives, and everyone else we could exclude. And those we had to term, we gave choices to those who wanted to pay, and we try to send the rest away as peacefully as possible. But I am not sure from a medical perspective we are doing the best. And we need another cutter."

"You mean killer?" Abby asked.

"That is what the job means. Someone to do it quickly, calmly, and with no desire to cause pain or distress."

"You stress someone when you kill them. You have no choice." Abby said. "Unless you are using drugs or something impactful."

"Exsanguination is our preferred means. We try to make it sweet and simple." Margaret said.

"So you bleed them. How?" Abby said.

"Want to see?" Margaret asked.

"Show me. Let's look at these." Abby said, finding her professional disconnect coming into play.

Examining the necks of the cooling women, Abby saw surgical slices along the neck with the jugular vein and carotid artery neatly sliced in half. The main of the throat was not touched. There was absolutely minimal nerve damage. Very even cuts with no hesitation marks. The subject would still be able to talk the entire time. But not for long. With both sides opened, the heart would probably empty the body of the gallon of blood within one to two minutes. Death would be almost painless.

Looking at the bodies on the table that were awaiting dismemberment, the cuts on the neck were longer and a little rougher. "You have different people doing this." Abby said.

"Yes. How can you tell?"

"Easy. The ones hanging had cuts that were small, precise and no real force. The knife did the work. The on one on the table was more forceful." Abby commented with professional detachment.

"Well, you see the difference. I did the one on the table. The three hanging are Candy."

"Candy? This looks like a surgical resident." Abby said with some astonishment.

"She spent evenings reading Grey's Anatomy." Margaret said. "She is very precise and quick. She was a farm kid who I picked out. She has become one of the most important persons here."

"So you are the sloppy one. Got to work on your work." Abby said.

"Which is why I want you to help." Margaret said calmly.

"Margaret, I took an oath." Abby said with hesitation in her voice.

"So how do you handle hospice? How do you handle informed termination?" Margaret asked.

"That is a low blow. I don't like to."

"Abby, All of these women die. With few exceptions, everyone coming into that door is expecting to die. They don't know how because we don't talk about it. It is a surprise."

"So for me to stick around I have to become a killer?" Abby said in a small voice.

"That is what we do here. But we don't do it with malice, or with any intent to cause pain. We can't use drugs because we have to sell what we kill. And all the other methods are pretty scary to most people."

"So how would I have ended up upside down and bleeding to death and not be traumatized?"

"Tomorrow we'll show you. Right now, let's get out of here. There is one rule though. Your wardrobe is limited. It is like mine."

"You mean I am naked."

"Yep." Margaret said wit a smile.

"Guess it is good that I look good that way." Abby rejoined.

"Better then me, you good are looking hussy. There are some other advantages to this job."

"Really?" Abby asked.

"Well, besides not being in a cooler, you also have great company, good meals, a decent place to live, and all the dick we can scrounge up."

"Huh?" Abby gasped.

"Abby, you are not morally limited, are you?"

"No. I'm just a bit bashful. And besides, you never know."

"Well, honey, let me tell you" Margaret said as she lead the way to the break/family room." You are in for a treat. It isn't a bordello, but it isn't a home for shrinking violets either."

Following Margaret into the hallway and the break room, Abby was a little struck. There were four other nude women there. Cindy and Candy, an older blonde and Helen.

"Hello ladies. We have all talked a little about Abby here. Abby, you know Cindy, Candy and Helen. This other sneaky slut is Carol, our resident legal beagle and cock-sucking instructor."

"Don't listen to a word this slut says," Carol said." I don't know how to suck the chrome off a ball hitch like she does."

"And we have a few others, but they are upstairs I guess." Margaret said.

"Nancy is working on her thesis about life and death and women's rights in our society." Candy said.

"Elizabeth is talking with Cathy Cox on press release and marketing material."

Helen added. "Seems they have a lot of ideas and interests in our custom operations."

"And I have a conference call with Sue and another group to research the third party volunteer process." Carol said. "Sue wants that tightened up a lot. Voluntary assignment is another stream she has interest in. So we are looking into that."

"So, how many of us are there?" Abby asked.

"David has license for eight. Which reminds me, Cindy, did you bring a spare collar?"

"Right here. Mr. F. said that the key has to go back to his desk. Well, Abby, do you want us to hook you up?" Margaret asked.

Abby thought of the implications for a moment. Realizing that this was an either or situation, and that the "or" was pretty permanent right now, the either choice looked pretty good.

"I think that I would love it if you hooked me up" Abby answered.

Reaching around her neck, Cindy brought the collar connections down to the front, and locked the collar around Abby's neck.

"Welcome aboard" Cindy said with a hug.

Abby felt strange for a moment, being hugged by a younger woman who was nude. But after a second, she realized it was a real welcome. And hugged her back.

-------

Friday Night. Adjustments and a Party

Like stepping through the looking glass, Abby was a little surprised at every turn. First was the tour. There were a group of eight rooms upstairs that were laid out like dorm rooms. Except that they were larger, had windows, and closets. And a comfortable queen sized bed.

"I think this is yours." Cindy said. "I have been using it, but I am only temporary. I think you might be more permanent."

Abby felt her stomach lurch when Cindy said that. "How do you mean?"

"Well, I was expired last Saturday, and the agreement was one week. Carol and Margaret were going to see what they could do to have either substitution or exemption for me. But so far the law is pretty clear that there is nothing around it. So I guess tomorrow or Monday is my day." Cindy said.

"Cindy, Let me find someplace else. I don't want to kick you out of your room."

"You are sweet, Abby. But I don't have much invested here. This is just a hotel for me. Mom keeps reminding me every night. I would like to talk to her from here when I call her later, if you don't mind."

"Sure." Abby said.

"So. Lets show you around. We have some really neat stuff next door too."

"I heard." Abby said with a shudder. "The blogs were pretty explicit about it."

"It's not so scary. Well, it is, sort of. But it was neat too. I probably sound weird"

"No. People have fantasy lives. And if you have one, you should be able to live it. Or at least end it your way" Abby said.

"That's how I feel. Anyway, let's go and I will show you how it is set up." Cindy said with a giggle.

Cindy lead the way, going across through the other guest quarters and rumpus room and down the back stairs and into the warehouse. Cindy led Abby over to show her the setup. The gallows had been finished and the two pulley's were mounted at the center and the left hand corner of the cross member. New double braided marine line had been purchased and run through the pulley system and to a large stainless steel docking cleat. There it was neatly tied around the base and cinched tight. The slip noose at the end of the rope over the trapdoor was an eyelet in the large diameter line, which would slide easily open and closed.

Abby eyed the large diameter line and thought that this would probably maximize pressure over a large area, rather then cutting into a small area. And the double braid would not stretch at all.

"This sure looks professional. Not my way to go but this is surely industrial strength." Abby said.

"Not mine either. Carol likes it though. David had it built with her suggestions." Cindy said.

"Really?" Abby said.

"Yea. Carol has a hanging fantasy. No drop. So it will be strangulation. She wants to kick and twist. Little strange if you ask me."

"Some women have strong fantasy lives. Not me." Abby said.

"Almost everyone has some ideas." Cindy said. "Helen said that she didn't want to be skewered, but almost anything else was ok. She even said she wanted to be hung up without shocking." Cindy said.

"Shocking?"

"Yea. Oh. You didn't see how we process normally. You will tomorrow I am sure."

"I am not sure how I will deal with that." Abby said.

"Well, you better deal with it, because that is what we do here. We do it nicely, but we still do it." Cindy said. "Come on. Let me show you how I want to go."

Descending the steps, and walking past the guillotine Abby stopped Cindy and asked, "Where are the baskets?"

"They are upstairs." Cindy replied. "You bring your own down with you for this. If you are here the night before, you scent it with your favorite perfumes or scents. That is how Jennifer did it. She wrote about it in her blog the night before she was topped. Candy had told her that it would be the last thing she ever smelled."

"I guess there is that. The sensation of smell and hearing would be the last of the high level senses to go. Does it creep you out?" Abby asked.

"No." Cindy said. "I haven't got much creep out factor left."

"So this is how you want to go?"

"Oh hell no. Follow me." Cindy said, leading the way to the rear area and down the hallway to the open door on the left. Cindy turned on a set of lights that shown down over a raised tiled tub. The outside was covered in glazed tiles and the inside was stainless steel with a large diameter drain. Water jets came in from the walls of the tub

"You want to drown?" Abby asked.

"No, silly. See the mural on the wall? This is a remake of a Roman bath. The lowered areas have large five gallon buckets to catch the blood. You put a catheter in the wrist, bring in some wine and cheese, and turn the water up to about a hundred and four. Then you just sit, drink and open the catheter. You bleed out nice and quiet and no mess. The tub has a large drain to empty and clean up after you piss and poop. So you can do a wash down here, Clorox it, and then haul me away. See? We even have an invalid crane to get the body out." Cindy said with some excitement in her voice.

"I have to admit, this is classy. Who dreamed this up?" Abby asked.

"I think Nancy did. Elizabeth initially wanted to be spitted, but she changed her mind when this was built. Anyway, Candy did a lot here to work with all of this."

"She seems to have a hand in almost everything here." Abby said. "So, she got plucked out of the "stream" like I did?"

"Pretty much. I will let her tell you her story. Mine is different. Carol and Elizabeth are doing some research on selection and substitution law. My mom wants to sub my sister for me. She is a quad. So far, not much luck on that. I don't really want Heather do die for me anyway. So it is kind of a mess." Cindy said with some finality.

Abby was taken aback. Here was a young woman who was dealing with the same things she had dwelt with on Wednesday. How do you ask someone to die for you?

"Well, Cindy. I am glad you fished me out of the stream." Abby said.

"So am I. Makes me happy to think I have left something behind that was useful. Let's go back to the break room and get something to eat. It's getting late."

-------

Friday Night Follies

The blogs had talked about the party at Findlay on the night before Jennifer's party, but they hadn't been too detailed. Abby was wondering how her nights were going to be spent here. No one was very forthcoming. Coming down from the upper floors after leaving the warehouse (or the circus, as Cindy called it) was not nearly as shocking as Abby imagined. The room was as large as a basement in a larger house, with a kitchen and counters on one wall. On the end wall was a large video screen and scattered near the doorway were several round tables similar to reception. Three large couches were arranged in a "U" in front of the view screen, and a large ceramic-topped table was in the middle. It was comfortable seating for at least eight, more if you were intimate.

It was a lot better than the sorority house at U of Chicago, Abby said to herself. Three of her roommates were sitting at one of the tables eating salad with pasta and tofu as chicken. The food smelled spicy and had a strong hint of garlic. The two bottles of wine at the table indicated that the food was spicy and needed some wash.

"Grab a plate and another bottle. It is Hen night here tonight. All the boys are gone home and we must fend for ourselves here." Helen spoke up.

"Abby, you have met Carol. This is Elizabeth Ayers, our marketing guru. I think Nancy is still upstairs and Candy is locking up." She continued by way of introduction.

"Grab a plate and glass and join us. Cindy, your mom called. I told her you were around and would call after dinner." Helen said.

Cindy shuffled Abby to the table, and then went to make two plates. After bringing one over to Abby, along with a glass of wine, she said, "I am going to go up and call my mom. I will be right back in a few.

"So, you are the new fish in the pond" Elizabeth said. "Welcome to the Findlay lifeboat."

"Thanks. I am a bit overwhelmed about it." Abby said. "I really didn't know what to think about all of this."

"None of us did. We are all trying to get our head wrapped around it in our own way." Helen continued.

"True. It's mainly chance to do some good and to have some fun while we can." Carol continued. "And the fringe benefits are very interesting, in addition to not being in a cooler."

"I imagine I will have to find that out myself. Margaret gave me the short tour and also told me that we are all responsible for each other here. It reminds me of sorority life."

"You were Greek?" Helen asked.

"Yes. Phi Delta. You?"

"Same here. Except for Cindy and Candy, all of us were. Margaret was a housemother for me years ago. I don't know where the rest of these sluts were, but we all seem to have the same sort of background." Helen continued.

"Even the slut we sent home with my husband." Carol said.

"Now dear. You didn't mind that at all, and besides, it is good for Jim. He has been here every night regardless except on Fridays." Helen said.

"True. It's my own fault. And I did give him permission. And you have been very gracious to loan us Mark and others. Abby, we don't do too badly here. And David and Margaret are working their buns off trying to make our life here as good as possible." Carol said.

"Well, Cindy showed me the room that she said was mine. I was a little upset that she said she was not going to need it much longer. I didn't expect to hear her so composed."

"Have you worked with many juvenile oncology patients?" Helen asked. "Younger people have a different perspective of issues than older people do. From a purely logical perspective, she is right. She has tried very hard to fit in here, but there are only so many seats. When a better resource comes along, of a given type, he needs to make adjustments. And David does have this business to run."

"I see the logic. But I don't have to like it." Abby said.

"No one expects you to. None of us do. It is what it is. And we enjoy what we have while we do. Now. What do you need from us for tonight?" Helen asked.

"Well, I don't' exactly know what you mean."

"Well, tomorrow afternoon, probably one of the men will go to your house and pick up the materials you need for life here. You need to make a list of things you want to keep with you here. And look at your room and figure out what you want it to look like. Paint, paper, linens, the whole shooting match. That way David and Mark can do some shopping tomorrow. Also your birth control."

"Wow. I hadn't thought of that. I have no real close relationships. But I do have a few friends. I expect that they may have a problem coming here. One in particular."

"Well, Honey, you can borrow mine if you like. Or David. Or Jim." Helen said. "The men all behave well. Did Cindy show you the bulletin board?"

"No. Why?" Abby asked curiously.

"Swinger house rules. Closed door means knock if important, or do not disturb. Open door means come in, but knock first. Any one is fair game if you give permission." Helen said.

"And be careful with Cindy, that little clit-licker will eat you alive for hours." Carol said with a smile.

Abby blushed at this. "Well I have to check that out. Being alive does make one horny"

"Amen to that, girl. Now ladies, what do we watch tonight?" Liz asked.

Later, after loading the dishwasher and helping clean up, Abby went upstairs to talk with Cindy. She listened from the open door for a few minutes and caught the last of a conversation.

"No, Mom. I don't want to do that. If there is any chance that Megan will recover, I want her to. I don't want any more of this pressure. Leave Carol and Margaret to handle this and if I have to go, then I am ready. Don't mess with it."

"I love you too. Talk to you tomorrow." Cindy said as she was hanging up.

"Hey kidlet," Abby said from the door. "How would you like to help me set up the room next door for myself? I don't feel right having you move."

"But you should have your choice." Cindy said.

"I made it. So. Where are the sheets and towels here? And what can we do to make this room more like me?"

Cindy and Abby spent the next half hour making up the bed, and moving furniture around a little in the room. Abby wrote a list of things that she wanted from her home that included her hobby and craft box, bedroom stereo and view screen, and computer.

"This mattress is better then mine. I wonder if I could get my bedroom furniture moved into here?" Abby asked.

"I think that would be allowed. Carol, Helen, and Elizabeth had their guest bedrooms moved into here. They kept the mattress that Findlay provided, though. Nancy moved her bedroom into here. She said that the closet was bigger then hers. The only thing that kind of sucks is that we don't have our own bathrooms."

"I lived in a dorm for six years. This is a lot better. And so are the showers. This isn't too hard to adjust to. If we have to share a sink, I will. I saw there are four. Want to share one with me?"

"Abby, I keep telling you. I will be happy to, but I am not sure how long I am going to be here."

"Cindy. One of my philosophy professors said to me that "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. Today is what we have now." We all have is now. So. Let's live in the now." Abby said

"Well, if you like, we could share my room until you get your stuff here." Cindy said with a smile.

"I was hoping you would invite me for that. I heard some interesting stories about you." Abby said with a blush.

"Really? Well, let me see if I can make them come true?" Cindy replied as she reached out and softly touched Abby's cheek.



-------

Chapter 17



Saturday. Abby's first day as a Goat

Saturday morning came very early. Despite the excitement and relief of stress, Abby and Cindy had finally worn each other out. It took some time. But by midnight both were sound asleep in Cindy's bed.

Abby woke up feeling a little disorientated, a little disconnected, and a lot tired. Phew, she thought to herself, that girl wore me out.

Getting up carefully and walking down the hall to the lavatory, Abby smelled coffee and cooking food. First bathroom. Then food.

Stepping down the stairs, she saw Helen and Candy at the stove, cooking and chatting. "Good Morning" Abby said coming around the corner. "Is that coffee ready?"

"Yes. How do you like it?" Candy asked, reaching for a cup.

"Like my men. Sweet and light." Abby replied. Then blushed as she remembered the age differences.

"I like mine strong and black. But we don't have any of those over the weekend yet." Candy said, bringing a cup to one of the tables.

"Don't mind her. She has fallen into bad company and become totally corrupted," Helen said while stirring the eggs. "Scrambled or do you want omelets?"

"Just coffee for the moment. Food later." Abby said. "So Candy. I guess I am going to be following you this morning?" Abby continued.

"I guess. Unless you want to have Margaret show you what to do." Candy said.

"I don't think so. I looked at your cuts. You work is like a surgeon. Short, clean and no tearing or hesitation marks. No nerve damage. Very precise."

"I studied Grey's a lot. Wanted to do the best I could. People panic when they are in pain. I don't want that for my clients." Candy said with earnestness in her voice.

"Well, I doubt that anyone would notice it. So how do you get them inverted?"

"Easier to show you then to tell you. We have a group coming in this morning to catch up. How about you follow me and I will show you. But you have to promise not to freak out. It's not fair to the ladies to have someone panic them." Candy said with a strange calm.

Looking into Candy's cool grey eyes, Abby realized that this young woman would brook no interference in her job. She was a professional here, and Abby was the student.

"I won't." Abby replied.

David came in at seven thirty, and was followed by Barbara, Chris and Marty Burke. Marty Robinson was taking the day off, and Marty Burke was doing junior duty as butcher and then doing deliveries in the afternoon. Gus was there too as was Carl German.

While everyone was sitting around and sipping coffee, and eating, David asked Candy for the day's production numbers.

"We have twelve scheduled for standard. Three are catch up from Wednesday and three from yesterday. All are due today. And we have four that want specials. Three chop jobs and one gallows. I figure we work them this afternoon. That makes three short strings, one special group and then party time." Candy said in her usual calm voice.

"How are you scheduling operations?" David asked.

"Abby and I will take one string, and Cindy and I the other two."

"You breaking Cindy in?" David asked.

"Might as well. You need a cutter and she needs a job to stay here." Candy said in that same calm monotone.

"Ok. Well, I guess guys that the lady in production has spoken." David said with a laugh. "And you guys thought Margaret was tough."

"David, we are all pussy whipped. They have us outnumbered and we like it like that," Chris said.

"Ok. Let's get this show on the road. Candy, how many drinks and how much coffee do we need in front?" Chris asked.

"Bring a case of mixed and the small pot. And bring the bagels too. Light load should be pretty speedy." Candy said.

David carried the coffee, Abby the bagels and Helen followed Chris who was carrying the drinks. Candy stopped at David's office and picked up a portable terminal for Abby to work with. Cindy already had hers.

At eight thirty, there were already fifteen women waiting. Getting the crowd settled quickly Helen, Abby and Candy sorted out who was who. None of the specials was here yet, but all of the standards were, plus three that wanted to do intakes for next week.

So it was almost an hour before Candy stood up and said to the first group of three, "Well, lets move onto examination. Abby, will you take these ladies through and meet me in processing?"

"Sure. Ladies, let's get our purses and papers and move down to the examination rooms. Casey, Margie and Kate, wait here and we will be back for you in a short time."

Abby lead the string of Barbara, Kathleen and Terri down to the exam rooms and reviewed their papers like Cindy had done with her the previous week. Stepping through the exam then lavatory and into stripping, it was just like it had been when she was in medical school. Gently moving people around. Stripping was where the realization came home to her string. Like Cindy had done before, Abby said to all three that there was time left, and that there would be no pain involved.

She adopted the mantra of just please make sure that everything was in the basket so Janice could box it up for their family. Stepping onto the turnstile, Abby remembered to warn them to hang onto the handle as the turnstile spun pretty quickly.

A moment later Candy's face came into view as well as the very brightly lit slaughter area.

"Now step over there, and when they come around, call out their name and ask them to step toward you. Ok?" Candy said to Abby.

"Ok." Abby said. Moment's later Barbara's body came around the turnstile.

"Barbara, come over here please?" Abby said.

A moment later a sharp crack, and Barbara lay in the bottom of the turnstile. "Help me a second" Candy said.

Pulling the right leg straight, Candy attached the Velcro fastener around Barbara's ankle and set the bar over to the other leg. "Attach it." Candy said to Abby.

Wrapping the Velcro loop around the ankle and snugly binding it, Abby watched as Candy attached the hook of the cable to the center loop of the spreader bar. Touching a button on a control, Barbara was winched up and raised to a hook that was at the end of a Trolley going overhead. With a practiced motion, Candy dropped the inverted Barbara into position on the hook and removed the cable.

Sitting down, Candy talked calmly to Barbara while Abby watched standing up. Suddenly from the side, Candy sliced with a very short knife into the side of Barbara's neck and then moved around to the outer side with the other hand. Abby noticed that the knife never was in front of Barbara's line of sight. All the while Candy was talking to Barbara and holding her head. Gradually the blood stopped gushing and Barbara lapsed into sleep.

Standing up, Candy looked at Abby and said. "Ok. Just like that. I didn't know what tool you wanted to use, so I have these disposable scalpels. David picked them up at the supply shop before you came in Friday. The next one is yours." Candy said as she rolled Barbara down the trolley.

"I'll work the controls. You focus on the hook up and the cut. And remember, to talk the whole time they are awake. Ok?" Candy said as she hit the rotation control.

Seeing Kathleen come into view, Abby said "Kathleen. I am sorry we took so long, but we had some trouble. Could you please walk here for me?"

Part way through her step, Kathleen was shocked and collapsed. Grabbing a left ankle and pulling the leg straight, Abby saw the one end of the spreader bar and the Velcro waiting for her. Attaching that end while Candy did the other and then hoisting Kathleen up took a few seconds. Taking the scalpel from Candy's hand as Kathleen dropped into place on the hook, Abby bent down and looked into Kathleen's eyes.

Talking quietly and calmly and remembering Candy's technique, Abby quickly opened up Kathleen to bleed out. Kathleen came around and was able to talk for a few words, which Abby listened and answered back. Mainly making sure that everything on the checklist was done right. And that it felt cold. "It's alright. It won't be cold long. You are almost there. Just relax." Abby said, as she watched the light go out of Kathleen's eyes.

"She is done." Abby said, standing up.

"Ok. Now you roll her over here next to Barbara so she can finish and we get ready for Terri."

Moments later, Abby was watching the lights go out in Terri's eyes, as she slipped into unconsciousness. Shortly the breathing stopped, and Abby stood up to slide her down the Trolley.

Candy at this time was efficiently opening up Barbara with the Wyoming knife and had most of her internal organs on the table. Chris was sorting and grading liver, kidneys and heart for soup and pet food, and other parts.

Suddenly a light flashed in the turnstile from Red to Blue. "Abby, press the button there next to the door marked "Start". But first pick up the control for the stunner. If the person does not have a orange collar on, press the trigger."

Pressing the Start, Abby watched as Cindy came around on the turnstile. "I have the other string from reception. First one through is Casey. She was a little upset, but I got her calmed down." Cindy said stepping off of the platform.

When the blue light came on again, Abby hit the switch bringing Casey into view. A moment later, Casey was on the floor. Helping Cindy hook Casey up, Abby found the winch controls and raised her up to the location of the hook. It took some time and maneuvering to get the eyelet over the hook on the trolley and Casey was beginning to move and struggle. Cindy moved down next to Casey, and quickly sliced her neck open to bleed her out. It was a messy stroke, but it was successful, partly because of the location of Casey's neck and head. It took a few moments for the loss of blood to dim the fear in Casey's eyes.

"Damn. I didn't want her to get panicked." Cindy said.

"It's my fault. I should have transferred her more rapidly to the hanger hook." Abby said. "If I had moved faster, she would not have come around as quickly."

"Ladies. The light is blue. You have two more to do." Candy said, while opening up Kathleen's body to empty her out.

This time, Abby did not have any problem with dropping the bar onto the trolley because Cindy did it. Abby showed Cindy how to more gently let the knife do her work on the cut for her. So Margie followed Casey who was followed by Kate. Kate was the smoothest. Cindy made short and very precise incisions and was able to hit both veins cleanly. The artery was a tougher thing, but it too finally sliced. I think we need to use a hook style cutter for the arteries, Abby thought. I think I can order those from a surgical supply house directly. What we are really doing is fishing and cutting like doing a vasectomy. Same tools should apply. Or we could use a bone cutting forceps, Abby thought to herself.

Looking around Abby watched as Cindy started to disembowel Casey. Candy had finished with the first three, and Chris was moving the bodies to grading, final wash down and then butchery. Realizing that this was autopsy 101, and seeing that Kate was no longer alive, Abby started the incisions that would open Kate up for her disassembly. Following the others movements, she soon had Kate opened up in the manner that she saw Candy and Cindy doing. Surgery goes a lot faster when you know you aren't putting them all back together, Abby thought to herself.

At nine thirty, after one hour, Cindy, Abby and Candy were passing through the rinse showers to get the blood off of their bodies. And walk back up to reception. Where they were met by a larger group of women than they had left. Carol, Helen, Nancy and Elizabeth were all at different tables taking information and running intakes. Margaret was gathering up her group and starting them down to Exams. Seeing Helen wave her over, Abby walked over to the group of young Hispanic women that Helen was talking with. "Abby dear, do you have any fluency in Spanish?" she asked.

"Si" Abby replied. And other than the language difference, this trip went just like before. Abby found that getting the young women to follow her was almost simplistic. And getting them to strip in a room where there were no men around was much easier then Abby expected. Good little catholic girls going to the showers didn't have any problem getting naked. They talked constantly, though. Had to get them to shut up to go through the door.

A group of East side ladies followed the Hispanic group, and at 11:30, Abby returned to the recreation room to find that there were no more intakes for the processing plant.

Sitting at a table with Candy and Cindy she sat and poured herself a drink. She noticed that Candy was drinking wine. "Alcohol in the morning?" She asked.

"It is after five somewhere, and we are officially closed, except for the specials that are over there with Margaret. We did good for a Saturday. We did twenty-seven this morning. And that is with Margaret out of production. Usually we would have that many but the closure has jacked up our volume. And Elizabeth told me that we have ninety for Monday already. That is the count for processing and not interviews." Candy said

It struck Abby that she had helped do twelve herself. Well, eleven. But still that was enough to make her a serial killer. Well, I am in a good group, she said to herself.

"I think I will join you. What is for lunch?" Abby asked.

At this time, Margaret, David, Helen and Carol were talking with the four "Special" partygoers who wanted to spend their last afternoon fucking and then dying in a specific form.

"Three chops and a drop," Caroline said to David. " I am the drop, and these are the chops. And the more dicks we can get the better." She added.

David replied, "We don't have a large supply of Dicks. If you have some of your own, we can arrange something for them as well, so long as they are stable and won't interfere."

"We'll just have to make do with what you have," Caroline said with a smile.

"Well, I am getting ready to go get some food for us all. What would you ladies like for lunch?" Margaret asked.

"You taking orders? That is great. Here is my card, Get what you want, and some champagne if you can." Caroline said.

"Ok. In the meantime ladies, Helen and Carol will help you with the intake forms, and then we will go next door and show you our facility."

Margaret looked at the list and shook her head. We will be eating leftovers for a month. But it was all good and tomorrow no cooking. The goat guys (Jim, Mark and George) would be over tonight. And Chris and Carl were staying the night as well. Marty Burke's wife was in Cleveland with her relatives, so he would probably stay as well.

Marty had gotten a written hall pass from his wife and had not gripes about blood testing. Cecilia was a sweet person, but she knew she was past prime and that Marty was still interested in younger women. So long as they were goats, she knew she was safe from being traded in.

It took almost two hours to get back to Findlay. The crowds on Saturday were insane. Margaret called at the front door, feeling that it was probably simpler to eat in reception then in the break room. On the fourth ring, Candy answered.

"Hey, Ms. F. We wondered what happened. Well, not too much. " Candy giggled.

"Ok. I am at the front door, want to come let me in and help carry?" Margaret asked.

"Sure. On the way." Candy said as she hung up.

When Candy opened the door, Margaret saw she was flushed, damp and sweaty. "You started without me?" Margaret said accusingly.

"We did, and boy is the party running. Let me help you get the things into the fridge that need to be there and follow me."

Setting the bags in the empty drink fridge, Margaret looked around and saw that there were the remains of a lot of snack foods and drinks scattered around. Following Candy through the warehouse access door from reception and past the unfinished interview rooms, she walked into the main floor and was surprised at what she saw.

Carol and Caroline were on the gallows platform, tugging on the rope from overhead. Cindy was running down the stairs for some reason. The guillotine platform had been rolled across the floor and was locked in place in front of the bleachers. Four mattresses had been placed between the Guillotine and the hanging platform.

David, a redhead and Abby were involved in an interesting chain with David doing the redhead doggy style while Abby's head was beneath and between her legs at the same time. The redhead's face was buried between Abby's thighs.

Gus and Chris were each on their back with a woman astride them riding them as if to win a horserace. The moaning and groaning was a constant din from the floor.

"Well, the cat's away and the mice are playing." Margaret said. "How much have you been drinking?"

"I had one glass of wine. Cindy had one as well. I think Carol and Helen had a little more. But the rest of the group is pretty well lit. Caroline wants to go first, with an audience. So she and Carol went up to set the rope. I tied things off pretty well using tricks from the books and I think she will enjoy her exit. Cindy wanted to help. Carl and Marty were doing me pretty good when you called. Carl is getting the wheel barrow to set up for the later acts."

Cindy at that time came up to the pair. "Candy, where is the wrist rope?"

"It is over behind the bottom step. Now remember, wrap around her waist two times and then one end of each line around a single wrist. Like I showed you. It will give her room to reach up to her breasts and down to her clit, but not up to the rope around her neck. And remember to put the slipknot behind her left ear beside her head. Not behind."

"I will. Hugs. Gotta go." Cindy said, giving Margaret and Candy a kiss.

"She termed her first groups today, and now she is working on a special. The kid is really jazzed up." Candy said.

"She's doing terms?" Margaret said.

"Sure did. She did her first with Abby this morning. And she has a light touch with a knife. Have to get some different tools ordered, by the way. Abby said she think that a couple of different tools for cutting arteries would be better than what we are doing. She says it is quicker and less troublesome." Candy said. "She might be your replacement if you keep doing shopping runs."

Margaret watched as Carol and Caroline were at the top of the gallows, working with the rope around Caroline's neck. Caroline's staggering a little caused Margaret to yell out, "Cindy, don't run up those stairs. Hold the handrail so you don't fall." Silly girl Margaret thought to herself as she watched Carol and Cindy holding up a slightly drunken Caroline.

Watching as Cindy inexpertly wrapped the line around Caroline's waist two times, and then folded the ends into a complicated knot; Margaret whispered to Candy "How much did she have to drink/"

"Cindy? One glass. Carol and Caroline had a whole bottle between them. And then they had poor Marty between them. Then David. You should have hurried back. It was a gas."

"So, what is she doing?" Margaret asked.

"I set the scaffold up earlier. The rope has a slip for six feet and then will stop. Trap opens sideways so there is a clear view from the front. Cindy is setting the end loops over Christina's hands. I already set that up."

"You are just a little project manager, aren't you?" Margaret said with a giggle.

"Well someone had to be the adult here. All these people getting drunk and hollering. Even David got into it."

At that point, Caroline raised both her left and right hands and could get to her breasts but not any higher. She could get down to her clit, but that was about it. "Ok. Ladies, Let's string me up. Make me dance and twist." Caroline said to Carol and Cindy.

"Chris" Carol yelled. "Caroline is getting ready. Want to come up here and do the honors?"

Chris looked up and sat up a bit, with his dick still buried into the blonde on his lap. "I am kind of busy. Do you want to?"

"Sure. Where do I go?"

"Go to the end where the rope is tied off and you will see a lever with a loop over it."

"Ok." Carol said after walking to the end of the scaffold. "What do I do?"

"UGH. Raise the loop from over the end of the lever. And lift it up first. That sets the trap."

"Ok. Cindy, move back. Don't want you falling down. Caroline, You ready to Fly?" Carol asked.

"Hey, everyone pay attention. I am going to drop." Caroline shouted.

Watching below, Carol waited until everyone had stopped what he or she was doing to look up. Even the redhead got off of Abby, who's dazed expression, showed that she was not really back from the world of Orgasm.

"Hey Everyone. Ready? Here I go. Carol, Goodbye"

With that, Chris told Carol "Pull the lever all the way down."

When Carol pulled the lever down, Caroline felt the floor fall away. The surprise caused her to reach with her legs to stand on something, but she was already on the way down. Instead of a short drop, she felt herself falling until the rope suddenly snugged around her neck and her feet came down.

With a snap and a crack, like a chiropractor setting her back, her neck extended about an inch and a half. Her spine was totally separated below the skull and twisted to one side. The spinal column with all of its nerves separated against the bones of the spine and was cut like a knife. Caroline felt nothing below her neck. She could see and hear, but not breath so she would not say anything. The sensation of pressure against her left ear was the only thing she felt. She could not feel her lungs struggling to pull in air through a closed throat. And the blood rush from her head cause a short pressure, before the starvation of oxygen caused by the backpressure caused her to pass out.

Suddenly, the sound of running water fell down to the floor beneath the scaffold as Caroline's bladder released its' last contents to the floor. Caroline's hands jerked and aimlessly stretched with no guidance, as did her legs.

"I set the rope with a slip knot at the pulley so that Carol would think it was set to short drop. But I didn't want to spoil the party with all that jerking and gasping and swinging. So I did a slip with a firm tie on the cleat. Got the drop right, I guess. Had to set it quickly so no one would guess what I was doing. Hope that is OK, Ms. F." Candy said into Margaret's ear.

Margaret shivered as Candy dispassionately finished her explanation. It was a little unnerving to her to hear her youngest (almost) partner so calmly describing what she had done.

The impact on the mattresses was a different story. Caroline had her wish. Everyone was watching her. The slight gag reflex followed by the distended tongue, the gentle swing of legs and arms, with no solid reflexes told Abby that the neck was cleanly broken and very high up. The dripping urine and dropping feces was a definite sign that all motor control was gone. Should have worn some depends, Abby thought. Funny that this is happening. Oh yes. All the ones in the slaughter line were inverted. So while urine would drop, feces would not. Sphincter control would not matter.

"Cool" said Betsy, the redhead. "She was here one minute and now gone. Well, Girls I guess we are next. When she quits swinging, want to set me up on the chopper, you lovely man?" Betsy asked David.

"Sorry lady. That is union work. You either have to entice Chris or Gus to get out of what they are doing, or wait for Marty to come back with the wheelbarrow." David said, as he pushed his dick back across Betsy's slot.

"Mm. Abby dear, Move over so I can get on bottom. David, I love missionary. Could you please finish up in me so I don't climb those steps dry?"

Quietly and somewhat in a daze, Abby crawled out and sat up. Looking up at Caroline swinging, with spasms of motion in her arms and legs, she watched as the eyes rolled back into the head. Probably going to have to slit all arteries and veins and hang this one to bleed out. Have to ask it that impacts meat grade.

Hearing a squeak Abby looked around and saw that Marty was coming from processing with a wheelbarrow. It was an old time; last century model with an iron rimmed wheel, no tire, and a simple wooden platform and fence at the front end. It was polished and sparkling clean, obviously a recreation from long ago.

Marty stopped the wheelbarrow in front of the center of the guillotine, and picked up a basket and set it on the platform in front of the blade. Seeing that all three selectees were busy, he walked over to where Margaret and Candy were standing by the interview entrance.

Getting up and walking around David who was pounding heavily into Betsy, Abby walked over to the crowd as well. She was a little wobbly, having lost count of orgasms and was also leaking some of David and Chris down her legs. It had been a wonderful noon.

"So. You back with food? Sorry we started without you. Not." Abby said with a grin.

"Well, you sure got into the spirit of things here." Margaret said.

"I am nothing if not adaptable." Abby said. "Besides, good sex always makes me hungry. And this was good."

"So I see. So what do you think of Carol and Candy's handiwork?"

"I think Caroline was looking forward to kicking and struggling, but Candy decided to not do that. And I am very happy that she did not. It would be a buzz kill."

Candy snickered. "I thought so. Maybe we can try sometime later and with someone else. Carol perhaps?"

Not my way to go, Abby thought to herself. Watching and listening, she heard the gradual increase of energy coming to climaxes out on the mattresses. Feeling Marty's hands running up and down the outside of her thigh did not calm her down any.

Stopping the mood for a moment, Margaret walked over to the mattresses and looked down at the participants. "Well, do we eat and chop or chop after you are finished?" she asked in general.

Seeing his wife standing there, David blew her a kiss, and then went back to pounding into Betsy. Shortly both of them started to moan and shake. And then stopped, as David dumped what was left of his semen deep into the vault of Betsy's cunt. Which pulsed with each squirt as she tried to suck him dry.

"Mm. That was good. Thank you David. That was Excellent. Now if I could get a drink, you guys can take me up there and chop me. Not really hungry. I want to feel it dripping out of me while the ax falls."

"Kinky little wench. Shame you have to leave." David said. "But we must go on."

Handing Betsy a bottle of water, she quickly sipped and then drank down a draft. "Phew" she said as she reached for David to stand up. "Give me your arm up the steps lover?"

Margaret watched with a smile as the two of them climbed the stairs toward the guillotine. The other four on the mattress were watching but still churning with fucks in progress.

Marty, watching and seeing that Chris was in no mood to immediately leave where he was, followed David over to the steps, and asked Chris, "Want me to do this?"

Remembering where the Guillotine came from, Chris said "Sure. I am kind of busy right now but I will finish up in a few. Then I can do this lovely lady."

With practiced hands, Marty lowered the munnion block and locked the blade and upper block in place. "My dear, if you could be so kind as to turn around. Or do you want to lie on your back and watch it fall?" Marty asked.

"I would like to try the on my back, if you don't mind. Is it any problem?"

"Not at all. Not the norm but entirely acceptable. I do have a treat, while you are there."

"What is that?"

Pulling out a rabbit vibrator, Marty said, "If you are on your back, we won't tie your hands. You can operate this until you say the word, and then I can drop the blade. That way you can come and go at the same time.

"Oh Wow. Really?"

Laying Betsy on the table, Marty bent her legs up to her hips, and laid the vibrator into her still leaking cunt. Turning it on, he brought Betsy's hands in contact to move it around to suit her needs. Then, sliding her up the table he placed her neck over the munnion block and locked it up in place. Then dropped the upper block into place.

All the while, Betsy was moving the rabbit ears around on her clit while the rotating vibrator spun inside of her. After a few moments, she began to moan. Louder and louder it went, until it almost hit a shriek. Suddenly, she stopped and then started trembling and shivering with movement and then let out a long gasp. "I'm done," she said.

Marty pulled the lever, the blade fell, and suddenly Betsy was done. Her head fell into the basket, and her body quivering and jerking on the table.

Abby watched the entire scene and thought to herself that this was the most autoerotic display she had ever seen. She came and went almost at the same time.

Casey, the blonde on Chris's dick began to rapidly pump back and forth saying "I am coming" in a shriek almost as soon as she saw Betsy's head fall. Throwing herself forward she pounded down onto Chris, while he pounded up into her. A few moments later, they both climaxed.

Sitting up, Casey wobbled a moment before standing and dribbling the joint spend down her legs and onto Chris's body. Looking around she saw her friend Betsy being wheeled down to the rear of the plant, and a fresh basket on the Guillotine platform.

"Well, I guess I get to come and go. Come on, Chris. Kill your lover. Isn't that every man's dream?"

Getting up on wobbly legs, Chris walked over to the platform with Casey and had her walk up the stairs in front of him. He raised the blade and munnions to wipe them clean, and not have a sticky mess for Casey to lie on. "Don't bother on my behalf. I won't be here long." Casey said with a grin.

"Lay down on the table. Face down, if you like.

"Oh. This table is cold. And a little squishy"

"I wanted to clean it up."

"No matter. But it is cold. So hurry up. Lock me in place lover."

Setting the blocks in place and raising the blade fully to the latch, Chris moved Casey's hands onto her back." They are going to twitch a bit when the blade drops, I didn't want to have a bad cut." He said as he strapped her in place.

"You are so considerate that way. Phew. This is cold. Ops. My basket. Where is it?"

Looking up, Chris saw that it was not quite properly placed. "Here you go."

A moment later, Casey's head was in it. Her body did twitch a bit, but settled down after a few moments.

Abby watched this second drop with a strange feeling in her stomach. These people were just lovers and now she was gone. Definitely a change in your perspectives.

Shortly Gus got up with Britta, and helped her up the same steps. Cleaning the blade and drying the table was an absolute minimum that Gus could do for the best piece of ass he had ever had. He talked sweet things to her and was right next to her when the blade dropped. He actually cried as he rolled her body off the table and onto the wheelbarrow. "God, she was good."

With the ceremonies over, Margaret then shooed her drunken and worn out flock back to the reception to eat the food that was to be eaten. And what was left was carried back to the break room, where Helen, Nancy and Elizabeth finally came down. Elizabeth and Nancy were working on market plans, and Nancy was talking to Mark.

Setting out the groceries for the evening and tomorrow, David got the status plans for the evening. He and Margaret were going to a Chamber of Commerce gathering this evening, and would not be back until late Sunday.

Peter and Jim were coming over, and Chris and Gus were staying the night. Carl German was with his son and daughter this evening, but might be back later. He and Nancy were frequent friends. Abby was going to sleep off the slight drunk she had and Candy was going to join her. Cindy was going to stay up and watch the entertainment channels and then talk to her mother later. Gus, Marty and Chris took the dropped Caroline down, and took her back after the others, and beheaded her so she would drain out better in the cool room. No one wanted to work too much with sharp objects considering how much everyone had to drink.

So at five o'clock, with the last of the meat in the cooler room, everyone went their separate ways, and Candy locked up.



-------

Chapter 18



Dressing for a night out.

"Darling, do you realize that this will be the longest time I have worn clothes in over two weeks?" Margaret said while slipping her dress up.

"And you look lovely as always" David said, as he moved to zip her up.

"You hound you. I can't help but feel sorry that our friends can't come out as well."

"If they could, we wouldn't have the hold over them that we do. And they might not be so helpful on their own hook." David said, while nuzzling Margaret's neck on the left side.

"Do you think a collar would be out of place with this outfit?" Margaret mused out loud.

"I think it would create complications. Wear the other necklace I gave you last year. I think it is just right for that dress."

"Well, you in your jacket and me in my LBD, I guess we are ready. Who is driving?"

"Neither of us. I have a limo. Nothing but the best while we have the money." David replied.

"Wonder if we will draw any unusual attention?" Margaret asked while they were being driven to the park.

"I don't know. Possibly some. But we are last week's news. Unless there is another blog I don't know about." David said.

There were a few pictures snapped as David and Margaret left the car. But no one seemed to recognize the owner of the most talked about slaughterhouse in town, so the entrance was pretty simple.

Margaret almost immediately found friends inside. Carla Sanchez was an old friend of Margaret's from college and they immediately fell into conversation. David took drink orders and went on his way to treat the ladies.

"You sure have him trained right, Chica" Carla said looking at David's departing body. "And he is a pretty good looking hunk too. Shame we didn't fly in the same circles. But we could rectify that." Carla said with a wink.

"Juan is a great looking guy. You sure you want to share him?" Margaret asked with a smile. "If I get him, I might not give him back."

"Chica, Juan is good. But he doesn't have the ability to keep me from being on a meat hook. David does. I am still young enough to be selected." Carla said with a smile.

"Well, he doesn't' really do that either." Margaret replied.

"That isn't what Jane Carmichael says. She said she made arrangements and that there is no way her daughter is going to be processed."

"Really? What did Jane say?" Margaret asked, with her blood beginning to run cold.

"That for a suitable price, she was able to get her daughter indefinitely sidetracked until there is some loophole to keep her out of the freezer. I was kind of surprised. I didn't think you guys did that sort of thing." Carla said.

"Really. Well, let me give you the truth. Her youngest daughter, Cindy, is in our plant. She is being used as a helper for the moment while her mother's older daughter was being considered for a swap. But if that is denied, then she is on a platter. And the initial arrangement was for a week. Which expired today. So come Monday, would you like to order a Carmichael rib roast?" Margaret said with an evil grin.

Shivering a moment, Carla said "Not really. We're not much into human. Not a staple of the Hispanic diet."

"Really? I thought that the Aztec and Mayan did a lot of human consumption. At least that is what our history research person is checking on. Or is that a part of the culture you don't want to talk about" Margaret said with an edge.

"Boy, you sure have gotten some sharp edges, lady. Than again, when you were housemother you were pretty tough too. Actually the subject is kind of raw. One of my cousins was picked this week. No one is talking about it. Family stuff you know. My mother and aunt are not talking about it."

Margaret thought back on today's processing and the group Abby had taken down. "Carla, I can't say one way or the other. But if they came through us, your folks will know by the middle of the week. We ship everything home. If it was us, and you want to talk, let me know."

"Chica, I don't know what to say. Kind of creepy, you know?"

"Yes. But not much creeps me any more. So. What all has Jane been saying? I am interested for a lot of reasons." Margaret asked with here eyebrows raised.

"She said you have special arrangements for friends and that they don't get processed." Carla answered.

"And what did she say she gave us to get this special arrangement?" Margaret asked.

"She wouldn't say. But she said that we should come to her in case we needed a favor from you." Carla said. "Which kind of put me off, if you know what I mean."

"Is Jane here by any chance?" Margaret asked calmly.

Just then, David arrived with drinks. Giving Carla hers and then turning to his wife, David saw the glint of fire in Margaret's eyes that that meant that there was trouble brewing.

"Here you are, darling. Should I get us our seats?" David asked.

"Darling, Get me a refill first. This one won't last. And have you seen Jane Carmichael around?"

"No. But the board of realtors group is over there. I saw Charlie Henderson who I used to do business with and he is pretty high up there." David replied.

"Thanks. Instead, go get a refill and take it to our seats. I will find you."

As David left, Carla looked back at Margaret and said "You aren't throwing that drink at anyone are you?"

"No. I won't waste good wine. Besides, I have better ways of making my points. Let's go see if we can find Jane." Margaret said.

Finding Jane Carmichael was not too hard. Clustered with a dozen or so people she was holding court, providing advise on all manner of political actions that the board was interested in. She in fact did not even hear Margaret approach.

"Jane, I am so happy I ran into you. I hope you are ok with the expiration extension we have until Monday. We couldn't get Cindy done today with the load we had, and so we are running her through Monday with the first group. We will ship her personals back to you Monday afternoon." Margaret blandly announced to the group.

Jane's face suddenly was as white as the pearls she was wearing. Sensing that she was on dangerous ground here, spoke softly and quickly" Margaret, I thought we had an arrangement here."

"We did. One week while you tried to make alternative arrangements for Cindy. That week expired. And since I have heard that there was some public confusion, I thought I would clarify things to protect our business integrity and avoid any legal investigation. We don't process on Sunday. So she will be with the first group Monday morning. We will ship her box back to you with the noon shipment." Margaret said, stopping to take a sip of her drink. "I'll make sure she checks the address before we process her."

"You bitch. You harm my daughter and I will make your life living hell. I will get you and all your pets into so much trouble." Jane said in a quiet voice filled with menace.

"Jane. You need to get good legal advice. And good public relations advice. We extended you a courtesy of one week at our discretion. That has expired. Our decision is to terminate the hold and process your lovely prime daughter. She looks like a great head on roaster. She will probably go for 2500 at Merles or some other market. If you like we will tell you where we send her." Margaret continued. "I'll tell you what. We will open the phones at eight fifteen, so you can talk to her one last time. We don't' usually take the first group down before nine o'clock. So you have plenty of time. Don't be late, though."

With that, Margaret turned around and started walking. Carla remained behind, looking at the expression on Jane's face.

"Damn, girl. I haven't seen Margaret that pissed in a very long time. I got to hand it to you, Jane. When you screw up you sure do it big time."

"I'll show that bitch. She won't do a thing to my daughter." Jane said, getting heated.

"Chica, you fucked up. Big time. I have known that woman since college, and when she talks like that, she means business. You better follow her advise make sure you call early Monday. Because if you can't figure a way to get things sorted out good with her before Monday, I will be serving a new recipe for pork loin next Friday. And I will invite you." Carla said with a smile.

Seeing Jane's face about to explode, Carla continued. "You don't think I forgot and forgave that little shit you pulled last year on me. Putting us against the wall on that contract at the center. Now is payback lady. And the only thing keeping it from happening is one of my oldest and best friends. Whom you just pissed off."

Turning to walk away, Carla looked over her shoulder at Jane and said in parting "I think I will go catch up with her and get on the registration for a box of thigh. Just in case she isn't spitted whole."

Jane's evening went from there to worse. Thinking that she better assemble some sort of support to prevent Margaret from doing exactly what she said she would do, She began talking to lawyers who specialized in suits and criminal law. And the education she got was not what she wanted. Eventually she worked her way up to Alderman Joe DeFortes, who she had seen last week at the executions. His answers were even more blunt.

"Jane, You don't' have a single chip to offer. No one wants to deal with you after your horses ass behavior last year, and frankly if I couldn't get my step daughter out, why the hell would I want to get yours out?"

"Joe, I know that there are things you could do if you wanted to. Now all we have to discover is what you want for them." Jane said

"Jane, There is nothing I want to do. Except see the look on your face when your daughter is in a roasting pan. You don't talk to me. You have to talk to Findlay. And guess what, they don't owe you either. In fact, I might just stir the pot myself to make sure they trim your kid. Seems unfair to me that she is still above ground. How would you like that?"

Recoiling from that threat, Jane looked at Joe and said, "Don't. Please. Don't do anything. I'll make it up somehow. Don't make it worse."

Stupid bitch. I doubt I could, Joe thought to himself. "Jane, I don't have to do anything. If Findlay decides to do her tomorrow, or Monday or any day, he can. That is the law. That is the way it is, and that is how it goes. And no one can help you. And most won't if they could. You better make peace lady."

While Jane's night had turns for the worse, Margaret's had a turn for the interesting. While looking for David, she was approached by an older woman in an elegant dress who asked her "You are Margaret Findlay, aren't you?"

"Yes. How can I help you" Margaret replied. Sensing that this was going to be something Jane had kicked off she grasped her temper and forced herself to calm down.

"We haven't met. I am Susan Stienhauer. My husband Jack and I were wondering if we could meet with you and your husband about some joint business."

"Well, the business side of things is usually David's, but I am sure he would be interested in talking with you. " Margaret replied. "I have not been much into the business until recently."

"From what I am reading, you seem to have taken a lot of interest lately. Or so the blogs say. We are very interested in how you are using a different management process from us."

"Well, no offense, but that story last year kind of forced the issue on David. And since I passed exclusion, I have been working with him to see how we could make a difference."

"I see. I wonder if I could visit with you next week. Say Monday? Sit and have a chat. We want to avoid being out of business for too long, and I think Jack feels you would be more helpful than continuing what Merle was doing."

"Susan, I think that the business arrangements should be with Jack and David. But we would welcome a visit from you on Monday if you like. Set up an appointment and I will tell the staff you are there to look at our operation and want to see how we operate."

"I think I will take you up on that," Susan said. "What time would be best?"

"Monday is usually busy. Probably after ten o'clock. Lets us get the first groups moving at about nine o'clock and are settled into a good rhythm."

"I'll look forward to seeing you then." Susan said.

Leaving Susan, Margaret went looking for David.

David was also had been having an interesting evening. With Jack Stienhauer. Who was very interested in talking to David as well.

"David, I wonder if I could have a moment?" Jack said by way of starting the conversation.

"Sure. How can I help you?"

"Well, it is no secret that we are having issues with inspections." Jack began. "And I realize that you had nothing to do with that reporter on the news last week over delivery. And I have been around Merle long enough to know that nothing is ever his fault. So I have an open mind when I say I would like to talk to you about some business arrangements."

Seeing David nodding, Jack continued. "David, this shutdown has put a major crimp on us. And this business is my and Susan's only income. We are seeing substantial problems the longer this goes on."

"And how would I affect that?" David asked.

"We feel we have one shot at getting open again. Merle has lost the license to operate due to the USDA inspection here. I was wondering if you would be interested in running some of your operation at our facility?"

"Jack, I'll tell you. I don't like how Merle did business. I don't like how he treated people and how he treated stock. I would not want to be part of any business that he had any part of."

"I see. So his involvement would be an obstacle?"

"Insurmountable. Not a single part of the business with him in any capacity."

"Well, I will talk it over with my lawyer Monday. Merle was the Operations Officer, and with the operation closed, I am still liable for the plant and facilities. I would be interested in a management contract with you as well as use of license." Jack said.

Sensing that this was Jacks only fallback position, David countered. "Jack. We have open selection right now. I would only do that if we could come to an agreement over staff, management positions and all line positions. No exceptions."

"Hell, why don't you just rent my facility?" Jack asked.

"Because it probably would have to be rebuilt to use our processes. And I am not going to make that capitol investment in a plant while I am still growing my own business."

"Why would you have to do that?" Jack asked, exasperated.

"Because I saw the damn news program last year, like everyone else. And if we didn't have allocation then you would already be out of business." David replied coolly.

Seeing the look of frustration on Jack's face, David continued. "I'll tell you what. How about you come over to our plant and we will talk about our operation. Then you can see if you want to have me manage your operations. My Way. And if you do, then we can work out a contract."

"What time and what day?" Jack asked.

"We have a page. It is open scheduling on the web. Pick a time and date and select it." David said. "We only keep some things secret."

Seeing his wife, and realizing that he hadn't grabbed a seat, David said his goodbye to Jack and went to catch up with her quickly.

"Honey" Margaret said when David approached. "Did you get our place?"

"No. I got sidetracked by Jack Stienhauer. He wants to talk management contract of operations using our license. Seems Merle's is pulled permanently"

"Interesting. His wife grabbed me a while ago to talk about much the same thing. I have her coming over on Monday to talk business. You having Jack come over too?"

"Don't know. He wants to talk with his lawyers. I don't have a problem getting mine. He may have to get an appointment." David said with a smile.

"We have another problem. Cindy." Margaret said.

"What happened?" David asked, sensing a problem.

"Jane. Evidently she was shooting her mouth off that she has special arrangements. I sort of lost my temper and got a little bitchy."

"How so, darling?" David asked. Expecting the worst, David inwardly cringed. His wife's temper was famous.

"Well, I reminded her that today was the end of the extension, and that we had no resolution for Cindy. So I told her I would let her know where she was being delivered after processing Monday."

"And you said this when?" David inquired.

"When she was standing in front of the League of Realtor women and with Carla Sanchez standing behind me."

"Well, that sort of makes it public." David said. "It's a shame since Candy said she was working out as a good cutter. But we will get others."

"Darling, I know that this makes things ugly. I am so mad at myself for loosing my temper" Margaret continued.

"Darling, they all have to go. Sometime. Sooner or later we have to walk all of them into processing and cut them up. Cindy just has a earlier date then the others."

"I know. But she picked Abby out, and she did such a good job with Candy today. I hate to drop her while she is getting useful."

"I hear you. But you made a public statement, and that is what we have to deal with."

David had done this game with Margaret before. She sometime let her mouth write checks her ass didn't want to cover. Usually she came around. Sometimes he was able to get her to walk back in from the limb. Sometimes she just had to fall. Shame it was Cindy that was going to fall this time.

Margaret, at this time, was fuming. David was so damn good at this. He would let her stew in her juices over this. By leaving it alone and listening to her, she was forced to look at a compromise. He had done this so often she was almost laughing at it already.

"So what do we do?"

"Well, first, we dance. Then we eat. Then we go home and fuck. And then we talk to our lawyer about it tomorrow. If there are any ramifications or bad press that Jane has done to us, we term Cindy Monday. If we find it fits our economic needs to keep her, we keep her. It's Totally our decision. And we let Liz handle the press."

"So you are saying, "make no decisions" at this time?" Margaret pressed.

"Darling I am saying we take no actions. Decisions can be changed. Actions can't."

Snuggling into David's arms, Margaret reminded herself that she really had married the smartest tool in the drawer.



-------

Chapter 19



Monday again.

Getting out of bed was a real challenge today, David thought to himself. He and Margaret had wrestled all night with the events of the party and then Sunday and had not really come to a satisfactory solution. Monday was not a day either of them was looking forward to.

Cindy had called Jane on Sunday morning for her daily call and her mother had been absolutely freaked. Evidently her mother felt that she had done some insult to Margaret that was so bad that Margaret was going to get revenge by killing her daughter in the most horrible way. This little discussion brought about panic and Candy and Helen both worked to settle Cindy down.

All of them agreed that they had done well with David and Margaret and that they would wait until talking with them to see what was really going on.

When Margaret and David did go in at noon, there were a lot of ripples running through the house.

Abby was still coping with her migration from healer to killer. The impulse to staunch bleeding was so heavily ingrained, that she was fighting with it on a professional level. On an emotional level, she had worked with a lot of patients who had died on her, and the action of talking with them and being supportative was in the best medical school ethics and teachings. It was just hard to realize that she was the one causing the death.

Mark had talked with Helen about dating a woman from his office. Not just sex but dinner and activities. The things he could not do with Helen any more. This was probably the first stage of the process that Helen had talked with Carol about earlier. The professional in her expected it. The person in her was saddened and somewhat angered. Next would be bargaining, she was sure.

Elizabeth and Jim were talking about nannies to stay with the kids since Jim had to travel and the kids could not stay unsupervised. Elizabeth felt that this was a blow to her femininity. She should be able to take care of her kids. That was what she wanted to do all her life. Elizabeth's mother was no help on this. She felt that Jim should move on find someone new now. Before the kids were damaged by this prolonged delay.

"At least, Liz, you will have a chance to approve of who is going to raise your kids."

Elizabeth's mother was always a practical sort.

And Carol's relationship was the only one with positive changes. Jim had met with Christine. And they had hit it off well. What surprised Carol was that Jim had insisted on Carol's inclusion on any physical festivities. To which Christine totally agreed. And stated loudly that she would go with Jim to visit Carol any time night or day, or go alone if Carol needed a fuck or just a cuddle. Or just to have someone to talk to.

Carol had decided that even if she got out of here alive, she would not want Christine outside of her marriage. The woman was just too good and too much fun to talk with. She was a missed soul mate for both her and Jim. Christine was a good one. Which was a delightful suprise

And right now, Carol was the linchpin for all of them right now. Her knowledge of case law and legislation regarding their situation was key to any decisions or actions that Margaret and David had to make. Her ability to play the court games in her mind was invaluable to the people that David now thought of as his Team and Family.

Cindy's problem (actually Cindy's mother) threatened to create an ambiguous situation. What she had actually done was point out the issues with the case law and bad regulations regarding the regulations. The problem was not the initial filings. Those were very cut and dried. It would be the extension filing. David had filed for Cindy on Friday (as outlined in the law) for a Extension for thirty days. That first filing would be granted almost automatically.

The problem was the extensions. As Carol pointed out, the ninety-day extensions, which were coming up for everyone else, was not something that Findlay had requested before. In fact, they were almost never requested before by anyone.

The only case Carol could find was with M&H processing. They had a single goat that had been extended for two years.

Carol's advice was pretty stark. If Cindy were termed, and Jane created a major fuss that was captured and followed up by the news, then the entire group would probably follow at the end of the first thirty day term, as the MAB would simply deny extensions based on Jane's kicking up a fuss with the media. Depending on how far the press and noise had already gone, the MAB would probably not grant the extensions due to possible charges of discriminatory treatment by processors. The case could possibly be made for discrimination. Which would wind through the courts and cost lots of money. Which David would ultimately loose based on the non-discrimination ruling of Harrison vs. Ohio processors. On top of that, David would loose his cheapest in house lawyer, because of the denials of extension.

One solution would be to term Cindy now, and let the press die down for the next twenty days for the extensions to be filed for the rest of them. Which would appeal to the situation that Margaret spoke of at the party. The press would be that the others were performing operational tasks critical to business development, and that Cindy was just a courtesy extended to an unlucky teenager. Good press all around.

Sharing that with the others had a sobering effect. Elizabeth was dialed in to determine how to manage the spin to the press if there was a stink raised.

As these discussions raged in the break room, Cindy and Candy had decided to take a walk out to reception and talk for a while.

The final decision Sunday was to make no decision. As David said, "This is too important a decision to make right now, and I want to think on it tonight."

Margaret for once was quiet and didn't argue. Not even banter.

So that was the background of the Monday that was unfolding in front of everyone.

When David buzzed the door at seven o'clock, the person answering was Cindy.

"Hi. Candy is helping in the kitchen. Let me help you with the groceries."

"Good Morning. Thanks. Cindy, we need to talk."

"Ok. Mr. F, I am good. Candy and I spent a lot of yesterday talking and we even spent time in the tub getting a hot soak. I figured we could try it out with me today if you don't mind."

"Cindy, if we make it your time, then yes, that is how you can go. But don't be planning to go too soon. I need every good hand I can get here to keep up with our business and you are a part of that staff. So as far as I am concerned that issue is settled for now. And I trump Margaret." David said clearly and calmly

Seeing a sign of relief on her face, David then reached out and kissed her on the forehead. "Now get these to the kitchen."

Margaret, following close behind, felt a sense of relief. She was glad to dump that decision to David and just tell Jane if she called that she was overridden.

"So, who told you that you could make decisions and be boss?" She said to David on the way down the hall.

"I have my wife's permission to be boss when I have to. Right?" He said while kissing Margaret on the forehead.

"Right. If Jane calls I will send her to you." Margaret teased.

"You just do that."

Entering the break room, David was greeted by the sight of Abby hugging Cindy with tears running down her cheeks. Candy was having the same problem while working with Helen at the stove. Carol had come over to David and said, "I am going to research case law regarding extensions. We need to start documentation on what we are doing here to justify critical business interests. And I will get with Marty Robinson for a union support message for Cindy, Candy and Abby."

"Look into that further, Carol. We may have to unionize the whole group of you" David said. "It may drive up costs, but we have a way to absorb that."

Feeling the entire mood of the room lighten, David finished his coffee and went on to his office to look up his day.

Helen looked at Margaret with a knowing smile.

"What are you looking at, slut?" Margaret said in return.

"The way that you manage David managing you managing David has always been fun to watch" Helen said. "You guys never miss a beat."

"Shhh. These sluts will think you know us." Margaret said.

The banter continued like this until eight o'clock when Margaret got into her work uniform (Naked with a collar) and went down to David's office. David had been going through the daily schedule, and saw a meeting with Jack and Susan Stienhauer for today. "What's with this?" He asked Margaret.

"His wife was going to come over here at ten o'clock today to talk with me. I guess he figured to tag along." Margaret said.

"Well, seeing you like that may give him a whole new idea about fucking the competition" David said. "Don't do it until we figure out what they want."

"David, I never fuck someone before I know what they want and they know what I want."

At eight fifteen, the phone on the private internal rang. Helen answered it to find Janet Carmichael on the other end. Putting the woman on hold, she wandered to David's office and asked if he wanted to take the call, or should she say that she was too late.

"You have a sick sense of humor. I'll talk to her. Margaret, would you please go check on the girls?"

"You just don't want to take a chance of me getting pissed off again." Margaret said with a pout.

"Yes, I believe you may be correct. So scat." David said, as he was picking up the phone.

"This is David Findlay."

"David, this is Jane Carmichael. I believe you know who I am and I wanted to talk with you if it is possible."

"Jane, we don't have much to talk about. I know you want to talk to Cindy while you can."

"David, I was very hasty Saturday and I want to know what we can do to resolve this without my daughter suffering from my actions."

"I assure you she won't suffer, Jane. We don't do things like that here. You saw how we term people even in a public setting. Cindy is not going to suffer regardless."

"That is not what I mean. I mean I don't want her to die."

"Jane, you knew when you brought her here that it was a temporary stay. We agreed to do a hold over while we looked into the legal and other status for your other daughter. That didn't pan out like you expected and our situation is the same as it was last Saturday when she reported here. Nothing about her status has changed."

"David, what are you going to do? Can I please speak to my daughter?" Jane asked with tension in her voice.

"I am not going to term her today. I have too few people to run the business right now as it is. But that is a temporary thing. She is at the same risk as everyone else. And if anything happens to them it happens to her too." David said. "Do you understand? I am overruling Margaret on this issue for the time being because of production requirements. If anyone hears of your bragging about special privilege to anyone, she is on the grill. Do you understand me?"

Crying, Jane said, "Yes. I understand."

"Now. Go enjoy your other daughter, and if I hear of talking about us again then we will not have another discussion. Do you understand me?"

"Yes. I do. Can I talk to my daughter?"

"We are getting ready to open, and she will be busy. I will have her call you tonight after we shut everything down. Please think about what I said. Goodbye."

Jane held the phone in her hand a long time after she hung up. She had no idea how long this would continue. But she knew that it was in her interest to say nothing to anyone for now.

-------

Visitors or Competitors

Susan and Jack Stienhauer were somewhat surprised at the reception room at the Findlay processing plant. It was shortly after ten o' clock and they noticed that the revolving glass doors had women leaving as well as entering. Women sitting around at different tables busily filling out forms while four naked, orange collared Goats moved about from table to table talking and filling out information. Drinks and snacks lined the wall along the entrance and several men were there as well talking at the tables. No security evident. No stunners evident. No burly men ordering anyone about. Sitting down at a table at the door, they both looked around and saw no signs of any of the trappings Merle had insisted on. A group of women at their right finished some documents with one of the goats and stood up to leave. Jack and Susan heard the end of the conversation as the woman raised her voice.

"Ok, now you bring these back with you when you report on Wednesday, and let me know if there is anything left off you need help with. Drive carefully now." Looking over at Susan and Jack, the woman said, "Hello, My name is Helen and how can I help you?"

"I'm Susan Stienhauer and I had an appointment with Margaret Findlay. This is my husband Jack and he wanted to catch up with David."

"Oh. Sure. Here you go. Please look this over and when Margaret comes back up she can go over it with you." Helen said.

"Just a minute, we are not reporting here." Jack said, seeing the look on his wife's face.

"Oh I know. But you have to fill out an intake form anyway. Insurance reasons you know." Helen continued as she walked away.

"But." Jack said.

"Darling, It is just a piece of paper. It won't hurt to look. Sit down." Susan said to her husband.

A few moments later, a young woman came over to the table and sat down. "Hi. I am Candy. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"We are here to see Margaret Findlay. Is she around?" Jack asked, exasperated.

"Sure. She just took a group down. I expect she will be here in thirty minutes or so. Can I help you?"

"We came over here to look at the operation, and I expect that David and Margaret may not have told you we were coming." Jack continued.

"Oh yes. We knew you were coming. And why. You just missed Margaret. But we can talk while you are waiting." Candy continued.

"Dear, don't you get us some coffee" Susan said to her husband. "Anything for you dear?"

"No thank you. Too much caffeine wires me up. I will take some water though. Not a good thing."

"Ms. Stienhauer", Candy continued after Jack had walked away, "Margaret said that you wanted to know what these stories were all about. And you wanted to know how we did things differently. Margaret told all of us to help you see exactly what the process was so you would understand it and what we are doing here. So, just for arguments sake, why don't we work with that form and show you how the process really works?"

Disarmed by the casual nature of the young woman in front of her, Susan thought to object. Then she figured, no harm. I can go along with this for now. I probably will learn a lot from it.

Going through the form with Candy, Susan suddenly discovered a lot of things that she had left open in her life. "You know," Candy, said, "this is a good checklist even for the not selected. Accidents happen even today. You wouldn't necessarily need to close bank accounts or credit cards. But having them listed for your next of kin makes cleanup easier if something happens."

"I see." Susan said. "I also see you have outlined arrangements for pets, child care, location of documents and wills. Everything that is current. Even car locations for parking?"

"Yes. We added that after a couple of ladies asked how they could get their cars home. We extended them through the weekend, but we added this to the questionnaire to make sure we caught it with everyone as they came through."

Jack had returned with the drinks and was watching the interplay with a great deal of interest. He also saw that a short brunette had come up from the door marked "Office" and had walked over to a table that the woman Helen had waved her over to. After a few minutes the women at the table stood up, picked up their forms and followed the brunette down a hallway labeled "Examination". He also noticed that there were a lot fewer people here over the last ten minutes.

"So, how frequently do these groups leave here?" Jack asked interrupting Candy and Susan.

"About every ten to fifteen minutes" Candy responded.

"Jack. Don't interrupt. I am sure all this will be explained." Susan said to her husband while filling out the form. "This is really a good piece of work. You girls did a lot here."

"Thank you. And if you are finished with it you can bring it with you and we will go down to the Exam rooms and I can show you how we work with the blood and other samples."

As both stood up, Candy said to Jack "Sir, I'm afraid you have to wait here. We don't allow men past reception."

"It will be Ok, Jack. We will be right back, won't we?" Susan asked Candy.

"It takes about an hour to make the circuit. I expect we won't be that long." Candy said in reply.

Picking up her purse and following Candy down the hallway, she noticed that some of the women were leaving through a door marked "Lavatory" thinking that was a good idea, she asked Candy "Can I use the loo?"

"Just a minute or two. Barbara or Jackie will be with us to get blood samples."

"Darling, I don't need any blood samples."

"Actually it is free. We do a complete hemoscan for all issues. If nothing else it is something your doctor would need. It's part of the process. We can send the results to your physician if you like. Save you on a physical." Candy said.

"Ok. I guess."

Susan was impressed with the professionalism of Jackie. She was there less then two minutes while Susan was talking with Candy and got four tubes of blood with no effort. The hemosyrenge left no marks, and was painless. "You guys do a good stick. My doctor isn't this good."

"David spent a lot of money on this little set of toys. When you get to stripping we can show you the results and the toys we use." Jackie said as she left. "Got to go. Talk to you in a few."

"So, you want to use the bathroom now? We have to get a urine sample while we are there. Do you mind? It is part of the process and our insurance carrier requires it." Candy said to Susan as she picked up her forms.

Moving into the lavatory, Susan was struck by the cleanliness of it. The rotating sanitary collars on all the toilets were very high end. As was the ultra-violet lamp over the commode as it was flushed. Now this was a public bathroom that was not scary, Susan thought to herself.

Coming out with the sample, Susan followed Candy out the door leading away from where they had come. She didn't think about the fact that she was now two doors down from reception.

Now they were in a large room with four tables, each with boxes on top of them. One was labeled "Susan Stienhauer" It had a copy of her photo and had her address on a label on the outside.

"Set your sample here in the window to the lab and you can leave your purse and clothes in the box. That will keep them from getting wet or soiled as we move through the process plant." Candy said to Susan while she was checking the questionnaire.

Confronted by being naked, Susan was struck by a realization. Everything had been so reasonable. The blood work, urine, questionnaire, and now empty boxes in a warm room that was dimly lit with three doors leaving. One of them had three, now two women standing on a revolving turnstile.

"I take it that we are going through there?" Susan asked Candy a little nervously.

"Yep. That goes to processing. We will wait a few minutes to give that group some privacy. It is kind of a personal thing, going through the showers and everything. I will show you how in a few. This questionnaire is complete. Do you want to leave any notes on how to close the accounts for your husband? Something like this is handy. You would not believe the number of women we have come through here who didn't think of that. I check to make sure that nothing gets left out. We all do that."

At this point, Susan's shoes and purse were in the box. She was unbuttoning her blouse as well, and stopped to write down some last minute information on the form in the space carefully left next to credit cards. She remembered the name to call on the bank account and what the Pin number on the account was. Gosh, she thought to herself, all of the little things you forget. Damn good work this form. Finishing unbuttoning her shirt and removing her bra, Susan saw the last woman go through the revolving door.

"Susan Stienhauer," a voice called from the window to the Lab. "Your results are here."

Walking over, Susan saw five pages of blood, urine and general physical description workup all of it neatly automated on a Systems 3000 lab analysis machine letterhead. "Wow. That is expensive, isn't it?"

"It costs us about eight dollars a shot. But we also copy that to USDA for grading purposes and as part of our reliability statement. Which decreases our liability insurance a lot," Barbara said through the window. "You should watch your cholesterol intake. Might want to talk to your doctor about that. Put this copy in your box, so we can make sure you take it with you."

Walking back to her box, Susan saw another group of women coming into the room lead by Jane Carmichael's daughter. "Cindy, I didn't expect to see you here." Jane said.

"Yes. I am here for a while. If you excuse me I have to help my group."

"Susan, can you come with me while Cindy works with her group?" Candy said, taking Susan by the hand.

"Ok. Sure. Where are we going next?"

"We are going into processing next. Follow me. Now, when this light turns Green, step on the turnstile and hold onto this handle. The water and air blast are pretty strong. I'll go first and see you on the other side. OK?"

After Candy went through, the light on the turnstile almost immediately went from Red to Green. That was pretty quick, Susan thought to herself. As she remembered it, the others seemed to take a lot longer.

My, that was quick, Susan thought to herself as she stopped after the turnstile spun one hundred eighty degrees. And saw Candy and Margaret standing there casually talking. Looking beyond them she was shocked to see the women she had followed hanging upside down, already dead, sliding down a trolley toward some tables. She was also shocked to see Margaret wearing a collar like Cindy's and nude. Taking it all in had Susan standing in stunned silence for a few moments.

"Would you mind stepping off of there" Candy asked Susan after a couple of minutes." I see that we have a group behind you."

Susan moved off of the platform and stood next to Margaret Susan looked around. Very bright, very clean and very full of hanging bodies on the way to tables, what looked like a chiller room and some women on tables being dismembered?

"I had not expected this so quickly." Susan said to Margaret.

"Nobody does. That is part of the system. So, what do you think so far?" Margaret asked Susan while the turnstile spun around and Cindy stepped off and moved next to Candy.

"I think that this is pretty insidious, actually. You have gotten me tested, naked and standing here in processing room looking at dead nude bodies being chilled and dismembered. And I wasn't shocked or have time any step of the way to really think about it. And I know that is how everyone who follows you feels."

Hearing the turnstile spin again, Susan turned around to see Cindy speak to a woman who had just spun around on the turnstile holding the handle just as Susan had. A split second later, a sharp crack rang out and the woman collapsed. Watching in stunned silence, Susan saw Candy and Cindy string the woman up, slit her throat and then talk to her quietly while the blood ran out of her body. After a couple of minutes when the blood flow stopped, Margaret excused herself and walked over to slide the woman down the trolley toward a pair of barrels and a large table. While this was happening, Susan heard the turnstile spin again, and a repeat performance by Candy and Cindy, Cindy with the knife this time and another woman was hanging, dying in front of her. Looking back at Margaret, she saw Margaret's hands inside of the first woman, slicing and removing organs with a practiced efficiency of motion. Looking back to Cindy and Candy, she saw Candy starting to slide her woman down the trolley behind Margaret

Moments later, another spin of the turnstile, another sharp crack with ozone in the air, and Susan watched as Cindy pulled the body up to the crane, hung it up on the spreader, and slit the stunned woman's throat with careful strokes down each side of her neck. The blood flow was immense and prolific, but slacked in a few moments. All the time Cindy was on her knees talking to the woman gently in her ear.

So engrossed was Susan in the sight that she did not hear Margaret come up behind her and say in her ear "Well, what do you think of our process now?"

Feeling her loose some control over her bladder, Susan immediately turned red at the shock and embarrassment. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. Don't worry. This is an intermediate area. The real sanitation starts over there when we do wash down. But you can shower if you like. I have to get back up front, If you like you can wait here or come back up the line with me." Margaret said.

"I think I have seen enough." Susan said. "Let me come with you."

"Ok. Lets clean up and we can recover your clothes. Unless you feel comfortable nude." Margaret said.

"I think" Susan said "I just want to get out of here if you don't mind."

Ten minutes later, Susan was sitting in David's office with a glass of scotch. Susan mused that it was not even noon yet. But she did need a drink. Margaret had poured it, put it into her hand, dropped her into this chair and left her, promising to have her husband brought back. Candy had passed by as well and said she would bring her clothes back from Stripping in thirty or so minutes. Cindy stopped by on her way up front and stopped to make sure that Susan was all right, and told her that she would let her husband know everything was ok, but she had to go. "There are clients to service here and work waits for no one." Cindy cheerfully said as she left.

Musing over the scotch in her glass, Susan wondered what kind of world had an eighteen-year-old woman slitting throats and gutting bodies instead of cheerleading and loosing her virginity. That was probably long gone too, based on what Jane had said.

Susan had come here to find out some facts about Findlay and how they would work with Jack's business. And instead found out some things about herself. She was a sheep as well. Amused at how calmly and quietly Candy had maneuvered her down the plant with just a few quiet hints and quiet tugs until she was standing on that platform, nude, waiting for whatever was around the corner. And how she would have been hung up and slit if Candy had not gone through first.

Jack had not been worried about his wife until he saw Candy come out from behind the door labeled OFFICE. She talked with Helen for a few minutes. Then she went over to a table with a small group of women and started them toward the hallway marked Examination. After seeing her go down, he got up and walked over to Helen.

"Do you know where my wife is?" He asked.

"Candy said she left her in David's office for a few minutes. Candy will be back up here in about thirty or so minutes and she will bring Susan with her. She had left her clothes in the pre process room. There's nothing to worry about. David is coming up shortly and you can talk with him if you like." Helen said.

"I am a bit worried. Can you see if my wife is OK?"

"I can't leave here right now. But I'll page to have someone check on her."

About fifteen minutes later Cindy came out of the door and walked over to Jack. "I just saw your wife, and she is fine. Soon as Candy brings her clothes, she will be right up."

At the end of another half hour, Susan appeared, dressed, with David and a naked Margaret. "If you like, we can go down to my office." David said. "We can talk there more freely."

Entering David's office for the second time, Susan made a beeline for the overstuffed chair opposite the desk. When David asked "Drinks?" Susan gave an affirmative nod picking up the glass she had left earlier.

"So. Susan, what did you think of your tour?" David asked.

"I think I know what the fuss is all about. And I think that we want to do the same thing in our plant as soon as you can help us with recruiting and training."

"Honey, what made up your mind? Was it the tour?" Jack asked.

"Darling, it wasn't a tour. It was the experience. And this group has their operation down to a science. This is as far away from what Merle ran for us as possible. The big thing is the people and the rebuild we will probably have to do to get this replicated. David, our place is not laid out anything like this."

"We will have to look at it and see what we have to work with. The big challenge is personnel. As you have already seen that is not an easy issue to resolve." David said to both of them. "We have been lucky so far. How many goat collars is H&S licensed to have on premise?" David asked.

"I think twelve. But we never had more then three at any time. Usually they were break room girls for the guys in the shop."

"Well, we manage that better here. What happened to your existing girls?"

"Merle termed them last week when the USDA came through. He felt that they presented a bad image."

"For him, probably. Jack, before we negotiate any further, all personnel and operations decisions will come through my group. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No. I can agree with that."

"Second, the live spitting machines are broken up and junked. Hauled away and smelted down." David said.

"David, I have a substantial investment in those machines. Surely we can have some use for them." Jack began.

"No. Junk them and write them off." David said. "Or find someone who wants them far and away from Chicago."

"What else?" Jack said with some aggravation.

"We get Buckner Brothers to come in and build a custom turnstile revolving door." David continued.

"What for?" Jack asked with some impatience.

"Jack, listen to the man. We want it" Susan said from her chair.

"I will also be bringing some of my team with me. It probably will be Margaret and one of our interviewers" David continued. "We have while construction and renovation proceed to get the right team trained and in place. Particularly front office and interviewers."

"What about my men?" Jack asked. "Surely they can do some of this."

"Jack, there are no men in the front office, reception, or most of the intake process. They can operate in the butcher and process plant, but not in front." David said.

"But David, I have contracts with the unions on this." Jack replied.

"That is OK. My people have union cards where needed. And I have my own union steward to manage any of my locations."

"So you are willing to take over my operation?" Jack asked.

"I am willing to run a second operation like mine. For you. With profits split equally."

"Equally?"

"My license, my management. I pick the people. And we use my process." David said. "You get to be rid of legal issues, you can send the lawsuits after Merle, and we redesign your process flow. USDA troubles go away, and you get to start work again in a much smoother operation. Contract for one year, and you cannot use trademarked processes unless you renew the contract."

"Deal. Write it up." Jack said.

"I will. And Margaret will be over at your plant tomorrow to start laying out the changes. Bring your architect in and we'll get started. And Marty Burke is coming back to you as an operations manager. He has learned enough here to be useful."

-------

Monday Evening

At seven o'clock, a very tired group of women sat down in the break room or family room and groused about the work.

"Ninety six today." Candy cried. " My feet are so tired. We all did six trips. Cindy, I am proud of you girl. Another few days and you will be as sharp as I am."

"She is pretty good. How are you doing, Abby?" Margaret asked, opening a bottle of beer.

"I am hanging in there. I keep freezing at cutting and letting the blood flow. It just seems counter intuitive to me." Abby said, drinking from her glass of wine. "But I can see that they are not suffering and that they go quietly, so I can't argue with the method. I'm not as fast on the hookups yet. That takes me some time. I don't have the upper body strength."

"You will get better." Candy said. "I can help you get the hang of the guiding thing. Just remember to let the winch do the work. And the release can be power down or dump."

"Now I have a question. Were any of the ones we did today candidates for goat duty?" Margaret asked.

"Nothing really caught my eye" Helen said. "Why, looking to turn over a new group?"

"No. Looking to staff Stienhauer. They have twelve collars and a lot larger operation to run."

"Margaret, having that large an operation makes of us a critical business asset." Carol said.

"I hear you. And you are right. But remember, we have moved over four hundred through here, and all we were able to find to keep was you guys."

"I guess that just means you have exceptionally low standards." Helen said.

"Speak for yourself" Nancy said.

"And at least half of them have to be cut throats." Margaret continued.

"We could put an ad in the paper for homicidal sluts" Abby said. "If you aren't one we can help you become one."

"Hey. I resemble that remark. So do you" Candy said rubbing her feet.

-------

Monday Night Relief.

David and Margaret had left, Carl was upstairs with Helen, and Tim, Nancy, Marty and Chris were watching a program. Elizabeth, Abby, Carol, Cindy and Candy were eating a late supper.

"So, Carol, what kind of impact does this critical business asset mean to us?" Candy asked.

"It could be a lot. If we have to staff Stienhauer, with people we have to select and train, that makes the business case for extension significant. We do more then just general and casual labor. Our tasks are semi skilled. That makes them business critical."

"So, we become more valuable upright then on the table?" Abby said.

"You got it. You guys become union members, which brings a totally different light on this, and the rest of us become researchers and business assets."

"So how come no one ever did this before?" Cindy asked.

"I think because no woman ever ran a slaughter house before" Elizabeth replied to the table. "Let's face it, David pretty much follows Margaret's lead. She is smart enough to listen to him when she should, but he lets her pretty much make the changes she wanted to."

"Which is fortunate for you, redhead" Carol continued. "David called the shots with your mother and overruled Margaret. But according to Helen, that is the sort of relationship they have. She manages him managing her. And he manages her managing him."

"Huh?" Candy said, confused.

"Don't' sweat it girl. You will figure it out some day." Elizabeth said with a smile.



-------

Chapter 20



Tuesday Again

After a careful review of the law, Carol suggested that Margaret would take Helen with her to H&S to look at the plant and see how much would have to be changed to make it more process friendly. Accompanying her would be Marty Burke, going back to his old haunts. Before they went, David got a copy of a proposed agreement to cover the fact that Helen would be on "Findlay" property. Just in case Margaret was not visible and an inspector was on site, the legal protections would be in place.

David was going to follow later, after he had made sure that things were smooth at the office.

Helen was surprised how she felt leaving the building for the first time in over six weeks. She had never felt agoraphobic before, but she did feel like she was leaving a safe haven when she got into Margaret's car. Being nude didn't help.

Stopping in front of H&S at nine thirty was a grim experience. There was little parking, and the front windows were barred. The entrance door was a massive turnstile with capture grates on once side and a glass door with bullet resistant glass inside. Entering the small and cramped reception, they were greeted by two of H&S's employees.

"Goat has to be put into a shock collar," the older one said. "Our rules."

"Excuse me. My name is Margaret Findley. And you are?"

"None of your business bitch. If you are a sow like this one, then you get collared too. If not then you can wait here."

At this time, Marty Burke interjected "Ms. Findlay, this fine specimen is Peter Star. Behind him is Carl Barkley. Gentlemen, this is the new general manager."

"Bull shit. No one is putting no cow in charge here." Peter said. "Marty, you were canned and I am the Ops Manager here. Soon as the boss get's down, you guys will get straightened out."

"Ok. No problem. Let me call Jack." Margaret said while casually reaching into her pocket.

"And you get over here pig. I told you that you need a collar." Peter said while reaching for Helen.

Sliding the EST gun out from her pocket, Margaret calmly shot Peter in the shoulder, and held the trigger down while the darts flowed energy through his body. Looking casually at Carl Barkley, she remarked, "I have a second charge here if you are interested. Or you could go and get Jack while I keep this puppy dancing on the end of the rope here."

Seeing Marty pulling a stun baton from his pocket, Carl figured that discretion was the better part of valor. And ran to the office to get his boss.

Jack was thus entertained by the sight of his manager lying on the floor, Margaret holding the EST that was sending shocks into him on a regular jolt, and a naked Helen writing notes down on her electronic tablet.

"I see you got here. Any problems?" Jack asked.

"Nothing that I could not handle. Do I need a lawyer, or do you care to explain to this fish what is going on?" Margaret asked.

"Sure. Peter, I see you have met your new general manager, Margaret Findlay. And you have also met her advisors Helen and Marty Burke. Do you feel you can stand up?"

"That bitch shot me."

"I didn't see anything. Did you see anything, Marty?" Margaret asked.

"No I didn't see anything. Did you slip, Peter?" Marty asked. "Or did you let a woman get the drop on you?"

"Jack, would you like to show us around?" Margaret asked. "I think I would like to see the rest of the building while Peter here gets his bearings and thinks about where he is going to work after today."

The remainder of the tour was depressing. There was an upstairs with a dozen rooms, most of which were filled with clutter, old furniture, and dirty mattresses. The processing room was immediately inside of the door behind the reception room. Dark hallways with dirty rugs led down past four inspection rooms and into a zigzag set of stations where seats for shaving, scales, and a queue led to a set of hoists and a trolley system that was in full view of the women in the queue. Wash-down hoses extended behind a area for field dressing which had barrels which were on wheels to be moved around as needed. The more she looked, the sicker Margaret got. Probably the sickest was the live spitting machines that Merle had designed. The only cheerful sight of those was the sight of two workmen unbolting them from the floors in preparation for removal.

Equally depressing were the looks of the men at Margaret and Helen. Except for Tim and Gus, none of the men knew what to expect. Marty was an excellent guide around the facility, and by ten o'clock, Margaret had seen enough of the facility to be able to outline what she felt needed changing.

"And I have a set of chairs in the office for you to conduct interviews" Jack said. "Who do you want to see when?"

"I will let Helen do most of the interviews. I will meet with the architect and your contractor about the modifications we need to build. Marty, stick with Helen in case we have another Peter around here."

Before lunchtime, Helen was ready to scream. David arrived after her last interview and brought lunch. The combination of hunger and frustration was almost enough to cause Helen to start to be a throat cutter. Male throats.

'Tim, Gus, and about eight others are worth keeping. The rest should be locked up as psychos. This place is a house of horrors. Three of them told me that I should be either on my back, my knees, or on a spit. And they wondered why the interview was only two minutes." Helen said between bites of her sandwich.

"The architect told me that all of the demising walls had open windows put into them to give a grand view from the front to the hangers in the back. Because people wanted to see the meat hanging while it was being cut." Margaret said. "And Merle stood in the line and pulled women out to be processed alive in front of everyone."

"And these guys thought that was normal" Helen said. "Which is what makes this even worse."

"And you had to walk by a dressing table watching women being cut up while you were walking to the processing stand." Margaret said. "David, I want to string Merle up, but I don't know how to keep him alive long enough to do to him what I want to do."

"So how many do we keep of the existing employees?" David asked.

"For our purposes, eight maybe. Here are the dossiers for the keepers, but I want Margaret to interview them again just in case my appearance caused any problems." Helen said.

"You just want me to suffer too." Margaret said.

"No. You are the boss. I am just the meat. According to most of them."

"Got it. I interview them, say "Thank you we will call you" and then they can hate me for throwing them out." Margaret said.

"No. Some of them may not associate a nude woman in a collar as being human. I think that was what Merle was training them for." Helen said.

"Well, if they can't do that now, I don't want to have to retrain them. But I will talk to them." Margaret said.

Margaret's pass of interviews was not much better than Helen's. Peter was the worst, with Carl right behind him. The rest were differing grades of antagonistic. The exception was the union steward, George Harkness. He was calm and said that the paperwork for grievances would bury him for a month, but he would not take anything Margaret did personal. He was the one most likely to be kept, according to Helen.

"George, do you have problems taking orders from a woman?" Margaret asked.

"I have been married for twenty seven years. What do you think, Ms. Findlay?"

"You have problems with taking orders from one wearing a collar?" Margaret asked.

"We didn't have that sort of arrangement here. But I can adapt." George responded.

"I think we are going to get along. George, get your grievance forms out. Because only you and seven others are staying. The others flunked the interview. This is now a new business. Union contract comparable to Findlay is being honored. Here is a copy."

"Got it. You paying unemployment?"

"No problems with that and separation of three months full pay, health benefits for six. But that is the final offer. Anything more goes to court."

"You telling them?" George asked.

"One at a time. Starting right after you. I am asking that you get a seat in the front room and bring your union stuff with you so they can depart."

"Door in the front room does not go out except through the emergency exit. It hasn't been opened since I got here." George said.

"Well the emergency door is now the main door. That revolving mess is coming out."

"Job classifications?" George asked.

"Here is the contract. You look it over and call Marty Robinson at our place. He will fill you in." Margaret said.

"Ok. I will set up in reception."

The next hour was spent collecting keys, boxing up lockers, giving the departing employees their last checks and forms for severance and walking them out the door. Margaret did each and every one of them. The incident with Peter had circulated and there were no fireworks. Those employees who would be retained were told that they would remain on the payroll during reconstruction, and that they would have orientation in the new processes at the Findlay plant starting tomorrow. George was given directions and told to check up with Marty Robinson about lockers and space for personal goods and uniforms.

David and Helen returned to Findlay's in the mid-afternoon leaving Margaret to catch a ride back with Jack Stienhauer.

-------

Return for Review

Carla Davenport had called down to Findlay's at nine o'clock asking if she could speak to Candy. When she was told that Candy was taking a group around, and that she would be back soon, she was relieved. Candy had been very good to her two weeks ago, and now was the time to go back and have her pregnancy checked for sex. Knowing that this was probably her last day, she had asked her father to drive her, since she didn't really want to do public transportation. And her mother was in no shape to drive her. Making an appointment for three o'clock, she spent the remainder of the day cleaning up and tidying up things.

Charlie Davenport was a bundle of emotions. Knowing all of the dirty facts of what was the law, he could not shake off his feeling that he had failed. Somehow his daughter should not have to be going through this. This was just not fair.

The trip was quiet and the hugs at the doorway were real. Charlie didn't know how or what was going on, only that his daughter felt comfortable here.

Coming into the reception area, there were very few women there. Most were sitting in small groups working on documents of some type. Carla had hers from two weeks ago, and walked up to the desk where a nude woman in a goat collar was sitting. "Hi Helen. Is Candy around?"

"Hello Carla. Good to see you. She is down with a group. She should be back in a few minutes. Would you like to take a seat and relax?"

"Sure. This is my dad. He drove me down. Could he wait around?"

"Sure if you want. The coffee is fresh and so is the fruit juice. Why don't you get a seat over there and when Candy comes up, I will send her over to you."

Sitting with his daughter, Charlie could not get over how quiet the place was. A dark haired woman came out of the door marked "Office" and walked over to Helen. They talked for a few moments and Helen pointed her over to the last group near the door marked Exams. She walked over to them and sat down. Charlie noticed that she was nude as well as Helen was.

After a few moments, the women all stood up, gathered their purses and followed the nude woman down the hallway. There were very few people still here.

Helen walked over to the last group and went over their papers with them. Then the group with her got up and walked out the door. Charlie had a hard time reconciling what was going on. Evidently these women had come in early.

Helen came over after she escorted the remaining ones out and sat at the table with Charlie and Carla.

"So, how have you been?" Helen began.

"Fine. I was afraid that I wouldn't know anyone when I came back."

"We are still here. And I want to thank you for your blog. We really aren't that great. But you sure did make us seem like it."

"You are. You all were so gentle and quiet and kind. I never felt scared. Even when Candy said that the people we had talked with were gone, it was like disconnected. I knew what he was saying, but it didn't seem so bad. Does that make sense?"

"I understand. It isn't easy, but we try to make it so. So, what have you been doing?"

"Worrying. Trying to enjoy doing things."

"Good. You have to do that. I was a real hellion before I came here. I wanted to do everything at once."

"So. Candy never said how you guys."

"And I won't either. It is really better that way, honey. Don't worry about it. Please."

"I know. You all have kept telling me that since I got here. Just focus on the now."

"It makes things a lot easier. We have to do it as well, you know. Hey, give me your paperwork and let's go over it. Shouldn't take long and we don't want anything left out."

Charlie had a mix of anger, frustration, and pride. His daughter and the older woman sat and went over line by line through the entire questionnaire checking each item off. They joked, cajoled and talked over each item. Some of them were embarrassing, and had Charlie laughing. All too soon, they were done.

"So. Do you want to wait for Candy to take you back, or do you want to go with me to get your blood tests and pee in a cup? Then we can have Barbara look into your body." Helen said.

Taking a deep breath and thinking for a moment, Carla asked "Could Candy meet us later? I don't want to be alone in processing."

"Sure. I can call her from stripping and have her meet us. Charlie you have to wait here." Helen said.

"I can't go with her?" Charlie asked.

"No. Rules are that no men go past here into the exam area. It is our policy."

"Dad, I will be all right. I love you." Carla said with tears in her eyes.

"And you can wait here. Really." Helen said.

"So. Let's go. Dad, I love you." Carla said, standing up and picking up her questionnaire.

And so Charlie Davenport, USDA director of operations, sat in the reception area of Findlay Processing, awaiting the outcome. About forty-five minutes later, Helen came back out through the door marked Office and sat down at the table with him. And without a word being said, he knew that his daughter and his granddaughter were both dead. And that he would never see or hear her again.

After several moments of silence, "Charlie, there are some complications." Helen began.

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked, feeling his heart stop.

"Charlie, Carla is pregnant with twins. One is a boy and one is a girl. Barbara is concerned about stress on Carla and the fetus, and we want her to have the best medical care possible. We have a call into David Hume at Cook County to come over here and we want to put her into his care. Multiple births are risky and we don't want to loose either of the fetus. If we lose the girl it is a tragedy. If we lose the boy we have to term the mother. Do you know who the father is?"

"No. Carla didn't really know she was pregnant when she came here before. I assume it was her husband. They have been trying for some time."

"Well, we are going to have to get in touch with him. This is highly irregular and we want to do the right thing. Why don't I have Carl take you home?"

"Can I talk to Carla?"

"Sure. I will have her call you. She is safe and with two of our people right now and we have a call in for David to come here. We have a RN and a MD with her."

"How can that be?" Charlie asked.

"The RN works for us doing blood and other checks. We fished the MD out of the stream when she came through here. Carla has great care right now." Helen said.

The source of all this turmoil was sitting in the holding room sipping a coke and talking with two equally naked women. Candy and Cindy were both with Carla talking about the results and waiting for Barbara and Abby to get back. Abby was pulling all the stops out of her directory to get Donald Hume to come here. He was reluctant to do so when Abby first contacted him. But after she explained the situation, he agreed to come down. His partings words of advice were "Keep her quiet and stress free."

"So what is going to happen to me?" Carla asked.

"Well, for starters you are going to get a robe on. And we will see what the MD says to do and then we will help you get there. We want you to be a healthy mama to multiple kids. Not just one but both." Cindy said.

"You got that right, kid. Of course, we may want to borrow your husband, if you don't' object. Boy babies would get all of us out of here." Cindy said with a grin.

"I guess I could loan him to you. But I have to have him back." Carla said with a smile.

Donald Hume was a perfectionist. He had been all his adult life, through medical school and into residency. As chief resident OB/GYN and with a solid practice, he was not used to doing house calls. But Abby assured him that everything he needed should be at Findley's.

Abby's call was a shock. He had heard that she did not report to work and that she had been selected. This stupid law was ruining too many good people. It was acceptable to some people that you could cull the lower levels, but deleting extremely bright people was a sin.

Donald arrived at the cheery and slightly worn looking storefront at about six pm. The door was opened when he arrived by a starkly good-looking blonde young woman who was naked except for a collar. "Hi. I am Candy. You must be Dr. Hume?"

"Yes. So, where is this patient I am supposed to see?" He asked, trying to focus on the task at hand and not Candy's body.

"Follow me. You are the first outside male to go down this way with us." Candy said as she led the way across the deserted reception room.

Not what I thought a slaughterhouse would be, Donald thought to himself. Clean, open and airy, with about a dozen tables and chairs scattered around. It looked like a restaurant, not a reception room. Going down the hallway marked Exam rooms, Candy lead him to the second door to the left marked "Imaging".

Inside was a traditional exam table, with a Geocenitsis 3000 sitting next to it. That was Donald's first shock. His second was seeing Barbara Knowles running it. Barbara had been an ER nurse during his first rotation, and she was extremely good. She had left to take care of her boys and daughter after her husband was killed. He knew she had a job that paid well, but no one knew where she went. The third shock was Abby, naked, standing next to a young woman on the table.

"Hi Don. Bet you always wanted to see me like this" Abby said with a smile.

"Like this yes. Here, no. Barbara, It has been what, eight years?"

"Almost. So. Do you want to check my work?"

"Barbara, if this is your work, I doubt I have to check anything. But I would love to see twins if you have a picture."

Nicely handled, Donald, Abby thought to herself. He was always deferential to good nurses. That was why they all liked working for him. Abby swore she was going to be that good someday.

Barbara and Donald spent the next ten minutes moving the sonogram pickups and imaging pickups around and then rechecking the samples in the brush jar from the vaginal brush that Abby had done.

"I see why this was confusing. You have two definite growing here. And one is definitely male. Your swab sample was indefinite?" Donald asked.

"Yes. Which is what set me to looking further. And when this little fellow spun around I got a better look at his gene and figured we better get the young lady very rested and stable and call you."

"So. What is the legal status?"

"I deferred her for two weeks because the initial presentation was not defined. Today she is past expiration, but further exam revealed this. We can keep her here, if we have to, to establish better view at twelve weeks, but I figured you would feel comfortable with these findings to write a exclusion order." Barbara said.

"My dear, where do I sign? I could not have done as well in Cook County. Where did you guys get the money for a Geo 3000?"

"Donald, you have to talk to David. He has us on order for the new 3500 as soon as the first one passes trials. We use this over eighty times a month. It is how we sex all of the pregnancies"

Donald was saddened and sobered by that statement. That meant that there were eighty terminations each month of children when the mother was killed.

Sensing his upset, Barbara continued, "At least this one we get to send home. I can pull up the exemption here if you want, Donald."

Five short minutes later, Carla was getting dressed, and being given instructions on when and where to get to Donald's office. And Carl German was driving her home.

Donald looked around as Candy escorted Carla up to the reception and said, "I am surprised to see either of you here. Much less both of you."

"Well, This pays pretty well and the people are not depressing. If this were run any other way, it would be extremely depressing. With our increase in business, I am busy enough that we have brought in a new RN. And Abby was a pure delight to find and to keep here."

"You were supposed to start working with our practice this week." Donald said to Abby sadly.

"Well, it didn't work out that way" Abby replied. "At least I am not dead yet and I can still do some good once in a while."

"So I see. Have you talked with Charlie or Stephen?" Donald asked.

"No. I really didn't want to get into any discussions with either of them. They would be a bit much for me to take right now."

"I understand. Abby, for as long as you are here, if you need anything please let me know" Donald said.

"I will do that. And if you want to visit some evening, we have a great play group here." Abby said with a grin.

"Now, Martha would not approve of that." Donald said with a blush.

"Why not? It isn't like any of us are any threat. Well, Barbara is, but not me. Bring her by. Might shake her up." Abby said with a smile. "And Donald, I need you to know that the only reason I am working here is to stay alive. I don't need any lectures from Stephen on ethical responsibilities while I am here. I know what he would say about it and I don't need to hear about his sacrifice for humanity's sake speech."

"Stephen is a good one to talk about sacrifice, considering that he has never made one. Charlie on the other hand has encountered reality. I think he'd be more understanding." Donald said.

"Well, right now, I don't need to hear from either of them. This is day by day for me and I am coping with it day by day. I don't know what I will be when I get out of here, but I have to be alive to do that." Abby said.

"I understand that, Abby. You can't repent if you're dead."

Barbara was packing up to go home. It had been great seeing Donald. He had not been on her radar since she left Cook County. The money here was good and she didn't have rotation of shifts. And she didn't have to do anything but be a nurse. But seeing him again tickled her memories of the good times at Cook County. When she was saving lives in the ER. When she felt that what she was doing meant something positive.

I don't know how much longer I can do this, and I don't know where I could go from here, Barbara thought to herself. And the people she was working with were uniformly great. But the job sucked.

Tomorrow would be another day. Barbara would think it through then. Maybe.

-------

Late Night at the Findlay home

"Well, dear, how do we do this?" Margaret asked David at home. "How are we going to staff two places at once?"

"Well, the butchery is covered. I will have Marty Richardson do the introduction and set the behaviors. I will need you at the H&S site to monitor production and operations. I think Candy can keep things on track at Findlay. But we need at least five more cutters and six more interviewers." David said.

"Well, we have our feelers out. I guess we have to look at jobs and tasks. I wonder if we can pre-scan the selectees better?" Margaret said.

"That would mean getting the selection list as soon a it is posted. At best, we would only have a couple of days to pick the best. And then get those into our system fastest. Going from chance to progressive selection" David said.

"We wouldn't want to interfere with the selection process. Just get the list first. Since the board no longer assigns, we could reach out first. Ease them aside before they would be lost." Margaret said.

"We would probably have to have a few failures that we would have to term. But we do have to do something if we are going to handle the expansion problem." David said.

"Should we reach out to Delores?" Margaret said.

"We could ask her what she could do legally without causing any trouble for her."



-------

Chapter 21



Wednesday Morning

Marty Robinson was a man with a real challenge. He had eight journeymen from the local that he had to coach into a fundamentally different behavior. One of them was also a former union steward who had worked under a different contract and working conditions. George Harkness had been around a long time in the hall, and had seniority over everyone. But Marty had the position due to the contract. So there would be some jostling for position for sure. Tim and Gus were probably not going to be a problem, since they had their heads straightened. Tim had been here two times already and was accepted by the hens. Gus didn't have a permission slip, which kept him out of the weekend follies but he knew to behave while he was here. The others were going to be a little more of a challenge.

The men were told that the orientation meeting was in the Break Room at eight o'clock on Wednesday. Margaret had provided a list and advised them to show up early for breakfast as well as orientation.

That there were a lot of differences was evident. The first one was that there was no time clock. The Findlay contract did not call for one. The H&S people were surprised when they got there to find lockers, uniforms and names taped to lockers in a small changing room. Getting into uniforms and leaving their clothes in the lockers was a different thing. The second shock was that the break room was open to all. Following Marty down to the break room from the locker room and finding Carol, Helen, Elizabeth and sitting and eating was a bit of a shock. Seeing omelets and tofu sausage on the warmer trays and plates and silverware next to it was another shock.

"Good morning boys. Coffee is fresh. Cups are in the cupboard. If you have your own, you can bring them here." Helen said from her seat.

"Hi Helen" Tim said as he walked over and gave her a kiss. "Glad to see you this morning."

George took in the scene and remembered Margaret's speech yesterday. "Any one in a collar outranks you. This is not H&S. Be nice. Be Polite. And treat them better then you treat your wife. Or you are out of here."

"Helen. I remember you. Guys, I guess we get to eat." George said as he went over and filled up a plate. Damn, these onions and peppers smell good. Someone here knows how to cook.

Jim Picknell, one of the younger men, whispered aloud, "We supposed to eat with goats?"

"Fella, you eat with them, you may get lucky enough to sleep with them and you better respect them. There aint many other jobs here." George said to his younger man. "Get a plate. Who cooked this lovely stuff up?" George asked, raising his voice above the whisper.

"That would be me, and Carol here." Helen replied.

"This woman is amazing. You should see what she does with Italian" Tim said.

"You've been here for dinner?" Jim asked.

"My wife sent me here. When you get a chance, read the bulletin board." Tim replied.

Sitting down next to Marty, George looked around. "What is the scoop, boss man?"

Thinking over a good reply, Marty felt that easy was best. "It's like this. The rules are on the Bulletin board. The women in collars are ladies and to be treated as such. Men don't touch live women here during the working day. No one goes up front, except to carry stuff. And when you do, you change into clean street clothes. No bloody uniforms. Boss lady has a hard rule on that."

"So, how do things get managed?" George asked.

"The women do it all. Two of the goats have full union cards as cutters. The third is probationary. But they are the only ones who do the killing here. A woman never sees a man from the time she walks in."

"Shit. That Margaret is a piece of work. She zapped Peter with no hesitation, and kept lighting him up on the floor until he got quiet. I won't fuck with that woman." George said.

"You can fuck her. But not fuck with her. Read the union benefits on the board, and get to Barbara for a blood test. Mandatory daily blood tests." Marty continued.

"Shit. That isn't in any rule book."

"It is here. Results in an hour. Hemodialysis thing. Great box. We have a MD here too who can still prescribe." Marty said.

"Your docs keep his mouth shut?"

"Our doc is a Goat."

"No shit?" George exclaimed.

"Hello George. How is that wrist?" Abby said, recognizing the man who had been in her ER eight weeks ago.

"Great. Ump.' George blushed when he realized Abby was in her usual uniform. Naked.

"Yea. Shock to see me here, isn't it?" Abby replied, teasing.

"Well it is good to see you too. George," Abby continued. " Marty, I am going up to set up for interviews. We may be bringing the first through in about forty-five or so. We rewired the turnstile so it is manual shock and not automatic any more. Don't want any accidents with all these new people."

"Sure thing, Abby. I will get these guys settled by then. You are looking good, kid." Marty said, while patting Abby on the rump.

"You say the sweetest things. Later."

Watching Abby's departing ass, George got a sudden boner. "I don't' think I can stand up right now" he said to Marty.

"Happens to all of us. All of these broads are quality. And they are all great in the sack."

George frowned on that. "We had problems with that over at H&S. I think half of our accidents were due to guys not paying attention. They had pussy on break on their mind."

"Not that way here. Ok everyone. Let's gather around. Ladies, please stay if you can, cause I want to make sure everyone hears this." Marty said, standing up.

"You new guys sit down and listen. This isn't H&S. What you did there you won't do here. You will do different things different ways. Few rules. First. Respect the Goats. They run this place, not us. Never grab one without an invite. Never kiss one without her invite. If they ask you for something, or some help, do it. You give a goat a problem and you get what Peter got."

Looking around and seeing no argument, Marty continued. "I am the shop steward on this premise for this contract. We get union scale. We have two members and one probationary who live on this site. They are Goats. One of them is a better cutter then any of you bums. The other two are almost as good. Right Chris?"

Nodding his head, Chris remarked, "No shit. Candy is wicked fast, Cindy is almost as fast and Margaret is a terror. The doc is a little slower but she is getting there."

"Oh yea. Any rumors you heard of Ms. F. being a ball buster, they are right. She is a nice lady but she runs this place. You have any problem with anything you talk to our Den Mother, Helen. Helen, please stand up."

"I know all of you from yesterday. I am sure we won't have any problems talking about anything that bothers you."

After Helen sat down, Marty continued. "There are rules on the Bulletin board. The Swinger house rules are a benefit that is not contracted. The breakfast we have here every morning is also a benefit, not contracted. Mandatory blood tests every day are a requirement. David is a stickler on that since Margaret changed around things. The nurse is a great stick, and she never leaves a mark. All results are confidential and can be sent to your Doctor. Uniforms are worn in back. Street clothes worn anywhere in front of the yellow line in the hallway, or in front of any yellow lined doors. They have labels saying "Street clothes only beyond this point". The rule is "No Blood visible in the front office." Any questions?" Marty asked.

"What about if I got to piss?" Jim asked.

"Bathroom and washroom in back. So are the showers. Rubber sandals for everyone, footwear is provided. If you have blood on you up front, you better be the one bleeding." Marty said with a smile.

"Time clock. Aint one. You fill out your own timesheet. We start at eight and we end at five. One hour for lunch. Show up early and you get breakfast. If you get invited to stay late, you get dinner. No drinking or drugs during the day. No fucking during the day. Any questions?"

No hands usually meant people were scared. "If anything comes up, ask George, or myself, or a goat. That is right. They run this place, and they know the rules better then we do. And they won't fuck you up. Remember, this place is different."

At that point Barbara Knowles entered with her vampire bag. "Ok boys. Time to bleed."

Twenty minutes later, the eight journeymen new employees of Findlay Management Company were done and walking back to the process plant. General conversation was that this place was different, the nurse was a great stick, and that this place was sure clean and bright.

George and Marty remained. "Sure is different" George began. "I wont' miss killing. Not so sure Jimmy will adapt to it. But I got to say, your Margaret kept the best of the mess."

"She may have, but Helen is the real mind reader here. Woman is spooky. Really good friend too."

"So. You tapping any of that?" George asked with a snicker

"Hell yes. But married guys have to have a permission slip signed by the wife."

"No shit. How many have that?" George asked, shaking his head.

"All of them. My old lady said that a goat was the safest pussy out there. No man is leaving a wife for a dead woman."

"So how long are they staying around?" George asked.

"As long as they want, according to David. Helen says she wants to go soon. I hope not. She is a good friend. None of them are bitches. This place is almost like family. So don't fuck it up." Marty said with emotion.

"Don't want to. H&S was a pain. Hated to come to work."

"Well, we better saddle up. Abby will be coming through soon."

-------

I've got a little list

"David Findley. We have to stop meeting like this" Delores said as she was answering the phone.

"Actually, Delores, my wife said you and I could meet at any time. Your place or mine?"

"Now David, don't tease a old woman. I would rather come there, but the competition is pretty strong".

"Dear, we would make room. Easily." David said with a smile.

"Ok. Enough flattery. What can I do for you? With open selection, we don't have any transfers right now."

"Actually, I was wondering if we could have combined listing of the lottery selection for the week on the day of posting?" David asked, holding his breath.

"Now that is an interesting question. You want a complete copy of the notification list?" Deloris asked.

"Yes. We are looking at doing target marketing, as you know. We think we could appeal directly to some of those on the list for our special program processing."

Delores was quiet for a moment. "That would also let you pick goats better, wouldn't it?"

Busted, David thought to himself. How do I answer to that? And I better do it quick.

"If I was to do that, would it cause a problem?" David asked cautiously.

"We have to consider the issues of entrapment and possible slavery. Remember the coercion laws" Delores said.

"I know. That is why I have Carol Burke review everything we do here."

"Carol. Isn't that one of the women I met two weeks ago?"

"Yes. She was slated to go to H&S. She came here instead. My wife knew her and a friend of hers, and we asked that they stay around. She is my legal eagle."

"David, Isn't she the woman who help draft the anti volunteer legislation in the state last year?"

"One and the same. What is funny is that a lot of Merle's most outspoken opponents seem to be selected. We were lucky and fished out two of them."

"David. I am going to recommend that Douglas provide a publication of the full list weekly to all processors. H&S won't be doing much with it while they are closed. But M&H will. I expect that both of you will be competing for some of the same selections."

"Actually, Deloris. I am not too sure about that. I am more looking for staff then product. I have my dreams small."

"David, I will see when that list can come out. I don't imagine that releasing this week's list would be too serious a problem. Most of these will have picked their place already."

"Thank you. And let me know if there is anything I can do for you."

"Now that you mention it, there was something we could talk about."

"Carla?" David said.

"You remembered."

"I was waiting for a copy of her assignment sheet. I will have Margaret drive over the minute it hit's my inbox." David said.

"It would have to be handled very carefully."

"Delores, I have two collars left here, and all of H&S's as well. There is room here for her doing the same thing."

"H&S?"

"Yes. This probably shouldn't be public yet, but yes, I have been asked to take over there for operations management. Merle is gone."

"Is this public yet?" Delores asked. It will make a lot of impact here in the state level if there is a change there like David had already done.

"We have to do some rebuilding. But it will probably be announced this week. And that is part of why I am looking for opportunities to provide staffing."

"I see. David, be very careful. Of course you will be. But the coercion issues are pretty severely punished. Don't run afoul of those."

"I won't. I have ladies threatening to turn over every day. I have to bribe them to stay."

"I have to see that."

"Darling, you are invited any time."

"I may take you up on that. Your list should be in your in basket. There is also a re-assignment notice. If you care to accept."

"How do I get in touch with her to get her to stand out front?"

"Easy. I will call her now."

Now, I have to get Margaret dressed and tell her to drive to M&H and do a pickup. And take a collar with her.

Printing out the assignment sheet, David noticed that it was for a week from today for Carla. That means she was re-selected. Need to get Margaret over there now. "Margaret" David said into the paging unit. " I need you to get dressed and come to my office."

-------

Running away, running to

Carla did not know what to do when the call came from Delores. She knew that M&H was going to probably term her soon as she was getting old. And that she was pretty much at the end of her rope.

Delores said for her to do three things. Find some sort of clothing, get the e-mail announcement for a new assignment printed out and get outside the front of the building as soon as she could.

Finding clothes was not hard. There were a lot in the trash bin waiting for disposal. Grabbing the largest dress she could find, and a pair of sandals, she ran back to her office. Taking off the collar was scary. Without it, she was subject to processing. But she felt strangely free once she put it into the top drawer of her desk.

Outside without a collar, Carla would be a fair target if she didn't have the printed copy of a selection notice dated for today. Since her expiration date had come, she was on borrowed time anyway, and this new notice gave her just a week to report. The only thing was it said report to Findlay Processing, not M&H meats.

Margaret drove up to the front door of M&H Packing and saw a brown haired woman standing in front in an oversized flowered dress. She didn't have a collar on, but she was clutching a piece of printed mail. And she looked scared.

"Hey lady. Would you like a ride?" Margaret asked the woman as she stopped.

"Are you from Findlay's?" She asked.

"I am Margaret Findlay. Ask me if you can get a ride, please?"

"Could you please give me a ride to Findlay processing?" Carla asked.

"Absolutely. Please get in. And lock the door." Margaret said.

Margaret dropped Carla at the front door, and said for her to go inside. "I have to park the car, go on in and sit next to the drinks table, I will meet you inside" She said as Carla left.

Carla was depressed with resignation when she walked into Findlay's. The time was eleven fifteen. That depression changed to awe with a sense of relief very quickly. Seeing the two women at a round table near a table loaded with beverages, Carla went there and sat down.

Shortly, a naked woman in an orange collar came over to the table and asked, "Is there anything I can do for you ladies?"

The two women at the table were picking up forms, and the naked lady named Carol talked them through the questionnaire. When she asked Carla her name, Carla replied. A moment later the woman gave her a smile and said for her to wait a while, that there would be some additional documentation needed.

The other two ladies were finished with their questionnaires, and had selected Friday to report for intake. Both left quietly and left Carla alone at the table with Carol.

"Well, dear, you are safe now. Welcome to Findlay." Carol said.

"Is there something I should know?" Carla asked.

"Only that we don't have to train you to do interviews, and that we can get you up to speed pretty quickly and that you have found a new home. And I get to go to another place when you are trained."

"Really? You mean I am not going to be termed today?"

"Dear, David figured anyone who was as computer literate as you were for him is an asset he needs for this business. And you are it."

Carla began to shake. And continued to shake when she started to sob. Which continued for a long time in Carol's arms. After a while, Carol said "I think we need to get you back to the office. Please follow me."

David, in the meantime was going through the e-mail list that was sent to him looking for some specific things. Fortunately, Nancy was there to help him.

"What I need to do is pull the name and address and cross reference to profession and graduate degree status. I need to find interviewers first. Then I also want to grab either kids like Candy and Cindy or medical persons who are being slated. That way I can look at staffing up cutters as well." David explained to Nancy.

"Dissecting this is not a problem. Finding the associated person as a reverse look up for occupation may take some time. And we only have a few days to get them checked for this week."

"Nancy, this week is a dry run. Until I extend my license to H&S, I can't make use of their collars anyway. Look for country kids like Candy where you can. Medical people like Abby who have people contact skills. And be on the lookout for people who are volunteering for someone else. That kind of consideration is something we want in a cutter. I know this is not easy. This week is a waste week. I don't expect we will find anything this soon. But I will need to be able to start staffing at H&S in two weeks, so whatever we can find and snag will help."

"Who does the interviews?" Nancy asked.

"I think I will leave that to Carol and Helen. Carol for the Legal and Helen for her seeing how they can fit in here. Unless you want to."

Thinking that she would be making life or death decisions for people, Nancy didn't want that. "I trust Helen to not let in any real nasty eggs."

"David," Carol said. "This is Carla. She wants to talk with you about the open position we have here."

Several things turned up during Carla's interview. Some of them made David suspicious of Delores's motives. But in retrospect, it all worked out for the best.

Carla, it seemed, was selected almost ninety days before her fortieth birthday. She had been at M&H for almost one hundred and twenty days. This first ninety day extension had just about run out. The new selection notice was dated today. Fifteen days after Carla's birthday.

David rejected the selection notification. The computer did the rest. The notice of age exemption printed out and kicked back to the MAB.

So Nancy's life as a goat programmer was short lived. Carla took on the job as a paid employee, and David retained a single spare collar with no throat.

The unpublished conspiracy

David got a phone call from Jack Miller, operations manager at Myers and Hitchcock Meats. David had expected it. It was after hours, but David still expected it.

"David, This is Jack Miller. Did you get a reassignment today from us?"

"Yes, I think we did. Carla Jenkins?"

"That is the one. I noticed that there was an exemption notice sent about her. Funny thing that, seems she was kept alive just long enough to be exempted. But she had to be sent elsewhere to get the assignment rejected first. Do you know anything about that?"

"Jack, is this a problem?"

"HELL NO. I was trying to figure out a way to broach it to you. I didn't want to say anything to her because it would break her heart if it wouldn't work. I couldn't say anything directly because of collusion issues. My lawyer would have a fit."

"I knew you would figure something out." Jack continued. "Christine's blogs have said all along that you found the way for her. You are going to change the face of this business, son. And I am all for it. Any chance we can get together later this week to talk about operations? I have a feeling I want to learn a bit from you."

"Jack. I am doing some work over at H&S tomorrow. Why don't you meet me and we can talk?"

"You taking over the business?"

"Helping to set up operations there to be like mine. I think we should talk." David continued.

"I think so. See you tomorrow. And tell Carla I will bring her stuff. We never threw it out."

Well, he didn't exactly take over the business, David thought to himself. But if he could get things changed and commoditize the business, everyone would benefit.

-------

Meantime in the Break room with all theo new recruits.

"One hundred and twelve" Candy moaned. "That is one hell of a busy day."

"Tell me about it" Cindy said. "I hope I didn't' rush anyone. It seemed like I didn't."

"Cindy, I wouldn't worry. You did great. And when that one black girl panicked you got her down as smooth as glass. You should give lessons." Abby said.

"Thanks. She was pretty upset. I don't blame her. Three kids and all daughters." Cindy said. "Still she was only my age. I was temped to do her alone as a single on a trip. Nothing on her questionnaire was answered fully the first time."

"Well, I think we did a hell of a day." Margaret said. "I wonder how the new guys did?"

"They were pretty good at keeping up production. I didn't have anyone hanging at any of my trips. All my hooks were up and ready, and soon as I passed on along, they took them down the trolley." Candy said.

"Well, they deserve a reward for today. Except Friday will be worse." Margaret said.

"How so, Ms. F.?" Candy asked.

"We didn't have any catch up, but the MAB does not want to reschedule any existing selectees. That means that we are two hundred down for the week in the area."

"Wow. So tomorrow is not a slack day either?" Candy asked.

"Might not be. We'll see. Anyway. Abby, you did good girl." Margaret said.

"Thanks. Getting to send Davenport home was nice. And seeing Donald was good too."

"Is he going to come over one weekend?" Margaret asked.

"I doubt his wife would let him. She has him pretty close roped. But we do need a little Dick in this place. Or a few large ones." Abby said as she poured a drink.

"Any others you want to invite?" Margaret continued.

"I'll think about it. It was nice seeing him. Depends on how you guys indoctrinate new dicks around here." Abby continued.

"Speaking of Big Dicks" Candy said as Marty came into view.

"You need one?" Marty asked

"I need a shower. Want to rub my back?" Candy asked with a smile.

"Maybe. Let me get these fellows settled down first. Ok if I bring them up?"

"When they are here, they are family. It's after six o'clock. Sure." Margaret said.

You know, Margaret thought to herself, for the first time, the men outnumber the women here. There are the eight guys from H&S, our four, Carl German, and David. Plus George. That makes eleven to eight. This could be fun.

George and Marty came up with several of the now Findlay butchers and grabbed seats on the couch, dining chairs and armchairs that were in the break room that doubled as a family room for the goats. Carl Gorman was sitting with Helen, and Carol was sitting with Marty and George. The large video viewer was on showing the six o'clock news and one of the local stories was about the capacity shortage in the Chicago area. While not described as a crisis, the situation was going to be backed up for several weeks as capacity was rebuilt. The state board had considered mandatory transportation to St Louis, but deferred due to expense and the issues of interstate transportation under the Mann act. At this point, the state was considering housing in camps.

The Michigan board also had capacity problems after a riot in Detroit burned down three of the state's licensed processing plants. State Officials were working on methods to revive operations in older closed facilities. They too faced the possibility of housing issues in camps of former federal facilities.

The National Population Management board threatened to involve federal resources in the issue. While no state was looking to handle processing interstate, there was some interest in this at the federal level.

Carol was paying particular attention to this broadcast, because the issue was holding time in terms of days held. "We can't really have people held up for long periods of time because of some production issue."

When David came in after Carla went home with Delores, Carol reached out and grabbed him and Liz and swept him to a table in the corner.

"David, we have to identify our process and the key participants now. The damn MAB is going to start to look at durations of women past due and we will stick up like a sore thumb." Carol said in a bit of a panic.

Sensing a totally different attitude from Carol, David thought about this. Carol, Liz and Nancy were the oldest in time of past due. They were coming up on twenty-three days. Candy had the same interval but was a union member. Which provided another wrinkle. Abby and Cindy were under two weeks.

"Ok. What do you suggest we do?" David asked.

"First, we have to identify the critical nature of the contribution of each of us. Then we identify how that contribution associates with the business. That means we define business impacts. Then we prepare it as a business plan. Otherwise we will have a problem with MAB." Carol said. "I have worked here with everyone too hard and long to have this process attacked like this by some bureaucrat."

"Ok. Call Christina, Cathy Cox and Susan Barksdale and get them involved. That doubles your manpower and lets you do good planning. And we need to do that. What we want to do is have the MAB and selection board suspend selections while we correct the capacity issue."

"If we can't do that, what should we do then?" Carol asked.

"Build the business process case for our personnel." David said. "We have to do that as well anyway."

"Ok. What about costs? I am sure Susan is going to need some money for this." Margaret asked.

"After what we did for her, She should be paying to help us. But if there is money involved let me know." David said.

"Don't worry. I will talk to Jim and George. I am sure they will help with any legal costs on this." Carol said.

"Marty. Do you guys have a legal defense fund?" David asked.

Marty took his attention away from the kiss Candy was giving him and looked around. "Huh? Yes. What for?"

"We may need to get some help to protect three of your union members."

"Let me know. I'll do what I can." Marty said as he went back to what he was initially doing.

Stopping for a moment, David looked around and saw that no one else was as involved as he was in conversations. In fact, conversation was not going on much anywhere else.

As Margaret had noted, for the first time, there were more men then women at Findlay at the end of a long day. Gus Harkens and Tim (from H&S) were both involved in a very intense tongue lashing conversation with Helen. Candy and Marty were involved again. She was sitting on his lap and his pants were obviously uncomfortable. Elizabeth was talking with Jimmy Picknell, a new employee from H&S. The rest of the room was vacant.

"David, I think we have been abandoned." Carol said with a smile.

"I noticed. It is funny how this place empties out suddenly." David said in reply.

"Well, do you want to help a girl to get over her nervousness at being outdated?" Carol asked with a smile.

"Sure. Lead the way." David replied.

"Check with you guys later." Carol said to everyone remaining as she led David toward the stairs.

Fifteen minutes later, David was deeply into the legal niceties of his legal counsel. And she was responding to his queries and probing quests with eager energy and a lot of wet sheets. Soon David's contribution to the wet sheets was hopelessly intermingled as they both came to a sweaty climax.



-------

Chapter 22



Thursday Morning. Not a slow day at all.

Waking up in a strange bed was not unusual for Jimmy Picknell. And it was Jimmy to most of the women that were here. As the youngest man there, he was younger then all of the women except Candy and Cindy. Neither of which he played with last night.

Waking up next to Elizabeth was fun. She reminded him a little of his mother, with her laugh and her energy. And she was warm and open and very outspoken, and the absolute world class, award winning fuck. Not as tight as some women, she had muscle control that blew his mind. Something about Yoga and Kagel exercises. It was enough to drag him out like nothing in his experience.

When they were talking, after the first round of outrageous sex, he found out that she was supposed to come to H&S three weeks ago. Then, he would not have known her. And he would have been one of the ones to hook her up, hang her upside down, drive a spike hook into her anus, and tie her hands behind her back to it before passing her off to Peter for him to cut her throat from ear to ear. She wouldn't have been good enough to keep around as a Goat, and at that she would only have been there for a day or two.

I would have missed out on this. I would not have had this wonderful evening. And I am sure working in a much better place.

One of James' goals had been to move from a "hook up" to a "Killer". Later he would move to butchery and possibly grading and eventually running an automated spitting machine. None of that was here. He was a journeyman, paid journeyman wages and essentially a butcher. Chris and Marty were both very good at pointing out the tricks of skinning, deboning and slicing the meat parcels that were slid down to him from the slaughter area. And the light in here was so bright. And Carl German was a very tough grader. He looked at blood sample responses, and had shown James how these were an indicator of what areas of the body were beginning to become unsuitable for human consumption. Moving here was a professional jump on many levels. He was sure that he would be a real journeyman in a few weeks.

Downside was that there was only room for a single mechanical processer. And those jobs were very rare here. Not that there was any chance of getting into those positions anyway. Rick the Prick and Peter the greaser were the two that ran the spitting machines and chopper machines at H&S. And there was only one chopper and no spitting machines here. And they weren't run much.

The other upside was breakfast, dinner, and a great fuck with a wonderful woman. Someone Jimmy would never have been able to meet on the outside. Of course, Jimmy's only view of her before would have been to hook her up and slide her down a trolley.

Something smells great, Jimmy thought to himself. Carefully detaching himself from Elizabeth's sleeping body, he walked down the hall to the lavatory and relieved himself of about two quarts of liquid. The wine was great but he had to drink a lot to make up for what he was sweating. And Carol had given him this orange stuff that was supposed to keep him from having any headache. It worked.

Walking down the stairs naked was not too different, but seeing two of the resident goats working in the kitchen was almost too good to pass up. Thinking back on his instructions, Jimmy walked over to the counter and carefully hugged Candy and asked aloud "Is there anything I can do for you ladies?"

"If you want to set the table, that would be great. We probably will have a few people down here in a few. How do you like your eggs?" Helen asked.

"Any way you make them. But don't forget to add that wonderful smelling salsa. That is great."

"Thank you" Helen said. "We keep a fresh stock of veggies here every day. We go through eggs and tofu and bread like crazy."

"So how many do we have here for breakfast?" Jim asked.

"There are seven of us, plus Margaret and David, plus you guys too. And occasionally our husbands stay over. Sometimes I think I am running a restaurant or the dorm at college again." Helen said. "But I like it. Coffee?"

"Yes ma'am." Jim answered. Setting each table with five places, Jim set out saucers and silverware. After setting four tables, he stopped. "How many of the husbands are still here?"

"I think that is enough. Jim never came over last night. Poor Carl kept me up most of the night. Anyway, we will have plenty. So, What do you think?"

"I think the coffee is great." Jim answered.

Candy laughed and Helen replied. "Scamp. I hope the rest of your team is as smart as you are. Seriously, what do you think?"

Realizing he was in dangerous waters, Jim replied, "I think this place is different. I think I worked yesterday and it was calm to the point of almost boring. I think I learned things and that I got paid. I was able to just do the job and everything was quiet. Everything is bright, it is clean, and I don't have dirty clothes at the end of the day. And the coffee is great."

After taking a sip, Jim continued, "I also think that I don't hear of others dealing with the kind of fights and brawls we had at H&S. I think that people here have a lot more respect for everyone. And that shows all around. And I am sure glad to have met you and Elizabeth and Carol. I never would have gotten to know people like you any other way."

"You smooth tongued devil, I think you mean that. We will just have to let you stay around." Helen continued, giving Jimmy a kiss on the forehead.

"I do have a question, though. I hear and see Candy, Cindy, Margaret and Abby as the cutters here. And I guess I wonder how that makes you feel about it."

"My, you are getting comfortable." Helen replied. "Well, I can tell you a long story, but the thing you have to remember is that here, the person who kills you is someone who cares. I know I would rather that then from some brute that saw me as a piece of meat."

"I guess that makes sense. But I know I can't kill someone I know." Jim replied.

"That is one of the differences between women and men. We don't have the scruples about slitting each other's throat. I know that if I am expired, this slitting bitch here will do the job nicely, quietly with no pain and talk to me the entire time." Helen said smiling.

"You can count on that, lady" Candy replied.

At that comment, Jim was shaking his head. Women. How do you figure them?

Gradually, bodies began to stir and descend the stairs. George and Carol with Cindy were the first to come down. Candy and Nancy were in close pursuit. Carl German was a little later, coming over to give Helen a kiss and hug.

"I woke up alone, lady." Carl said to Helen.

"You were snoring and I was hungry. I didn't want to wake you." Helen said, snuggling back to Carl's erection. "But we can go back up after breakfast."

"I doubt that, girls" Carol said. "Much as we like to, I think that things are going to be busy today. In fact, until Stienhauer is back in business, nothing is going to be the same."

"I agree." Candy said. "I was looking at the assignment lists and we have as many people wanting into here today as we did on a Monday or Wednesday. I think that we are going to be full tilt for a while."

"So, ladies, eat up. Our work awaits." Helen said, loading food on the first plate.

Margaret was surprised at the crowded parking lot. When David dropped her off, Cindy greeted her at the door. "We have looked at the schedule and we have more for today then yesterday. Looks like one hundred twenty asking for term, and another eighty for interviews."

"Shit. We can't do that much." Margaret said.

"Our production Manager disagrees, and she also has a couple of fish she wants to keep out of the stream." Cindy said, taking Margaret's bag and leading the way to the break room. "Nancy and Candy are in the office going over prospects, and we have some of them coming over here today. Interviews for most but term for a couple." Cindy continued.

"I guess get ready and catch up with you guys." Margaret said.

Entering the break room, Margaret saw that Jimmy and most of the old H&S crew were scarfing down food. Helen and Carl were sitting with Carol and Abby, and a plate was sitting next to them. Helen gestured for Margaret to come over and sit down.

"Ok, listen up bitch." Carol began. "The MAB is on a tear. There is a lot of press going around about production backup, as a follow up from last night. So we have to demonstrate three things. 1. Our production is capable of holding the line. 2. The people we have here are intrinsic to our success. 3. We have the extra capacity coming on line soon."

"Phew. Who is the goat and who is the owner here?" Margaret asked, teasingly.

"Well, since I am the legal eagle here, it is my job to set us up for our best presentation against any court ordered termination of oldest first. That was what Merle was saying at the eleven o'clock news. His suggestion is to go back to business as usual and keep production up."

"I will have a chance to talk with that man sometime." Margaret said, scarfing down her breakfast. "And he won't like it."

"Unless you are swinging a blade around his balls, he won't even notice you." Carol said. "This guy makes slime look good."

"Ok. So what is the agenda?" Margaret asked.

"Nancy and Candy think they can find a few to pull out of the stream. They are going over names now. We need at least one more goat leader. We may make a small change in processes to speed up the killing time. Abby and Jimmy have a few ideas about that."

"Quicker and less painful then what we are doing?" Margaret asked.

"Absolutely. Abby is doing some research into EEG flat lining and we want to get the time from our current three to five minutes to less then one. That will make an improvement in process time beyond the door. Once you're dead, it is a butcher exercise, and the boys are keeping up ahead of that. We need to continue the flow up to the door and then reduce the interval from three minutes to one minute at the turnstile. That is all." Carol finished.

"And from a humane perspective, that works out pretty well too." Helen added. "If we can keep the time of passage shorter, we have less stress. The stunner in the turnstile already causes disorientation and shock. Probably for up to twenty or so seconds. That means that we only have to deal with another forty or so seconds of awareness instead of two and a half minutes. If we can stop all sensation and then all bodily functions, then the brain will cease to operate. And that is what we really want."

Abby was quite for most of this. Now she felt it was her time to speak. "When you suffer trauma, the body takes time to react to it. The transmission of the impact takes time to be presented, recognized and then reacted to. We need to stop brain function in the interval that it takes to organize recognition. The cutting technique we have here is exceptional. But the bleeding takes time. If we can lower that time frame, with no sensation of pain, we can speed up processing time. And still give a loving good bye."

"Make it too quick for them to have time to be afraid?" Margaret asked.

"Exactly. I think that's what we need to get to." Abby said.

"Well, then, I guess we better get ready to open up." Margaret said.

Nancy and Candy, in the meantime, had gone through over two hundred prospects in the list for this week. Of that listing, they were able to cross reference three who might be suitable goats. One of them is a city social worker, one a nurse aid, and the third a volunteer for her foster sister. All three were due to be in today for interviews.

"I wonder if we can pull them aside without a collar for them?" Candy asked Nancy.

"I am not sure. We can ask David about the ones assigned to H&S if we have to. But in any case, we have one open right now. I would feel lucky if we find one." Nancy replied.

-------

Thursday at H&S

After dropping Margaret off at Findlay, David drove on over to H&S. The goal here today was to look at Margaret's initial sketches, see how well it would be implemented, and how it could be expanded to scale. With the history of production of about 150 per day, David had expected to see an enormous capacity. And he did see one element. The freezer and cooler compartments were enormous, compared to Findlay. Everything else was wasted, due to how the women were moved from place to place.

In David's mind, the first step was to see about putting up walls with exam rooms, medical review rooms and restrooms in a logical progression. The second step was a larger room for clothing and personal effects boxing. Next was to build a demising wall to the rear kill and carving area. David looked at the paint marks that were on the floor and saw that there were some good ideas that Margaret had left on Tuesday. The real goal here was to be parallel processing. If we had two or more lines working in the real time, we could process flow sixteen at a time with minimal delay. We will probably need two locations for blood and urine processing. This would allow for up to ninety-six per hour when spread across two machines. This is critical. A single Geocentisis machine, to take care of belly searches from both sides. Capitol investment would be high, but fortunately this sort of thing could be leased.

Sixteen exam rooms, eight in a row on each outside of a loose "H" with blood and urine exam machines on the inside of the H at the back. This would allow a larger lab with windows at each end of a wall to the rear with an entry for the imaging for those pregnancies, which turned up from urine checks.

If I get one side built quickly, we can continue to build the second side during off hours while we are able to process. We can do about ninety a day working five days a week for a while until we get the second section built. Then we can revert to three-day operations. Biggest problem will be building twelve lavatory stalls in two different rest rooms.

So, we have two hallways. You leave reception area with forty-eight seats, to go down one of two hallways. First stop is one of the groups of eight exam rooms. Time there will be about ten minutes so we have up to sixteen being examined at one time. Then on through the bathrooms where it will be about five to ten minutes. Going from the bathroom through stripping and verification takes about ten minutes. Processing is twelve minutes for group of four, which is about the max goat should handle. With two isles and two killing stations that would mean that up to eight in that twelve minute period. So total time from departure form reception to parts and pieces would be thirty-three for the first and forty-two for the last. Total capacity would be about sixteen per side per hour. So, in full operation we would be easily able to process up to one hundred twenty-eight per side in eight hours. This would mean up to two hundred fifty-six per day.

That assumes twelve goats, with four doing intakes, and eight doing rotation. On that rotation was a fifteen-minute period where the goat was engaging with the four before taking them down.

So. We will fill the freezer pretty quickly and also have to have butchery running at the speed of sixteen per hour as well. So we have to have at least four to eight butchers running full time.

So, this is a production house with no Specials. We would do cold spitting (meaning already dead) only. While this would crimp some of the H&S income, the volume would more then compensate for that.

We would have to have a scheduling module for AM and PM operations, David thought to himself. Not so important for the beginning, but it will when things get in to full volume, we don't have enough places and tables for sitting ninety people at a time.

Jack Stienhauer and his architect and construction manager had arrived by this time.

"David, this is Phil Martin, an architect and builder I have worked with in the past. Phil, this is David Findlay, who is taking over management operations here. " Jack said by way of introduction.

"Pleased to meet you, Phil. My wife and I sketched out the rough plans yesterday. I assume you have some questions." David said.

"Actually, very few. The blue lines are pretty self-explanatory. The notes on the floor are pretty good, and I understand that you want the floor leveled and carpeted in most of the spaces."

"Actually everywhere in front of the demising wall. And when the wall is put in, I want sound insulation doubled in the overhead of the front area, and white noise generators to be running in the front area." David said.

"No sounds. We can rebuild the opened area of the existing demising wall, if that will provide enough room." Phil said, with a gesture toward the opening.

"I think that is where Margaret painted it to be."

"David, I think you don't have enough exam rooms on this. We could make the rooms smaller and get more of them." Jack said.

"Actually that would be counter productive. The goal is small groups moving rapidly. I ran the numbers and this will allow us to do up to two hundred fifty six in a single day." David replied

"David, I don't mean to counter your numbers, but you never did that much before." Jack said.

"Jack, we are popping over a hundred every day now. The process works. And there is some automation I am looking at that will improve that time by some ten percent. So I don't think that my numbers or planning is out of line."

Phil, sensing a chance to improve his position, asked David how this would work.

"Pretty simple. Send your wife over to us and we will show her. Then she can tell you." David responded, looking Jack straight in the eye.

"Phil. I did that already. After my wife was there all I can say is do it his way."

"Ok. Now we need water for a wet bar in the front room. We don't have one at Findlay and it causes a lot of grief. We also need a glass front beverage cooler. We didn't have one and we are putting it in now. We also need long table along the wall on the left side. Access drops for electricity for three desks and that should leave enough room for the tables." Jack said.

"Now in the medical section we will need room for two blood rooms adjacent to the entry from the restrooms. And in between a location for a Geocenitsis machine. From there we have the dividing hallway and two rooms for overnight and temporary detention. Four beds in each as well as lavatory sink and shower. No tub.' David continued.

"David, we aren't running a hotel." Jack said.

"Jack, we will process at least two hundred a day. Up to forty will be pregnant. Three of those may be males. We have to store those pending verification and contact with Social Services."

"Merle never did that." Jack said.

"Yes. Merle never did a lot of things. He also no longer has a license. I do."

Sensing that this discussion was going to be contentious, Phil said, "I will just leave you two alone while you settle this."

"No need. David has his point. I am loosing money every day that this stays like this. We need to see what costs are and how long this will take."

"Costs won't be much." Phil explained. "The internal walls and doors will be pretty easy to build. We have a lot of pre built with doors at the intervals you have outlined. With the overhead open we can do electric drops from above. Hardest thing is toilet drainage. We will have to raise the floor for both lavatories. But that won't be too bad. Eight inches with a ramp."

Walking toward the rear of the plant, Phil asked, "What are the turnstiles for?"

"Process operations. I can't tell you more without a signed confidentiality agreement." David replied.

"Ok. And then, behind that, we have overhead tracks for the trolley. I assume we have to redirect some of those?" Phil said.

"Absolutely. And I see we have two disposal chutes here in the floor. Have the trolley pass over those first and then back to the disemboweling stations."

"Ok" Phil said. "That will remove about sixty feet of track. Going direct to there simple. Where from there?"

"From there, we have a split. One side toward the whole carcass cleaner and then to the cooler, the other to parts and pieces tables."

"I think we need at least twelve to sixteen tables. That should be enough for processes. I think that pretty much finishes what we need." David continued.

"Well, I will let you two finish on details. I have to get back home," Jack said. "Phil, can you get me an estimate tomorrow?"

"Sure. We just need a few more details." Phil said.

After Jack left, Phil looked at David and said "Do you have any specific colors or other details that we can use with this to reduce the time for delivery?"

"Sure. Why don't you come to my plant and see how we are set up. That should give you the details you are looking for. Most of the staff there will be working here so they can give you ideas."

Which is why Phil Martin and his wife, Kimberly, were at Findlay processing at eleven o'clock, doing a review of the operation.

-------

An unpleasant surprise

Susan had warned Kimberly that she was in for an experience if she was going to look over the operation at Findley's. She jokingly told Kimberly to check her status while she was in reception, just in case. Standard procedure, she laughed as she said it.

Kimberly was surprised at a lot of things when she got to Findley's. First was the cleanliness. And the sense of calm and quiet were pervasive. Even with packed seating at all of the tables, there was no sense of fuss or drama. Seeing the six naked women walking around was a bit of an eye-opener, but no one seemed to be upset by it. The color scheme could use some work, she thought to herself. She was the decorator part of the firm, with her husband being the contractor and architect. This was the first time

She had seen anything beside H&S. Sure was different, she thought to herself.

"Hello. Can I help you?" A younger brunette asked. She was naked except for the orange collar, and Phil found himself eyeing her very speculatively.

"Hi. I am Phil Martin, contractor for H&S processing. David Findley sent us here to look at this operation to replicate it at H&S. My wife and I were wanting to do a review."

"Hi. I am Abby, and I don't believe we have any registration or specific direction on that yet. Do you mind filling out our questionnaire while I get in touch with Margaret or David? If you are going to be around here, we have to do that for insurance purposes."

"Nonsense. This is silly." Phil started to say.

"Never mind, Phil. I am sure that this is reasonable. I talked to Susan and she said that we are in good hands. Besides, this will give us some feel for the process." Kimberly said as she accepted the intake form. "Why don't you see what is available to drink?"

Looking over the form with Abby, Kimberly realized that there was minimal hustle or noise. And that one of the nude women was taking a group down the hallway marked "Examination". The doctor's office atmosphere was much different from what she had expected. Getting through the questionnaire, she noted all of the key points. Susan had told her that this alone was worth more then any visit to a lawyer. After a few moments, Abby came back with a portable computer.

"Ok. Let's scan this number in and see what the status is." She said to Kimberly. Keying the number against all selected as opposed to assigned selections, Abby was not surprised to see Kimberly's number came up. Kimberly, however, had a different reaction.

"There has to be some mistake." Kimberly said, with panic starting in her voice.

Oh Shit. This woman is panicking in reception and we have over twenty to push through. "Not on our part. Initially you were supposed to report to H&S. You are three weeks past due to report, according to this." Abby replied. "Did you get any registered mail or e-mail in the last few weeks?" Abby asked.

"No." Kimberly replied. Thinking that the woman was making a horrible mistake, reached for the computer. "Let me check now."

"Just a second. If you check now, from my workstation, you will be indexed as active and having reported. Do you want to do that?" Abby asked. Seeing Kimberly's face pale and shaking her head no, Abby continued. "Let me do some lookup from the MAB and see where the advisories were sent. Nancy, can you help us here?" Abby said to another woman.

"Sure. Want to help my group over there down to exam, and I will help your person here." Nancy said as she came over.

Taking the intake form from Abby, Nancy entered the ten-digit number into the search form against the published and listed selectees. Sure enough, Kimberly came up as selected three weeks ago. Looking further into the notification trail, she saw that the initial notification was sent to her home address as H&S processing. And that the e-mail notification was an account at H&S dot com. The only reason that the late reporting had not been filed was because H&S was in such a chaotic condition.

At this point, Phil had returned with drinks, and Kimberly asked if he had anything stronger.

"What does this mean?" Kimberly asked.

"Well, it means this. First, you were legally selected. Second, you are less then thirty-six, so there is not much in the way of extensions available. Third, your notice was lawfully sent to the address of record, which was H&S processing, and that your e-mail notice was also sent there. H&S didn't acknowledge it nor did you. But at this time you are a runaway. Your driver's license, credit cards and other personal identifications have been flagged." Nancy continued.

"This is got to be some kind of joke." Phil said, getting angry. "We're leaving."

"It's no joke." Nancy continued. "Now here is the ugly part. If you leave this room now, we are required by law to contact the police of your appearance and departure. If you want to research your legal options, you are welcome to do so. Have a seat, have a drink and we can work with you to help. If you want to call a lawyer, we can help there. But she can't leave the property, and we close at five o'clock."

"I need to talk to David Findlay, this is outrageous." Phil continued, getting more agitated.

"I'll tell you what. I'll get Margaret, David's wife, here, and our legal consul. And you can call your own from here. And we will work with you to help you as much as we can." Nancy continued.

"Please do." Kimberly responded. The initial shock over, she began to think through her resources to get out of this mess. This was a lot worse then the tickets she used to ignore in college.

"I'll get Margaret and Carol and have them come over here. You can make your calls from here and see what you can do, and we will be back in a minute." Nancy said, as she gestured for Carol.

Coming over, Carol looked and detected something amiss. "How can I help you?" she asked.

"Carol, this is Kimberly Martin. She was coming here to work with Phil, her husband, to get notes on colors and architecture for our other place at H&S, and apparently she was selected and not physically notified. So she is a bit upset. Can you help her with this? Her husband Phil wants to talk to David or Margaret about this."

"Sure. Nancy, take my group over there down to examination and meet Candy in processing if you can? I will help these two out."

"Ok" Carol said after Nancy departed. "Lets see what we have here."

After three minutes, Carol was able to see that Kimberly had never been properly notified, and that she was properly selected. Her e-mail notification was sent to a work address identified as H&S processing. "Kimberly, were you an employee at H&S?" Carol asked.

"I was a contractor there part time. But I don't usually go there." She replied.

"Ok. Well, have you had any mail loss at home or other issues in the last few weeks?" Carol asked. "I ask this because they sent e-mail to your office, and also a copy of the notice to H&S. But with them closed, no one has followed up."

"My God, I can't believe that this is happening." Kimberly said.

"Well, I am afraid it is. Is there someone you want to call?" Carol asked.

"Well I sure do." Phil interjected. "David and Jack for starters. I am not going to loose my wife."

"Phil, why don't you call both of them? Kimberly, while we are here, why don't we work on the rest of this form?" Carol asked. "When Margaret get's back, we can see what the options are."

"When will Margaret be back?" Phil asked.

"Probably in about thirty minutes. She is half way through with a group right now." Carol replied.

"You mean she is taking women down to be killed?" Kimberly asked in a whisper.

"Yes. That is what we do here." Carol answered calmly.

Phil spent the next thirty minutes calling and talking to Jack Stienhauer and others. Jack was not very helpful. He was sympathetic, but had nothing to offer in terms of advice. His contacts with the lawyers were more upsetting. His business lawyer asked where Kim was going to be sold, since she had a great body.

Working to keep Kimberly calm, Carol got all of the information on the form filled out, and after a second glass of wine, Kimberly was pretty calm. Not exactly resigned, but not screaming.

Margaret arrived from the office hallway. Seeing her, Carol gestured her to come over.

"What you got?" Margaret asked.

"Poor girl. Discovered she was selected when she came here with her husband to get our colors and decoration suggestions for H&S."

"Oh shit. How did that happen?"

"Damn e-mail and snail mail went to H&S instead of her home. They didn't work on it since they are closed. She is a three week overdue runaway right now." Carol finished.

"Well, I guess we better get her ass moving" Margaret said.

"One problem. Her husband is Phil Martin. He is the contractor for the renovations."

"Well, we can console the widower later. Do you see anything from the form to put a collar on her?" Margaret asked.

Shaking her head, Carol replied "No. Nothing stands out. She is a decorator. Unless H&S wants to use her on their site, I don't think we need to waste it on her."

Realizing that she had just pronounced a death sentence, Carol paused. This was the sort of decision she had wanted to have when she became a judge, at the end of her legal career. Only now the cases she decided were all capitol punishment.

"Ok." Margaret said. "I'll take her down as a single. Candy is behind me and will be back up."

"Actually, Candy is going to do a group that Nancy just left with and I am probably going to follow with the ones that are there with Helen. So do you want me to take her?" Carol asked.

"If you want to. Jimmy Picknell is working with us. So he knows what you look like." Margaret said.

"Breaking the kid in?" Carol asked

"Abby did. David said we might have to change some things in the process line soon. I think he has some ideas. So, take miss Kimberly with your group, and if you think she has any value, drop her at stripping. I will follow and clean up." Margaret said.

And so Kimberly was given a guided tour of the process line at Findlay. Going with Carol and taking her notebook with her, she noted color schemes, carpet types, wall treatments and a comprehensive list of suggestions all the way down. She sat at a table in stripping for over thirty minutes writing notes while Phil used David's office to call lawyers, political friends and a host of other contacts. Following Carol's advise to think in the Now, she occupied her mind with all of the things that had to be done here and at H&S as a makeover, before she finally set her notebook in the bottom of a box with her name on it.

Carol had long departed and two other women had led groups through. At this time, Margaret arrived by herself.

"I guess I am finished." Kimberly said to Margaret who was standing with her. " I am going through those doors next?"

"Right behind me." Margaret said.

"So, what decorations do we do there?" Kimberly asked.

"Actually, that is laid out as industrial processing, not much in the way of colors."

"So, do I need anything?"

"Just your self." Margaret replied.

Taking a deep breath, and removing her wedding ring, Kimberly stripped.

"Kimberly, is there anything special you want?" Margaret asked as she walked her over to the door.

"I would like to make sure that there are no last suggestions I have for you guys." She replied.

"Ok. Bring your book with you and follow after me and we'll talk on the other side." Margaret said.

Margaret was standing waiting for Kimberly on the other side. She did not hit the stunner control when the door came around.

"Kimberly," Margaret said "Do you want to see the rest of the plant before we finish you?"

"Sure. How long?"

"At this point not long. Follow me a minute." Margaret said. "Jimmy, you help with the next team please? Cindy is coming through in a moment."

Stepping down from the turnstile, Kimberly followed Margaret. She noticed that the four women she had seen go through before her were already dead. Lots of blood on the floor and along the sides of the women's' heads indicated how they had died. And that's how I am going to die, Kimberly thought to herself.

"Watch your step. It is slippery here." Margaret said as she walked around the hanging carcasses toward the rear of the plant. "I was wondering what we can do back here to improve things. I heard from your husband that you had a degree in industrial design."

"Yes. David and I met at University of Tennessee. He was in architecture and I was in design. We have been partners for eleven years." I guess he needs a new one, Kimberly thought to herself.

"Kimberly, we are all sympathetic to your situation. But we can't keep you more then a few days. We have women we fish out for good reason for a short time, and if David can qualify one of the collars at H&S for you for the weekend, we can use that for you. If not, we will finish you at the end of the day. But Monday, we have to clip you. In the meantime, you can see your kids again and finish setting up your affairs. Is that understood?

"What is my alternative?" Kimberly asked, trembling.

"Turn around." Margaret said.

Facing the turnstile, Kimberly saw a woman appear just as she had a moment ago. Suddenly the woman collapsed. Kimberly watched as Cindy and the young man hooked her up and raised her over the drain. Kimberly felt sick as she watched Cindy make two quick slices along the woman's distended jaw and watched as she bled to death in front of her eyes.

"Now or Monday. That is your choice." Margaret whispered into her ear as Kimberly watched the proceedings in shock.

"I guess Monday would be better for me." Kimberly said.

-------

Finding some Wiggle Room

After his sixth call to different lawyers and friends, Phil said, "David, I don't know what to do."

"Well, for starters, you can start to follow up on the arrangements Kimberly indicated on her questionnaire. We haven't submitted her yet, but we have to today. I am not getting into an issue with the Selection Board over her, and I am not subbing her for one of my team. Especially when I have to staff up H&S."

"This is a nightmare." Phil muttered.

"Yes it is. And it's one of Merle's making. Leaving me to do the job he would have done three weeks ago. The difference is that Kimberly is being treated better then Merle would have." David said. "Now, I have a couple of phone calls to make and you can either wait here and sit with me in my office or in the break room. If you are going to stay here, you have to be quiet. Understood?"

"Will what you are doing help us?" Phil asked.

"I will try to. But nothing is permanent." David replied.

David's first call was to the MAB. "Hello Delores. How are you?"

"David, what can we do for you today?"

"Delores, What is the status of the collars at H&S? Are they active and can they be assigned while the plant is not operational?"

"Find some staff already?" Delores asked.

"Yes. But I am not cutting any of mine to do it." David replied.

"Let me get Douglas on the phone."

A few moments later, Bob Douglas was bridged onto the phone with David and Delores. "David, what exactly are you wanting to do?"

"Bob, we have a situation here and I would like to start setting up staffing for H&S like I have it here. But to hit the ground running, I need to train up the team. The back office is not so hard, but the intake and process flow is a bitch. So I want to use the collars to harbor the people I am going to use at H&S."

"That is what Delores explained to me. David, does H&S have a license?"

"No. Merle's was revoked. I am being brought into there as interim licensee and operations manager. Which is why we have to clean up things."

"I see. We have a fine line here with respect to competing laws. If you house the goats at a non-licensed facility, they are subject to term. If you house them at a facility that is licensed, I suppose we could extend holding. You have five days to get the paperwork straight with us, you know. How long will it be before H&S is up in service?"

"Probably three weeks. We are handling their load here for the moment." David said.

"Really? What are your production figures?"

"Just a second. We did one hundred twelve yesterday, and we are on track to one hundred twenty eight today. We are working five and a half days a week to keep up with the assignments." David said some tome amazement in his voice. We are doing better then I thought.

"That is impressive. I am taking some political heat that we may not make allocation, but you seem to have worked to get that done. How long can you keep up that pace?"

"I guess that depends on how soon I can get my next set of people trained up." David responded.

"Ok. Here is what I can do. We can grant you co residence to the combined total of the collars. Can you house them at either Findlay or H&S?"

"Sure. I have space for sixteen here."

"Dormitory? That isn't healthy for long." Douglas said.

"No. Private rooms. Living quarters. Sixteen spaces. Used to be office spaces with joint use washrooms and showers."

"Sounds like a hotel. How many at H&S?"

"They are a little more cramped for living space. We have room for eight there in separate rooms." David said. "I think I can get four more by deleting offices. I have to have our architect work on it." David said, looking at Phil.

"Ok. I will issue an order for joint tenancy for both locations at a facility you designate. That will let you staff up. What about transportation?"

"I will have them report here, do intake here and then collar them here. We can move them to H&S later."

"Ok. I will send a memorandum of understanding to that effect today. You will have it by close of business today. We don't want your production impacted. And what will be the joint production when you get done?"

"With the figures I have, I think we can do three hundred a day between both locations. That is nine hundred a week. Fifteen hundred if we have to expand to five days of operation."

"That takes care of almost the whole state allocation. You are pretty confident about your figures?"

"Been listening to Merle again?" David asked.

"He has been here offering his advice."

"One thing I have learned from this experience is that you have people who talk a good story for their own amusement and you have people who do a good story. Look at my track record and then at his. He needed twelve days to do six hundred. We have done almost that this week. You do the math."

"Ok. I'll take this gamble. But we have to monitor the situation for a while. When will you be online at H&S again?"

"I am setting up a USDA inspection team on site for the entire construction. I am also scheduling a Department of Health inspection at each stage of the construction. I will leave the other license stuff to my general contractor."

"So no delay other the construction. Ok. Collar your goats."

"Thanks."

After hanging up, David turned to Phil. "Ok. I need to talk to Margaret first and then we can look at a temporary retention. Long enough to get things finished up. No longer."

"How long?" Phil asked.

"Let me talk with Margaret. She knows better. And Phil. When it is Kimberly's time, based on our decision, it is her time. Is that understood?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"None."

Kimberly had a list of fifteen different items that needed improvement in the processing area. She had an eerie disconnect while she watched women deconstructed on the tables. There was a lot of manual labor and repetitive motion in the process. Remembering that slaughterhouses were the original case for repetitive motion injuries, not a good thing for long term occupations, Kimberly mused.

The Wyoming style knives were excellent. Good grip and no strain on the wrists required while unzipping the carcass from clit to chin. And turning the blade over to allow the carbon ceramic to cut in to the flesh to remove tits, skin and surface fat was no issue. Have to change heights on each carcass to exercise a different muscle group. Kimberly noticed that the arms back and shoulders of the Goats who did dissection were well-developed and showed no sign of any real strains.

One of the most useless work tasks is decapitation. Most bodies have to be trimmed of hands, feet and heads prior to parting. The real repetitive motion here was the various cuts of muscle, tendons and the severing of the joints of the neck. Hands and feet are likewise a repetitive motion. And like chicken ends, there was not a lot of consumable meat in them. Brains are dangerous to eat. Several diseases are associated with them. So, decapitation and end trim is a necessity.

"Well, I guess I have enough notes to help you guys evaluate some improvements." Kimberly said to Margaret.

"Well, if you are ready, we will go to the office and talk about what we do next." Margaret said to Kimberly.

Entering David's office, Kimberly and Margaret saw Phil sitting in the guest chair. "Hello darling. Surprised to see me?" Kimberly said.

"I expected to see you. I didn't think this farce would actually occur." Phil said.

"Phil, I think you should walk to the break room and talk with your wife. Margaret and I have a few things to talk about. Kimberly, I assume you know the way." David said.

After Kimberly and Phil left the room, Margaret started the conversation. "I told her I was capping her Monday." Margaret said. "And at that, it is a waste of collar."

"Maybe not. We got the go ahead to store all goats for both Findlay and H&S here while H&S is being retrofitted. So we can build up the staff here." David said.

"Great. So the prospects Nancy saw can be fished out if they are worthwhile?"

"That is my thought. What do you think of keeping Kimberly around until we get the other plant finished?" David asked.

"With the extra collars we can do that. She has a lot of industrial design and other experience. But I didn't see any sign of any of the talents we need long term."

"Ok. We can give her at least time enough to finish up her life. Damn Merle. Is there anything he didn't do to screw people up?" David asked.

"Probably not. So, we need to fish out how many?"

"I figure we will need all sixteen before we are done. Figure we make some adjustments in the kill, so our time to movement is less. Want to get the twelve minute interval at the door down to five." David said.

"So how do we do that? And still keep our brand of experience?" Margaret asked.

"You have been talking with Elizabeth too much. That is Marketer talk." David said with a laugh.

"David, this is important. I didn't realize it, but the process is as important to the killer as the killed. Watching the eyes die, and watching things end quietly and calmly with no fear is important. It is to me and to all of the others. Being there, talking and listening while they fall asleep is the only way we can do this and not become brutes like H&S."

"So you say that we need to have this time for the Goats as much as the selected?"

"Even more so. The selected do it once. The goats do it again and again. We need to know we are doing it right. Kimberly did have an idea about some 'Booth' arrangements for the bleeding process. She thinks that putting in panels that limit vision reduces stress while the woman is bleeding out. It makes it easier to keep the focus between the bleeder and cutter." Margaret said.

"She also said that we should use some technology instead of manual repetitive motion labor if we are going to have increased production. I have to agree with her, that some of the work is more than we need to do."

"Get with her and see how that can be done easily. She has an interest in it now." David said. "So we work on the number of bodies to expand the upstream. And we do parallel processing inside. We make some changes in the downstream. We leave the killing like it is."

-------

Adjustments

Kimberly and Phil were sitting quietly at a table in the break room, drinking a cup of coffee. Both were lost in thought. Kimberly, over what she had discovered about this operation, and the fact that she was going to be put through it soon. Phil at how his life was turned upside down over this mess that Merle had gotten him into.

"Honey, it is not your fault." Kimberly said in opening. "We were lucky in a strange way that we came here and found out and not in a traffic stop. The girls would be horribly impacted if I had been picked up. If you were not available, they might have ended up in child services."

"I know that. But I can't imagine you going through this." Phil said. "This horrible thing is making me sick, and Jack is not going to help."

"Darling, it is the situation. Not anything that you did. I admit that I am not looking forward to being 'expired' as these people call it. Death and being turned into meat was not exactly on my radar."

'Kimberly, David said that he will be making the decision as to when you are termed. I don't know what we can do to leverage these people. Jack is no help. And Merle got us into this. I don't like having to just trust these people."

"Darling, we have no choice. We need to go over the form, and finish up my life and our marriage. And we need to let the girls know."

"Kimberly, I can't accept this." Phil began.

"Phil. Gravity is something we have to accept. At least today we have time to talk to our attorney about this. And we have the weekend at least. So we are not finished yet. Keep calm." Kimberly said. And was amazed at her own voice. This is like managing the kids, she thought to herself.

-------

Prospect Interviews Medical worker

Cathy had been through all of the emotional ups and downs with respect to this situation, and finally was in the mental image of acceptance. At least I won't have to be wiping up after old people in their bed any more, she thought to herself.

Getting to Findlay's in the afternoon, she was struck by how clean and organized everything was. Presenting her notification letter to the woman at the desk, she was surprised that they had a form with her name and other information already for her.

Like any medical professional, she knew that the job was never done until the paperwork was finished, but the darn questionnaire sure did seem to dig into a lot of things. She would have thought that drug habits and other things were more important, but people usually lied or forgot about that. She was writing out the backside of the form when a pair of nude women came to the table. The younger one she recognized as a doctor from her duty at Cook County. The older blonde she didn't know at all. The other women at her table were asked to go with the doctor to examination, but the older blonde asked her to stay here with her.

"So, Cathy. You are a nurses aid?" Helen asked as she sat at the table.

"Yes. How did you know?" the slender brunette asked.

"We do a lookup on our people to see how we can work through the process with them. Did you have a look at your questionnaire? Anything about it you need answered?"

"Wow. That is pretty nice. No. I haven't got a lot of things that are listed here. My mother and aunt already have my keys and the car title. And I don't really have a will. I do have some things I wanted to give to other people. I did most of the boxing last night. So how do they?"

"Cathy, that is a trade secret. I can only tell you that it is painless and that someone is with you the whole time." Helen said.

"I guess you have seen a lot of women go through it."

"More then a few. None of them felt anything with respect to pain. Each and very one of them just kind of drifts to sleep. Unless you want something different."

"So, none of that spitting thing that was on the news?" Cathy asked.

"No. We have nothing like that. So, what was your focus professionally?"

"I did intake and patient monitoring. Some care. Mostly I moved people around. I guess kind of like you."

"How did you deal with terminals?" Helen asked.

"The way you deal with everyone. You have to keep them comfortable and calm. And try to keep your mind on them and not yourself. Why?"

"Curious as much as anything else. Trying to make conversation." Helen replied. "I know this is really stressful, but would you mind if we had a couple of people talk with you here? We try to do some more interviews with medical people when we can."

"I recognized the doc from Cook County General. Is she moonlighting here?" Cathy asked.

"In a manner of speaking." Helen replied.

"Do you have to work in the nude all the time?" Cathy asked.

"Yes. It sure saves on uniform expenses." Helen replied.

"I can see that. I would be embarrassed to do that. How do you cope?"

"With the nudity? After a while we don't' think about it. And we are all naked at some point here." Helen replied.

"I guess so. I hadn't thought about it that much. Trying to keep it one step at a time."

"I can understand that. Well, if you are finished with the Questionnaire, do you want to come with me into Exam?" Helen asked.

"I guess so."

"Bring your purse. We wont' be back here for a while." Helen said.

Cathy was calm and displayed confidence as she went through the exam and lavatory process. She was surprised that there had been no prep for the appointment. "You guys didn't have any limits on eating or drinking. Seemed to be pretty casual." She said to Jackie when blood was drawn. Finding that the complete blood workup was being done was intriguing to her. "This is pretty expensive. What do you do with sick intakes?"

"Depending on the illness, we may qualify them but hold until later. Or send them home with an extension." Jackie replied. "Not much of that. The MAB is pretty firm on dates unless you have special reasons."

"What would those be?" Cathy asked.

"Well, some times we have special circumstances. I will let others explain that better." Jackie said.

Helen returned at this time and listened to the banter for a few moments. Jackie checked time and packed up. "I have to go. We will have results for you in the next stage." Jackie said as she was leaving.

"Well, What is that?" Cathy asked Helen.

"Lavatory. Then into stage three." Helen replied.

"What is that?"

"Stripping, boxing up your things. And we do a final checkout of the questionnaire. We attach the health review to the death certificate and that goes to the USDA examiner." Helen said.

"Things never happen without the paperwork, I guess." Cathy said. "I guess that is the same everywhere."

So far, Helen was both impressed and a little suspicious. This woman was either immensely stable, or tranquilized to the gills. But she didn't appear to be dysfunctional or delusional She was aware of where and what she was doing. Just disconnected. She was almost too stable.

"What area did you work in as a nurses aide?" Helen asked.

"Number of places. Oncology mostly. Worked part time with a Hospice group based in Normal for a while."

"So death and dying are things you have worked around a lot."

"Yes, I guess so. A lot of the stuff you guys are doing here we do all the time at Cook County. Only difference is I guess I am not going home." Cathy said with a smile.

"Not this time." Helen said. "Well, lets get a urine and then move to Stage three."

Cathy had no difficulty filling the sample cup. And then moving into the next room, they were just in time to see the last woman of the previous group stepping onto the turnstile.

Seeing a box on the table with her name and photo on it, Cathy started to shake a little. Helen noticed that this was probably the crack in the façade that she had been looking for. "Cathy, you're going to be ok. I'm right here." Helen said.

"I know. It just hit me, you know. What happens next?"

"This is stage three. We get the reports and bring them all together and then strip and leave things in the box to be shipped to your next of kin. Then we move to stage four. That is a shower and some cleanup. Then on to stage five for term. And then at six you are moved on for dissection and packaging. So we have some time yet." Helen said.

"Ok. I guess it is a little late to panic, isn't it?" Cathy asked.

"Helen, Cathy, your results are back. Can I talk with you for a moment?" Barbara asked from the window.

"Looking at your blood and urine, it seems you have had a chemotherapy course in the past. What was it for?" Barbara asked.

"I had uterine cancer. They did a biopsy and then a removal. The ovaries were left intact so there was no need for long term hormone support. Why? Is the last chemo still floating around there?" Cathy asked.

"We pick up everything. Let me show you what we found." Barbara said, handing over the report.

"Holy cow. A Hemo 3000? Those things cost a mint. This does full blood automation testing. You guys have to be spending a mint on this sort of stuff."

"We have to protect the food supply. Cathy, did you provide this information to the MAB when you got your selection notice?" Helen asked.

"I tried, but I couldn't get through to them. Talked to a lawyer and he said that there was no danger with respect to my condition, that I would be graded as pet food and processed anyway. I was kind of bummed on that, but I figured I didn't care where I ended up anyway. I wasn't going to use my body after all."

"Well, we should do some digging. Barbara, should I put her in holding for a bit of a review later?" Helen asked.

"No reason to do that or not to do that, medically speaking. On the other hand, there are any number of reasons we should do some research later today." Barbara answered, getting Helen's drift.

"Dear, let's get your things into the box here, and if you don't mind, we are going to put you here in Holding for a short time. I want Margaret Findlay to talk with you for a few minutes."

"Ok. I don't have anywhere to go in any hurry." Cathy said with a rueful smile." My time is all yours."

So Cathy was parked into Holding for the afternoon. Holding, unlike overnight, only had two beds. It did have a view screen for amusements, and reading, and was warmer then the stripping room. It also had a toilet and sink.

-------

Prospect Interviews The worlds finest Social worker

Jessie was the world's greatest social worker. She was destined to become the next director of social services for Chicago. Just ask her, and she will tell you. Getting a notice definitely put a crimp in her plans. But she had heard about this "Goat" thing and felt that if she could only get a delay she could find a way to wiggle back out into the world and carry on. So the big thing was to make her mark as an extremely important person.

The intake part of this didn't go too well. There weren't any men to impress, and the woman Carol was not too impressed with Jessie's credentials. Then that woman Helen came by and got into a conversation with her about systems and processes and all of that irrelevant stuff regarding health care of all things. She had nothing to say that was of any interest to the future finest Director of social services for Illinois.

I just don't know what is going on here. These people are not listening to me. Well, maybe I can get to someone important here, Jessie thought to herself.

"Hi. I am Margaret Findley. I understand you wanted to speak with me?" Margaret said as she stood next to Jessie.

"Yes. I have gone through your form here, but I don't think it will be all that relevant. You see, I think you boss will want to talk with me regarding how we can align social services with your operation to make a expansive joint future." Jessie began.

"Really? Well we can talk about that while we move down toward David's office. It is in the area near processing. Bring your purse, we don't want to loose anything." Margaret said as she helped Jessie up.

More like it, Jessie thought to herself. Finally here is someone who was going to take her where she needed to go.

Following Margaret down to the Exam rooms, Jessie felt confident that everyone would realize how valuable she was. The base exam (for insurance purposes, she was assured) was minimal. Just some blood and pee in a jar. And seeing the women in the stripping room looked kind of kinky. Until Margaret told her that she had to do the same.

"Now, Margaret, how can I possibly conduct an interview in the nude?"

"Well, Jessie, the job is nude. Do you see anyone here clothed?" Margaret asked.

"Well, I assume it was just some sort of kinky indoctrination. You know, like a fraternity or sorority?"

"No, it's a little more formal then that. Tell me, Jessie, how much field work did you do?" Margaret asked, while checking over the questionnaire.

"I didn't have to do any. When I went to U of Chicago, I got on the administrative study path early. My dad knew how to work within the system. So I was able to delegate that to the others. I assume you have a need for administrative staff here." Jessie said with confidence.

"You know, we might. Once you get into our standard uniform, we will have to check with David and see." Margaret replied. Seeing that her father was listed as next of kin, Margaret saw that much of the closure work was not done. "You know, we are not able to access any of our finances or other things while we are here. So you might want to put in the information your father needs to do things like clean up the apartment and take care of your pets. If something happens here, we require that you have all these items checked off. This is a industrial site, you know."

"Ok. I guess to keep your insurance down, I can finish up this paperwork."

While Jessie was working on the paperwork, one of the other women with the peculiar collars came in with a small group of women. They seemed pretty somber as they undressed and put their clothes into boxes on the table. This darn form had so many blanks. Jessie was just finishing it up when the last of the other women went around on the revolving door at the end of the room.

"There. Finished. Now, what is next?" Jessie asked.

"Well, we put your clothes into this box so they are not soiled. The next room is kind of wet and a little disorganized. We don't want them to get messy. Put your shoes, purse and the form there and we can move on to see David. " Margaret said.

"Really? See the boss while I am Naked? That is kind of kinky, isn't it?"

"Not really. David sees all of us this way every day. We sort of run a nudist camp here."

"Really?" Jessie said, while putting her pencil skirt into the box. "That is kind of kinky. But not too different from some clubs downtown."

Chatting with Margaret (who really was a nice old lady. Must keep her around) was very amicable to Jessie as she put her clothes into the box. Placing her jewelry into her purse (Didn't want it to be seen and pilfered) Jessie was chipper as could be as she finished up.

"Don't' I get a pair of slippers like yours?" She asked Margaret. "That floor looks cold on that revolving door."

"It is not bad. Once we are on the other side we have warm showers. Don't forget to hold the handle when you go through." Margaret said. "Follow me and we can get to David shortly."

Watching for the light to turn green, Jessie couldn't help but think how this was all going to have to get a makeover. I need to get them to repaint some of these areas. So Old Style with the pastels. Need something more vibrant to bring out the party in people.

Oh. There is the green, Jessie thought to herself as she grabbed the handle. Smoothly the door revolved around and she saw Margaret and some man standing there.

"Jessie, could you come here?" Margaret said.

Stepping toward Margaret, Jessie suddenly felt all weak and jolted. She couldn't stand up. Oh my. I am falling down on my ass on this floor and it is cold. And wet. Oh good. These people are coming forward to help me. Wait; grab my hands, you fools. Not my feet. Oh. What is that wrapping around my ankles. Kinky.

Whoop. Up I go, Upside down. Wow. This is kind of funny. "This is a strange initiation you have here, Margaret. I am not really amused." Jessie said as she was swung out of the turnstile. "Someone could get hurt here."

"Yes. I agree that we have to be careful here. Now Jessie, I talked to David, and he said we really don't have a need for an administrator at this time. But we will keep your ideas in mind. Now just a second, I have to move your hair over here. There. Sorry about that pinch. Did that hurt?"

"Shit. You have some sharp nails girl. I think you may have nicked my skin. What is that warm feeling on my neck? And what is that in my ear?" Jessie asked.

"Just a second Jessie. There. Little pinch here. There. Are you OK?" Margaret asked.

"What is going on here?" Jessie said.

"Well, I have slit your jugular and your carotid artery. And you are bleeding out here in the slaughterhouse. See? It didn't hurt much did it?"

"You slit my throat? Are you crazy? That could hurt me. Get me down from here and get me a doctor, you idiot."

"Jessie, You are dying. We are going to cut you up in a few minutes. Now don't panic, but this was why you came here. Don't you remember?" Margaret said quietly.

"But. No. You don't understand. I have to talk to your boss. I have a lot to offer. Really."

"Not really, Jessie. Now Jessie. I need to know. Did that small nick hurt very much?

"No you idiot. It didn't. But I feel cold. Is it cold here?"

"Not really. It is a little chilly, but other then that, I am ok. It is strange hanging here. Sort of funny. Kinky I guess. You know, if I stood on my head before, I felt my face getting read. Is the blood not rushing to my head?"

"No. It isn't really. So, is this too bright here?"

"Not really. That chrome stuff is kind of hard on the eyes. Maybe you could paint is some other color. You know, I am kind of tired. This feels like I had a glass of wine or so. Is it because I am upside down?"

"Not so much. You feeling kind of drifty?" Margaret asked.

"Yea. It is, kind of. I am so tired. And cold." Jessie said.

"That is ok. You just rest a while and we will move you on in a few." Margaret said.

No way, Margaret thought to herself, could we decrease this and not become monsters.

-------

Prospect Interview, the girl who volunteered and the Cheerleader

Kitty Drake was an unhappy girl. She was never popular at school, and frequently abused in the foster homes she was placed in. She had little or no self-esteem, and an average appearance. Mouse brown hair, and eyes to match, and a slender body, Kitty was not the sort of person you would see in a room. But when she found out that her best friend in the world was selected, she went the extra mile to replace her. Kitty had loyalty, and felt she had no real use for her own life. Sarah on the other hand, was everything Kitty was not. Bright, expressive, and one of the people you would see in any crowd, she was also extremely considerate to everyone around her. She was the person who started the food drives for the needy. She looked for homes for lost cats and all of the other humane things that build a society. She was exactly the sort of woman who should be preserved and not picked. And the woman that Kitty idolized.

Which is why the two of them were arguing with each other and with Helen and Candy in reception. It was quiet, but very intense all the same.

"Kitty. I don't want to die either. But I don't want to live at the expense of someone who is a friend of mine. I could not live with myself over that." Sarah said. "I do not accept your motion to volunteer, and that is it. I wanted to tell you that here so you didn't loose your life for nothing. If you wanted to accomplish something with this, well, you won't."

"Sarah, you have value. You have done so much for so many people. If it weren't for you I would have killed myself a long time ago. I was a silly mixed up kid and you and your folks helped me to get my bearings. Let me do this so you can keep doing what you do."

"Kitty that is exactly why you can't do this. You have your life on track. You have the chance to be what you want to. And nothing can stop you." Sarah replied.

Looking around at the other women still in reception, Helen made a management decisions. "Both of you be quiet. Candy, take these two over to private interviews down that hall. I will have Carol join you shortly. And both of you go quietly or we will process both of you."

Sensing that Helen was serious, both women stopped talking. "Come with me, ladies" Candy said. "And please pick up your forms."

Having been briefed by Nancy that there were three possible keepers in this week's intake, Candy wondered if these were two of them.

Kitty was entirely average. The only real fire out of her was her intent to sacrifice herself for her friend Sarah. Average appearance, she would be lost in a crowd. But she would also not offend anyone. This is a lot like Cindy in that respect.

Sarah, on the other hand, was not average. She was blue eyed; blond haired, and cheerleader type with one of those infectious personalities that made you think that everything would be ok. She would probably suck in this place. This business was not about kittens in trees. On the other hand, some days you needed someone who was chipper and cheery.

Candy dropped Sarah in interview one and Kitty in interview two. "Sit still, think about what you are doing here and wait until we get back." was the advice she gave to both women as she settled them into their rooms.

"What do we have, Candy?" Carol asked when she arrived.

"A cheer-leader and a wall flower. The wallflower was the volunteer for this week. Her other half does not want her to be substituted. Claims she can't live with herself if her friend dies. Kind of what you told me a responsible person would feel."

"And the relationship?"

"I think foster Kid in a foster home. But you do the digging."

"What is your take?"

"The cheer-leader would drive me insane and keep me sane. She is more up then I am."

Shaking her head, Carol replied. "I doubt that. And the other one?"

"Don't' know. Low self esteem. Don't' know how to figure her. Only thing she shows promise with is substitution. So I am probably not the most impartial observer on that."

"Got you. Ok. We do the legal thing first. You go spell Helen and ask her to come here. I need her. If you don't mind."

"Hell no. She is the real shrink here. She would see what I don't."

After explaining the situation to Helen, Carol wondered who to talk with first." I'll go talk to Kitty. See if she fits our operation first. I will follow up with Sarah and we will see what works from there. You start with Sarah and find out the legal and other angles."

"So, Kitty, why do you think you are worth so much less then Sarah?" Helen asked by way of opener.

"Just look at her. She is outgoing, friendly, and everyone loves her. She has done a lot of good things for all of us that were with her and her folks and there were a lot of kids she helped. She has been my best friend since I was living with them and even after. She stayed in touch and did all of the things to help me get into school and everything."

"What kind of school?" Helen asked.

"Nurses Aide. I was going to be one when I was selected. I had bummed around for a couple of years as a waitress and stuff. But I really wanted to help people. And since I can't, I will help Sarah." Kitty said.

In room one, a different conversation was taking place,

"So, Sarah. What possibly could cause an otherwise well balanced woman to sacrifice herself for you? To offer to take your place in the lottery? Even if it only extended your life for up to five years?" Carol asked by way of her starter.

"I have no idea. Kitty is a sweet kid and one of my best friends. And she had a rough time with the system before she got to us. It took her a while to get to understand that other people could care about her, and she had a rough time for a while. We stay in touch and I work a lot to keep her focused. But when this happened it threw me for a loop. When she said she volunteered, I felt relief and then more guilt then I could believe. I can't let someone die for me."

"When did you tell her this?" Carol asked.

"The night I found out that she did it. I called her at home the minute I got the E-mail of the substitution request. I said Hell no and tried to reason with her."

"So how did she get a substitution notice if you didn't accept the request?"

"I don't know. My notice to report was never really cancelled. So I don't know what happened."

"Can I see that?" Carol asked.

Looking over the documents, it appeared that what had happened is that Kitty entered an unrestricted volunteer rather then substitution volunteer. And Sarah's due day was still scheduled for the following day. That meant that both were due and not just one or the other. "I think we have to figure a few things out here. From what I see here, both of you are selected. There was no substitute provision put into place. Fortunately we can work through most of this, but as it stands, you two will be hand in hand tomorrow."

"What can you do to get Kitty out of this?" Sarah asked.

"I will see what I can do. But I also want to ask you a few questions. Why are you so strong about her not being accepted? I realize it may make your life miserable, but have you looked at it from her side?" Carol asked. I am on really fragile ground here. Legally this could be seen as making a case for substitution.

"Miss, if she goes to the ax because it is her time, then that is one thing. But to go for me means she has no chance to do anything. She can't live to her full potential. This law sucks. And the people running it stink. No offense."

"None taken. Our boss would send all of us home if he could." Carol said.

"Really? You mean the men don't get off on cutting throats?" Sarah said

"Actually, the men don't do any of the termination. That is all done by us." Carol said.

"Really? You mean women kill each other?" Sarah asked in shock.

"Yes. Look at it this way. We all are on the end game here. Each of us in the orange is being held over to help others. Which would you rather have? Someone who cared and felt that she was going to be facing the same thing some day? Or someone who didn't care because they couldn't?"

"That makes sense in a very sick way." Sarah said.

"Yes it does. Not all of us term people. Many of us are just intake and process leaders. People like me who are here making sure that the things needing to be done are done in time." Carol said.

"For how long?" Sarah asked.

"Depends. David is pretty firm on protecting his people over time. But he also has pretty high standards. We don't pull out many. And the work is depressing. Everyone you talk with ends up dead. So we get a bit put out after a while."

"Could Kitty do that?" Sarah asked.

"You mean, if she takes your place?"

"No. I mean that if you can't help her get out of this silly volunteer thing, can you put her into this as a program." Sarah explained.

Now that is the interesting. "Sarah, what about you?"

"Look. If she got herself into a situation where she was subbing for me, I don't want her to loose. And if she screwed up, then that was with the best of intentions and I still don't want her to suffer for it. My situation is not connected to hers."

"OK. Her situation is being examined from a perspective of her. Let's talk about you." Carol said, trying to shift gears. "What do you want to do with the time you have left?"

Forced to focus on herself, Sarah finally saw what she had been avoiding. She had avoided thinking about her own demise.

"Wow" Sarah said almost to herself. "I guess I was not facing that very well. I had latched onto Kitty's situation so much I had forgotten mine."

"Well, maybe we should focus on that now. Let's go over your questionnaire." Carol said.

The next five minutes were spent on the items that were checked, boxes that were empty and assignments that had not been done. A kitten named Max, who needed insulin, was going to her friend Melody. There was bank account information that had to be sent to her parents. Sending information to her landlord for her lease, and then finding how to get her car disposed of. The list went on with quite a lot of information being needed.

"Wow. I am so not ready for this!" Sarah exclaimed. "Good thing I am not going today or none of this would be cleaned up."

"Yes. You are due tomorrow, so we have some time. Seems you have a lot of people to inform. You work with a lot of groups?"

"Yes. I work with Cancer survivors, and foster kids. I have to contact family services and tell them to find another set of foster parents and mentors."

"Didn't you tell the MAB about this when you got your notice?" Carol asked.

"No. I tried to talk to them but we never got through."

"Hmm. Do you mind waiting here for a short time? Go ahead and finish things here and make your selections, but don't leave here until I get back." Carol said.

"Ok."

Leaving Sarah, Carol went to interview two.

-------

Talking with Goats

Helen was using her time carefully for her one on one with Kitty. The discussion had been pretty intense with Helen taking the side that Kitty had far more to offer the world than she wanted to believe in herself. Kitty felt that her friend had more to offer.

"Ok. So here is the question. If Sarah had not been picked, would you have volunteered?"

"Of course not."

"Ok. Now we take it one step further. We reject your application. What will you do instead?"

"You won't do that."

"Yes we might. Sarah represents prime meat, and given a choice of her over you, she would sell better on a stick." Helen said, knowing that she was treading on fragile ground.

"You mean I am not good enough to be meat for the table?" Kitty asked in a whisper.

"Some people might think that. I happen to not be one of them. I happen to think you deserve the chance to do a lot more with your life then you are. Which is what Sarah thinks too." Helen said. "But that still does not answer the question. We reject your volunteer spec. What do you do now? Throw your life away? Or make something of it?"

"But it isn't fair. She has been good to everyone, and works so hard. She spends time with people and cares about them. She even adopts silly helpless cats. This world is not good if she isn't in it. How can I save her?" Kitty asked on the point of tears.

"First off, you can't save anyone except yourself. You have to do that first to be worthwhile to anyone. Second, you can't give away something that someone does not want. She does not want you to do this. So you are making a mistake with her. Doing what she does not want only makes her feel worse. You don't want to be resented by the person you love when you are gone."

Kitty sat silent for a few moments. With a few tears running down her cheeks she asked, "What is going to happen to us?"

"That, my dear, is what we are going to figure out." Helen replied as Carol entered the door.

"Well, beagle, this one is for you. Is the other one ready for me?" Helen asked.

"Actually, leave her alone for a while. I am going to talk with Margaret about her after I Iook into this one." Carol said.

"So, Kitty, what did you do?" Carol said with a smile when she sat down. "You went to the MAB and selected to volunteer, and suddenly you were there on our block. But your friend is not exempted. So what happened?"

"I don't know. I got some help and they screwed up, I think."

"Who helped you?" Carol asked.

"A man from M&H talked me through it. They have a instruction sheet on their website."

"Show me?" Carol asked.

Going to the web site, Carol found instructions for volunteer substitution. When she went to the MAB web site, there was a difference between the instructions and the web page. The selection for assignment was not the same. Thinking with her lawyers mind, she turned to Kitty and said, "Give me a dollar."

"Ok." Kitty said, digging into her purse.

"Good. Now let's update your selection process. Ok. Now, watch what I do here. See me change your selection from "open" to "Substitute"?"

"Yes."

"Now give me Sarah's entry number. Never mind, I have it." Carol said. Entering Sarah's national number into the substitute for space, she then hit enter. A few moments later a transaction number came up and showed that Kitty had substituted for Sarah on the National Meat Lottery with a report date of next Thursday. Nice, Carol thought to herself. There is a bug in this system that allowed changes like this. It did not yet allow revocation by the volunteer. That would be the next lawsuit. Now that Merle was out of the picture.

"Now, let's see what we can do from here with that?" Carol said aloud.

Shortly the notification for Kitty's volunteer activity came into the selected in-basket that Carol was monitoring. Carol then promptly rejected the application, with provisions on permanent selection for Kitty at Findlay in the future. This would do two things. First it would kick the kid here if she did anything stupid. Second, because she had volunteered but been rejected, it meant that she was out of the lottery for five years.

"Now, Kitty. Here is what we want you to do. First, go home. Second, do NOT do this again. Third, leave Sarah to us. We value her as much as you do."

Shaking, Kitty sobbed and said yes. And Carol left her there to get her act together and leave.



-------

Chapter 23



Manpower Planning and placement

Margaret convened the goat group (now becoming a herd) in the break room at six PM Thursday evening. There had been over one hundred and twenty were chopped today, with thirty additional interviews. Phil had been sent home to talk with their daughters. He was going to wait for Kimberly's call later. Kitty had been sent home with Sarah to take care of her cat and to take care of her home for a short time. Sarah was coming back tomorrow to finish her processing, but with the instructions to not close out any checkbooks or to close any of her relationships with Family Services. Carol was on a roll. Kimberly was sitting here as a newcomer getting adjusted to her short time status.

"Ok Carol. So how much lost revenue did you cost us today?" Margaret asked with a smile.

David looked at the group and saw Kimberly wondering how to take this.

"Carol, if you didn't cost us our license, you can do whatever you want. Anyone you can get out, you have my support to get them out and send them home." David said.

"Pulling your leg, Kiddo" Margaret said. "Anyone you can send home we put a ribbon around."

Kimberly listened to this discussion intently. These people believed that David and Margaret were trying to find a way out for them. I need to talk to Susan, she thought to herself.

"Well, I sent home one of the ones Nancy had fished out. And I have two remaining that may have either medical or social exemptions. I have no idea why they weren't dumped from the beginning." Carol said.

"Ok. So we assume that the two you have are going to be longer term then Kimberly. What is their story?"

"Cathy has a medical exemption. She can no longer breed, and is a cancer survivor. Possibly this is a hardship case. In any event, she is a Nurse Aide, so she will easily fit the intake prospect." Carol said.

Abby spoke up. "I think I met her in Cook County. Quiet kid. She was real good with people. Might work here. Don't know if she can cut or not."

"We didn't know if you could cut or not" Candy said. "But you were perverted pretty well."

"Don't remind me, bitch" Abby replied.

"Sarah has social values written all over her ass. She works with foster kids, cancer survivors and a whole host of other things. She couldn't get through to the MAB for an appeal. I think I can get a case for her."

"Carol, The question is can she work here while you are doing the legal stuff? These both look like Cindy to me. No offense redhead."

"None taken. I just worked out with the help of my friends." Cindy replied.

Margaret was taken aback with that. It was almost never that Cindy came back with a zinger or anything else. "Good for you, mouse that roars. Good for you."

"So, are these two another legal aid project?" Margaret continued.

"Well, if my projects succeed they leave. If they fail they turn out like the red headed slitter here and you get what you wanted, right?" Carol said with a calm grin.

"You know, I used to think I was in charge. Now I know better." Margaret said.

"So, what do we know about these two?" David asked. Feeling outnumbered again, he still felt he could assert some control over this lunatic bin.

"Kitty was an open volunteer by mistake. We had her change to select substitution for Sarah. We got that assignment made. Then you rejected the assignment, David."

"Ok. Thanks for telling me. What reason did I have?"

"You had a prime and weren't trading down?" Carol said.

"Ok Sounds like a smart business man to me. Who got her to go from open to specific replacement?" David asked

"She did that all on her own. From here, but it was with her own login." Carol said.

"Ok. Just in case I get any questions. And what did she try to trade for?"

"The cheerleader type." Carol said. Candy immediately laughed.

"What is that about?" Margaret asked.

"I said that Sarah was more cheerful and bubbly then I was. Great body, great skin, great hair, no plastic. The kind you want to kill just for being competition. And she is a nice person too." Candy said with a laugh.

"Is she able to swing a blade?" Margaret asked.

"I don't know about that yet," Carol said.

"We have to have a few more cutters. At least two to one for office only types." David said. "I realize that they are hard to find, but we need them if we are going to keep everyone safe in the boat."

"I know." Carol said, feeling admonished. "I really will keep my eyes open."

"I believe you will. I just don't want any of my people burned out." David said. "All of you mean too much to me. We have time and a larger pool to work with now. So do we interview Cathy and Sarah?" David asked.

"Oh my god, I forgot and left Cathy in holding. I guess I better go get her." Helen said with embarrassment.

"Someone better go with you. Pick one." David said.

"Abby?" Helen asked. "Do you want to come with me?"

Realizing the implications, Abby understood the responsibility. Medically trained, and perverted by the circumstance, Abby would be the model for the young nurse's aide. "Yea. I think so."

"We will be back shortly." Helen said.

"New business?" Margaret asked.

"I have a couple. We have some need to do some improvements in process time. Elizabeth, your marketer talk is taking hold inside as well as outside." David said as he grinned at Margaret. "So I know better than to change the Term process much. Jimmy and Abby have had some talks, but I am leaving that to the people who do this professionally." David said with a smile.

"So, what can we do upstream or downstream to reduce time, effort or improve processes?" David continued.

"I may have a few ideas," Kimberly said. "I mean, I am an outsider, but I did notice a couple of things."

Margaret watched as the other women looked toward Kimberly for her input. This is how you get a seat on the boat, whether she knew it or not. Be a part of the process and you are not part of the meal.

"The greatest incidence of repetitive motion injuries came from the slaughterhouse industry in the 1960s. Repeat slashing on a production line were killers for wrists, elbows, arms and shoulders and back. They caused a lot of injury over time. While none of us will want to retire from this after thirty years, we do want to be healthy. So we have to find some ways to reduce the effort." Kimberly began.

Seeing David nodding in agreement, Kimberly continued. "The biggest single waste of effort is in decapitation and hand removal. None of the hands really deliver much in value as a product. And heads don't either. Hair can be removed with scalp at a specialty station for wigs and other things, and eyes are not much use any more since the improvements in eye re-growth. Cloning has taken most of the organ transplant business out of the box."

"Go on." David said.

"So, if we automate decapitation, through machine processes, we can lower repeat motion injury. For instance, I watched at the kill station. After bleed out, if you slid the carcass down the track a short distance, you could rigid mount a tree limb trimmer on the floor above a chute. Slide the carcass down with the neck in the trimmer and remove the head with no need to slice or cut. This would increase drain speed, reduce time to butcher, and leave skin removal simpler as well."

"For some people, you don't bother with the slitting, just pop them into the lopper and be done with it" Candy said with a grin.

"Who has pissed you off that much?" Margaret asked.

"Couple of those women from South Side of Chicago last week. I would have chopped those bitches with no problem or qualms." Candy replied.

"I imagine that the kill process is quicker that way. I don't think you would suffer long without your head." Kimberly continued.

"We already do that to some extent next door" David said. "Only we have personalized baskets for you and you sent them before we drop the blade."

Kimberly had read about that in the blogs. "I would like to look at that some time." She said to David.

"No problem. We will give you a tour. Margaret, while Kimberly is here, we will have to get her one of H&S's collars. I'll have Jack run this over tomorrow." David said. "And Kimberly, I want you to research the de-capper tools tomorrow, if you don't mind. We need to get those in place soon. Definitely we can put those in the budget for H&S, and I assume here too."

The discussion continued while Margaret went and brought in the remaining collar. She also brought in the e-mail copy that David had gotten from Donaldson at MAB regarding numbers and quota and storage. Thinking that this was good karma, she posted that on the bulletin board on her way back.

When Margaret was back, Helen, Abby and Cathy were also appearing at the break room.

Cathy was a little stressed. She had been left alone since getting here and she was getting hungry. I wonder if this is what they do to avoid having to clean us out later? She thought to herself. She didn't want to create a lot of fuss, but there was only so much she could do. Waiting was stressing her out.

When Abby and Helen came to the door, she was on pins and needles. What next?

"Cathy, I want to apologize for this. We are having a early supper and discussion, and I was wondering if you would like to come with us?" Helen asked.

"Last meal? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap."

"No problem. I would think something was wrong if you didn't. This was inexcusable but we will try to make it up to you. Would you mind following me?" Helen asked.

Leading the way to the door next to the turnstile, Helen remarked, "We are going to go through the processing room to the break room. I hope you don't mind, we haven't cleaned up completely."

Seeing what Helen had in her mind, Abby watched Cathy carefully. Going through the door was always a bit of a shock.

-------

Through the door, but not the way she expected

Cathy was a little surprised at going through the other door. The turnstile appeared to be a more normal track here. She was shocked a little at the vision when she got there. There were a few hanging bodies on an overhead track, and two men were mopping up blood just inside of the room.

"Careful here" Abby said to her. "This tile gets slippery sometimes. That is why we wear these sandals."

Seeing hanging carcasses and bodies on tables being dismembered was a bit unsettling to Cathy. But her rotation in autopsy and surgery had prepared her for the sight of blood and the smell of it. Looking around she saw clean human carcasses and parts being treated casually but not abusively. And the bright light illuminated everything.

"Hi Helen. New goat?" a man asked as he was mopping blood toward a drain.

"Possibly Chris. Cathy, this is one of our team members, Chris."

"Glad to meet you." Cathy said offering her hand.

"Not right now. I need to clean up and get disinfected first. Going to the break room?"

"Yes. There is a Hen party for a while. We will see you guys later?" Helen asked.

"Sure thing. Save me some lasagna." Chris said.

At that time, Cathy's stomach growled.

"I think we better feed this woman," Abby said. "Or we will face a lawsuit for bad treatment. Or worse."

"I am starving." Cathy admitted.

Leaving processing and walking down the hall behind Helen, Cathy noted that there were several other men in uniforms who were washing up and cleaning up. I guess I am not being killed today, she thought to herself. What is going on?

Entering a room that looked like a combination kitchen and family room, Cathy smelled spices, tomato, peppers and host of other things that got her stomach going. And saw a group of nude women and only a single man.

"Welcome to dinner." Margaret said. "Sorry you were left alone so long but we wanted to talk with you before anything else happened."

"Sure. You can say anything you want if you feed me." Cathy replied. "That smells delicious."

"Get the girl a plate, Cindy, and sit here with us, Cathy" David said from his seat at one of the tables.

Cathy came and sat at the table with Margaret, Abby, Helen, and David.

"So, I take it that you have something special planned for me?" Cathy began.

David laughed. This woman had some brass. You needed that here. "We might. Mainly we wanted to talk to you for a few moments about what you see and think. Carol seems to think that you may have been sent here by mistake."

"I don't know about the mistake part. I do know that Chemo, Radiation and now this all sucks in a way. And being told I am dog food didn't improve my self esteem much." Cathy said.

"I can understand that. Especially when you have been told that it does not matter." David said. "But it matters to me."

"Why?" Cathy asked. "I don't mean to sound belligerent, but why do you care?"

"Fair question. I guess because I like to see myself as a little different. I like to see myself as treating people with the respect that they deserve, even if others don't."

"Well, that is what your press says. And I guess I was treated pretty good. Except being left in a room for five hours alone." Cathy said. "But on the other hand, I am still alive. And I would guess you are closing down for the night."

"You are right. Helen said you were pretty stable and we were wondering if you minded helping us with some labor problems over the next few days." David asked.

"What kind of labor problem?"

"The sort of thing you saw us doing today. Doing some Intake, documentation, working with people, taking them around. Helping them to get all of their affairs in order prior to termination. Not a lot different from what you did as a nurse's aide."

"So I get to stay alive by taking other people to die?" Cathy said, looking David directly in the eye.

"Something like that. In fact, exactly like that." David replied.

"What are the limitations on this offer?" Cathy asked.

"Well, I think they are limitations you can live with. No travel outside of business property. No guests without advanced permission. No pregnancy allowed. And no clothes." David said.

"Well, you know the medical side. I don't have many guests in my life. Cabin fever would get pretty bad after a while. Never been a clotheshorse. I guess uniform rental is pretty cheap." Cathy said with a sardonic grin. "What else?"

"This is a way station. Not a cancellation. You get to do some things while you are here, but you can't leave here outside of a package. And we were hoping you could take a more active role in the job responsibilities." David said.

"How active?" Cathy asked, already feeling she had the answer.

"All terminations here are done by women. Not men." David said quietly. "It is a process that was started by my wife and has been expanded on and delivered by the staff here. For a lot of good reasons, we prefer medical or other sympathetic persons to perform this, and you were one of those we felt would fit into our operations."

"You mean that all of the women here are killed by these women?" Cathy asked.

"Abby or me, or the two silly teenagers over there" Margaret said by way of answer.

"Abby, you were a Doc. How do you?" Cathy asked.

"Simple. Think of it as hospice. People come here to die. We treat them a lot better than they are treated at other places, we help close out the life and we do it without pain. And we deal with it like any other terminal patient. Only difference is we term them." Abby said.

Listening to this conversation Kimberly was shocked. These women were recruiting another killer. Feeling a little sick to her stomach, Kim walked over to the sink. Helen, sensing something was wrong, excused herself and walked over to where Kimberly was standing.

"Are you going to be Ok?" Helen asked Kimberly.

"It just hit me. One of these women is going to kill me."

"Me too, if I am lucky." Helen said. "Think about it. We are all dead people here. How we treat others and how we want to be treated is the most important thing to us. We don't want to suffer pain, and we don't want others to either. Some people have a few fantasies, and others just want to die. None of us are interested in long drawn out punishment. That is what is different."

"And that is what we have left?" Kimberly asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. At least we have that for each other and others." Helen said.

Cathy in the meantime was thinking on what she had learned. "I'm not sure I can do that," she said quietly.

"No one is." Abby said. "I didn't think I was either. But it's what we do. And we try to do it with respect and kindness. And I couldn't if I thought any other way." Abby said.

"Enough right now." David said. "Cathy, we have a bed for you for tonight. Tomorrow we will see what we have for you to do. I think interviews and documents and prep work will be good for you in the beginning and we will talk and see what you think and feel after the weekend. Is that fair?"

"Ok. I guess."

"So eat up, wench." Candy said, as she placed a plate and silverware in front of Cathy. "I know you have to be hungry."

"You have that right." Cathy said as she reached for her plate.

-------

Legal Counsel from a Hangman

Kimberly filled a plate for herself and then went over to a table with Carol. "Can I talk with you for a moment?"

"Sure. What can I do for you?"

"You talked earlier about getting people exempted or otherwise dropped. And David didn't mind at all. But you are working here?"

"Yes. Like you I was expired almost a month ago. I am supposed to be in a package in the freezer section of a store right now. Or soup in a can. David and Margaret pulled me out of the stream to build the business into something else. And I am sort of sticking around to see how this works."

"So, what can you do?" Kimberly asked.

"For you? Not a thing. The biggest thing legally that could impact your case is improper notification. Which would buy you a week on the outside and you would be right back in a place like this." Carol said.

"Seriously? That is the only possibility?" Kim pressed.

"I am serious. Margaret was totally serious when she said that you were expired and that you would be termed Monday. David has found a way to get you a collar at M&S next week, and so that means you can count against their number, not ours. But in any case, without it, you are either dead here nicely or dead on a stick in front of the courthouse. Binary solution set."

"I can't believe this." Kimberly said. "What am I supposed to do?"

"What we have all done. Do the silly stuff on the questionnaire. We developed it, by the way. David tried to do it but until Helen and I got to it there was not much there. Figure out who you want to give your pets, kids and other things to and settle in for however long you have. And if you figure out details or other things to improve life here, we will all appreciate it."

"That is your advice?" Kimberly asked.

"Well, you could call all of the lawyers and get a second, third, or two hundredth opinion. But I doubt that they would be any different from mine. You are termed, honey. You are just like all the rest of us. You are past due and awaiting packaging. The only thing you have control over now is the date and probably the method. David and Margaret will try to accommodate you however they can."

"That's kind of hard to accept."

"It wasn't easy for me either. And just when I figured I was going out, I get shipped to here. Which is why I am still alive and having more fun than I thought I was going to." Carol replied.

"How so?"

"Kim, I was supposed to be dead. Husband left adrift, eaten for dinner by some dog or cat. Instead, I get here, and that man intercepts me and talks to me and Elizabeth and Nancy and talks us into sticking around and helping to develop a positive platform for women to end with. No more live stakes. No more live skewers. No more pain shows by Merle Hill. So we got fished out here."

"Like me?" Kim asked.

"Pretty much. Candy, Abby, Cindy and Margaret do the killing here. I guess that is what they are talking to Cathy about. The rest of us pretty much do escort and support for women going through processing. Keep things calm and prevent panic. Helen is den mother. Elizabeth sees her kids. So do I. My husband Jim comes over every weekend and brings his new lover who I helped get out of here, and Peter comes by every weekend as well. We have family time on Sunday, and Saturday night is an orgy. I guess you are invited if you want."

Thinking that it might be a good idea to cultivate a friend here, she asked Carol that question. "What do I tell Phil?"

"Darling, you have to get one thing in your head. Men have choices. And Phil won't be alone in his bed for long after you are gone."

"So I just accept it? Go along while I am here? When in Rome do what the Romans do?"

"Do you have a better choice for survival?" Carol asked. "Did David give you the Rules talk yet?"

"What rules?" Kimberly asked.

"Only a few. But here is the gist of it. If you run, we all die. If you break out, we all die. If you endanger us by attempting it, you die. If you have anyone come here late at night after hours and break in, the police come, we all get removed and we die. So a change in behavior is in order." Carol said.

"That is pretty brutal." Kim replied.

"Yes. And the lawyer in me wants to look for case law. Problem is, all of it is against me." Carol said with a laugh.

"You are a lawyer?" Kimberly asked.

"Yes. You didn't think that women executives, lawyers, judges, doctors and other things were treated any different? Darling, we have had all kinds of people here. Maids and debutants. Cindy is one of the latter. The senior partner in the largest commodities firm in Chicago was here. And we got her out and she is sleeping with my husband."

"And you are all right with that?" Kimberly asked.

"I am all right with the fact that I am still part of his life and she insists on it." Carol replied. "Three weeks ago, I had a focus on death. I was supposed to be given a quick shot to the head and over with. I get shipped here. I get fished out, rather scarily I might add. I get put to work as a lawyer for free for anyone that comes through here, and I get to fish out those who don't have to be processed yet. This is a bad law. But I save who I can. I have great roommates, lots of different dick, and know that my hanging fantasy is there waiting for me when I want it."

"Hanging Fantasy? I heard about the Guillotine. It was on the news blogs. Merle was insane about that. He wanted to sue everyone." Kimberly said.

"Got all of the romance models here. We have Hanging, chopping, and bleeding in a hot tub. And coming soon is a Sybian with electroshock. One of our selection girls wants that. David has ordered the machine from the builder but with special enhancements. Now that might be interesting to try."

"Really? I have to admit that the old romance novel fantasy is flashing in my mind. The Powerful figure of an executioner." Kimberly said, feeling a little excited.

"We have those. Tall one, short one, fat one, very well built one. We even have a young one in training. The mechanicals are done by men. Although I did pull the trapdoor out from under one of our candidates." Carol said.

"What?" Kimberly said in shock.

"Special circumstances. She was drunk. I was too. Cindy tied her hands, Candy set the rope, sneaky bitch, and I pulled the lever. The guys were busy fucking at the time."

Kimberly was now sure she had been dropped into a lunatic asylum.

"I was lucky the union didn't bitch. They have the cards to do terms here." Carol continued. "Want to go for the tour? Eat up and we will take a walk before the guys get here."

-------

Tour guide for the condemned

After Kimberly and Cathy had finished eating, Carol asked if they wanted a tour of the plant. Cathy and Kim were already familiar with the normal process side (Kim had extensive notes.) but neither of them had seen the exotic side that the blogs talked about.

Following Carol upstairs, they went through the first set of rooms ("This is the hen house, girls" Carol snickered.") And to the second set of rooms beyond. There, the trio passed through the Rumpus room ("Wall to wall mattresses in front of the bar some times. This get's kind of rowdy") and down the stairs to the stripping room on the other side.

"I know you remember this. Remember to bring your boxes back with you to the rooms upstairs when you finish." Carol said.

Turning left, Carol opened the auditorium and lead them past the bleachers. The sight of the Gallows caught Kim's eyes first. Then she saw the guillotine resting against the wall to the left.

"We had a hanging yesterday, short drop by request. The woman's partner and her partner's brother were here at the scaffold watching the whole time. Her hands were tied around her waist, so she couldn't reach up above her boobs or down to her sides either. She said she wanted to play with her boobs and clit while she was hanging. She didn't. Spent the whole seven minutes gasping and kicking and trying to reach up. I decided that it was not my romantic way to die anymore." Carol said. "She got what she asked for, but I don't think it was exactly what she wanted. She finally started to piss and shit after six minutes. We finally let her down after ten."

Kimberly was a bit taken aback the frank description. "I guess that is not what I want either."

"Choking is not a good way to go. After seeing too many people die from suffocation I don't want to have any part of it." Cathy said.

"Now this is a lot speedier." Carol said, leading the group to the Guillotine. "We have really put this to work. If you decide to go this way, we get you a new basket, and put scents into the bottom. Last thing you ever smell."

"That was in the Blog. You guys did six in one day on this, didn't you?" Cathy asked.

"Yes. All volunteers except the first. She was picked and paid for the whole party. We have used it almost six times a day since." Carol explained. "Usually for small groups to watch. Chris usually runs it here. And Marty or Gus run the wheelbarrow back to processing after."

Kim felt a stir and sinking sensation at the same time. This was obviously a real romance getter. No wonder it was used more. "How much do you charge for this?"

"Usually fifteen hundred, plus guests or witnesses. Party runs about thirty five hundred. That includes drinks, refreshments and processing. Usually the meat goes back to the partner. Husband or domestic partner. Because Term is outside of a sterile facility we have to butcher in the other backroom and sell to a consignee."

"I didn't know that." Cathy said.

"Yea. Health department told us that Jessica and crew were a No-No. So we have to do specials differently."

"I got to admit, this does have its appeal" Kim said. "How are guests invited?"

"We contract with you to provide service and access to them. No weapons and no hysterics. You pick your food and we bring it in advance. If you like we can talk about it later."

With a smile, Kim looked at Carol and said, "I think we need to do that."

Going toward the back of the facility through the double door, Kim saw an expansive tiled bath tub, and lots of ornate painting on the walls. A mural was on the wall opposite the end of the tub, with a very pastoral scene. "This is our Roman bath room." Carol said.

"What do you do here?" Cathy asked.

"This is where we bring you in, set you in a tub with a bottle of wine and some food and then open your veins to bleed out. Actually we put in a arterial catheter with a valve. You get in here, open the valve and slowly bleed out in to the bucked below the tub."

"Set the temperature high enough, and you won't feel the cold." Cathy said. "This is neat."

"Yea. I would go this way but the team, my husband and Caroline won't let me. Want me around for a while just yet." Carol said.

"So, Carol. How did you get so busy here?" Kim asked.

"Simple. I do what others ask, and work to get them the things they need. Like any other small society."

"How do you reconcile being alive?" Cathy asked.

"Same way you would. Breath in, breath out. And make passing easiest for those you see as you can."

"Not a lot of detail in that." Kim said.

"Enough to live with." Carol replied. "Let's go. The guys are probably hungry or horny by now."

"So we have to do that?" Cathy asked.

"Not have. We need to show you the bulletin board. No Coercion here. Swingers rules. No means No. Your room with a closed door is closed off. But if you get horny we have some fine examples of men here. And a few pretty good old broads. I do warn you, though. Don't let Cindy between your legs. You won't have the energy to walk for a week."

"Really?" Kim said, blushing.

"Yes. If someone isn't nailing her to the mattress, she will seek your clit out like a missile. So be warned."

This was something that Kimberly was going to have to talk to someone about. She knew now in her mind that Phil was going to see other women. How would he feel about his wife in a house where swinging was practiced? While they were not exactly prudes, they didn't actively practice anything outside of marriage. "What do I do if Phil comes over this weekend?" Kim asked Carol.

"If he has a dick and you want to share, he can join in the fun. But we have two rules. Blood tests for everyone, no exceptions, and permission slips needed for all married men. No exceptions."

"How many married men have them?" Kimberly asked.

"All of them. Can you think of a safer woman for your husband to screw around with then a blood tested and inspected dead woman?" Carol said with a smile.

"Phil did look at Abby's ass when he met her. And your tits." Kimberly said.

"He can join. If you allow it. And after a blood test. After you are termed, he can come by if you leave a permission slip. If not, then he is out of here."

"What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?" Kim said with a smile.

"You get the picture. Welcome to Vegas." Carol said.

Cathy had listened to this interchange in silence. Her last relationship had been before her hysterectomy, and she hadn't been active since. "What kind of guys?" she asked.

"All kinds. The guys that work here, as well as husbands and occasional friends. No one you would feel unhappy waking up with. And it's your choice. Not theirs. David was pretty strong about that, and everyone backs him up on that. It is a real party atmosphere on Saturday night. Friday is Hen night. Sunday is family day."

Leading the way to the rooms upstairs again, Carol said "Follow me. I want to show you something."

Carol led the way to her personal room. Inside was a large queen sized bed, desk, comfortable chair, large video monitor and her personal music delivery unit. Also was a large shelf with real books. Lamps and drapes and all the comforts of home." Each of us has our own room. We get to decorate it ourselves. They are a lot nicer then dorm rooms and not nearly as troublesome as keeping up a house."

"I don't' know how much I can move in if I am being termed on Monday." Kimberly said. "This is nice, though. Not what I expected."

"I am sorry, Kim. I didn't intend to be cruel. I just wanted to let you both see that this is minimally sucks. It could be a lot worse for most of us."

Cathy was more optimistic. She had a lot of things she missed from her apartment, and if she could get some of those here, this would not suck too badly. If she was going to be here for any length of time, it would be nice to have her things from home.

Walking back out into the hall, they saw a naked Cindy leading an older balding man down the hallway by the hand. "Hey Carl. This is Cathy and Kimberly. They are staying with us for a while."

"Hi. I am Carl German, and I am the USDA inspector here. Welcome to the Findlay lifeboat. Hopefully I get to spend time with you for a while in the future."

"I don't know about that" Kimberly said. "I am not so sure how long I am going to be here. But I do look forward to it."

"Well, tell David to get a collar on you quick. Makes things easier during inspections."

"Yes sir. I will." Kim said.

"You too, young lady." Carl said pointing to Cathy.

"We will, Carl. You be nice to my girl here." Carol said in response.

"I always try to be nice to her." Carl said.

With that, Cindy dragged Carl into a room and over to her bed.

"Little snipe. Since she got to stay here and got herself settled, she has been insatiable. Barbara had to have a scheduled tubal ligation for her, because she spends so much time leaking semen."

"Really?" Kimberly said. "Things do seem a bit casual here."

"Like all youngsters, she acts like sex was her most important discovery. All things considered, it is good. Carl is a great lover, and he really enjoys Cindy. Her and Helen seem to have cornered him most of the time." Carol said.

"She seems a bit young." Kimberly said.

"She is almost nineteen. Was picked in her first lottery. Rather than spit her, we kept her. Candy is a little different. She was oldest of four, and her stepmother convinced her to be traded to allow her to stay home with her sisters and father. I don't think her stepmother has called since. Kid kind of wormed her way into everyone's heart."

Leading the group downstairs, Kim and Cathy were shocked to see a large crowd of people. Kim recognized the man who was cleaning up the blood in the slaughter area. He was clean, blonde, and very relaxed. And wrapped around Elizabeth. Looking around, there were actually more men than women. Wow. This place does have a party atmosphere, Kim thought to herself. Only no booze and not much clothes.

A large brown haired man and an attractive blonde came over to Carol immediately. The kiss and caress passed among them left no doubt of the affection between them. Looking around at the tables, Cathy saw that David was sitting at the corner talking with Abby. "I think we should wander over to there." she said to Kim.

Following Cathy's lead, they both went over to the table and sat next to Abby. Kim in the mean time grabbed the seat next to David. She was shocked to see Abby's hand in his lap holding his erect cock.

"Sorry, I didn't think we were interrupting anything." Kim said.

"No worry. Just some advanced handholding among friends." David replied. "Kim I hope you are not upset about our cavalier treatment here earlier today. But I am a firm believer in not allowing any misconceptions. We may extend you past Monday to work on the setup at H&S and here, but we don't expect any long-term employment for you. I don't think this line of work fits your personality. At least, we have not seen it yet."

"No offense taken. I realize how you have to assess and assemble your talent to the tasks you have. I do hope you will give me opportunity to be useful here."

"We will. We expect it in fact." David said. "Careful Abby, you are getting too good at that."

"Yea, don't want to make a mess here. Want to come with us upstairs girls?" Abby asked as she gradually stroked David's member.

"I think I will call home and ask how the kids are doing and talk with Phil first. Is that Ok, David?" Kimberly asked.

"Sure. Just don't invite him over unless you want to share. These ladies are usually horny after a hard day at work and a good meal." David replied. "You can use my phone in the office."

"Thank you." Kim replied.

"Does that invitation extend to me?" Cathy asked Abby.

"Of course it does. David is pretty flexible."

"Kim, If you don't mind, I think I will get some attention. I feel I need to screw the boss."

"Go for it, girl. I just need to talk to Phil first." Kim said as she left for the office.

It sank in to Kimberly as she watched the three of them leave and go up the stairs, that she probably needed to do that some herself. There weren't going to be a lot of tomorrows in her life.

Kimberly's first phone call was not to home, though. Her first was to Jack and Susan Stienhauer.

"Susan, what the hell did you get me into?" Kimberly asked when Susan answered the phone.

"Kimberly, I am so very sorry. I had no idea in my mind that this would have happened to you. Are you all right?"

"If you think that being trapped in this slaughterhouse is all right then yes I am just dandy." Kimberly answered.

"What do Margaret and David have to say?" Susan asked.

"Margaret said that I have the weekend. I can finish up my life and see the girls on Sunday during family day here. But that I am being killed on Monday."

"Is there anything you can do to be useful?" Susan said.

"Susan, I don't know what to do here. They kill people here. They have a young woman here who is a doctor who is telling a new nurse that she has a job here slitting throats." Kimberly said, getting excited and upset.

"Kim, settle down. That is what the business is, after all. You live longer in that place being a cutter then you do being cut." Susan said.

"And right now they are having some orgy upstairs. It is insane." Kim said with a sob.

"Darling, the whole thing is insane. What they are doing is just adjusting to it. Sex is healthy and variety is good for your ego. I imagine that your ego is pretty beat up right now."

"My ego is not the problem. My life is the problem. Susan, they are going to kill me. Do you know how they do it?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. I watched Margaret kill and gut three women the last time I was there. As well as Candy."

Kimberly greeted that news with shocked silence. "Kim, are you still there?"

"Susan, why didn't you tell me?"

"Kim, if you had not been selected, you would have gotten an education and come away from it with some wild stories. Now it is unfortunate you are now the story, but there is not much you can do about it but adapt. And enjoy what life you have left." Susan said.

Kim was silent again for a few moments. "Kim, have you talked to Carol?" Susan asked after listening to the silence.

"Oh yes. She was a gaggle of fun. She said that I could call another lawyer or two hundred and get the same answer." Kim snapped back.

"She probably would know. She helped force the lawsuits on the Human Meat act more than anyone else after that reporter thing last year. You know what your lawyer told Phil? He wanted to know where you would be for sale so he could get a loin."

"Bastard. If I get out of here I will kill him. I want to see Phil but not in this place. This place is a Sodom." Kim said.

"Kim, get a hold of yourself. You had people before Phil. And you can have him over there while you are still there." Susan said.

"Yes. But I was warned that he might be sidetracked. That is not what I want." Kim said.

"Well, dear, that is the least of your problems. Getting some strange is the least of your worries when you have to figure out how to convince David and Margaret that you have value and are worth keeping around."

"Susan, can you help me?" Kimberly asked.

"Kim, I can ask. But Margaret and David are totally in charge of operations. They are the ones with a license, not us. If David hadn't gotten a good relationship with the MAB you would already be in the freezer case."

"I don't know that for sure. You would have had some leverage with Merle."

"Honey, the only leverage we would have with Merle would be on pricing after you were dead. That bastard would have killed you in a second and laugh. He was a sick bastard. I am glad he is gone." Susan said confidently

"Susan, please help me? I am begging you." Kim said, starting to cry.

"Kim, I will ask. But you have to do your part. Find something that makes you valuable and do it. If you have to cut a few throats, ask Candy to teach you how. Better the slicer then the sliced."

The next call was to Phil. It was even more distressing. He seemed to think that the entire thing was some tragic mistake placed to mess up his life. "After all, I have to clean up this mess and you can't help me." He said to Kimberly. "I don't know what else I can do."

"Well, you can come visit me tomorrow." Kim said. "I would love to see you."

"I don't know. The girls are pretty upset and I don't want to just leave them with anyone. Maybe on Sunday we can visit. I heard from Jack that Sunday is family day over there."

"Phil, Sunday may be my last day alive." Kim said.

"Darling, I know. I realize that. But we have to think about the girls. How will they feel?"

Sensing that Phil was already moved on and reconciled to her situation, Kim asked one last time. "Darling, I really need to see you. I need to hold you. If I don't have you, I am afraid I am going to go insane."

"Darling, maybe Saturday afternoon. But I need to get the girls settled first. They are really upset and I don't think that place is a good environment for them." Phil said with finality. "I have to think of their emotional future. I am sure you understand."

Kimberly cried herself to sleep in David's office. Her last thought was that the people most concerned with her feelings were the ones who would be killing her.



-------

Chapter 24



Friday Morning. New impressions

Kimberly woke up in David's office with a crick in her neck, and a feeling of being dirty. Someone had thrown a large warm blanket over her while she was at the desk.

I need a shower, Kim said to herself. Wonder where the towels are?

Rising up from the chair and walking stiffly toward the door, she was depressed. But she did smell coffee. And onions. Food? Hearing her stomach growl, she knew that something was working. Walking to the break room she was greeted by the sight of three women at the counter, and two men sitting at tables in the room. Recognizing one of them as Carol and the other as Helen, and not knowing the third, Kim carefully walked in.

'Good morning, dear. You are just in time for breakfast." Helen said. "You can help with the Orange Juice. It is in the fridge. And glasses are there in the cabinet."

Not having anything better to do, Kimberly started picking up glasses and setting them on the tables.

"Good Morning. I am Gus. This is Jimmy" the older of the men said to Kimberly. "Helen told us to sit here and behave, and we know better then to not listen."

"Hi. I am Kimberly. Just a second and I will get some juice."

"Kimberly, how do you take your coffee?" The taller darker haired woman asked.

"Sweet. No crème."

"I'm Elizabeth, by the way. But everyone calls me Liz."

"Thank you. I am Kimberly. I guess Kim is ok."

"Here you look like you could enjoy this."

"You are right about that." Kim said, as she smelled the aroma of dark French roast. "This is exactly what the doctor ordered."

"Kim, if you want, you can use the shower upstairs. We have guest towels out and I can loan you some soap and conditioner," Helen said. "Liz, you can finish up these onions and peppers can't you?"

"Sure. Give me the apron wench."

"Here follow me Kim." Helen said.

Upstairs in the bathroom, Helen gave Kim a pair of very large towels. "Here is some body wash and shampoo. I don't know what conditioner you use, but we have some here."

"Thank you, Helen. I must look a fright."

"No. You actually look pretty good. I noticed you disappeared last evening. Candy found you and threw the blanket over you in David's office."

"I got to thank her for that. It very considerate of her." Not what I would have expected, Kim thought to herself.

"She is like that. Candy is probably the most considerate person here." Helen said. "So, how are you coping this morning?"

"Not as good as I would like. I am a little pissed at my husband."

"I hear you there. Mine is dating another woman. Not just screwing but dating. Pisses me off." Helen said.

"Mine wouldn't come last night. Said it was too hard on the girls. Said he might come Sunday afternoon, with them, since it is a family thing. He also said he might come Saturday night. But he is not sure. And he seems to blame me for the extra work he has to do with the kids." Kim said in an angry voice.

"Aha. Abandonment already? And after only one day? That is almost a record." Helen said with a grimace.

"This happens?" Liz asked.

"I expected it over time. Our circumstances cause an emotional disconnect. We are like prison. Someone sentenced to ten or fifteen years in prison is disconnected from their spouse, kids or parents. The world goes on without you. Terminals have a different challenge. Your husband knows you are not coming home. He thinks that he has to reconcile and go on without you. Elizabeth has an issue with her in-laws. Peter is being told to move on, since she is all but really dead. And her own parents are saying that Peter dating will at least give her a chance to see the woman that will finish raising her kids."

"My god, that is horrible." Kim said.

"Finish your coffee, get your shower, and come down for breakfast. Then we can talk."

Knowing what good advice was when she heard it, that was exactly what Kim did. While standing under the shower for several minutes, she heard a noise. Looking around she saw Candy coming into the stall across from her and sitting on the toilet. "I have to thank you for the blanket." Kim said.

"You are welcome. I would have woken you up but you seemed to be really asleep."

"I guess I was. Hard getting adjusted."

"We better get you settled in a room tonight. Is your husband bringing any of your things over?" Candy asked.

Starting to tear up and cry, Kim sobbed out "I don't think I am going to be here long enough for that."

Standing up, Candy walked into the shower and pulled the shorter brunette into her arms and held her while she sobbed and cried. "He wouldn't come. He said that it was too upsetting to come here. And it isn't the kind of place to bring the kids. And I don't have much time left. And he said he had to look after the emotional needs of the kids."

At that point, Kim broke down. Gently lowering her to the floor, Candy stayed there and rocked her as she cried for almost ten minutes. Others came and went from the communal bathroom and shower, and left the two alone on the floor.

David had left in the earlier evening. Cathy woke up in bed curled around Abby, and wondered where she was for a moment. She soon remembered. Last night had been great. Good sex was wonderful and last night with David and Abby was several steps beyond good. David was not overly large, but he had staying power to get the job done. Several times in fact.

Carefully getting up and walking out to the hallway, she heard the shower was running at one end. Bathroom. Don't need that right now. Coffee. Smelling coffee, Cathy followed her nose to the stairs back down to the break room. And saw a couple of naked women standing next to a stove and nearby coffee pot.

"Good morning" the taller brunette said from the stove "I'm Elizabeth. You can call me Liz. Coffee is there."

"I'm Cathy. Wow, what smells so good?"

"Breakfast. We have to cook for a mass in the morning. Helen started this and it has kind of grown."

"How can I help?" she asked.

"Pop some more toast into the toaster. We have some Chipped Tofu beef for it to go with the crème sauce."

Popping in toast, and pouring herself some coffee, Cathy stayed with Elizabeth and helped to set up the line for people filling their plates.

When the buffet was set up, Cathy joined Elizabeth at the table with Jimmy and Gus. Both were very friendly and the small talk soon turned to differences between H&S and Findlay.

Soon Cathy felt comfortable and relaxed at the chatter. And she also noticed that Jimmy showed special warmth for Elizabeth. Gus was an older gentleman and had been with Findlay for some time. "Not to be confused with the other Gus" who had come from H&S. He flirted shamelessly with Cathy, and even told her where his permission slip was posted on the bulletin board. "The wife says the more I am here, the less I spend time bothering her."

Gradually most everyone came down from upstairs, as well as the rest of the meat cutter crew from in back. Candy was missing, but Nancy went to David's office to do the intake estimate for the day.

"Come on, woman. I have to get ready for work. We stay here too long and we will look like prunes." Candy said to Kim after several minutes. Leading Kim up and out of the shower room, and down to her room. Guiding Kim into her place, Candy went over to her desk and picked up her keys and computer.

"So, how do I cope?" Kim said to Candy, while sitting on the edge of the bed. Candy was sitting in her chair opposite her, and seemed to be the picture of calm.

"I don't know how you cope. I cope by being useful, helping people, and never treating anyone badly."

"But you kill people." Liz said.

"Yes I do about two dozen a day. And I hope I do it with no pain to each and every one of them. But while they are upright and walking around, I try to do the to treat them the best that I can." Candy said calmly.

"And you would kill me, too?" Kim asked.

"Yes. Carefully and calmly, and I promise I won't let you hurt." Candy said.

"Do you know how strange that sounds?" Kim asked.

"Absolutely." Candy said with a smile. "It is insane. But it is what I have to do to stay alive and if I was not doing it, someone will do it that won't do it as nicely. I hate to say I am good at it, but in this little circle, I am about the best. Which really sucks, in a way."

"At least you have a skill that is useful here." Kim said.

"I didn't when I got here. I was fished out by Margaret to be a weekend toy for David. I kind of knew that. But when I saw how Margaret treated the people she worked with, and how they were totally surprised at the end, I figured I could do that too. So I studied and I am the best here." Candy said.

"How did you study to be a killer?"

"Grey's Anatomy, Meat cutter's edition. I read it every night. Abby says I am good enough to get into Pre Med. Liz is coaching me in math and science studies, and Helen is coaching me in language and writing. This place is a great education for me."

Thinking of the total absurdity of it, Liz began to laugh. And once she started, she couldn't stop. Soon Candy was laughing as well. Some of the quips passed between them included:

"If you only have one skill, do it better then anyone."

"I guess that you don't get a lot of repeat business. Minimum complaints of bad service."

"Abby says here you don't have to worry about malpractice."

And the one that had both of them laughing hysterically, "Nobody has guts enough to go through processing more then once."

Finally, the laughter lapsed into giggles. And then a growl in Kim's stomach signaled time to go downstairs. "Candy, Thank you. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you."

"And you haven't even seen my best skill yet." Candy replied.

Suddenly sobering, Kim replied. "Do me a favor. Save your best for me when the time comes."

"I promise everyone that, darling."

David and Margaret were surprised to hear their production estimates from Nancy. When David saw Candy come down with Liz and walked over to get breakfast, David purposely waved both of them to come over to the table with Nancy, Margaret and himself.

"Good morning good looking." David said to Candy. "Nancy gave us the numbers for today, one hundred thirty and sixty. We are going to have a busy day today. Can you coach Cathy? Kim, I have a research project for you, if you don't mind."

"I'll work with her. I thought Abby was going to take Cathy under wing." Candy replied.

"I think she can benefit from both of you. So trade off today. Get her used to intake and escort. If you think she fits in that role."

"Ok." Candy replied.

"And what is this research project?" Kim asked, eating her breakfast.

"I want you to contact specialty tool companies for tree trimming tools. I think you may have something with minimizing our repetitive motion injury. Let me know what and where we need to order for here and for H&S."

"Ok. I guess I should tag along with Candy or Abby or one of the others for a few cycles to get an idea of how specific we should get."

"Ok. But we have a heavy load today. Don't bog them down. In fact, you can help with intakes. You already know how those work." David said.

Realizing that this was the sort of thing Candy had talked with her about earlier, Kim saw that this was a way to stay around. "I can try. I promise I'll try to not shake anyone up."

"Follow Helen, Liz and Carol's lead, and you will do OK. And it helps to keep the focus on your client, and not on your own feelings. At least, that is what they tell me." David said with a smile.

"I'll try to do that." Liz said.

"David, did Jack drop off the collars for H&S?" Margaret asked.

"No. Good catch. I'll go over there this morning. Don't want any untagged floating around. Kim, wait here until we can get a collar for you, then we will ease you into the traffic flow." David said. "I'll go out front and see if they were dropped by."

"Actually" Margaret interjected, " She can use mine for a while. I am not fish or fowl here, so we can tag her and keep me out of the running. Protects her too."

"Works for me. Kim, want a collar for today?" David asked.

Here is the decision. Kim thought to herself. "I think I would like that very much, thank you." She said to David.

"I'll get the key from the drawer and drop it off with you." Candy said. "Then I will go up front to open up. It is almost eight o'clock people."

"Busy slave driving bitch" Margaret teased.

"That is why you have me around." Candy said with a smile.

After retrieving the key and giving it to David, Candy and Helen went up to reception to open up. The rest of the back office team finished up breakfast. They knew they had about forty-five minutes before the first person came through the turnstile.

David reached to his wife and removed her collar. It was the only the third time it had been off of her in as many weeks. Moving to Kim, he reached around her neck and brought the lock in front and snapped it in place. "There. You are now legal. Wear it in good health."

A whole series of emotions ran through Kim. Anger, fear, and some level of pride as well were all cycling through her mind. She was aware of the change of her status, if only temporarily. Thinking back on how she was treated only yesterday, she realized that she had to be as good to the doomed women who were here as this group was to her yesterday. The main difference, all of the women who she would run into knew that they were here to die.

"Margaret, since we don't have you collared, I want you to work with Chris and Jimmy in the back end, and help with processing. I will let the others do the herding today as much as possible. Please go ahead and let Kim use your terminal. If we can break Cathy in later today, then we will have minimal impact on production. Maybe we can even get enough numbers reduced so you don't have to do so many trips."

-------

Religious Support?

David was surprised to see he had appointments for this morning at his office and a call from Jack Stienhauer to go over the materials from the architect. Jack's message was that Phil was not going to take or return any calls to David in the future, and that all construction and modifications would be with Jack only.

Not my fault for any of this, David thought to himself. I can't blame the guy, but we are doing him a favor for the moment. At least his car was not in impound, his kids in social services and his wife on a stake. While she was alive.

David was in his office at nine thirty when his guest was shown in. Standing as a sign of respect, the Imam signaled that David should be seated. "I want to thank you for your time, Mister Findlay."

"It is my pleasure. Even though I am not a member of your faith, I was taught by my father to respect other's beliefs. How may we help you?"

Siting in the guest chair, after an exchange of pleasantries, the Imam got to the issue at hand. "In our faith, we have a challenge with compliance with the secular law as you have it. We do not allow our women to be seen by men. And we are limited to our methods of punishment that result in death. In fact, our only real method is beheading, hanging or stoning. And both beheading and hanging requires removal of the headdress. And stoning is a punishment for adultery. And this has drawn our society into different camps. We feel we need to find a commercial service that will fulfill both our legal and our religious requirements."

"Imam, my father worked with your predecessor long a go when we were providing meat for your group. We had not supposed to impose ourselves in this arena when we moved our business into this role. How do you feel we can help?"

"David, I have heard that your business does not employ men for the most part. Is this true?"

"Yes. Our operation in the intake and initial support is entirely staffed by women. The women we have here are excellent in their sympathy and understanding of the process and they work to relieve the stress as much as possible in these times."

"And your process handles women how?"

"Imam, I am sorry, we cannot talk about that further. Suffice to say that your people have minimal suffering, for a very short time, and that they are escorted with dignity for the remainder of their life by one of our female escorts. That it is a singular experience and that men are not the witness."

"And you would show me this how?" The Imam asked.

"I would not at all. If I were to show you then how would you be able to say with confidence that I did not have any man present?" David replied.

"But I am a man of god who must look to the affairs of my people." The Imam replied.

"All the more reason you should not be tempted to violate those who should not be violated, regardless of their faith." David responded with a smile.

"Your father trained you well. I see. What sort of arrangements can we expect for our women who are caught in this unfortunate trap?"

"That depends on your people. How do you desire your women to be treated post mortem? Do you intend to recover them for your own funeral services? Do you wish to have them offered from a list we have here? Or do you intend to have us perform disposal?" David asked.

"How would you dispose of them?"

"In neat packages. Plastic."

"They would be treated as Kosher?"

"Yes, both you and the Rabbi have an agreement on dietary rules for processed flesh. Thus they would be treated as such." David replied.

"And they would be processed singularly?" the Imam asked.

"Yes. And we would return any and all clothes, and personal articles that were with them to their next of kin as designated on the form that they fill out when they arrive."

"What day would you focus on our group?"

"How many?" David asked.

"We have some three hundred under a religious stay of execution at this time. They are encamped south of here in a large hotel. We would like to reduce the number of women held there as quickly as possible."

"Imam, we need to talk with my director of scheduling in the reception area, and she will work with you. Please understand that all women who are here under a stay are nude, and must be so. Do not be alarmed or ashamed. They are under a stay of their own and this is their only way of being recognized for their situation under the law."

"I saw them when I arrived. I was shocked but I had been prepared for this by the articles I have read."

"Good. Let's go talk to Nancy."

Bringing the Imam to the reception room, David found Nancy had finished with a group now working on questionnaires. Bringing the Imam with him David made introductions.

"Nancy, Imam Yashik is here to work with us on scheduling the women selected in his religious order. Evidently they have been kept under a stay while appropriate arrangements could be made and thus they are being brought here. Could you help him with scheduling his groups? I would advise sixteen or twenty at a time and estimate normal time cycles."

"Pleasure to meet you Imam. Do you have any of the notification numbers of the women you represent?" Nancy asked.

Seeing that the Imam was taken aback by Nancy's nudity, David interjected "Imam, please remember what I told you and treat us with the respect we will treat yours with."

Blushing, the Imam removed a portable digital device and gave it to Nancy. "These are the electronic letters of notification. Currently they are covered under a religious stay."

Downloading the list and the selection dates, Nancy saw she had two hundred and ninety two women on the list. Some had been selected from as far away as New York and Texas, and a few were almost six weeks past due." I think we need to look at this and define some process criteria." Nancy said. "Imam, how should we select the order for these women?"

"I would say oldest in age first, but our order would prefer to leave this in your hands" Yashik said. "It is enough that the government selected them, we do not want to soil our hands with this further."

Running through the list, Nancy saw that several of the older women were close to the age of exception. If we keep them for last, Nancy thought to herself, I can probably get a few of them out of here as too old. And Carol can do the exception thing.

Nancy thus selected youngest by age first. Presenting a list to the Imam, she said, "Here you go. Bring this first group of twenty on Saturday, and then Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday until we can get you caught up. Take some of our entry forms with you so we can make sure that all of their affairs are closed up, so we wont' have any holdovers. It shouldn't take long to service the entire population. Five or six weeks at most"

"Thank you Ms. Findlay."Yashik replied.

"I'm not Margaret. I am just one of the helpers." Nancy said. "Margaret is a totally different person."

-------

Technology To the Rescue

At lunchtime Kim took a break to do research. The last four hours had been both taxing and challenging. None of the women she worked with had any misconceptions like she had. All were here for the same reason, and she found that she actually enjoyed helping them deal with fear and panic. I never knew that this job could be rewarding, she thought to herself. Candy was a wonder with a knife. And Cathy had learned pretty quickly to slice nicely as well. By noon, Cathy had slit her second group herself after watching what Candy did to the first group. And Abby was right there encouraging her to make the cuts smooth and clean.

Kim was not yet ready to make the leap from consultant to killer. But she could feel her reservations falling by the wayside as she adjusted to the new reality of her life here. She found that she had enjoyed working with the women, knowing what the rhythm was, and get going to David's office, she saw he had left. Probably a good idea to get some research done on the mechanical trimmers she wanted to include in operations. Now that she had seen processing from a more involved nature, she also took the time to measure the necks and wrists of the converted. Post kill measurements showed that almost all necks would fit in six-inch diameter. The wrists would all fit into a four-inch diameter.

David had looked into a Hydraulic Cutter for trees several months ago. The unit was portable, able to be mounted and was able to trim limbs up to six inches. The jaws did not open more then six as a safety measure.

Following up with that information in mind, Kim contacted the manufacturer. They advised her that they had a product called the "Bi lateral lopper" that would open to eight inches, and used either hydraulic or compressed air as a pressure medium. "It will power open and power close with a bi-directional valve."

"What do you mainly sell these for?" Kim asked.

"We usually sell these to tree trimmers or road maintenance and right of way crews. Railroads use them a lot for clearing near tracks."

"What kind of blade maintenance do they need?" Kim asked.

"Cutter blades are an inch thick, and have tungsten carbide edges. The ceramic coating keeps things slick so there isn't a lot of resistance to the blades. They can be mounted or hand held."

"I will take three of the mounted eight inch and six flexible four inch. What kind of power supply do you need?"

"These all should be compressed air. Hydraulic is a pain. You need a good storage tank system though."

"What about maintenance? Is there anything special we need to do there?" Kim asked, her engineering background coming to the fore.

"Clean air and we do carbide exchange overnight. If you want to, I would get a set of spare blades."

"Works for me. Send me a quotation for these at this e-mail address, and we will get back to you with a Purchase Order. Ship them to Findlay Processing" Kim said.

Finishing up the order process, Kim sent David e-mail on the transaction, and also the rigid deck mount for the eight-inch cutters. The rigid deck mount allowed for eight inches of vertical travel. There was a foot lever that would raise and lower the blade housing along the mount. The blades would still be held horizontal. With the blades being one inch wide, and the necks of the people being processed being (on average) three inches, the overall "shift" would be eleven inches of travel. Most of the women being at Findlay were from five feet two inches to five feet eleven at the most.

This makes this thing a horizontal grasping guillotine, Kim thought to herself. Have to talk to Abby and Margaret about using this for the Kill process. We could go from three minutes to less then one with this. It is not like we are going to have repeated business or unhappy customers, Kim thought to herself. And if the person were still recovering from the shock of the stunner, there would be no real recovery before they were decapitated. I need to ask Abby and Cathy about that. That has to be faster to death then bleeding. You wont' have the warm fuzzy feeling and the last conversation, but then you won't have any time of panic either. I would kind of like to see it in action first before I make up my mind if it was for me, she thought to herself. Kim was a bit shocked at herself at this cavalier attitude. I guess the gallows humor sets in pretty quickly here, she thought ruefully.

Falling into her industrial planning mode, Kim thought about removal and disposal of heads. If you are going to have the raised body continue, you have to make sure the chopper will be easy to clean (Blood spurts, you know) and we have to find a way to move the head out from the space to make way for the next one. Sort of ejecting a bullet after the gun was fired. Rotary baskets or a drop chute. Need to figure that one out.

-------

Sarah Returns

"I love you" Kitty said as she kissed Sarah good-bye. "I will take care of Max. And I'll visit your mom and dad every weekend. I promise."

"You can do that, but don't forget to have a life. Hear me? Keep healthy, work with people and remember I love you too." Sarah said as she walked toward the door. "And get a driver's license. The car is going back to my folks, but you should be able to use it."

"I will. I promise."

"And the condo is paid for through the end of the year. Until you get a job, you should stay here. It is pretty close to school, and I would like it better if you were here."

"I know. Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?" Kitty said.

"I don't' want you within a mile of that place ever again. Do you hear me?" Sarah said with passion. " Stay away from there at all costs."

'Ok. I hear you. I will." Kitty replied.

Sarah had called down this morning and asked what she should bring with her. And what would happen to the things she had. She had been placed on hold for a few minutes and then a different woman came on the line and talked with her for a short while. The instructions seemed a bit strange. Bring your favorite blanket and pillow did not seem like what you were supposed to bring to a slaughterhouse. But Sarah put it into her bag and carried it with her. Who knows, maybe they are queer for a fetish.

The ride to Findlay on public transportation was uneventful and Sarah got there just after three o'clock. I wonder if it is too late for lunch? She thought to herself. They didn't have any rules about eating or drinking, so maybe I can get something.

Entering Findlay's Sarah had to look for a seat. There were over forty women sitting down and there was only a single table left. Walking over and setting her big bag purse down, Sarah went and grabbed a soda and sat down at the available seat. Taking her form out, she checked down on all of the items listed and double checked to make sure she had everything. Shortly an older brunette came over and asked her "Is there anything I can help you with, dear?"

"Just checking everything over. Carol and Helen both told me to finish everything up and come back today. I was going to get here early but there was so much to do. Finally got it all done, though."

"Ok. I 'me Margaret, by the way."

"Hi. I'm Sarah Blair. I would say I am happy to meet you, but I think you understand why I am not really".

"Of course, we all understand that. So, if you like I can go over that with you." Margaret said.

Margaret spent the next ten minutes going over the questionnaire, and looking up Sarah's information on the internal database. One of the things that had been added with the new portables was a notes field that each of the goats could see about prospects and clients. (Clients was a lot nicer then sheep.)

A general text message was from David that he was at H&S and Jack had brought the collars with him and was giving them to David to bring back to Findlay. That gives us twelve more mouths to feed, Margaret thought to herself with a smile. This one was the one Carol earmarked for a pro bono project. Time to feel the girl out.

"So, Sarah, Carol and you had quite a talk yesterday, I take it."

"What did she say?" Sarah asked.

"Nothing bad. I was wondering what your impressions were about us." Margaret asked by way of a lead.

"I think you are trying to do a shitty job nicely. But it is still a shitty job." Sarah said in reply. "I mean I am happy as hell you got Kitty out of this mess she got herself into, but I don't like that women are being killed for no good reason."

"Well, let's talk about that a little. Are you hungry?" Margaret asked.

"Last meal?" Sarah replied with a smile. "Sure. What are you offering?"

"I think we have e have some pasta salad that goes well with wine left over, if you like."

"That sounds great." Sarah replied.

Bringing over a plate, Margaret watched as Kim was leaving, taking a group back. She might make it yet, Margaret thought to herself. "So, you brought your pillow, I see."

"Yes. What's with that?" Sarah asked.

"Well, Carol wanted to talk with you about maybe working here for a while. That would give her some time to appeal your case." Margaret said, sitting down.

"Why would she do that? I mean, she did great things for Kitty, but why do this at all?"

"We are a little selfish, I guess. We do a shitty job all the time, but we try to keep out those who don't belong. Think of it as opening up the net for some of the species in the sea that have to reproduce if we are going to have healthy stock." Margaret said by way of explanation." We do as much pulling out as we can to help some finish up things. Like you yesterday."

"I appreciate that. But it isn't ethical to me to pick and choose. If your number is up, it should be up. Otherwise there is no justice in the system." Sarah said, as she ate some of her pasta.

"That is an interesting perspective. So you think the system has justice in it?"

"No, I think it is totally corrupt. But I don't want to add to that corruption by playing any games with it. I have worked with foster kids my whole life and I see how lousy that system is. It sucks. It should be abolished."

"Well, to a extent we agree with you, Sarah." Margaret said.

"Well, if you agree with me, why are you part of it?" Sarah asked, finishing her wine.

"Do you think the foster care system is fair?" Margaret asked.

"Why are you changing the subject?" Sarah asked.

"Humor me a moment. You have time." Margaret answered.

"Ok. Foster care stinks. There are too many people in it strictly for the money, and too few people who care. My folks and I take care of the unwanted and a lot of damaged kids. Most of them have special needs. So someone needs to do something. The system is broken but you can fix things one at a time for the ones you get." Sarah said, getting on her soapbox.

"And what would you do to fix it?" Margaret asked.

"What ever I could do. Everything I did do. Of course, it backfired on Kitty, but you guys straightened that out."

"Sarah, how do you handle the ones you can't do anything for?" Margaret asked. " Or deal with the ones you should do something for, but you don't' have the resources?"

"It breaks your heart. But you have to save what you can. I always do." Sarah said.

Looking out of the corner of her eye, Margaret saw Carol approaching. Giving her a wave off, Carol shook her head and then went to one of the other tables.

"Sarah, do you think we like what we do?" Margaret asked.

"You must. Or you would do something else." Sarah answered with the conviction of youth.

"And what do you see in us?" Margaret asked.

"How I see you isn't important. It is how you see yourselves. And I don't know how you can get out of bed in the morning after doing what you do." Sarah said with conviction.

"It isn't easy sometimes." Margaret agreed. "Especially with the decisions we have to make. Take you, for instance." Margaret continued. "Two of our people here think that it would be more socially acceptable to put you in holding, while we work with the system and see about getting you an exception. The problem is, we only have so many holding places, and those we do put into there have to do a lot of uncomfortable things while they are here."

"Like Carol said about Kitty? Putting her in the program to save her life." Sarah asked.

"That's right. We had that as an option while we worked out what we could do for her. That is the same thing we wanted to do with you." Margaret said. " But now I am not so sure you would want that."

Sarah sat for a moment in silence. "What would happen if I couldn't do what you were asking me to do?"

"The same thing that is going to happen to you right now. An hour from now you will be dead, your head in the garbage, and your body mounted on a spit to be sold for premium at an event we have orders for." Margaret continued. "We will kill you nicely, remove your head and hands and feet, clean your body out and then sew the skin back together with stuffing inside of you, and ship you off to H&S Butchers as a prime roaster. Right now you have a choice. Which is why we asked you to bring your pillow and blanket."

"I don't know if I could do that. Decide who lives and who dies. I couldn't do that" Sarah said, starting to tear up.

"You don't have to decide who lives and who dies. That is my job. What you have to do is help the ones who are going to die do it with dignity and without fear. You talk with them, you coach them to get all the things finished up that have to be done, and if someone needs extra time to finish things up, you let one of the others know. Just don't think you can save all of them or that you can delay death for all of them."

"That would be so hard." Sarah said. "To know while you are talking to them that they are going to die. What kind of life is that?"

"It is your only choice right now. I want you to think about it. Stay here and talk with the others first. Then if you don't feel it is for you, bring your pillow and blanket so we can ship everything back home to your parents." Margaret said. "It is a lousy choice, but it offers a chance for Carol to work at getting you out. It is your only chance. Other then that, your only choices are how you die." Margaret said, standing up. 'Sit here a while and think. We close at five."

Sitting in the reception room, Sarah had a second and then third glass of wine. Watching Carol, Helen and Cindy and Candy each come up and then sit at the different tables for the next hour, and then stand up and leave with different groups of women. Each time, they came up, they were friendly, cordial and very helpful to the groups they were working with. Singularly they came over and talked with Sarah, and she quizzed each of them about how they felt and how they were able to justify what they did. All of them had variations on the same theme. It sucked, but they tried to do it as nicely as they could. Even Kim came by and gave her point of view.

"I am dead already. I am due Monday. But I get to do things here and make improvements for others. We don't have a choice of what happens, but we do have one about how."

Carol was the most bloody-minded of the bunch. "Sarah. Do you like working with kids?"

"Yes. It is the thing I enjoy more then anything else." She replied.

"If you think you are going to ever be able to do that again, and have impact on people like Kitty and others again, you have to work with us. Because you won't be able to if you are dead." Carol said. "Either grow up and do the hard thing, or take the easy way out and die."

With that, Carol stood up and went over to the reception desk, where Helen pointed her to the last table with a group. It was five o'clock.

After Carol walked down toward reception with the final four of the day, Margaret came back up from the rear. She walked over to Helen, and then walked to the front door to lock up and set the security bars in place. Then both Margaret and Helen came over to where Sarah was finishing her third glass of wine.

"Well, lady, what are you thinking?" Margaret asked.

"Why me? Why did you pick me?"

"Because we look for special things in people that we think should be kept around. My Legal Consuler has my permission to fish out anyone that she thinks would keep society afloat and work her ass off to get them freed. We do that here. We exclude as many as we can. We don't get many, but try like hell for the ones we can." Margaret replied.

"SO you decide who lives and who dies."

"Not entirely by myself. You have a big part in that too. If you feel you can't do this or can't help the people who are our clients here, then you can go with them any time. This is a way station. Not a career."

"And you would be doing exactly like all of us have been doing every day." Helen said as she sat down. "You hold on to the ones you can, and help everyone else."

"To Die." Sarah said, with emphasis. "You help people to die. You kill them." Sarah spit the word out like a curse." Like they have no value except as meat."

Standing up, Margaret looked at Helen. "I think Sarah has made her decision. Sarah, would you please come with me?"

Looking up at Margaret, Sarah saw that she no longer had a decision to make. "I guess so."

"Don't forget your questionnaire. And bring your blanket and pillow, please. We don't want them to get lost."

Sarah followed Margaret through exam, then into the lavatory and into stripping. Awaiting Jackie's analysis of blood work, and urine, Sarah stood and looked at the box on the table for a long time. And at the ones stacked up behind the table on the wall. Two of the women who were goats were carrying them back to the rear of the facility.

"Are they goats too?" Sarah asked, as she was starting to strip.

"No. They wear the collars and are nude to make people feel more comfortable with stripping here." Margaret said.

"I see. Well, I guess I don't have many decisions left, do I?" Sarah said to Margaret.

"You have a couple. How do you want to go? Hanging, Chopped with the Guillotine? Or bled out in a tub or hanging upside down?" Margaret asked.

Blanching, Sarah replied "Pretty blunt, aren't you? I guess you can be at this stage."

"Normally we don't' ask at this stage. We surprise people. But it is the end of the day and I figure we have time to indulge you. Long drop hanging is pretty quick. Short drop takes a while, and you kick and dance while you try to find something to stand on. The guillotine is fast. You probably read about that. Our normal way is to shock you, hang you upside down and slit the throat. While you bleed out, we talk to you. It takes about three minutes for that." Margaret continued.

"You're trying to shock me, aren't you?" Sarah said.

"Is it working?" Margaret asked.

"Yes it is. But what kind of person will I be if I do this?" Sarah sobbed.

"You will be alive. Which is more then you will be otherwise."

"Why me?" Sarah asked.

"I am beginning to wonder myself. Look, two of my friends think that keeping you alive and turning you back will make a difference. So to appease them I am working with you to get you to work your little ass rather then us carving it."

"But I don't know how I could live with myself." Sarah sobbed.

"Sarah, please finish stripping. Put your pillow in the bottom of the box here with your blanket so we can send everything home." Margaret said.

I am tired of this, Margaret thought to herself. My feet hurt and I am wasting time with this. She will be a constant problem and will only cause problems for everyone else.

Quietly Sarah removed her blouse and folded it. Then she put it on top of her pillow. Her slacks followed, with her shoes, bra and panties. Last she removed her earrings and watch. "What happens to all of this?" She asked Margaret who was going over her checklist.

"It goes to your home address along with the death certificate and this questionnaire."

"You mean Kitty will get it?"

"If that is who is at your home address."

"Can I call her and talk to her?"

"Sorry. We have run out of time. Is there anything else? You have a choice?"

"About how to die?"

"That's right." Margaret said with finality.

"I don't think so. What now?"

Walking her over to the turnstile, Margaret instructed her to take hold of the handle and be careful, the floor was slippery. Pushing the button on the turnstile bell, a moment later the light over the turnstile went from red to green and spun around. And Sarah was gone.

Some people are just too stupid to keep alive. Margaret thought to herself. Now I have to get shit from Carol and Helen about this.



-------

Chapter 25



Friday night in the Henhouse

"Phew. My feet are tired." Cathy said as she opened a beer and sat down in the break room. "I hadn't known this place was so big."

"Good thing these sandals are comfortable. Walking on these floors all day would be a real pit if they weren't" Cindy said.

"Does anyone else here have a problem sitting down toward the end of the day?" Kim asked the girls.

"You mean getting wet and sticky when you come back into the reception?" Carol asked.

"Perfectly normal, ladies." Helen replied. "It is called survivor reaction. Like near death experiences make us horny, watching or doing the terminations makes you feel powerful and excited. None of us is coldblooded about this." Helen said with a smile.

"Yes. People like that on the outside were called psychopaths and I tried to get them locked up when they were too good at this or enjoyed it too much." Carol said with a smile.

"Are you saying I am sick?" Candy said with a smile.

"Yes, but in the nicest way." Carol said.

Seeing Margaret come in, Carol asked, "What happened with Sarah?"

"Dumb bitch would not listen and did not want to work here. Regardless. After arguing with her for almost an hour I finally had enough." Margaret said in disgust.

"Was that the last one that came through by herself?" Cindy asked. "I darn near didn't shock her thinking she was a new goat. Then she started to yell at me for being a murderer and I figured she didn't belong."

"You ok?" Margaret asked.

"Yes. She kept talking about someone named Max. I told her he would be ok. After a few minutes she dropped off. I think Chris is going to live spit her for the ASPCA luncheon."

"That fits" Helen said.

"So, getting wet and sticky. Why is that?" Kim asked, getting things back onto her track.

"It is normal. Women get damp from almost any strong emotions. Sexual excitement is one of them. Horror is another. If you get too blasé here that is what we should start to worry about." Helen said.

"Yea, that means you are not even a good psychopath. If we quit being polite and quit having any reaction, then we need to go down ourselves. Cause that means we aren't recoverable." Margaret said.

While several of the women were talking about what to have for dinner, Margaret went over to Carol and said "I would like to talk with you about Sarah if you have a moment."

Seating just the two of them in a corner of the couch, Margaret began." Sarah would not have worked out here. And worse I think she would have been a bad impact on some of the others. I think we all would have been pretty sick of her by Monday, or worse she would have started to get everyone here having second thoughts of what we are trying to do."

"And what are we trying to do" Carol asked.

"Save everyone we can, and still give those we can't save respect and a decent death. Make a change." Margaret said.

"Tall order lady." Carol said.

"I know. But the worse short term impact would have been on Abby, Cathy, Cindy and Candy. Her constant whine of how this was wrong and we were doing the wrong thing would have started to crack them. And we can't afford that to happen if we are going to keep the lifeboat afloat." Margaret replied

"You think she could have done that?" Carol asked.

"You are the lawyer. Imagine how effective repetitive and constant commentary like that would be here, much less a courtroom?" Margaret asked.

Sitting back and thinking on that, Carol saw a bigger game here than she had thought.

"I hadn't thought about that. You really worried about the details impacting all of us."

"Darling, not a day or night goes by but when David and I are not worried about how we can keep all of you safe. And from all enemies both foreign and domestic." Margaret said. "This little houseboat is always at risk. We just have to balance them and make sure that they are manageable, while still keeping the boat afloat."

"I hear you. I guess I am pissed at more than at you, believe me." Carol said.

"I am too. You and Nancy were right. She was a good one to save. But she had to make some compromise if we were going to. All of us have had to." Margaret said.

Kim felt oddly at ease joining the banter with Helen, Candy and Abby. Gone were her fears that they were going to cut her throat Monday. Or maybe it was simple adjustment. Like living with a tiger. You know it was going to eat you. It's just not today.

"So, what do I do about this wet spot I keep leaving wherever I go?"

"Drink plenty of fluids." Candy quipped. "And thank god for Saturday nights."

"Ok. I read the blogs. Does this place really turn into an orgy on Saturday?" Kim asked.

"I hope so. I have never been to one on the outside." Cathy said. "Although last night with David was pretty nice."

"You did say you were going off to fuck the boss," Kim said. "I am jealous. How did that turn out?"

"He is good. Lots of stamina and a good hard texture, you should try it." Cathy said.

"I probably should tonight."

"Not tonight. It's Hen night tonight. Time to wind down, do hair, and be girls." Helen continued. "Margaret stays so we have management on site, but that is the only reason. All the guys go home and we get ready for whatever is coming up tomorrow. I am surprised David is not here giving us our evening pep talk and talk about tomorrow."

Just at that point, David did come in from the rear process area. "Good evening ladies. Candy, how many for tomorrow? Do you and Nancy have a count?"

"From the schedule we have twenty one catch up and maybe thirty intakes. Also six interviews for pre selection." Candy said.

"Ok. Does that count the twenty we are getting from the Imam's group?" David asked.

"That is the Imam's group" Nancy said. "He added one more this afternoon. Tomorrow is a religious experience, girls."

"Boo" Cindy said, throwing a pillow at Nancy. "That is so bad on so many ways."

"What? You don't think we are providing a religious experience?" Nancy said with an innocent smile.

"I think I need another beer if this conversation is going that direction" Cindy said.

"Get me one too, please?" Kim asked.

"Ok. Anything to report, ladies?" David asked.

"I put a copy of the purchase agreement on your desk. We will need three of the eight inch and six of the four-inch units for here and H&S. There are some air controls and a couple of other things to add as well. I would like to talk to Phil about that if I can." Kim replied.

"I have no problem with that." David replied. "But he seems a tad upset toward me. Feel free to invite him any time he wants to come. As to his professional advice, he told Jack he will only talk with him. So you feel free to work that out."

Nodding her head, Liz vowed to talk with Helen about how to handle this better.

"Also, I have a copy of the weekly selection list being sent to us Sunday. So, Sunday morning, before family gets here, I want Nancy, Carol and Helen to look through the list to find us some satisfactory additions. I have the twelve collars from H&S here, to go with our eight. Liz, you can keep yours or have one of the H&S brands. Your choice."

"Does that mean I would be transferred to H&S when it opens up?" Liz asked.

"For the duration of my professional association with Jack, all collars are a pool. We can go between locations without change of assignments, according to the memorandum I have with the MAB. So I expect all of you to give me the benefit of your intelligence and experience as we make this place better."

"Now, if there are no further items, I am going to leave here along with every other useless prick. Good night ladies."

"I wonder where David is going tonight?" Helen asked Margaret after David left.

"He has a dinner date with Jim and Christine." Margaret answered. "He sees them on every Friday now. He won't sleep with her though except here."

"You got a good one there," Helen said. "Have you talked to Mark this week?"

"No. David hasn't either. Do you want us to call him?" Margaret asked.

"No. Intellectually I understand. But it hurts." Helen replied.

"I hear you there, girlfriend." Carol interjected. "I am surprised that Jim keeps coming around. You can always borrow him. Christine and I don't mind."

"And you can have David as well. He has always liked you." Margaret added.

"I want to thank you both. I do get by with the help from my friends. But we do have a shortage of things to do here. I think that is what is most depressing after a while."

"We are working on that." Margaret said.

"I don't doubt that," Helen said.

"David said he wants to knock open the wall upstairs onto the roof next door. Build an area where we can get outside and garden. He wanted to ask Phil about that as well for the H&S location. We all need some sunshine anyway."

"Going to make this a country club in the city?" Helen kidded.

"Why not? We already have the finest female bodies available. Not counting mine." Margaret said.

"Now if we could just get some dicks on a more frequent basis." Helen said. "What do you think about opening up a nightclub? Call it the Condemned women's last one night stand?"

"Isn't that what Jennifer did?" Carol asked.

"She did something like that. So, Carol. We need contracts for that put it into your list of things to look into." Margaret said.

"Like I don't have enough to do." Carol replied.

Later that night, Kim sought out Helen. "I need some advice. How do I handle what is going on with Phil and I?"

"I don't know the answer to that. You and he had a big shock yesterday. You seem to have adjusted to that pretty well, and you are making the right moves to extend your time. If he comes here we could talk about it, depending on your schedule."

"I don't exactly have a schedule. More like a variable expiration date." Kim replied with a smile.

"We all have a variable expiration date. But we are trying to make the best of it. I think you may have extended your shelf life." Helen said.

"I am working on it. Margaret seemed pretty firm about Monday, but I will keep hanging in there. Since the element of surprise is gone, how do they do it?"

"I don't know. We haven't lost anyone yet from one of these collars."

Kim felt a sudden surge of hope. Every day alive was better than dead. Time to see.

Later in the evening, Helen took Margaret aside. "Got a minute?"

"For you, always." Margaret replied.

"I was thinking about the stuff with expansion. You are going to need another shrink sooner or later. Also, I want to talk with you about Mark a little. And Kim."

"If you see any shrinks coming through, you have my permission to yank them out of the stream immediately. Same with any good lawyers. Assuming you can agree with the other one on treatment and management of this ball of fur." Margaret said. "You or Nancy see one, yank them out. Don't hesitate. Pull them out quick."

"Ok. Nancy and I will talk about that. I am a little pissed at Mark right now. I know he is working through things, but I am a little resentful. I need to talk to him a little about my needs too."

"Do you want me to bring him here by the balls tomorrow afternoon?" Margaret asked.

"If you could get in touch with him, I would appreciate it. Definitely for Sunday. I haven't seen the girls in almost a month. Nice since you parked me in this zoo."

"Consider it done. Now, what about Kim?"

"Are you still terming her Monday?"

"Helen, I would have if we hadn't gotten the collars. I can keep her around now that we have some spare space, but she isn't real high on my list of long term keepers. Which would you have rather kept her or Sarah if she had worked out?"

"Sarah was a better case for release, I admit. But Kim is working hard to adjust to doing what we want. I think she might make the grade." Helen replied.

"Well, if her performance merits keeping her, we will revisit. Besides, you always have David to trump me." Margaret said with a grin.

"Now, you and I both know that Cindy was your idea anyway. You just needed someone to let you back off the ledge you were on about her." Helen replied.

"David over ruled me, that's my story and I am sticking with it." Margaret said, still grinning. "Besides, being the evil witch makes him the nice guy."

"I know both of you too long. You are a case study in marital communications. You take it to the edge and David brings you back. And he adapts pretty well. I think he even adjusted to the shock of you becoming a serial killer." Helen said with a grin.

"You know, sometime you are going to have to put me on the couch about this. This whole thing hits me sometimes. I went from nice to killer in a very short time and it gives me a power trip I never had. I think it is scary sometimes." Margaret said in a low voice.

"I am not worried about you. Cindy and Candy I worry about. Abby and Cathy have professional training to give them some distance. Cindy and Candy are very young and are doing very abnormal things to their fellows with very little separation or training. This would make them dangerous on the outside. Especially Cindy. She gets a greater sexual release than Candy does. Both of them are very sweet when they talk to you as you die. That is very scary in itself." Helen continued.

"So why are you not scared of me?" Margaret asked.

"You are a sociopath who kills nicely to keep people from suffering. If you were anywhere else you would be dangerous. Here you have a talent, and in this circumstance it is an asset. You are a practiced professional. It scares the shit out of me sometimes, because some day you are going to slit my throat."

"Unless you ask Candy to. She is better than I am. But thank you for the compliment." Margaret said.

"You're welcome. Now, what are we going to do with my absent husband? I need some dick." Helen said.

"Well, I notice that Carl sure spends a lot of time with you. And Cindy."

"That is true. He says I am grade A pussy and at least an A person. He won't grade me otherwise."

"Shit, girl. That is higher than grades me." Margaret said. "I notice that you don't lack for attention any evening."

"It is mercy fucks. They have pity on me and throw me a bone once in a while" Helen said with a grin.

"Like Hell. I know better. But I will tell you one thing. We need to get you to make some cheesecake again. We haven't had any in a long time."

"That stuff goes right to my hips."

"All the better to hang on to." Margaret said.

"Like I need more." Helen replied. "But we can start tonight if you like."

Kim, in the meantime, had settled into one of the bedrooms and was talking with Candy and Cindy. "So, Friday is Hen night, and Saturday is Orgy?" Kim asked the two younger girls.

"Sometimes we have a few stay over's on Friday, but we seem to have fallen into that cycle pretty much. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays are light days. Sunday is family day, and we sleep in late on Sunday morning." Cindy said.

"Sometimes the adult family is held over from Saturday night." Candy said. "Which is why we sometimes are up so very late. Usually no work on Sunday so we sleep in."

"So if Phil was here would you guys attack him?" Kim asked.

"Depends. He has to get a blood test to sleep over here. I am not sure about what is

Happening with you, but before he can play with the rest of us he has to have your permission." Candy said.

Kim had a sobering moment when she realized that there was no real defined extension for her. And that one of these two would probably term her when the time came. "I'm not sure I want to share him if it's one of my last night's alive." Kim said.

"Don't sweat it lady. We haven't trimmed any collared women yet. You are in a pretty exclusive club. My guess is you are starting to prove your value." Candy said.

"Yea. It takes talent to work here. And they were desperate enough to keep me." Cindy said. "My mom fucked things up so badly with me that they were going to term me. Until David over ruled Margaret and told her I was staying around. And I wasn't sleeping with him yet."

"I talked to Helen about that, squirt. I think that was one of those mutual agreements that they just have. You were starting to work out so they wanted to see if you could pull your weight." Candy said.

"Well, it is easier than you might think. Once you get your head wrapped around how it could be worse, you realize you are doing them a favor." Cindy said.

"What I want to do is develop more into the butchery aspect." Candy said. "Doing what we do right now gives us apprentice wages. I want to get to journeyman."

"You mean that there is a union for this?" Kim asked with astonishment in her voice.

"Sure is. And journeymen get two hundred percent of the pay of an apprentice." Candy said.

"Money hungry slut." Cindy said. "I am satisfied to work with what I am doing. But I wish the chunking was a little faster."

"Chunking?" Kim asked.

"Yea. Right now we do head and hand removal and then do field dressing to help keep the line moving. Those take longest." Cindy explained. "You know, removing the chunks that don't sell."

Feeling a need to share, Kim replied, "I am working on that right now. We have some air powered limb cutters on the way. They are due here in a couple of weeks. Should make the job easier. I was watching you guys and Chris doing that earlier today and yesterday and there was a lot of repetitive motion on that. Sort of thing that will crippler you over time."

"Like we are going to be doing this for a long time" Cindy said.

"The elements of good industrial design mean you plan for long term operations." Kim said, falling into lecture mode. "Once you have an asset in place, you don't want to constantly replace it. The cost of replacement has to include all the support. And that usually costs more than the asset to begin with."

"See? You already know you are going to be here a while" Candy replied with a smile. "You are on the way to becoming an asset that is too expensive to replace."

Not since college had Kimberly thought of herself as a business asset that she had to market. When she had married, and opened her business with Phil, all of that seemed to be behind her. Not anymore. Reinventing and selling herself all over again at thirty six was not what she had thought she was going to be doing when she walked in the door on Thursday. Glad I am flexible, Kim thought to herself.



-------

Chapter 26



A religious Experience

Hafie was the third daughter of the Imam, and had always felt she was a disappointment to her father. No great religious scholar or great beauty, she was the dutiful daughter. Having been consulted against the excesses of the flesh since early childhood, she was inexperienced in the ways of men. And having been brought up in a religious institution with very conservative values, there was not much chance of her gaining any experience. Especially now that she was one of the selected.

She had been afraid, like all of the other women, that she would be taken into a courtyard and stoned. When her father had compromised with the other of his followers and agreed to seek out David Findley and review the processes that they used, many women were greatly relieved. Being tethered to a stake in the ground and being struck by stones by family members did not appeal to any of the female members of the temple, and since the penalty was reserved for adulteresses, it brought shame to the families involved. Which was the argument used for many months to preserve the lives of the women involved.

But the politics of religion changed as well. The expense of keeping so many women alive for religious reasons began to fracture the membership. Especially when the law required that they be kept without child. And since birth control was not allowed, this meant that sexual congress was prohibited. And since the men could not have sexual congress with anyone else, while the women were alive, this caused greater pressure to get the issue resolved. Widowers were able to screw. Thus the financial and physical pressure to eliminate as soon as possible the women currently kept in a hotel.

The solution to these troubles appeared to the membership in the memory of David's father's business. It was ideal in that David's father had maintained an inspected slaughterhouse that was both Kosher and respectful in the past. What made it more attractive was the fact that he was able to process sixty women a week. Which would eliminate the backlog in a matter of six weeks. Thus removing a terrible financial burden.

The Imam graciously included his daughter into the first shipment to show his support of this program. It was also to save on the hotel rental for her for every night she was alive. Thus it was political and financial that had her on the first bus on Saturday morning.

Margaret, Carol and Candy were the first ones in the reception area when the bus pulled up outside at eight o'clock on a Saturday morning. Shortly all of the women were settled in chairs and working on the questionnaires and getting acquainted with the women who would be working with them through the process. Hafie found herself with a young woman her own age.

Finding her name was not on the initial selection, Cathy asked how Hafie came to be sent today.

"My father sent me as a show of support for this program" Hafie said. "I believe he is also saving money on the hotel bill." She added with some malice.

"Really? That is kind of shallow." Cathy said. "What did you do for an occupation?"

"I was a language teacher."

"Really?"

"Yes. Hebrew, Latin, Spanish and French. In addition to Farsi and English. I have a gift for languages."

Entering that as an interest area into the portable, Cathy sent a message to Margaret asking what to do with a linguist. The response back was pretty quick. Put her next to the cooler and we will talk with her. Do not take her down right now.

"Do any of the others have as much talent in the language arts as you have?" Cathy asked.

"No. Most of these were my students. Good girls, planning to be wed some time. I guess now that they won't do that." Hafie said.

Cathy decided that no comment was necessary. And she asked Hafie to wait here for some further questions.

Candy stood up with her group and started them down to examination. The first stop went normally with very few questions or any commentary. So did the lavatory. Looking over her charges at stripping, Candy was astonished to see the condition and youth of the women she was escorting. All ranged from five foot two to five foot five, and were very well proportioned. No extra flesh or creases. Damn, Candy thought to her self, all of this is prime. None of them have a blemish on their body. Asking one of the girls about that, a girl named Kashia told her that they were naturally almost hairless on their bodies, and that all were virgins. Most of them were blushing and giggling as they put their belongings into the boxes. All went through the door without a single hesitation.

Cindy's experience five minutes later with her group was almost exactly identical. Just like Candy, she was struck by the health and lack of sparse flesh and hair on the women she was escorting. And the giggling while they followed her lead.

Abby's group were a little older. The body shyness was transient once they knew that there were no men around. Like the others, their following of suggestions and instructions gave no sign that they knew what was really going on. It was a quiet acceptance that was eerie.

Cathy had followed Abby, and now there were sixteen down and only a single group left.

At barely ten o'clock, Candy then came down for her second rotation of the day. This was another smooth and uneventful trip. The women were almost acting like they were going to summer camp. Even the stripping was done with no hesitation. Twenty down in just over an hour.

Following the last one through, Candy saw that Margaret was sliding the last one down the trolley toward processing, and stepped off the turnstile.

"Is there something wrong with this last bunch?" She asked Margaret, hurrying to help field dress the last two of her group.

"No. Why?" Margaret asked.

"All of them were like sheep. Not a peep or anything out of any of them. Like they were going to summer camp or something. No words of worry, no tears. In fact, they were giggling among them selves while they were in the line at the door. What is the story?"

"I don't know. Tox screen should pick up anything funny. Do you think they were on Ex or something?"

"I don't know. They seemed weird. No nervousness or any sense of dread. All of them were polite and quiet as hell. Just weird." Candy said.

"Well, we can ask the last one we have up front. She was some kind of language teacher. Maybe we can get a bit out of her before we pop her." Margaret answered. "I got to tell you though, all of them were cute as hell. All will be prime or better. Not any fat or much hair on any of them. Solid meat too. I think this is going to be our best day yet for product."

"Yea. Shame we don't' have all of them like this. Almost like angus beef crossed with lamb."

In the reception room, Hafie looked at the clock and saw that it was almost time for prayers. It seemed ludicrous to pray to god while sitting in a waiting room to be slaughtered. And why was I kept here? I didn't pray this morning either. Am I being tested for my lack of faith? She wondered to herself what was coming up next.

Her concerns were cut short as an older woman in a plain dress came into the reception area and walked over toward her. Looking at her portable, she came to where Hafie was sitting and introduced herself. "Hi. I am Margaret Findlay, and I was wondering if you would mind talking with me for a few minutes"

"No, not at all." Hafie replied. "I was wondering when it was my turn. One of your young women left me here with my questionnaire and I was wondering why I was singled out."

"She had told me you were a linguist and teacher, and we were a little curious. It says on your document that the Imam is your father." Margaret said.

"I am his third daughter. He sent me here today to watch over the others, but it appears that it was not necessary. I don't know why he asked me to come first, except to spare me staying in the hotel any longer." Hafie replied.

"Was it that bad?" Margaret asked.

"We had been separated from our families and each other. We saw no one for the time we were there. We had been condemned and we expected to be taken away any day. It was a relief to finally be taken as a group. When you were taken alone it was a sign that you were to die by stoning or beheading."

"That would be depressing." Margaret replied.

'Yes. But it was the only way we could conform to the teaching of our laws. And since most of us were unmarried or had never been with a man, we knew we were going to heaven without any blemish on our souls." Hafie replied innocently.

"We noticed that most of them were very young."

"Yes, all were school aged."

"So how did they get picked for the lottery?"

"Oh. They weren't. They were substitutes. Like me they were all second or third daughters arriving on behalf of their parents."

Margaret blanched in stunned shock. "What?"

"Yes. They were substituting for their mothers or other relatives. They were chosen for their purity and sent here instead of them. This way we fulfill the law, and those who come are most likely to get into heaven. And families do not suffer the anguish of being torn apart by the loss of a mother."

"How old were they?" Margaret asked, cautiously.

"They ranged from thirteen to seventeen. If you were a real lottery applicant, you would be as yourself. But the younger ones were chosen so that they would be pure and enter heaven more readily. Sacrifice for those you love is well accepted in our culture." Hafie explained calmly.

Margaret began to feel very sick. If it were publicized that Findley had termed younger women before they could have age of consent, the legal and political ramifications would be enormous.

"Hafie, would you mind waiting here while I have a couple of my people talk with you?"

It was late before David got back from H&S, where the renovations were in full swing. The new walls and their insulation were already framed up and put in place, along with the reconstruction of the demising wall separating processing from slaughter house. The caretakers loft renovation had started with a total of sixteen bedrooms, three office spaces, and four bathrooms. The entire first floor was re-designed to accommodate twin process lanes down the east and west wall of the building. Sixteen exam rooms, eight restrooms, and dual high speed blood and urine process labs, and a large reception area with seating for over forty in the primary reception room provided for the ability to process over two hundred a day, using the current method of termination. If we can get the scheduling module working, we probably can have process flow even higher.

David was still wrestling with the ideas of termination processes as he drove back to his plant. Three minutes per was a long time, given the wait at the doors of from one to ten minutes. That had to be wearing on the stock. Getting that time frame down would be critical to improve process flow and reduce stress, David felt. If women were going through the turnstile at a rate of about one every minute, there would be minimal stress and angst. Even the one in back would not have time to become agitated. That would also mean a turnstile time of five minutes for a group, not ten or twelve.

"The big thing is fear management," Helen had told him earlier in the week. "We do the best job of that with intake, exam, and even in stripping. The key time where tension builds is going to be at the wait at the door. Even with thinking another half hour is ahead of them, we have to keep the focus off of what is going to happen. I am torn between the long quiet talk and the quick pop."

David had noticed that there was a significant difference between the plant at H&S and the one at Findley. There were a set of chutes and conveyors under the floor that carried everything to a bin at the rear. Merle had not used this very effectively because of how he routed stock around in the rear area. David's plan avoided that with the overhead trolley immediately behind the new turnstile doors. But these chutes would substantially improve movement of waste to the rear of the plant. Keeping them clean and keeping odor of blood and waste down would be the challenge. But nothing a good process would not handle.

Which was the sort of discussion David envisioned having when he got back to Findlay in the middle of the afternoon.

In the meantime, Carol, Helen, Nancy and Hafie had been in a lively and intense discussion about the people who had been sent to Findley today. Apparently all of them with the exception of Hafie had falsified their documents to provide an escape for their parent or aunts. All had been given the promise of ascent to heaven with no blemish on their souls.

Leaving Hafie with Candy and Cindy, the older ladies (Margaret included) subsequently cornered David in his office when he got back.

"What did you know about the selectees being sent here this morning?" Carol asked in her prosecutorial voice? "And when did you know it?"

"Give the man a break, Carol" Margaret said. "I doubt he knew of this. Besides he wasn't here, remember?"

"Was there some kind of mix up?" David asked.

"Not so much a mix up as a fraud." Margaret continued. "It seems that the women sent here would not qualify for the lottery at all."

"So why were they sent? We didn't process them did we?" David asked suspiciously.

"Yes we did. And all of them looked very young and attractive. In fact all of them were aged fourteen to age seventeen." Margaret replied.

"What the hell happened?"

"Hafie was sent here as well to make sure that there was no damage in handling. The first twenty were processed normally. We picked Hafie out because she was a linguist on intake and we wanted to look at her closer. What we found out was that the Imam has substituted third daughters for the parent mothers in all of the selections. And sent them here for us to slaughter." Carol said.

Stunned, David sat down. "What should we do legally?"

"For starters, we need to keep Hafie around if we are going to protect ourselves." Carol said. "She is the only one who would be able to testify that this was done on the front end and not by us. David, I have to ask you. Why and who did the selections list?"

"Nancy and I did. We started from the youngest to give the older ones a chance to get closer to age of exception. There are about a dozen in that list who are close to that mark." David said. "Do you mean that we were responsible?"

"No. These girls represented themselves as someone they were not. And I think we can make the case for honest mistakes for the teen age to young teen, young twenties. If these had come here for a older group we would have caught it earlier." Carol said. "It does mean that the good Imam has a few questions to answer."

"Well, we can ask those later. Our next schedule from him is on Tuesday. So what do we do with Hafie in the meantime?" David asked.

"I guess we give her the tour, see what she wants to do while we finish the rest of the group we should keep her around to prevent any future ringers." Carol said. "She would be able to identify any substitutes given the size of the community. Besides, we need a linguist if we are going to work with the Latin and other communities."

"Ok. Who does tour guide work?" David asked. "Who started her?"

"I guess that would be Cathy." Carol said.

"Well Cathy, do you want to take her around, get a read of her, and let us know if we should keep her around?" David asked.

Nodding her head, Cathy wandered out to reception to meet up with the newest potential goat.

Hafie was slowly getting tired and cramped. She had been sitting for several hours, and was wondering what was being decided. Her faith convinced her that whatever happened, it was god's will. But her heart did jump when she saw Cathy come back into the reception room and make a beeline toward her table.

"Hafie, I wanted to talk with you for a few minutes about the things you said to Carol and the others. I do not doubt your truthfulness, but we are a bit curious about how you feel about this."

"My father has a lot of responsibility to the community. I am sure he feels he has good reason for the leadership decisions he makes."

"Ok. That is the official line. What do you think of this situation?" Cathy asked. "Do you feel that you are still a member of that community?"

"Why would I not be?" Hafie asked.

"Well, you were sent here. From the way you have described it to us the community has sentenced you to death and no longer has any use for you. They don't even want your body back for disposal."

"That is a harsh way to look at it. I admit that I was disappointed in some of the effects on me personally." Hafie replied.

"Let me ask you about this. How do you feel about the substitutions?" Cathy asked.

"I feel that those were wrong. It was a compromise that many of the leadership forced on my father and which I feel is definitely wrong." Hafie replied with some emotion.

"Hafie, if they were going to try to do it again next week, would you help us to stop it?"

"How so?" Hafie asked.

"You know the community. You know the people, and can make the estimate of who is legitimate and who is not. We care about what happens here. We do not care to kill innocents as substitutes. This is something that has to be a choice of someone who is old enough to make the choice themselves, and who freely chooses to do so." Cathy said.

"You are asking me to go against the governance of my religion, and my fathers wishes." Hafie said solemnly. "I am not sure I could do that."

"Hafie, That is true. If you are to be asked to stop a wrong, is it against your religion?"

"How can I stop this terrible wrong? You are asking me to enforce a terrible choice against people who choose to save those they love."

Stopping to think of this point of view, Cathy had to think this one through. "Hafie, How old do you think a person should be to make a choice like this?"

"It depends on the maturity of the person. Some people are terribly selfish and are never able to make a choice. Others who are very young do understand what is being asked of them and can make a choice such as this with great maturity."

"This is true." Cathy replied. "However, there are laws of men as well as customs and laws of your religion. We are as bound by the laws of men as you are to your custom and religion. These laws carry a penalty for us. If we are known to have actively aided this substitution, Findley would loose it's license, we would be closed down and all of us here would be condemned immediately."

"That would be the will of god in any event." Hafie replied.

"True. But the others who would take our place would be far worse to the women who come here."

"How can you say that?" Hafie asked.

"Because we care. We treat women who come here as if they are friends and family. And we treat them with dignity."

"So you say. But all I have seen of you is this reception room."

"Hafie, if you would like, please come with me and I will show you."

Standing up, Cathy indicated that Hafie follow her down the way to Examination.

"This is where we start he process. Stage one is our intake room with the forms and our discussion. This is our stage two." Cathy said as she picked up the blood draw supplies in the first exam room. "Please unwrap your arm."

Quickly taking several blood samples, Cathy explained that this was for health analysis reasons as well as indicators of her body's classification as meat. "Sick people are usually sent home with a limited delay to recovery. Usually we don't have many."

Hafie followed Cathy to the lavatory, and filled the urine sample cup. "Here is where we drop the samples off for grading. That is done while we are in the third stage area. Follow me." Cathy said as she led Hafie to the stripping room.

"Here is where we match up your belongings and paperwork. That way we can ship all your things back to your family."

Hafie looked at the boxes sitting on the table and felt a shiver. "These are the ones from the other girls?"

"Yes. They are all boxed and ready to go back home. Go ahead and look at them if you like. It will be a few minutes while I run the samples through testing. That way you can see how things are treated."

Reading the intake form on one of the boxes, she saw that Kashia had been rated Prime, was fifty five kilos, and all of her instructions regarding her pets, bank accounts and disposal of goods were clearly listed. "The problem is that this was not Kashia. This was Richa, and she was here for her aunt. So all of this information is false." Hafie whispered.

"I don't know what this means to the families, but falsifying records is a big thing with respect to David's business. We will have to talk with your dad about that when we see him next week."

"So I see everyone's things here. Is this where we get undressed?" Hafie asked.

"Yes. We check everyone's forms here and make sure that everything matches up. Here is your box." Cathy said.

"Is there anyone watching?" Hafie asked.

"No. It is always just us women. Hurry up and I will show you where the magic happens."

As Hafie undressed, Cathy watched carefully and saw the sparse hair and rich body that was exposed beneath the wraps. Smiling as Hafie's dark nipples came into view, she smiled, seeing them crisp and erect. Her own body was feeling the sensations of the day's work. Having talked with the others last night, she was aware of the impact the job had on everyone.

"You have a beautiful body." Cathy said to Hafie. "Nothing to be embarrassed about. As you see, it is just us chicks here."

"So. Up to this point, this is how everyone was treated" Cathy said, continuing. "We do a last check on the box and paperwork, and after that I lead you into the processing where we tell everyone they are going to start with a shower and where we will kill them. At this point everyone thinks they have about another half hour. But things are a little different. Follow me" Cathy said as she stepped on the turnstile.

Stepping on the turnstile, Hafie followed Cathy into processing. Where she got the shock of her life. She had no sense of how long time had passed when she saw Cathy in front of her, talking quietly to her telling her that she was beautiful and that everything was fine. "What happened?" Hafie asked. "And why are you upside down?"

"I am not. How do you feel?" Cathy asked.

"I feel a little funny. Dizzy. Am I upside down?"

"Yes. You have been here for almost two minutes. We have a very strong stunner that you step under when we bring you into here and we use it to shock you. While you are unconscious, I drag you up here, and we drop your shackles onto a hook. Look up."

Looking up, Hafie saw a grate and a drain above her head. It smelled of blood and Clorox. "My hair. It is on the floor."

"Not to worry. By this time, most of your blood would have already been pumped out of your body by your heart after we slit your throat." Cathy said. "You would already be dead. Swinging here like this. No knowledge of what happened. This is how we transform people into steaks. This is step one. If you like I can bring you down and show you the rest. Or I can convert you now and you can join your friends."

"I think I would like to see what you do." Hafie said. Ashamed of herself as she sensed herself urinating while she was here, she was even more embarrassed when Cathy said, "This is normal. Everyone pisses while they are up here. It is part of what we clean up."

Hooking the winch back up, Cathy raised Hafie up off the trolley and dropped her down to the floor. "Sorry if I was bumpy, but don't usually have them alive at this point."

Undoing the bindings around Hafie's feet, Cathy helped the young woman stand up. "As of this point, you are dead." She calmly said to the young woman. "From here on, it is meat. Now imagine how a woman would be treated if she was surrendered to a real sadist? Someone who had no sense of respect for the women here?"

"I see. Is this all?" Hafie asked with a tremor in her voice.

"Not quite. Follow me." Cathy said as she went around the curtains into the processing area.

Following Cathy, Hafie was shocked to see several women hanging upside down as she was a few moments ago. Only several of them had no heads, and the remainder had blood down their jaws, ears and face. This was the group of women she had ridden over with this morning.

"We don't have full staff here, which is why these are still hanging. We usually have them pretty quickly parted or mounted by now."

The shock of seeing her students hanging like so many chickens in the window had stunned Hafie. "They're dead." She said quietly.

"Yes. That is what we do here. We bring women in here, kill them and process them as meat. Usually as pieces. Although this group we will be mounting on spits for large barbeque dinners. We have never had this many primes in one day. Kind of makes it a shame we have to shut the spigot off. But David is pretty much a stickler for the rules. So, Hafie, do you want to help us catch the young ones and keep them from ending up here, or do we keep killing the young ones?" Cathy asked.

"This is terrible." Hafie said, still barely a whisper. "Their life and the future, all of the things they could be are gone."

"Yes it is. We do terrible things here, and we try to do it in the nicest way. But we still don't want to kill the innocent and spit them for some dinner party. We have no control over the MAB or the selection boards. But we do have a choice here to separate as many as we can. And this is why we want your help."

Standing and looking at the bodies of her students, Hafie began sob. "What do you want me to do?"

"Help us. Help us to screen and weed out the people who should not be here. Help us send home as many as we can."

"Your David agrees to stop this? When we all know that young women would sell for a higher price?"

"You have been reading. Well, I can tell you he has sent a lot home who would not otherwise. And he wants help do to it. Do you want to?"

"How can I?"

"Follow me. Oh, and you have to be nude. I hope you don't mind." Cathy said, turning toward the door.

This Saturday night promised to be interesting, at least from the perspective of most of the women. David had ordered a Sybian saddle for special requests, and it had been delivered today. The special modifications included an industrial strength motor. The gearing system did both insert as well as rotation. It also had different directions of vibration and different angles of travel. The custom insertion attachments had a special modification that had an electrical electrode totally inserted up the inside of all of the attachments. The front of the saddle portion of the unit had special metal handles installed that provided an electrical connection between the various phallic inserts and the handles. Thus an electrical current could be passed from inside a woman's body and out through her hands, completing an electrical circuit that would produce increasing sensations of shock, intending to stop the heart. This effect would be basically a continuation of the sexual experience. The unit was going to be installed in a small room next to the Tub room downstairs, but for the moment was upstairs in one of the guest rooms. David was looking forward to seeing how the Hens would use it tonight.

This was why almost no one was in the Rec room when Cathy and Hafie came in. David, Margaret and Carol and Nancy were going over the plans for the following day. Everyone else was upstairs looking at the latest addition.

"Hafie, this is David. I believe you know everyone else."

Blushing and totally embarrassed, Hafie did not know what to do. She stood for a moment, frozen. "Come here and sit down girl," Margaret ordered. "I am the only woman dressed here and I won't be for long."

Shyly coming to the table, Hafie sat across from David and refused to raise her eyes from the table.

"Hello Hafie. I am glad to make your acquaintance. Helen, Carol and Margaret have talked with me about you, so how about you tell me about yourself?"

Haltingly, over the next half hour, Hafie answered David's questions. Eventually looking into his eyes, she found herself beginning to relax, even as the other women at the table got up and went upstairs. Eventually, she had finished telling her story as she had related it to Margaret.

"And what of your experiences here so far?" David asked, "Other than right now, do you feel you have been abused or ill treated?"

"I am not abused here. But I am naked. Which is uncomfortable in itself."

"Hafie. Do you recall Adam and Eve?"

"Yes. This is no garden, however."

"No. It is not. But it is a place where all of us are seen as we are. There are no shields or disguises. There is nothing to hide the person from anyone else. It is a way station for people on their journey to their end."

"You are dressed. Your wife was dressed." Hafie said haltingly.

"Yes, I had to work outside of here today, as did Margaret. When we have missions outside of here, we put on clothes to avoid drawing attention. Within here, after we close, we are normally naked. If you were to remain with us, you would be also."

"Like the women in reception were earlier." Hafie said quietly.

"Yes. All of the women who work here are nude except for the orange collar. That is what distinguishes us among those who we serve."

"So how do men control their urges?" Hafie asked.

"Very well. They exercise those urges with the women here who care to join with them. But it is entirely voluntary. There is no one forced to submit." David said.

"But that is unholy"

"Hafie, I don't allow disrespect for our people or our ways. You are dead. Your father sent you here this morning with others. Unlike them you were selected. So your life as you knew it is over. If you want you can join the others who were with you. If you want to make a difference and help keep us from hanging children in our meat locker, we would welcome your help. But it is on our terms. I will brook no insult to our lives any more then your father would brook an insult to yours. You are either joining us or not." David said quietly, but with finality.

"Why do you do this?" Hafie asked.

"Because I can. The young women hanging in my locker represent a windfall for me economically. But they represent an injustice that I choose not to continue. I need help to stop it. Your choice."

"What are the conditions? " Hafie asked.

"Simple. First. You must be nude at all times except for the collar. That is not negotiable due to the law. Second. You must not attempt to leave or allow others to come into our place of business without talking with me first. These two rules are irrevocable. They will cause harsh reactions to fall on all of the people here and this I will not tolerate. Do you understand?" David asked.

"Are there men here?" Hafie asked, steeling herself for the answer.

"Yes. All male employees are engaged in the butchery, and all of the women who were married or had relationships outside of here can have their husbands or others visit here after we are closed. That is after five o'clock during the week and afternoon on Saturday and all day on Sunday. You will see these men and they will see you. But they will not approach you except as a matter of friendly courtesy and it is expected you will be polite in response."

"Men have never seen me." Hafie said.

"I have. Your father has. Others here will. Alive or dead." David said.

Hafie sat a few moments to let this sink in. "Are there other things?"

"Yes." David continued. "The other rules are about treating the women we kill here. We call them clients, and we treat them with dignity, and courtesy from the beginning to the time they are hanging in our meat locker. Just as you were." David stopped to watch how Hafie reacted to this statement.

"I see. And we lie to them?" Hafie asked.

"Yes. In a manner of speaking, we do. We never discuss how they will die. We never tell them exactly when it is happening. It would serve no purpose other than to be cruel."

"I was told that there was still some time when I was stripping."

"Yes. There was. And if we did not intend to have you stay among us, you would never have recovered when we stunned you."

"Will I be expected to kill?"

"Not at this time. Our main need for you is to help us to make identification and qualification while we get through the Imam's group. Beyond that, it is up to you how involved you desire to be come."

"How will I exist here?" Hafie asked.

"Come with me and I will show you." David said.

Showing Hafie around the lower break room, David showed her where the pantry and double refrigerators were. "Don't forget to give us a list of foods you like us to add. Helen and Carol are our main chefs, but others are encouraged to assist." Walking down to his office, David showed where his closet was. "Speaking of which, my clothes go here."

Hafie averted her eyes as David stripped and hung up his coat and trousers. The remainder he put into a clothesbasket in the bottom of the closet. "By the way, the washer and dryer for linens and other things are in the rear next to the receiver office."

Now naked, David donned a set of non-slip sandals and told Hafie to follow him.

Totally embarrassed, Hafie tried to not look when she followed David back to the break room and up the stairs. "This is the dormitory area. Each of you has a separate room and place for personal belongings while you are here."

Walking down the hallway was another shock to Hafie. Inside the first room, she saw a collection of bodies on the bed or standing next to it, one of the bodies she recognized was Margaret, who had a strange man thrusting his penis into her from behind. Expecting David to react strongly, Hafie stepped back. "Hafie, don't worry. As I said, the world you knew is behind you. Please follow me."

Ignoring the gyrations inside, David proceeded down the hall past other rooms. Hafie looked inside of the open doors as she walked and saw sexual activity in some, and normal activities in others. Seeing Cathy sitting at a desk, she saw her talking with someone on the outside. "Do we have the ability to talk to others?" She asked David?

"Of course. I expect some discretion when talking with others about things here. We do not talk about processing or how we process people. No discussion of anything that is behind the turnstile. Everything else is pretty open. Don't spread hurtful rumors, of course. Think of this as your new family in a manner of speaking." David replied.

At the end of the hallway was a double door. "This goes to the second section. I am afraid we don't have any remaining rooms on this first section, so you would have to use the second area. The good side of that is that you have an even larger shower over here."

Through the double door was a large open area with a bar, refrigerator and sink as well as a window overlooking the roof of the rear of the building. "This is our second floor play room. We have had a few celebrations here before we had special events on Sunday. I think you may have read about that." David said.

"No. I have no real knowledge of your operation. My father said I didn't need to."

"Well, you will now. If you are going to effectively consult with our clients, we need to make sure you understand all of what we do."

Suddenly a long drawn out moan, ending with a shriek was heard from down the hall.

"Well, I think someone is testing out our recent acquisition." David said, watching Hafie's face blush. "Let's go see how it is doing."

Walking to the end of the hallway before a second set of double doors, David and Hafie looked into the end room to see Cindy sitting astride a device that looked a lot like a saddle. Her knees were bent to rest on the ground, and she was grasping a set of handles in front of her as hard as she could. A low-pitched noise came from inside of the room, the sounds of which were punctuated by Cindy's occasional shriek of "Oh Fuck".

Standing in front of her, Candy was gently twisting Cindy's nipples as the young woman was obviously writhing in the agony of ecstasy.

After a few moments of this, Cindy shouted out "Enough. I can't take any more."

Stepping back, Candy reached down and flipped a switch on a complicated looking control panel. The low hum stopped, and Cindy gradually gained the strength to stand up from the saddle.

Hafie watched in amazement as an eight inch long lifelike looking male penis appeared from inside of Cindy's body. The cap of the penis was different from a man's in that it had a collection of what appeared to be copper colored beads, as well as a collection of copper colored cables that ran down the side of it toward the base.

"Phew. That was intense. The clit vibrator at the base of this thing kept me cumming the whole time. This is a great toy". Cindy said while standing on shaky legs.

"Hi boss. We were trying out the toy while we were waiting for the rest of the dicks to get here. Hi Hafie. Glad to see you. Want to try it out?" Candy asked with an open smile.

Hafie wanted to fall through the floor with that remark. After all of the events of the day, added to the sight of Margaret being fucked by someone and not her husband, and seeing Cindy in a total bliss, covered with sweat, she was at a total loss. "I'm not sure I can do that just yet. Just what IS that thing?"

"Latest way to kill a woman with kindness." Candy replied. "David, does this thing have to have a mechanic license? I want to do this one."

"Talk to Marty about it. I don't have any control over that." David replied. "So, how well does it work?"

"Well, obviously we haven't tried the kill switch. Don't want to loose Cindy yet. But everything else works great. We set the charge inside on DC, Low voltage and the effects were pretty intense." Candy said.

"Pretty intense does not touch it, Mr. F." Cindy said. "When the low voltage came out of the beads next to the cervix it was like a firecracker. The wires on the side in front hit against the G spot and that really sets off the liquid pour. I think after that we don't' have any problem with the high voltage getting through he body and stopping the heart. No need for a damp sponge and a helmet with this. It goes out through the hands. And I think the heart will stop instantly. Hafie, you have to try this."

Totally shocked by the casual discussion she had heard, Hafie replied, "I don't know. I have never had anything or anyone in me."

"A virgin?" Candy asked.

"Yes. I have never been with a man." Hafie replied with a blush.

"Well this is a lot nicer then a man. No offense Mr. F." Cindy replied." We have a few small ones you can try to start out Hafie. I used this one because it looks a lot like Tim."

"No offense taken, Cindy. Hafie, I think this would be a great introduction for you to sample the things we have to offer." David said. "And it will help you get through the most embarrassing part."

David had another ulterior motive. If Hafie could not do this, he thought to himself, I don't want to waste the time with mind-games. Term her now and find someone else. It isn't like there aren't candidates.

"Girls, I will leave you alone for a while. Hafie, get to know your teammates and I will catch up with you in a little while. I am going downstairs for a few minutes." David said.

Finding herself alone with two teenage nymphs and this unbelievable apparatus, Hafie felt her reserve beginning to dissolve. God had put me here for a reason, she explained to herself. "So, how does this thing work?"

David in the meantime had walked down to the other end of the hallway and into the main henhouse. Helen and Carl were in Helen's room, sitting and talking. "David, I was wondering if we could get a few small couches or chair and a half's for these rooms?" Helen asked through the doorway. "You know, something that would be for just sitting and reading when we were taking breaks."

"I'll put it on my list. Get some samples of what you like for material. Ask Kim if you like, so it will put her to use on decorator projects. I am going to have to have her help over at H&S later this week, and get some things ordered. Might as well get started."

"What is the budget?" Helen asked.

"What budget? I haven't budgeted anything yet. Just bought things as we needed them. Besides, I can charge Mark's credit card for you." David said in reply.

George and Helen both laughed at that response. "David, that is just what I was thinking." Helen replied.

Moving along, David was next intercepted by Carol and Elizabeth, who professed a need for his help in their rooms.

David finally dragged himself out on Sunday morning.



-------

Chapter 27



Tuesday Morning

David was not in a patient mood this morning. The Imam had not shown up yet at ten o'clock and Hafie had pointed out six of the twenty clients for today as being underage. David had called him Sunday morning, and Monday. He had finally gotten through to the Imam's wife on Monday afternoon and had been assured that the Imam would see him on Tuesday morning. Instead it was a no show so far and six underage women to do something with.

Helen, Margaret and Carol were in an argument over termination methods. This had started as a discussion and then escalated into an emotional argument on Sunday. All David did was bring up the idea of shortening the wait time at the door, and things fed on themselves. Carol and Helen were in one camp, arguing that the time frame at the door for some people would be seen as too long. Elizabeth and Nancy stayed out of it, with the argument that dying was dying, and as long as it was quick and painless, who cared? Margaret felt a need to console the woman during the last minutes of life. Candy and Cindy felt that it could go either way. While they cared about the people they were working on they also didn't want any suffering either.

"If I don't have any conversation beyond the door that is not a bad thing." Candy said.

Kim's husband had bailed on her for the weekend, and had been cold to David Monday when David was looking over the build out at H&S. David was going to take Kim with him today after his meeting with the Imam to make sure that she was able to add her knowledge to the planning. Margaret had a lot of ideas, but Kim's training was in industrial engineering. And it gave her a chance to get to Phil. David was not happy having broken women hanging around. Dragged everyone else down.

The pairings over the weekend had been interesting too. Kim and Hafie had bonded. Evidently there was enough of a similar experience between them that they found a common ground. During a break in the festivities Saturday night, David had wandered around and found them playing with the Sybian, with Kim running the controls and Hafie moaning and constantly verbalizing, "Oh god." David had made sure that the kill key was not in the controller.

Abby and Cathy had shared medical experience and both were sharing a lot of different things. David had seen both of them in a torrid sixty-nine that Tim eventually joined to make a threesome.

Carol and Elizabeth were similarly bonded. David had been tag teamed between the two of them on Saturday night and damn near died.

Helen had bonded with Carl. Most evenings the two of them were sitting talking, or in her room. It was almost a joke that he had to start to bring detergent and get his laundry done here. Uniforms were provided but not underwear. All of which made Mark's detachment much more palatable to Helen.

Margaret was ambivalent over the Mark situation. Helen was her best friend, and her best friend was happy. All of which made her happy. Mark had not been over to David and Margaret's place for a couple of weeks, which was understood, as he worked on his new relationship.

David shook his head. Margaret was always an amazing woman to him. She had embraced the business in a way that David never expected. Sexually she was constantly hungry. She and Cindy were probably the most active of the women in the hen house. And her evolution from avoidance to primary killer at the slaughterhouse had been a real shock to David, as well as those who knew her.

Margaret had gained some notoriety among her friends for her attention to follow up detail. Margaret had checked after the dinner that the Chamber of Commerce had hosted and verified that Carla's cousin had been processed at Findlay. She contacted Carla directly and asked if there was anything else that they could do for the family. Carla asked who killed her cousin, and Margaret replied that it would not really be proper to give out that information, other than to say that it was handled with the greatest of dignity and respect. Margaret later confessed that she thought that she was the one who slit the girl's throat, but she couldn't be sure. "My Spanish is not too good."

Monday had been a banner day for production. An actual one hundred twenty eight women, all ages and types, four at a time had been processed. Reporting that to the MAB had finally caused them to send mail to Merle Hill to tell him to shut up. David was sure that he had not heard the last of that man, but at least the man would have to find something else and not fight with anyone over numbers.

"So, boss." Kim said from the doorway. "What time are we going over to H&S? I want to look at a couple of things when we get there."

Looking at the clock, David saw it was already ten fifteen, and that the day was wasting. "We can leave in about ten or so minutes. Everything quiet?"

"Yes. Hafie did escort duty with one group and now she is back up front with the underage ones. All the others are hanging in the cooler. Candy said to tell you we have about a dozen late stragglers coming in after lunch and we have full house on intakes. I am afraid that if we don't leave quickly, she is going to put me to work on interviews."

"How is Hafie working out? I noticed you two were together yesterday," David said.

"We did interviews and intakes with Carol, Nancy and Elizabeth all morning. Not too much escort until the afternoon. With the five of us, things went pretty well. I didn't know how much running everyone did until yesterday. Chris says we have to get the Hill's Market trailer moved out, it is full."

"Ok. We can take care of that when we get to H&S. When are those cutters supposed to get here?"

"The mounts should be here today. I have two for H&S and one for us. A plumber is coming on Thursday to run the airlines from the compressor, and he should be at H&S today."

"Good. Grab a coat, it is cold outside, we will leave in a few." David said heading toward the door.

After leaving another message for the Imam, David shook his head. I am not terming the six under age, he thought to himself. And I am not going to put up with this shit much longer. I wonder if I could work with the MAB and get this straightened out. Maybe the threat will do.

Almost bumping into Candy as David left his office, she teased him for frowning. "Boss, we have to do something to get your mood up. Want a blow job?"

"Not right now, dear. I would if I wasn't late to get to H&S. how is production?"

"The religious experience is complete for today." She said with a snicker. "We are doing intakes, a few stragglers and about a half a dozen specials today. When do I get to look at the new place?"

"Soon. But you probably will be in charge here with Margaret at the other place. You have to be nice to the other hens, but I expect you to keep the ball rolling when we are not here."

"Really" Candy squeaked. "Me?"

"Yes you. The others follow your lead well and you look cutest running down the halls." David said with a smile. "I'll take you over next trip. Going to take Kim over there to see what is going on, and to let her catch up with Phil."

"He is a real goatherd. She deserves better." Candy said quietly. "What do I do with the six kidlets? We aren't converting them, and we are running out of room to store them."

"Take them upstairs and keep them quiet in the recreation room next door. And work with the electrician on the Sybian. What are you going to call the room for that?"

"How about the Saddle Shop Longue? Our slogan is that you come here for the ride of your life?" Candy said with a smile.

"You do have a way with words. You could say, "Your last ride is our specialty." David replied.

"I like that boss. Can I put it on the Web page?" Candy asked.

"Yes." David replied. Candy and Nancy had redone the web pages for the entire industry in Chicago. As soon as the rebuild was finished, she intended to show the entire new layout of H&S as well. Only the process areas were kept private, per David's instructions.

"We have four chops and three drops for this afternoon. Soon as the Saddle goes on line we will probably have a lot of those. Can I use the BMOs for testing and training on that?" Candy asked.

BMO meant Black Moving Object, her slang for the Imam's women from Saturday and today.

"The Imam might not like you popping cherries with the Sybian. Aren't these girls supposed to be killed pure?" David asked.

"Hafie didn't mind loosing it Saturday night. These girls may not have had a cock, but none of them are pure." Candy replied. "Most of them are just healthy hormonal like me. Besides we need to know how to operate this if we are going to do it right for the paying public. Otherwise we are gypping the does out of their hard earned money."

"We'll see. What did you call the clients? Does? Like in Deer?"

"Sure. They are gentle and delicate and graceful and taste good." Candy said with a grin.

"How do you know how they taste?" David asked.

"We all remember Jennifer. And we have been thinking about asking if we could keep some samples around. Just to keep in touch with the product." Candy asked. "Besides we could cut down on the food bill."

"We can look into that. Just don't let your appetite get in the way of how you treat the client while they are alive. Might make them nervous to think you are looking at them like a steak." David replied.

"No different from how men look at single women in a bar." Candy replied with a snicker.

"Ok. Check with the electrician and see if he is finished at lunch and see if you can get someone today or tomorrow to test with." David said as he was going toward the door. "I'll be back later today."

Kim was waiting under a raincoat at the door next to the receiving office. She had a copy of the movement permission order from the MAB with her so that she was not in any trouble should they be stopped. Carol had started to get those processed with the movement letter of understanding that had come from the MAB.

Conversation was pretty quiet for the trip to H&S. Kim's mind was in turmoil. David was quiet out of respect for Kim's feelings. Phil's car was parked in front, immediately next to the door. Seeing this, David looked at Kim and said, "You should probably keep the raincoat on inside. I doubt that anyone is here that would cause a problem. We can always say that the heat is off and that is why we have to keep you warm."

"Thank you, David. I appreciate that. Well, let's go see what my new home is going to look like." Kim said with a brave smile.

Phil was in the back of the process area supervising the running of the trolley lines along the spaces outlined on the floor. He had wondered why they were passed along at an eight-foot height over the open chutes in the floor and at the reason for the turn left and right immediately beyond the turnstile door. He was not paying any attention at all when he was tapped on the shoulder, and heard his wife's voice in his ear saying "Hello stranger."

Turning around, he was astounded to be confronted by his wife, standing there in a black raincoat. "Surprised to see me?" She asked.

"Very. I had thought you were chained to that horrible place. Seeing you here like this, I don't know what to say." Phil replied.

"How about just saying you love me?" She asked.

"I do. I just don't know what to do about this." Phil said, with his voice shaking. "I don't know how I can be with you condemned like this."

"I'm not dead yet, Phil." Kim said, with tears starting in her eyes.

"You might as well be. Susan told me about this travesty of the goats, and I can't imagine being a part of that. It is shameful and disgusting.' Phil said with increasing emotion. "I don't know how you can do this."

Kim was shocked and quite taken by this. "Don't you care that I am alive, standing in front of you?"

"I care. But you aren't free. You won't be free again. We are forced to give you up and you go on." Phil said.

Starting to cry, Kim reached out, only to see Phil step back from her. Dropping her arms she began to sob. "Phil, I don't have much time and I don't want to spend the end like this. Please, don't do this to me."

"Kim, I don't have anything to give you. I don't have control over this and I can't help. I don't have anything to give you."

Coming in from the new medical area to the processing area, David was shocked to see Kim standing alone, crying while her husband was obviously angry. "Is anything wrong?" David asked.

Turning on David, Phil began to shout in an increasingly loud voice "You bastard. Keeping her around like some kind of treat, dangling it over our head day by day like some bait. This is killing us and you get a sick sense of joy out of it."

Having had enough for one day, David reacted. "Phil, you are no longer wanted on this premise. Get out of here and don't come back. Send me an invoice for your services to date and have the sub contractors contact me directly for work performed. There are plenty of contractors in this town and I don't need you."

Shaking his head angrily, Phil stalked off, leaving his wife standing there with David.

David's personality was unlike Margaret's. He was very slow to anger. And there were few things that he was easily aroused about. Having someone challenge him like this at during a day like this was enough. "Kim, I am afraid your husband just got onto my last nerve." David said with a laugh.

Stopping her sobbing to laugh, Kim replied, "Don't worry. He got on mine too. David, what am I going to do?"

Reaching around the woman, David drew her into a hug and whispered in her ear "We do what we always do. Take it one day at a time. Let's get something to drink and order in food. I am hungry. How about you?"

"I'm hungry too. And I want a drink." Kim sobbed into David's shoulder.

"Let's see what we can order in." David said, patting Kim's shoulder.

You can get real Italian food delivered, if you order it early. If you can prove you are over 21, you can even get a bottle of Chianti to go with it. Lasagna and garlic bread, with a bottle and plastic cups was a great idea and David's day and humor were significantly improved. Jack and Susan arrived as Kim and David were eating and drinking, and David had them pull up a chair.

"Jug wine among friends. Reminds me of college." Kim said.

Toasting her, Susan replied "and those are the memories we want."

"So, David, now that you fired Phil, what are you going to do to get this place finished?" Jack asked.

"Someone has to oversee this place from a vision perspective. I can have Margaret do some of that, but she isn't a project manager. Kim, how about you?" David asked.

Giggling into her third glass of wine, Kim replied, "You want the sheep to design the slaughter house? That is awfully kind of you. Am I supposed to be the first successful customer?"

"No. Just plan and do it like you would want it done to you. That's all." David replied.

"You already have a pretty successful model to work from." Susan replied.

"That's true. Is Margaret going to take offense of me being the project manager?" Kim asked.

"You just remind her you are working for me." David said with a smile.

Remembering the conversations of the weekend, Kim smiled in return. Helen had told her about the issue with Cindy, and figured that she had a lot more security then she had before. "Ok. What are you paying a PM for this job?" She asked with a smile.

"Well, it won't be slave labor. Look at the initial estimates, and figure it out for yourself. I know that Phil was doing a lift on his billing to us for his services."

"What do we do about the other contract?" Jack asked.

"Tell the lawyer he offended an employee and acted improperly on our property. Let him deal with that for a while." David replied.

Suddenly, David's phone began to ring. When he answered, Candy's voice came over the line. "Boss, we have a disturbance. The Imam came here and saw Hafie sitting in the reception. He went ballistic. Started to grab her and hit her. Helen shot him with the ESD and he is a little upset. We had to have a couple of the guys drag him into your office where he is strapped to a chair at the moment. I have an ESD on him right now."

"Anyone hurt?" David asked.

"No. Hafie was talking to the BMOs we had kept when he came in storming. He saw her and went off. Hafie is a little shook up, but she is ok. The others are kind of quiet. Helen is pissed, and Carol wants to castrate him. I figured I should wait for you before I let her do that."

"Where is Margaret?"

"Out getting pizza. We have a bunch of the guys here as monitors. And Carl said he was management, sort of."

"Ok. First, don't call the police. We don't need them there if Margaret or I are not there. I have to formalize a management agreement for Carl. Remind me to do that today. I am on my way back."

Hanging up the phone, David looked at Kim and said. "Looks like we got to go. I hate to lose a day here though."

"David, we can stay here with Kim if you like. I do own this place you know."

"Ok. Did you have a management contract before with Merle?"

"We all did. Susan and I were registered."

"Ok. IF you don't mind sticking around. Kim can find out what is needed to finish and I will come back later. Or I will send Margaret."

After walking David to the door, Kim took off her coat and hung it over a desk in the new reception room. Jack and Susan were both a bit shocked at her casual nudity, but Kim reassured them. "I have to do this to be on the right side of the law. Besides, Jack, you always wanted to see me this way."

Laughing, Susan said "Well, I didn't expect to see you like this quite like this."

"Well, life has its unexpected surprises. Let's go see what is going on here.

The next four hours for Kim were busy. The floor mounts for the two choppers had arrived and Kim had the workmen move them into position over the floor ducts. Rather than permanently mounted, Kim had them bolted onto hinges that would allow them to be pivoted to open the floor ducts completely. This would give access for cleaning and wash down.

The high-pressure airline connection was run down the wall and across the floor under a small riser step, and the mount was tested to raise and lower through the use of the foot treadle. A branch off of the air source was put into place to power the cutter when it arrived on Thursday.

When Susan asked what it was for, Kim replied "It's to slice off my head when it is my time to go. I expect we will be using a test subject for this the day we open up. This mount lets us accommodate a woman's neck for a height of five foot two to five foot eleven. Taller than that and we have to scrunch them a little."

Seeing the look on Jack's face, Kim smiled and said "Don't worry, It isn't for me for a while. I have it on good authority that I will finish building this plant first."

"Graveyard humor?" Susan asked.

"A bit. These last few days have been an experience. Remind me to tell you about it." Kim said.

"Jack, why don't you go get us something to drink? Like a few bottles of wine. And stock this place up a bit. If we are going to have people living here, they need some libations on occasion." Susan said. "I am enough management for here."

"So" Susan said, after Jack left, "I see you are doing better then you expected."

"True. There have been some adjustments. David and everyone else are real sweethearts. And they aren't at all what I thought. They are the most compassionate killers I could have imagined."

"So, what are your arrangements? If I am able to pry."

"Well, they got me settled into a room for a while. I guess David is going to ask Phil for some things to make it more mine. Margaret was pretty firm on finishing me yesterday, but I guess that is going to be extended while we finish this place up. We had a lot of talk Saturday and Sunday. Sunday was different. The place was a zoo in the afternoon."

"How was Saturday night?" Susan asked with an evil glint in her eye.

"I don't know. I was hiding in my room. We have another new woman named Hafie and she and I kind of hunkered down. It was pretty noisy though. We had at least a dozen men there, between husbands, friends and employees. The Swingers house rules are pretty strongly enforced. You know, I feel safer there naked then I do out to dinner clothed?"

"So, what do you need?" Susan asked.

"Well, I have a better bed and mattress there then I did at home. Linens are all high thread count stuff. Real classy. The rooms are not dumps. David has told me what my budget is for here and it is pretty high. We are the best-fed slaves in town. Except Candy and Cindy."

"How are they different?"

"They are union members. Abby, Cindy and Candy are all members of the meat cutters union. They are making more than any of us."

"How come?"

"They all kill. I haven't yet, but I have seen it done and I am not too squeamish any more. Things happen pretty quickly. Not a lot of time."

"I know. I was watching myself. Candy is pretty smooth. Downright scary. Cindy is too."

"Yes. I have accustomed myself to living with them. Cindy is a character and a half."

Susan couldn't help but wonder at the change in her long time acquaintance. Kim had always been a very formal person. Of course, you can't do that very well naked.

David expected to run into a hailstorm when he got back to the office. The reception room was quiet with Hafie and six of the women sitting in a corner. Hafie waved at David when he came in, and smiled at the others "I think that things will be a bit different." David overheard her when he came in.

"Good afternoon ladies. Hafie, where is your father?" David asked.

"He was taken down to the office." Hafie said with a small smile.

Going down the hallway toward his office, David encountered Carol standing in the hallway. "Ok, how badly is anyone hurt?" he asked.

"Nothing hurt but his pride. We got to him before he hit Hafie. And you need to formalize the management agreements." Carol said.

"Yes, I know. Draw them up and pull up whatever web service page I need to fill out. And get everyone's information. I am going to put all of them in charge." David said.

"Maybe not all of them." Carol said. "Some of them yes."

"You figure it out. And tell Margaret to get over to H&S and stay with Kim."

Walking into his office, David saw that the Imam was duct taped to a chair, with a gag in his mouth. Removing it, David looked at him and waited.

"Did you punish these women for their outrageous actions?"

"No. But they have my permission to kill you if they want. I am almost thinking of doing it myself." David replied.

"You are a man who defends these women?"

"You are a man who came into my place of business and attacked one of my people. Under the law I can put you in a sausage casing and sell you as dog food."

"There are higher laws then this silly lottery." The Imam began.

"Yes. And they have a special punishment for sending young girls who were not selected and ordering them to lie about who they were." David replied. "That alone could have your entire group sent here tomorrow if I call the authorities."

"We followed the laws of our conscience."

"You sent twenty six underage women to me to die for their mothers or other relatives. If I called the police at this time, you and your entire group would be guilty of fraud."

"Your hands are the ones with the blood. I gave our children the chance to die for their families. I am satisfied in the eyes of God."

"My hands are bloodied because you lied to me and told others to lie to me. And you became angry when you found out I had discovered the means of your deception."

"You perverted my daughter."

"You sent her here to lie about your fraud and she had the courage to tell the truth. Who is the bigger sinner?"

"I have people to care for. You care for nothing but money. You would easily butcher these others if you were not afraid you would be detected."

"Imam, I can continue our arrangement if you promise to bring to me the ones who are actually selected. Not some substitutes you designate. We work to exempt any we can, but I cannot in conscience help you with this fraud." David said earnestly.

"If you do not release me immediately, the wrath of god will fall on you. You do not meddle in our affairs. You are a butcher and a beast." The Imam replied with a defiant look in his eye.

"You leave me no choice."

Picking up the phone, David called the police, the MAB and child services. He then called reception for Helen and Carol and asked them to come here.

The upshot of the events was pretty comical. The Imam was arrested for his part of the fraud. The identities of the supposed selected women were given to the police for follow up. The six young women in the lobby were not able to be identified, and would have gone to youth services, except that they had a religious preference. They could not be taken back to their families because the families were under investigation. Family services placed them in Hafie's care because she was a religious and stable figure. However, she was supposed to be dead, so David and Carol had to work with the Selection Board to find an exemption to allow her to leave because Family Services would also not allow the kids to remain with her at the slaughterhouse. David was tied up with regulatory red tape for the remainder of the afternoon. Thank god this is Tuesday, he thought to himself. On a high production day this would be a real pain in the ass.

Margaret in the mean time had gone over to H&S to spend the remainder of the day with her new project manager who was working on the rebuild of the slaughterhouse. Finding Kim in the second floor rooms, she looked around and was surprised at how far along the dormitory construction was. "Looks like we will be ready to have live-ins soon." Margaret said.

"I think by the weekend we can start to get fixtures mounted. Hallway lights and such. Then we need to go shopping for lamps, tables and beds. Also I need to arrange to have Phil put some of my things out to be picked up. If I am going to be here a few weeks, I would like some of my things here as well."

"You are figuring on staying here rather than at Findley?" Margaret asked.

"I figure you have a full team there, and there isn't much I can do there to improve it. Other than to figure out a way to use the loppers there. You guys don't have a disposal chute and conveyor system like there is here. Need to get that figured out. Other than that, the Findlay place is pretty smooth. Not a lot there to improve."

"And then?" Margaret asked.

"You get right to the point, don't you?" Kim replied with a smile. "In a hurry to slit my throat?"

"No, silly. I mean that once we get this operational and smooth, what part or job do you want to have here?" Margaret asked. "Or what part do you want back at Findley?"

"I haven't thought that far ahead, yet. Everyone says take it one day at a time. It is like being on a football team. Your career is limited, and your retirement plan sucks." Kim said with a laugh.

"True. But we have an interesting benefit package for you and we do try to at least give you your choice of endings." Margaret replied. "And if you keep coming up with things to do, we will keep you around as long as we can. I admit we spend more time talking people out of the line then we do putting them in."

"Helen said that. She said you keep working on her to stick around. Now that George has gotten into her enough, she seems to want to." Kim said.

"That is the goal. Need to talk to you about Hafie. What is your take on her?"

"You mean besides being sent to slaughter by an egocentric father who was more concerned about the families of his supporters then the laws he is bound to obey?" Kim answered. "Not much. She's like all of us. Pissed all the way around."

"Ok. How is she adapting to the house?"

"You mean the sexual antics? Shocked, intrigued, titillated, interested, and afraid. All the shit I have too. We talked about it. We are wondering if we are going to be slaughterhouse sluts too. And how long it will take before we are." Kim replied with a smile. "It really is not easy to sleep when everyone around is fucking, you know."

"Well, I am not too sorry for that. It is probably the only recreation we have here. At least the only one we can indulge in." Margaret replied.

"What do you mean by that?" Kim asked.

"Do you realize how truly bad this could be?" Margaret asked. "I mean really. You saw the broadcast that Merle did last year. Once a woman reports, she has nothing and no one that cares about her. Nancy did a lot of study on women's rights and plights as part of her professional work. And she has produced some eye opening facts to us."

"Such as?" Kim asked.

"Nancy and Helen agree that killing women is not something anyone can do lightly. Women are better suited for it because we see one another as competition. Men who do it repeatedly and enjoy it are brutes and quickly become more interested in prolonging the event then simply executing it. I don't know how Tim and a couple of the others have been able to still be human, after all the time they were the key killers here."

"So you are saying that our cavalier attitude is better than having men kill us?"

"Actually that is pretty near the truth. There are no rules for how we conduct our conversions. We have books on sanitation rules, registration rules, and meat quality. But no one cares how the subjects are termed. Or what they go through on the way to conversion. That is why Merle was able to have his own personal house of horrors for so long."

"You would think that the guilt trip that broadcast caused would get things changed." Kim said.

"Why didn't you, before you were selected?" Margaret asked.

"Damn. That was blunt. I guess I put it out of my mind. Except for the occasional party with a human roast, or dinners, I didn't think of who was on the menu." Kim replied sadly.

"Damn right. No one did. Except possibly Carol. Helen didn't really get upset until after a friend of hers was spitted at home for an outdoor party. The rest of us were pretty much blasé about the whole thing, until it hit us as being selected."

"Is that how you got involved?" Kim asked.

"No. I got involved after my fortieth birthday. That same week I found out that Helen had been selected. I had not been involved at all before then. But once it was not my problem, I did get involved. Now I am upset that I didn't earlier."

"According to the others, you were the mainstay of getting women to kill women here." Kim said.

"Yes, I guess I did. It seemed to me that women's doing it to each other was better than how men were doing it to us. Not that Chris, Marty and Gus are not good guys. I think we are better and our technique is better." Margaret said.

"You aren't going to like my suggestions." Kim said.

"You mean with the loppers instead of knives?" Margaret replied." I'm not going to say I like it, but I will listen to reason. Medical reasons most of all. If your ideas lower anxiety and stress, then I bow to the greater education." Margaret said with a smile.

"Just make sure you tell everyone. We are all afraid you hold the key to our collars." Kim said, feeling emboldened.

"HA. That is a laugh. I may have daily decisions, but David cheerfully overturns mine whenever he feels like it. And it pisses me off that he is almost always right. Frustrated does not even come close to explaining how that makes me feel about that." Margaret said with a rueful grin.

"Helen said your relationship was pretty good. I wish mine was." Kim replied sadly.

"Kim, if David said we keep you, I have to figure he knows what he is doing. If you are not being treated right by Phil, I am sorry. We will do the best that we can to treat you well while you are here. My advice is to jump in and enjoy every day. None of us, including me, have any guarantees."

Tuesday night was a study in contrasts. To get the six kidlets out of the slaughter house, and to have them properly supervised, David and Margaret went ahead and had Hafie take them to their house. Family services agreed to hire Hafie as a foster mother to the six pending placement. So Margaret and David stayed at Findlay.

The Imam was indicted on conspiracy charges to violate the MAB selection act, and the entire religious sect lost their classification. All of the women were to be positively identified as to their status on the MAB selection roster. All selectees were to be housed in a separate facility pending transport to Findlay or H&S. M&H did not have spare capacity as of the moment, and David was going to have to take up the slack. The update of H&S was important.

The political issue was that the Illinois state allotment was normally about fifteen hundred a week. With the proposed modifications, David would be able to accommodate almost a thousand with H&S and Findlay. Getting M&H up to that same capacity would provide capacity for almost two thousand standard on a three-day workweek. Something that had never been conceived. Jack and the M&H team were interested in this as a development to take the stress off of the system and eliminate out shipping selectees. The Ohio riots had made those locations unreliable and federal troops had almost been sent in. No one wanted federal interference in local matters, especially when they would start to dictate termination and other processes. Everyone knew that Federal operations were always worse than in the private sector.

M&H's operations vice president left David a phone call to meet with him on Thursday. The agenda was to review the M&H process plant and to use the same design that Findlay was developing. An architectural review would be needed to estimate how long to improve the M&H process line to be similar to Findlay. David thought to himself that sending Margaret and Kim would be a good idea. After all, why not raise the bar for good service in the entire city.



-------

Chapter 28



Technology comes to the rescue

It was a rare day that people in the processing area had a full staff on a Saturday, but this was the exception to the rule. The modified floor mounts for the new air cutters had been mounted at Findley and things were waiting final testing. Everyone was watching to see how the new mounts would work. Even those who were not on duty were there so see how the first of the new units would work. Helen and Carol were waiting and reviewing interviews in the reception for the first group of selectees, and David was watching as Kim and company fussed around the mounting and final adjustments of the new cutters.

Kim had come up with an ingenious arrangement of basket and dump to transport the decapitated heads away from the cutter and clear the space for the next one. The heads would drop about ten inches into the basket, enough to provide clearance to get over the basket lip first. Care would have to be taken to make sure that long hair did not get caught on the lip of the basket, because it would possibly prevent the slide into the jaws. This would cause time to be used in freeing the hair and possibly the subject would come around and possibly have to be stunned again. Not a pleasant thought.

Cindy came up with the idea of having the subject go face first into the cutter block. That way the hair would be behind and would be able to put into the basket later.

Margaret was still a little uncertain about the use of the cutter as a term device. "I guess I am just old fashioned," She said. But she finally agreed with Abby and Cathy that decapitation would be faster than bleeding. And that the bleed would happen anyway when the head was removed, so meat quality would not spoil. The baskets were all lined on the bottom with shock absorbent material, which was easily cleaned up. This was a concession to Margaret who still was concerned about the heads having sensitivity after removal.

At ten thirty, the first group was started down the line. It was a group of four women who were extended to today to provide some test samples. There were also eight of the BMOs from the Imam's group who had been caught after the substitution fraud of the previous week. The goal today was to get the waiting time down to five or so minutes at the turnstile instead of the normal twelve to fifteen.

Belinda Carlton didn't know that she was the first of the new process. Cindy was the leader of this group, and there was nothing abnormal with the first three stages. But things came apart when Belinda came through the door.

Getting Belinda stunned and hung up went easily enough, and raising the collar into place went smoothly. Belinda was still stunned when the jaws were first place around her neck. She awoke to find herself looking through a framework that appeared to be in front of her. Getting ready to scream, she suddenly felt the jaws squeezing in from the sides and front of her neck, pinching her toward the pivot of the block of blades. Suddenly skin sliced along the sides of her neck and crushed her larynx. Starting to struggle and pull against the block with her hands, the blades jammed against her spine. The force of the blades so far from the fulcrum was not enough to easily separate the vertebra of her neck and she was jammed, choking and straining and partially decapitated. Sensing the distress, Cindy cycled the air control, partially opening the chopper, and then restarted it in the same track as before. This time the blades found the space in the vertebra and sliced through the spine, dropping Belinda's head into the basket.

"Obviously this is not how we wanted this to go." Margaret said drily to Kim and Cindy.

Both of the women were shocked at the results. Sliding the bleeding body down the trolley to the next station, Kim and Cindy both focused on the unit to see what had gone wrong. Apparently one of the blade mounts had not been as tight as it was supposed, and had been slightly out of alignment. Thus the scissor action was not as focused as it should have been. Additionally, the air pressure was dropped to eighty pounds instead of the one hundred fifty during the slice, meaning that blades did not have the force they should have.

"Well, my young engineers, what do we do now?" Margaret asked. "We have three in a string and another eight to do today. Time is a wasting. Do we continue with this or slit and then slide into this?"

"I think we need to do two things. First, face first means that the spine is at the front, away from the fulcrum of the blades. Skin, muscle and tendon slice easier then the bones at the back, so we probably should slide them backwards into this. Second I will turn up the relief valve on the compressor, and that should allow us to have a constant pressure higher then we had here. If we have to we can run larger plumbing for air tomorrow." Kim replied.

"If we do that, do you think we can have better performance then this? I would hate to have this be how I would end," Margaret said.

"So would I." Kim replied. "Let's get the pressure upped and then see how the next one goes."

I wonder what has happened, Barbara thought to herself. The anxiety of standing at the door waiting for the light to change had been building for over ten minutes. The three of them had started to become agitated. And suddenly someone came through a door next to the turnstile and approached the group. "Hello. My name is Margaret. We have some issues next door and I was wondering if I could get you something while we were waiting. Something to drink perhaps?"

"I thought we couldn't drink or eat before coming here." Barbara replied.

"Nothing of the sort. How about you have a seat over here with me and I will go up and get some water. I think we will be a few minutes. The shower heads are acting up and we can't get the water pressure right."

Walking back up front, Margaret told Candy and Hafie to keep their respective groups in reception until the issues in the rear were resolved. "We may have to go back to manual if we are not able to get issues resolved." she quietly told her two teammates.

Having adjusted the blades and piston relief valve to the proper levels, and upping the pressure flow valve on the air compressor, Cindy and Kim made several actuations of the clipper. "I wonder what we can use for a test?" Kim asked.

"I am not volunteering, thank you." Cindy answered.

"Bring Belinda's carcass back over here. We can try with the wrist bones and see if that does a proper cut."

Placing Belinda's right wrist into the clipper, Cindy operated the actuator. Quickly and smoothly, Belinda's right hand fell into the bucket. Opening the flow valve further, Kim said, "Try the other one."

Setting the left wrist into the cutter, and triggering the actuator valve, the clipper suddenly sliced through the wrist as if it was butter. "Now that is what I am talking about." Kim said.

"Ok. Want me to go get the next one?" Cindy asked.

"Sure." Kim replied, feeling giddy about her success. "Make sure you wash your feet and legs first."

"Ok. Be right back." Cindy said.

Walking through the access door to the stripping room, Kim approached three women sitting on the table. "Could one of you please come with me? We are trying to set the shower pressure and we need one of you to help us." Cindy said.

Barbara stood up and said, "Someone is bringing us drinks, will this take long?"

"Not long at all. In fact, it should just be a minute or so." Cindy said, leading Barbara to the turnstile.

A minute after Barbara had gone through the turnstile, the light changed from red to green. Looking around, Cindy gestured to the other two women and asked them to join her. "I think we have it fixed. Let's go through and see."

Sending first one and then a minute later the other, Cindy finally followed up herself. "Shit, I almost shocked you" Kim said, standing with the stun control in her hand.

Looking past Kim, Cindy saw the last of the three hanging over the drain past the clipper. "How did it do?"

"Smooth and simple. From stun to done in under a minute. I put them backwards into the clipper so the spine was nearest the fulcrum, and they popped like buttons when the thread was cut." Kim said with pride. "None of them came around or were any way coherent when they were set in the block and pop, off the head came. I never even saw the eyes focus the entire time. And I watched."

"Pretty swift. No struggles or any resistance?" Cindy asked

"Nope. Nothing. This is very smooth. We need to show this to the rest." Kim said excitedly.

At that moment, the turnstile light flashed. Stepping back out of the way, Kim watched as the turnstile spun around and saw Margaret standing there with four water bottles. Looking around she shook her head and said "I guess we don't need these anymore."

"No, I don't think they do. I will go and get the next group and you can watch how this works," Kim said to Margaret.

"Never mind. I will call Hafie and have her bring the first group of BMOs. Then Candy can follow. Let's see what you mad scientists have dreamed up."

In thirty minutes, the blue light turned green on the turnstile, signaling the first of the group. Smoothly Cindy rotated the control and was going to trip the trigger when she recognized Hafie. Cindy looked at her and said, "You are supposed to be last, not first, ding dong."

"I thought I was first to get everything ready." Hafie said.

"That is only if you are doing the terms. You want to clip a few?" Kim asked.

"A couple of these yes. They are the aunts that sent their nieces here on Saturday." Hafie said. "I have been listening to them moan and groan about how they should be pardoned thanks to their nieces sacrifice. They made me sick."

"Well, they came to the right place. Stand here and say their name when they come through." Kim said.

Spinning the turnstile around, Hafie spoke Renate's name to her. When the woman responded and stepped forward, she collapsed. Following Kim's lead, Hafie grabbed an ankle and placed the strap around the ankle and locked the Velcro in place.

Watching as Kim raised the stunned woman up, she helped steer the woman backwards down the track to the open jaws of the lopper. Kim lowered the jaws to accommodate the taller woman and then started the contraction. Turning to Hafie, Kim said, "Want to pop the switch?"

"Sure. What do I do?"

"Flip off the cover, and press the close button like this. When it fully closes, you will hear the relief valve. Take your finger off the button and press the open."

Watching Renate's eyes, Hafie pressed the close. Suddenly Renate's eyes bulged for a second, and then the blades sliced into the skin. Blood began to run out of the cut around her neck, and the head took on a bulged appearance for a moment, then suddenly the blade seemed to find a stop, hesitate and then suddenly the head peeled away from the front and dropped into the basket. Blood and other fluids were spurting around the top of the clipper and the arms and legs were making aimless tremors.

Hafie had just committed her first murder.

"Help me roll her down." Kim said.

Setting the control down, Hafie grabbed one hip of the still trembling woman and slid her down the trolley to stop over the drain. Turning to Cindy, Kim said "Want to do the next?"

Working as a team, the next three were quickly dispatched and hanging on the trolley awaiting the attention of the light duty team. Candy's group followed, and all twelve of the regulars were done.

"Girls, I want to have a talk through later," Margaret said. "And then we can talk with David. I admit, once Kim got the bug worked out, we have a pretty slick improvement. How long was that group of yours at the door, Candy?"

"We were only there for five minutes. I remember that the door took the first one as soon as we got there, and the rest were following really quick. Once you get them naked is when you can have them get spooked. This worked really well for preventing that."

"Any other unfinished business?" Margaret asked.

"Helen, Carol and Nancy have a few intakes for Monday, and I have a woman for the Saddle. We still need to get that running." Candy said.

"Tim, Can the apprentices run the saddle, or do we need to have mechanical license?"

Coming up from the back, Tim was looking at the hanging meat and shaking his head. "I would say we have to, but we are going to be pretty busy here for a while. Have the apprentice take notes and we can watch through the window glass from back here." Tim said.

"So, Who wants to work with Karen on the new Saddle Shop?" Margaret asked.

"I think we all do. Make a celebration of it, and term her last?" Candy suggested.

Hafie blushed, having remembered her time with Candy and Cindy running the controls while she was sitting on the saddle upstairs last week. "I think that would be an excellent afternoon."

Looking around, Margaret asked "Ok. Who has the most experience at the controls?"

At this point, everyone looked at Cindy.

Karen Mitchell had been sitting in the reception room for some time with Helen and Carol. Karen had volunteered for "the next step in painless departure." that had been placed on the web site. When she came by for intake on Thursday, she was told that she would be scheduled for noon on Saturday, and that she had a special questionnaire to fill out.

The questions were pretty graphic and had really titillated the young woman. Karen was thirty-one, and had pretty much recovered from the angst, agony and all of the other emotional fallout of being selected, she had checked out Findley on the web on Tuesday. During the intake on Thursday, she had been singled out for some additional interviews by several of the goats, which was all kind of different. She had gotten the feeling that she was in for something special.

Shortly before noon, Cindy came up to Karen and sat down with her and went over the questionnaire one last time. "Well, if you are ready, I guess we can get down to business." Cindy said.

Shaking her head Karen replied "I don't think I have anything left. The sexual questionnaire was pretty explicit. What does that have to do with why I am here today, if you don't mind my asking."

"Well, Karen, we have a new system that we want to try, and we need a subject. So if you don't mind, we would like to ask you if you have any objections to being our test guinea pig."

"Is it painful?" Karen asked.

"No. Really we hope it is quite the opposite. What we have done is modified a really interesting appliance. Follow me." Cindy said, standing up.

Following Cindy down through the exam, lavatory and into stripping, Karen was not in the leased embarrassed. When walked through the activities doors to the next door area, Karen gasped at the sight of the Gallows and the Guillotine. "I read about those" she said with a quiver in her voice. "I don't think that is what I would want."

"No worries girl. You have to pay extra for those and we already know how to operate them." Cindy said with a grin. "Now what we are going to is something how I would want to go."

Entering a muted room with tan and brown walls and built in furniture and indirect lighting, Karen laughed when she saw the Sybian saddle in the middle of the room. "Oh wow. Now that is an appliance every girl should have." She said with a giggle.

Walking Karen to the unit, Cindy picked up the remote control. "See? We have up, down, forward tilt, backward tilt, and that is just to move the saddle. In the middle we have the real tool story."

"Wow. I never saw one like this. It even has stirrups."

"Yes. And the wonder tools go in the middle and fully retract to allow you to saddle up. The inserts move forward, back, to adjust to your opening. And of course they go in and out and also we have rotation. Both clockwise and counter clockwise." Cindy said.

"This is a rig and a half. You even have handles on the front."

"Of course, you don't want to fall off when you are riding this, now do you?" Cindy said.

"So, where are the tools to go with this?"

"Right here, m'lady. Care to pick your toy?" Cindy asked with a grin.

"Phew. All shapes and sizes. And colors. These are a bit different. They all seem to have metal coatings and caps. Won't that hurt?"

"Actually, no. That should keep them harder than a man ever is. Now this is the one I like" Cindy said, pointing to a seven inch penis, with metal balls as bumps around the outside of it. "The inside rod is like a camshaft on an engine, and the balls rotate around and around. Nothing a man can ever do. And we have vibrations and in and out as well."

"So, is this my last ride?" Karen asked, staring at the Sybian with a nervous look on her face.

"Could be. Could be not. But we don't need to worry about that, do we?" Cindy asked.

"I guess not. So this one is your favorite?" Karen asked.

"Yep. Want to try it?" Cindy said with a laugh.

Seating the rotating artificial penis in the support holder of the saddle, Cindy operated the control to lower it into the saddle. Setting the soluble conductive lubricant on the penis and also on the vibrating shell where a woman's clit would be, Cindy lowered the saddle down so Karen could step over.

"Ok, girl, hang on the handles here and let me move this in place."

Gently, Abby adjusted the tool so it inserted at the correct angle and depth to give Karen a full feeling. "Now, here we go. Small vibrations and gentle movement."

Stepping the motion up and down at about one cycle every three seconds, Cindy carefully watched Karen's face.

Along one wall of the saddle shop was a long low mirror. What Karen didn't know what that it was one way glass and that most of the rest of the goats were watching! Abby spun the saddle around so that Karen was looking at the mirror while the motions of the artificial penis were going in and out, and the vibrations of the small plastic hump were against her clit. With all of the initial lubricant placed in the area, she had no discomfort from the insertion and movement. Gradually Abby increased the thrusting to once every two seconds, and Karen's face began to get slack, then tense and then slack.

"Phew. This is intense. Damn this feels good." Karen said between breaths.

"Just wait girl friend. We have a few things to improve this." Cindy said.

Starting the rotation of the penis inside of Karen, while increasing the vibrations against her clit, Abby watched for the reactions. Suddenly, Karen grabbed the handles and tried to bear down on the penis going maddeningly into her, while grinding her clit against the vibrating pad. "Oh Shit" Karen said, as she started to squirt "Ohh SHIT" she moaned louder.

Sensing that she was at a peak, Cindy started to turn on low direct current voltage along the electrode on the front of the synthetic penis. This would be picked up as the copper balls came in contact with it and passed the current into Karen's body along the "G" spot.

The sensation was incredible. Karen began to tremble and shake, and carry on louder and louder. Suddenly she went into an almost cataleptic shock, sitting straight up.

When her hands left the handles on the front of the apparatus, the circuit was broken and the electric shock stopped. She still had the tingle inside of her, and as Cindy watched, she gradually looked as if she was going to faint. Stopping the action, Cindy watched as Karen gradually came back to earth and focused on her and smiled.

"Whow Hoo. That was wild. This thing is a real killer." She said to Cindy with a smile.

"Yes, it really is. Need to rest a second before you take another ride?"

"Yes. Can I get a drink of water?" Karen asked

"Sure. Wait here and I will get a bottle." Cindy said.

Leaving Karen sitting on the now partially retracted penis, Abby went to the drink locker near the scaffold. Hanging was sometimes thirsty work, and the drink cabinet near the front of the area. While she was gone, Karen continued to sit and sweat, totally unaware that she was being watched by half a dozen men and women.

Cindy returned with two water bottles, and gave Karen one of them. "Phew. This thing is a workout. I don't mean to sound greedy or anything but do we have time to do this again?"

"Sure thing. Finish your water. But I want you to do me a favor if you can." Abby said.

"Sure.

"Ok. Lean forward a little and put your weight on your hands. This will give me a chance to try the next stage program."

"Sure." Karen said, gulping down her water.

"And do me a favor, don't let go of the handles, I don't want you falling off. In fact, let me bring this down just a little so you can rest your foot on the floor."

Lowering the saddle down to where Karen's feet just barely touched the rubber mat on the floor, Abby had her scoot forward to let the clit stimulator come in firm contact with front of Karen's mound.

"Good. Now, here we go again. Let me know when you are really at the peak." Cindy said.

"Ok."

Starting the apparatus up, with the contact vibrator first, and then gradually inserting the penis into Karen, Cindy soon had her worked up to a major level. Setting the tickle charge to on, she saw that Karen's face took on a strange look and then she started moan. Suddenly, Abby saw liquid flowing down the side of the saddle, indicating that Karen was actually gushing. "Ready to go?" Cindy asked, looking in Karen's eyes.

Deeply breathing and moaning, Karen looked at Abby and said "Oh yea. Let me go."

Hitting the kill switch on the remote, a relay in the base of the saddle closed and a charge of 13,200 volts surged up into the penis inside of Karen. Flowing out through the exposed copper contacts into her vagina, into the walls and up through her body and out her left hand onto the saddle handle, Karen started to jerk and shake as if she was having a fit. She actually was of sorts, while the voltage shocked her heart into VTAC and stopped.

Keeping the current flowing for a full minute, Cindy watched as Karen's face took on a look of ecstasy, followed by a blank look in the eyes, just before they rolled up into her head. The entire time, Karen's hands did not leave the handles, being held there by the force of the alternating current.

Watching the color of Karen's hands, Cindy paid close attention, but not so close as to come in contact with the electrocution under way. At the end of a full minute, Abby cut the current, and Karen fell over the front of the saddle, held in place by the penis inside of her.

Reaching out and feeling her artery, Abby felt the light tremors of pulse that eventually fell away and stopped.

The faint smell of ozone and singed flesh were in the air, but not very strongly. Almost a scent from a kitchen.

Suddenly, Karen's body gave a great shudder, and the smell of urine came across as her bowels and bladder gave way. "Damn" Cindy thought to herself. "That is a bit of a mess to clean up."

A few minutes later, Margaret came in from the processing room along with Kim, Hafie and Candy. "Now that is a way to come and Go." Candy said with a touch of awe.

"No shit. Let's get her in back and see how she cooked inside." Candy said.

"Wait a second, let me safety the machine first." Cindy said. "No sense getting any of you shocked."

After safety shutdown, and retraction of the artificial penis, Karen fell easily off of the saddle and onto the wheelbarrow. Taking her back outside of the saddle shop and into the processing plant, Tim began the work of opening her up to check for damage to the body. Carl was there as well, looking over the meat carefully to verify that nothing was rendered unfit for consumption.

Cindy, in the meantime, worked with Carla and Hafie cleaning up the saddle for its next client. "We have to wash the insert in strong antiseptic to keep it clean. Then leave it in the water soluble oil for the next client." Cindy said.

Hafie in the mean time was begging to do the next one on Monday when plant operations resumed.

"Silly rabbit, Tuesday and Thursday are specials. Not Monday." Candy said.

"Damn. That was pretty quick though. Fifteen minutes from saddle up to wheeled out. Got to say she got the ride of her life." Margaret said.

"Yea, and it would have been better if I didn't have to go get the water." Cindy said. "We need to move the cooler back to here."

-------

Saturday night and Kim's first

Supper was early at Findley's today. Hafie had left early to get to David and Margaret's house to babysit the youngsters that she was taking care of. Having supervision over them in case the state showed up after six pm was critical in light of the exception for Hafie.

Margaret and David opened up the usual round table discussion by having Candy do a progress report with Abby and Kim.

'I have to hand it to Kim. The new chopper cuts door time from up to almost fifteen minutes down to a max of five. And the clients don't seem to be stressed for nearly as long as we have with the manual cutting." Candy lead off.

"And I have a method of getting the air supply improved consistently to the cutter head so we don't have a repeat of the partial cut again." Kim added.

"Moving the baskets post cap is going to be a stressor." Candy said. "We might want to invest in some sort of lazy Susan or turnstile to rotate the baskets in and out. Have to load and unload manually after every group."

"That makes sense but we have to make sure that the bend and lift does not cause any injury to the Goat. I assume we are going to have the Goats continue to do the terms?" Kim asked.

"Not sure." David said. "Marty, If we move the field dressing work into your teams, and keep the trim and term in the front end with the Goats, how many more do you need to do proper processing?"

"I figure we have a need for two or three, total of eight in back. We don't have assembly line like the big packing companies, so all of ours is one on one. I guess we can get a lot done on Tuesdays to pick up after the Monday rush. About two thirds of our stuff goes out the door in large chunks these days. Not a lot of dog food any more. So the work on our end is not so intense. I think eight guys three days a week and four for the other three works out. Not counting transportation and sales."

"Ok. Now we also need to start to recruit for H&S. So ladies, any keepers we spot, yank them out and we will interview. Even if we have to extend them to stay overnight first." David said. "Person power is going to be a real challenge. Helen, do you know of any of your professionals that are on the way?"

"Why, Tired of me already?" Helen asked, while cuddling in Carl's lap.

"No. I want to have more of your profession in the reception room and I have another one to staff. So, grab any more like you if they start by. And Marty, we need to find new blood at the union hall. We will need at least twelve or so. I want to have both locations staffed by the end of next week. We may have to shift a few people around to get things right. Marty Burke, leave Cindy's tit alone and listen up."

"But boss, it is such a nice tit. Ok. What?"

"Do you want your old job back?" David asked

"Can I take Cindy?" Marty Burke said with a grin.

"Only if you have your wife's permission and pay attention during office hours. We will have to move some experienced personnel around to get the others brought up to speed." David replied with a smile. "I'll probably have Margaret do much of the work there as partner, once we get things up to speed."

General nodding of the heads of the people there indicated that there was agreement. David suddenly realized that all of the people here were looking toward him for leadership. Even Margaret. The moment passed.

"So. We get the other two choppers working at H&S. But do we do any custom terms there at all?" Margaret asked.

"Jack and Susan want the business operation to be profitable. I doubt that they are worried about the custom termination business. It looses money from the meat perspective compared to the production model. I think if we get the H&S facility up to about two hundred fifty for every working production day we are in good shape. Marty and Marty, how many butchers do we need at H&S to process seven hundred fifty a week?"

Marty Burkes jaw dropped. "David, we did six hundred a month max. You are talking about a jump of five hundred percent for us. We don't have storage for that. We don't have the butcher staff to do that. The old crew was not nearly fast enough to keep up with that."

"Well, we better get ready. Myers and Hancock are going to emulate our production practices. So this little program is going to change the entire state." David replied.

Later in the evening, upstairs, Candy was talking with David. "So boss" Candy said, as she gently ran her fingers up and down David's stomach from his hairline to his nipples "When are you going to get another of those saddles for upstairs?"

"Damn girl. That thing cost a fortune. Let me at least get the first one paid for before I order another one." David replied.

"Hey, Kim. Want to come over and fuck the boss?" Candy said gently touching David while she looked toward the door of her room." You can use him here or take him with you."

"Candy, you are a slut." Kim replied. "But I won't use your bed. I want to break in my own."

David looked at Kim and thought at this turn of events. "Well, I shouldn't abandon Candy here without making some compensation to her." He said with a laugh.

"Don't' worry boss, I will get you again. Go welcome the latest slicer and dicer into the family. Even if her technique is strictly mechanical." Candy teased.

"Yes, it is mechanical. But you have to admit it is fast." Kim said in reply.

Padding Candy on the hip, David got up and walked over to the door were Kim was standing with an expectant look on her face. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to." David said.

"I know. But with Hafie moved out and everyone else busy, I suddenly realized I have not had a good fuck in almost two weeks. And I need it." Kim said, looking into David's eyes. "Don't you want to?" She asked with trembling lips.

"Absolutely. I just don't want you to feel pressured.' David replied, reaching around Kim's shoulders. "You are an absolutely wonderful woman and I don't want to have you think I am not interested." David said.

"That's right, Kim. David loves us all" Helen said from the hallway. "Even when we are costing him money and not on a platter somewhere."

"Behave, wench." Margaret said behind Helen. "Can't you see the woman is having a emotional moment? Wait a second; she is having it with my husband. Hmm?"

Giving his wife one of his more stern looks, David replied to both of them "Kim, don't pay any attention to these three. They are all corrupted and lead a life of happy depravity."

"Can I join them?" Kim asked. " Cause being deprived is not so much fun anymore."

With that statement, David cheerfully followed his project manager to her temporary abode.

David was awakened early Sunday morning by his portable phone ringing. Remembering that he had Hafie at the house with the six wards of the State, he reached for it to answer before he woke up Kim.

"David, it's Jack. Susan and I were wondering if we could come over for breakfast today."

"Sure. We always have a gang here. If you want anything special bring it with you." David replied.

"Ok. About nine thirty?" Jack asked.

"Sure. Might not be much left. Any special reason for the visit?" David asked.

"No. Susan wants to talk with Kim and Margaret some, and I want to get a handle on the production operations at the plant. And talk schedule with you on opening."

"Sure. See you then." David said, hanging up. Looking over at Kim he saw that she was sound asleep. I sure am glad. What is it about women being so sexual once they start killing? David asked himself.

Wandering downstairs, following his nose toward the coffee pot, David was surprised to see Hafie sitting with Helen and Candy at a table. Hafie was dressed as she was legal to do, and was sipping tea. "David, good morning" Hafie said. "I drove over here to give Margaret her car so she could get home. The kids are all downstairs in your basement camped out."

"Are they going to be ok?" David asked, wandering over the coffee pot.

"Yes. Marcie is seventeen, and old enough to monitor the others. They were up giggling most of the night. I wanted to get here and get some time in with my friends." Hafie said.

"You are welcome anytime." David replied, as he pulled up a seat.

"Even if I am breaking Candy's first rule." Hafie said.

"What rule is that?" David asked.

Seeing a solemn expression on Candy's face, David felt he might have said the wrong thing.

"I told her the first rule was for Stacy and all the others. If you can leave here alive, don't ever come back." Candy said to David with an even monotone to her voice. "Don't ever think of coming back."

"Well, I can agree with that. Except in special circumstances, of course." David replied.

"So, Candy tells me you indoctrinated Kim last night." Hafie said with a smile on her face.

"Now, Hafie, a gentleman never kisses and tells. I can neither confirm or deny anything about anything."

"Look, he's blushing" Hafie said, looking at David's reddening cheeks. "I don't believe that."

"I do" Helen said. "David is too class an act to ever talk trash after the act. During the act is another story. I do have it on good authority that he will admit to having sex with Margaret at least two times."

"Yes, you said he has two daughters, right?" Hafie replied.

"Yes. And they also show up here on Sunday's, to help with the cooking and to spend time with family friends. And I think you will meet my daughters too. Mark is supposed to drop by with a few things I asked him for. So you can meet him too. I don't think he is going to bring his new friend, but we will see."

"Speaking of friends, where is Carl?" David asked.

"Gauche. Reminding me of my new lover when I just tried to set the stage of being the indignant woman about my husband. David, you are no fun." Helen said, throwing a napkin at David.

"Just want to keep everything in perspective." David said.

"Just for that, you go down the backup fridge and bring up the eggs for breakfast. And if you say anything more, I will put you to work peeling potatoes." Helen said.

"Yes ma'am." David said, draining his cup and heading for the back.

"I'll come with you, David" Hafie said.

Following David to the rear where the large cooler was, David picked up the foods for breakfast, and handed several cartons of egg concentrate to Hafie.

"David, can I ask a question." Hafie asked.

"Sure."

"How do you do it? With this place doing what it does, yet you actively try to expel as many as you can. I began to realize that earlier this week. You really do hate to do this, don't you?"

"I suppose I do. Women are going to die. I don't have any control over much except to keep out those who shouldn't and to kill those who are selected in a way that is least painful. I hated it when Margaret's sister was selected six years ago, and we didn't have our license yet. There was nothing I could do. From what we heard later, she was live spitted and then carved up for pieces. There was no reason for her to suffer in that way. So now I do what I can." David said, leading the way back to the kitchen.

"I am glad that I have the chance to make a difference. Thank you." Hafie said.

"No problem. Once we get you set up in the Foster Care system as a licensed caregiver, I think that will keep you out for a while. We will still need you here for the day job of translation. I need to get a few more Spanish speakers and a host of others for the operations at H&S."

Coming up the hallway, David was greeted by Margaret, who told him that Jack and Susan were in his office. "I sent Kim there to keep them company in your office." Margaret said.

"Ok." David replied.

Walking into his office, David was confronted by the sight of Susan sitting on the office couch with Kim while Jack was in the chair opposite. The conversation was indeed lively and animated.

"Kim, I am very sorry that Phil is such a dick." Susan was saying as David came in. "We went over there yesterday and collected a few of your things to make you more comfortable here, and we are also going to pickup the girls later for a visit if you like."

"That would be nice, but I don't know if Phil will let them come with you." Kim said. "He was pretty emphatic yesterday. And he does have a few points. Maybe if I can talk with them via video conference that would be better." Kim said.

Interrupting, David said "We can have personal cameras with your terminal systems in each of your residence quarters. That should handle any communications needs in your own rooms. We already do that as a practice. Nudity requirement in your own quarters is discretionary, I have a letter of understanding on that."

"David, that is wonderful of you, but kids still need hugs. Isn't there some way we can have a hall pass for Kim to spend time off campus?" Susan asked.

'I am afraid not legally. And there is too much at risk for everyone if we violate the laws as written without getting special exceptions. Kim has helped us greatly with her suggestions on processing that will give us a bigger lever with the MAB, but we don't have any track record yet."

"David, there are some concerns I have about that we should go over." Jack said. "Maybe Susan and Kim can get some coffee while we discuss this in greater detail.

"Jack, Kim has been our Project manager on process improvements and automation and we did our first runs yesterday. Any questions you have she can help answer."

Jack and Susan's faces both looked shocked. Smiling, Kim replied "Oh yes, I have become totally involved in the business from a process point of view."

"I'm not sure how to take that." Susan said after a few moments.

"Not much to take. I just took your suggestions to heart." Kim said with a sad smile.

"Jack, Kim has designed the new process line, and her and Margaret both reconfigured the process line at your old shop to support the new process lines. We have shaved ten minutes off of the process time thanks to Kim's suggestions. We went from just under sixty minutes in a cycle to just over forty five."

Looking amazed, Susan asked "Is there any increase in stress? I know that it seemed so very reasonable for me that I was able to keep pretty calm."

"The time improvement is at the revolving door. Instead of bleeding out normally, we decapitate each client using a new abbreviated horizontal guillotine. Time to process went from two to three minutes for bleed out to a sharp decapitation while the client is still stunned. They never recover. The last thing to them is hearing their name called when they go through." Kim said with a smile.

"So you don't wait long at the door?" Susan replied.

'Longest wait is three to four minutes. We can stun, hang, decapitate and slide down to butcher in sixty to ninety seconds."

"And the key to keeping things calm is to keep the groups small." David interjected. "Having a few minutes between groups let's the women in stripping finish with boxes and paperwork."

"David, Merle says that your figures are bogus and that the production runs won't be able to keep up." Jack said.

"Well, Jack, I think we need to establish right now how much longer you are going to listen to Merle. I am not going to bother to keep defending myself. If you don't have confidence, just wait for him to get his license back." David said quietly.

"David, he has to go through a whole relicense process here in Illinois. That would take months. Could we use him as a consultant?"

Quietly and coldly, David replied. "I can use him as a test subject only. Other then that I have no use for Merle Hill. Do I make myself clear?"

"David, aren't you being a little dramatic?"

"Jack, are we in default of contract?" David asked.

"No. Not that I am aware of. I do have concern because my project manager quit." Jack replied.

"Jack, I have a project manager here. We are on track to open next Monday. I have a week to retain staff and then we bring your operation on line. You and Susan are invited to come by tomorrow and observe operations. Based on yesterday, I can only assume that we will be even more effective then we have in the past."

Susan said calmly to her husband. "Why don't we all just relax and get some breakfast, and drop Kim's things off with her. We aren't due to be operational until next Friday so we have plenty of time to work out any issues."

Realizing that his wife was satisfied with the situation, Jack smiled and agreed. "I'll go out to the car and bring in the boxes."

"I'll help" David said

After the men had departed, Susan looked at Kim and asked her "How are you doing?"

"Well, it has been a roller coaster. I've joined the rank of cut throat sluts here and I have to say that debauchery is more fun then denial." Kim said with a smile.

"Well, you sound better." Susan said.

"Getting laid does that for you." Kim replied.

"Oh really?" Susan said with an eye raised.

"Yes. If my husband won't come by and visit, and won't communicate with me, then I will find other past times."

"Good for you, girl. I admit a little envy on that point." Susan said.

"Don't. I would rather be home." Kim said with a sad smile.



-------

Chapter 29



Recruiting Blues

Staffing development for Findlay had taken on a whole new dimension with the addition of H&S.

Sunday morning, Margaret, Nancy, Helen and Carol were in David's office after Susan and Jack had left and were grooming through the selection lists to find compatible Goats. The Goat problem was worse then the straight hires due to the overlapping issues of law, ethics and regulations. Plus it was pretty uncouth to reach out to someone and say "Would you like to come down and interview with us prior to us killing you?"

"I can't help but think we are loosing a lot of time on this." Margaret said in exasperation. "It is a shame we can't advertise."

Helen and Nancy both laughed at that idea. Carol said, "It takes a few days to get through your head that it is actually happening. Besides, what do we do with a candidate that we don't like?"

"That's easy. Process them. The hard part is finding and setting them aside while we are walking the halls. As busy as we are, we don't get time to do a lot of interview." Margaret said.

"Margaret, I think you are getting worse as we get older" Helen replied. "Your callous is showing. I have to agree that we have been very lucky so far."

"Hey. At some point you just have to get practical. Nancy, do you have a list?"

"Pretty close. We have another shrink and a few with social salvations. No historians though. We can call them starting tomorrow." Nancy said.

"Good. Print out a list. We don't want to pass anyone by. Carol, what are our legal limits?"

"We have been pretty good so far. We have not run afoul of any of the statutes with any of the ones we have so far. The closest would have been Abby. Kim was a no brainer. So who picks?" Carol asked.

That question hung heavy in the air for a moment. "I guess we do." Margaret said. "Pending David's agreement. So far that has been pretty good. Why change what works?"

"So how do we handle this?" Carol asked.

"Let's come up with a list and see what we can do with it. If we have some already coming to us, we have them come in late in the day. Or have them come in for an intake appointment. Then we can talk about them over night." Margaret offered.

Thus began a long and careful sorting by the inner circle to find the next set of staffing for Findlay. Which found a few surprises.

That afternoon, at the other end of the building David was with Marty talking to some perspective recruits for the back office.

Kevin Magee was a young healthy African American student at U of Chicago. He was majoring in business administration, but needed some money to assist with the cost of college. He and a few friends had batted the idea around over drinks on Friday night. That was where he and Jasper had come up with the idea of applying Saturday.

Jasper Collins was from Tennessee and had never thought of working in a slaughterhouse. Like every other male in America, he had known a few women who had been picked. One of the women he had dated a year ago he recognized at a spit roast party for his college fraternity. It had been a shock, and he was drunk enough at the time to not be too disgusted with eating her. She had a hell of a chest and the rib meat was pretty good. (Once you got past the idea of having been talking to her several days earlier.)

Morris McDonald had been an experienced butcher in Pittsburgh, but had moved to Chicago when his father had died. He had been told at the union contact that Findley was expanding and that they were good to work for. But he was also warned that they were a little strange with their rules.

Tom Bradley was from Texas, and had moved north for union wages and benefits. He had worked in human stockyards in Dallas, and had been a butcher in a small shop in Houston.

"So, what exactly does an apprentice do here?" Jasper asked.

"Well at this plant, pretty much moving carcasses around and then stacking boxes and parts after the trades butchers get done. Before we go into detail, you have to agree to sign a non-disclosure agreement." Marty Robinson said. "We have a union book for you to review, in addition to your contract and non-disclosure. Other then that, we just need you to show up early tomorrow for some orientation, and paid first day. Breakfast here is at seven o'clock, and you have to be ready for work at eight. Breakfast is a benefit that is outside of the contract, but it is worth it. We will do orientation from eight to nine o'clock, and you get paid starting at eight."

"One more thing. I don't know for you experienced men how your operations were where you came from, but our operation is different here. If you see a woman in an orange collar, you listen to her as if she is a supervisor. If you have any questions about something she says or tells you, ask Marty, or Me." David said. "Follow that rule and you won't get into any trouble."

"I thought collared women were Goats. Servants and such." Tom said.

"Other places, maybe. Here they are the ones who run all of the intake and most of the operations. Listen to them and you will do ok. Ignore them or disrespect them and you are out of here. Say anything to anyone about it and we sue you so badly your grandparents will be paying us." David said with a smile.

"Ten four. Got it." Tom said.

"Ok. Marty, I will leave it to you, and Gentlemen I will see you in the morning."

After David left, Tom whispered to Marty "He sure seems intense."

"David is. He wanted to build a different model here and he has with the help of his wife and her friends. In the last six weeks we have turned this place from thirty-five a day on three days a week to over a hundred and twenty a day. And we do specials three days a week as well."

"Shit. In Dallas we had over three hundred in stockade every week." Tom said.

"I am sure. But here they walk in every day. No stockade and no live storage. Everyone is in and done on same day." Marty replied. "And we have not had a bolter in over four months."

"What kind of security?" Tom asked.

"Just David. None of us sees a live woman except for the goats. And you don't sass or bother them or I will personally throw you out of here. Not David." Marty said with emphasis.

"So how does that work?" Tom asked, clearly amazed.

"Show up tomorrow and we'll you." Marty said. "But first sign and notarize the NDA."

At the same time, another conversation was going on between Margaret and Carla Sanchez. This one was on a different note.

"What's up, Chica? You get your notice?" Margaret asked, when she answered the call from Carla.

"How did you know?" Carla said in a quiet and stunned voice at the other end.

"Sunday morning, the MAB publishes the names and selection numbers to all of the state houses. I recognized your name from the list we got."

Silence greeted this as Carla let the information sink in. "So you know who is coming to dinner?"

"More like who is going to be dinner." Margaret said.

"I guess there is that." Carla said. Taking a deep breath, she continued "Ok. So what happens next?"

"Well, Monday is a very busy day with us. Go ahead and register with Findlay tonight and do intake on Tuesday morning. That sets appointment time and starts the week clock. Some of the girls will work with you on Tuesday and we will see how it goes."

"Chica" Carla began.

"Carla, this is the business. Make an appointment for Tuesday intake, and meet with our consultants and guides. Under modified letter of agreement we have with the MAB rules in Illinois, the clock starts for term at the interview day, and we can process you up to the following Monday. Monday is a catch up day for women from the weekend and previous week, so we really won't have much time to talk tomorrow. I don't recommend waiting until Thursday because you have a lot of things to do and you will need the time to meet with lawyers and stuff before we process."

"What about extensions?" Carla asked.

"We can talk about that Tuesday. Carol is our consul at Findlay, and she is very good at explaining things. But don't be expecting anything beyond a week from tomorrow."

"That's pretty cold, lady."

"Carla, I'm sorry. The state picks fifteen hundred women a week, and we only can process a third of that. So slots are tight. Get on the schedule with us and we can talk about your situation." Margaret replied.

"Ok. I guess I will see you Tuesday."

"Make the appointment. The slots fill up quickly. And start getting things in order."

Hearing his wife's side of the conversation, David waited patiently for Margaret to hang up before speaking. "So, are we getting some Salsa beef in the house?"

"Depends. Do you want to fuck her first or just put her on the table?" Margaret asked.

"My, you do have a mouth on you these days" David replied with a smile. "With all kidding aside, do you think she is someone we can use?"

"Carla was a sorority sister of mine, so she should be close to the exception age. She might not know it though."

"Well, we will leave it in the hands of our competent staff." David replied.

At the other end of the phone, Carla thought to herself "Is this any way to treat a friend?"

Realizing that there was nothing anyone else could do for her, Carla decided to do exactly what Margaret had advised. Opening up the Findlay web page for an appointment, she saw that Tuesday morning had already filled up, and that the afternoon slots were filling up too. Grabbing a three pm slot for intake discussion, Carla breathed a sigh of relief. All of this was happening so damn soon, Carla thought to herself. Downloading the pre process questionnaire, Carla started to work on the end of life paperwork that would be her focus for the next forty-eight hours.

-------

Monday Morning.

Kim followed her nose downstairs to breakfast. She had slept like a log last night, after having spent time with Susan, Jack and her girls. Phil had relented to allow them to come to Findlay's for a visit. Other then the nudity, both girls took everything in stride and were cheerful. Both were unhappy that mommy could not come home with them but both were able to understand that it was just for a while. In the meantime, they would be able to talk with Kim every morning and evening. Phil had sent some of her personal things with Susan and Jack. David and Carl had helped set things up in Kim's room to make things more comfortable. And the late night conversation with the girls had been good.

Helen, Margaret and Candy were all already downstairs when Kim came down, and after pouring a cup of coffee, Kim joined them at the table.

"You are looking pretty chipper this morning." Margaret said with a smile."

"Thanks. Seeing the kids was good. I forgot to thank you for that."

"You don't have to thank us. That is pretty much SOP since David started collecting people here." Margaret said with a laugh." It was good to see Susan and Jack in a social setting. I think they may be back on Saturday for the frolics. So, what is on your agenda today, Ms. Project manager?" Margaret asked with a smile.

"Well, I was thinking about that. Do you mind if I work here today, and we can go over to H&S tomorrow and do a checkpoint? I want to make sure we have the bugs worked out of the system here today and prepare a bit of a training and troubleshooting session for here and H&S."

"What did you have in mind?" Margaret asked with interest.

"I'll run the mechanicals here today and coach each of the runners through it. Make sure that there are no issues on a full production day. I don't want to have any issues like Friday stalling groups. The backup could be bad news."

"You asking to be designated clipper today?" Margaret asked.

"Sure. If we do two people to hang and slide, it will go faster. We might want to get parts for the winch and cable system as spares. That is the main weak link now. We have three pieces of equipment that are critical path for production days and I didn't notice any stand by spares in stock except for clipper blades." Kim finished.

Damn, this woman is right. "Kim, you are right. I don't recall seeing any spares. And you are right to bring this up. Tell David when he is in and we'll order parts today. Maybe even look at how that was built to get fast repairs if we have problems."

"I also have some ideas for blade alterations for our business. I am going to send some drawings to Maguire to build into some blades for us. Straight-line cutting is smooth, but we really need a serration to grip and hold while we cycle the jaws closed. If we can get slight serrations into the ceramic blades on the cutter dies we could minimize play of the neck around in the arc of the cut and get quicker slice through the spine."

Margaret smiled at Kim's use of the phrase "our business". She then sat and thought for a moment. "Will that make our operations cost increase?"

"I don't think so. If we have serrations on the blades on one side, and in opposition, it should cut through tendon, muscle, skin, and everything else pretty easily. Having them bite in tight is the key to finding the opening through the bones on the spinal column. That is the big thing. And the serrations should last longer time between blade changes."

"Speaking of which, how often should we do that?" Candy asked. "Should we do them at beginning of production each day?"

"I don't know. We might want to establish a gauge test. Use a standard piece of stock and measure the backpressure of the blades. As pressure increases, we know the blade is getting dull and we are using more force." Kim said.

"Well, I will leave that to you two engineers" Margaret said. "Candy, do you want to work with Kim here and see what we need to get things fully operational? I will spell you in the walk through".

"Ok. Are we using the new guys to slide and help with the winch?" Candy asked.

"Ask Marty. Also make sure the union approves this technique. And Kim, I need to get you a apprentice papers if you are going to do production work for the week."

"If you don't mind, I think I would rather do that." Kim said. "I would like to leave the intake and other stuff alone."

Margaret thought a moment about this. "If we don't have any issues with the union, I suppose we can do that. Make sure you talk with Marty about that."

Conversation then moved to the mundane, until the rest of the group began to gather.

One of the first rules of psychology and sociology is that group dynamics change when new members arrive. Tom and Kevin arrived earliest. They were somewhat shocked by the appearance of all the naked female flesh when they walked down the hall to the break room. Being served breakfast by a naked woman was a little different. Margaret waved them over to sit with her to eat, while Candy was doing production estimates with Nancy.

"Boys, eat hearty. We have a lot of work to do on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. So, Tom, I understand you worked in Texas?"

"Yes, Ma'am. I worked at Swift meatpacking outside of Dallas. I came up here to spend time with an aunt and uncle, but I also needed a job. Mr. Findlay was pretty explicit about everything being explained during orientation, and I wanted to get here early." Tom replied.

"My husband is pretty intense, isn't he?" Margaret asked.

"Yes ma'am. Were you selected?" Tom asked.

"No, I wasn't. I passed age of selection a few months ago, and I offered to help out here. David was sweet enough to let me make a few suggestions and things have grown from there."

"Marty said to listen to everyone with a collar like they were boss. I do have to admit that the supervision here is a lot nicer looking then I have seen before." Tom said between bites.

"Why thank you, Tom. So, Kevin? What is your story?" Margaret asked the tall young black man.

"Need money to complete college. I have heavy classes on Tuesday and Thursday, so part time here is going a long way to cover expenses." Kevin replied. "Marty said that those were the key days you had for operations, so I felt that this would work out."

"Have you ever worked near slaughter houses before?" Margaret asked.

"No ma'am. I admit I am a little nervous." Kevin replied.

"Well, we'll see how it works with you. Have you had any female friends or relatives processed?" Margaret asked.

"Yes. My older sister was two years ago. And I have had a few women I dated end up as the main course at fraternity parties."

"Ok. Well, first you need to remember that the female goat staff does all operations here. That includes slaughter. You guys will never see a live woman here except for goats. And our clients won't see you either. Keep that in mind wherever you are and you will do ok."

Shortly after that, Marty Robinson arrived, with Morris and Jasper in tow. "Hey Margaret, you scared these fellows off yet?" Marty said as he was entering.

"No. I don't think so. Was I supposed to?"

"No. When we finish breakfast, I was going to have them go round the circuit to get some orientation. If they have their NDA's done."

"Go ahead and eat, Marty. If you like I can take them around." Candy said as she was standing up. "I finished and I have to take water and stuff up front anyway."

"If you don't mind. Kevin and Tom, help this young lady with what ever she needs. Usually that means lifting and carrying." Marty said with a laugh.

"We'll meet you in processing after the circuit. Say in about thirty minutes?"

Getting Marty's nod, Candy led Tom and Kevin down the hall to pick up the sodas and light eats to take to reception. Figuring over a hundred thirty people for today plus goats cycling through, the group loaded up two full hand trucks of water, soda, and other beverages as well as light Danish and other continental breakfast treats.

I guess everyone get's a last meal, Tom thought to himself as he was stacking things on to the hand truck. Sure is different from Dallas.

Stopping at the door-marked reception, Candy turned to the new employees and said, "See the orange line on the floor and walls? That is the furthest to the front you can come while wearing butcher uniforms. Any time you are beyond here you have to be in street clothes. And the sign on the door is a reminder. We don't let any clients see any blood."

Continuing and leading Tom and Kevin into reception and over to the coolers and tables, both men were surprised at the number of tables, chairs and the three desks. "Wow. This looks like a cafeteria" Kevin said. "Reminds me of the one at school, but smaller."

"We tried to get it comfortable and relaxed. We have seating for sixty now, and that will probably be strained at the rate things are growing. We are going to have morning and afternoon groups now. That way we have seating for everyone at their time of arrival."

After stacking the soda and beverages into the cooler and setting up the table and coffee pots, Candy turned to the two men and started her orientation spiel. "Ok. This is reception and intake. When women come here they bring their paperwork to the desk and we give them a folder with a questionnaire and a printout of their selection letter. It also has a picture of them. We do verification of identity and then have them go pick a seat at a table. They are in groups of four as you see."

"So, No one here is bossing anyone around or doing anything like that?" Tom asked.

"No. We have not had any problems yet. A guide comes to each table after the women are seated and helps them with the questionnaire, any documents they need to finish up, and reviews their reporting status. We weed out the obvious mistakes that the MAB makes, and if there are things not done on the questionnaire, we send the woman back home to get things finished up first."

"Really?" Tom asked with an amazed tone in his voice. "You send them home?"

"Sure. Getting all the end of life stuff done here makes things a lot smoother. We don't care how long you are in intake. Once you start down the halls we don't want anyone coming back up or having emotional shakes." Candy answered.

"I guess it is easier to handle here then farther back." Tom said.

"I think so. Helen is our staff shrink and she said that this keeps everyone off guard and in small groups so we don't have a crowd reaction problem."

"You have a staff shrink?" Kevin asked.

"And a MD. And we have two nurses. And have a lawyer. All on staff permanently." Candy said with a smile. "And the lawyer does in house consultations on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

Shaking his head, Tom thought that this operation was as far from Texas as the moon. "Definitely different from Texas." Tom said out loud.

"It is different from anywhere else. And we are taking over operations at one of the other two other plants soon. I am supposed to be operations head here when Margaret goes to the other plant." Candy said.

"Congratulations I guess," Kevin said.

"Thanks. Anyway. When the client is finished with her intake form and all of the items are finished, a guide takes the group of four down the hall to the examination rooms. Bring the carts and follow me." Candy said.

Showing the guys the exam rooms and through the lavatory to stripping, Kevin and Tom were amazed at how clean and quiet everything was. "We have white noise conditioners in all rooms and in the hallway. Keeps everything calm and quiet." Candy said. "Here in stripping we check the list one last time with each client to make sure everything is done. We box their clothes and belongings with their jewelry and effects into these boxes and put this envelope with the questionnaire onto the top. Notice that it has the ship to address displayed on the outside?"

Looking at the forms both men saw that everything was neatly labeled and visible.

"And we go to this window last and look at the health documents. Those go into these other envelopes with the death certificates that we have on file here. We have the client sign those on the back as well. That way they are sure that all insurances and benefits are released to the next of kin." Candy said. "This is new, we didn't used to do this. But the MAB made a new regulation after Merle Hill raised a stink last week. He has been saying our production figure were bogus. We are fighting to have this no longer required because it raises the stress of the client. They don't need any reminders that they are going to die." Candy said.

Tom and Kevin both thought about this. "So, at this point, you have been tested, you have filled out this documentation, all of your things are done, and you are getting undressed. What happens next?" Tom asked.

"Well, from here it depends. If you are normal production, you go through that blue door there. I'll show you how that works in a while. If you are here for Special Events, you go this way here. We have to take these carts back to the rear are, so we will go through special events. That way we don't have any contamination in the food process area."

Following Candy through the double doors into the Special Events area, both men were a little shocked at the sight of the Gallows and Guillotine. "I guess I know what this is for." Tom said.

"Yep. Clients with fantasy endings usually opt for this. Depending on load, and other factors, we may do this for free or with minimal charge. For groups and gala's we charge more, and we usually have a full house here on Saturday." Candy said.

"Where is your overnight storage?" Tom asked.

"Freezer storage is in the rear of processing." Candy replied.

"No. I mean live storage." Tom persisted.

"There is none. Every woman who comes in here is same day processed, unless you are doing a early intake." Candy said. "From the time you start down the hall to on the table to be carved is forty five minutes. It used to take a little longer, but we have streamlined the processes and I expect that we will have shorter times now."

Tom shook his head. "That is unreal."

"Yes. It is a far cry better and quicker then when I started here."

"So, you are a selectee?" Kevin asked.

"Yep. If it wasn't for working here in this place, I would have been eaten a long time ago." Candy said. "And if the laws change or Merle get's his way, I will be eaten sooner rather then later."

"Well, I don't look forward to that." Kevin said.

"Aw. Thank you, you are sweet. Stick around after work and we will show you some of the other benefits of this place." Candy said with a grin. "Be sure you read the union bulletin board at lunch."

Jasper and Morris were having the same sort of orientation with Margaret. For both of them, the front office was different. Morris was a little shocked to hear that all terms were done by the female staff.

"Yes. I established that a few months ago. It keeps the men out of the loop, and women who would want to be treated like that themselves do terms. The new mechanical trimmer is a change of course for us, and I am not a real fan. But my goats over ruled me on that one."

"Your goats?" Morris asked with a smile.

"Yes. They ganged up on me and so I guess my throat slitting days are over."

"You mean you did terms?" Morris said.

"About six hundred or so. I take a sharp knife, slit the jugular and arteries and talked with the client while they bleed out. Takes about three minutes. Of course the line is backed up at the door and the last woman was standing there for up to twelve minutes by the time I get to her. Which is why the team argued for the de-capper. Cuts wait time at the door from twelve minutes down to four."

Morris was a little stunned at this revelation. Sensing this, Margaret continued. "Of course, Candy and Cindy and Abby are the major killers here. Between the four of us we have killed every piece of stock that has come through here in the last four months."

Jasper breathed a sigh of relief. The thing that had him most worried was the killing. Hearing that he would not have to does that soothe his conscience a little? "So I don't have to kill anyone?"

"Not unless you want to pull the rope on the guillotine or the lever on the gallows. And the women here do most of that. Tim does some of it, but not much any more."

This is definitely not how they did things in Pittsburgh, Morris thought to himself.

-------

Lunchtime.

"Production is pretty good. We have popped almost seventy this morning," Candy said to David at the lunch table. "We have a five to ten minute break between groups to move carcasses, clean up and remove heads, and get ready for the next group."

"Any sign of any awareness?" David asked.

"Medically speaking, that shouldn't happen." Abby said. "The head dies fifteen seconds after decapitation, and all sensations are pretty much shocked senseless by the stunner."

Cindy said "Kim is an artist with that foot treadle raising and lowering the capper blades. I expect that the chutes at H&S will make things easier and less work. We need a conveyor here for baskets."

"I heard a couple of low moans once or twice, but nothing to give me the impression that the client was any aware of what was going on. The hands move to the neck sometimes when the blades start to close, but not with any conscious effort." Candy said.

"Any idea of wear on the blades?" David asked.

"I checked the back pressure on the gauge at start of day today, and I have watched it all day. Airflow and pressure are essentially the same at the end of shift as they were at start. The blades don't show any nicks, not even at the back where they hit the spine. No notches or anything else. So far, I think we will be able to get at least a week of production before we have to change. Maybe more." Kim said.

"I understand we had a accident this morning." David said.

"Yes. Jasper is not cut out for this work. After the third clip, he lost his breakfast. Marty got him out and we cleaned up after the string. Morris keeps saying that this is not the way they did it in Pittsburgh, and he is sure glad to be here."

"Yea. Tom and Kevin are ok. Kevin got splattered with arterial spray on the second string and had to change. But he wasn't wigged out or anything. Tom keeps saying that this is a lot different from Texas. And asked where the Union board was." Candy said with a smile. "I told Kevin to get a health screen at lunch. I haven't had any black cock yet. Wonder what it will be like."

"Well, let me know." Kim said. "I might want to try that later myself."

"Anything different from normal?" David asked. "Any hiccups besides Jasper?"

"Yes. Helen said to tell you we have a weird case in the front office. She asked you to come up when you finish." Cindy said.

Going up to reception, David saw that the crowd was about twenty or so. Margaret waved at him as she started down the hall with a group in tow. Helen and Carol were at the middle desk with what looked like a small piece of luggage. Approaching the desk, David recognized a small animal carrier.

"David, we have a issue." Helen began. "One of our clients had no one to take care of her cat while she was down here, and had arranged with her sister to pick it up with the personal effects later today. I agreed to let her leave the animal here. But."

Sensing more to the story, David waited.

"Her sister called a half hour ago and said that she was not going to pick the animal up, and that we should call animal control." Carol said.

"Where is the owner?" David asked, feeling like he knew what the answer was.

"In the freezer by now." Helen answered. "She was with the fourth or fifth group this morning."

Sensing where this was going, David asked the obvious question that came to his mind. "Ok. What do all of you feel we should do?"

"Pay up, and tell Cindy to pay up too." Helen said.

"Damn. No fair. You know him longer." Carol replied.

Sensing the beginning of a story, David waited. "I told them you would dump this back into our laps." Helen said. "So, we are thinking about asking you how we can keep a pet?"

At that point, a small voice meowed from inside of the carrier. Plainly wanting out of the carrier, yet not to the point of real upset, the meow was followed by a clearly discernable purr.

"I see." David said. "And I assume that Margaret has already left you with her opinion."

"She said we should talk with you about it." Helen said with a smile.

"And did she have any opinion herself?" David asked, feeling that he was in a minefield.

"Yes. She said that whatever you decided would be good with her. And that she didn't want to make a decision herself and be overruled by you if we appealed." Carol said with chagrin.

"I assume you have asked if anyone has any allergies to cats." David said to his conspirators.

"I pulled up everyone's medical records earlier and didn't see any allergies to cat hair or dander." Helen said with a sweet smile.

"And did you happen to canvass the rest of the residents about having a pet here?" David asked, looking at Helen directly.

"No." Helen answered with a very small voice. "I didn't. But we can talk about it this evening after work, can't we?"

Sensing an opportunity to avoid some of the risk and fallout, David replied with a smooth voice "Well, that seems reasonable. In the meantime, you can put this in my office and get the animal some water."

"Her name is Sylvia." Helen replied.

"Well, let Sylvia wait in my office while you all talk it over. And remember that you have to also ask Carl about the health issues with respect to the plant." David said pointedly to Helen. "I am sure you will be able to get his opinion with very little trouble."

Smiling, Helen saw the giveaway. Carl was very involved with Helen. In fact, they had been almost exclusive the last week. And he was very amenable to being managed.

-------

Dinner Discussion.

At six o'clock, half dozen conversations were going on in the break-room. The three new employees, Kevin, Tom and Morris were all in a deep discussion with Marty and Kim. All five were on a high due to the production of over one hundred forty women for today. "And that is not counting the eighteen that were specials" Candy said.

Kevin was the quietest. He had been with Candy and Kim alternating at the clipper most of the day. As the women were de-capped, Kevin had to move the still bleeding carcasses down past the clipper and over the drain. Then, when the body finished draining, he had to slide the carcasses down to the gutting tables where they were cleaned out, parted and moved further into the process area.

He had helped a half dozen times to link up the ankles and drop the spreader bar onto the trolley hooks, and then assist in getting the neck into the jaws of the clipper. He could not help but get a feeling of excitement that was sexual as he watched the jaws close and the blood spurt for a few moments on the blades. Followed by the Plop sound as the head hit the basket and the body moved along the trolley. Thinking back on it gave him an erection.

Morris and Tom had been busy cleaning out carcasses for Carl to review and grade. Tim had been coaching both of them for most of the day, and it had proved to be both tiring and educational.

"So, Marty, Is it like this every day?" Tom asked.

"Monday, Wednesday and Friday are our busy days. But today was the busiest we have been yet. Kim, your clipper sure did move production up."

"Well, it did seem to do that." Kim said. "And I noticed that The Thrill is not gone due to mechanization."

Marty gave a loud laugh at that. "Kim, you aint been here long enough to talk like that."

"Marty, I have to start early. I don't know when I am due to expire." Kim said with a smile.

Which shook Tom and Morris up. There really was no difference between Kim and the hundred and so women that they had cleaned, trimmed and cut up today. In fact, for her age, she was prime on the hoof.

"Now don't worry about that, darling. If we have to process you, we will do so with reverence. And maybe even save a piece of your ass for dinner." Marty said with a smile.

Abby, Candy, Cindy and Cathy were also in a discussion about the new process piece. Cindy and Candy were both kidding about sounding like Old Timers, who were looking back on last week's work as the good old days.

"I liked being fast with a blade" Candy remarked with a wistful sigh.

"And I was almost as quick as you." Cindy remarked.

"Both of you get over it. The process is for the clients, not our egos" Abby said. "And get me another beer. My feet hurt."

"I told you to get better shoe inserts," Cindy said, as she walked to the fridge. "This process time is going to have all of us running up and down the halls. I made nine trips today."

"Same here, sunshine." Candy said. "I have to admit, though. The door stress is down a lot. I don't think I had a single client have any time to think too much. Kept conversation light all the way to the green light."

"Yea. And the bending down and staying on your bent knees every time is one drag I won't miss." Abby remarked. "I can understand doing it before, but now that we don't have to, I realize how hard that was on the knees."

"I for one am glad we have these new strong backs to pick up and move the head baskets though." Cindy said.

"I agree. Especially the backside of the one sitting over there." Cathy commented.

"Down girl. You are dripping again." Cindy said with a tease.

"You are just hoping you get him first. Wonder if it is true that if you go black you never go back?" Cathy said.

"Well, from the looks of it, we will have to ask Kim later." Abby said, looking at the group at he other table.

"Any of you see any of the prospects?" Cindy asked.

"I got one of them. She is coming back tomorrow. Sandy something or other." Abby said.

"I had one, but she was so damn opinionated I went and sent her through." Candy said. "I didn't need to hear how things should be changed and how important she was."

"I got one too." Cathy said. "Her name was Elaine something or other. She is a shrink like Helen. She was really nice and really easy to talk to. Helen and Nancy both put a BOLO on her. After ten minutes, I felt she would do great in intake. Don't know if she can escort. I have her coming back tomorrow for dinner and we can talk about what to do."

"Well, we have to get all kinds. I heard that Kim does not want to escort or anything else except run the clipper. Which is fine with me, but it seems different." Abby said.

"I can understand that. You have to make a jump from friend to killer every time and it is sometimes hard to do. And then you have to reload again to get the next one. That is kind of tiring." Candy said.

"I don't know how you are able to do it as well as you do." Abby said to Candy.

"It's that young thing. My mind is like clay and putty. It reshapes fast."

"Bull shit. You just have a gift of sorts."

"You mean I am cold blooded enough?" Candy said with a grin.

"No. Just that you have the mental ability to shift gears faster and better." Abby replied. "It is a gift. You would have done well in the ER."

"That is a great compliment, Abby. Especially considering what I do now."

"No. Seriously, I think you would do well to go into medicine." Abby said. "If you are interested I can help you with study."

"I think that would be great. Elizabeth is helping me with a lot of my studies to get my general credits out of the way. Hell, I might get a degree while I am here." Candy said.

"No reason not to." Abby replied. "Don't know how we will handle the residency requirements, but it is worth a shot getting the study done first."

At another table, Margaret, Helen, Carol and David were talking about the candidates for Tuesday interviews and Wednesday intakes.

"I almost wish Candy had talked with me first about Celeste." Margaret said.

"Margaret, given Candy's track record, I think that second guessing her would be a mistake." David replied. "She does a better job of sizing people up instantly then most. And Helen had reservations about Celeste herself in intake."

"That is true. She had the same ego issues as woman you termed." Helen said.

"I know. But we need people. We need eight goats for H&S next week and another eight the following week. Sixteen total. And we only have three we can use right now and two possible." Margaret said.

"Margaret, if we have to run short stack and low production at H&S, we will just do it until we get staff up. We only have three new butchers to work with here." David said.

"I am worried about not being able to meet the requirements for production. We don't' want to have anyone providing any new advise on how we get things done. Merle has been talking again." Margaret said.

"If we have to gear up, then we do so. The clipper use means we don't have to have the long training cycle we had with you, Cindy, Candy and Abby on cutting throats. Kim's adaptation has added automation that makes that part of the job easier. In fact, we might just migrate to the model we have now with a permanent trimmer and the goats as guides only." David said.

"But that puts us back where we were initially with Tim and Gus doing the cutting." Margaret said.

"Not really. Then we had a longer time to expire. Now we are down to what, a minute from stun to done?" David said. "Before we had three minutes or so. Now we don't. We can still have goats do the work. In fact, I prefer we do that."

"Ok, David. Why?" Carol asked.

"He has been reading my books again." Helen said with a smile.

Carol and Margaret both looked at David expectantly awaiting an answer. "Well, according to learned sources, the key to minimum stress and maximum respect here is that women do the term. As such, men don't get the feeling that women are lesser people. If a man does all the terminations, then men think of women as expendable, consumable, or worse, not fully human. So having women do the killing keeps men from becoming insufferable bastards." David said with a smile.

"Well, I am glad we are contributing to your mental health." Margaret said. Looking at Helen's smiling face. "He got that from you, didn't he?"

"I plead the fifth amendment." Helen said. "Now, onto another subject. Sylvia."

"Which one was Sylvia?" Margaret asked.

"The one in the fur coat in the box that meowed." Carol replied, digging her friend with an elbow."

"Oh. That one. What ever did you decide to do?" Margaret asked, batting her eyes.

"We decided to put it to a vote" David said. "If there are no objections and Carl says it is not a health risk to the processing plant, then we can humor the pet deprived members of the staff."

"What a load of malarkey. So who asks for the votes?" Margaret said.

"Well, the only votes that count are Goats. And Carl. That means the eight or so of you and Carl. Carl" David said, raising his voice to get Carl's attention.

Seeing David with his favorite women, Carl came over to the table. "What is it David?"

"So, Carl. As our health inspector on site, what are our limitations regarding pets in the building?"

Looking at Helen's face, Carl knew exactly what was going on. Helen had lamented a number of times missing her pets from home. And Margaret was even worse. But he still could not resist some semblance of humor.

"Why, David, we have over eight of them already. How many more do we need?"

"Not those kinds, you goose." Helen said. "I mean four legged pets."

"But I like you on all fours." Carl replied. And then woofed when Helen jabbed him in the side with a fist.

"Carl, seriously. Get out of the gutter." Helen said.

"Ok. I will get serious. The process areas are all sealed nicely. The only hair we have to deal with comes off of the clients during processing. I haven't seen any rodents or other problems in the process area, or in most of the building. But with respect to the apartments, and other areas of the building, I don't know of any restrictions on animals. Carol, do you know of any regulations regarding living area pets?" Carl asked.

"Currently there are no restrictions with respect to domestic companion animals in these plants where there is no risk to health or condition of produce." Carol replied with authority.

"So, now all you have to do is canvass the other members of your lifeboat here and you are in great shape." David said to Helen.

"I think I will just let Sylvia do her own presentation then." Helen said.

"Well, then let her out of my office and see how she adapts." David said.

Like a pack of kids, Helen, Carol and Margaret tromped to David's office to release the newest pet.

Sylvia the cat was a black and white "Tuxedo" longhaired female, with bright green eyes and a very placid disposition. She had been released into David's office earlier in the day and had been shown a bowl of water, some food from the kitchen and a box with sand in it. When the troupe entered the office, she was found curled up sound asleep inside of a small shipping box on the bottom of David's bookcase. Looking into the transport carrier, Margaret found a note regarding Sylvia from Dorothy to her sister Belle. The contents of the note were sad.

"Belle. I know you will only be able to keep Sylvia a short time due to your move, but please keep her and find her a home. I can't leave her at the house because Richard and his wife will take her to the pound. She is the only real friend I have had for a long time I wish her better then ending her life in a cage at animal control. I am sorry to dump this on you at the last minute, but I don't have any one else."

I think this is the only pussy David won't get any of in the usual sense, Margaret thought to herself.

-------

Benefit discovery

While Margaret, Helen and Carol were working with Sylvia, and oohing and making noises over her in David's office, the newcomers were beginning to realize that the notice on the bulletin board was for real. Jim and Elizabeth were waving to the group while they went upstairs.

Morris explained that he had to talk with his wife about the benefits of working at Findlay. "I don't have any note from my wife and she probably would want to meet people first."

That left Tom and Kevin. Tom's wife had been selected in Pittsburgh the previous year, and Kevin was a bachelor, still in school.

"I have to go home tonight to check on the kids," Tom said. "So I will leave it to you, Kevin, to carry the day with these lovely ladies."

"I'm not sure how well I will do. I have papers and study to do for tomorrow." Kevin replied.

"What is your course of study?" Kim asked.

"Architecture and design" Kevin replied.

"Really? I graduated from U of Tennessee with a minor in Architecture and a major in ergonomic design."

"Wow. I guess I should talk to you about being a study partner." Kevin replied.

"Eventually." Kim said with a smile. "We can get some studying done after some exercise and relaxation." Reaching across the table, Kim closed her hands over Kevin's and looked deeply into his eyes. "Relaxation is key to proper absorption of study materials."

"Damn." Candy said to Cathy at the next table. "Looks like Kim is going to get first dick tonight with the new guy. Hope she gives a performance report."

"She will. She is one of us now." Cathy replied.

-------

Monday Evening

The conversation between Merle Hill and Marty Burke had been circular for over an hour. Marty had been home with his wife, in deference to domestic tranquility. Even though Martha had no issues with Marty getting an occasional relief at work, he still felt he needed to be home most nights.

Merle Hill had called him at home, looking for information to use to convince Jack to let him back into the business. Merle could not understand how everything he had worked for had fallen apart so quickly.

"I am telling you, those figures are bogus," Merle said at the top of his lungs. "No way no how is anyone going to process that amount of women in a single day with only a few goats and a half dozen men."

"Sorry, old man. But the new technology and systems have passed you by" Marty Burke replied. "Your way of doing business is out the door in the garbage." Just like you put me, Marty thought to himself.

"Now Marty. We may have had a disagreement in the past. But there is no way you can tell me honestly that the Findley's are doing what they are doing. No way no how."

"Merle, Old Man, I don't know why we are even having this conversation. We are starting up shop next week with the new process line and people and if we don't keep up, it will show. You are just upset that if we do, it will show a better way." Marty said with some venom. "You are afraid that you will be passed by and left in the dust."

Being called old was one of the few things that irked Merle Hill. No one got away with that. "Boy, I tell you, we will see when this falls apart in a week and the excuses pile up. Then Jack and Susan will kiss my ass to get me back there to fix things up again. And it will cost them."

"Merle, I am not sorry but I have to go. I have a warm woman waiting for me and I would rather fuck with her then listen to you trying to fuck with me." Marty said as he hung up.

I need to tell David about this, Marty thought to himself. I have no idea what or who Merle will try to recruit next. Have to keep an eye on the guys that we kept from H&S to make sure that they don't sabotage the production line next week.

-------

Monday night Follies

Later that evening, Candy and Cathy were treated to the sight of Kevin's muscular legs driving his hips up and down on Kim's bed, all the while seeing her hands grasped around Kevin's buttocks. Moving her hands in circular motions around Kevin's ass while her legs were widely spread almost to a splits, Kim moaned aloud when Kevin's body suddenly froze in place, and Margaret could see the contraction of his scrotum coming up against his body. A moment later Kevin resumed pumping, and shortly a white froth came around his penis where it was siphoning the fluids of both him and Kim from inside of her body. Gradually, his motion slackened to a stop, and he fell over to the side, gently disentangling his leg from Kim's upper thigh.

"My god, that was fun" Kim said in a hushed voice.

From the doorway, Cathy and Candy began to applaud. "So, girl, are we going back?"

With a slight embarrassment, Kim started to blush and laugh. Then said, "No, I am not giving up white men. But you girls can try him. He is pretty good."

"When?" Candy said, with a laugh.

"When he recovers. You can come here and help him if you like." Kim said. "But watch the wet spots. We both were going pretty good."

"Don't worry. We have been in wet spots before." Cathy said.

-------

Tuesday Afternoon

"Honey, the rules say no men on location. I will call you when they are finished with the intake, and we can talk things over this evening after I get back." Carla said to her husband for the tenth time.

"Honey, I think I need to talk with these people. They have to do something. You and Margaret are old friends and I know David." Juan Sanchez said to his wife.

"Juan, I think the instructions are pretty explicit. Let me go and see what I can do with talking to Margaret."

"I don't like this." Juan said again. "This is not supposed to happen to us."

No shit, Carla thought to herself. "Honey, I really didn't see this either. But at least we have friends in the business."

"Some friends and some business." Juan said with a snort of derision. "This stupid law is." Juan stopped, having lost the words to describe how he felt.

"I agree. Now give me a kiss and I will call you when I need to come home."

"You are sure you will be ok here?" Juan said while his arms were wrapped around Carla.

"I am positive." Carla said. "I'll call you when it is time to come home." She said as she stepped out of the car.

The Findlay website had now included photographs of the reception, individual interview and consoling rooms, and the various "Special Effects" rooms. A lot of photographs were devoted to the new "Saddle Shop". Carla looked around and saw five or six tables with groups of women near the desks at the far end of the reception area. One of the women she saw at the desk was Helen. Feeling a little better at seeing a sorority sister, Carla straightened her shoulders, stood tall in her business suit, and walked to the desk.

"Carla Sanchez. I am very happy to see you, but not happy for the circumstances." Helen said as she stood up and hugged her sorority sister. Kissing Carla on the cheek, Helen said, "Let me get your folder and we can sit and talk."

Picking up Carla's folder and gesturing for her to follow her, Helen took Carla to the hallway marked "Special Events interviews" and entered the first of the interview rooms.

"I'm not sure that I am ready for this." Carla said as she sat down next to Helen at the table.

"No one ever really is. After four months, I am just getting comfortable." Helen said, opening the folder. "So. Do you have your questionnaire?"

Rummaging through her bag, Carla extracted the three-page questionnaire, and her notification printout.

"We already have a copy here. Margaret told me to pull it and make sure we talked with you if you made an appointment. So. Have you looked over everything on the questionnaire and have you got any other questions?"

"No" Carla said. "This is a pretty good piece of work. Juan and I went over everything Sunday and Monday, and we have lawyer appointments for Thursday to finish up the wills and everything. The insurance company already been notified, and my boss is tidying up commissions on the properties in the real estate business. Juan will get splits on my listings when they are sold. So what now?"

"Well, we can talk now about what you like for the remainder. Have you looked at all of our service offerings?" Helen asked.

Carla began to break down at this point and started to cry. Helen reached around her and hugged her and whispered in her ear "It's ok, girlfriend. It is a lot to take in."

"Helen, I don't want to die. This whole thing seems so unfair."

After a few moments, Helen began to separate herself from Carla, and picked up the Kleenex from the desktop. "Here girl. Fix your face a little and we can talk."

"I must look a fright." Carla said as she wiped her face. "Good thing I put on waterproof makeup."

"There is that. It happens a lot here, so don't be embarassed. But we do need to start with planning. Have you looked at our services here?"

"Your website is pretty graphic. I have to admit that things are a little exciting and scary. But the special stuff seems pretty expensive."

"For you girl, anything you want we will do it free of charge. I got to tell you, I have seen some really interesting things since that day at the cook out. I like what we do a lot better."

"I guess so. So what do you recommend?" Carla asked.

"Well, we can look around if you like. Tuesday and Thursday we do some specials and your appointment was early enough to have some spectator time." Helen said.

Carla was shocked at this suggestion. "Spectator?" she said in a small voice with a whimper.

"Yes. We have some specials for today and you can look in and see what you like. Maybe pick something you think fits your fancy." Helen said. "It puts things in perspective."

"But not do anything today?" Carla asked with a tremor in her voice.

"Of course not. Margaret and I agreed that we should show you what the options were and get your thoughts. Then we can schedule what you like." Helen said calmly.

Suddenly the reality set in with Carla. There were no special favors or extensions. The unstated message was pretty clear. "I guess I should look around and see what you have to offer." She said after a moment in reply.

"Good for you. Leave your purse and coat we will be back here in a little while." Helen said, standing up and walking toward the door.

Entering the hallway and turning to the left, away from reception, Helen walked to a door at the end of the hallway and entered a code.

After the door unlocked Helen turned to Carla and said; "Now I have to ask you to be quiet. These women are here for their own fantasy terms, and we don't want to ruin it. Can you be quiet for me?" Helen asked.

Nodding her head, Carla gave a gulp and followed Helen as she opened the door to the auditorium.

Looking ahead, Carla saw the Gallows that had been pictured in the Findlay web site. Also on the deck in front of here was the Guillotine on. "We usually have a tarp up around the chopper, but today we have a group coming in."

Looking toward the Gallows, Carla recognized Cindy leading a woman up the stairs to the platform. There were several other people already standing there, including a couple of men. The woman was naked like Cindy and her wrists were tied behind her. There was a collar with a leash going down to Cindy's hands. She tottered on her impossibly high heels as she ascended the steps one at a time, the hobbles between her ankles making her ascent difficult.

This was a shock to Carla, who had known Cindy since she was in grade school. To see the young woman she knew for years naked and leading a woman up a gallows was almost as shocking as the context of why Carla was here.

"I don't know if this is a long drop or a short one. I didn't see this woman's preference on intake. We'll just sit here and watch. You can speak quietly, we have a lot of sound deadening here. Let's go sit down. Want some water?"

Shaking her head no, Carla followed Helen to the bleachers and sat down next to her on the lower most seats. Watching Cindy expertly lead the woman across the platform, She suddenly heard the voices on the platform as if next to her.

Sensing Carla's jump and embarrassment, Helen said " We have microphones on the stages that work to directional speakers. The people on the stages don't hear you unless you are pretty loud. But we can hear everything. David set it up with an acoustic engineer we had come through here. She had a ball while she was here."

Feeling her stomach give a flip, Carla asked, " How long ago was that?"

"Couple of weeks. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and wanted to do an early term instead of the euthanasia route. She reached out to us, and David asked her to do a consult in trade for what ever she wanted." Helen replied.

"I hadn't thought of that. How did she end up in a meat plant?"

"You can't be meat in this end of the building. This area is for special effects and the hygiene is not up to USDA standards. The meat processed here has to be custom packed and sent home. That is why we have charges to offset the revenue. Plus it is a service area."

Watching the activities on the gallows platform, Carla heard Cindy's voice say clearly "all right slave. Are you ready to give up your collar?"

Seeing a nod from the woman on the platform, Cindy unclipped the leash and handed it to one of the two men standing on the platform. Reaching behind the woman, she then unbuckled the black collar that was around the woman's throat. "And are you ready to put on the last collar you will ever feel?" Cindy asked, as she was caressing the woman's face gently from her chin, and along the jaw to ear and then back.

"Yes. Please. Don't leave me like this."

Looking the woman in the eyes, Cindy reached for the noose and pulled it over the woman's head and settled the knot at the back of her neck. Reaching and bundling the woman's hair around the right side of her neck, the pulled the knot a little tighter and to the woman's left ear. "Comfortable?" Cindy asked, when she was satisfied with the arrangement.

"Yes. I am, thank you."

"Ok. I am going to go over and take out the slack, like we talked about. And I will let you talk with your friends while I do that." Cindy said as she walked over to the upright furthest from the steps. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Oh my. A short drop." Helen said into Carla's ear.

"What does that mean?" Carla asked, feeling both sick and wet at the same time.

"That means she is going to be doing an air dance for a while. Real masochist to do that." Helen said. "Takes a while to die that way."

Looking away from the scene in front of her, Carla noticed some shadows moving along the blinds at the other end of the bleachers. "Who are those people?" She asked.

"Oh. Those are people going back to the tub and the Saddle shop. We can go there if you like or we can stay and watch this first."

Looking back to the gallows platform, Carla saw Cindy walking back to the woman in the noose. The doomed woman was passionately kissing one of the two men at the moment, and when he broke from her, Cindy spoke. "Well, I am afraid it is time. Now Mindy, do you want a cover or not? Last chance."

"No. I don't. Unless Jasper wants one."

"No. No cover. I want to see you as you go."

"All right then. Gentlemen, please step away from the trap." Cindy said as she gently pushed the man back.

The doomed woman started to move toward her husband, but the rope noose kept her over the trap. The slack was completely taken out and she was unable to move any further.

Taking Jasper by the hand, Cindy led him to the upright and placed his hand on hers while she raised the lever on the trap release. "Say Good bye, Jasper." Cindy said as the lever locked to the cocked position.

"Goodbye"

Carla watched in stunned silence as the lever was pulled down causing the trap door to fall away from the feet of the woman on the gallows. The woman fell about a foot, with her legs and feet clearing below the trap door edges. Listening to the gasps and rasp of the strangling woman on the stage, Carla felt her own panties get wet as she watched the woman dangling from the gallows. Shortly the woman started to pump her legs to try to get purchase, first one and then the other. But the hobbles kept her from making any radical shift of her legs, and soon she started trying to make dual kicks. But none of this activity gave the woman any purchase. There was no place for her to stand, as she spun around and around at the end of the rope.

From her seat, Carla could clearly see much of the details as the woman actions and hear her gasps stop as the woman slowly strangled in front of her. She was ashamed of herself, as she was both horrified and entranced by the spectacle in front of her. Suddenly the woman gave a jerk, followed by the sound of water dropping onto the floor under the gallows. "We usually insist on having women go to the bathroom first, but there is always a little dribbling down at the end." Helen said to Carla.

Slowly the shuddering began with the woman, followed by gentle swinging actions. "I think that is about all she has to show us. Want to follow me?" Helen said, gently tugging Carla up and toward the back of the area. "We have a lot more."

"My guess is that was not your cup of tea," Helen said to the Carla as she led her beyond the curtains.

"Not even. God, why would anyone want that?" Carla asked.

"Some women have strong and violent fantasies. We provide what they ask for. Short drop is the most painful termination we do here. It is the slowest way to die we offer and the most painful. But we get some requests. You heard Cindy ask her two times of she wanted to continue?"

Nodding her head, Carla replied, "Yes. And I can't imagine wanting this."

"You never know. I wanted you to see the reality before you made any choices. Long drop is quicker, and Abby says that the neck breaks and you don't feel much of anything. Still I have seen enough of those to say it is not my way either." Helen said.

"Now this" Helen continued, "is more like it." Gesturing toward a hallway with doors on both sides, Helen peaked into the window next to the door on the left. Over the door was the sign labeled "Roman Baths".

Peaking into the window, Carla saw a brunette with the signature orange collar talking to a woman who was fully reclined in a warm hot tub. The two were amicably talking, and the woman in the tub had a glass with what appeared to be wine in it. "Now this is how I want to do it," Helen said at Carla's side. "Wine, cheese, good company and a hot tub of water. Where you slowly and quietly bleed out."

"How?" Carla asked.

"If you look at her wrist you see that attachment?"

Looking at the wrist of the woman in the tub, Carla what looked like a red rope leading over the side. "When you are relaxed, you open up the spigot and drain out. Being in hot water means you never get cold. You just drift off to sleep." Helen explained.

"Wow. That is kind of seductive. Almost sensual. Downright sexy." Carla said.

"Now for sexy, you have to look across the hall."

Walking across the hallway, Carla looked at a window that was next to a doorway labeled "Last ride Saddle Shop".

"This is one way glass. We have that for both the shop and the bath for prospects to watch. It gets me wet to look in here. We have one of these without some of the features upstairs to practice with. Abby and Cathy are the real experts at running this." Helen remarked as they approached the glass.

"Oh good. Abby is getting started. Now watch."

Carla watched as a nude woman her age stepped over the saddle. There was no sound, and Carla watched as the woman raised raise up a little and settled into the saddle. A few moments later, the woman's face took on a strained and focused appearance. Followed by her tongue licking her lower lips. A look of concentration began to pass across her face.

"Looks like insertion is starting. I wonder which dick she picked? "Helen said quietly to Carla.

Carla blushed, realizing what the apparatus was. "She is on a Sybian?"

"Yep. Custom made. We have specialty dicks that have different shapes, and different characteristics. I'll show you in a few. See her left hand grabbing the rail at the front of the saddle?"

"Yes. And the two poles attached. I guess you need to hang on for this ride." Carla said with a grin.

"In more ways then one. Watch the action on this. Abby is an artist with this thing." Helen said

Carla watched as the woman began to ease back and forth on the saddle, carefully bending forward as the now visible penis thrust in and out of her. "She is sitting on a vibrator pad against her clit" Helen explained. "Shortly she is going to be cumming out of her mind."

Watching in abstract awe, Carla watched the woman's excitement climb higher and higher. Shortly she saw the impending orgasm, as the woman's movements grow more frenzied and strong. Suddenly the woman began to bear down on the saddle very hard, with rapid back and forth motions of her hips. Her mouth opened and a keening sound came out, followed by a gasp and a cry. The woman sat up rigidly, tightly grasping the bars with both hands and then began to have short jerks, like she was having epileptic fits. Or the most intense orgasm of her life.

"There she goes" Helen said quietly. "Abby will run it for about a minute and then turn it off."

As Carla watched, the woman's muscles in her next, shoulders and abdomen convulsed, and the legs began to give spasmodic twitches. As Helen advised, after a minute, something changed. And the woman on the saddle suddenly sagged, and then fell forward, across the saddle between the support bars.

Carla watched in shock as a man came into the room from a door in the rear with what appeared to be a handicap lift. Slowly, the man and woman hooked the woman to the lift, raised her up off of the saddle, and wheeled her body out of the room and to the rear. Abby then raised the artificial penis out of the opening in the saddle and began to unscrew it from the device.

"Come with. We'll show you how this works." Helen said cheerfully.

In shock, Carla followed Helen into the room. "Howdy Girl Friend. I want you to meet Carla. Carla, this is Abby. Abby, this is Carla Sanchez, an old friend of Margaret's and mine. She is a client prospect." Helen said by way of introduction.

"Hi. Just a second while I finish wiping up and cleaning up here. We have another client in ten minutes." Abby said while she was walking toward a closet.

"Come one, Carla. Look them over and see what you like." Helen said.

Walking to the cabinet along the wall, Carla saw a variety of penile attachments for the Sybian. There was a variety of size, shape and color, as well as some units with double inserts with variable spacing. All were interesting in that they had simulations of vein along the front side and end that appeared to be metallic. All were shiny with a coating of lubricant. Abby was cleaning up the one that she had just removed, and was putting it back into it's place on the shelf. Each of the units sat over a rod that kept them upright in a row along a shelf above the built in sink.

"Wow. Talk about a candy store." Carla said. "These are certainly unique looking."

"Expensive as hell, too." Abby said. "Those metallic coatings are fused to the silver connection on the inside and through the shaft. We have to do that to get a good connection."

"So this is how you get the last ride of your life?" Carla asked. She had seen some of the materials on the Sybian, but seeing it up close and personal did give her a flutter in her stomach. "I have to admit she did look like she was enjoying herself."

"She was. I trigger a DC voltage to get the G spot when we are at peak. We practice on that upstairs with our own tame unit. Then when she is at peak, we start the AC juice. Raise it quickly while she is holding on to the ground bar, and it shocks the heart into vtac. After a minute, you pass fully out and you are brain dead." Abby continued. "Not our fastest, but one of our most interactive. Helen, we have to move on, Cathy will be here with the next one in a few minutes. Should we go through processing?" Abby said.

"I guess. Carla, want to see all of the rest of our operation?" Helen asked.

Filled with morbid curiosity, Carla nodded. She had already seen two women die, and watched as a third being readied to be drained of her blood. She felt that there was not much more to shock her.

She was wrong.

Following Abby through the door that the deceased woman had just been moved through, Carla was shocked by the bright light and illumination. All the walls were bright white, almost like fiberglass on a boat, and the tile floor was white with wide spaces of grout that was sealed. To her left was the crane that had been used to extract the dead woman. In front and to her right were double doors. "The one at the end is special processing. The door to the right goes into our production plant." Helen said.

"Follow me. The production plant is a shorter cut through. I have to get back up front."

Abby said.

Following Abby, Carla stepped into another very brightly illuminated space in time to see a blue walled turnstile in a corner. Standing in front was a blonde woman who appeared to be waiting. Suddenly the turnstile pivoted and Carla was surprised to see Cindy come through. "Hi Carla" Cindy waved. "I'll be with you in a few minutes. We have a short string of some stragglers from yesterday and the weekend. I have to service them first and then we can talk. Abby, want to lend a hand?"

"What for, you have the Chief Slitter here." Abby retorted with a smile.

"Now ladies, don't fight." Helen said. "You sure came down fast, Cindy. Has it been forty five minutes already?"

"No. We had two women drawing blood, so that speeded things up a little. And this group was ready when I got back from the gallows. I left the boys to bring Mindy back after a while. Her husband and brother were going to stay a while. We have overstaffed for the load today compared to yesterday."

"Well, we don't' want them to keep waiting too long, redhead, So get off the dock" the blonde said to Cindy.

"Yes, mother Hubbard." Cindy said with a retort.

"That's Candy. She is our little taskmaster here. You might want not want to watch this" Helen said.

"Why?" Carla said.

"It takes the surprise out of it." Helen replied.

"You know I don't like surprises," Carla said.

"Ok. Just be quiet." Helen cautioned.

Suddenly the turnstile spun and an attractive redhead was seen on the platform. Cindy called out a name, and the woman walked forward. Carla watched in stunned shock as the process of hanging, guiding into the chopper and then moving the headless body down the track took place in under a minute. A moment later, while Abby was moving the first body down, the turnstile spun again, bringing a brunette into view. She soon followed, with another brunette behind her a minute later. Seeing a large red-haired man coming from the left, Carla watched as a forth woman was similar dropped and hung up and decapitated.

"There. During production days, like Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we have about ten minutes between strings. We usually keep that pace up fairly consistently and we process about a hundred twenty to a hundred forty a day this way. Let's go up front," Helen said to the shocked Carla in her ear. "I appreciate your discretion about this. We don't tell anyone about how the general terms are done. Saves on stresses and all that."

"Hey, Cindy, I am going to take Carla up front. We are in interview room two, so come up there when you are done." Helen said.

"Sure. Let me go with you and check the front, I think we are about done today except for a few chops. Want to watch that, Carla? I saw you come in when we strung Mindy up."

"I guess. Helen how did this work?" Carla asked, feeling a little queasy.

"The ball up above the turnstile drops a high voltage charge down the body under it. That is why we have them walk toward us. The charge stuns you, and stop muscle movement for about a minute or two. Which is about how long it takes us to string you upside down and slide your neck into the chopper here. The mechanic slides you in, we close the jaws, your head drops off and we slide the body down to get further processed after you drain out."

"So this is the standard production process." Carla asked.

"Yes. You never know about it on the other side of the door, and we tell people that they have another half hour or so. In reality, when you are at the door, you are a minute away from gone." Helen said. "Fast, clean, and no problems for the operator. It is like a guillotine with no anticipation."

"If you come with me, I can show you the real Guillotine." Cindy said. "I think we have a group fest coming up in a half hour."

"Sure. I guess I should see everything while I make up my mind" Carla said.

Walking in her business suit behind Cindy and with Helen, Carla felt a bit incongruous about the contrast of her neatly professional clothes and their nudity. Looking around while following Cindy, she saw the inverted bodies of the women being disemboweled and washed while being moved toward the tables. Seeing two bodies on the stainless steel tables being dismembered by two men in bloody uniforms was a bit surreal. Carla had a cold chill when she realized she was going to be on one of these tables soon herself.

Entering the hallway and following Cindy, Carla thought the hallway was cheerful and almost homey. As she walked down the hall to the front, she saw a large break room with couches, a breakfast counter and several tables with comfortable chairs. "Dining room?" Carla asked Helen.

"Combination break room, Family room, dinner and lunch room for all of us. Those of us living here are upstairs. We have separate dormitory rooms."

"So this is where Cindy is living." Carla asked.

"Yes. Along with the rest of us upstairs." Helen answered. "It is pretty good. It is a lot like the old sorority house we had years ago."

"We had a lot of fun then." Carla said. "Of course, the parties got in the way of study and finals."

"They don't' get in the way here that much. Cindy and Candy pretty much study every evening. I am doing some writing, and so is Nancy."

"Sounds pretty grim" Carla said.

"We still have some fun. We can talk about that later." Helen said, opening the door to the reception room.

"I noticed the sign in the hallway. No men up front?"

"Nope. And street clothes only. No sight of blood in front."

Looking around in reception, Carla saw Cindy and another woman talking with a group that was giggling and high-spirited. Several men were with them looking a little uncomfortable and out of place. I can imagine how Juan would have been here with me, Carla thought to herself. He would have wigged out a long time ago.

Turning toward Helen, Carla whispered quietly "How do you handle spouses?"

"Simple." Helen quietly answered, leading the way across the reception room. "We talk with them and unless it is an event, they never get past the reception area. There is no need for them to be here. We ship all your clothes and belongings home with the questionnaire and death certificate and if they ask we tell them where we shipped your meat."

"So what do I tell Juan?" Carla asked in a quiet voice.

"The truth. You spent some time, explored the options, and you have your choices. There are no surprises. And no charge from us for any specials you want." Helen said.

"I see."

Carla started to get a little depressed at this point. Seeing herself in every one of the women here, she was feeling the walls closing in. Sensing Carla's distress and not wanting to have a panic on her hands in reception, Helen told Carla "Let's go back to our interview room where your purse and coat are."

Walking back to the room Carla went to the chair she had been in and heavily sat down. Helen had stopped at the cooler near the hallway entrance and picked up several bottled waters and brought them with her. Sensing that Carla was on the edge, she opened up one of them and set it near Carla's chair and sat down herself. And waited.

After a few moments, Carla started to cry. The sobs began to get to her and she sat and shook repeatedly while sitting there in the chair. After a few moments, she began to stop and looked at her friend and sister and asked, "How do you do this?"

"It isn't as easy as it looks. I had six interviews today; you are the last one because Margaret wanted me to take time with you. Carol took a look at your status and notifications and you have almost two years to go to exception. So you were caught on the backside of the loop. And there are no applicable exceptions to your case. That is why we don't want you to get any unrealistic expectations. We have more options then most places, but not the one you like." Helen said.

"What about the stuff you do?" Carla asked, as she reached for the water bottle.

"Well, that is a good question. What do you think of what we do here? Could you talk to a woman like I am talking with you about tidying up her life and getting ready to get her head chopped off?"

Taking a sip and sitting, Carla looked at Helen. "I don't know. I really don't know. I"

At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Helen answered, "Yes?"

"Candy and I are moving a group to the auditorium. Carla, do you want to come along and watch? We have permission for spectators."

Looking at Carla's face, Helen replied, "We may be along in a few minutes. How many?"

"We have four. Gus is going to bring up the wheelbarrow in a few minutes so we will start in ten."

"Ok. Chop or Drop?" Helen asked.

"Chops." Cindy replied.

"Don't wait up. We will probably be there." Helen replied.

After Cindy closed the door behind her, Helen said "You know, Janet Carmichael told us about what you said when we had first gotten Cindy here. You had warned her that you would be looking for a nice leg to have for a new recipe. I admit that was pretty cold thing to say to her, but it got her attention. She adjusted after that. Did you ever figure you would be on the other end?"

"I guess not really. It wasn't real to me. Not like now." Carla said. "I mean the legal penalties are pretty draconian for the family if I decide to run. And there aren't many places to hide any more. And I guess I was like the ostrich you have on your web page. I had my head hidden pretty well. Even after my cousin was sent here, I never thought I would be picked."

"Same here. And yet, here we are. David initially kept me around for the weekend so I could spend time with the girls. I figured a few extra days and a quiet end was more then was in the offer. Then he got the idea of changing the business model and kept a few of us here."

"How many?" Carla asked.

"He is licensed for eight. We have ten right now but we also need to staff H&S with another sixteen. So we have the collars for H&S as well. I tell you, staffing for this place is hard."

"So, what do we do?" Carla asked.

"Presumptive close? Not yet dear." Helen said with a smile. "What WE do here is intake, interview, escort, kill and everything that does not need a lot of physical strength. That includes everything you have seen. Some of us are better killers then others. Some are general all around and some do almost exclusive escort and intake."

Carla blushed. She hadn't caught her speech until Helen did. Presumptive close indeed. "How many?"

"We do more then three hundred sixty normal terms a week and that does not include specials. The Sybian is a big seller, with a second being installed next week. We have half hour intervals on it and that is booked up five days a week. So that is another hundred. Plus the guillotine and the bath add about another fifty or so. Candy has the actual figures. She does most of the production estimates."

"Shit. That is a lot." Carla said.

"The state allotment is fifteen hundred a month. We do about five or so hundred. We will be doing well over thousand a week when we get H&S open again. We are talking about working with the state for bus transportation and interview centers in Bloomington, Decanter, Peoria and Champagne. David thinks he can get the Illinois MAB to approve it without any problems."

"Like taking the bus to the gambling on the reservations?" Carla joked.

"Sort of. Only we have to dead head a lot of busses." Helen said.

"You are being deliberate here, aren't you?" Carla asked, taking a sip.

"Yes. And you caught me."

"I was a psych minor, remember? Business Major" Carla said with a smile.

"I remember. So are you settled a little? The group won't wait long. If you want to watch we have to get a move on." Helen said with a smile.

"Should I leave my heels here?" Carla asked. "I feel sort of overdressed."

"Sure. Floor is clean. Your hose will get snagged, so you might leave them here."

"Well, I guess I should see all the options while I am here." Carla said, standing up. "Besides, that is the only thing I haven't seen yet."

"That isn't the only thing. There are a few other things for the residents. Swinger house rules for starters. But that is for inmates of this institution." Helen said with a laugh.

"I guess the joke I made earlier about living in the dorm was not so funny."

"Saturday night is orgy night. Sunday is Family day. Friday night is Hen night. But that is all sort of informal. If you make the cut." Helen said.

"How do I do that?"

"You have already started. Let's go see a trim or two."

Leaving and walking down the now familiar hall to the end, Helen said to Carla "Let's go to the upper gallery. That is up these stairs next to the bleachers."

Carla heard a sound like a falling log, followed by a thud. "One down. Three to go" Helen said.

Quickly following Helen up the stairs and around the corner, Carla came out to a balcony that was overlooking the bleachers below. Approaching the rail, she looked down onto the center of the area and saw a wheelbarrow going back toward the rear of the building while three women were milling about the platform, talking and flirting with a couple of men. The center area was almost a stage, with lots of light focused on that area, and darkness in the surround. "Real theater, I see. Who are the people?" Carla asked.

"The guys there are Tim and Marty. Gus is the one with the wheelbarrow. Tim is the mechanic here and does a lot of the specialty work. I don't see Cindy. I wonder where she is?" Helen said.

At that time, Cindy came out from the hallway leading another woman. Unlike all the others, she was fully clothed. "I wonder who she is?" Helen said.

As they watched, the woman walked over and embraced one of the three nude women near the platform. "I guess she is here to see her friend off?" Carla asked.

"Not the norm, but it has happened. Usually that happens in the bathhouse. We have had two real parties down here. The first one was in the blog, and the second was not written up. All the participants went on that one."

Watching the group below, Tim suddenly picked up a cup from the table and held it in his hand toward the women in the group. "Time to pick," he said clearly.

"The cup has about a dozen straws in it. All the same length but a few have a large red lipstick stain at the bottom. That is the one for who is next. They are all identical except for that." Helen explained.

"No short straws?"

"Nope. The red one get's you shortened next." Helen said.

Watching from above, Carla started to feel herself getting wet again. "Is it normal to be turned on by this?" she asked Helen.

"Lady, why do you think we have leather furniture and carry a lot of towels? It isn't for just the blood."

Suddenly, one of the women let out a gasp and an audible "Oh Shit." Both watched as Tim put the cup back on the platform and extended his hand. Marty looked at the woman and then picked up one of the baskets from the floor and placed it under the end of the Guillotine.

Realizing what had happened, Carla felt her stomach flip and her panties get wet all over again. The remaining women hugged as the woman with the red straw took Tim's hand and was guided over to the steps of the platform. Taking her hand Tim had her lead the way up the four steps to the platform.

Carla watched with fascination as Tim raised the blade to the top and tied it off, and then raised the munnion block up and locked it in place. He then turned to the woman next to him. Reaching behind her he did something that caused her shoulders to suddenly straighten and her breasts to jut forward. Then he walked her over to the upright table in front of the guillotine.

After the woman stood on the step at the foot of the table, Tim stood on a lever that raised the woman along the table until the woman's head was extended clearly over the top.

"Oh hell. This thing IS cold," she said as Tim lowered the table down and slid it along the roller until her head protruded past the uprights beneath the blade. Carla saw at this time that the woman's arms were tied behind her at the elbows but her hands were free. "Why is she tied like that?" Carla whispered to Helen.

"Well, it keeps her shoulders and arms in place better as they roll her off the table onto the platform and then onto the wheelbarrow after she is killed. We don't tell them that, but that is the real reason." Helen whispered. "And it makes your tits stick out farther."

As Carla watched, Tim raised the lower munnion block into position carefully placing the woman's neck into the groove and then lowered the upper munnion block into position after carefully moving her hair to the side. A moment later, he raised two leather straps, one over the woman's back and another at her knees and tightened them.

"Sometimes bodies jerk around, and we wait until it stops before we unbuckle them and roll them off the table." Helen said.

"Ready?" Tim asked, his hand on the rope.

"I guess this is good-bye ladies," the woman said.

Carla jumped as she saw the blade fall and heard the "Whock" sound of wood hitting wood. A moment later she heard a mild thud, like a shoe falling, as she saw the woman's head go into the basket. The hands and legs shuddered and twitched on the body that was belted down on the table, and she could see the drip of blood down onto the floor under the table. "Shit." Carla said quietly to Helen next to her. "I think I peed myself"

"She did too. Look at the drips" Helen said, pointing to the table near the woman's waist.

After a few moments, the fluid flows slowed to drips and then stopped. At that point Tim began to unbuckle the belts from the woman's waist and knees and then rolled her off the table onto the platform. Gus in the mean time had brought the wheelbarrow up to the edge of the platform, where he rolled the woman onto the wheelbarrow. "See? No arms flopping to keep it from rolling off the table or the platform" Helen said.

Carla watched as Cindy put the straws back into the cup, Gus loaded the basket to between the legs on the wheelbarrow, and Tim stood the table up and wiped down the table with a towel. When Gus took off for the back of the room, Tim came back down to join the women talking next to the platform.

Carla watched in fascination as Gus came back from the rear of the plant with the wheelbarrow and Tim picked up the cup again and presented it to the remaining women. "Aren't there more then two straws?"

"Sure are. And you keep drawing until someone gets the red one." Helen replied.

At the end of the second round, the woman who was accompanied by her friend drew the red one. Starting to cry, she wrapped her arms around her friend for a few moments, and then followed Tim up to the guillotine where the process was repeated. All the while Cindy and the clothed woman were keeping the remaining nude woman company. After the third execution, the remaining woman and Cindy got into a very animated conversation. After a few minutes of conversation, Cindy left and went back to the rear of the plant area. "Wonder what that is about?" Helen asked.

"I don't know. But I have to borrow a change of clothes cause I am wet from peeing and also dripping. This is the greatest junk high I have ever had in my life." Carla whispered to Helen.

"Yea, it does get you going. Some of us get a lot more of a high out of it then others. Margaret is the one who get's the most out of it. Her and Cindy are born murderers. I have to admit, though, that it gets me going sometimes. And I am a trained psych. I should be afraid of that in myself. But not any more."

Seeing Abby come back up from the rear, Helen said to Carla quietly "looks like a change of plan. I guess the lucky lady didn't want to go that way after all. Bet she picks Sybian and not the pool."

"Why?"

"Cause the tub is much more expensive. We have to empty it and sanitize it between each term. Feces you know."

"Ugh. I see. So you have fewer of those?"

"Yes. And I am not sure if it was cleaned out after the last one or not." Helen said. "Well I guess that is the end of the show here today. Unless you want to follow the crowd to watch what happens." Helen said.

"Not necessary. I think I have seen it all. I would like to talk with you some more, though." Carla said. "But first, I need a bathroom."

While sitting in the bathroom, Carla looked at her soaked underwear. No need to keep this on, she thought to herself. After drying herself off, she thought about the experiences of the day. They killed over five hundred a week. Three hundred and sixty walking into a slaughterhouse turnstile and their things shipped home. This was nothing like what she had thought about when she made the comments at the chamber of commerce dinner. She asked her self, "How could I have been so insensitive?"

I need to call Juan and let him know I am still alive and not a steak yet. Not today anyway.

Entering the interview room, Carla saw Helen was there, and someone else was with her. "Carla, Do you know Carol Burns? Carol, this is Carla Sanchez, old sister of mine and Margaret's" Helen said by way of introduction.

"So, Carla, what do you think so far of our slaughterhouse?" Carol asked with a straight face.

Smiling, Carla replied. "I guess if you got to go, you guys have the corner on the best ways to do it. I don't care for the event but the trip is better then I thought it would be."

"You were right. She isn't easily shaken." Carol said to Helen.

"I would not say that" Carla replied. "I have seen some things today that shook me up plenty."

"Like all the rest of us. Do you want to join us for dinner tonight?" Carol asked.

"Will I be on the menu?" Carla asked.

"Not tonight. We are having lasagna but I don't know who is in it." Carol replied with a smirk.

"We really don't eat much human here." Helen said. "We think it get's in the way of the job if you think about how the person you are talking with will taste."

"So you don't' think of me as steaks on a grill?" Carla said with a laugh.

"Naw. Maybe some nice spicy sliced roast." Carol said with a snicker.

"Don't mind Carol. It's her time of the month and she is getting snippy." Helen said.

"I am not snippy. Just honest. And how do you see me? Carol asked.

Smiling, Carla replied, "Like a large roasted turkey?"

"You impudent snip. Why a turkey?" Carol said with exasperation in her voice.

"Yea. With those big breasts, why not?"

"Well, you do have the gallows humor, and that is important" Carol said.

"Carla, if you want to stay here, I think you should call to let people know we haven't termed you early." Helen said.

"If it's no bother. I haven't seen Margaret yet." Carla said.

"Margaret and one of our others, Kim, are at H&S going over the preparations to reopen it next week. She should be here in about an hour." Carol said.

"Use the phone here and come up to reception when you are done." Helen said, "And bring your folder. We will put it file for your next visit."

Alone in the interview room, Carla called Juan to tell him she would be late but she would be home tonight.

Helen and Carol, in the mean time, had caught up with Cindy and Candy in the reception room, and everyone noticed it was five o'clock.

"So, What did she think?" Cindy asked. "I bet she pissed herself at the hanging."

"Be nice to your elders, young woman. Yes, she was a little shaken up with the performance, but she had nothing bad to say." Helen replied.

"How did she take the Sybian ride?" Cindy asked.

"Not as badly as the scene inside the turnstile. She was a little shook up there." Helen said.

"She did better then Jasper. We didn't have to clean up after her." Candy said.

"True. And all the piss was scared out of her earlier I think." Helen replied with a grin.

"So, what is she doing now?" Cindy asked.

"I invited her to stay for dinner." Carol said. "I doubt she will spend the night, but it will give us all a chance to talk with her."

"Do you think she would stay?" Cindy asked. "I mean, if we ask her."

"I am not sure. She didn't answer the question of how she would do, but she did try a presumptive close with me in interview a while a go. I guess we will just have to feed her and see how she does." Helen replied.

"You know, we also have Elaine here this evening. So we have a couple interviewing for positions." Abby said.

"Well, that is probably not bad. Give us a chance to see how either of them interact." Helen said.

In the meantime, the subject of their conversation was deeply conflicted. She had talked with Juan, to tell him that he should spend the evening with the girls and that Carla was going to spend time with the staff here. His judgmental confusion was understandable. He asked her how do you make friends with your executioners?

"Be that as it may, Margaret and David are friends and I may even talk them into bringing me home later." Carla said. "Besides, I haven't really sorted this all out in my mind yet. I do want to talk things over with them."

"I miss you and I don't want to loose a single minute of the time we have left." Juan said.

"I know. I won't be too late. " Carla said. "And then we can talk."

Carla thought to herself about how she was going to talk with her husband about how she was going to go, instead of if she was going to go. "I don't know if I can do the sort of thing that Helen and the others do here. Not and still be human."



-------

Chapter 30



Goats and Pets and getting ready for Wednesday

David had left the State Offices of the Populations Selection and Management board late Tuesday afternoon. It had been an interesting day. The need to get H&S back online was important. David found himself talking with building, health, OSHA and other officials The fall season was starting, the state was behind it's allotment and there were political issues underfoot that David had not been totally aware of.

Barney Maguire was the State head of compliance for the Population selection and control act. His job was to oversee the selection and operation offices of all of the state MAB offices.

"David, we have a lot of concerns in Springfield about the situation in Chicago, and we also have some issues bubbling up in Washington. Our compliance audit with the federal population management administration is marginal, and we don't want to have our social security funds endangered by noncompliance. Merle is saying that we can't get back to status level before the October deadline and we only have six weeks to do it. I am interested in hearing your side." Barney Maguire said. "I know I am new to the Illinois and that I am not familiar with the ins and outs of the business like you are. But do you see us not being on track and recovered before October 1?"

"Barney, Merle lost his license due to USDA inspections. Those inspections were due to improper treatment of meat. I am coming into there to clean that operation up as the new management team and to try to get some operational speed out of it. So what is the issue here?"

"David, we have to process seventy two thousand a year in this state. And we have to have secure product in the system. Do you know how we can do that without endangering the safety of the food supply?" Maguire asked.

"I am doing it on track where I am right now. We are doing three hundred on a three-day workweek. I expect that we will have H&S doing six hundred on a similar workweek. That makes nine hundred a week." David replied. "And that is not worried about specials either. For us that is about another hundred."

"M&H are going to follow suit on your production plan, as I understand it, next month. But we have a problem here in that we have never actually kept up with the State PMC requirements. What can we do to accelerate production?"

"Production acceleration is not the roadblock. What do we do with the processed product? Consumption is not up to the absorption of the meat stock at the level you want and if we discount price, it affects my budgets and revenue." David replied.

"David, I can't get drawn into the economics of it. That is a separate issue from the regulatory one." Maguire replied.

"I don't see how. My operation is at a profit right now. We don't have any of the issues of Oklahoma, Texas the Carolinas. We damn sure don't have the problem they had with Michigan and Ohio. No one is rioting or burning down my operations due to poor treatment. If you want expansion of production, you have to provide economic incentive and other regulatory relief to help me succeed." David replied.

"Like what?" Maguire asked.

"First, more goat collars. If I have to work five or six days a week I need to have expanded personnel."

"But you throw these away and continually retrain, right?"

"No. The people I have are vital to the production of the operation and I keep them in place. It takes a lot of recruiting in the stream to find the right people. And I don't want to burn them out too quickly. So I need to expand my personnel. I also need extended retention."

"Ok. We can do that administratively." Maguire said.

"No. You publish a regulation in the state register. I am not going to play bureaucrat games daily about what my work force allocation level is. I am happy with what I have now thank you very much and I can do my current fair share with what I have. If you want increase, you provide increase in my work force limit." David said.

"David, I can take it down as easily as put it up" Maguire said as a veiled threat.

"Sure you can. But you are on the hook and I want to keep it there. If you want to have the expansion of production you need to keep the SSA funds, you have to let me have what I want."

"All right. We will get a permanent allocation for personnel numbers and permanent time extensions. How many?"

"Forty percent increase in production means at least forty percent increase in people." David said. "I would prefer to take my count to sixteen and H&S to twenty four. That way I have the flexibility to have people in queue while we are at full operation."

"Can you economically support that?" Maguire said.

"That is my business. The other regulatory and economic incentive I need is the ability to have Swift and others purchase from me as well as local distribution. Get out of the intrastate regulation issue now."

"David, that is political. People don't want to hear that their aunt or sister is sold to some slaughter house in Texas."

"We are not selling them to the slaughter house. We are selling them to the meatpacking house. Everyone goes out cold storage, not live on the hoof." David said.

"That is not how the regulation is being interpreted by our office." Maguire said.

"I know that. But if you get USDA exception on the human like they had on beef, chicken and pork, it won't matter. I am selling graded stock to retail distribution, and not my own distribution."

"What about the local selection act?" Maguire asked.

"We have waivers for that and you have seen them. I have one of the best minds in the legal business draft up the exception and allocation form that everyone signs. We even have business agreements for local distribution on behalf of selectees if they so choose."

"What?" Maguire asked.

"Yes. We are ahead of the regulations already. People register in Peoria, Springfield, or Bloomington, get transported up here, we slaughter; grade and package, and if they choose they can be either picked up or sent down. If there is no preference, then we are free to ship elsewhere. Marty Burke and our attorney did that for me already."

"So you are ahead of the curve? Merle said that this was a problem and that we would have to do state funds to increase production." Maguire said.

"I don't want to talk about Merle Hill. But if you want me to provide for the production levels you feel we need to have, I have a plan already. And I don't need funds, just regulatory relief in two areas. The third is a business issue I have to work out."

"If you don't mind my asking, what is that?" Maguire asked.

"Refer trucks. I am not going to be in the same problem that Merle got H&S into. I am going to put the onus on the buyers to pick up cold for interstate transport." David replied. "Once you give me regulatory relief."

"If you get the regulatory relief from the state and the increase in collar allocation, is there anything else you need?" Maguire asked.

"That's it. Give me the increase in collar allocation in the state register, and give me release to sell to the large packing houses for signature released selections. Not a big thing."

"What will that give me on the population selection side?"

"Two thousand a week for the plants I operate, peak. That get's you out of the water between now and October, and then cleans up the annual allotment by the end of the year. Next year we can do surplus from other states." David said.

"And you are sure that is all you need?" Maguire asked.

"Well, there is one more thing." David said with a smile." I don't want to hear any more "Merle Hill said" from you or anyone in the Population office, or the State board. We have moved past him."

After David left, Maguire and Davenport had a discussion with Merle regarding David's operations and Merle's accusations that David would never meet production quotas.

After over thirty minutes of fencing with Merle and not getting anything but excuses and bluster, Maguire had enough. "Merle, if we find that the figures of your projections match actual events in six weeks, we will contact you. If we do not find a match, we will not. Thank you for your time and I am sure my secretary can show you to the main entrance."

After Merle left, Maguire turned to Davenport and asked, "Do you believe this guy?"

"Merle was the king pin in town for a few years. But he never got production up to requirements and USDA had constant problems. We found his inspectors bribed a number of times and we had tainted meat products poison and kill over a half dozen people. It put the entire state system in jeopardy."

"And what about Findlay?" Maguire asked.

"None of Findlay's product has ever been linked to any quality problem, and the former USDA Division chief works for him in inspection. The state department of environmental quality inspected them three times and has nothing but astounding recommendations for all other plants. The only thing that is hinky is that they had to sign letters of confidentiality to not divulge slaughter processes to anyone else. Near as I can find from the reports, all of the stock are killed by exsanguination post electroshock, and there is no sign of adrenal stress. We don't know how they do that, and they won't tell us."

"Is there any drugs used? Merle seemed to think that drugging subjects was the best way to keep stock quiet."

"Nothing that shows up on a Hemostat 3500. They have a print out for every single body. Maguire, My daughter went there when she was selected, and the result of that was having two grand kids coming on the way. A girl and a boy."

"They are supposed to be screening." Maguire said.

"Merle Hill never had a screening catch in his entire history of operation. David found three in the last three months of extended operations and has always been at the statistical norm or higher." Davenport said.

"Wasn't he mainly pet food?"

"Pet food with human table standards. He had a real niche market there, until this mess came up. I think that we found out that the selectees don't care."

"So you think we should bet the farm on David Findley?"

"He has delivered everything he said he would deliver. He is making a profit, not cutting corners, and the quality of his process has everyone admiring him. It is the only place in Chicago that women are dying to get into. What else can we do?"

What else indeed, Maguire thought to himself. Local politics on the Population control act was always such a mess. Most of the slaughterhouses were run by organized crime, and he had expected to see that here. But the RICO investigation had cleared Findley already. If I have found an honest man, I guess I should at least give him what he is asking for. Especially since it is not attached to a dollar sign. Findley has all the risk.

Having concluded his meeting with Davenport, Maguire issued his letter of understanding and proposed regulatory relief to be entered into the state board of regulations. He also proposed the waiver of re-registry on goats in process operations. As there were no letters opposed, this was also entered into the state board regulations as regulatory relief. This was to be the cornerstone in future events that would have unforeseen outcomes.

On the other side of town, Margaret and Kim were driving back to Findlay after a very long day with contractors, electricians and inspectors.

"Well, I have to say it, you sure have all that stuff happening on track. Kim I don't think we would have been able to be final walk through this Friday without you." Margaret said. " I really like how this plant is laid out. Your attention to detail is exceptional."

"Well, I have an interest in this. The two spare winch sets and the quick release and reset clippers are vital to production. The access doors to the bearings on the turnstiles and the dual voltage condensers will keep us from having any stops at the door. I don't like how the refer storage is laid out; we probably will have issues there. I think I will need to have overnight loading done to give us empty space every morning."

"You still think we will have to have five day a week production?" Margaret asked while driving.

"I have to plan on it. David said that we want to be able to provide for the entire state if we have to, and I have a way to do that. M&H will be another house if you go there and help them when we get this place up and running. Our biggest problem is people."

"I heard from Helen. We may have two more for there. We can also split locations on alternate days. Have you and some others go to H&S on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday to staff them to get numbers up and work the kinks out of the process."

"Saturday? That means I miss out on all the kinky shit at Findlay." Kim said with a pout.

"Ok. We alternate. But only if you learn to do the other mechanicals." Margaret replied.

"I can do that. Not as enthusiastic as the other sluts, but I can do that." Kim replied.

"I wonder how Sarah made out today?" Margaret asked.

"I think she did pretty good. She was upstairs with me later in the evening after Kevin left."

"So. Once you did black, you going to go back?" Margaret said with a smile.

"Kevin is good. He's a real jackhammer. He's young and energetic. And this is all new to him. But your David could teach him a few things. Like how to walk down the hill." Kim said with a laugh.

"Old Joke. David has aged well. I think that we are going to convert his office to a better space with a hide a bed. We are there almost every night." Margaret said.

"Is that because you like to, or because you have to?" Kim asked.

"A little of both. We don't' have trap and contain problems like others do and I don't' think we will get into that. David feels that as long as we do proper treatment we can have the ones who have made up their mind, and let someone else deal with the rest."

"I get the idea we don't' want to be in the execution business." Kim said.

"Not at all. So long as we stay how we are, we don't have to have any of the in front security and support problems. We have enough on our plate right now with sheep. Don't want to have to fight if we don't have to." Margaret said.

"What had David so upset this morning going down to City Hall?" Kim asked.

"We have some opportunities he wants to take advantage of. We have pressure from the PCB to use Merle Hill as an advisor. David and I have a personal opinion of Merle, and would rather he find some other line of business. We don't' want to run our operation like he did his. After all, we had no licensing problems."

"So what is he going to try for?" Kim asked.

"Probably expand H&S goats from sixteen to twenty four or so. And ours from eight to sixteen or so."

"Do we have housing for that?" Kim asked.

"You looked at the third floor office area at H&S. You do the math. No more managers on the top level." Margaret said.

"Need to expands showers on second and third. Is that in the budget?"

"Will be if we have to. David already has room for sixteen with no double bunks. We can house there for a short time while the third floor is renovated at H&S."

"Why so many?" Kim asked.

"There are three reasons. First, we have to store for a while pending exception on some of our clients. Find a case to get them off the platter and back into the world. Second, we have to worry about self-selection with our ladies. I have at least three who may go through the chute any day if they get depressed enough, including you." Margaret said.

"I don't' think so." Kim replied.

"Helen thinks so. And since she is one of the better ones here at talking with people we listen to what she says. I have to work with having replacements for women here that decide that they don't' want to be here any more. That is a lot of management stress."

"Margaret, I had that spin for a few hours. Then I got out of it. Your sluts got me through it and I am pretty happy."

"Kim, I am glad we did. But if you do decide to leave, we need someone to replace you. Better to have them in house then have to find them in a very short order. Besides, if we go to five days a week, we need to have relief to spell the work you are doing now or risk burnout."

"There is that. Killing people is a stressful job. You need some down time between shifts." Kim said.

That comment pretty much ended the conversation for the remainder of the trip.

The lights of the open sign were dark at Findlay when Margaret pulled up. David's car was right behind her pulling into the parking lot. After giving his wife a kiss, David whispered "I think we need a meeting of the core group plus Kim in the office before we do dinner."

"Ok. Helen, Carol, Nancy, Elizabeth and Candy?" Margaret asked.

"Yes, and bring Kim and Cindy too. Need to talk about a few things coming up."

Settling in his office, David checked his mail first and then poured a drink. This was going to be a long conversation.

As his team filed into the office and sat down, they noticed that the bar was open. Meaning that it was time to do an early day talk. "What's up, Boss?" Candy asked.

"Ok. I had a meeting with a new guy named Maguire. He is being pushed to have production kicked up to cover our quota statewide. Our old friend Merle is doing his best to get back into the business, and I expect that he will probably work to take some sort of direct action soon. Today's meeting brought out some interesting facts. We are headed into the fall season and the state allocation board is in a jam. If we don't' get near population quota by the end of the year, the state looses Social Security Funds."

Carol sat up at that comment. "They have the balls to apply Thompson and Harkness resolutions? Without congressional review or comment?"

"That is what he is saying. It was a good thing you are as involved as you are in keeping on track with that or I would have been in the dark."

"What exactly does that mean?" Margaret asked.

"It means that they are tying social security benefits to the older people to the performance of the Population Controls. Which is nuts for so many different reasons, and will also cause a class war." Carol said. "What do they say they need to get their targets?"

"Two thousand a week through this quarter, and then fifteen hundred a week through the end of the year." David said. "Candy. What is our normal daily production?"

"With the clipper, we do one twenty a day without any real stress. We have ten minute intervals for clean up between strings. After yesterday, barring equipment failure, we can start at nine and be done fully by five. Not counting any specials."

"So, with eight we get that done daily. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday we do catch up and what is the normal production for those days?"

"Usually thirty to forty. Call it another hundred a week."

"Ok. We have three sixty here, and seven fifty at H&S when we are operational. Add specials and that gives us roughly twelve hundred a week for a three-day workweek. The state allocation is fifteen hundred, but they are in backlog right now. MAB is looking at needing to do about two thousand a week to catch up with this year's allocation for the remainder of the quarter, and then have fifteen hundred a week on average through the fourth quarter. Including all holidays."

Candy asked. "What about the other production plants?"

"I am sure that M&H are going to be able to do their share, but we need to get H&S on line quickly. I see this as a manpower issue and a storage issue more then anything else." David said. "We could catch up with just our two locations running five days a week. IF we could get the manpower in place to prevent burn out."

"So what did you do?" Margaret asked.

"I told him to increase goat collars here from eight to sixteen here, and at H&S from sixteen to twenty four, minimum. And to have them all under our license."

"Is that an administrative or regulatory increase?" Carol asked.

"Regulatory. And also possibly to extend time limits on renewal." David said.

"How extended?" Carol asked.

"No time limits. And it is a regulatory interpretation of the statute."

"So, we gear up for a five day work week, with additional goats doing intakes, and see how well we can process? What about storage?" Candy asked. "We are running out of space on a normal heavy day and have to ship next day. If we do five day a week, we are going to have a real storage issue."

"That is another thing. I am going to get to Swift and a few others and have them do refer trailers here. That way we can invoice and ship in their transport. Title of contents to pass upon loading, with invoice to them. Same as we do pet food today." David said.

"That gets us away from doing Interstate business. Is that your goal?" Carol asked.

"You warned me that if this house of cards ever were to come apart, we would have an easier time in state courts then in federal courts." David said. "I took that to heart."

"So, What is the course of action, Bawana?" Carol asked.

"First off, we have to expand the work force. I understand you have two recruits already. What about any more in this week's list?"

"Actually make that three. I think Carla will be in the list rather then in the pot." Carol said. "She is staying over for dinner as well as Elaine."

"Good. Who else do we have on the hook?"

"Couple of teachers, another lawyer, and two nurses aides. Haven't gotten calls from the others. Jack Miller called to say he wants to co-ordinate recruitment efforts. Seems he had a large allocation from before. Over twenty eight collars." Elizabeth said.

"Margaret, can you meet up with Jack tomorrow and see what we can do to get some coordination. He was at H&S last week and was impressed. Maybe we can help there and get some pressure off of us." David said.

"So. We do full court press on recruitment. We looking for fill in or long term?" Helen asked.

"Is there a difference?" David asked.

"If we have someone that is interested in only a short time, should we invest in them to keep them around for just the few weeks?" Helen explained.

"Helen, you were a short timer. And you are sticking for a while. Give any of the ones who can contribute a chance. We need bodies to make bodies."

Cindy threw a plastic cup at David with that joke and everyone groaned. "What? Isn't that the truth?" David said in defense.

"On that note, girls, the meeting is adjourned. David you are sounding like Merle." Margaret said.

Realizing when he should shut up, David smiled and said, "Ok. Let's go get something to eat and see what we can do with the two recruits."

Carla Sanchez had been sitting in the dining room area with Helen when David's staff meeting was called. Not having any direction, she continued to sit there. When Abby came downstairs and started setting things up in the kitchen, she figured to go over and help.

"Abby, is it? What can I do to help?"

"Hey, Carla. I am doing Italian tonight, which means red sauce. And I am a messy cook. If you want to help, you might want to take that dress off before it get's stained."

"How many are we cooking for?" Carla asked.

"Our eight, plus the at least six of the guys, you two newbies, and probably a odd husband or two. Figure dinner for twenty."

"Hell that is a restaurant diner. Let me help. Do you have anything for me to change into?" Carla asked.

"Just an apron." Abby said. "Put your dress on the back of that chair by the couch. And you might as well loose the bra. We not really do much for clothes here."

"I've noticed." Carla said. Finding a clean chair, Carla removed her dress and bra and placed it over the chair back and walked to the stove where Abby had set an apron.

"This is the normal costume for us here. Robes when it get's chilly, but the collars for everything else." Abby said. " Naked means you don't have to do a lot of laundry."

"There is that" Carla replied with a laugh. "So how is dinner rotated?"

"We usually sign up for it. It is like dorm life. We each take a different day or selection. Usually Helen and I do Italian, but she is tied up with Staff."

"Staff?"

"Yea. Every once in a while about a half dozen of us get sucked into meetings with David and Margaret to get ideas on what is bouncing around. And then we have general discussion later in the evening for a general quorum. Some ideas get washed out early. Others get updated. And they rotate people to get different points of view. It is almost communal."

"Everyone get's involved?" Carla asked.

"Almost everyone. All the goats do. I expect you are going to probably be one, or you wouldn't be here for dinner. At least you are a candidate for one." Abby replied.

Carla stood motionless for a moment. Abby's casual statement had made her heart flutter for a moment. "Well, I guess I will have to see. It would be nice to be able to think beyond next Monday."

"You might have a shot at it. Don't do too much beyond that." Abby replied. "It is one day at a time here."

"I guess I have to think that way." Carla said. "What makes things interesting is the blogs of the people who have come through here. I first thought it was a farce, until I saw that we actually had a day to do intake and then a day to report. I wondered if you had people sending messages while standing in line."

"No. We don't want you to do too much thinking. You have to be in the now or run the risk of panic. That's why I like the Sybian and not the other mechanicals. People looking at the Gallows or the guillotine can get a sudden dose of reality. We have had a number of them do a sudden change of mind. The Sybian is different. That and the hot tub are harmless looking. But we have to make sure you don't see the last customer or the client gets spooked."

Carla laughed at that comment. "I don't have that luxury any more. I can understand why though. In sales and marketing you never let the problems become broadcast as problems. They are just conditions you adjust to. I can just see you saying "Just wait a moment while I move this dead woman out of your way." Or "Pick out your preferred insert while I get this smoking corpse out of the way.""

"In surgery we say we never want you to look at your insides. Either you are fascinated by what you see, or you are terrified." Abby replied. "One of the reasons to knock you out is so you don't see what is going on."

"I thought it was so you didn't see people making fun of you." Carla replied.

"Maybe in some places. None of the operating theaters I worked in were that way. And this place is a lot like that." Abby said.

For the next twenty minutes the conversation was centered on food. Carla worked at slicing sausage into coins to put into the lasagna along with the ground meat that was in the pan. After building up the six layers of pasta, cheese and sauce and meat, Carla and Abby put the three pans into the oven.

Just as the oven was being loaded, David and the group came in from the office.

"Howdy Lady" Margaret said as she reached for Carla and hugged her. "Damn, we put you to work already?"

"I guess it looks like it. Besides I like to cook," Carla said." And if we are feeding a mob, I didn't think it was fair to leave it to Abby."

"She is pretty good with that knife too. Got the sausage sliced into coins in seconds. Thought it was Cindy for a moment." Abby said.

"We went to the same culinary school after college. I wanted to do things right." Carla said.

"Oh my. Good, can I give you my cooking cores? I will do sheets and laundry." Abby said with a grin.

"We might have a deal there, girl." Carla replied.

"Don't' take it" Helen said. "We only have sheets and towels to do as laundry. There is nothing else. Laundry is once a week. Cooking is every day."

"But I like to cook."

"The other reason is I don't like competition in the kitchen." Helen said. Then she smiled and continued "But we can do teams."

"Well, before we start adding names to the slate, we have some discussion to have" Margaret said to Helen. "If you have a minute, Carla, we would like to see you in the office for a few."

"Sure. Am I staying for supper?" Carla replied, a little timid.

"Sure. And maybe later too, but we have to talk about that. Care to follow me?" Margaret said as she led the way to the downstairs bathroom in David's office.

Going into David's office and closing the door, Margaret gestured Carla into one of the chairs in along the wall. "So. How you holding up?" Margaret asked.

"Well, It has been an education. I owe Cindy and Janet an apology for being so flip at the Chamber of Commerce dinner a few months ago. I can see things from a different perspective right now." Carla said.

"Yes. It does give you an adjustment. So has Helen been able to show you everything we have to offer?" Margaret asked while sitting down.

"I certainly have seen all of your different options. I damn near pissed myself watching the guillotine in action. I did get a bit sick while I was watching the woman hanging at the gallows. Helen said it was a Short Drop, what ever that means. I know it isn't what I want to do."

"We discourage that one as much as possible. You have to personally sign a couple of waivers in private before we do that one. David has squeamish reaction to that and I have to let him have his way in some things." Margaret said.

"I can understand why. I really didn't care for that for myself. The Guillotine was exciting. The draw straws exercise was a real heart racer." Carla continued.

"That is one of our best sellers. Especially for groups. We drop the price for groups on that one and I can't help but think that the women get a better experience. Singles know they are going and pretty much when. When you draw straws, you know you are going to lose, just not yet when. Except for the last one, you don't know if you are next." Margaret said. "If you like we could hold you for the next group." Margaret offered.

Feeling a sinking in her stomach, Carla considered her reply. "I was wondering if you could consider holding me a little longer?"

Laughing out loud, Margaret replied with a smile. "There is that consideration. What do you think you would bring to the group and what do you bring to help us with our business? " Margaret asked.

Carla had listened very carefully to that question. "You have two separate things there, don't you?"

"You were one of the sharper ones. Yes, I asked two separate things. And you do have to answer to both. Whether by stress or by circumstance we don't have the usual bickering or drama that you have with other groups. At times, we even forget why we are here. So that is one of the key things. And we have limited seats here, and everyone has to pull their weight. We don't really have the luxury of idle storage here any more."

Sensing Carla getting ready to interrupt, Margaret continued. "Cindy was a pity case for a week. We try to grant those for people who have a plan to get off the track and we would offer that to you too. But you have to have a plan. Her making herself a key to this business caused me to extend her time here. That and my husband." Margaret added ruefully. "And not for sex. He does that sometimes. He makes a decision and expects my agreement simply because he thinks he is right. The fact that he usually is frustrates me immensely."

"So, what do you need that I could provide for your business here?" Carla asked.

"Right question. We have to expand operations. We need people to do intake, escort, slaughter control, slaughter, and consoling sessions. Women don't do butchery or lift heavy things here. Except for Candy and Cindy, no one does any of the work beyond death of a client. Candy actually is working toward becoming a Master Butcher. And you have already experienced most of the things we would expect from you today."

"The sort of things that Cindy and Abby are doing?" Carla asked "Or what Helen is doing?"

"Actually we need people for all of that. Some prefer some things more then others. Some are flexible and do almost everything. Candy and Cindy are great interviewers, compassionate guides, good counselors and skillful killers. Either of them can slit a throat with no muss, fuss and in a way that there is nothing but a pinch. A few moments later you bleed out and you are gone." Margaret said with bemusement.

Carla blanched a little at that description. "I don't know that I would be good at that."

"No one really wants to. I think Candy got that way because she is competitive and to make sure we kept her around for something besides a fuck toy. Now she is in line to manage this place when we open up the other. We are taking over this market in Chicago. And we need women who can do any and all. And who won't upset, or embarrass or antagonize our clients. You have to be willing to kill to stay here. Even Helen has popped a couple." Margaret said.

Carla was surprised at that. "Really?"

"Yep. Candy, Cindy and I have killed the most. But everyone here has popped at least a few. It goes with the job. We do it nicely and we are polite. But there really isn't any getting around what we do here. And you have to give your best to the person you are working with so they are not afraid, or scared or abused."

"For how long?" Carla asked.

"For as long as you are here. If you decide you can't be willing to help, then it is time to go." Margaret said.

"I have to talk to Juan. I think he has some different ideas." Carla said.

"Everyone does. But this is what it is. You don't have to answer right now. I ask that you keep what you know about the standard process confidential, and let us know what you want to do later. You have some time after you talk with Juan and your attorney. And we have a spare collar I will hold for you up to your due date. But if you don't report Monday, we won't be able to do anything." Margaret said. "Still want to stay for dinner?"

"I think I would like that. And can you or David give me a ride home?" Carla asked.

"Sure. We have grocery shopping to do later tonight anyway."

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Margaret said.

Candy opened the door, and was carrying Carla's dress, purse and shoes and hose. "I brought this over to here to hang up so you don't have to hunt around for stuff later. Margaret, David is opening the wine, and wants to know who is going shopping tonight?"

"If David is drinking then I am. Candy, have you met Carla Sanchez? Carla, this is Candy Mitchell."

"Hi Candy. I'm happy to meet you. I have heard a lot about you."

"Well, I can't say the same yet, but I am looking forward to talking with you." The young woman replied.

"Candy is the one who does most executions here. So she would like to get a better idea of what you like." Margaret said.

"You sure know how to bring conversation to a halt, Margaret." Carla said with a laugh.

"Don't pay attention to her. I like people. And I would like to spend some time with you if you like." Candy replied.

"See? I don't get any respect. Darn kids." Margaret said with a smile.

"Margaret, I respect you a lot. But I don't get to talk with people outside of business as much as you do." Candy replied with a hurt tone.

"I know that, kid. Carla, you would be very well served to spend time with my operations officer for here. Most of the good things here come from her."

"Well then, Candy, Where is dinner? I am starving." Carla said.

"Candy, take her into the lunchroom, and ask David to come back for a moment, please?"

Following Candy down to the break room, she noticed David and four other men. She recognized Tim, Marty and Gus from earlier. The other she hadn't seen before.

"Carl, I want you to meet a friend of ours, Carla Sanchez." David said by way of introduction. "Carla, this is Carl German, our resident inspector. His job is to make sure everything is hygienic and that meat is properly graded."

"Hello, Carla. I'm pleased to meet you. Are you joining this group?" Carl asked.

"I am for dinner. Beyond that we will see." Carla replied.

"Good attitude. Let's grab a plate quick before these ruffians eat it all. Italian here is great." Carl replied.

"David, Margaret wants to see you in the office." Candy said. "And Carl is right, you better grab quick. Food at the end of the day here is gone quickly."

Taking his coffee cup with him, David went down to his office and found Margaret going over the list for the week. "Any new prospects?"

"I think that this lady is my hairdresser. If she is, we might want to fish her out of the stream. She is in tomorrow."

"Well, we can do that. We have collars to spare. Is she going to be able to more with heads then just trim hair?" David asked with a smile.

"I don't know. Intake surely. But you are right, after the speech I just gave Carla, we have to keep everyone pulling their entire weight."

"How did Carla take it?" David asked.

"I don't' know. I sent her down with Candy to talk with. Since we both know she has good judgment, I figured it would be a good idea to let her get to know the new operations manager. Let Candy decide." Margaret said.

"I told you that you deserve the credit for Candy." David said.

"And I told you she exceeded my expectations. She is a good manager and everyone respects her. Which is scary considering she is almost the youngest here." Margaret finished.

"Who was it that said leadership comes from where it exists and smart people just follow it."

"I don't know. But you are right. In this place she is the leader." Margaret said.

At that time, the leader and Carla was just sitting down to some salad while the lasagna finished cooking. Pouring a glass of wine for Carla, Candy picked up a glass of iced tea.

"No wine for me right now. If I drink it I will fall asleep too quickly." Candy said.

"Really? How old are you, if you don't mind my asking." Carla asked.

"I will be twenty in eight months."

"Bad luck on the lottery?"

"No. I volunteered so my mother wouldn't have to appear. I have three younger sisters at home, so my friend Stacy and I came to substitute for our mothers. We were sent here while H&S was in trouble and she was screened as pregnant with a boy and went home. Margaret fished me out and here I am."

"Lucky for you." Carla said.

"You are right about that. I think Margaret grabbed me as a toy for David on her first day. And I guess I managed to pull my weight here and keep doing things. I will do that as long as I can."

"You must be doing all the right things if you are going to be the manager here." Carla said.

"I didn't know that was knowledge yet. I am not sure how everyone feels about it yet, and there really isn't a lot to manage. We kind of evolve things here as a group, and we all do everything at one time or another. There are no real shirkers here. We all pretty much equally share the blame."

Carla thought on that while eating her dinner. I have a lot to think about, and a lot to talk to Juan about.

"I noticed that one of the women had a change of mind at the end." Carla said. "She was the last one for the Guillotine."

"That happens. Cindy told me about her. She had to take her back to Abby for Sybian instead. We allow that on almost all of our term methods. The only place we don't have alternatives right up to the last minute is for is standard production. Even then, if someone asks while in stripping, we set her aside in holding and bring them around. We usually have things worked out long before then, though. Most women don't want to be bothered with anything special. By the time they leave reception, they have no expectations. I like to think we treat them better then they are afraid of."

"I have to agree. I know I was scared silly when I opened the door. And I was a friend of the family." Carla said.

"Yes you were. But we were told to treat you as an expensive client. And you still haven't really decided yet if you want to work here, have you?" Candy asked.

"You sure you are only nineteen? You have a lot of perception for someone so young." Carla replied. "It is a lot to think about."

"I agree. And you have some time. Just don't take too long, and don't hurt my clients. That is all we ask." Candy said with a calm level stare. "They are scared enough that we don't want to make it worse."

Turning her attention back to her plate, Candy mused out loud while picking up a piece of her lasagna "I wonder if this is the last of Jessica?"

"Jessica?" Carla asked.

"Yes. She was the first person we had on the guillotine. She asked that we keep some of her around afterwards. I had her in the fridge, and we were going to do something with the remains. I guess this is as good as any. She always was a little sweet.

"I guess you will have to tell me about her." Carla said, looking down at her plate.

-------

Homeward bound

Later, while Margaret was driving Carla home, conversation was fraught with starts and stops. Finally, after grocery shopping, Carla asked, "What is next?"

"I think we should talk about that. Why don't you come to work as a goat on Friday, and see how you adjust. Have Juan pick you up later in the evening, say eight o'clock or so. If you think you can make the grade, we will have you check in again on Monday to work with us. If not, you have the weekend to spend with your husband and the kids. You have your appointments on Thursday and tomorrow to clean things up in your life, you have your questionnaire, and you want to talk things over with Juan."

"I think so. What are the rules, I hear Helen talk about them."

"Simple. Don't run or let anyone in after hours. Don't talk to anyone about how standard terms are done. And don't' scare the clients or hurt anyone. Polite and considerate behavior is the key. And when you put the collar on, you are responsible to everyone and for everyone. If you run, all of us get hurt for it. Same sort of things as at the Sorority house. Only the penalty is everyone dies." Margaret said.

"What about Juan? What do I tell him?" Carla asked.

"He can visit any evening or Sunday. Evenings are like this one was. Sunday is usually family day. We behave then because everyone who has kids or family comes to visit. Sometimes it get's pretty crowded. Friday night is usually girls only. Saturday is Orgy night; we usually have a pretty substantial party. That is not mandatory. If you want Juan to come and play, he has to have blood work done. It is all on the bulletin board. We can read that Friday and you can talk it over on the weekend. Right now you have to remember that once you put the collar on you can't leave the property without being with me or another management person. Now go talk to your husband, and if we see you Friday, we will put you to work. In any event we will see you Monday."

"Yes you will." Carla said.



-------

Chapter 31



The law comes to Findley

"What do you think?" Nancy asked. The subject of her question was the athletic, well-dressed and obviously uncomfortable brunette standing at the drink refrigerator. "Do we need someone like her on staff?"

"I'm not sure". Helen replied. "I am kind of surprised she is here. Usually those are carried out by out of state operations. How did she get here?"

"I asked her. She said she was not confident that she would be treated any better then here, and she was not going to be abused on the last day of her life."

The subject of the conversation was homicide detective Sargent Vicky Peterson. It was unusual enough that any police or fire personnel were picked, due to the needs for public safety. But to have a decorated homicide investigator fall afoul of the selection process net was almost unheard of. The city and the state recognized the need to keep people who were sworn to preserve and protect the society, and they usually very jealously guarded their own.

Vicky was as upset as anyone would be, and when she went to the union she was told on no uncertain terms that she was management, and thus not entitled to any assistance from that quarter. Her Captain's response to her questions was succinct.

"Get your affairs in order. It's an election year and the Mayors office doesn't want to antagonize the general public. Doing anything for you would be seen as prejudicial treatment. So transfer your caseload to Martin, Hernandez and Carter and do your depositions for your existing cases and arrests. I'll get an extension with the Population management board to get you an extra week. But you got to follow up."

Knowing that the process for law enforcement was different, Vicky was not impressed with the extension arrangements that were offered. Housing among the general population at Chicago City Jail was not where any police wanted to be. And no better quarters were offered, "Due to budget cuts, you know".

Vicky didn't know what to do until she remembered a news article she had seen a few weeks ago. Cathy Cox has gotten a few tips from Vicky in the past and newsies always were good sources for police, if you had coin with them. Vicky figured it was time to collect.

Tracking Cathy down was more difficult then she thought it would be. When Vicky called the news agency, she was told that Cathy had quit her job. The secretary only knew that all calls were to be referred to legal. After phone tag, the network lawyer gave Vicky the name of opposing consul (Sue Barksdale) and said that any and all questions would have to be referred to there.

When Vicky called the number listed for Susan Barksdale, the lawyer answered the phone herself. Surprised by that, Vicky had to shift mental gears on how to get in contact with Cathy. After a few minutes of fencing around conversation, Sue said "Detective, Why don't you quit dancing around and just come by the office. We can talk more easily. It is obvious you have something on your mind and I promise to listen pro bono. Say at 2:00?"

Lawyers were pretty convincing actors, And Susan was no exception. After hearing what Susan and Cathy had to say about Findley, Vicky was convinced that she should talk with them before she expired on Monday, and either had to report to the City Jail for hold over pending closure of her court cases, or being shipped out of state for termination and sale. The city contract with the Bowers in Cleveland did not sound like a good way to go, based on what Cathy had to say. Susan set up a appointment while Vicky was there for the next available intake discussion slot.

So, at 10:00 on a Thursday morning, Vicky was standing in front of the fridge getting some orange juice, and going back to her table to fill out a three-page document on how to end her life. Thinking to herself that this was one hell a lot of paperwork. More then the coroner had her fill out.

A few moments later, a young blonde woman approached with a portable and asked "Vicky Peterson, do you mind if I sit here with you for a few?"

Vicky looked up at the naked young woman and smiled. "I heard about you from Susan Barksdale and Cathy Cox. You are Carol, right?"

"Nope. Too young for all that she knows. I am Candy. Helen and Nancy are working with some outside clients and asked that I sit with you and help you if I can."

Vicky was a little shocked. Cathy and Sue had told her that one of the most important people at Findley was also the youngest. "Don't let her age and looks fool you." Sue had warned. "Next to Margaret, Candy is the most important operations person there. I don't know too much about the operations side, other then to say that Carol told me Candy was the person in charge and the one everyone looked up to."

"I have also heard a few things about you from Sue Barksdale and Cathy Cox." Vicky replied.

"Well, whatever you hear from people second hand should be tempered with personal experience. And I will try to make yours as pleasant as possible. I am sorry to have met you here like this." Candy said.

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" Vicky replied

"I can use it too. I don't like this either."

"You sound like a cop." Vicky said with a smile.

"In this place I sort of am. You aren't due until Monday, so we can get a jump on some of this stuff. I know you don't like loose ends."

"How do you know that?" Vicky asked.

"Helen told me. She said that police are the most organized people on earth because they have to deal with the most disorganized. They have to take charge and manage things that they don't yet fully understand and have to make decisions quickly." Candy replied with a smile. "And the higher you go, the more often you have to do that. Right Sargent?"

"Kid, you would have made a great interrogator." Vicky said with a smile. The first thing in interrogation you wanted to do was establish rapport. And this kid was working pretty well on that.

"I just try to be helpful. Let's get started." Cathy replied.

The next fifteen minutes was spent going over the questions, problems and other information that had been developed. "You guys sure have everything covered." Vicky said when she got to the end. "The department should do this with everyone."

"We are pretty proud of it. Lots of people who come here for intake are not even ready for this. Often we have to write a week extension and catch them the following week. The Selection and Population control boards don't even question our one week extensions any more." Candy said.

"So, what's next?" Vicky asked.

"Well, now we talk about the tough stuff. Choices. Do you have any?"

"You mean other then I would rather not be here?" Vicky replied.

"I can't help you there. You could go elsewhere, but I don't know that you would want to." Candy replied.

"Is that your marketing pitch?" Vicky asked with a frown.

"No. We don't get a lot of repeat business, and we can't advertise satisfied customers. But what we can do is treat each person with respect and honesty one at a time. Kind of like what you do when you arrest someone. The process is the process." Candy said with a level stare.

Thinking to herself that Candy would have been a hell of a cop, Vicky grinned. "Ok. So what is the process?"

"That is where we have some choices. Did you look us up at all, or were you just referred by Cathy and Sue?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, I had been asking Cathy about what she knew, and I found out she was fired from her job at United News. When I called, I was referred to Sue. I talked to her, and both of them referred me to here. I really don't know anything about you guys except for their recommendation. And I get here and I see three pages of paperwork and am in an interview with a teenager." Vicky said with some frustration in her tone.

"Ok. You are an ostrich. No problem." Candy replied with a smile.

"Ostrich? Like the bird?"

"Yes. Like the bird with the head in the sand thinking all this is a bad dream and it will go away." Candy said.

After a few moments, Vicky smiled. "You are right. This is a bad dream. I think that this was a bad idea." Vicky said as she started to stand up.

"Sargent, Sit down." Candy said in a low and commanding voice. "Let's go over a few facts for you right now. Sit."

Stunned, Vicky found herself sitting again.

"Here is the issue. You are a sworn officer of the law who was selected in the meat lottery. Why the hell your own department didn't take the steps to get your exempted is not our problem. We can look into it on your behalf because my boss likes to do things like that. Carol Burns, our staff attorney is not here at the moment because she is doing some legal brief for another woman we are trying to get exempted. Otherwise she would be talking with you instead of me. Do you understand me?"

"Yes" Vicky replied. Before she could say another word, Candy continued.

"Second issue. Come Monday you are either in Jail, shipped to Ohio, or on a stick in the courthouse if you try to run. Or you can find some other termination shop on a three-day notice. One that will treat you better then us. Unless you know of some other alternative that I don't, then those are your choices."

"Third." Candy continued in a low and quiet voice." I am the acting operations manager at this slaughterhouse, and your badge lost impact when you walked into that door. We are both selectees. But I am the one with a collar, and you are on a short clock. You have had good people advise you to come here and work with us. Don't you want to spend some time with us and let us find some way to help you one way or another?"

Sitting for a few moments, Vicky finally looked at Candy and said, "You are pretty cold blooded kid. I got to hand it to you, you have balls."

"You don't know the half of it." Candy replied." Now I sent Carol a message to take your case next up on our docket, and she will probably be down here in about an hour. In the mean time, do you have any idea of what we do here?"

"I assume you turn human beings into meat." Vicky said.

"Yes we do. But we try to be nice to you while you are alive." Candy said. "Unless you are hard headed. Then we use two by four therapy to help you get centered. Now, we have a number of event styles and also a standard procedure that is totally painless. The last is confidential, but I can assure you that the medical personnel who have designed it did so with the intent of minimal stress and trauma. So do you wear French cut briefs or granny panties?" Candy said.

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Vicky said. "Bikini briefs. Satin most days." She said an afterthought.

"Nice. So would I if I could get away with it. I have some film clips here I want to show you, and then I want to talk to you about a couple of other systems we use. And for you, I want you to know that there is no additional charge." Candy said.

"You charge people to kill them?" Vicky said.

"Yep. It is on the web page. We have a fee chart. Our free is pretty good, but our fee events range from kinky to seductive. It depends on your interest."

For the next half hour, Vicky was treated to a series of snuff films which would have guaranteed an arrest if it had been outside. In two of the films, Vicky recognized the young woman sitting next to her as one of the managers of the scenes. The shock of the slow hanging, with it's excruciating pain, was almost enough to turn her stomach.

"You did this to this woman?" She said, wanting to reach for her handcuffs.

"Yep. She signed a release as well as a specific request. It fit her idea but probably not her real interest. Once she was air dancing, it was too late to back up. And if you look at her you see she may not have been too angry with us."

"And these guillotine scenes are not fake, are they?"

"Nope. In fact, if you like, you can hang around after lunch and watch us commit murder." Candy said with a smile.

"You are enjoying this, you sick bitch." Vicky said in a low tone.

"Not at all. But it is what we do here. Have you noticed that a lot of women have come and gone through here in the last forty five minutes?"

Vicky looked around and saw that none of the people here were ones she had come in with. "Yes, I can see that."

"Ok. The ones who went back out the door there with the papers will be back between now and Monday. Just like you. The ones who went down the hallway are in stages of preparation for slaughter. And the ones in the interview rooms over there are planning their termination parties." Candy said.

"And what am I doing?" Vicky said.

"Paperwork. You have to be anywhere quickly? I can see if we have some spectators slots open."

Stunned by the casual nature of Candy's comment, Vicky answered "Sure."

An hour later, Candy brought the stunned homicide investigator back up to the reception area so she could gather her thoughts

"I'm going to get you some pasta salad, and wine. I think you need it." Candy said as she sat Vicky down. "Wait here and I will get us some plates."

Vicky had been shown beheadings, and women dying by electrocution while orgasming on a diabolical machine. She had sat in the bleachers, and looked through the one-way glass. She had been shown into the rear carving area, where she had seen women hung on hooks being dropped onto tables and dismembered. And she had seen a dead one mounted on a spit, and sent into a cooler to be shipped to a dinner party on Friday. And all the while the homicidal maniac with the cool grey eyes reminded her of the fact that each woman had in fact picked this, and that they were all doing it because they had been legally ordered to report. Just as she had been ordered to report.

"You expect me to eat after this?" Vicky said to Candy when she returned with a plate of salmon pasta.

"I expect you to get your shit together, drink some wine, and then ask the questions in your mind right now while we both eat." Candy replied.

"You are one hard assed bitch, you know it?" Vicky said.

"Thank you. So. Questions." Candy said as she put a fork of food into her mouth.

"Why did you show me this?" Vicky asked.

"Good question. Before I answer, I have a few for you."

"Ok."

"Do you want to be stored in Jail for the next few months?" Candy asked.

"No." Vicky said. "I think that would be a painful death, much worse then anything I have seen here."

"Good answer. Do you want to take your chances in Ohio?"

"No. I don't think so. I really don't think so. Ok. So now I have to pick what I want?"

"In a manner of speaking. How good are you at working with people? I don't mean just the question and answer of interrogation, but working with them on the worst day of their lives?" Candy asked.

"Depends. I have tried to be good to the survivors and victims'. I never took advantage of them."

"Can you help to kill them?" Candy asked.

Vicky was silent for a few minutes. Then she picked up the wine glass that Candy had brought over and took a big gulp. After a minute she said, "What exactly are you asking?"

"I am responsible for the health and safety of everyone here in an orange collar. I am also responsible for the proper treatment of every client we kill here. You noticed that there are no men in the front area?" Candy asked.

"Yes, I noticed that. Why is that?"

"So the clients here are not spooked or treated badly when they die. They get a woman's friendship and a woman's touch. They are killed by people who would die that way themselves if they had a choice. Everything you see here was reorganized and designed by women. Do you understand that?"

"I can see that. What does this have to do with me?" Vicky asked.

"Simple. We find we need to staff an additional twenty people to help us with our operations here and at H&S. Mainly we need women who can kill coolly, calmly and dispassionately without hating themselves later or the subjects they are servicing. I need at least five for here because some of the people here will be the seed corn to staff H&S. The pay sucks, the retirement plan is worse, and the career is limited. On the other hand, the benefits are pretty good, we eat well and you don't end up in the freezer immediately. We can help you get the time to get filings to get you out of here if you work while you are here." Candy said. "And it beats being in General Population in the jail."

Or sent to Ohio, Vicky thought to herself. "Who do I have to kill?" She asked, dreading the answer.

"Anyone who comes here and is your client. We don't do confrontational drama here. We send them back to find their own way if we can't get them to settle down. We expect patience, compassion, and honesty. Like I gave to you today." Candy said. "Now eat your pasta, and I will get you a refill. I need another lemon soda."

Picking at her food, Vicky was in deep thought when Candy came back. She was with another blonde woman who had a portable and a smile on her face.

"Vicky, I want you to meet Carol. Carol, she thought I was you when she came here. Obviously your fame has spread far beyond these walls. Sue and Carla told her."

"So, Vicky, welcome. I see you have been in good hands. How scared did you get her, Candy?" Carol asked.

"Not too bad. She twigged a little a couple of times, but not too badly. She might fit in here while you find a way out." Candy said.

"Aha. So this is another project. Well, Vicky, while this eating machine sits and eats, why don't you and I have a chat? And I will get a glass of wine myself."

The next half hour was spent with Candy eating, and Vicky and Carol talking about the jobs, the legal issues and the non-termination options. While Carol and Vicky were talking, Candy finished and then excused herself. "I have to get back to work, Let me know how this goes. Vicky I look forward to seeing and talking with you again later."

Watching Candy walk over to a table where Nancy was with a group of women, Vicky finished her wine and said, "She is going to kill those women, isn't she?"

"Not for a while yet. But they will be in the freezer in an hour. I think those were catch ups from yesterday." Carol replied. "Now, about you."

Carol and Vicky proposed strategy and discussion for another hour, at which time Candy came through the door marked "Office". Vicky suddenly felt sick understanding that the four women she had left with were dead. "Carol, if I do stay here and work here, what kind of person will I be when I get out?"

"Vicky, I am no shrink. But we have one on staff. The main thing is you will be alive to get out of here, go back to your job and do the things good police do." Carol said. "And you can't do that if you are in our freezer."

Police are pragmatic. They are also realistic. Vicky recognized good advice when she heard it. "So what do I have to do if I do work here?"

"Talk to people, like we are with you. Guide them down through medical and stripping. Talk to them and keep them calm. Call out their name when it is their time to go. And be both considerate and polite to all the other people who work here. Just like on the outside."

"Sounds too easy if you leave out the killing part. And adjusting to the homicide thing of your associates. How many?" Vicky asked.

"Monday, Wednesday and Friday we do about one hundred twenty to one hundred forty. Sunday we are closed and the other days we do specials and intakes. Like we are doing with you today. Figure thirty to fifty." Carol said quietly.

"And you want me to work here?" Vicky said.

"No. We don't want anyone to work here. But we are offering you a chance to work here while we try to get you out of here alive." Carol said.

"Wow. OK. Well, I have a lot to think about. If I don't eat my gun this weekend, I will see you, I guess."

"Don't do that. Sue and Carla asked us to help you if we could, and in this way we can. You can always go at any time you want even if you are here. Besides, we have more interesting ways. And there are a few fringe benefits if you are sexually flexible." Carol said.

"You mean there is an upside?"

"We have some. If you want to stay we will explain them. The uniform costs are cheap. But the friends are great. If you overlook their predisposition to murder."

"What kind of attorney were you?" Vicky asked.

"I was prosecutor for six years and then went corporate." Carol said.

"I thought that you name was familiar. You did heavy duty conspiracy stuff, major crimes stuff, didn't you?"

"Yes. And I have been challenging this silly law for years. Fortunately I can still do it."

"So what do you get? Besides not being in the freezer?"

"I get to stop each and every worthwhile person we see and try to get them out of here. I succeed enough to make it worthwhile. And the owners support it each and every day. We make sure that no one is here unfairly, and no one is here we can't save." Carol said.

"Well, I guess that says it all. What do I do now?"

"You see that questionnaire you filled out? If there are any blanks, finish them up between now and Monday. And we will see you then. We have your name flagged and we will talk then. Be here in the afternoon." Carol said. "And here is our inside phone number. That is the one we answer all hours. If you have any questions, call us."

"Ok." Vicky said as she packed up and left.

"What do you think?" Candy asked Carol at dinner that night.

"I don't know. But you for sure impressed the hell out of her. She is scared shitless of you. If she does stay here, she won't challenge you for Alpha Dog status." Carol said.

"I didn't mean to do that." Candy said.

"Maybe not. But I sure feel comfortable that you did. We love you and trust you, kid."

Candy blushed, and was about to say something, then thought better of it. If she was getting that kind of respect from people like Carol, then she should just shut up and keep earning it.

-------

Sunday Morning

Sunday morning screening was a new task. With the publication of the list, Carol, Margaret and Helen were working with Nancy on fishing expeditions. Yesterday's walk through at H&S indicated that the production facility there was on track to open tomorrow. The compressor system had been jacked up to provide much higher pressure on the clippers, and the open and close times with no resistance were under a second. Now the question was who goes where.

"We have enough people to open up one lane at H&S and still have ours open here." Candy said. "But we will need to have additional people to have both up and running."

"We will have four more tomorrow. I think Carla can work here with you guys. She worked pretty well Friday. Nancy and Carol, you are going to have to do screening and training for the new ones here. I am going to have Abby do medical with us. We are not going to do any specials tomorrow." Margaret said.

At that moment, Candy came in with the portable phone and a smile on her face.

"Yes, Vicky, you can bring personal items. You will have your own room, and we furnish it with bed, mattress, chair and a closet. No it is more like dormitory, and you have to share a bathroom. A gun safe? Sure. How heavy is it? Hmm. It might have to live downstairs, if that is ok? No, I don't think we have any issues with security. Why don't you talk with Carol before you do anything with respect to the department."

"Carol, can you give Vicky some advice. Looks like we will be adding another resident tomorrow." Candy said as she passed the phone to Carol.

"High Vicky. No, don't resign from the department. You want to either file for medical retirement or for leave of absence. Don't let any of those clowns bully you into anything else. You qualify for medical because selection is a legal disability to performing your duty. You request a leave of absence because we may be able to get those boneheads to finally file the right paperwork to put you back on the street. No you are legally unable to report for duty past five o'clock on Monday so his scheduling shit is bogus."

Listening for a few moments, Carol looked at Margaret and said "I have to take this. I am going to be busy with this one for a while. Good catch, Candy."

-------

Monday Morning.

Carla was surprised to see so many people at the back of Findlay on a Monday Morning. She had gotten there at seven a.m. intending to come in and blend with the crowd, but there were more people there then she expected. Casey and Betty, who she had met on Friday were there, as was a new woman whose name was Karen. The group of guys there included Marty Burke and Tim, who she had met and talked with on Friday. David and Margaret were not there yet.

Just then the door opened and Cindy was standing there, letting everyone in. Hugging Carla as she came in, Cindy whispered in her ear "I am glad you came back."

"I am too. It was wild though, wasn't it?" Carla asked.

"Expect more of the same. Now we have to start to pick where people are living." Cindy said

"I know. And where we are playing." Carla said.

"Well, come on. Breakfast is waiting." Cindy said.

Friday had been an education for Carla. She had been tired, foot sore, and a turmoil of emotions. She had assisted on two trips and then guided eight of her own on Friday. The place was just busy, and she had fallen into the rhythm of talking, walking and then calling names to come forward to be dropped. She caught herself a couple of times getting too empathic a connection to her clients, and on one occasion had asked Carol for help with a particularly sad case. Carol had Barbara write a two-week extension for the woman on humanitarian reasons. Not for her, but her mother, who was on life support. Getting the extension allowed social services to review the case and petition for extension for a caregiver.

After closing on Friday night, Carla stayed for dinner. She hadn't had so much fun talking since college, and hated to leave as early as she did. She was reminded that it would be the last time she could, so she should do it now. Carla had taken a copy of the bulletin board rules with her to show Juan. After he calmed down, Carla reminded him that she had a lot fewer choices and chances then he did and that she was doing it for him more then her. "I don't believe for a moment that a dozen women won't be looking at you the minute you drop me off on Monday. I won't be able to be here, and you won't be able to be there. So you might as well have a few bed warmers."

Carla and Juan had wrestled with a lot of things over the weekend. The Hispanic machismo was beaten pretty badly on Thursday, after the lawyers and other business associates had gone over the property listing settlements and other legal issues. Carla had signed a living trust agreement allowing Juan to live as though she was already dead on Thursday. Helen had suggested it and Carol had sent it home with Carla Tuesday night. The issue of survivor rights brought home the point that Juan could not do a single thing to prevent his wife having to report Monday. The fact that she was not going to be terminated (thanks to David and Margaret) did little to remove the stigma that there was nothing he could do.

This was part of the advice package that Helen had prepared for her when she left to come home at six o'clock Friday night. Helen had advised Carla carefully that there would be disconnect between them beginning Monday. And that the longer Carla lived at Findley, the greater it would be. "Eventually, he will have to recognize that this is about your survival, and that he has to do the same." She had said. "And remember, Denial is a river in Egypt. And an normal human reaction for a while."

So Carla and Juan spent the weekend boxing up things to take with her. Except for a robe and slippers, there was not a lot of clothing going, due to Carla's status. But there were a number of personal things that Carla wanted to have with her. David was pretty clear that she would only have one room to decorate, but that bed, desk, and linens were already furnished. "Think of it as moving into a great hotel for a while." David said.

Carol had been very open and blunt about packing up personal items. "Don't think you are coming back any time soon. And do you really want Juan living in a shrine without you? Think of this as a ten year prison sentence at best."

And so Carla had brought a suitcase of items, not clothes, with her on this bright Monday morning. And that was unloaded from the car by Juan and stacked next to the other luggage items on the dock.

"Damn, Tim, I guess that means we are luggage porters today. Figures David would be late on a Monday where there were four new move in residents." Marty said with a smile.

Cindy said. "Actually five. One wont' be here until after lunch."

"We ought to be paid more for all the weight we are carrying on this job outside of the meat." Tim said. "Damn, Carla, what you have in this? Bricks?"

"That's still a hell of a lot lighter then the damn vault we moved in yesterday afternoon. It has taken up the entire storage space under the stairs. Vicky was a member of the CPD Emergency response team, and all of her gear and her personal shooting stuff is in it."

Cindy said to the guys.

"Damn. Glad I didn't get into that." Tim said.

"Wait until you meet her. You might change your mind." Cindy said with a smile.

-------

Bigger Breakfasts

Carol, Abby and Helen were all working like fiends in the kitchen when Carla came around the corner. Kicking off shoes and pulling off her dress, she went over to help with plates and tableware to get people settled. It seemed like an assembly line of getting food on plates and picking up as the rear crew came in and settled. Carla was glad Juan was not here, seeing his wife naked in front of a dozen other men. On the other hand, so were the other women, and that might have treated him to some eye candy. Especially Cindy, with her cute bottom and shaved body running around like a waitress.

"Hey, girl. Did you forget something?" Candy asked Carla. "Where is your collar?"

"In my purse. I don't' have a key to unlock it and I snapped it shut when I was at home. Damn thing has a Menderson key."

"Yea, Let me get you hooked back up. You and the other girls want to follow me to the office quick?" Candy said.

Following Candy to the office, Carla asked "What is on the agenda today?"

"David is getting the bus from H&S. We are assembling here and going there this morning. And we will be bussing back from there this afternoon. The dorm rooms aren't finished and we want to shake down operations this week to figure out who reports to where. Also we need to make sure the other living area items are punched out. Kim and Margaret are probably going to be there, as well as Helen and Elizabeth for this week. Carol and Nancy are here and the new shrink Elaine."

"And you are in charge, as normal." Carla said with a grin. Candy's place here had been evident from Carla's day here Friday. Helen, Carol and Nancy were doing intakes most of the day with Cindy and Candy doing escort work. After tagging along with Candy for one trip and Cindy for another, Carla did a group herself. It was strangely easy to do after seeing how the system worked. Operation questions were clearly in Candy's bag, as time after time she proved to be a wealth of knowledge and guile in handling people who were suddenly struck with fears or panic after they had left reception.

"I think Carol is more in charge. We are having Sue Barksdale going over to H&S for the week until we can see if we can get another lawyer to cover there. She agreed Pro Bono for the week. We are going to have to get full time video conference links up as well." Candy replied.

"Wow, you guys sure have been busy getting ready for this. How many we have to do?" Carla asked.

"Don't ask. We will talk about it at dinner." Candy replied. "Ok, ladies. Let's get you linked up quick. We do not want to miss breakfast today."

The group had gotten back to the family room just in time to see David and Margaret come in from the rear area. Seeing that all of his goats, both old and new, were here, He began to speak.

"Ok. Ladies, as you know, we are opening up another line at H&S today. But we have to redistribute some people. Just so everyone knows, I have the transport van here and we will be using it to do Shuttle Service between here and H&S. We don't have as many people in our operation as they did so we will not have quite the idle time. We talked with all of you about who will be where this week, and tonight, those of you who go with Margaret and I to H&S will be brought back later. Carl, you and Marty Richardson are defacto management in charge while we are at H&S. I doubt we will have any issues, but if we have any official visits, you are it. If you need Margaret or I call us."

David continued. "Barbara, is Kelly Shepard here?"

"She is in the lab. She was certified in the HEMO 3000 last year, and she is up to date with the existing software. And Abby can help her with anything she needs."

"Good. And the vendor is providing a coach on the Hemo 3500 and the new Geocentysis machine this week for Barbara. You can ride with us to your new home." David continued.

"Good. I wasn't sure about parking there and this is closer to home." Barbara replied

"Ok. After breakfast, let's all get going." David replied.

The new table of organization was carefully worked out over the weekend and previous week. In addition to Candy, Cindy was to remain at Findley. Cindy was going to do the clipper duties in back, with Kevin assisting. Carla, Casey and Betty would be the main escorts, jobs all three of them had done on Friday. Kelly Shepard was going to be doing Barbara Knowles old job, but Abby was going to be helping her with that by running around and doing the medical sticks. It was strange to have a board certified MD doing blood draws, but because of the regulations, Abby could not be in charge. Besides, Kelly was trained as a Blood Services Tech, and so the machine work fell to her.

Barbara was getting the new Hemo 3500 with it's faster process time and software. And Jackie was going with her to assist as Vampire.

Cliff Magure was to continue in his job at H&S as USDA inspector. He had been here at Findlay last week and Carl had really worked with him during the week. He had gotten over his attitude after his initial meeting at Findlay, and was energetic and happy to be working close to home.

The two new interview slots were the real key players. Karen would be learning a lot of tricks from Nancy and Carol. Elaine would also be taking up the slack that Helen usually did in intake. Fortunately, the morning group had been pre screened and most of the paperwork was done. Candy was expected to do general duty in all of the intake and escort duties for the day, and also consult with any specials that were to be scheduled for the week.

It was still a skeleton crew. Like David said, "We have no bench. No relief players."

Hopefully some fishing would pick up a few more this week.



-------

Chapter 32



The New H&S

Marty Burke was busy as hell in his office. Kim had been very thorough on the project job, but like any other project, there had been a few snags. Friday and Saturday had been a crunch to get all of the boxes of supplies unpacked and the shipping boxes set up in the new Stripping rooms. Exhaust fans and air fresheners had been running full speed all weekend to remove the smell of paint and carpet glue, and the dormitory rooms were still being finished. It was agreed that the construction there would be suspended on production days,

Today would be a light operations day with only eighty or so clients. Marty had no doubt that the eighty for today would be far easier then the eighty of the past. It was the two hundred and fifty that he had to do a week from today that had him worried.

Still, he had a great team and solid performers. Marty Robinson and George Harkness had really gotten the guys into a smooth team. The eight from before that Margaret and Helen had kept had fallen into a good and smooth relationship, and Jim was going to be helping Kim at the clipper.

Running one line for butcher was simple. Manpower of eight plus to backend the operation was overstaffed. But next week, when two lines were running, additional manpower would be needed. And there wasn't any to get from Findley. George and Marty Robinson were already looking through the union hall to hire new people who would be able to work in the social environment at Findley and H&S.

Goat recruitment was going to be the real issue. David and Margaret had shown the way to do things with the new setup and responsibilities. But finding the right people to do intake, lead, and process was still a hit and miss. The Findley team over the weekend had picked a few candidates, and Helen and Elizabeth here as interview and intake for the first days. Marty was a little selfish as he was trying to figure out how to keep them here more or less permanent. With them in the front end and a good set of escorts, this job will be smooth sailing. Maybe he could find a way to bribe them. Larger rooms? Better Furniture? Private Bathrooms? Whatever it took, Marty had been convinced that any of the key first five at Findley assured success.

Damn shame Candy was in line to do his job at Findley. That kid was a leader by example and really cared about the place. Aha, youth, Marty though to himself. Your first real job is the one that captures you. Still, she is a real powerhouse.

All of this was first on his mind, as the bus drove up and people started to come in the door.

Sue was at the employee entrance unlocking the system. Susan Stienhauer had been here as well to have management in addition to Marty in case any inspectors came by. After letting everyone in, she went to the reception area to open the front door at eight thirty to let the first new clients in.

H&S was very different from the operation that was closed down a few weeks ago. The reception area had more room then Findley with seating for over a hundred in small tables for five. There were desks just inside of the door on both sides. Here was the first stop where the receptionist collected your notification letter. Then you were told to get something to drink and pick a seat at a table and someone would be with you in a moment. The guides would then stop by the tables and get the names of the group and get the correct folders. Women were encouraged to sit at a table in a group when they came in, to help simplify organization.

It was no coincidence that one of the key things Nancy was looking for was waitress experience. Stop at the table and get the folders, and then spend a few minutes getting the documents filled out.

Susan was dressed in the standard uniform of the day (An orange collar and skin) and found that easing the women who came in was very easy to do. She didn't know the two women that were new goats from Findley, but Margaret's presence was a calming influence. Since only one desk was manned, and the first group was only about twenty women, Susan felt much more comfortable after the first butterflies settled. Working on printing, and organizing files and slipping the photo and letters into the specially designed envelopes was boring and clerical, and passed quickly. Keeping an eye on the desk and the door, she moved about the room herself, getting water and helping women at the tables as they had questions on the form. Gradually the room took on a quiet murmur of sound, and she saw Margaret start down the hall with the first group of women.

"I guess that means we are in business." Susan thought to herself.

Keeping one eye on the door, and still circulating around the tables, Susan found herself strangely calmed by the rhythm of the room. She also saw that she needed a lot more goats, because this place was woefully understaffed.

She had just settled a group at a table when she saw Margaret come out of the door marked offices. Knowing that this meant that the first group was done, and the second and third were close behind, Susan looked at a table where most of the women were finished with their folders and gestured Margaret to there.

By the time Margaret was back from her third trip down the hallway, Susan noticed that it was almost lunchtime, and that the room was virtually empty. Almost forty had been processed so far today, and the stress was minimal. A very good beginning.

"So, how you holding up?" Margaret asked Susan.

"Very well so far. I think the method is great and we should be done with the morning session with one more trip. Any issues down the stream?" Susan asked.

"Nothing. Barbara says that we have to get a 3500 at Findlay now. She says that the diagnostic software is almost twice as fast, and the results are better then we had before. We had three pregnant, all female. So they were not exempted. So far, this is a real factory." Margaret replied.

"I can see that this is really smooth. But we need a lot more people. Especially if we open up the second line next week. I didn't see any for keeping. Do we have any coming here?"

"Helen and Elizabeth have a lookout for two that are due in this afternoon. And I have another one Candy fished out last week we are training today. I think that by Friday we will have trainees to work at Findley and bring the ones we have there this week over here. The bus will be full on Monday with people for here." Margaret explained.

"You know, our break room, kitchen and bedrooms are all on the second floor. There should be space here for family stuff too. It might make sense to have the goats closer to family here and at Findley on Sundays."

"Possibly. But our rumpus room is better for Saturday nights." Margaret said with a grin.

"Probably true. But this would be a place to get away from the noise."

"We will see. Depends on the mix of people. Anyway, is that table ready to go?" Margaret asked, looking at a group by the door.

"I think so. And the other two by the cooler are almost done with their documents. That cleans out the morning session completely when you are done."

"Good. Want to order in lunch?" Margaret asked.

"Sure. Italian?"

"No. Something light. Don't' want to fall asleep this afternoon.

"Ok."

-------

Police of Rank? Or just rank.

Getting a ride from police headquarters had been a problem. Following Carol's advise, Vicky had gone to personnel first thing in the morning, and filed the papers for a leave of absence, medical reasons. The reason given was selection ordered termination. As it was a legal instead of strictly medical issue, an emergency board hearing was convened. The request was highly irregular, due to the normally terminal condition that followed selection. However the goat collar assignment that was filed with the MAB verified that Vicky was simply unable to comply legally with orders outside of the slaughterhouse. As a medical issue, Vicky's rank and position on the force were frozen and she could not be replaced. She was also entitled to one hundred eighty days at full pay, and an additional one hundred eighty days at half pay. And as she was not unhealthy, simply on restricted location, she would not even have to have weekly medical reviews to her condition.

Vicky also produced a letter that verified that medical examinations by a board certified emergency medical doctor would be available upon request.

Paperwork and documentation held up Vicky until almost noon, whereupon she caught a ride with a squad out to Findley. She got there just as Candy came up from the back and was grabbing a plate of pasta from the side tables. "Hey there Girl Friend. Ready for lunch and then work?" Candy asked as Vicky walked in.

"I guess there is that. So, what do we do?"

"Eat first. Then paperwork. Then you follow Carla and I with a group through processing. That way we can get your blood work done too. And get you through the experience so you can better act as guide." Candy said. "Grab your paperwork from the desk and grab a glass of wine and a plate and let's get a seat."

Ten minutes later, Candy was putting a fork of pasta into her mouth when Erica Christianson came in. Ignoring the woman at the entrance desk, Erica looked around for her missing detective. Seeing her sitting next to a blonde teenager, she stalked over to the table, intending to take charge of this situation.

Captain Erica Christianson was furious. She had already worked out a plan for Vicky to be in solitary confinement at Chicago Jail pending a hearing with the Selection board. Under that circumstance, Vicky would be suspended from duty without pay pending the review, but still available for court ordered testimony in several cases that were pending. Now those plans were in dust, as the confinement was out of the Captain's control. And now that she was here, she intended to correct this situation.

Candy and Vicky talked casually about her stuff that was upstairs or in the main storage room while Erica was approaching. Stopping next to the table, Erica gave both women a level glare while listening. After a few moments, Erica asked, "You already moved stuff here? Why?"

Looking around Erica, Candy looked over at Carol, sitting at the desk on the phone. Looking up at Erica, Candy spoke in a calm voice, "Why don't we move this into a interview room? Would you like to follow me and Vicky?"

Walking to the interview room two, Candy set her plate and drink down on the table and gestured for Vicky to sit at the end.

"So, My name is Christina Mitchell, but everyone here calls me Candy. I assume you know Vicky, but I am afraid I don't know your name."

"I am detective captain Erica Christiansen of the Chicago Police Department, and Vicky works for me. And I want to know why she is here and what is going on?"

"Captain, I think I can explain everything that we didn't want to talk about outside. Please give me a moment." Candy said as she was sitting down behind the table."

"What you didn't know is that I am the operations manager at this facility." Candy said, picking up her fork. "We have legal consul, social and psych support and a host of others here working, but for the moment I am the one who decides who stays and who dies. This is a statement of fact, not an exaggeration. Vicky, please eat your lunch, the pasta Verde is great."

After drinking a sip, Candy continued to speak calmly to Captain Christiansen. "Now we had a long talk with Vicky last week. She has leadership talents I need here, and Carol thinks that she can make the case to get your stupid department off of it's ass and collectively petition to get her exempted from this silly situation she is in. Vicky, have some wine, you deserve it."

"Now, before you discount me as a silly teenager" Candy continued. "I want to give you a few facts. Like I gave Vicky on Thursday. Like it or not, you guys screwed the pooch on this woman. Your best offer is jail with the same miscreants that she locked up. She won't last a week in jail. Do you disagree?"

"I have arrangements for her to be in solitary, separated from the general population." Erica said. "It is the best I can do given the notice."

"Good for you. And what level of confidence do you have in the Department of Corrections?" Candy continued.

"What do you offer instead?" Erica asked, attempting to get control of the subject.

"You are in my interrogation room, I ask the questions." Candy replied. After eating another forkful, she continued. "How long can you insist that she be kept in control before someone ships her to Ohio for processing?"

"I will do everything in my power to prevent that." Erica replied.

"I believe you will. But you have limits. This is my facility and my span of control is a little stronger. Think about it. Vicky was advised to come here by media and legal advisors. After considering the alternatives, Vicky asked to come here. We have offered a degree of safety you don't have available to offer." Candy said, calmly setting her glass down. After which she moved her right hand under the table.

At this point, Carol came into interview room and sensed the stress in the air. Candy had her game face on. The last time Carol saw that, was when she was explaining how she termed Melissa to keep her from causing a break in.

"Hey, Carol, good timing. Vicky has surrendered herself to us for processing, as a legally designated selectee in the MAB lottery. What is the penalty for interfering with operations at a licensed process plant?" Candy casually asked.

"Not something any of us want to have happen, I am sure. I am Carol Black, legal consul. I wonder if I can help you to clear up this misunderstanding."

"I am Erica Christiansen, Captain of the homicide unit for the Chicago Police Department. And this detective works for me and is leaving right now. As her commanding officer, I am in charge. " Erica said.

"Actually, you are not." Carol replied. "Vicky and I were on the phone with your personnel office this morning. She is currently on extended medical leave of absence due to circumstances of a legal nature. So she is off your clock at this time."

"That may be an administrative issue that I will resolve. But as of this time, I am ordering her to come with me and I order you both to not interfere with police business."

"Ms. Christiansen, you were not invited to this facility. And I am serving notice that you should cease and desist interference before we execute appropriate measures to protect the integrity of this facility. Isn't that the phrase Carol?" Candy said while keeping her right hand under the table.

"That explains why you came in here rather then be in the reception area." Carol replied. "Erica, do you understand the situation here?"

Erica suddenly realized that she was in a slaughterhouse. And she had no legal reason to be present. "Sargent, if you don't come with me, I will charge you with insubordination."

"Captain, I think you may have a problem there. I recorded Vicky as having reported already. You can't order someone to violate the law. I will eat you alive in court." Carol said.

"Vicky. Do you want to leave?" Candy said in a small quiet voice.

Looking carefully at Candy's face, Vicky thought about her answer. Candy was one of those people who made decisions and then followed through. She may be a kid but she was someone you could trust. "No. I think I would prefer to stay. I trust you. I trust your word."

"Got you. Captain, I really don't want to have any problems with the Chicago police department, so if you could please leave now, I won't have to term you and send you out of here in a dog food can." Candy said with a straight face.

Erica was shocked at the bland threat. Or was it a threat? Something about the calm demeanor of this naked cheerleader type was disconcerting. This girl meant it. And she wasn't afraid of Erica in the least.

"Do you understand the penalty for threatening a Police officer?" Erica continued beginning to loose her temper.

Hearing that, and sensing that things were going to be bad in a second Carol stepped away from Erica and interrupted. "Captain, I don't think you really understand the situation. Vicky is in compliance with the law. You are violating it. You are past the age of selection. Don't make the mistake now and end up in a can."

Thinking on the older woman's statement, and seeing the young woman's right hand was out of sight at the moment, Erica decided on a different track. "What is going to happen with her?" Erica asked.

"Nothing that is outside of the system." Carol replied. "And she will be treated a lot better here then the alternatives you had intended for her."

"But I could control that." Erica said, looking at her detective.

"Captain, we are not at liberty nor under obligation to discuss the arrangements we have here. They are published and available to you if you choose to research them. But regardless, you are too late to do anything now. You should have done it and communicated it earlier to your officer then you did." Carol said.

"Well, in that case, I will take your badge and shield." Erica said.

"Actually you don't have that right." Carol injected." According to your HR office, Vicky is on leave of absence and as such retains those until such time as she is either discharged or her medical situation worsens. Until that time, she is on paid administrative leave with all rights and powers of a officer." Carol continued. "Thus at this time you do not have rights to suspend or discipline her."

"Wait a minute." Erica said. Suddenly Erica remembered where she had seen Carol before. Not naked, but in a tweed suit with her hair done much differently. Then she had been a very powerful person in the prosecutor's office. "I know you."

"Yes, you probably should. It was a while a go and you were still Sargent in vice. Let's not let that get in the way of what is going on here now."

"Ladies." Candy said. "Obviously these issues will need to be addressed through the legal channels. Captain, you are here uninvited. That is covered in the case law. Vicky, you have reported. That is covered in the case law. Carol, please show this woman the way home and I will take charge of continuing to process Vicky as we had discussed over the weekend."

Sensing defeat, and seeing that Candy's right hand was still under the desk, Erica realized that she had no justification for any action at this time. Looking at Vicky one last time, she could not resist saying, "Sargent, I see that your career is over. I won't bother with the paperwork to get you excluded after this nonsense. Goodbye."

Seeing Vicky's face after Erica left, Candy reached to the older woman and shook her shoulder. "She isn't the one doing the filing anyway. Carol will. Come on, finish lunch and we will get things going."

"Candy, What is that in your right hand?" Vicky asked.

"ESD. Military output. We have one in each interview room just in case husbands get unruly. And I didn't want to upset the ladies in reception which is why we came here." Candy replied.

"Damn. You are a cold blooded bitch." Vicky said.

"You don't know. But you will find out." Candy said, finishing her salad.

-------

If you are going to lead, you have to be experienced

After lunch, Vicky took a place in a group of three other women, along with Candy as lead, and taken through the process of examination, peing in the cup and then stripping. Vicky was uncomfortable about leaving her gun, and other police paraphernalia in the box in stripping, but Candy advised that would be shipped separately. As the last person to go through the turnstile, she contemplated all of the changes that had happened in the last week. Hanging on to the handle, she was suddenly whisked into a room, where she heard Candy call her name. She stepped forward and then.

Vicky woke up sensing something was wrong. She was upside down. Looking around she saw two sets of feet and legs, and a set of pants. All had shoes standing on the floor that was above her head.

"She is coming around. Two minutes, forty-five seconds. That new condenser charge is a real good zapper." A female voice said.

"Yea. That gives us almost two minutes of slack time from stun to recovery. I think that is a good margin of safety. So, Vicky, are you ready to go to work?" Candy's voice said from near her feet.

"Well, I can't do much from this position, so you have to put me down first."

"Damn, this floor is cold and wet" Vicky said as she was sitting upright on the floor next to a weird looking apparatus.

"Well, let's get you standing up and over here so we have a few moments before the next string. I think Carla is next." Candy said.

Putting on the sandals that Candy had given her, Vicky walked across the floor to stand where she was told. Then she watched to see the turnstile revolve to bring a young Hispanic woman into view. The sign of the bright orange collar was clearly evident.

"Now, Don't get upset and be quiet" Candy advised Vicky. "Remember that what you see is what we do here, and that you are not to interfere."

So Vicky watched as the next four women were stunned, hung and capped in less than five minutes. With the decapitation of the first woman, Vicky felt her bladder release. The second and third caused turmoil in her stomach. But with the last one, she felt numb. This was how things were done here. Murder on a production line basis.

"Ok, Let's get you in a collar and sit down for a few moments. I had Casey bring your box upstairs, so we can put them in your room. Let's get you settled." Candy said.

Following Candy, Vicky was shocked at herself. This was not what she was sworn to do as a police officer. This is so wrong on so many different levels. Upon entering her room she saw that her box had been opened, her service weapon was empty and the magazines were empty as well. All the bullets were neatly put into a box next to them.

"Why did you do that?" Vicky asked.

"I didn't want you to shoot me without giving me a chance to talk with you." Candy said.

Sitting in the chair in the room, Vicky started to laugh. Then her voice became hysterical and she laughed louder and longer. After a few moments, she started to cry. And then started to bend forward. Candy carefully moved to take the woman onto her shoulder and held her. After a few moments, Vicky stopped and started to wipe her face with her hands. "I am a mess."

"Just a sec. We put towels on your bed earlier. Here" Candy said as she gave Vicky the washcloth. "We got more where those came from. And tissues next to the bed. So take it easy. Want to talk?"

"Jesus, what about. First you hold a gun in your hand on my commanding officer, and then you stun the shit out of me, and then show me four murders in less then five minutes. What is there to talk about?"

"What's for dinner? What time is breakfast? How do we file to get you out of this nuthouse? Where are the bed linens? I can think of all sorts of things to talk about." Candy said. "Some practical, some nonsense and a few that are so damn weird that you will piss yourself. So?"

"Aren't you supposed to be going to work?" Vicky asked.

"If someone needs me, they will buzz me. These portables are our life and we use them for everything. There is one on your desk. Your login is your first name and last initial, and your password is your shield number and you can change it when you want to." Candy said.

"Ok. So then what?" Vicky asked.

"Well, we fed you, we gave you a portable and you know how the intake works. So now we work the room. You and Me. Interviews, paperwork, prep work and going from one group to the next. You need to think a bit and you need to work with clients a bit in the real world and time is a wasting. Let's go. It is two o'clock and we have people here until five. And I still have to get a collar on you so the USDA or PCB don't think you are a runaway."

"I'm Naked" Vicky said

"So am I. Cheaper uniforms. Let's go." Candy said.

This girl, Vicky thought to herself, is a goddamn drill Sargent.

For the next three hours, Vicky worked the reception room. She saw over sixty women working through their questionnaire and had to consult her terminal for everything from phone numbers (property management locations for last minute announcements of lease cancelations.) to legal issues on exclusion. She was amazed at how much legal information was on the portables. She was actually able to exclude or extend four of the women she worked with for another week for work on lottery mistakes. And Carol and Candy were a constant coach. Candy, Vicky felt, was physic. The damn girl showed up at the right time all afternoon, when Vicky was getting flustered about something. Eventually, Vicky settled into a rhythm and then suddenly the day was over. Carla came by and picked up the last group for the day and Carol was locking the front door.

"Time for a drink. Want a beer Vicky?" Candy asked.

"Sure do."

"Ok. Let's go to the rec room. Follow me."

Stopping at the manager's office, Candy suddenly went inside and gestured for Vicky to follow. Reaching around the desk and opening the bottom drawer, Candy extracted an orange cable about eighteen inches long. "Here is your jewelry." Candy said as she turned to Vicky. "Orange may not go with your hair, but it keeps you legal. Want me to hook you up?"

"So, does this mean we are engaged?" Vicky asked as Candy put the collar around her neck.

"No. But we sure are committed. Let's get a drink. You won't bust me for underage drinking will you?"

"Compared to your other habits, drinking is the least on my mind."

Sitting in the break room, Candy watched as Carol and Elaine sat down at one of the tables. "Private party or anyone can join?" Candy asked, as she pointed Vicky to a chair. "Light or dark beer? Or wine?"

"Dark beer. Thanks." Vicky said as she sat next to Carol.

"So. How was your first day?" Carol asked.

"Intense. Really intense." Vicky said.

"Cindy said you were pretty good when Carla came through with a string. Better then I was my first time." Carol said.

"Really? I pissed myself."

"I threw up. Liz feinted. Nancy was in shock. And Candy asked if she could help." Carol said as she took a drink.

"That doesn't surprise me. Why am I not surprised?"

"Actually, Candy is the nicest person here. She is infinitely practical and protects us like a tigress. No one gets hurt here if she can help it. Us or the clients. She may kill them but she won't hurt them. If that makes sense." Carol said.

"I don't think my captain took her seriously." Vicky said.

"That would be a mistake. To protect you she would have termed your captain, and carved her up for soup and pet food. And forwarded the personal effects to the department for distribution." Carol replied with a smile that didn't' quite reach her eyes.

"That is kind of scary." Vicky said.

"Yes. And what is worse, she was entirely within the limits of the law. Your captain did not know how close she was to being soup."

"Before I came here last week, I looked up all the incident reports on this place. Only six in the last eight years, and three of those were to remove news people. Two reports on burglary that was not followed up." Vicky said

"Yes, and I can explain the burglary. There was an attempted break in. Candy foiled it." Carol said.

"Really?"

"Yes. We had a woman who was trying to bring in uninvited guests after hours. Technically that was a burglary with no management in residence. Candy stopped it."

"Wow. She is a regular GI Jane."

"No joke on that. If the burglary had penetrated the perimeter, the police would have taken all of us into custody and closed the business. Unmonitored stock is a serious issue in the eyes of the law."

"It's different. Suddenly being on this side is really different." Vicky said as Candy got there with three beers.

"Who is the third?" Vicky asked.

"You. You need two of them. I don't' drink more then one or I fall asleep. I am a lightweight." Candy said.

"Well, I guess I have to teach you that." Vicky said as she downed the first one.

-------

Monday night Dinner celebration

Marty was totally pumped. Over a hundred had been processed at H&S on opening day with a single process line and not a single hitch. The biggest challenge was cold storage was filling up fast. Kim was right. Need to knock an exit door on the back of the chiller to go to the loading ramp. No way a full day process would fit in the meat locker at this rate. We are going to need refer trucks tomorrow.

Kim had run the clipper all day and it was faster and more responsive then the unit at Findlay. Already she had notations to improve the clipper there tomorrow. The conveyor belt under the clipper had been running all day, dumping heads into the disposal for compress and processing. Kim was talking about shortening the time frames to ten minutes instead of fifteen. It would need more nurses at mid span for blood draws, but the efficiency might be worth it.

Barbara was going to marry the Hemo 3500. Results of both urine and blood were twice as fast as the other system and the bar codes on the sample tubes brought everything into a single report. Time from drop off to analysis was less then a minute for blood and urine. If any of the patients were going home, it would have provided a complete cholesterol count and advisory as well. If the tubes and cups could be kept straight, then this would drop sample times down to five minutes instead of the current fifteen.

At dinner, everyone was comparing notes on the day. Marty and George were in a deep conversation with Kim about process chain improvements. Putting bar code labels on the file folders in reception had been an act of genius. That had kept samples aligned for the entire process. No matching in the chain. Findley would be doing that on Tuesday.

Susan has come with the crowd back to Findley for dinner. Jack had secured the plant, and he and George had come over later. Susan was sitting with David, Candy, Helen and Carol eating when Jack came in.

"First impressions?" David asked.

"Mine are that this was the quietest that we have ever heard the plant being. No yelling or any drama. Absolutely spooky" Susan said.

"I agree. We did over a hundred in an eight-hour day. We have never done that before. And with less staff and less stress." Jack added.

"Well, don't let the less staff be your yardstick. We need more goats then we have and we need them bad." Susan said. "Margaret, you were right. The people make the process work. We need to fill all of those collars fast."

"We picked up five over the weekend. Four today and one more for tomorrow. But we do need to bring them up to speed quickly. And we will have another problem I think." Carol said.

"What is that?" Margaret asked.

"Well, we have a quandary. How do we keep the ones we set free from talking about how we do things?" Carol asked.

"We just have to impress on them the fact that the secret to stress free experience is not knowing. If word get's around, it increases the agitation and stress on the selected. I think that works." Margaret said.

"I am more worried about the ones we can't opt out. How long will we have with the staff before they become morose and want to be termed? Or worse yet, before they try to escape?" Helen asked the group quietly.

"That, my dear, why we have shrinks. Now if we can just keep the shrinks from getting morose." Margaret said with a smile.

-------

Late night lawman and serial killer

After dinner, Vicky asked Candy about the stunning she had received earlier. "Why?"

"Simple. You are going to have at least a dozen people tomorrow ask you how and does it hurt. You can honestly say it wont' hurt at all. The process is medically pain free. And it will be the truth. Lots better then before we had the clippers." Candy said.

"How did you do it before?"

"We would stun you, hang you and then slit your jugular and carotid. And then kneel down and talk to you the whole time you bleed out. Took about three minutes."

"You did what?"

"Yes, we talked to them. Told them that we knew about their friends and that we were making sure that all their things got to their houses, and that all of the things were finished. Usually took three or so minutes. That meant that the girl on the line last was waiting ten or so minutes for us to get to her. It was a lot of stress on the client and on the mechanic. And it was hard on the knees too. Kneeling down all that time."

"How many?" Vicky asked.

"Clients? Probably six hundred or so. And I talked every one of them from intake through to butchery. Why?" Candy asked.

Vicky was struck then by the fact that the most dangerous serial killer she had ever heard of was the reason she was not in jail or packed to a meat plant. Or at least, packed off to a different meat plant.

"I guess the new method is a lot better. I don't remember anything from the time you called my name to when you were talking to me." Vicky said.

"You would never have known then. You were unconscious for two minutes, forty five seconds. You would have been decapped at one minute fifteen seconds max. Your brain dies at fifteen seconds after severance. That was our safety margin of a minute and fifteen seconds. You never know it."

"So that is the story?" Vicky asked.

"We say it is a six stage process. Stage one is intake. Stage two is medical. Stage three is stripping and verification. Stage four is cleaning. Stage five is termination. Stage six is boxing and shipping. So when they are at the door, they think they are going to cleaning and shower. And we never tell them otherwise. Everyone thinks they have another half hour, when they really have five minutes." Candy said. "And we jealously guard that information. No one knows and we don't talk about it. Keeps everyone quiet and calm."

"I can see that. We do the same with a lot of arrest processes. I admit that you have things under a lot better control then we do." Vicky said.

For a few moments, both women were quiet. "Candy. Why me?"

"Three reasons. One, you have social value. Which makes Carol's case of getting you back out on the street easier. Second, you are close to exclusion. Your department should have excluded you. If it weren't for an election year, you would have been. Three. You have the skills we need in interview and goats. I need one more strong person here and three or four at H&S. People who manage people well. We have processed over two thousand women and only found a few that are able to work in this nutty place. We need every one we can get. People who will stand up for the people here. Clients and Goats. We do a shitty job. I need to protect the people who try to do it nicely. No one gives Margaret shit. Most people don't give me shit. The job is the job and we do it. I need people like that. I hope you are it. If not, then we work to keep you out of the stream while we get to keep you permanently out of the cooler. Makes Carol happy."

"You know" Vicky said with awe in her voice "I was right. You really are a tough bitch."

"Carol says I am the Alpha Bitch. I like to think I am a good person and a nice person. But we have to do things here and we try to do it right. That is what I am about." Candy said.

"So. Where are the sheets for my bed? And what are these rules everyone tells me about?"

That conversation shocked Vicky in a different way. Nicer at least.



-------

Chapter 33



Adjustments

Damn this bed was comfortable, Vicky thought to herself. Much nicer then mine. Suddenly, Vicky fully awoke with a start. And all of the memories of the last three days came flooding back to her.

She hadn't drunk much last night. Dinner was awesome, and she had gotten a chance to meet a whole group of people. It was like going to a new precinct and meeting a whole group of people at roll call and then out for drinks later.

Evidently Candy was the barracks first sergeant here. Which was unusual. The only one younger her was Cindy, and she seemed to be a bubblehead at first. But when you found she was taking remote business courses at Cornell, and was writing a paper on management structures of the last hundred years, you found out that her bubble was camouflage.

Then there was Carol and Helen. Vicky nicknamed them Legal and Shrink. The sort of informal leaders you had that were more mentor then chain of command.

Abby was introduced as "doing medical screening" until Vicky discovered later that she was an ER MD from Cook County who was caught up just like she was.

All of the rest of the people were pretty much normal, at least in appearance. But the talent and brainpower were pretty evident and definitely above the rim from other places Vicky had been. Enough reflection already.

"I wonder where I can get a cup of coffee?" Vicky asked herself.

Putting on slippers and walking down the hall, she saw a man and woman coming out of a room ahead of her. "Good Morning Vicky" the brunette said.

"Hello. Is there any coffee around anywhere?" Vicky replied, totally forgetting the name of the woman.

"Downstairs. I think Helen is probably working on breakfast. Jimmy, go down and help out while I show Vicky where things are."

After Jimmy left, the brunette introduced herself. "I am Elizabeth, or Liz for short. We didn't have much time last evening to talk. Carol tells me you are Candy's latest catch?"

"I guess I am. What ever that means." Vicky replied a little defensively.

"It means that our little operations boss has found someone to bring into the boat here and that you will be pulling your weight while Carol get's you out of this insane house as soon as possible."

"Isn't she awfully young to be the operations person here?" Vicky asked.

"She is. She got that job by default. She did what no one else really wanted to do. And she does it with style and grace far older then her age." Elizabeth said.

"Really? I noticed that she seems to be the little organizer and no one really questions how or why."

"You ever hear the old saying that success is it's own explanation and failure needs a book to explain it? There aren't many explanations about what Candy does. She sees things, does things and it is usually something everyone smacks their forehead about later and asks why didn't I think of that".

"I know people like that. Sooner or later it get's addictive to ask them for advice."

"You got it. She is sweet, caring and so damn open without pretense that you get disarmed pretty quickly. Her only disadvantage is she is young and sometimes people don't listen to her as quickly as they should. Then they get put in the cooler."

"That's what I hear. Is it true, really?" Vicky replied.

"Really. She did it before and I have no doubt she would again. She takes things really seriously. And she is uncanny about knowing when things have to be done and how. She isn't the most diplomatic person here." Liz said with a laugh. "But that is youth for you. She is getting better. And she is a great student."

"Really? We have school here?"

"Sort of. Everyone here is taking one sort of extension course or another. David pays for all tuition out of operations expenses. We are careful to keep expenses down, but we are still able to keep up professionally. It is harder for some then others, but those who want to keep studying do so. Candy and Cindy are both taking courses at Cornell. We had to file an extension course exemption for them to be able to be remote but it was worth it. You could finish your law degree. Carol will coach you. I am coaching Cindy in marketing and Abby is coaching Candy in Medicine."

Clearly this was not what Vicky was thinking when she had called and dropped stuff off Sunday. She had packed her law books and other study things away and hadn't brought them over. "Shit. I wonder if I can get my stuff shipped here?" She thought aloud.

"Silly girl. You didn't prepare? Neither did I. That is why our husbands and David do pick up work. Your keys and stuff are in your room, right?" Liz asked

""Yes." Vicky replied sheepishly.

"Good. Then we make arrangements to have someone pick up the belongings you need and you set them up in your room. I bet all you thought about was that silly trunk in the store room."

"Well, yea." Vicky replied. The silly trunk was an upright two thousand pound safe with all Vicky's service and private collection of weapons inside as well as over a two thousand rounds of ammunition in six calibers. Everything was locked in place for military transport so nothing had shifted. But that was the only thing that Vicky had thought about when she made the decision to move.

"Ok." Liz continued. "Now, today you write a list of boxes and things you need and we send David, or someone else to go get them and bring them here. Didn't you read your questionnaire?"

"Candy said something about me being an ostrich about that." Vicky replied with a laugh.

"That's our girl. Honest to a fault." Liz said as she led the way downstairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, Vicky was struck full power by the smell of Colombian roast coffee. She practically was salivating while walking to the pot. "Please tell me you have extra cups?" She said as she reached for the cabinet.

"Top shelf, right hand side, there is one with your name on it." An older blonde woman replied. "It's Vicky right?"

"Yes. Does everyone know I was going to be staying?"

"Almost. I am Helen. I guess I am the den mother for this zoo. Cream is in the fridge second shelf."

Walking over with her filled cup to where Helen was cooking something that smelled of onions, tomatoes and something else she couldn't place, Vicky asked, "Gosh, that smells good. Who ordered the cup?"

"We figured you would like it. While you have the cabinet open, can you pass me the paprika please, dear? George and a few others like a taste of zing in the eggs." Helen said, pointing toward a box on the shelf.

Coming up behind her, Liz poked Vicky on the elbow without the coffee and said "Helen is our resident seer. She gets off on figuring out everyone in advance. She will put you on her couch later."

"Behave scamp. And get out some plates. This woman is probably hungry. Sorry we don't' have a gym yet, but we are going to set up some stuff on Sunday." Helen continued.

"Ok. That is spooky. How did you know?"

"I think Cindy hacked into the police department and pulled down your records." Liz said with a whisper.

"No she didn't. She simply pulled down everything she could find about our officer of the year including a article she had in the police paper two years ago." Helen continued, spooning some of her concoction onto a plate. "Here eat this and tell me what you think."

The flavor exploded in Vicky's mouth, followed a few moments later by an exquisite sensation of both heat and sweetness. The salivary glands were triggered and Vicky almost found herself swallowing in gulps to keep from drooling. "What the heck is that and can I have some more?"

"It is a little of this and a little of that. I guess I have to write the recipe down. Carla will kill me if I don't. I usually serve it over sourdough bread. But we have to make do. I will order that when I do groceries in a while. By the way, you need to write down what you like to eat. And sign up for kitchen rotation." Helen said

"Wow. Is this the norm for mornings?" Vicky asked, savoring the flavors in her mouth.

"Sort of. I usually get up early and do breakfast. We rotate dinners. Lunch is often catch as catch can. Usually leftovers from the previous night or what ever anyone orders in or brings." Helen said.

"Watch yourself. We are always looking for a Sous-chef. " Elizabeth.

"I guess that's me. I am pretty good with a chopping knife. Or slicing. But I don't do the stove well."

"Sounds like Candy." Helen said with a smile.

Vicky blanched at that statement, thinking of the stories of Candy with a knife. Helen noticed the expression and said, "Take over here Liz. I think Vicky and I need to talk."

"You taking her to your couch?" Liz asked.

"Now Liz, I never use a couch. Vicky why don't we sit down over there."

Smiling, Vicky moved to the chair indicated and sat down. With her coffee and a plate of the delicious looking mess she was trying to decipher.

"So, Is this my shrink session?" She asked between gulps.

"Sort of. Do you need much shrinking? Or just some history and perspective?" Helen asked.

"Perspective would be good." Vicky replied.

"Ok. So our question is how do we adjust a hardened investigator to be a backup operations manager while we get her out of here?" Helen asked.

"What adjustment do I need?" Vicky asked.

"Why don't you tell me? No. I promise no tricks. I have a few ideas and I will tell you. But if you let the shrink union know I am telling you without long sessions on the couch, I will deny it." Helen said with a laugh.

Given the history Vicky had with shrinks, she knew that this was abnormal. "I think I am pretty well adjusted in some respects." Vicky said. "I get hit with zingers once in a while. Candy's formula for two by four therapy was pretty effective last week. Realizing that she would have termed my commanding officer with no qualms was a little unsettling. Having the production experience and knowing what is in store for the women I am supposed to work with is unsettling. For me to be committing murder is very unsettling. And yet waking up here and talking with all of you is almost like a looking glass experience."

"So you feel like Alice in wonderland?" Helen asked. "Good. We don't want anyone to be too comfortable here."

"Really?" Vicky said, while getting another forkful. "Gee this is good."

"Thank you. Yes, we do deliberately end the lives of people here. We do several hundred a week. If David's plans work out, it will soon be several thousand a week. If you were too comfortable with this, you couldn't help us when we are fishing and pulling out of the net every single person we can. You saw yesterday how we work." Helen said.

"Yes. I was surprised. Thinking about it, we are throwing away potential revenue with every exclusion we do, aren't we?" Vicky continued.

"Yes. And we will do that every chance we get. Anyone too comfortable with being here would not be the ones we want to fish out. Do you know why we fished you out?" Helen asked.

"I heard Candy's story about it. It was surprising as hell." Vicky replied.

"After Sue called us and told us she was sending you over, Nancy and I looked at your paper and did the quick research. We were shocked. We didn't know how to talk with you. I felt that you would probably run over anyone else here except Margaret, and she is not known for patience. Candy was available and I felt she would probably not do any real harm in an interview. She is pretty confident and stable."

"Stable? How about Granite? I have had DI's, police inspectors and whole hosts of other people brief me and that young woman is in a class by herself. She would have made a hell of a cop." Vicky said. "And at nineteen? That woman will be president if she can get out of here."

"Probably not. Maybe a CEO somewhere. But she is too blunt for politics. But I agree. Her natural instincts at measuring people are better then almost everyone else here. I put her on par with Margaret, who fished her out initially. She usually sees things that I don't see at first." Helen replied.

"So back to the subject. Why Me?" Vicky asked.

"Police make decisions quickly under stress. Given the right guidelines and situations, they are better under stress then almost any other profession. We don't' get firefighters here. We don't get active military here. It was pure screw up of magnificent order that you got here instead of being shipped out. That was what Carol said. We are recruiting for operational leadership. You are a candidate. And if we can get you fished out entirely then that is in line with David's and Carol's mission, which is to exclude anyone we can."

"That is nuts." Vicky said.

"Actually the expression is nutty as a squirrel turd. But that is how we are. David has always wanted everyone to have humane treatment. Margaret was excluded, but I was selected. So Margaret badgered David into getting me assigned here." Helen said.

"Really?" Vicky asked.

"Really. I didn't want to be treated like some piece of meat. I saw a woman I knew spitted live and it was a very traumatic experience to me." Helen continued.

Vicky had never seen that, but had heard about it. She would have eaten her gun before she would succumb to that. "And?"

"I asked Margaret if I would be treated better here. David had been doing pet food for years here and had we thought he treated women differently. We didn't know how because we never asked."

"Ostrich?" Vicky asked with a smile.

"You have it. Margaret came here one day and revamped some of the assembly line. David either was so happy she was involved or just simply accepted good advice or both, but we had some changes made."

"I see. So how did Candy fit into this?"

"You know about Carol?" Helen asked.

"Yes. She said something about puking the first time she saw a termination. I told her I peed myself. She said she puked, Nancy passed out and Elizabeth went into shock."

"And Candy asked if she could help." Helen continued. "That is pretty much it. Margaret's first day here, she decided to be a throat cutter. She had spent time with the women in the front, and had talked them through medical and stripping and then was first off the turnstile. Tim was the main executioner then, and all terms were done by hand. Margaret changed that, by doing the terms herself. Carol, Liz, Candy, and Nancy were in the last group of the day, and came off the turnstile first. They watched Margaret kill three women that were behind them, and then David asked if they wanted to talk with him here."

"No Shit?" Vicky asked. "I bet that was a shock."

"Yes. Kind of like Candy did you yesterday. Only they weren't shocked and you were. I wonder why?" Helen mused.

"She said that it gave me conviction when talking with clients that the experience had no pain." Vicky replied with a rueful smile. "I guess she was right there. Except for the bruises when they let me down."

"That's our girl. So do you have conviction?" Helen asked.

"Oh yea. One moment I was upright and walking and the next I was hanging upside down." Vicky said. "In my case, I came around. I guess others don't"

"You have a grasp. Kim is the clipper engineer. She developed the mechanization platform. We did that by hand earlier."

"I heard. Candy told me she cut throats for over six hundred women."

"Probably. Knowing her she probably remembered every one of them. She and Margaret pioneered the quiet talk while you bleed out. Calm, supportative and gentle. Almost hypnotic. I made up my mind I would have one of them do me when my time comes." Helen said.

Shivering, Vicky thought on this. "You would want that?"

"Let me ask you something. All of us are on borrowed time. Who do you want to kill you? Some selfish oaf who is in a hurry to get to lunch, or someone who treats you with dignity and respect?" Helen asked.

"Do I get a third choice?" Vicky asked.

"No, you do not get to avoid it entirely." Helen said, with a laugh. "Not yet anyway. And we all have thought that."

"I will tell you I am worried about one thing, though" Helen continued.

"What is that?" Vicky asked.

"Candy is nineteen years old. She has done a lot of good for us here and we all trust her. I guess I wonder what would happen with her outside of here. We are her support structure. Do you know how she came to be here?" Helen asked.

"No." Vicky replied. "That didn't come up. I assumed she was selected early."

"No. Her mother and the mother of a friend of hers were selected. She substituted for her mother. Her friend substituted for her mother. Her friend was pregnant with a boy and was kicked out of the process. Candy was supposed to be meat on a stick, but was sent here by accident."

"No shit?" Vicky said, suddenly feeling a little sick.

"Yep. If luck of the draw had been elsewhere, Candy would have been eaten already. And she knows it." Helen said. "So far, she has been a housekeeper, she has been our security guard, she has been a floor walker, and she balances off Margaret like a see saw. She thinks about everyone and everything. She even looks into the temps in holding and makes sure they are comfortable. What worries me is that she is also disconnected in some ways. She honestly could kill me kindly and make sure it was painless, but not cry the whole time. I don't know when she would. Everyone here knows she is the real executioner and enforcer. What I don't know is how she would make it on the outside now."

"Do you think she would be dangerous?" Vicky asked.

"I don't' know if dangerous would be the word. Can she kill? Hell yes. She studied Grey's anatomy for days to make sure she can slice organs, veins and arteries with speed and without hitting nerves. Would she kill? Forgone conclusion. What would make her kill is the question. I think she has just the right touch of sociopathic judgment to do what needs to be done without consulting with society first." Helen said with a grimace.

"Are you saying she should never leave here? Vicky asked.

"I am saying that if she did, I would want to keep an eye on her. And not crowd her too much" Helen said.

"Well, what should I look for if she did?" Vicky asked, while sipping her coffee.

"I don't' know that you would ever find anything to look for." Helen said with a smile. "She is smart enough to hide the bodies."

"Sound like a politician to me." Vicky said.

"There is that. Only I can guarantee that Candy's problems won't come back alive to haunt her." Helen said with a laugh.

At this point, the subject of their conversation wandered into the room from upstairs and waved. "Just a second," Candy said as she grabbed a cup and poured some juice. "Helen, what's for breakfast?"

"Onion, sausage, peppers diced and paprika and some salsa. Set over toast. We need some sourdough bread. Put it on the list."

"Mm. Sounds great. Vicky, do you want me to add anything for you to the grocery list?"

"No. Thanks. I'm good."

"Ok. I have to check in David's office for production and I will join you." Candy said as she wandered down the hall with her juice. "Be right back."

"I hate morning people." Vicky said. "Is she always like this?"

"You have been fully indoctrinated by our Candy. Morning, noon and night, yes, she is always like this. We kidded her about being production manager and damned if she didn't start to do the job. And better then we wanted. Next thing we knew she was the manager. And doing a hell of a job."

"So we don't give her anything if we don't' want her to do it" Vicky said.

"Or if we don't want it done by some one including yourself. It backfired on me once. I told her we needed something done and the next thing I knew, I was doing it and reporting to her my progress."

"How did that happen?" Vicky said with a laugh.

"I convinced myself it needed doing. Explained to her what it was. Then she said "Well, who can do it better then you?" Next thing I knew I was doing it and giving her updates."

"And she is nineteen?" Vicky asked with a smile.

"She is ever so damn reasonable with that happy smile. She starts out by asking you what has to happen, and you start talking and then next thing you know you have an execution plan, resource plan and are working on it and are busy and happy. Until you think about it. Then you realized you were swindled by yourself." Helen said.

"Politician. I told you." Vicky said.

Coming back into the break room, Candy was carrying her portable. "Helen, can I talk with you. You too Vicky, I think this is important."

"Captain Christiansen wants to review our holding arrangements, and is looking for a guarantee that Vicky can be available for court appearances. But we have her held here on our hook. I am going to ask Carol draft a response, but should I warn David that he should contact the MAB about this?" Candy asked.

"How about you have Carol dig into it, let David know you are asking her dig into it, and then just let Carol and David worry." Helen said.

"Ok. I just don't want to have anyone causing problems with my operations people. I'll be right back. I am going for food." Candy said as she walked to get a plate.

"That was for me, wasn't it?" Vicky said as Candy moved away.

"My, you are a smart one. Yes, I think it was. She wouldn't have asked me for advice. She would have let me know it was going on, but nothing but an advisory. You on the other hand she wanted to have informed and also to know she was supporting you."

"I got that. How did that kid get so smart so young?" Vicky asked.

"I like to think we had some impact. But to be honest, that is how she has been all along. Ask Kim about her later. Or Cindy. Both of them were on bubbles that she didn't want to have broken. So she worked behind the scenes to make them more important and to keep them around. If it wasn't a life or death matter all the time, it would be fun to watch." Helen said.

"So what do I do?" Vicky asked.

"She will tell you. Chip in and help. Don't be a drag. And take one day at a time. We all say live in the moment."

Just then David came into the break room from where he had been sleeping in his office. Margaret followed shortly. Conversation was on a lighter turn then through breakfast. Gradually, more and more people came into the room, and Vicky was treated to seeing the run of people from upstairs and from the back of the building gradually increase until it was standing room only.

"We need a bigger break room if we are going to have this crowd every day." Helen said.

"How many are we?" Vicky asked.

"Well, David wants to have up to forty collars available. I expect that sixteen at H&S and eight here would be enough. That makes twenty-four. So the rest are cushion. Add to that the 24 or so guys in butchery and you have a pretty big crowd."

"So we need fifty people to butcher two thousand a week?" Vicky asked.

"Yes. Pretty inefficient, isn't it? Makes you think this whole Population Control issue is a farce. Which is what Carol has said from the beginning."

"I am no econ major, but that seems pretty inefficient." Vicky said.

"It is. But you have to realize what is the real goal here." Helen said.

"Ok. I bite. What is it?" Vicky asked.

"We'll talk about that later. We are about to get our discussion from on high, I think" Helen said.

Vicky laughed at that. It sounded like a typical roll call message to her.

"Ok. People, if I could have your attention" David said. "I don't' normally do this sort of BS statement, but we do have a bit of information to distribute."

Vicky noticed that everyone was listening up. The men in their plastic uniforms and the goats as well.

"Ok. Yesterday we had our first day at H&S. Marty says we processed a hundred plus and that we were able to emulate what we do here now. I don't expect cheers. But we helped over a hundred women there without causing more stress then was necessary."

Vicky looked around and saw everyone was paying attention. This is exactly like roll call, but with no jokes, she thought to herself.

"I want to welcome several new people to our group. Carla, Casey, Betty, Karen and Vicky. Those of you, who work in back office, please introduce yourselves to them and remember to not hurt them while we work with them. " David said. After the laughter died down, David continued.

"We opened yesterday at H&S using our new process line. Susan Stienhauer was there for the entire day and remarked that it was the best most trouble free day they had in history at that location. Those of you, especially Kim, are to be commended on that. I like to think that we did things right for those clients we serviced."

There was a moment of silence at that statement. Vicky thought through what David was saying and realized that everyone was thinking the same thing. People died. We killed them. We did it nicely but we did it.

"Today we are going to fine tune the process. And we need to also staff up. I want to say that everyone here can provide a candidate for us. If you see someone that you think would bring value to our clients, and value to us as a service business, and who would work well with what we have to do, send a message. I will insist on reviewing any candidate at any time in our process line prior to termination. Marty I realize that leaves your guys kind of out of it but that is the way it goes." David finished.

Marty almost choked on his coffee while David was saying that. What surprised Vicky was that everyone actually laughed at it.

David continued, "I have collars to fill. I also have exemptions to write. If you interviewers see anything that lets us make a case to exempt or exclude any selectee, let us know. If there is anything that comes up in health screening that could exempt a selectee, let me or someone else in operations know. I want you all to know again, that I will work on anyone's behalf to get her out of the stream."

Vicky looked around and was surprised. Everyone seemed to smile and nod his or her head in agreement with what David was saying.

"Candy, what was production here yesterday, and what should we look at for today?" David said.

Looking at Candy, Vicky was suddenly struck with pity for the girl. She had to make production announcements about murder. God. That sucks, Vicky thought to herself.

"Here we did a hundred and forty five." Candy said. "And we did intakes on fifty for later this week. We have thirty specials for today, with sixteen for the Sybian, and eleven for the chopper. We have three for the gallows. For some reason we don't have a lot of tub action. David that may be because of the price differential. We probably should revisit that." Candy said.

"If the damn tub was not so hard to deal with between terminations, we could drop the price. But cleaning shit out between uses is a pain. Kim is there any way to engineer a solution? Faster drains? Quicker detox?" David asked.

"That is an engineering problem. I would have to reach outside to get an answer." Kim replied.

"Do it. I want to get clean up time down to ten minutes. That has to include, drain, clean and refill. We have what, twenty minutes outside for process and removal?" David asked.

"I don't know. We never really timed it." Candy said.

"Ok. Get a few free upgrades into it and let's see." David said. "I want to accommodate people for the special of their choice if it is on our menu. I don't' want to go farther into violence then short drop hanging, but I do want to equalize the costs of the Chopper, the gallows, the tub and the Sybian."

"Today?" Candy asked.

"Sure. Today and Thursday and Saturday. That way Kim can see what we need. Kim, I need you to pay attention to this so we can get prices equalized."

"Right boss." Kim replied

"We have sixty for interviews and questionnaires today, and I expect we will have a few spectators for our services, if we have releases. Otherwise we just have to work from our Video files." Candy continued.

"Any other new business?" David asked.

"We have over two hundred e-mail requests on the Forum and message board. And a lot of clients are looking into the chats and batting around questions. I think we need to have moderators on both day and night." Candy said.

"I agree. That is a manpower problem. Another reason to get more people in collars."

Forums? Chat sessions? Vicky was thinking to herself that she really had been an ostrich about this. I guess I should look at the web site quick.

As David was walking by to the office, Helen introduced Vicky. "David, this is Candy's latest catch. Vicky, this is David Findley, the owner and manger of this zoo."

"Vicky, welcome to our band of ruffians. If Candy is speaking up for you, then you have passed any test I can imagine. Helen, is she a short term or long term?" David asked.

"I expect short term if Carol has her way. But she is stable enough to have long term." Helen replied.

"Good. Is she going to be able to work at H&S?"

"Not sure. Candy wants to get her settled in here." Helen replied.

"Ok. That works. Vicky, I look forward to working with you. If you have any incidentals let anyone here know and we will try to help you out." David said as he was moving to his office.

Vicky realized that she had sat in on an entire conversation about her and not said a single thing. "What the fuck" She said to Helen.

"Don't sweat it. Mornings are a pain with David. Look for him later today and get some face time. Right now we have five new people to spin up including you. And we need to figure out where everyone is living. I may be moving myself." Helen said.

"Why?"

"Well, H&S is closer to Carl's home. And so the commute for him is closer. And Marty has worked with Jack Stienhauer to build a place to my specifications. And David and Margaret do need my work there as we expand. Elaine is going to take over here, so it kind of makes sense. And it is closer for Elizabeth as well. We have to divide people between the locations, so I guess this is kind of a chance for me. I will still be able to shuttle here whenever I want. Besides, this place get's kind of noisy on Saturday, and I find I am looking for more quiet sometimes." Helen said.

"So who stays and who goes?" Vicky asked.

"Some of that will be decided as we go along. Candy is staying here for sure, as she is taking over as ops manager. I think they want to keep you here close to your trunk." Helen continued with a smile.

"What about the other stuff he was talking about this morning?" Vicky asked.

"Candy can fill you in. We just recently started a chat room for selectees. Cindy added that off of the web page for clients who wanted to ask questions. We have to staff that as well as operations and other areas. And we have a differential price table depending on the termination events. David wants to level all them to the same lower level. Which is barely cost recovery. If a woman can scrape up twenty five hundred dollars, he wants to provide the selection of their choice. Which is far below market charges."

"I don't get it." Vicky said.

"Talk with Liz or Nancy about the economics. All I know is that David wants to have your choice affordable. Initially it was whatever the market would bear, but now the focus has shifted. Which is different from what we had initially done."

Ostrich, Vicky thought to herself. I never thought that women would want choices. Then again, last week was an education.

"So, what is this thing about spectators?" Vicky asked Helen.

"We have people who either want to be watched or don't care if they are watched while we term them. For the Guillotine and Hanging usually. Those become spectator events, either for friends of family or for interested parties who want to get a feel for the reality as opposed to the fantasy. Some women change their minds, others don't. I know you saw a few events last Thursday."

"Yes, but I didn't know we had spectators on this. We don't charge do we?"

"Not directly. We don't have public events. We do have private ones, similar to a fundraiser or a business luncheon. We have to charge as a party with dollars a head for groups. But that is usually charged to the primary term. Secondary or guests have to pay their term to get in. It is a convoluted way to get money into the business to make up for what we don't get from the meat sale. This is a slaughterhouse you know. We have to get our revenue somewhere."

"I guess my first order of business is to look at the fee chart on the web page." Vicky said. "When I was in high school, I worked as a waitress at Le Chez, and we did a lot of business luncheon stuff. I guess we have to charge the group for rental and service. You know we could advertise this that way. Zoning isn't as strict on that as a restaurant."

"Give that to Eliz and Carol to hunt down. Anything that makes contract offers more normalized legally is something they are looking for a lot" Helen replied.

"I guess first order of business is getting through the web page and seeing what we do offer." Vicky said.

"I think so. You will probably be doing intakes and interviews today. I would look at that and at contracts for special event terms. I don't know if you are going to do lead today. That is up to you and Candy." Helen said.

-------

A calm Tuesday morning

After breakfast, Vicky took her new portable and went up to the reception room and sat down to go over the web site in detail. Using her login and her badge number (Candy had told her that was her current password and she could change it at any time) she looked over the web site for services and fees and saw that there was a header for messages to her. Looking at she saw two from Candy. The first was a welcome message congratulating her on getting her login to work. "Smart ass." Vicky thought to herself. The second had a link to a scheduling module. It showed Vicky and Carla in initial intake from eight thirty to ten o'clock. First leads to standard and to specials started at 0930, and Abby, Debby and Candy were doing the specials. Standards would be escorted by Cindy and Casey.

This is entirely too organized, Vicky thought to herself.

Vicky was so engrossed in the contracts portion that she didn't even notice Carla coming up to sit next to her. "How you doing Girl friend?" Carla asked.

"Frustrated as hell. I have a problem getting my head wrapped around women paying extra money to be snuffed by hanging, or having their heads chopped off. The hot tub is nice, and the Sybian looks like the joy ride from hell. But these things being billed like this is somehow insane." Vicky said.

"Look at it this way." Carla explained." The revenue that keeps this place open is partially from the meat of the carcasses we process. That revenue is gone when we use alternative methods like the gallows, Sybian, guillotine or the hot tub. Because those take place in a non-sterile location, the risk of contamination is much higher. At the most we sell it back to the family for last meals. At worst we have to sell it as pet food. So we have to recoup our expenses somehow." Carla said. "And the fact that we offer dream terminations, instead of nightmare terminations, lets us set the price point. But except for the tub, almost all the rest are totally under market price for special services. We are almost a thousand dollars cheaper then other places on our specials."

"I don't doubt it, but it still seems wrong on so many levels." Vicky said.

"I agree, but the whole damn thing is wrong. This is just one of the parts of it that is more infamous then the others." Carla said.

"So, girl friend, you ready to be a consultant?" Candy asked as she came up to Vicky and Carla.

"She's ready. She just has to get her cherry popped" Carla said. "Like you did with me last week."

"Ok. Let's go out there and help these ladies get processed." Candy said.

"Damn cheerleader." Vicky said in a motto sotto voice.

"Naw, we had one of those. Had to pass her on, because she was so damn judgmental. Margaret said she would have taken us all down if we had kept her." Candy said.

"I don't know if she is kidding or not" Vicky said to Carla as they watched Candy walk over to open the door.

"I don't think she is." Carla said.

Vicky found it was not that different from doing intakes in a precinct for booking. Except there was no attitude and no handcuffs. Warming up to the job, it was not too long that she was able to get one group set up with Cindy to go to standard, and another to meet with Abby for last rides on the Sybian. The second group took longer as they had to wait between persons. That group was in reception for almost two hours. Candy brought up a draw straws cup for them to let them see what order they were in. Vicky was glad when the last one left because she had run out of things to talk about. The last woman was a state of nerves. And she was the one Vicky had the most sympathy with, as she had been in the same state the previous week. Keeping her settled was harder. The woman (Catlin) was almost relieved when Abby came up and took her back to examination at ten o clock.

Vicky's third group of clients was a group from New York. As luck would have it, they were not really clients, but researchers for a women's group on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Vicky sent a message to David once she found that out, and he replied that she work with Carla, and be guided by her judgment and experience. I guess this is a leadership test, she thought to herself.

"So, Ladies, the owner is tied up at the moment and asked that I prep him a briefing. What exactly is the information you are looking for?"

"We looked over your services page and wondered how the standard termination worked. Your specialist offerings are described in detail, but any of our people are not really attracted to the idea of those. "The older woman said. "What we wanted to know was how the standard operation worked. You don't describe it in depth."

"That is because of Trademark and patent processes we are working with," Carla said as she approached from the side. "Hope you don't mind me sitting in, Vicky" Carla said.

"Not at all. Carla has more guide experience here then I do, so I will only tell you of my experience as an escort yesterday." Vicky said.

Seeing that she had everyone's attention, Vicky decided to play it for real. "Ladies, why don't we just do a intake walk through. Then, if you are not selected today, we can send you home to your membership and they can start to post their intake appointments and air travel."

Bella, the older woman, looked at her friends and said, "Let's suppose I was here looking for service."

"Ok. If you don't have your selection letter with you, we can look it up from here. You do know your status, right?" Carla asked.

"Darling, I passed my forty third birthday last week. I am sure I was exempted a long time ago."

"Good. That means we can use your SSN and not have any surprises." Carla said as she opened up her registry page on the portable.

"Does that happen?"

"Three times that I know of. Our operations manager for our other location was selected and damn near past expiration when we did a short check on her." Carla said. "The story on that was funny as hell."

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Vicky noticed that one of the women was becoming agitated.

"Miss. Are you uncomfortable for some reason?" Vicky asked.

"No. Nothing."

"Beverly, is it? Is there something about this that makes you uncomfortable?"

"My cousin was picked up on a traffic stop two years ago, and when they ran her license, she was past expiration. Her daughter had thrown out the notice in the mail thinking that nothing would happen. She was terminated as a runaway. She was picked up at a traffic stop and her kids were sent to family services. By the time her partner found out, she was already on a stake in city hall and the girls were in a temporary care home."

"Well, we don't let that happen here. We work with our law dog to find the extensions you need to finish up things first. We haven't had a single person on a stake from here in a long time." Carla said with confidence. "I know. I checked the papers when I came here."

"How would you have handled the situation, given a past term date?" Beverly asked

"We handle it pretty carefully. If it is an inadvertent mistake, and those do happen, we work to get a week extension for the client so she can get her affairs and life in order. But we insist that is done while they are here, because of our legal liability." Carla said.

Vicky at this time was taking all this in. And she noticed that something was definitely hinky with Beverly. "Beverly, what is your SSN?" Vicky asked carefully.

"Why do you need that?" Beverly replied with a tremor.

"Because we have to check in everyone we have here in order to verify our insurance coverage." Vicky said. Knowing this was bald faced lie, she used it to see how resistant the woman was to actual identification. Vicky had a hunch that there is more here then was admitted.

"That won't be necessary" Bella began. "I think we have all the information we need for our group."

"Beverly. If you know something and you are hiding it, it will probably bite you worse when it comes out. It will also bite others who are with you." Vicky said. "We have a saying here. Don't be an ostrich. It will only be worse."

Seeing her friend agitated, Bella started to stand up and grasped Beverly's shoulder. " I think we have enough information."

"No, Bella. I think we should get some better detail. What is your standard termination like?" Beverly asked.

"Well the actual kill process is covered by trademark, but our process flow is fairly simple. It starts here in Intake. Would you like to see our questionnaire?" Vicky asked.

"Sure. Is there any obligation?"

"No obligation until you are registered. Then your obligation is to the government and not us. But that is the legal issue and I think you already know that, don't you?" Vicky asked in quiet voice.

"Ok. So let's skip the registration piece." Vicky continued. "Let's go to the wrap up pieces below. Here, we will use a paper copy so you can take it with you." Vicky said. "That way we have something you can take home and show everyone. I warn you it is trademarked. No one else does it quite like this."

Sensing that she might be in the way, Carla said "If you guys don't' mind, I have some other clients over here that look like they need some help. I'll be close if you need me, Vicky"

"No problem. Beverly and I are just going to go over this so she can take it home."

After Carla left, Vicky turned to the two women from New York and said, "Before we go any further, I want to let you know that I am a cop. I am working here while my selection process exemption is being worked on. So this is uncomfortable for me too. Beverly, let's not fill in the identify parts on this, and just focus on what the process is. That way you can take it back to your group with you. That way it is just between us girls, ok?"

After both women nodded their heads, Vicky continued. "So, let's get to the business, shall we?"

Five minutes later, Vicky noticed Carla standing up with the group she was with. "Talk with you later, partner" Carla said as they started down the hallway to the examination rooms.

"Where is she going with those women?" Bella asked.

"They are going to stage two of processing. All of this is identical from here. Our first step is intake, like we are doing. Beverly, do you have any special instructions for the pets?"

"I have some ideas, but I don't see where to put them?"

"On the back of sheet two, you see the spaces for dependents?"

"You call pets dependents?" Bella asked.

"Sure. Aren't they? We have adopted one dependent pet here from one of the ladies who didn't want to leave her with the shelter. So we sort of adopted her." Vicky continued.

"Now this section is important. Bank account and financials. All of the material you need to give to your next of kin is here so they don't' have to go running around trying to reconstruct things. I must have found a dozen things myself when I came here last week that had to be resolved and I was a ostrich about it."

"Ostrich?" Beverly asked.

"You know. Big bird with head in sand thinking it is hiding." Vicky said.

"I haven't seen that picture in years" Bella said.

"So, you did all this last week?" Beverly asked.

"Yep. All of us here have. The ones in collars like mine are being held over for exemption classification or because we have agreed to work here." Vicky said.

"What do you do?" Beverly asked.

"We work with our clients from steps one to steps five in general production and we work as escorts and guides on all specials."

"You mean you work with women to get them ready to be killed." Beverly said.

"And actually a little beyond that. You don't see any men up here, do you?"

"How do you?" Beverly said, not completing the sentence.

"The process is this. Step one, we do intake here. Step two, we go to exam rooms. That takes about fifteen minutes. From there we get medical checks back on blood and urine. We have our own nurse staff and lab for that. While the lab results are being processed, we move into stripping and we take all of your clothes and personal things and box them up. That's step three. You help us put it into a shipping box with the label on the outside from your registration letter as home address, or to any address you choose for your designated beneficiary. We have all of the medical information and copy of the death certificate shipped back to your family. If there are any special requests you have for your body, such as special packaging and shipping to a special shop, we include that, but that is at extra cost."

"I see." Bella said, shaking her head. "And then what?"

"Well, while we are in stripping we wait for medical results. That has to be included with the grading sheet. If there are no issues or exemption status for medical, we then either go to specialized processing or to standard processing. Standard processing is USDA monitored, and we start by going through the process floor door and into specialized showers. That is step four. This takes about another thirty minutes. From there we take you to a termination station, then your body is moved on to grading. From there you go to either whole carcass or boxing as parts. So it is six separate stages. If you select specialized processing we take you from stripping to the trip of your choice."

"And how exactly do you generally terminate women?" Bella asked.

"Bella, we don't discuss that except to say it is in attendance to USDA inspectors using the safest and most painless method we have developed." Vicky said.

"I could get a court order for this.' Bella said.

"Bella, getting a New York court to get information from a Chicago process plant is going to take you a long time. We won't honor that request. And the Chicago courts have already ruled on the issue in Illinois. Trade Mark, patent and security concerns. So, what is the real reason you are here?" Vicky said.

"Vicky, could you leave us alone for a moment?" Beverly asked.

"Sure. Want something to drink?" Vicky asked.

"That would be good. In a couple of minutes?"

Leaving the pair, Vicky walked to Nancy, who was doing intakes on a special. Overhearing the questions and Nancy's replies was a lesson in salesmanship.

"So, you girls met in the forum and chat room last night? And you want to look at our specials for yourselves as a group?" Vicky overheard Nancy say.

"Yes. Actually we are torn between excitement and seduction. That is why the choices are so tempting." One of the women said.

"Of course we try to put positive excitement into our specials." Nancy said. "If you want romance or high drama, or just to go out with a bang, we want to give you what you want. Or if you just want to drift away, that is a choice too."

"So, what would you prefer?" The three women asked Nancy.

"Well, myself, I would like to just sit in the hot tub, and drift off to sleep with some wine, cheese and good friends. But others are more gamblers or adventurers. And for those we have some elements of lottery to see who goes first."

"You mean you actually watch others in your group die?" One of the women said with shock in her voice.

"Sure. It puts a while new meaning on the phrase last man out. If you want you can have guests, visitors or even leave it open for spectators. That is how a lot of women make their choices here as spectators. They observe so they can imagine themselves in the scene and decide if it is for them." Nancy said with some flourish.

"How do you handle that?" One of the women asked.

"Different people have different reactions. Some are engaged some are repelled. Some throw up.' Nancy said. "I was a little shocked, but now I am engaged. Watching someone air dance is both upsetting and exciting. Watching women draw straws at the guillotine is a combination of fear and excitement."

"Of course, it is not for everyone. For those who don't want to know, we have our standard which is quick, painless, and totally observed by USDA." Nancy continued. "And we also have the last soak tub. Which is probably the favorite for many of us here."

"I looked at that one, that is where you sit and bleed out in hot tub, right?"

"Yes, It is" Nancy said. "It is the longest, slowest, and most seductive we have to offer. And because it takes time and so much preparation, it is our most expensive. But we do have it as a special if you want to try it. Or go as a group." Nancy said.

Damn girl could be a car salesman, Vicky thought to herself. I could learn a lot about how to present this stuff.

Vicky then caught herself going down this train of thought. How do I reconcile with what I am doing?

Going back to her table with a coffee and two drinks for the Beverly and Bella, Vicky returned to her seat. "Well, ladies, what do we want to talk about?"

"Vicky, I think we haven't been entirely honest with you" Beverly said.

"I am not upset. This is a lot to go through." Vicky replied.

"We are from New York. And we are doing representation for our group in Manhattan. But we had another reason to come here." Bella said.

"I am listening. And since we have not really discussed anything that is a crime, why don't we speak hypothetically." Vicky suggested.

"Ok. Hypothetically, we have some members that have expired. There is no active search for them, as New York does not have the money to pursue non-reports. Budget cuts you know. But there is a new move to enforce reporting through withholding funds from SSA. And our mayor is afraid that if it goes through, he will have to account for all of the non reporting selectees."

"That is a difficult situation. Our Legal officer is not readily available, but I am sure you are working on your own angles as well. That leaves us with how can we help you?" Vicky asked.

"After seeing the expose's in Ohio and Pennsylvania, we are afraid of similar treatment in New York. When we had been reviewing the news from here in Chicago, we saw that your operation apparently was taking a decidedly different focus." Bella said. "And we wanted to validate this."

"I assume this is because you had people with immediate need?" Vicky asked, looking at Beverly.

"You would be right." Bella answered.

"Beverly, are you one of those?" Vicky asked.

After a few moments of silence, with no answer, Vicky continued. "I assume that you both took precautions in how you traveled here. And where you stayed while in route, and where you are staying while you are here."

"We are staying with friends here in Chicago." Bella replied." We drove out here to save on airline costs. You know how expensive that can be these days."

"I sure do. Well, if there are no more questions for you to take back with you, if you don't mind, I will check on a few of the other groups here and see if I can help them while you are going over our material." Vicky said, standing up quietly. "If there is anything else we can help you with, let any of us know."

Standing to leave, Vicky saw Nancy waving her over to her table.

"Vicky, if you could help these ladies, they want to make an appointment after lunch with Tim in our special events room." Nancy explained.

"Which event do they have in mind?" Vicky asked.

"Well, we saw the blogs on the Guillotine party you had a while ago. And some of the write-ups on that said it was pretty extreme. And it was quick too. Not like hanging was." The taller blonde in the group said. "We were wondering if we could attend one of those as a spectator first?"

"I show a scheduled group over there in ten minutes" Nancy said. "There is no privacy on the scheduler, so they can use the gallery. You remember how to get to the observation gallery, right?" She asked Vicky.

Thinking back on her experience of last week, Vicky smiled and looked at Nancy. "You know I do. Should I leave their stuff in one of the interview rooms?"

"Might be a good idea. And have them visit the rest room first." Nancy suggested.

"Do you know if the interview rooms are all in use?" Vicky asked.

"Check your portable. Look at the Map." Nancy replied.

Looking at her portable, Vicky touched the top bar where the legend "Map" came up. Immediately she saw a floor plan with several interesting indicators. She noticed that the active portables were illuminated in different rooms and showed where they were active and who was active with them. She also saw that interview room 2 was open and listed as free.

"If you see one open, touch on it and then select reserve, and go to it. You can reserve for thirty minute increments." Nancy explained.

"That's neat. Ok ladies, Let's go drop off your purses and coats, and move to the spectator gallery. If you can follow me." Vicky said.

While walking down the hallway, Vicky remembered that Candy had said, "These are your life." I see why, Vicky thought to herself. She also saw that the process plant was blacked out and that only the specials were illuminated. Abby was in the saddle shop, and Carla was coming up the hallway from the break room. "I guess she finished her group." Other lit icons were Candy (Stripping) Cindy (Gallows) and Deborah and Barbara (Medical screening).

This place is really too well organized, Vicky thought to herself. Watching her group, Vicky took them to room number two and they left purses and documents there. From there they group went up to the balcony of the gallery using the back stairs.

They had just gotten settled in the Gallery when Cindy had finished her preparations for the woman standing on the scaffold. Naked, no blinds over her eyes, and her legs unfettered, the brunette dropped six feet from the deck of the scaffold where everyone heard the crack sound as her neck broke. Her head clear of the lower portion of the scaffold, and her toes almost two feet from the ground, her body swayed at the end of the rope, trembling and trembling. The woman's gasps as she tried to get air into her lungs was clearly audible, and gradually those sounds stopped as the rope closed tighter and sealed her airway off. The group watched the protruding eyes; tongue and body twitch which gradually subsided. Suddenly the sound of urine falling onto the floor under the woman's feet was audible in the stands, causing Vicky to suddenly gush herself. Quietly and daintily Cindy came down the stairs, walking to the front of the scaffold, where a small group had gathered to watch the woman final moments. When the woman's' movements totally subsided, and the urine had stopped dropping onto the floor, Cindy gently moved the group away from the scaffold and out through the side door exit from the stands.

Vicky was not as shocked as the group she was leading, having seen all of this the previous week. The sight still had impact on her when she asked the group "Well, did you see yourselves in this?"

"I am not sure what I think." Melanie said. "It sure is real."

"It is that." Vicky replied.

Keeping an eye out while her four talked among themselves, Vicky saw Gus come in with his wheelbarrow and ascend the stairs and drop the now dead woman onto it. After throwing the noose up over a lip on the bottom of the trap door, he then started toward the rear of the auditorium, the wheels of the barrow softly squeaking. The group talking missed this part of the activities, which were used to prepare the gallows for it's next client. Checking the schedule, Vicky saw that a decapitation group was next with another hanging in forty-five minutes. "Not a lot of slack time between events" Vicky thought to herself.

Gus had not fully gotten to the rear of the auditorium when a group of women led by Candy came into the floor from a side entrance. Sensing the group entering, Melanie shushed her group. "Pay attention girls."

Shortly, Tim and a man Vicky didn't recognize came out and pushed a covered platform out into the center area. Stopping the wheels in place, they pulled the tarp off of the apparatus and Vicky recognized the Guillotine.

A gasp went up from the group of women on the floor and a small murmur started with Vicky's group as well. "Quiet, girls. We don't want to distract anyone." Vicky admonished her group.

The group watched as Candy helped guide the wheels on the platform into the center of the lit area, and locked down one of the wheels while Tim and the other man did the other three.

The silence was palatable when Candy picked up a cup that was sitting on the ledge next to the basket on the Guillotine.

-------

Lunchtime

"We serve wine in the reception area at lunchtime?" Vicky asked in general when she walked into the lunch-room after her second trip through processing." And pasta salad, and bread?"

"We have to have some benefits to working here. It sure isn't the retirement plan." Candy replied. "Besides, it settles the afternoon crowd down and keeps people from getting grumpy."

"Well, far be it from me to argue with success. But except for all the walking and standing, we better get a gym in here soon or I am going to be looking like a porker." Vicky said.

"Yea, I heard you were one of those exercise freaks. So I guess I will have to be too." Candy said. 'By the way, if the inserts in your sandals don't hold up, let me know and we will get your some better ones."

"Not a problem. So do we eat here or in the reception?" Vicky asked.

"Either, just we have a one glass limit to goats. Except on special occasions." Cindy said with a giggle.

"Yea, you have to be sober to work around sharp falling objects, electricity and platforms with no railings." Candy said with a snicker. "We almost lost Cinderella here once that way." Candy said.

"Did not. I was not nearly as drunk as Carol was. And you rigged the rope when you did, you sneak." Cindy replied.

"Yes and it is a good thing I did. You know what a buzz kill slow dancing is." Candy responded.

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Vicky asked Carol, who happened to be walking toward the reception area.

Looking at Candy and Cindy, Carol thought for a minute and then replied "I think so."

Catching up with Carla, Vicky wandered into reception where she saw her group from the morning was sitting drinking and quietly chatting. When they caught sight of her, she was surprised at the wave over from Melanie, the blonde who was tallest and de facto leader of the group Nancy had given over to her earlier. "Come join us for lunch," She said over the crowd.

Smiling and nodding her head, Vicky went over and joined the foursome. It had been a bit of an experience this morning, being leader instead of led. And the quartet had been stunned silent when she had led them back to interview room two to pick up their belongings. Vicky left them in the reception room to talk while she took a group down for normal process that Nancy had cleared.

"Well, ladies, how was your discussion?" Vicky asked as she pulled up a chair.

"It was fucking intense. Doing the short straw thing was a real rush. I can see why women go for it." Melanie said.

"It was shocking as shit when the blade dropped the first time." Phyllis said. "I didn't really expect the reality of it all today. I have to admit that the wine helps right now, though."

"Yea, do we get penalized if we are drunk when you pop us?" Barbara asked.

Looking at the four women, Vicky smiled and replied, "I can't think of anything that would be a problem there. It aint kosher but who cares?"

"Grab a plate and eat with us. Then you can eat us later." Melanie said. Which got the entire group laughing.

"Ok. I will. Just a moment though I have to check with someone for scheduling first."

Walking over to Nancy, Vicky inclined her head to get her attention.

"Whasup officer?" Nancy asked.

"Cut the crap. Did the blonde strike you as different when you were talking with her?" Vicky asked.

Grinning at Vicky, Nancy replied, "You caught her too? I have sent Helen a message as well. She was a professional sales person for a technology company, and one of the better ones. She is a real people person. Think she would be ok at this?"

"I don't know. I don't' know if I can trust my feelings yet. The other three are not real standouts, but Melanie might be a leader type. She can't shut up."

"It says she was a cheerleader at ILU. Candy may want to talk with her."

"I thought she termed cheerleaders." Vicky said.

"No. Just one. Helen said we can keep bubbleheads around usually for about six or so weeks in her guestimate before we have them get too depressed. So we will see. Can you split her off the group?"

"Don't know. Might be able to. Problem is all of them like to watch as well. The whole group got juicy in the stands while the group Candy was leading was pulling straws out of the cup."

"Yea. We all get that way. Didn't you?"

Vicky blushed to her toes with that comment. She didn't want to admit excitement like that. "Yea, it got to me. I could see myself there. Didn't see myself on the gallows at all. But I did see me on the guillotine."

"Well, I will have Candy split Melanie off for a while. Can you keep the others occupied until time to pop them?" Nancy asked.

"Sure. In fact if we have another gadabout we can form up the group." Vicky said.

"Ok We can do that." Nancy said. "In fact, I think Helen has one there that needs a group."

"I'll go sit with them and we'll see what happens through lunch." Vicky said.

-------

Legal Logjam

I would kill someone for a few good interns, Carol thought to herself. Or better still, two good legal research assistants. David had been generous, evacuating his office during the day from nine to seven so that Carol could use it for her work in exemption, extension and filing delays. But there were just too many cases and too much filing to do. Candy and Cindy both worked with her in the evenings filing depositions, exemptions and all of the other material needed to delay executions, but the volume was just too much. Permanent assistance was in the works, and David had already set up two additional workstation stands in his office, but finding the people with the right skills was a real challenge.

And there was no mechanism to pay for the services to compensate a real skilled law office on the outside. After all, slaughterhouses were supposed to be in the business of terming women, not working to put them back on the street. And some of the cases were too destitute to pay for the legal service, which infuriated Carol.

The worst thing for this morning had been the call to the ACLU on the issue. Carol was a known entity there, and the laughter at what she had proposed was still ringing in her ears. "We do not intend to fight these at a retail level, one person at a time. We are going to beat this as a class action suit." Billy Penderscott III had replied to her.

"Bill, I am trying to stem the flow at the drain and I need help." Carol said.

"I don't intend to take referrals from you, Carol. If they contact us directly, we will add them to the Class Action and push for a delay."

"Bill, when these women are here, most of them are here because they are up against their expiration and you are not returning their calls."

"Carol, you are representing Findley and H&S. We are on opposite sides of this and we are going to shut you down."

"Bill, you moron, I am trying to save people's lives." Carol replied.

"Carol, I should not have to explain to you that there is a bigger issue here at stake. It is the legal issue we need to address and we need to do that through large-scale pressure. Not some single exemption at a time. We are not a public defender for Traffic Court."

With that, Bill hung up. And refused to take Carol's call when she tried to call back.

Putting her head on the desk, and sobbing, Carol couldn't help but cry at the frustration of the fact that the person most interested in keeping the door open for people to escape was David Findley and Margaret. He kidded her about loosing money, but he also never balked at helping or getting help to pull people out of the drain. How do you figure that?

"If we ever get an ACLU Lawyer here, they are going straight to the copper. And I want them to hang around long enough to recover before we close the jaws." Carol thought to herself.

-------

Dinner and the Evening News

Vicky was not too surprised to see Melanie at one of the tables for at dinner, sitting naked next to Cindy, and chatting a mile a minute. The same spritely and open personality that was in the reception room was present at the dinner table. "If this woman is like this all the time, I might slit her throat some day myself." Vicky thought to herself with a smile.

"So, Vicky, have a seat here. Melanie is going to be joining us for a while here to help with intake and process interviews, and also to do some lead work into special services." Candy said when Vicky came in.

"Just a second and I will. Do either of you need a beer?" Vicky asked heading to the fridge.

"Dark for me please?" Melanie said.

"Nothing for me. I still have some work to do tonight." Candy said.

Returning to the table, Vicky said, "Boss, the front door is locked, and reception is empty. So what do you need help with?"

"Don't offer. I have about two hours to work with Carol tonight on filing exemption and extension requests. And also to get a orange collar on this critter here." Candy said, pointing at Melanie.

"Yea, the uniform is the biggest thing I have to get used to I guess." Melanie said. "I have to tell you though, that standard process is a real trip."

"You didn't?" Vicky said.

"Yes I did." Candy said. 'How else can you say with conviction that you don't feel a thing?"

"That upside down thing was unsettling" Melanie said. "And having to clean up when I threw up was pretty bad tasting."

"Yes, but you woke up. You would never have known." Candy said with a smile.

Helen is right. This girl get's out of here, I will keep my eye on her. From a long distance, Vicky thought to herself. " There is that" Vicky said aloud.

"Yes, I can see that. But I was surprised when Candy pulled me out and put that Beverly lady in my place for the group. Then asked that I participate in a new experience. I almost thought I was snookered when I woke up. But now I understand what is going on." Melanie said.

"Beverly? The New York Beverly?" Vicky asked.

"Yes. Her friend and her got into a discussion and she came over to us and asked us to register her. Going to cost extra to ship the stuff to New York. No local delivery on this we have do to UPS." Candy said. "The reason I am here right now is that Bella is in David's office talking over remote service options. We have to make sure we are not afoul of interstate traffic on this."

"So we are doing New York too?" Vicky asked.

"No. We are like a college. Interstate rates are higher then instate. Should be, with what I am paying to go to Cornell." Candy said.

"Ivy League?" Vicky asked with a smile.

"Yea. Cindy's mother spoke up for me and I have been working my ass off to keep up. Taking nine credits so far. It is a real buster."

"So my law studies can continue?" Vicky said.

"Law? Did you say Law? Of course you can continue law studies here. Vicky, have you ever thought of helping here in legal research and document filing? " Candy asked.

Shit. This is what Helen warned me about this morning. Damn." So you are ready to fire me from operations already?"

"Not fire. Just have you do some work with Carol in legal aid for a bit until we can catch a couple of more law dogs. Cindy and I are trying but Carol can use someone help who really knows more about the legal system. Could you?" Candy said with such a smile on her face.

"Helen warned me about you. Your reputation proceeds you. OK. I guess I should wander up there." Vicky said.

"You go and I will keep Melanie company." Candy said.

Which was how Carol got a two-year law school undergrad from University of Chicago to help file the forms that the ACLU would not. And how Vicky discovered that twelve hour days weren't really that bad when you wanted to accomplish something.



-------

Chapter 34



A month to Halloween. Trick or treat?

It was a normal Friday night at Findley. After David had given the usual summary for the week, Barbara intercepted David as he was leaving to go to his office.

"David, I have a issue we need to talk about. Abby and I have both noticed that there is an uptick in the percentages of fetal males we are detecting in exam. It has jumped from ten to sixty percent."

"That is great, Barbara. Just please don't tell me it was because of the technology."

"No. This is not about the machines, although those are great. No, the women we are seeing have a greater incidence of male pregnancy. Statistically very much higher."

"What does that mean, other then you are sending home a lot more people." David asked.

"I got a e-mail from Delores at the board. She said that we were the only state reporting any variation. We have always been higher then the rest of the Midwest, but I think that is because we do better screening. I don't know what it means, but something got into someone over the last few weeks and it is showing up now." Barbara replied.

"Is this just us or is it at M&H as well?"

"It is at all three of the locations. We are seeing it in all of the intakes where we do our screening in medical. Abby is following the same protocol and all of the pregnancies from M&H are sent to us from them as part of the intake. So we are seeing all pregnancies in all selections from the state. The women on the out of state program are almost the same, fifty-three percent as opposed to sixty percent."

"Ok. Tell Carol to let her know first. We should consider the legal impact on us. And see if we can get some post identification questions for the women involved. Especially any information about their partners. Any ED drugs that were taken, special prescriptions all that stuff. " David said. "Maybe this will have some impact going forward. I don't know, but I am curious."

-------

A different kind of conversion

Abby was sitting at dinner with her nurse Cathy and Susan Blankenship (a new woman as of today) having dinner when Candy approached them. "Mind if I join you?"

"Have a seat, boss. We were just going over the day's events. How are you guys doing?" Abby asked.

"Good. We are all good." Candy replied. Candy was strangely quiet as she sat with the group at the table. When dinner was finished, she spoke up to Abby and Cathy and said "I have something I have to talk with the two of you about and I would like to talk it over with you in David's office, if you don't mind."

"Sure. What is it about?" Abby asked.

"Some medical issues and status. He wants to talk about the stuff Barbara talked with him about. I need both of you." Candy said.

After following Candy to David's office, both Abby and Cathy saw David was sitting at his desk, with Carol at one of the side. "We wanted to talk with you both in private away from the group. Cathy, could you please sit down? We are going to have to re-classify you tonight, and I guess I should let you pack your things when this meeting is finished." David said quietly.

Seeing the absolute shock on Cathy's face, David hurriedly continued. "Your medical exemption came through today and we wanted to give you the opportunity to leave as soon as you would like."

"Boss, sometimes you are an asshole," Candy said. "You probably damn near gave the woman a heart attack. Cathy, we have an exemption letter to put you back out into the mainstream today. So we kind of need that collar back for someone else. You don't need it any more and you are walking out of here."

An entire range of emotions ran through Cathy. All of the stress she didn't know she was working with suddenly fell away as she sat in the chair and began to sob.

Knowing that this would be one of the reactions, David had prepared a box of Kleenex in advance. And had a pillow for the woman to hug into while she cried for the next few minutes. Which was followed by laughter and then a pensive look on her face. "I guess I have to leave."

"Well, you have to get somewhere else to live, that is for sure. Job-hunting is up to you, because we can now pay you as a nurse for the work you are doing at H&S. You would now be a full employee just like Barbara is here if you want to stay while you are looking around. And the identification filing is complete as of now, as you are informed. Carol, you have that notification done, right?"

"That's right. As of now, you are free as a bird. And except as our guest, you are trespassing, so you better get your shit together to get out of here." Carol said with a laugh.

"And Abby, we have a little greater complication for you. We have a court ordered reclassification for you as well, pending proof of sterilization. Now the order is deliberately vague, but it could be as simple as a tubal ligation and then you are out of here." Carol continued.

Abby feinted at that statement. Candy barely caught her in time to keep her from hitting the floor. "Damn, Carol. We should have had her sit down first."

"I am so sorry, Candy. Is she ok?"

"Yes, she is breathing. Thought she was going into V-tack for a second. It is a hell of a treat." Candy continued.

"What are we going to do?" Cathy said.

"Well, first, you are going to put this in your purse upstairs. I know you kept your drivers stuff and identification with you. So you take this with you. The laminated card will be here Monday, and then you are safe if you are stopped or approached in public." Carol said.

"And second, you are going to have to think about how you want us to tell the others that you are leaving here." David said. "Everyone here is your friend, and some will be jealous. Otherwise all of us will be very happy for you."

"And third, kid, you get out of here and get another job and forget about this place" Candy said quietly.

"Not possible" Cathy said. "I can't forget how you have treated me since I got here. You guys have been the only friends I had."

"Well, I am not sure about that. But we do want you to get back with your life." David said. "Working here is ok. And we do appreciate you and what you have done. But we also want you to move on."

Abby, at this time was coming around from her shock. "Didn't think it was serious, so I didn't get any smelling salts or anything." Candy said. "Besides, I thought you could use a nap"

"Bitch" Abby said to Candy as she felt herself coming around. "Wait until I give you your next homework assignment. David, were you serious? You were. I get to leave here?"

"Absolutely. I hope you will still keep in touch, but you get to go back to being the hotshot doctor you were." David said. "And you get to see patients more then once."

"What do we tell the rest of the girls?" Cathy asked.

"Well, that is why we wanted to talk with you in private. We wanted your take on how to handle it. While both of you are free to go tonight, you have time to be able to make arrangements. We aren't throwing you into the street. But we do have to get the collars recycled." David said. "Candy, do you want to do the honors?"

"Sure boss. Ready to be unlinked, girls?" Candy said.

"Actually, where is Cindy?" Abby asked. "If you don't mind, she put it on me. I would like to let her take it off."

Candy smiled, and picked up her portable. "I guess I can text Cinderella to get her ass down here."

"And where is Helen?" Cathy asked. "She had a lot to do with both of us."

Still holding her portable, Candy sent another message to "mother hen".

The emotions in the break room and overnight ranged from tears to gales of laughter. Cindy's hands shook so much that it seemed it took forever before she was able to get the key into Abby's collar and release it. Abby's response was to hug her first best friend and hold her for what seemed like hours. "I was so happy I could do this" Cindy said, with tears running down her face. "You have no idea."

"Yea, I do. Yes I really do." Abby replied while she was crying. "And I owe so much to you."

Helen was in tears as well when Cathy asked her to unlock her collar. Helen didn't know quite how to feel, as she removed it from Cathy's neck, knowing that the young woman was going to leave. "I owe you" Cathy said.

"I think we all owe Carol."

Later in the evening, David asked Abby to talk with him for a few moments. "I hear from Barbara that we have a shift in percentages of male fetus in intake."

"Yes. Instead of five percent we are seeing sixty percent." Abby replied.

"Is that an abnormality or do you think it is significant?"

"I am not sure.

"I assume you are going to reach out to Dr. Hume and take your place in his medical group. Could you please do me a favor and check if our statistical selection is the same as his practice is seeing?" David asked.

"Sure. I guess I should call him and ask if it is still open." Abby said.

"If not, I am sure that someone will be interested in you. Especially since you are now exempt. Once we get the surgery out of the way. Carol, arrange for the women's clinic to take care of this, I will have Margaret or Susan escort."

"And after that, you can be escort." Carol said to Abby.

"Heck, I can escort you" Cathy said. "I have my own get out of jail free card already."

"So, get her to the women's clinic at Cook County tomorrow. Take my car." Margaret said. "Only please, if you don't come back, let me know were you leave it."

"We will be back. Right now we don't' have anyplace else to go." Cathy replied.

-------

Late Night

Donald Hume was surprised to be called at home by what seemed to be a drunken party. "Donald, this is Abby. Can you do a tubal ligation on short notice?"

"What? Abby. Are you drunk?"

"Donald, yes I am. And here is the thing. IF you can do this on short notice, I get an exemption notice and I can get out of here permanently. Know anyone who needs a slightly deranged MD?" Abby continued.

Sitting down, Donald took in the change of events. "Sure, I can come into the office tomorrow. We can use a robotic laser or even use nanites to have them do the procedure. Hell, you could inject them yourself."

"I have to have a court verifiable change in medical status. That has to be done by a board certified physician. I thought you would want to have the honors." Abby said. "As to the practice slot, given where I have been these last few months, I understand if I don't qualify."

"The status thing I will do tomorrow. Meet me at Cook at eight o'clock. The rest I have to bring up at a board meeting. But I don't anticipate any problem. What will you do?"

"Well, I have to get things back and put my life back together. I have some money from before and I actually have things in order. House hunting is right after job hunt."

"Do you have a place to stay?" Donald asked.

"Yes, housing interim is not a problem. This was all so unexpected that it is a bit of a shock. But I am secure here with friends at the moment."

"At the slaughterhouse?" Donald asked, recoiling in horror. "That can't do."

"Actually, no. They want the room and collar as soon as possible." Abby said. "David and Margaret Findley have asked me to look after their house as they are never there any more."

"Living at the butcher's house can't be too comfortable." Donald said.

"Donald, one day at a time. Let's talk about afterwards tomorrow. Ok?"

"See you at eight." Donald said as he was hanging up. If that isn't a surprise, Donald thought to himself. And the uptick in male pregnancies could be significant. It is funny where a discovery like that is coming from.

-------

Saturday Morning, Cook County General,

Abby and Cathy were both sitting in the reception area for outpatient treatment at seven in the morning. Both had splitting headaches. And aches in their splits. Friday had been a general drunken party with everyone wanting to help celebrate the status of change from goat to employees. At least for the time being, both had no idea of where else to work. David had agreed to pay standard union scale to both of them while they were looking to re-enter life.

The biggest change was the lack of collar. Carol had Cathy and Abby sign management contracts the previous night, listing both of them as management employees at Findley in case there was a site inspection or audit.

"That's a demotion," Cathy said with a laugh. "Everyone knows the goats rule here."

"And don't you forget it." Candy said with a laugh.

Wearing clothes was different. The body felt different with clothes over skin. Cathy had worn a heavy necklace she had borrowed from Helen because not having the weight on her neck felt strange.

Carol had told both of them that their provisional letters were more then enough to protect them while they were out, and that the status formal update for Abby would happen once Donald signed off at Cook County.

The receptionist was surprised when she entered the data into the field that Abby was there for court advised sterilization. "We usually have to have you visit a consular first to explain all the implications to you. Don't you want to wait?"

"I think that the circumstances would advise against that." Abby said

"This is most irregular. We do have to follow our processes on selective surgery."

"I understand. Tell you what. When Donald Hume gets here, he can help to straighten this out with you."

"Donald Hume is the head of obstetrics and pediatrics." The receptionist replied with studied arrogance. "We wouldn't bother him with this issue. In fact, he seldom even has surgical sessions, he is so busy."

"Yes, I am." Donald said as he came up behind the reception desk from the corridor leading back to the examination wings. "So, Ms. Jordan, can you please get us a room and send for a nanite injection from the pharmacy now, please? I'll take it from here."

"Dr. Hume. I didn't know you were here. This is most irregular."

"Yes, but as you pointed out, I am head of obstetrics. And this is my patient." Donald said with a smile.

"But it is most irregular."

"Ms. Jordan. MOVE!" Donald said with emphasis. "Follow me, Abby. Good to see you again Cathy. Want a job in our practice?"

"I might. Let's get this bitch fixed first." Cathy said with an elbow in Abby's side.

"Just wait. Payback is hell." Abby said.

Taken aback at the exchange, Donald looked at Cathy.

"Jokes among friends, Donald" Abby said. "Our sense of humor and professional decorum has suffered. Let's get me fixed so I can fight back."

After the nanite injection, which would focus on doing multiple separations of the fallopian tubes, Abby asked Donald if he had seen an uptick in male fetus pregnancies.

"Yes, now that you mention it. We do see some incremental increase."

"We are seeing a jump from five percent to sixty percent." Abby said.

"Really? Well with your facility you would know. We just got the 3000 here. We got it used from the manufacturer on a pre paid price off of lease."

"I know. We sent you ours. We have three Hemo 3500s and two new 3500 imagers."

"Slaughterhouse business must be booming." Donald said with a rueful expression.

"Donald. Is this going to cause a problem with your group?"

"It shouldn't. Your medical credentials are impeccable. And we all know why you did what you did. Stephen will be a blowhard, but he is not a full board member. How did this come about?"

"Well, you remember the staff we had? Well we have three lawyers working night and day filing exemptions and selection requests for social value. Cathy and mine came through last night, mine with a provision."

"So, you really were working to get people out?" Donald asked.

"Yes. We get exemptions or extensions granted on thirty or so each week. I was just the one lucky finally to get through the court system. " Abby replied.

"Well, in a half hour, I will sign on yours. Why are you asking about the statistics?"

"David wanted to know. I think that Carol, our legal officer, is looking to attack the MAB law directly. But we need evidence that is greater then just anecdotal to go after it."

"The population percentage rule?" Donald asked. "Won't that put you guys out of business?"

"Yes. And it will make the owners extremely happy when it does." Abby replied.

"Really? They are not just giving lip service? Most businessmen I met don't want to be put out of business."

"I think David and Margaret are different. I won't go into all of the things I have seen and why. But they do have a different goal. Not the people you think of for this business."

"What other locations are reporting this?" Donald asked.

"I am not sure others are doing the screening we do. At least not with our technology. Or our interest. GE says we have their first Hemo 3500s anywhere. And the first two Geos as well. I think we have the best screening facility in Chicago."

"Well, I will definitely let you look into our practice demographics. Do you want to look at medical records for the fathers as well?" Donald asked.

"That might be the most significant. If we can find what is causing the uptick, we might be able to get some study work done. Our lawyer thinks that this would be very significant."

"Well, if it helps you, let me know. Now let me sign this damn validation document."

An hour later, Abby and Cathy were sitting at breakfast. Both with signed documents exempting them from future risk under the law.

"You know, Helen cooks better then this." Cathy said.

"Yea. I agree. Is it insane to think we should go back?" Abby said.

"I'm not sure what is insane any more." Cathy replied. "The works sucks but I miss my friends."

"Well, we have a car, keys to a house and freedom. And we have money in our pockets. Let's check where the house is, and then go shopping." Abby said. "And if my Condo is not sold, I will pull it off the market, and set up the second room. If you would like to be my roommate?"

"You mean I could stay with you? That sounds Great. My roommates replaced me when I went in." Cathy said.

"I would like you to stay with me. I don't want to be alone for a while. And we damn sure know we are compatible. And we don't have to share a bathroom."

-------

Guilt by association

Donald in the mean time was having a tense conversation with Stephen Grant (IV) about extending their offer again to Abby.

"I don't see how we can extend this to someone who would be guilty of this sort of criminal activity she has been doing." Stephen said earnestly.

"What crime? Staying alive? Being exempted?" Donald asked.

"Cooperation with this heinous crime called the PCA act. It is unacceptable to allow someone who has been involved with this to be in our practice. She has to have violated her oath as a doctor."

"Stephen, I want to remind you that you are not a partner. You are not a member of the practice. And this conversation was not a solicitation. It was information. I will be meeting with the board of directors later today in an emergency meeting to review her membership with us and I intend to re-extend our offer." Donald continued.

"And what does the state medical board have to say about this? Surely she is guilty of violating the spirit if not the letter of her oath."

"Stephen, I don't think that the state medical board has any position on this. It is too unique." Donald said. "And if she has done things to stay alive, then I am sure that she acted in the best interests of all concerned in this difficult situation."

"Well, I hope you understand that I won't be associated with someone who has done the things that she has to have done to preserve herself in that sort of place. This speaks of prostitution of the worst order. Ethics aside, how can she morally work in health care after working to kill so many women? I intend to request a formal medical board hearing on this. And if you try to stop me, I will simply withdraw from the practice."

"Stephen, you can't withdraw anything. You are an employee. And you are perfectly free to write or complain to anyone you want. Except to me. If the state medical board has hearings on this and settles this, you can either work with her or work elsewhere." Donald continued. "And we won't have any issue with you leaving."

We'll see about that, Stephen Grant IV thought to himself as he ended the call. I believe that my old professor is still on the State medical board. Surely he can do something. We cannot allow people who aid and abet murder to act as physicians. WE have to answer to a higher standard. No one should have to stoop to be forced to associate with someone who has done the sort of things that Abby had to do while she was in that place. It is unseemly.

Charlie Parker was more compassionate. Having worked in other countries with Doctors without Borders, he knew that you had to compromise simple ethics a lot to be able to operate in evil conditions. And Abby was the kind of woman who would do her best under any conditions. His opinion of Stephen was that he would trade twelve of him for one Abby. If God had been so unkind to humanity as to create twelve copies of Stephen.

Still, Donald did agree that probable psychological consoling was in order for Abby for some period of time when she returned to standard medicine.

"You can't work in a place where most of your clients are terminal without having some level of PTSD" Charlie said. "It is like Hospice or terminal cancer. Eventually the stress gets to you."

-------

Aftershocks

Waking up in a different bed and a different place was a shock for Abby. She had been out with Cathy until midnight trying on clothes, running around and in general getting used to being outside. Both were totally exhausted when they got to the house and fell asleep quickly. In the morning, the quiet of the house was almost oppressive. The lack of noise of people and things would take some getting used to again.

Over coffee in the kitchen, Cathy broached the subject. "Should we go back today and get our stuff? And take Monday off to get reactivated in the world?"

"I don't know." Abby said. "I think we need to talk with Carol about what we need to do to be alive again. Figure out what steps to take first and how long this will take."

"We could use the questionnaire in reverse" Cathy said. "Since a death certificate was never filed, we should be in pretty good shape. We still have our driver licenses and stuff. Mine was still in effect. But we have to register to vote again."

"Yea. I have been so busy and wrapped up I don't know what is going on. I wonder if my status is updated yet? "Abby asked.

"We could check. I brought my portable." Cathy said.

"You did? I left mine there because I thought I had to give it back if I didn't work there any more. Shame, because those were great models. I am spoiled."

"If you are clear, what do you want to do?" Cathy asked.

"I don't' know. I hadn't got that far yet.' Abby said.

Opening her terminal, and getting connected to the MAB, Cathy quickly verified the status on Abby. Abby was listed as "Cleared and exempted, pending final notification". Quickly selecting the notification icon under her login, Cathy updated Abby as notified, and fifteen seconds later the response came back as updating all databases. "Well, that means you are free, or will be in a few. Once the update is done, your driver license will be clear and all of the other things will follow. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

"You want to do breakfast and get our stuff?" Abby asked.

"I like that idea." Cathy said.

"Yea. I'll call the realty company about my Condo and see how soon I can get it off the market. Hell, my sister probably left my car there. I hope it is all right. We probably need to get out and make room here. This is going to be a crowded half way house if Carol can help it." Abby said.

Candy was surprised to hear the door chime call on her portable. She was sitting with Helen drinking coffee when it went off. Looking at the display, she saw Abby and Cathy at the back door looking up at the camera. "Well, bad pennies came back" She said to Helen as she walked down the hall. "Be right back."

"Ladies, we are closed" Candy said through the door. "Unless you are here to pick up something.'

"Candy, let us in so we can pack." Abby said as she pounded on the door. "If you want us out, you better let us in."

"Sure." Candy said. "Here you go."

Entering the door, Candy pointed to the door by the loading dock. "We don't want you to think you are not wanted, but we boxed everything up already."

Standing next to the loading dock were a dozen boxes. Each with a neat label taped to it with a list of contents, and name of either Cathy or Abby. "The pictures and other stuff we left on the walls until you got back. We can store them or ship them to you when you get settled." Candy said. "I figured you would want to have a pretty clean break."

The fact that everything was boxed and neatly packaged was more unsettling to Abby and Cathy then they expected. "Already shipped us on, eah?" Abby said with a catch in her voice.

"You guys are our first living graduates, so we didn't know how to do it. Abby, David said take your portable with you, and the large screen and stuff will be boxed up and shipped wherever you settle. Cathy, we saw you took yours, so here is the shoulder bag for it."

"Wow. That was a lot of work. I don't know what to say" Cathy said.

"Say thank you and good bye. We used a whole box of bubble rap and all of your sheets and pillowcases. We left the pillows in too. David said if you like we can ship your mattresses to you. Don't want to have anyone newcomers to think they are getting hand me downs." Candy said with a laugh.

Seeing that both of them were a little unsettled, Candy continued. "But you guys probably came here cause you were hungry, right? SO let's get some food. Elaine and Carol and Helen are in the kitchen."

Leading the way down the hallway, Candy had gone half-dozen steps when she noticed that both of the women were still looking at the pile of boxes. "Come on. Food is getting cold. And I think Helen wants to talk with you."

Entering the break room, Abby and Cathy saw Helen and Carol already sitting at a table. Which had un-named coffee cups at the table.

"We packed yours. And we took the liberty of fixing you a plate. " Helen said by way of explanation.

"Wow. This is service." Abby said.

"You only get it once." Helen said. "And that is all. So. What plans have you guys made?" Helen said.

"Two by four therapy?" Abby replied. "None yet. We were kind of surprised to see you had already emptied our rooms."

"Yea. What if we didn't have a place to go?" Cathy asked.

"You do, and it isn't here. We need the collars and the rooms." Candy said, coming up behind Abby and Cathy.

"Damn. You throwing us out?" Abby asked.

"Not throwing. Pushing a little maybe. Here is your hat, here is your coat here is your cup, why are you still here more like it." Candy said jokingly.

"Damn slave driver." Abby said.

"Actually, it is how all of us feel." Helen said. "I suggested they pack things up yesterday and get the boxes out of there. Abby, remember how you felt when you thought Cindy was going to be termed?"

"Like I would ever forget that." Abby said.

"Well, here is the thing. We don't know how many we can save here. Or how soon we can save them. So you hanging around here is a pressure we don't want to keep on everyone else." Helen said. "And there will be jealously and other conflicts. If we can keep those to a minimum, we can keep everyone sort of sane."

"Wow. So we are unemployed too?" Cathy said.

"We would like it if you were employed somewhere else." Helen said.

"So, is this our last meal?" Abby said with a grin.

"I don't think too many more. Carol has a re-entry packet to give you both, with phone numbers and things to do. We will do verification for employment while you both were here." Helen said with a smile.

"And I am going to be calling you every night to keep up with my studies." Candy said.

"But realistically, girls, you don't belong here any more." Carol said. "You didn't to begin with, I proved that legally, and you are out of here." Carol said.

"What about working at H&S?" Cathy asked.

"You can do that for a couple of weeks while you are looking for a job elsewhere." Candy interjected. "But the management staff has agreed that we don't want to keep you around any longer then necessary to get you back into the world."

"I really don't think it is healthy to do this when you have options." Helen said.

"Yea. After all, you don't want to be as crazy as Margaret?" Carol said.

The remainder of breakfast was subdued. As they women ate, some of the guys started coming down. Seeing Kevin, Abby muttered to Helen "I sure am going to miss some of the benefits here. Can I still come over on Friday and Saturday?"

"Depends. Are you bringing your own with you?" Candy said.

"Now, Candy. We can't cut them off cold turkey like that. And we should at least consider the thought." Carol replied.

"We can work something out. I just think you should bring your own too. I mean, you have a chance to catch one now." Candy said with a laugh.

Just then, David and Vicky came down from upstairs. Seeing Abby and Cathy, he headed directly to their table. "So, back for a visit and to pick up your stuff?" David began.

"Yes, I guess. We see it all sitting out there. Where at your place can we put it while we are looking for a place?" Cathy asked.

"Anywhere. How was your first day?" David asked.

"Pretty strange. It felt normal after a while. And we went shopping. Is there anything we can get anyone?" Cathy asked. "If we are semi retired, we can do errands."

"Let us give you a list. So these Cretan men can't mess it up." Carol said.

"So. What are your plans?" David continued.

"Well, I guess we have to go job hunting. Since the manager" Abby said pointedly looking at Candy" Decided we should find jobs elsewhere."

"It was not just her. She just gets stuck with delivering bad news." David said in defense.

"Not always. I liked Friday." Candy said

"Yes, so did we." Abby replied. "So, I talked to Donald while I was getting spayed, and he said he might want to bring me into his practice still. He made a pass at Cathy when he saw her. I think it was a job offer but I might be mistaken. Doctors always have a thing for good looking nurses."

"That's great. Did Carol give you your re-entry package?" David asked.

"Yes, and I guess we have a lot to do tomorrow. I guess you already gave our rooms away." Abby said.

"As a matter of fact, yes. We found two others who shouldn't be here and we are holding them over for Carol. I'll tell you, we are going miss your expertise on the Sybian." Helen said.

"Hell, I am going to miss riding it and running it." Cathy said. "That damn thing always wore me out."

Abby blushed at that remark. "I think I would like to order one someday, but without the fatal attributes. But I do think the low voltage g-spot tingle is neat."

"Getting the industrial model?" Carol asked.

"Of course. Don't want the damn thing to wear out." Abby replied with a laugh.

Seeing Tim and Gus coming down from upstairs, David rose and gestured them over. "Hey guys. How about helping me load those boxes into the van?"

"Breakfast first?" Tim asked.

"Plenty of time for that. We just have to load a few. They are the ones by the loading dock." David responded.

"Sure. Hey there Cathy, Abby. I didn't recognize you with clothes. You guys clean up pretty good. " Gus said.

"Aw, Gus. You say the nicest things. So you guys got along without us last night?"

"You were missed. But we were glad you were." Tim said with a smile.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Don't forget to give me your number and we can get together." Cathy said.

"Sure. Or just check your e-mail here once in a while. David said he wasn't shutting your account down.' Gus said.

"And Abby, please check and see if the results on male fetus outside of here is matching what we are seeing. We do need to get track on that" Carol said.

"I will. Do you really think it is important?" Abby asked.

"Yes. I have a brief I want to prepare and that will have some impact on it." Carol replied. "It might just help us to send everyone home."

-------

Monday Morning. Re-entry

Abby and Cathy had more shocks on Monday. First calls were to banks and insurance companies. Since a death certificate had never been sent, none of those accounts were in receivership. The second step was to the State medical board to verify that both were still licensed. After over two hours of hold and transfers it was decided that both Cathy and Abby were still listed as medical professionals in good standing. Third step was employment. Abby's call to Donald brought welcome news. They would like her to start seeing patients by mid-week. And he was serious about Cathy. Anyone who was familiar with the latest in technology for blood services and radiology and viewing was an asset. He did have a single caveat however.

"Abby, Charlie suggested that possibly some time with a shrink would be in order." Donald said carefully. "He felt that your experience would be akin to PTSD over time and that help would be a good idea."

"Donald, I think that is an excellent idea. But we have to have both nondisclosure and personal confidentiality. And I would like to be able to select a provider."

"Do you have anyone in mind?"

Reopening the re-entry packet, Abby saw a tab marked "Helen" Opening it up, she saw a list of seven therapists that Helen had recommended. Each name had a two or three line description of how they were and what to expect.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Abby replied. Reading the list of names off, Donald began to laugh.

"Well, two of them are in our group and you don't have to worry about confidentiality with either of them. The others I know by reputation. You really did your homework on this."

"We had help." Abby said. "So which of these do you prefer?"

"Gerry Cartwright is on our board. If she's comfortable, it would go a long way to quelling any concerns. Of course all of them are excellent. I am sorry you have to submit to this, but I think it is probably best." Donald said sadly.

"Donald, don't worry. After what we have been through, this is just a little thing. If you think this is difficult, you would be amazed. You really would be amazed."

Looking at the packet, Abby saw a section marked "References."

Inside were three letters of recommendation for Abby. One was from David as president and owner, one from Margaret as vice-president. And one was from Candy as Director of Operations. David and Margaret's were glowing in nature. Candy's was succinct, pointed to facts of operation and satisfaction with Abby's performance as a medical professional and medical manager. Candy included that Abby's experience and ability to master complex diagnosis machines would be an asset in any professional location that dealt with complex diagnosis and treatment recommendations. Not a word was said about how the output was used or how diagnosis was applied. "Damn, the girl is good. I had them and I didn't' need them."

The back section was labeled "Housing."

Cindy had assembled a current list of apartments, townhouses and condominiums with security and parking near public transportation in all five areas of Chicago. Two were near Cook County General. Of the twenty-five entries, two were similar to the location where Abby had lived before. Six were roommate double suites, and the rest were singles with den. And the header in bold face type said, "As a reference in the event your Condo is under Contract or sold."

It had taken a lot of time to put this together. The emotion of love and caring from all of them was evident in how the packet was written and organized. Abby started to tear up again as she thought of how everyone had worked together to make this happen.

Calling the Condo Management and realtor yielded the fact that there had been three offers. But Abby's sister had rejected all of them based on the offer (very low) and the fact that her Condo fees were paid up to the end of the year. She had been paying the base utilities and mortgage out of pocket while Abby had been detained. "Shit. I haven't called my sister yet." Abby thought to herself.

"Cathy, have you called your relatives yet?" Abby asked.

"No. I forgot. Shit. That should be the first thing I should have done. God, I am in so much trouble."

"Both of us. Well, I guess we better get started."

-------

Monday Morning Findley

David and Margaret were at breakfast with Helen and Carol, talking about the upcoming Halloween week. Helen has advised a clean break, and that since Cathy and Abby were together, they would be ok. "I hope we get enough of these that we can do a re-entry program. I hope both of them meet up with a consular."

"Yes, Mother Hen. I am sure they will." David said "So, Carol. Who is next?"

"I think I can get Vicky out once Judge Michelson gets the case file. I strongly recommend she find other employment. CPD did nothing for her and with her decorations that is criminal." Carol said. "I will hate to loose her, though. She is on the way to being a good lawyer. Enough streets smart that she would be a good prosecutor too. Make good deals, not bad ones."

"You mean you would want her on the other side." Helen said with a laugh.

"Hell no. Her briefs are too good. Any judge would look at this and see both sides and a judgment in the middle. I wouldn't have any room to negotiate. By the time I got to her I would hope for a change in prosecutor. Someone sloppy."

"So, does that mean I don't need to have two more legal aides?" David said with a smile.

"No. If I could get the womanpower to file against the system we would get more out." Carol said.

"He was kidding, dear." Margaret said. "We all support you storming the gates of the legal system."

"I know. I just never was this close to it before. This thing has begun to get to me." Carol said.

Helen looked at David and Margaret with raised eyebrows. "Time to change the subject." She said.

"Actually, yes. But on a different note, Carol, how would you go about defending us?" David asked.

Taken aback, Carol was silent for a moment. "What would I have to defend you for?"

"Think about it. If the law changes, would we be prosecuted for actions that were legal at the time?" David asked.

Seeing Margaret and Helen both shift and listening intently, Carol thought for a while on this. "I would want to talk with Nancy about this. She is the history buff. But we haven't had a habit of prosecuting people for actions that were legal at the time of occurrence. Broadly, you would be held harmless. But prosecutors do bend the law at times."

"Think about it. We have stayed away from interstate issues to avoid the federal angle, as you advised. But if something happens, we want to have some idea of what to do. I would hate to end up in jail with Merle Hill as a cellmate." David said with a straight face.

"David, I admit you have me thinking. I will have to get back to you on this." Carol replied.

"Good. Because when this is over with, I want the best and most prepared lawyer in the world next to me to keep me out of trouble." David said.

Hearing this statement, Helen smiled. "That was very nicely done, David" Helen thought to herself. Carol will be focused on that as well for at least a few weeks. No use letting her get bored or depressed again.

-------

Re-entry, Stage 2

Abby's mother and sisters were shocked that Abby had been out of Findley's for over two days before she called. Everyone was delighted that she survived. The planning for a coming home party was instant, and dinner was a forgone conclusion. Abby didn't want to accept without her new roommate being included.

Cathy's family was farther east. There had not been a lot of closeness before, and they were going to make the visit later in the month, now that they knew that Cathy was out permanently

So, Abby's sister insisted on meeting with both of them for lunch. Abby insisted on a restaurant that served vegetarian. Her sister wasn't surprised.

Abby's mother did not really recognize her youngest daughter when she saw her. A look of absolute joy broke over her face when she looked at Abby. "My god, you look wonderful."

"Thanks mom. I feel pretty good too."

"You look much healthier then I expected. You actually look good." Her mother said.

"Well, I have been getting a lot of sleep and exercise. And we moved around a lot. So I guess it shows." Abby said with a smile.

"Darling, are you all right? I mean, are you seeing someone to talk with?"

"Mom, I am seeing a consular tomorrow. Mom, this is my friend Cathy. We were both released on the same day."

"My dear, I am happy to meet you. You both are lucky to get out of that horrible place."

"I am happy to meet you too." Cathy said. "It could have been a lot worse. We were lucky in a lot of ways."

"Well, now it is over. I don't mind telling you that I have been on pins and needles ever since this thing began. I don't know how you managed, but I am glad you did."

Thinking back, Abby thought to herself that she would never be able to tell her family why she was alive. They would not understand. Looking at Cathy, she saw recognition and understanding in her friends face. There will be some things you just can't talk about.

"So, Sis. You pulling your condo off the market?" Phyllis asked. "I tried to keep the vultures away from it. We were hoping you would be back to use it."

"You remember Jennifer Pinkerton? The nice young woman reporter we knew last year? I called her when you called me and she wants to talk with you very much." Abby's mother said.

"Mom, I didn't want that. Don't tell her where I am. I don't want to talk to any reporter. In fact, I don't think I am supposed to be talking with them anyway."

"Nonsense. We need to spread the word that there are ways around this silly law and get people like you out of the way of this thing."

"Mom, I don't feel up to talking with any reporters. And I don't need you gossiping about me. This whole thing is behind me now and I want to keep it that way. I don't need to revisit it with someone in the press."

Abby's mother was shocked at her daughters' violent reaction. This type of behavior was totally out of line, given what she thought she knew. "Abby, I don't think"

"Mother, I agree with you. You are not thinking. And I don't intend to discuss it with you further. Now please, can we have a good lunch and enjoy being back in the world?"

Conversation stopped at this point. To be re-opened by Abby's sister Phyllis. "Sis, I wanted to let you know that the real estate agent said you can get your keys back any time you want. She also said she is glad to give it back to you, as there are so few people who are exempted."

"Really?" Abby's mother asked. "How many are there, usually?"

"Mom, we are the first." Abby replied. "Hopefully not the last. Which is why I am not talking with anyone. I don't want to raise any waves."

Horrified, Abby's mother sat in shock. "I see. I am sorry. I didn't realize."

Dinner from that point on was sedate and quiet.

On the way back to the house, Abby opened the conversation with Cathy "Well, you see what family is like for me."

"Not too bad" Cathy replied. "They don't know or have a frame of reference. Most people won't. We figured it would take a while."

"No kidding. Cathy, I am sure glad I have you."

"Same here. I'm glad I have me too. And glad you came along for the ride." Cathy said in response.

"You've stolen that line from Candy, haven't you?" Abby replied with a laugh.

"Yes I guess I did. I miss her. I miss all of them." Cathy replied.

"Yes. But they will get out too. If anyone can make it happen, It's Carol."

"I hope so. We made some strange and great friends there. " Cathy said.

-------

Paper work never stops.

At this time, one of the strange and great friends was typing like a mad woman, and trying to get her last exception request in for the night. Vicky was tired, and cranky and her shoulders were sore. And then Candy came in with a hot toddy.

"Damn, girl, where did you get this?" Vicky asked.

"I figured you could you could use it. You have been in here since dinner and it is almost midnight. You sure are doing a hell of a lot better then me and Cinderella." Candy said.

"You did a hell of a lot of work. You just have no experience with the legal system. Carol is a real teacher. And with Sandy doing the speed macros on the word processing, we are getting junk out in record time. I used to think that clogging the court was a waste of time. But when you are talking about someone's life, it isn't a waste any more. This is going to turn me into a damn defense attorney" Vicky said.

"I doubt it. You wouldn't waste time on someone who wasn't worth it." Candy said. "And you are stable enough to realize you can't save them all."

"Candy, when you get out of here, what are you going to do?" Vicky asked.

"I don't think I will. I am meat without a stick for a long time to come. I have too much body and not enough brain or social value. Outside of here I wouldn't have been worth much or kept around much. Cinderella and I are pretty much accepted that we are not leaving any time soon or at all. Besides, I don't have much to go back to. This is home for me."

"What do you want to do, if you could?" Vicky asked.

"Vicky, I don't dare think that far ahead. It has to be one day at a time for me. If I think what if, I ask myself how did I get suckered into here in the first place. This is the best home I have known. Best place, best people, and the only people who gave me a chance. But I promise you something."

"What?" Vicky asked.

"I get out of here, I won't be a problem for you to keep a eye on." Candy said with a smile. "I won't even get a parking ticket. I promise."

Damn. I wonder how much Helen knows this kid has figured out? "How about if I just want to keep you around to cover my back?" Vicky asked.

"I'll always do that if I can. I promise." Candy said. "Now let's get out of here."

Shutting her desk station down, Vicky picked up her portable and followed her youngest boss out to go to bed.



-------

Chapter 35



Halloween Plans

The last few weeks at Findley had been almost non-stop. With the out of state residents and the solidification of the process flow, productions had leveled at three eighty-four a day four days a week for the two Findley direct sites. Adding in M&H brought the total per week to over two thousand head a week. Which had almost caught up the allocations requirements for the state. It was the first time in Illinois history.

And these were standard productions. Specials were two days a week dedicated and mixed on Tuesdays. All of which showed that the new processes were working well.

With the graduation of two of the Goats, and upcoming removals for several more, there was a constant need to pull new goats out of the stream. Which made the recruitment job more and more tasking. Which was one of the key items in everyone's mind as they went into a Friday preparation for the upcoming holiday.

"So, what are the themes for Halloween?" David asked his assembled group at dinner on Friday. "It is coming up on Thursday. Any ideas of what we can do for ourselves and our clients?"

"How gory do we want to get?" Helen asked. "It's pretty campy anyway here. And we are limited in our costumes."

"We could do a pick your executioner page" Sandy Maguire said.

"You know, it is a capacity thing. Kind of like hiring a DJ for a party during New Years." Melanie said. "I could hire for a kids party for three or four hundred the same DJ in the summer that I paid two thousand for during New Years."

"David, we could do that. Or we could have the Halloween operations go all night. A woman could make sure her kids were home and safe and then get her head chopped that night." Elizabeth said. "Might make for a opening to our late night holiday hours too."

"Do we want to test market any new ideas?" Nancy asked.

"I don't" David said. "I really think our portfolio is both manageable and has the least amount of adverse press. We want to keep the panic and fear factor under control. I wouldn't want to do to anyone what you would not want for yourselves."

"That kind of limits us then." Elizabeth said. "But we can inject some uncertainty and some other things. I do think late night would work best."

"How about a Danse Macabre? We could have costumes, and an uncertainty factor? Tag the selectee with a bracelet or anklet early in the evening and then yank them out at random during the night?" Helen suggested.

"That is awfully close to a Merle Hill, isn't it?" Margaret asked.

"I don't think so." Helen said. "Merle's entire operation was set up that way. We are offering as an option. Keep that sort of stuff on the backside and not in the line with the production. We would have to do screening stuff early in the week. Or have them come with clothes that were expendable."

"Like Jennifer did last summer?" Candy asked. "That was a pretty intense thing for its time."

"True. We could sit it up as a party situation. Dance, drink and talk and have women picked up at odd times and termed. Really kinky" Cindy said.

"Have friends and family in a party atmosphere?" Helen said. "Sort of like a cookout without the spit stuff? Serve the early departed to the later guests?"

Vicky started to shake her head. "You guys aint right. You are seriously disturbed. How do you come up with this stuff?"

"Chalk it up to the advantages of a higher education with too much time on your hands and too little to do to amuse yourself." Helen said. "Add to that a liberal education that has too much European history and arts in it."

"You should enjoy it, Vicky. You get the advantage of that breadth of experience to add to your law studies." Carol said while cracking a smile.

"So let me get it straight. We have a dance party, where we go in at odd times and drag someone off the floor and chop off their head at odd ball intervals?" Vicky said incredulously.

"Or hang them." Carol said.

"Or lead them to the tub room." Sandy said.

"Or give them the last ride of their life." Melanie said. "That's my way to go. Can we get Abby or Cathy back here to give lessons? I missed out on all of that."

"What I want to know is how much booze we are going to serve to get the group liberated to be liquidated." Candy asked.

After thinking quietly to herself, Vicky said, "Will you guys listen to yourselves? Where do we come up with this shit? NO one would ever believe this if they listened to us."

"Seriously, Vicky. Think of this as a speed trap you are running on a busy highway. You have several cars pass you at high speed, and you go and the one you think looks appealing to you." Melanie said.

"The only rule is you can't have any tagged ones standing when the sun comes up." Candy said.

"How do we do intakes for this?" Nancy asked.

"Or advertise? We don't have a lot of days left." Elizabeth said.

"True. But we don't have a lot of competition in the market either." Nancy said.

"Formal dress or Costume?" Candy asked.

"A little of both. Mask and tux, or full costume." Helen said. "We could have fun with this."

"You know, if you had this on Friday, and closed down Friday for general production, I wonder if we would get enough to cover the allocation for the day? Make it an end of the week thing?" Elizabeth asked.

"Let's float it in to the chat and talk boards for this week and see." Candy said.

-------

Making Arrangements

When the gates opened on Monday, and the Danse Macabre was announced as part of the intake, bookings got filled up quickly. By noon there were over two hundred selectees wanting admission, with over six hundred additional spectators and guests.

At noon, David made the executive decision to close Findley to normal processing on Friday to allow for the Danse Friday night and Saturday morning. Hen night would be suspended for this week only. After putting it to a vote (to keep himself out of trouble) it was generally agreed. Helen remarked that Saturday would be a night of recovery for a change.

Leaving his goats in charge of what the festivities would consist of, and giving them the responsibility to estimate what to charge, David then quietly backed out of it.

On Wednesday, two different bands were going to play in the auditorium area. One would be early and one would be later. The guillotine was going to be moved to the rear of the auditorium, and dancing would be in the front area. Tables would be left up in reception for guests to go back and forth for meals, passing through the interview hallway. Mattresses were to be set up in the six interview rooms to allow guests to "play" while they were waiting their turn.

Once again, David had to fight his way through all of the red tape for the different permits and license reviews needed to stage and have this particular extravaganza. This time he called Jane Carmichael and asked her for a contact, since she was in the midst of her election program and had been dealing with a lot of city offices.

This proved to be a very pleasant conversation indeed. Jane had visited Cindy almost every Sunday during family times and saw her as both busy and continuing her education. "David, I had no idea that this situation would go on as long as it has, and you would be working as hard as you have for my daughter."

"Jane, it isn't over. But I promise we will work as hard as we can for all of our people." David replied

"I know you will. Don't' tell Margaret, but her smacking some sense into my head, and Carol talking to me the way she did, were the best things that could have been done with me, given Cindy's situation." Jane said. "I promise I will never forget this."

"Don't' worry. My lips are sealed." David said with a smile.

This time, armed with the right names, David flew through the permit process for an amazing party for Halloween.

-------

Last Minute permit issues

Promptly at four o'clock Friday afternoon, Findley opened the doors. The band was set up in the auditorium room, and a catering truck had backed up to the door of the expanded area to unload. The clarification of "Property" was noted on the door of the building to include all property up to the sidewalk not just within the walls. This was so that the goats could help with decorations, packages, food and beverages. The entire goat population except for Helen, Elizabeth and a new girl, Carley Swanson, were at Findley for the festivities. Carl German and Helen were looking for a peaceful weekend, and Carley was awaiting her exemption for family hardship, and was working at H&S while the paperwork was being processed. It was expected she would be returned to the population on Monday. The four of them planned a quiet weekend away, since Findley and H&S were both closed Saturday and Sunday. Helen had made arrangements with Mark to visit with the girls on Sunday at H&S. The atmosphere there would be a lot quieter and sedate, and cozy for group of them.

The first person through the door at four p.m. was the Chicago Fire Marshal Inspectors Office. Lucille McCall had been sent to do a complete and comprehensive inspection of the facility with respect to safety and public health.

Lucille was not accustomed to nudity, and was at first shocked at the appearance of over thirty women who were naked and about the premise. Add to that the limited number of showers and restrooms, and she was tempted to pull the permit. That was before she saw the Gallows, and the Guillotine and the Hot tub and the Sybian room.

"Under Chicago statutes, I can't let this event continue. These items constitute a risk to the participants and we can't allow it."

"Ms. McCall, I understand your concerns, but they are a little misplaced. This party is actually supposed to make use of these items on the selectees. They have attended this as a private event as noted under 23.121 Chicago Code." Carol explained. "We have specific language in the permit for both attendees and guests. With waivers of physical and emotional damage."

"You can't do that. Legally the responsibility for public safety falls on my department and I won't allow this to continue. In fact, I intend to revoke your Use and occupancy permit entirely."

"On what grounds?" Carol asked.

"Maintaining a public nuisance and public endangerment." Lucille replied.

"I see. So you intend to interfere with the operations of a process center?" Carol asked.

"I intend to do more then that. I intend to cite you, close this down and have you all locked up."

"Do you mind if I contact our manager about this?" Carol asked, as she was sending a message to Candy on the portable.

Seeing the incoming message, Candy asked Vicky if she wanted to keep her company for a minute. Then the two of them wandered over to where Carol was talking with Lucille and getting a little heated.

"What's up, boss lady?" Candy asked as she approached.

"Ms. McCall was explaining that she intended to cite us, close us down and have us all locked up." Carol said.

"Oh. Did you explain the situation to her?" Candy asked, nonchalantly entering some notes into her portable."

"Young woman, I advise you to not interfere with an officer in pursuit of their duties." Lucille said.

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it. Ms. McCall, could I have your Badge number please?" Candy quietly asked.

Producing her identification, Lucille looked around and said "And it is unhealthy to have nude women around food. Contamination is a critical issue here and we don't allow it."

"We wear lower garments when moving food about, but we have restrictions that are based on the PCA. Do you have all of your affairs in order?" Candy asked.

"What do you mean do I have my affairs in order?" Lucille asked.

Vicky started to get a nervous smile as she watched Candy's calm demeanor. "Uh Carol" Vicky began.

"Yes, Vicky. Don't worry. Candy has this firmly under control. Ms. McCall. I understand that you are not entirely familiar with the PCA and the Board selection process. Is that true?"

"I passed that age a long time ago, dear. I am not worried about that at all. But that does not matter to you. That has no bearing on this case."

"Actually it does." Carol continued. "Candy, what are the preparations you are making?"

"Gus is coming with the wheelbarrow and a ESD. I have sent notification e-mail with her credential identification to the Chicago Fire department and am requesting that they check the area for any official autos to be towed back. I expect they will provide me a address to send the uniform and other materials." Candy said calmly. "Is there anything besides that we should do?"

"Candy, Why don't Lucille and I have a little talk?" Vicky asked. "Just sort of a police to fireman sort of thing."

"Sure. But if she is still here when Gus get's here, she is staying for dinner." Candy said with a calm level stare.

"Understood, boss. Lucille, why don't you and I have a little talk?"

"I don't understand why. Who are you?"

"Detective Sargent Vicky Peterson, Homicide investigations. Currently in suspension here while they get the exemption paperwork is done.

"Really?" Lucille said. "Why are you calling that teenager boss?"

"Well, She is the operations director here. So she is actually in charge of this place. And she is kind of managing who does what and where. She is excellent at her job and probably will make a great life for herself when she leaves here. You, on the other hand, are in danger of becoming steaks on the grill."

"What do you mean?"

"Lucille, I can't order you to get the hell out of here. I can strongly advise you to call in your headquarters and tell them you are in need of legal clarification of what you can do from somewhere else while you still can." Vicky said.

"I am here on official business." Lucille said, imperiously.

"And you are going to be officially terminated, cut into pieces and served as dinner tonight if you don't get your stupid ass out of here." Vicky said. Thinking Two by Four Therapy indeed, she continued "And I will watch and officially report that everything was in accordance with the law."

"They wouldn't dare." Lucille said.

"They do it every day. They almost did my stupid captain. They will do you. That calm little blonde is the head killer here and I have watched her kill over two hundred women myself this week. So, get real, get it through your head and get the hell out of here. We are going to kill over a hundred women tonight during the evening, and putting you into the mix won't even make a blip." Vicky said.

Lucille's face went sheet white. Listening, Vicky heard the squeaky wheel of the wheelbarrow. "That is your queue to get the hell out of here. Because you don't want to be riding that back stage." She said to Lucille's face.

Hanging up the phone, Fire Marshal Joan Collins smiled. She had figured that they would term that bitch and get her out of my hair. Oh well. "So you didn't stay?" she asked Lucille

"No. And when I called Legal they told me that I would have been termed if the manager decided I was interfering with operations. Why didn't you tell me it was a slaughter house?"

"It's unusual to have a social event in a place of that type. Do they have a valid U&O permit for the number of people attending?" Joan asked.

"According to the permit they are zoned for occupancy of seven hundred. Problem is that is seven hundred live. It does not list total living and dead."

"Well, then go back and tell them they can't have more then seven hundred live in there at any one time." Joan said. And if you get nasty enough maybe they will keep you and I can get a replacement, Joan thought to herself.

Having ended her connection with her supervisor, Lucille contemplated her next move. There really was no reason she had to be physically present to present her recommendations and reminder of the zoning and occupancy limits to Findley. She could do that with e-mail and a phone call. After all, she had advice from legal to not get too physically close. She could request a permit inspection by Rodger on Monday.

-------

Party Management

There were going to be a mix of selectees and attendees this evening. The ticket prices were high enough to discourage gatecrashers, and no one really wanted to crash a gate at a slaughterhouse. One of the first issues was keeping the party going all night long, without too many in any one time. To do that, Vicky, Kim and Candy came up with a scheme that would manage the affairs of the night.

All selectees had registered early for the weekend. When they were admitted, they presented their name and were given a selection from a cup. In this case all of the straws were Red on the bottom, but they had different numbers. The numbers were from ten to five. Meaning that ten was from ten to eleven, eleven was from eleven to midnight, twelve was midnight to one and so on. Thus the straw selection was for at least two hours from official opening at eight, and would spread out the activity through the evening.

Once a woman had drawn her straw, she was tagged with a bracelet with the number of the hour in black. That would let the goats check up on the selectees during the evening.

Nancy had juggled the numbers to reflect some lucky women getting the five, but most in the beginnings would get the ten, eleven, or twelve. The goal was to first keep them at least two hours out, but possibly as long as the early morning. Thus the draw was a sheer gamble. The mix would change at each hour beginning when the doors opened at eight and when they closed at ten. The average in the cup was no more then the twenty-five per hour that Candy had planned on for the evening. Still it was going to be pretty busy to do two hundred before six in the morning. A full staff of men was available to run wheelbarrows from the complex. And the pet food trailer was totally empty tonight but due to pick up in the morning.

Thus the plan was to have even activity through out the evening.

"If we catch up with the group for the hour at the top of the hour, we can give them time to wrap up and start killing at the bottom of the hour. Giving that we only have to do twenty or so an hour, with all venues, we probably can keep up with no real frustration." Cindy said.

"Might want to do the Sybian first" Vicky. "Those are the most innocuous. Get the drunks and rowdies after eleven or so on the guillotine. Save hangings for later too."

"That makes sense. This large a crowd might mean we have to open up the production line. I imagine we will have a few candidates turn chicken after they see no room on the saddle as we get later if we have a backlog." Helen said.

"I don't' think we will have much backlog. If we have two Sybian, a gallows and a guillotine running, we won't have a lot of problem doing twenty five in a half hour." Candy said. "The numbers work for us."

-------

No plan survives first contact.

But things didn't exactly work out that way. After Lucille's hasty departure, people started to show up early. Apparently the after work crowd wanted to start early, with a lot of "Happy Hour" drinking arrivals beginning at six thirty. Figuring that it would probably not be a bad idea to let the early partiers start early, and that it would allow for longer party time, Candy got on the horn to order additional food and drink. Fortunately that was not that much of a challenge for a Friday. A liquor store run and a grocery run for prepared foods were quickly done, with arrangements to do a second run at nine thirty.

Carla and Vicky were the designated Sybian operators for the evening. Abby and Cathy had been by earlier in the week to give special "lessons" on proper termination behavior on Tuesday and Thursday, giving Carla and Vicky a big boost in their professional confidence. Carla had never thought of herself as an electrocution artist. But she caught onto it early. Vicky was a bit conflicted on Tuesday, but after a good fucking Tuesday night and walking the floors on Wednesday, she got into the art of electrical transition Thursday night. By her third woman, she was gauging the kill shock at just the right time on the twenty-minute mark. That gave maximum pleasure and still left ten minutes to clean up before the next client. By her eighth, she was a master.

"Damn" Vicky thought to herself. "I am getting to like this. I better be careful or I will end up as sick as the rest of these sluts."

Candy and Cindy were running the Gallows and Guillotine. Cindy had a special enjoyment of the ropes and drops, and Candy left her to do what she liked to do.

In the meantime, a new wrinkle was put in place for the guillotine. The tie down table was removed and a new arrangement had been put in place. Instead of being tied down on a table, a woman simply got down on her knees, on top of adjusted pads and bent down across a short support bar, along her breastbone. The cushioned bar was spring loaded to provide just enough support the upper body. Patterned after a modified massage bench used in airports, it was extremely easy and comfortable to recline across while setting up the Munnion blocks. After the chop, the body often jerked up or sideways after becoming disconnected from the head. Blood spray was generous but short-lived, and there was a bit of a "Headless Chicken" dance as the body shifted around without being tied down. This motion was intended as a crowd pleaser. The woman was already dead, and her arms were restrained already. So she could put on a show.

Candy had practiced all week and had the chopper show down to a science. Working with Tim, she managed the game of "Pick the straw" and did escort up the steps. Later she also helped with the roll off of the body off of the platform after decapitation. Having Tim actually raise and drop blade kept things in a rhythm. Poor Gus and Marty were already complaining about having to walk so many trips, but since the platform had been moved to the rear of the auditorium next to the hallway, the trips were shorter.

Working with the other goats, Margaret was going to be managing "Catch and Fetch" teams throughout the evening for clients and friends to go to the respective locations for the respective events.

The real party got started early when a few of the early number women figured that they could trade an early departure for a seat on the saddle. Two very drunk blondes wandered back to the saddle shop at nine o'clock and asked if they couldn't go early? Sending them back to get their friends, Vicky and Carla laughed as they set up the saddles for the first terms of the night.

-------

Scenes of Debauchery

The early arrivals had been drinking for almost four hours when Kate and Pricilla asked to be the first two in the saddle. Bringing up their respective groups, they soon attracted a small crowd that was in the hallway watching through the observation window. Both saddles had been pivoted around on their stands to face the observation windows, so the expressions on the women were visible to the audience in the hallway. Vicky and Carla had gotten into a rhythm where first one and then the other woman were moaning in orgasm on the saddles to the management of their controllers. After fifteen minutes, Carla started a low voltage discharge into Kate, which triggered a combination of awareness and fear in Pricilla. Seeing that she was beginning to get aware, Vicky increased the vibration motion on the Sybian, causing Pricilla to have a different focus. As Pricilla started to squirt, Vicky started the voltage shock at two hundred volts. Not enough to quickly kill but enough to jolt a lot. By this time, Carla had fully charged into Kate, who was jostling on the saddle, and moaning in response to the sensations. The smell of burning flesh had just started when Carla cut the connection off.

Looking out of the edge of her eye, Pricilla saw Kate fall over, and knew that she was going to follow soon. "God, please?" she said as Vicky hit the high voltage button killing here while she gyrated on the saddle.

The crowd watching in the hallway was stunned. To the women with the wristbands, it was a sobering experience to see two women die in front of them. The reality was knowing that they would be given a choice during their hour. To the others, it was titillation, shock, and a sense of disbelief. For all of them it was a stimulus to go get another drink.

And so it went through the night. At ten thirty, Melanie had wandered around and gathered a group to draw straws in time with a break for the band. That allowed the band to break and people to watch as eight women were sequentially stripped, tied, chopped and rolled off the platform onto a waiting wheelbarrow. By the end of the ten-minute break, all were dispatched, and the band played again. The smell of blood and urine under the guillotine platform spread out from the chopper and gave a copper smell to everyone on the floor.

At eleven o'clock, the next group was located among the revelers, and they were found all over the place. Some were dancing, some were eating, some were drinking and some were found under the heaving bodies of their husbands or male friends. One woman was dripping semen down her legs as she followed Margaret to the theater.

"Which way do you want to go?" Margaret asked her.

"I'm already slick. How about riding the metal pony for the last time?" she asked.

"Let's check. You would have to wait. There are three in front of you."

"Can I go watch?"

"Sure. Tell Vicky that you are third in line." Margaret said.

Melanie was walking around the dance floor, at this time, and lightly tapping women on the shoulder for their choices. Three wanted hanging, and eleven were looking to embrace the guillotine. Melanie had some doubts about the sobriety of the hanging candidates. Two were tottering, and they were in flats. She had to hold one's hand while she was walking up the stairs to the top of the gallows.

-------

Twelve Thirty. Half hour on, half hour off

"I think we need a major re-arrangement of hours here," Cindy said to Margaret and team. "I think we should do executions at the bottom half hour and suspend music, then re-start at the top of the hour for the next phase."

"You are a tricky slut," Sandy Maguire said. "Don't do a buzz kill while Dancing?"

"Something like that. Also we need to clean up some around the tools. Between the blood, urine, shit and vomit it is a mess after a few women. Eight is enough at a time on the guillotine. I never saw a body vomit without a head before tonight." Candy said.

"It's getting a little rowdy too." Nancy said. "Carol would say that our baser natures are coming to the fore, or something like that."

"Yea, Things were getting a little weird in the saddle shop. We had women asking if they could help get the last one off so they could get on." Vicky said. "Totally freaked me out."

"That's cause they don't want to get shuffled to a different spot." Carol said. "That is why they came here first of all."

"I've had a lot of requests for something quieter and more personal. Kim and I have clipped eleven so far who didn't want to be in public and opted for the blue light special." Melanie said.

"We had Nancy do the blood draw for it. So we are totally in line. We will have them cleaned out and hanging for the boys to deal with later today." Cindy said. "We have probably got a lot more of that coming up."

"Yes. I think that about two thirds are opting for the production line version instead of anything kinky. Although the saddle is popular." Margaret said. "You know, we could keep a dozen of those going if we wanted to."

"But some of the ones who come up for the saddle change their minds if they are watching. I think it works best for the Swinger Crowd." Carla said. "You can't be bashful if you are going to die on a electric dick."

-------

Saturday Wreckage

The Halloween party, with late night chops and drops and last rides in the saddle had been a real moneymaker, with over thirty drops and group chops every half hour from dusk to dawn. The drunken bacchanalia had most people tired, and David was convinced that the New Years season would be even more successful.

Everyone sat in on a debrief session in the middle of the afternoon. No one was very talkative in the morning, after sending the last partiers home at dawn. The last chops were done at four o'clock.

"We are going to have to make arrangements with the PCA board to allow earlier registrants to hold over for a time. Probably do this sort of thing once a quarter" David said to Margaret. "I think we could do this and make a big bump in money."

"It sure went over well." Margaret said. "But we have to either have smaller groups, or close up shop earlier. The whole team was totally tuckered out by four o'clock. We were waking up women to kill them. They were so groggy that they didn't even get upset at the chopper. By three o'clock no one wanted to ride the Sybian any more. No one had any energy left."

"I did my last hanging at two o'clock." Cindy said. "After that, people were too drunk or tired to walk up the stairs. And I didn't want to carry anyone."

"Kim and I did sixty in groups through the normal process door. It was getting to the point where everyone was just numb. Too much shock and awe." Melanie said. "The boys had a lot of cleaning up to do."

"Yea, I had Cliff come in this morning and do grading on the ones you had hanging" David said. "Paid him Saturday rate to do it. But it was worth it. There were over twenty primes. Of course, the blood alcohol content almost had them pickled." He added with a grin.

"So, Good points?" Candy said.

"Everyone was combination of shock and awe. But they got into the party scene of it during the evening. Everyone was loose as a goose by midnight." Melanie said.

"Yea. The three I took to the guillotine were chatting the whole time, one after another. They were too drunk to be too scared." Beverly Stevens, one of the new girls, said.

"The sense of humor and jokes got worse as the evening went on. No abuse, but just real gallows humor. One woman said to me that it was a shame her husband had left, cause he would have loved to pull the switch on her." Vicky said.

"I had two talking like that. One said it was a shame her husband's new girl friend wasn't here to watch. Or that she wasn't part of the party so she could go first." Becky said.

"Yea, it was downright casual by midnight. Hell, I was pulling women off of their men in the interview rooms and taking them out to trim." Melanie said.

"Hell, I had three that came early to get to the Sybian." Margaret said.

"I know. One of those was the woman who offered to help me with the last client. Then she saddled up, sat down and said, "Do me". I hadn't even cleaned the dildo." Vicky said.

"Improvement points?" David asked.

"Smaller group. Doing more then fifty in a party like this is hard. I think we should do it on a weeknight with a second crew." Cindy said. "Or we could give up girls night here once a month. Take it to H&S?"

"I think we definitely want smaller groups, and late nights as a party during the holidays." Melanie said. "Figure eight every hour for a four hour party. Or eight for six if we start early like we did last night."

"Overall, I think we had a rousing success." Carol said. "And I bet the blogs will be absolutely viral today."

-------

Saturday Night Dinner

David and Margaret had dinner at Abby's condo with Cathy on a lovely fall Saturday night after the Halloween party. The topics of conversation ranged from the elections (national and local) to the work that Abby and Cathy were doing to re-enter society.

David was not surprised that Abby had to have a meeting with the State Medical board. He was happy that Abby's case regarding her actions were covered by statute and case law as exemption from any penalties or accusations of professional misconduct. That didn't sit well with one of the members of the state board, but he was overruled four to one.

Cathy had been working since Tuesday with Cook County Hospital in the Medical Diagnostic Systems Lab. The experience with the Hemo Stat and GeoCentysis machines had been seen as actual real world experience. "We don't do nearly as many analysis as last week. When I told the medical director I did an average of at least one hundred a day, she was shocked. But when I showed them how we did it as a production run, they put me in charge of the damn machine and all operations."

The really lively talk was about the elections. Locally, Joe De Fortes had decided to step down. Some people said it was one step ahead of a criminal indictment. But Jane Carmichael was running for his old seat as Alderman. Jane was considered to be a shoe in, with support from both the business community and Joe's election machine.

Nationally, the president had died during the campaign trail in September. The Vice President had not been able to assemble any real traction for running for the office and was considered a lame duck. The challenger had made many noises early in the campaign about revisiting the legality of the PCA and the treaty and was considering a general review of it. Nobody really expected anything, as it was election talk, just like balancing the budget and foreign affairs. Still it was a subject that everyone had an interest in.

"If it is reversed, I won't be unhappy." David said. "I think you two know where my head has been on this all along. I would close up shop and retire to Florida in a heartbeat."

"Same here. And I would hope that you both would not hate us" Margaret said.

"No. I think you did what you had to do. I know that we treated people better then even hospitals treat patients. In fact, I learned a lot from you guys. I wish I didn't have the experience, but I have used it beneficially." Abby said.

Cathy agreed "And we knew the whole time that you were always looking to find a way out for everyone who came in. And you had to make some hard decisions too. I know that you passed up a couple of people who would have been better then I was at what I was doing."

"Cathy, when we made decisions, we made them as a partnership. It was never our intent to send someone on. I admit we probably shocked the hell out of you the way we did, and I apologize for it. But we never considered dropping someone over the side." David said.

Dinner was excellent, and so was the company. David and Margaret were tired when they left to go home. Checking the last notices in e-mail before bed, David saw that everything was calm, and everyone apparently was settled in at their respective places for the evening.

This was why the knock at the door Sunday morning was so strange.

-------

The knock on the Door

When David answered, he found two police officers at the door.

"Mr. David Findlay?" the taller officer asked.

"Yes. How can I help you?"

"Mr. Findlay, we have to have you come down to your plant and take custody of the stock. We had an emergency call last night and your caretaker had a heart attack, and the stock you had there were left unsupervised. When we took them into custody and called the name of the management on the number, a Merle Hill responded, and came down. We left the plant in his charge. This morning, the onsite caretaker recovered enough to tell us that he was the former manager, and that we made a mistake. We need you to come down to your business, sir."

The drive following the police car was sickening to David. After puling into the front lot and parking, David went to the open door and entered the reception room to see a sight he had never wanted to see.

Helen, Elizabeth and Carley Swanson were all in the reception room. Their legs and feet had been duct taped to the legs of the drink tables and their hands taped behind their backs. A discharged ESD gun was at their feet. And out the pussy of each of them extended four feet of a six-foot long spitting stake.

The Police had secured the area, but medical persons had not been called. Helen was still breathing as David walked up to her. "Check Carley. Don't let her suffer."

Carley was cold. So was Elizabeth. Helen had hung on.

"David, hold me. Please. Let me feel your arms." Helen said in small gasps. Realizing that if he pulled the stake, she would bleed out quickly, David cut the binding on her arms. Carefully, he sliced the binding from her legs and let her move onto her side.

"David, He stunned us when he walked in. We didn't have a chance to call. He stunned Carley and then Elizabeth. When I came down I tried to attack him and he stunned me and he tied me down last. He killed Elizabeth first. He started with me and then left me alone. He started with Carley and he twisted it. He fucked her with that stake, in and out time after time. She screamed and he loved it. He told me to listen to her. He jabbed that stake in part way and she started to chough, and wheeze. She couldn't breathe. Finally she died. He cut our collars off before he left. He said that way we were livestock and it would not matter. David, she died alone. Elizabeth died alone. Tell me Carl is OK? Take care of him. Take care of Mark. Don't let them know how I died. Please?"

"I won't tell him. I promise. I won't. We all love you, Helen. I love you. Remember we loved you." David repeated over and over as Helen slipped unconscious.

Mark hugged Helen as carefully as he could while she wheeze and coughed. Her diaphragm was pierced and breathing was painful. Eventually she could not move air into her lungs at all. Finally, she didn't even try.

"Mr. Findlay. We are going to go ahead and leave. There isn't anything for us to investigate here. We will give you a report, but we only provided security until the manager showed up. Someone else gave us wrong information." With that, the cop left to go to his cruiser and take his next call.

David stayed a long time, until Helen was cold and had no sign of life. Then he reached for his cell to call Jack and tell him that the plant would be closed Monday with operations resumed on Tuesday, and he called Marty Burke and Chris at home to ask that they come over to help clean up and remove Helen, Elizabeth and Carley. Then he called Margaret and asked that she meet him at Findley's, where all of the other women had been staying the night before.

It took several hours to clean up the reception room. The tables, table legs, and rug were heavily stained. Even with a lot of cleaning, the rugs still showed the spots around the table legs where the women were taped and where the blood leaked down their legs. Even the bleach didn't get it out entirely.

Disposal was not a quandary. No one felt like hanging and cutting up their three friends. David decided that they deserved the best and called Hunt's funeral home for a pickup. And he asked that Margaret get into the computer and pull out some photos of each of the three to send to allow proper preparation for viewing.

After Hunts had picked up, Chris volunteered to stay at the new plant and keep it secure.

David replied, "I don't think that there wasn't anything left here to protect." After a moment he added, "Chris, come over to the other plant, if you want."

David then called to Cook County and asked about Carl German. He was told he was in ICU and that no information was available to anyone except family.

-------

A Sad Sunday afternoon at Findlay

Candy was in shock. Abby and Cathy had come in from home as soon as they heard the news and both were in tears. Carol was fuming. Vicky, Cindy, and Carla, and all of the rest of the goats were in tears. Hearing that Helen was dead was like a death in the family.

Except Margaret. Margaret was quiet. And cold. And determined to meet with who did this. Beyond that, she was not thinking.

The men each had their own reactions.

Jimmy Picknell was the angriest of any of the former H&S people. He knew Merle. The idea of the suffering that Helen, Elizabeth and Carley would have gone through made him so angry that he had difficulty sitting still. As angry as he was with Merle, he was angry with himself for having done this same sort of thing before he came to Findlay.

George Harkness was coldly furious as well. Carley was a new kid who had gotten under his skin. She had been a playful kid. She was always sunny and cheerful and she was one of the most considerate people he had met here. And none of the people she worked with suffered.

Everyone was also in turmoil about Carl. His heart attack and being in the hospital was as great a shock as the death of the three women. Everyone considered Carl family, and the emotions were running very high and outspoken by almost everyone.

This was the crowd that Chris, Marty and David encountered when they finally arrived back at Findlay. The three of them agreed to not talk about what they had found, other than to say that Helen had said that Merle Hill had done it, and that all three were dead. And to say as little about what they saw as possible.

Jack Stienhauer had called and apologized for the mix up. Merle Hill had been removed from the business, but the name was still on the building, as was the contact number for emergencies. The answering service had called Merle instead of Jack or David when the police called. With the name still on the masthead, the police had no reason to feel that they were not putting the right manager in charge.

"Well, Jack, we are going to have to be closed Monday and shift production until Tuesday. I will handle the notification."

"Understood. And David, I am sorry. I liked Helen a lot and Susan did too. We all loved Elizabeth as well. We didn't know Carley but she really appeared to be energetic and cheerful young woman. If there is anything I can do."

"Yes. Get Merle's name off of everything and that includes the answering service."

"Ok."

Turning to Carol, David asked, "What can we do, legally?"

"Well, we can sue the bastard. But we can't bring criminal charges, other than misrepresentation. That is fraud. We need to establish that he had no financial interest in the operations, and that as such had no loss or gain in his invasion. And that he had malice when he came there and took the actions he did. Then we can seek punitive damages financially for damage to production assets. If we could show that he knowingly entered under false pretenses we can get criminal trespass of a slaughterhouse. That is the big one, because it gets us the ability to have him in our hands instead of turning him over to the courts."

"We need to pursue that tomorrow. I will let the MAB know that we will be offline tomorrow. Add financial disruption to your charges and we want the cost of an entire day's production for both plants. Figure nine hundred head." David said.

"I will. I don't know how well that will work, given that the number of people was so small." Carol replied.

"I hear you. But do it anyway." David said with some emphasis.

Carol said. "David, I will do whatever I can legally to get this piece of shit. But if there is anything we want to do collectively, let me know first so I can start to assemble a defense team."

Margaret, overhearing her friend, smiled. "If we do intend to do something, wouldn't telling you make you an accessory before the fact?"

Hearing how calmly Margaret was speaking set off alarm bells with David. And to a lesser degree it triggered the same with Carol. "That would be true. But I would not be averse to helping in the planning. Besides, the worse we could face is being termed here. We deal with that every day." Carol replied.

"Just so we get the bastard." Margaret replied.

-------

Legal maneuvers

Monday morning calls were not fruitful for David. The first call was to the Selection Board. After talking with Deloris, David asked that he be transferred to Donaldson, as he had a announcement to make regarding operations today.

"Hello, David. I saw the news this morning. Terrible treatment. I had thought that we had gotten beyond that nonsense. How can I help you?" Donaldson asked.

"Two things. First I am providing you with notice that I will be delaying operations this week for a full day while we reassess damage and assignments. This will mean that we have a full day of closure."

"Ok. I figured something like that. We will do update notifications."

"We already have to all of the board selectees for this week. I appreciate your follow up."

"And what would you have done if I had said no?" Donaldson asked.

"I would have sent it out anyway and said that both centers were closed pending health department inspection for lice and disease." David coolly replied.

"Ok. I get that. Are you going to have an inspection?" Donaldson asked.

"Absolutely. And repairs to damage." David continued.

"What level of damage?" Donaldson asked.

"We have to get the blood stains out of all of the reception room area where he spitted my three goats." David replied.

Silence followed for a few moments. "I'll send out a confirmation e-mail." Donaldson said. And then called Maguire to convene a status report.

While David was at H&S overseeing cleanup, Carol had taken over his office for a succession of calls. She first was on a call with the Police (Incident report), then Monarch Security Company (Notification issues), and finally the District Attorney's office (where she had worked a few years ago. With each successive call, her temper got shorter and her frustration got higher.

The police had the incident report of unsecured stock from the EMT who responded to the heart attack call. The police officer responding to the call did not allow the stock to use the phone, citing concerns of being attacked by anyone that they would contact. He secured the stock with shock and plastic cuffs and then contacted Monarch who phoned Merle Hill.

Merle Hill arrived, identified himself as a former partner and said that he would take charge of the stock in site until the rest of the management could be contacted. The initial responding officer "secured" Elizabeth when she continued to attempt to call for someone other than Merle. After Tazing and leaving her on the floor, he also subdued Carley. When Merle arrived, the officer transferred custody to Merle and got a signature on the incident report form. Then he left.

The District attorney said that they intended to file charges against Findlay and Company for not having adequate management on site. They were considering this as a follow up from Merle Hill's affidavit citing a violation of the rules governing containment and management of dangerous livestock and possibly causing a public nuisance.

Carol was able finally to get to an old former partner who was amazed at the intent of the District Attorney for prosecution. "Merle must be using this to cover his ass on any liability suit."

"Well, call over to that office and let those idiots know that I will dump the drum over on them if they don't quash that nonsense of charges. I don't even want to hear of that bull shit."

At this point, Carol was so infuriated that she could not sit still. Reading the police action report made her so mad, she was shaking. Margaret stopped to see what was happening, and froze at the expression on Carol's face.

"What do you know that has you so angry?" She asked Carol.

"So far, no one at Monarch, CPD, or the DA office has any interest in pursuing Merle Hill for anything. The CPD report states that he "subdued dangerous livestock" prior to Merle coming over. The "unruly" livestock was insisting on trying to use the phone to contact a collaborator. The number that came up on the phone was our number here."

Starting to cry, Carol continued, "The unruly livestock in question was Liz. She was trying to call here when the damn cop stunned her. He stunned Liz, and threatened Carley, and did all this while Carol was evidently upstairs."

"Can we bring civil charges?" Margaret asked.

"I can sure try. Against the cop and Merle. But probably won't get far." Carol said, getting back some of her control. "But I will remember the cop's name on this and hope I get some of his family here."

"Eye for an eye?" Margaret said.

"You know, that won't make anything better except how I feel." Carol replied as she continued to cry.

-------

The Alderman calls

Late on Tuesday after the incident, David was sitting in his office in combination of rage and hopelessness after the week's events. The latest decision by the District attorney to not file charges of trespass against Merle had been the last straw.

It was late afternoon when his pager rang from the front office where Nancy was doing intakes. "David, could you come up here. There is someone who wants to talk with you."

Entering reception David saw Alderman De Fortes at the registration desk with Janet Carmichael. Wondering what the Alderman wanted, David approached carefully.

"Ms. Carmichael, Alderman. How can I help you?" David asked.

"David, do you have someplace where we could speak in private?" De Fortes asked.

"Sure. Come on down to my office." David replied.

"David" the alderman De Fortes said, when all three were seated, "Jane and I are curious about how this tragic event occurred and how you are taking measures to prevent this sort of thing from happening again."

After a deep sigh, David began. "First off, as I said to Jane, Carl was with Helen and Carley and Elizabeth at the plant because they wanted a quiet evening. After the Halloween party, they went back there to spend a quiet evening. Carl and Helen usually were paired since Mark was dating Sheila. Or else they would have been here. I didn't think that there was any danger at all. If Carl hadn't had the heart attack there would have been no emergency response. If Monarch had called Jack or I instead of Merle, Merle would never have been allowed on the property."

"How is Carl doing by the way?" Jane asked

"He is resting. We aren't able to visit because we aren't family. But we get updates from Abby that he is resting comfortably." David replied.

"So what are you doing now?" Joe asked.

"There are three management persons at either plant whenever any goats are on premise regardless. All of my journeymen butchers are considered Managers with plant and product responsibility. I am to be notified in the event of any reported disturbance at any of the three plants in the Chicago area, I am also on the call out list for M&H."

"David, is there anything we can do? Cindy is beside herself. When she told me she was the one that normally would have been with Helen, and what happened, I was sick to my stomach. Helen was a mother to her while she was alive and here, and this slaughter was absolutely horrendous." Jane said.

"Jane. Can you find me a cup of coffee here at this place?" Joe asked.

That is a very peculiar request, David thought to himself. "I can have someone get you some as they cycle by if you like, Alderman."

"No. I think I would like Jane to do it. For a few moments, please. And close the door."

After Jane left, David sat waiting. After a few moments, Joe broke the silence. "David, how would Merle Hill be treated if he were to attempt to break into your business here on Saturday night?"

"If he broke into the property, I guess it would depend on the limitations and issues of the law as it relates to Slaughterhouses and the human consumption act. " David replied.

"Did you know that I have an interest in Monarch Security? Joe asked.

"No. I didn't." David replied.

"There have been some changes in that organization this week. Their director was replaced, as well as the shift supervisor and the dispatch contact officer."

"I didn't know that. Thank you."

"Their monitoring station has a new director as well. The new director is an excellent young man with a wonderful talent for video management. He will provide either a clear video of a break-in or a rerun of normal activity for the hours of midnight to three A.M. this coming Saturday night. Which recording you want to provide is entirely up to you and your staff." Joe said.

"Also, I think you should know that De Grasse Shipping will be dropping off a gift package to you on Saturday afternoon. It will probably arrive about four or five o'clock in the afternoon. I assume you will have adequate time to prepare to properly entertain your guest."

"Thank you. Whatever it is, we will greatly appreciate it." David said.

At that time, Jane returned. She did not have any coffee. "Joe, I got a call from Arnold that we have to leave. Apparently we have been missed."

"Certainly Jane. David, I want to thank you again for the honest and compassionate treatment of the families of the women you process. It is wonderful how you have managed to almost singlehandedly change the treatment of women in our city. You do not deserve to have your business impacted in this manner and I can assure you that it won't here in Chicago again. You have already paid in advance. Thank you for your time. And have a wonderful Saturday night." Joe said, as he stood up and walked over to Jane. "I think we can help ourselves out. And David, obviously this conversation never happened."

Wednesday morning all charges against Merle Hill were formally dropped. He held a press conference on the front steps of the courthouse and said to all who would listen that this absolved him of all guilt, and that he would continue to work to get back into the business and reestablish processes in line with the intent of the Meat Advisory board and the Human selection acts. "These women are denying jobs to good hard working men who cannot improve their economic position in the industry while this is allowed to continue"

"Merle, what about women working in these positions?" The lead reporter from UNBC news asked.

"Women don't belong in this business except on a stick or in packages" Merle replied. "That is the way the act was intended and by almighty god that is how it should be."

The comments that David replied with were more sedate. "It is unfortunate that the court chose to overlook the facts of the case. Mr. Hill misrepresented himself by arriving and conducting himself as he did at H&S's premise. He was clearly aware that he was not any part of that operation and that he should have contacted the real owners. Instead he took it upon himself to act against the interests of our businesses in actions that were both criminal and civilly damaging. The legal issues decided today have no impact on our intent to sue him for his damage to our operation, nor will we cease to pursue him in every legal avenue we have available to us."

That night, David called a small and unusual staff meeting. It was unusual in that it was smaller then the normal half dozen to dozen that had been of late. There were only four members in at all. Margaret, Carol, Candy and Cindy.

"Carol, what are our legal options at this time?" David asked.

"We can pursue civil damages for the loss of Monday, and show lowered production due to loss of critical personnel. But the Board is going to want to soft pedal that for political reasons."

"What would our options be if Merle returned to H&S in a subsequent break in?" David asked.

"At this point? His breaking into there would be a stupid thing to do. Police would respond and he would be removed and jailed. We don't have any stock or operations people there any more, since Monday, and there is nothing he could damage."

"Carol. What would happen if he were to break into here?"

"If he were to attempt to break in, and was found outside of the building, we would have him arrested and taken downtown. Burglary during non operations hours as an attempt would be second degree burglary and up to ten years." Carol said, citing the law carefully.

"What if he actually penetrated the perimeter?" David asked.

Silence. After a short while Carol asked "David, would any management be in residence at the time?"

"Yes. We will never have a situation where management in force is not in residence. I am not taking any chances again with any of you. So, what would the appropriate legal treatment be for Mr. Hill if he were to break into the perimeter of Findlay Processing?" David pointedly asked Carol.

"Legally, if Management and adequate security is on site, there is no requirement to surrender him to the law enforcement officials. Case law states that unwanted intruders have the same classification as selectees." Carol replied. "David, do we look forward to entertaining Mr. Hill on our premise in the future?"

"I have been advised that he may attempt to break into the front reception area of our facility like he did last weekend at H&S. That will be because of the change in name from H&S to F&S. or Findlay and Stienhauer." David replied. "The motive appears to be his reaction at finding that the business of his name and trademark was removed on Saturday morning."

Margaret face took on an absolutely cold expression when she interjected "I want to have a hand in whatever happens to this bastard."

"Actually, Margaret, We all do." Carol replied. "I think we should leave the proper treatment up to those who are best trained to ensure that Mr. Hill has the absolute maximum of sensation for his experience here."

"Is that a legal language for slicing and peeling the skin off of him one square inch at a time?" Candy asked.

"No. What I was going to say is that we have Abby and Cathy work with Candy and Cindy on the appropriate means of providing Merle with a singularly unique experience." David replied calmly.

"And I want the bastard terrified." Margaret said. "I want him to think about this for a long time before it happens.'

"I have a few ideas on that line." Candy said.

-------

Cleaning Supplies.

Saturday was a very light day at Findlay. Intakes were done, but all processing had moved to F&S. There were some special clean up preparations being taken that required the full concentration of the resident staff.

Margaret made a purchase of one hundred gallons of Muriatic acid. In industrial strength, the compound was delivered in five twenty-gallon drums to Findlay's rear dock. "Careful with this stuff" the delivery man said to Tim. "That stuff will eat you alive if you don't dilute it."

"Yea. We have to do sanitary cleaning on the tile, concrete and all of the other floor surfaces. This stuff is great for that."

"Yes it is. Cleans ceramic stuff up too. You guys have to be doing some major cleaning up to be using this stuff."

"Yes. We are. Thanks for the help. "Tim said. "See you also brought the Sodium Carbonate we need to neutralize the acid."

"Yea, you want to react that stuff and not have it on your floors later. Just washing with water doesn't always get to it."

"We know. Our chemist in residence looked into that." Tim said, as he wheeled the barrels into the rear deck toward the Tub Room.

Candy, in the mean time, was making a short-term modification to the drop on the Guillotine. First step was to restore the belt and table. Then she inserted a set of safety pins not easily visible that would stop the falling blade. This was a part of the upcoming sports program that she had worked out with Margaret.

Vicky thought that it might be a good idea to break out a couple of the toys she had in the vault under the stairs. Just in case the crowd got rowdy and tore the upcoming guest apart. And someone tried to stop them from tearing him apart. Perimeter security tonight was going to be strictly enforced.

At midnight on Saturday, a form later identified as Merle Hill took a sledgehammer to the glass front door of the reception area of Findlay processing, and then stepped into the area. This was clearly captured on the perimeter monitoring cameras watching the area from outside by Monarch Security, and was reported to the Findlay residence, and the on call management team at Findlay. Additionally, the photographic evidence was forwarded to the Chicago Police Department as a report of a break in.

The Chicago police arrived eleven minutes later to find the operation properly managed by six men who identified themselves as Management at Findlay, and also Ms. Margaret Findlay, who was identified as the owner. The group was working to clean up the damage in the reception area.

Honeycutt Glass had already been called to replace the damage to the front door, and given the security sweep underway already, there was really nothing further for the police to do then to provide an incident report.

"Do you want us to make a sweep of the building to make sure there was no one still here?" The first responding officer asked.

"Not necessary" Margaret replied. "According to legal consul, any one here uninvited has become a selectee under the local provisions of the PCA act. And we do have a sterling reputation for handling selected people here." Margaret said with a smile.

"Yes you do." Lieutenant Gilchrest replied. "And if it happens to be a burglar, I am sure that your own management can deal with it very effectively."

"Yes, I believe that we can. Tom, you are invited back next weekend, by the way. I understand the officer that responded to F&S last weekend is reassigned?

"Yes, he is on permanent solo dock patrol from ten to six. I think he may be able to get some leave in January to consider his employment and career options. Thank you for the invitation. Vicky told me that this place can get pretty wild."

"We do have our fun. Well, I suppose you can leave, and we can continue to clean up and sort this out." Margaret said.

After the officers departed, Margaret supervised the repairs of the window. After an hour, when everything was properly secured, she left the reception room with Stephanie and Gus in charge and walked down through the special interviews hallway to the special events center. She was just in time to see the finishing touches of Merle Hill being slid onto the table under the guillotine. The sounds of Merle screaming and the smell of his urine and feces were a treat to her senses.

Margaret told Chris and David. "Give everyone a few moments to get down here, then we can let Mr. Hill make his case to us."

Merle had been through a rough sixteen hours. He woke up taped to a chair. He had been out Friday night with his daughter and her girlfriend and felt woozy at dinner. His last memory was his daughter saying, "Dad, we are taking you where you will be taken care of."

He has groggy when the chair he was taped into was covered with a loading box for a refrigerator and strapped in place. The people moving the box paid no attention to the noise he tried to make. He lost track of time and had no idea of where he was.

At seven o'clock in the evening, after being shut in the box and moved around for several hours, the packing box was removed. Merle found he found was in a brightly lit room with two bunk beds and a sink. Screaming into the gag taped on his mouth, Merle was at first delighted to see Jimmy and Tim as the people removing the box. Now I can get away, Merle thought. His delight turned to surprise and then to horror when he saw an ESD in Tim's hands.

"Merle, we are going to remove the tape on your mouth for a while, but you won't be able to get anyone's attention. So save your voice while you can.

"Let me out of here" Merle said to the two men. "Or I swear that I will make you so damn sorry that you will live longer and worse than the three pigs did."

From behind, a voice asked "Merle, do you know where you are?"

"It doesn't matter. You better let me out of here if you know what is good for you." Merle replied.

Coming around from behind, Margaret stood in front of Merle and continued.

"Merle, you were drunk and obnoxious last night. Your daughter and stepson dropped you at home, where you were ranting about the loss of your good name. This morning you e-mailed a press release that you would get revenge on Jack Stienhauer, David Findlay and the entire health department for their removal of your license, and that you would personally "Destroy David Findlay if you had to do it yourself."

"And I will." Merle said. "Sounds like a great idea."

"I don't think so. You see right now you are in our processing plant. And after we close everything up at ten PM we are going to have a little celebration at having you visit our place of business uninvited."

"You better let me go now, bitch. I am an important man in this town and I will make things hard on you if you don't." Merle said angrily.

"Merle, I think you may want to consider how the next few hours are going to be for you. Right now, we have you on camera as breaking into our reception area. Shortly after midnight we will have a police report to verify it. After that, when we apprehend you, whatever we do to you is in compliance with the local provisions of the Selection act. The compliance issues you forced through the state legislature six years ago."

"No way, no how you are going to do anything to me. I have connections here."

"Merle, I want to explain a few things to you. You were delivered here. Monarch Security has the time-stamped tapes to provide showing you breaking in here at midnight. Jane Carmichael and Joe De Fortes have been working to get the right police on duty this weekend to provide the information on the burglary. And your daughter was the one who spiked the drink for you at dinner. They drove you to Di Grasse shipping to have you boxed, and delivered to us this afternoon. So who do you think is going to raise a stink? USDA? PCB? Who? And with the break in tape on the news tomorrow, whom do you think will care?

"What did you give my daughter?"

"Guarantee. She works for us if she is ever selected. Free room and board. And she sees her kids every weekend."

"She gave me up for that?"

"No. She gave you up for spiking her mother and two sisters over the last four years. It wasn't so much that you did it, it was how you did it." Margaret said.

"You can't do anything to me. NO way will you do anything to me. Your husband knows better than to try to do that. My people will make sure that nothing happens to me."

"Merle, we are going to reeducate you on that. But that will be for later." Margaret said.

After tazing Merle with the ESD, Tim and Jimmy cut Merle loose, and threw him on one of the beds. They took the chair he had been taped to and the packing box out of the room and over to the crematorium to be disposed of.

Tim Masterly and Jimmy brought a late evening meal into Merle in the overnight holding room.

"I know you guys are going to get me out of this insane asylum. These sluts and sows will rue the day they ever did this to me." Merle said when they came into the room.

"Merle you shouldn't have done Elizabeth that way." Jimmy said. "She was a good friend of mine."

"Friend. You screwed some sow and you think she was a friend?" Merle said." Tim, I know you think better than this."

"Actually, Merle, no I don't. We are going to drag your smelly ass out of here later tonight. We are celebrating you break in tonight. So eat up. You should enjoy your last meal."

Rushing at the two men between him and the doorway, Merle had no idea that Jimmy would so effectively sting him with the ESD. And keep stinging him until the charge ran out.

Shortly after the police left, David, Chris and Candy went to the holding room where Merle was kept. As expected, he had knocked out the lights. What he didn't expect was the infrared cameras covering the room. Pouring sneeze gas through the access hole in the door, David watched on his portable until Merle was on the floor behind the door coughing and sneezing. Then the three of them threw the door open and cracked Merle with it as it swung open. A few moments and two short jabs with a cattle prod later had Merle safely secured. The hockey mask over his face was to keep him from biting. All this activity was in accordance with the documents Merle himself had drafted and presented to the USDA as recommendations for handling unruly stock.

With two lead ropes around Merle's neck, Candy and Chris moved him out of the holding room, through the double door and into the warehouse where the Guillotine was waiting set up on the platform. Merle started cursing and screaming at the sight of his old friend, and by the time he was at the steps he was pleading for his life. Not listening very much, Candy and Chris stunned and dragged Merle up and fastened him to the table. They were just sliding him face up under the munnion block when Margaret entered from the front reception room.

"Hi Honey. You were just in time to watch us set this boar in place" David said to Margaret as he was helping to lay down the table.

Merle chose that time to try to kick at David. Candy's finger on the ESD stopped that activity quickly.

David and Chris moved quickly to fasten Merle in place on his back on the table, and then slid the upper Munnion block into a locked position.

"Got a good view, Merle?" David asked. "We are putting a head rest here under your head so you can watch the blade for a while. We don't want to strain your neck."

A burst of profanity came out of Merle's mouth as David and Chris adjusted a small stool to fit under the back of Merle's head. "There, comfortable?" Chris asked.

Merle responded by spitting in Chris's face. "Now, that wasn't nice. Good thing we know you don't have anything catching." Chris responded.

"Ok, Merle, here is the story." David began. " Now no interruptions, please. All of the people working here want to kill you in the most painful way possible. We have an entire set of intelligent people debating what the best way to do you in is. But we are going to have to discuss that among ourselves. In the mean time, I decided, as one process manager to another, to give you an option to escape the fate that all of these women and men have in store for you. So we are going to leave you here, with the pull rope in your right hand. All you have to do is pull on it and your troubles will be over, and you don't have to worry about what Candy, Margaret, Carol and Abby can dream up to punish you with."

Seeing clearly the fear in Merle's eyes, David continued. "Now we are all going upstairs to party the night away, now that Honeycutt has finished up the repairs to the front of the office, and we will reset the alarms and go and have some fun. And someone will check in on you once in a while to see how you are doing. And if you pull the cord, we will just quit arguing and put you in the grinder for dog food. Is that ok?" David said with a smile.

"Findley you can't get away with this. You can't get away with this. No court in the country will let this happen. All of you will burn on a stake for this." Merle began.

"Merle. Let me correct you. You are in exactly the position you would put anyone who broke in disrupted your operation. In fact, you said so. Now regardless of what happens to us, you are going to die here. And it will be either by your own hand on this, or in a manner one of us decides. I got to tell you we have some very inventive and vindictive people here. Carol wants to broil you alive over a hundred and eighty degree oven. Candy wants to see if she can peel all of your skin off of your body in one continuous strip, Chris and Jimmy want to give you an enema with liquid Drano, while you are upside down. I got to admit that is pretty interesting to me too."

"Findlay, you can't do this." Merle said.

"Merle, do you remember Helen, the older blonde?" David began. "She wasn't dead when I got there. She had stayed alive to tell me what you had done to Carley, and to Elizabeth. She stayed alive to tell me. You should have killed them clean, Merle. Then it would be just business. But that made it personal."

David smiled and said "Oh yea. Candy wants to leave you with a couple of presents before we leave you here. Go ahead girl."

Forcing a tube between Merle's jaws, Candy pumped several ounces of liquid into Merle's stomach. Feeling his blood surge, Merle gagged and said "What the hell did you do to me you slut?"

"I gave you a triple prescribed dose of an ED medication and enough aspirin to make sure you don't have a heart attack. In a few minutes, your dick is going to get hard as a rock. And stay that way for hours. Of course, with no relief, that erection will become painful and eventually be so bad as to need surgical reduction. But that won't be happening here. Now just one second." Candy said as she moved away from Merle's head.

Feeling his pants becoming cut off, Merle screamed. "Don't you touch me you bitch!"

Patiently and carefully, Candy cut all of Merle's pants and underwear away from his body. Taking the adjustable cinch tie she had brought for this occasion, she wrapped it around his cock and scrotum, in a fine cock ring. "There. You can expand but you won't contract." She said as she tightened it up. "Now, think about how easy it would be for any of us to come down here and tease you some, but leave you like this all night long. By morning, this thing will be gangrenous and you will really be in pain. But not as bad as Helen was the night you poked a stake into her and then had her listen to Carley and Elizabeth. We haven't yet figured out how we can cause you that much pain. But we have all night to think about it."

Putting the rope into Merle's hand, David said, "If it was me, I think I would pull this."

None of the staff families were at Findlay this evening. It was explained that there was some serious work being done and that there was no frolics this evening. The three exceptions were Jane Carmichael, Elizabeth's husband Peter and Helen's husband Mark.

Joe De Fortes did not attend, due to his constant surveillance. It was decided that he really didn't need to be there and that all of the proceedings would be taped and sent to him for his entertainment later.

At half hour intervals different people went down to see Merle and gave him advice on what the debate was regarding his end. Each of the old H&S hands listened to Marty as he pitched his love, friendship and long time support of them when they worked for him. Jimmy summed all of it up when he said, "Merle, the women here suck cock. Working for you we had to suck shit. Guess you lose."

Many times during the evening, Merle tried to unfasten his belts or the munnion block. He tried masturbation, but he couldn't climax. The erection became more painful, and the fear grew greater. He found that he fell asleep once, and was awakened by Abby, who gave him a stimulant to keep him awake. "Can't have you missing your own party." She said with a grin.

As the clock moved through the morning hours, Merle began to get depressed and despondent. These cocksuckers are really going to kill me, he thought to himself. They are really going to do me. Knowing that it was going to be painful, Merle elected to term himself. Giving the rope a steady and finally sharp tug, Merle watched as the blade released and started down the track to his head. Only to be stopped inches away from his neck. An alarm bell went off and after a few moments several people came down and were in Merle's line of sight.

"Damn, Elaine, You won the pool. How did you figure it?" Margaret said.

"Well, if there was one thing you have to learn to be a shrink, it is to figure the pressure breaking point of people. So, how much was the pool?"

"Count your winnings later, bitch. Ok. Well, Merle, I guess this means you are ready to die?" Margaret continued.

"You bitch. You cunts won't ever be anything but a Sow waiting a stick. It don't matter what you do to me, you will still be popped eventually."

"You know, Merle that is the first thing you have said that most of us agree with. But you won't be here to know about it. Well, ladies, I guess this guy is ready for his bath." Margaret said with a smile.

Candy's first action was to trigger an ESD on Merle to keep him manageable. Then Chris raised the blade to the upper stop and then Tim, Jimmy and Marty Burke and Gus all took a limb and carried Merle to the rear of the plant and the awaiting Roman bath.

Placing a stockade collar around Merle's neck and wrists and tying it to the edge of the tub so his body was submerged but not his head and hands, Candy opened the valve and let one hundred gallons of one hundred and ten degree water into the tub. When the hot water hit the tender flesh of Merle's cock and balls, still captivated by the locking tie, Merle was screaming in agony.

"Merle, you are in for a treat. We have a plan for you and you are going to have it carefully explained to you." Candy said.

"Merle," Margaret said, "I want you to know that this was a community project. Everyone here contributed some special recommendations on this for you. I just got to order the materials and make everything look normal. Merle, this tub is ceramic and stainless. Materials that do not react with the Muriatic acid we bought earlier this week. Now we are going to add that acid to your bath here, one drum at a time. Until most of you body is immersed in a fifty percent acid solution. Now when that stuff starts to eat into your bowels, it will feel like that spit you put into Helen, Carley and Elizabeth. It will take a while to eat up into your body. And your skin will also suffer. I don't even want to think about your cock and balls. You know that is almost like a woman's clit being given an acid bath. You described that once in an interview." Margaret paused, listening to Merle's rapid breathing. "Abby, he isn't going to have a heart attack is he? We don't want to cut the fun short."

"No. I gave him a dose of Cardiac meds earlier with the stimulants. No worries. He will be up and with us for a while." Abby said.

"Ok. Well, I guess we need to get this show on the road."

With that, Candy, Carol and Margaret each started pumping acid into the tub from three different twenty-gallon drums. All the while that Merle was screaming; each of the women was in their own thoughts.

Carol thinking about the fun and joy her friend Elizabeth had given her for years and years. Both were maid of honor at each other's wedding. Both had suffered the pain of being sent here, and the good fortune to be spared. I will miss your smile, my friend, Carol thought as she pumped her contribution into the tub.

Margaret thinking about Helen and her quiet strength and how she was able to find the sanity for everyone and still help people to pass quietly. She was thinking about the fun and partnership they had in college. And the wonderful things they had all done together. And she grimly added her barrel one pump at a time.

Candy's mind was on Helen, and Elizabeth. Helen was the mother who did not abandon her. And Elizabeth as the coach and mentor who kept her studying and growing even while in this insane place. With each thought of each of them she pumped another slug of acid into the tub.

While the first sixty gallons were being put into the tub, Merle began to feel fire all over his body. The skin was alive with pain. His balls and cock were being dissolved and the nerves were eaten alive. He felt the acid eat into his anus and into his bowel. There the walls around the sphincter muscle were jolted with pain as the muscles finally came apart and the mixture flooded into his bowels.

After sixty gallons were pumped into the water that Merle was immersed in, David told Tim and Chris to bring over the remaining two drums. He also told Margaret to get Jim and Mark from upstairs.

Merle was screaming obscenities and crying all manner of statements as the acid ate away at him. When Jim and Mark arrived, and saw what was going on, Peter was first to react. "Shit, David. I wonder how long we can keep him alive like this."

"Why, Peter, do you want it to quit?"

"Hell now. I want this guy to go through this for years."

"Well, we have two last barrels to pump into the tub. Do you and Mark to help with it?"

Mark reached for the handle. "I'll take this one. Peter you get the other. Let's do it slow, though. I have plenty of time for this bastard."

It took over an hour for the remaining forty gallons to be emptied into the tub with Merle. All during that time, he screamed as much as he could. Eventually his voice died and he could not make any intelligible sounds. Suddenly the water and acid mixture became red with blood, and Abby said to David, "Now."

Loosening the ties at the end of the stockade collar, David and Chris dropped the ends into the acid. Merle's head fell below the level of the acid. When the acid got into his ears he went into agony. Using special stainless rods, they forced the stockade collar to the bottom of the tub, below the level of the acid. Merle's eyes and nose flooded with the fifty percent acid mixture. When he tried to scream, he inhaled it into his throat and lungs. And finally died as the acid ate through the tissue in his lungs and he bled out in the tub.

For several minutes the crowd watched as the body kicked and convulsed in the tub. Abby was the first to comment. "We'll turn this temperature up to about one hundred twenty degrees and get back here later to add the lye to arrest the acid."

Chris said. "Then we can drain this out and shovel what is left into the crematorium."

"I don't want a single cell of this man's body left when we are done here." David said.

"Why don't you folks go on upstairs?" Marty Robinson said. "We will clean up here. That includes you too, girl," Marty said to Candy. "We are all going to have to wait a few hours for this to simmer anyway. So all you folks get out of here."

Marty Burke, Chris and Jimmy remained after all the others had left. "Wow. I didn't believe that anyone could dream this sort of shit up." Marty Burke said to the others.

"Normally we don't think that way. But for Helen, I guess we all can make exceptions." Chris replied.

Later, after the draining and cleaning up was done, the bones and what few organ and other remains were shoveled into a shallow pan and set into the crematorium. After two hours, only the ash remained of what had been the man most feared by women in the Chicago area.

The newspaper accounts of the following day about the break in and the results included the footnote that Merle's remains were cremated and were in a container awaiting pickup of any interested parties.

Two weeks later, David disposed of the ashes by sending them to a hazardous waste dump. There had been no solicitations for his remains.



-------

Chapter 36



Dinner for the Holidays?

Everyone is always stressed by the holidays, and Findley's was no exception. Even though everyone was trying to recover recovery the brutal attack on Helen, Elizabeth and Cindy, the holiday season was fast approaching.

Out of respect for the holiday season, Population control board all had their lottery selections announced two weeks before Thanksgiving for the remainder of the year. This allowed people to plan their activities with some sense of security. All lists and names were published and delivered no later then November tenth. And if your name was not selected by then, you were safe until the end of the first week of the following January. For the families who were passed over, this was great. And the survivor complex added to the shopping frenzy of the season.

For the selected ones, things were a lot different. From November fifteenth to New Years, all of the selectees were entitled to pick their own date. But all had to be finished by December 31. This meant scheduling too many people for too few resources.

For clients wanting "Special Event" terminations there was a wait list. David figured that both of the Shock Sybian would be booked through out the season, and the Guillotine was going to be chopping heavily through New Years. Many people were talking about getting "going away Christmas" presents, and the Holiday season hours of operation would have to be extended.

The production terminations now had scheduling modules as part of the web page. Women were encouraged to log into the production web page identified on their notification notice and make their selections for intake and termination. Both did not have to be on the same day, and in fact, clients were encouraged to come by on a interview day as early as possible to review the forms and get advise on end of life issues.

A couple of the women had designed a splash page for the Findlay web page with a picture of an Ostrich running along, then suddenly stopping and putting her head in the sand. Below a banner came up saying, "Get your scheduling done early. Don't wait and think it will go away." Client comments were evenly split on it being cute vs. being vulgar.

At this point in time, David had operations in full swing at both Findlay and at H&S. Margaret was working as a consultant at M&H. That meant that the three major operating production houses in the Chicago area were all following the operations model that Margaret and David had developed. The standard instate production figures for the three plants were averaging well over two thousand a week for a three-day production week. The out of state production figures added another thousand each week. Many of these came from the surrounding states of Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Missouri.

This had created a headache for the H&S location. They had to make provisions for a direct door out of H&S to the loading dock. Trucks were being brought in at night and removed the following morning while stock was chilled and boxed in the evening. Standing orders became the norm with Swift, International Meats, and others picking up in bulk every morning.

There was a court challenge of anti trust when the M&H location was listed on the H&S and Findley web pages as an alternate. That was resolved when it was pointed out that the M&H was a link that Findley charged a referral for each client who went there. What was immaterial was that the charge was $ .01 for the referral. Jack and Bill Miller usually settled this over coffee once a week.

Most of the original Goats at Findlay and H&S were doing well. Kim had moved into H&S permanently, and was doing the job of process operations manager. Marty Burke was overall operations manager at H&S (his old job) and mainly was concerned with transport, storage, and meat distribution across the state. "I don't do nothing inside of this building in front of the tables." He was proud to say. "I stay out of the way and keep Kim happy."

Elaine was the consular on duty at F&S and Amy Drake was the new lawyer in residence.

Carmine Cassidy was the new Vampire at F&S, taking over the job that Cathy would have had. Working with the newer machines there was a quantum increase in speed of determination of fetal sex. With the new technology, people could imprint genetic patterns of fetus at six weeks with a high reliability. Which was causing a lot of raised eyebrows when the sex of the male fetus was increased in percentages from sixty to eighty percent. All of which Carol added to her information on the brief she was working on.

Candy had become formally listed as operations manager at Findlay. She acted as general manager with Nancy doing the front office management.

Hafie had been doing foster parent stuff until all of the underage children from the former Imam's group were properly placed. Then the question of her legal status arose again. Fortunately, her outlook was more flexible and she became one of the permanent interview staff at H&S.

There had been some failures in goat recruitment. David found that he had a five to ten goat turnover each month since the expansions. And that was despite a lot of careful screening by several members of the squad.

Elaine had become very good at spotting the early onset of depression and working to either get the goat through it, or help them to ease into the flow. Those going into the flow were always participants in Special Events held at Findlay. The Sybian was the big winner, with the hot tub being a close second.

Many of the women who decided to move on were like David's original three. They were looking to use the extension of time to tidy up family issues. Usually their talents were not as varied or as extensive as the others, and when the depression set in after three or four weeks, they decided to move on.

The big thing was to make sure that women were convinced that they were either not finished, or that they could leave when they thought they were. Carol was a case in point. So far, every time she started to get depressed, David or someone found a new issue in the law to keep her engaged. And she laughed when it happened and was able to pursue the new challenge with a smile.

Loosing Helen had left a major gap for everyone. Carla Sanchez took over cooking breakfast, and the others rotated in helping. But the gap was there like a large missing space. Finding a replacement for her was David's first challenge and he knew it.

Having Michelle open up her salon shop on the third floor at H&S was a very good morale move. Helena was not too good at guiding, although she was good at interviews. But with a steady group of forty women to work on in the evenings, plus the odd daytime woman in search of looking good on her way to the gallows or chopper, Michelle was able to pull her weight. In David's mind, she was extremely valuable as many of the women he had were from the upper economic brackets and were used to salon treatment every four to six weeks. And women, by their nature, played with their hair a lot.

Adding the rooftop garden to both locations was good, even if it was too late to grow much besides flowers. It gave people a chance to walk around in the fall weather and see the signs of the city.

The Special Events were well known with clients coming from any state that allowed reciprocity. New York was the first, followed by Denver, Colorado, Miami and all of Florida, and Atlanta Georgia. All four of the states allowed travel to Findley after notification, and accepted reciprocal notification of termination. An Illinois death certificate was accepted as a general practice.

Carol had worked very carefully on out of state contracts. She did not want to ever have Findley run afoul of any interstate commerce. Very careful management of contracts identified the process as "Medical Treatment" which was specifically excluded from the interstate commerce clause of the constitution by both regulatory and case law. In order to make sure of that, all out of state terminations were scheduled and run as Special Events, even if they were done through standard production.

The "Saddle Shop" had become a raging success. The units were booked at half hour intervals five and a half days a week. After David had installed a second saddle in the Shop, in addition to the one in the Hen House, Candy and Vicky were arguing for a third at Findley, if space could be made available. It was close to the Chopper in alternative sales, and far more then the gallows by a wide margin. The last bath spa tub was still the most expensive, although it was now being used as a party machine for up to four who wanted to go close together. When that happened, it was an affordable experience.

David had engineered a new addition to the Saddle Shop units. It was a "Kill Me" switch. A special insulating key was installed on the right hand side of the saddle near the kneepad. A loop was passed from there to the right hand side of the handgrips on the saddle. A woman would pull the ring out from the lanyard passed around her wrist as she mounted up. When the plastic ring left the keeper, a ten second delay cut in before passing the killing current into the dildo buried inside the client and out through her hands that were holding onto the saddle hand rails.

This kinky device was at the request of Marilyn, one of the goats that decided to pass on. She was tinkering and toying with the idea that a woman should be able to pull the kill switch at a time of her own choosing, not just let it in the hands of the operator. It took some engineering to put it in, but when Marilyn pulled her key after being on the Sybian for twenty minutes, the shock passed internally to her left hand through her heart and took her out with no problem.

After that, it became one of the interview intake questions for all of the prospects. "Do you want pick when to end the trip your self, or have the operator choose for you?"

All of this activity was completed in anticipation of the holiday season that promised to be a significant difference from the previous years.

-------

Labor Negotiations for the Holidays

It was on a very crowded Friday night in mid November at Findlay's. All forty of the goats were in attendance for a formal meeting. With the growth of the population, David was forced to have the meetings in the Reception room, with the hallway door blocked open to allow people to come and go for dinner and nibbles.

"Ok, ladies. Today is November sixteenth and I would like to get from the group some idea of how we plan hours of operations through the holidays." David said over the hubbub of conversation. "I am open to suggestions from the floor."

"Nice of you to ask us, boss" Vicky said from the back of the room.

"For you guys it is necessary. I can pay the union guys overtime and they will jump at it." David said.

"You are sweet" Carol said. "How many hours we looking at?"

"All of the lists for the remainder of the year had been released today, and it looks as if we have over twelve thousand clients in the list." David said. "That works out to almost twenty two hundred a week for standard, not counting interstates"

"That isn't out of line with what we are doing now." Candy said.

"That presumes that we will have a steady state of schedule and reporting. "David said.

"You thinking we have a overload after Christmas?" Shannon asked.

"I can guarantee we will. With these rules, everyone is going to want to extend from Thanksgiving through Christmas. I would not be surprised to see us doing extended hours every day after Christmas and even New Years." Carol said.

"Well, I don't want to give up our Sundays. And I don't want to give up Friday nights. But I was thinking of three four-hour sessions Monday thru Thursday, and then two four-hour sessions on Saturday. Eight to noon, one to five, and six to ten." David said.

"Standard or special events?" Candy asked.

"For Findley, both. I want to shift as much of the standard to H&S as we can." David replied

"That is going to create a problem." Shannon, the new market manager, said.

"How so?" David asked.

"Marketing 101. Peak demand for product is going to be through the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. But the feast makings won't be available until after both of those holidays. After Christmas, we will be doing maximum processing, but for foodstuff that won't be fresh or wanted after New Years. Almost everyone that is coming here after Christmas will be in cans or stews. And how will we store pending cut up?" Shannon explained.

"She has a point," Charlotte said. "It is one thing to have people forgo New Years. But skipping Christmas or Thanksgiving?"

"Besides, if we have to dice and store roughly seven weeks of produce in one week, we are going to be dealing a real problem." Candy said. "Hell, we fill up every day now, and have to exchange trailers with the markets."

"I expect that we will get the ego centric who don't want to be pet food early in the cycle, but most will want one last holiday." Elaine pointed out. "That means at the very least a drop off of business before Thanksgiving, and a real "Black Friday" for us."

"I think we are going to be doing a lot of late night Friday service. Maybe even open early that day to get the shopping crowd." Shannon said.

"Well, I am open to suggestions on how we get them into here before the holidays so we have something to sell during. And also how we manage to not have a glut after New Years." David said to the group.

"How about a reverse Calendar?" Carla asked. "We know that we have to guide them so we advertise that time periods between Christmas and New Years are peak times. And that we will charge for traffic beginning after Thanksgiving?"

"Carla, you are evil. I like it." Shannon said. "Tell them it costs more the longer you live. And after new years, you pay for it by being sent to the city. David we could threaten to not take any previous year assignments after midnight on new years. That leaves them out in the cold."

"And we can plan a New Year's extravaganza party. Book it by the hour." Casey said.

"Casey, your tasteless jokes are getting worse. But that one is not too bad." David said.

"We are going to need that kind of creative thinking to get through ten thousand women in five weeks. Of which I expect we will have to do between six and eight thousand. And that is only the local in state group. Out of state will be a lot more then we are seeing now."

"So, ladies, I am going to close this meeting, with the request that each and every one of you come up with your ideas on how we can manage through this season." David said. "For the record, we are closed for terminations at all three locations tomorrow. We are open for registrations only. I think we all have had a emotional week, and I think a quiet weekend is in order."

The problem was, that this would be a different season. For everyone.

-------

Revolting Developments

Every landslide starts with the single little stone that starts down the hill. In this case, a single woman picked by the lottery in South Carolina because she was a Wiccan broke the veneer of impartiality in the Carolina lottery system. A federal grant for a investigation filed the day of selection had just enough time to keep her alive while the justice department investigated. The findings indicated a wide spread bias which was prejudiced against religious minorities and the impoverished. The resulting lawsuit kicked off a systematic review of the selection process in South Carolina.

What had started as a simple equal treatment under the law case was latched onto by the District Court of Appeals. But before they could initiate a ruling, the US Supreme Court added the issue of the legitimacy of unequal treatment to its docket for review immediately after the holiday.

This threw a major turd into the holiday punchbowl. What had never been reviewed was the fact that a treaty established the lottery, and that American sovereign law complied with it by way of a treaty. And that treaty's could be broken if found unconstitutional.

The fact that the new president had campaigned to investigate the loss of sovereignty due to treaties of unsavory nature had become an election hot button.

"I think that there is a tidal wave on the way, and I think we should start to find ways to decrease production as much as possible" Carol said during the Sunday morning brunch. "I am not sure what is going to happen, but I am sure glad we got all of our protective filings in place for our team. And any more we can fish out."

"Carol, if your brief on the sexual shift in fetal sex adds ammunition to this, we are all going to celebrate. " David said.

"David, what do we do if they modify things? Or even suspend operations while they court " Carol asked.

"We go with the flow. And we develop contingency plans for everyone regardless. One thing is for sure. We don't have Merle Hill kicking at us any more." David said with grimace.

-------

Monday Morning, Post Selection, Poste Election

"Well, we will see what happens now" Barney Maguire said to Ben Weaver, the federal director of the Selection Board. "With the change in the administration and that case brewing up from South Carolina, we could have some changes in the near future."

"I will believe that when I see it. We have had a half dozen presidents vow to look into the treaty. But no one wants to antagonize the international community." Ben replied

"It would be the first time in a while that we have told everyone to screw off." Barney said.

"In the meantime, what is the issue with Findley? Do they really have a real jump in male exclusions? Is it their equipment?" Ben asked

"I don't think so. You know they were the only shop that ever really screened. Carl Davenports daughter had twins and they found them." Barney responded.

"Yea, I heard that. I also heard that they tried to have exempted or excluded every client they could that came their way. Is this abundance of male fetus a slant on that?" Ben asked.

"I doubt it. Findley has always been careful as hell, even when they didn't have to be. When he was only pet food, everything was done to human consumption standards. He is just crossing the t's and dotting the i's " Barney responded.

"They are kicking out fifty or more each week for one thing or another. And it isn't for fluff cases either. If I didn't know better, I would think that they were anti term advocates." Ben said. "Do you think there is a political agenda here?"

"I don't' think so. David has been very careful to be non political on this whole thing. And no one wants to push on him either. After what happened to Merle Hill no one wants to go near that place. And politically they are as quiet as mice. " Barney said.

"I think we are just seeing his focus on doing things the right way. "Barney continued. "You know, we still don't know how they term people. Other then the USDA saying it is both humane and safe to the food supply. We don't know what happens when women walk in that door. I do know that a lot more walk out then anywhere else."

"What we do know is this. We are on track with respect to the requirements set by you guys for the first time. We have no cases of misfiling's or selection errors. We have other states looking at us to emulate us in their operations. And we may have finally gotten this whole thing right." Barney said with a grimace

A knock at the door interrupted the conversation. "Guys, There is a unscheduled presidential news conference. I think that there may be something on the news we want to pay attention to." Delores said from the hallway.

On the podium was Ben Conyers, the outgoing President of the United States. A staunch conservative and by the rules lawyer who had served as vice president, he had ascended to the role of president when his predecessor had died on the campaign trail a bare sixty days before. Realizing that it was too late to mount an effective campaign for his own election, and believing every president should leave something as a legacy, he had been considering the executive order he had in hand carefully for some time. This particular country boy executive had decided to leave on a note that would put his successor in a cat box to either deliver or cover up. "By god, I will leave a legacy even if I have the shortest term in history" he thought to himself as he stood on the podium.

"My fellow Americans." The President began. "I thank you for this opportunity to address you. For years we have functioned under a treaty that was thrust upon us by nations who were both foreign and different in culture and values. We complied with the international laws that these nations had enacted to be a member in good standing of the international community. This treaty has caused untold pain and anguish to our people for too long."

"My successor has announced that he intends to review this treaty in light of his feelings regarding international relations. In recent weeks the Supreme Court has decided to take up this issue as well on it's docket after the holidays."

"The American people deserve humane and honest treatment by their government while these issues are being deliberated. As such I am announcing that I am ordering a suspension of all terminations required by the Population Control treaty as of now. Any terminations that occur from this moment forward will be investigated as premeditated murder by federal courts, and those convicted will face the most serious punishment under the law. This executive order can be rescinded by action of congress, legal decision by the Supreme Court or by future Presidents. But it will be up to them to continue this heinous practice simply to appease foreign governments with different values on Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness. Thank you ladies and gentlemen."

With that, the shortest termed, unelected president in history turned and left the podium.

HOLY SHIT! "Delores. Call Findley." Maguire said.

David in the mean time was just opening the doors to allow the first clients into the reception room when the portables that they carried beeped loudly indicating a priority message. Looking at the screen, everyone in reception saw the message from Carol that said simply "Suspend Operations. Executive Order Stops PCA."

Turning on the broadcast news in the reception room at their desks, Carol and Nancy were in shock as they watched the repeat of the president's announcement.

"What do we do?" Nancy said.

"I don't know. I feel like I won a race and don't know what to do now." Carol replied.

"I'll tell you what we do." David said. "First, check everyone in. Make sure they are listed as reported in time in case there is any legal impact later. No use having any risk being on a stake if this gets turned around. Second, Make sure that all of our product is loaded into the trailers and that the trailers are sealed. Candy, did we load everything out from the weekend?"

"Of course. All meat lockers are empty at all three locations. Our stock was picked up at six thirty." Candy said. "I'll check with Kim and call Margaret, but I think that is what they did too."

"Good. Call Swift and all of the others and invoice them now. I want title of contents of those trailers to pass right now. If the ones here are empty, then open the doors and leave them open." David said.

"Boss, you sound like you have been prepared." Candy said.

"Just California dreaming, darling. And get me a conference call with Jack Stienhauer and Bill Miller. We have some things to do."

-------

Shutdown.

"Jack, Bill. I want to thank you for taking the call. I got a call from Delores a while ago asking us to shut down, but we had already done it. Was anything in process at your places?" David asked anxiously.

"No. We had just opened the doors when the portables went nuts. I think Carol hit every alarm status she could find to get the word out." Bill said with a laugh.

"Same here, David." Jack Stienhauer said.

"Well, this is what we talked about this last week. So, what do you think?" David asked.

"David, I think I need to pack up a lot of naked women and get them over there now." Jack Stienhauer said. "I have them already upstairs packing and getting ready to evacuate. The bus is gassed and Marty is ready to drive shuttle service."

"David, Margaret and I talked." Bill Miller said." I agree that we should shift our personnel to there as well. I don't want anyone here in case we have a problem. I guess the union guys are going to be laid off." He said.

"They can get laid here. Things will be a bit close for a few days while we get sorted out, but at least everyone is safer here in case there are any civil disturbances. " David said. "I have Monarch Security agreeing to have a couple of cars here in case. Do you want me to have them visit there as well?" David asked.

Silence greeted the offer. After a moment Jack Stienhauer said "David, the people are the thing of importance. We'll set the alarms and alert the police, but we are insured. Let's get our people safe."

"Well guys, we are out of business? Any regrets?" David asked.

"Yes. Damn shame it didn't happen a month ago." Jack Stienhauer said.

"I agree." David said. "It is a damn shame."

"I guess we are going to see a shift in dietary habits" Bill Miller said with a laugh. "I guess now is a good time to invest in Turkey, Chicken and Tofu?"

The conversation continued in that vein. Unlike many processers around the country, Christine's advise (combined with pillow talk while she and Jack were visiting Carol at Findley's) had percolated to all of the slaughterhouse crowd. Jack, Bill and David had moved a lot of investments into non-human meat over the last few months. Processing patterns would have to change, but Kim was already working on this.

The news media was in shock. The talking heads all asked how legal such an action was. Some compared this to Truman ordering the desegregation of the military or of Nixon going to China. The discussion and dissection of the order were on every station.

What the news media did not do is try to enter Findley. They called for an interview instead.

"David, We have phone calls from every news media looking for you. Who do we want to talk with?" Carol asked.

"Call Sue and have her set up something. I don't want to say anything until we get everyone here and secure. Don't' have it before afternoon. And we want to talk to the Selection Board to see what is going on there." David said.

"Ok. And about that. Delores called and said there was going to be a call at ten o'clock to discuss the state's reaction to the order." Nancy said.

"The State reaction is probably going to be a cover our ass exercise. But we will deal with that later. What I suggest we do is man the chat and phones to help get the clients settled. We want to reach out and make sure that whatever legal issues are covered for everyone all around. And we want to record everyone as reported, but exempted by the presidential order." Carol said, clearly on a roll.

"Is that the legal way to do it?" David asked.

"David, Fed trumps State. The compliance issue has the state penalty. The federal issue is the exemption. And the emancipation proclamation is the precedent. And that came from Illinois."

"I like how you think" David said.

-------

What law do you comply with?

"David," Ben Weaver said, starting the conversation," I have Maguire and Delores here. We have a bit of a conflict. The State office says that, in their legal opinion, we cannot comply with the executive order without putting federal funds at risk. Thus we have to continue with compliance with the Selection Board dictates. I'm sorry for the women there but we have to continue operations as normal."

"Well, that puts us in a real challenge. We have continued reporting operations, as we would do normally. But we are not terminating due to the presidential order." David replied.

"David, that puts you and everyone who is working with you at odds with the law." Maguire replied.

"Actually, there is precedent for this." Carol said.

"David, who is that?"

"Carol Black. You remember? My Legal consultant?"

"David, I had thought this would be a closed meeting." Ben Weaver said.

"It is. Carol wants to give you the benefit of her legal opinion and years of experience." David said. "And she is de-facto my senior attorney here."

"Actually, this is pretty simple. We can comply with the state law listing that the selectees have reported to us. And we can request exemption as part of the Presidential Order. And the precedent is the emancipation proclamation action of 1863. " Carol replied.

Carol's explanation was greeted by silence. "I bet they muted us out" David said.

"No bet." Carol replied.

Suddenly the sounds at the other end were restored. "David, we have a conference link up with Springfield. This is Senator Everett, who is on the Social Security committee. He is interested in what you said."

"Good Morning, Senator. Long time no see." Carol started out.

"Carol Black. Yes it has been. So. You have this interesting theory of a precedent based on the Emancipation Proclamation? How would that relate to the present situation?"

"Senator, as you taught me so very effectively, Presidential power with respect to enforcement of the law has very few limits. And he is directly responsible for enforcement of the constitution and it's amendments. Right?"

"Yes. I agree." Senator Miller agreed.

"So, according to this copy of the executive order I pulled down from the White House web site, he is invoking his authority to protect citizens under the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments."

"So you got a copy as well." Senator Miller said.

"You expected any less?" Carol asked.

"Not really. Well, we have a bit of a constitutional problem here. What do you propose? I know better then to think you don't have a suggestion." Everett replied with a laugh.

"Senator, as we proposed earlier, we will accept registration for each and every woman who reports to us, directly or over the web. We will process the registration as normal and then immediately process an exemption request to the MAB and then send them home to await their action. Exactly as we have done for the clients we have had exceptions or extensions for over the last five or so weeks." David said, quoting from the prep document that Carol had put in front of him.

"And throw the whole thing back into our lap?" Maguire said.

"No. You simply sit on it pending clarification from the Federal Level." Carol replied. This situation was racing along at light-speed in Carol's mind.

"Carol, you realize that if this goes badly, we would have to accelerate terminations at a rate unheard of later. When you pile up sandbags in front of a flooding river, it get's higher and deeper." Maguire said.

"But, we get to give every woman in Illinois a reprieve until after Christmas, and then the inauguration. Like the man said, Presidential order, congressional action or Court Decision. Any guess of who is going to turn the spigot back on?" David said to the phone.

After a few moments of silence, David continued. "Look at it this way. Everyone get's a Merry Christmas. And if the incoming President doesn't reverse the order, we have saved ten thousand lives at least. That is just Illinois residents." David continued. "That does not count the ones from other states with reciprocity."

"Carol, aren't you getting everyone's hopes up for no good reason?" Ben Weaver asked.

"Ben, this is David. I have a question for you. What political genius would reopen executions of women after one man had the balls to stop it?"

"David, How much are you charging for registration fees?" Everett asked.

"Up until today, we charged for the filing fees for exemptions or exclusions. As of today, we will send post bill them the actual charge for the registration amount, with no service fees. And if they can't afford it, I'll lend them the money at no interest." David said.

"Actually, David, you should file with us for a grant to cover your expenses. This shift is a marked change on your business and you deserve relief." Everett said. "I think we can get it supported by business impact funding. If not, I will find funds for it. Hell, I will get donations for it myself." Senator Everett said.

"Then we understand each other?" David continued.

"Yes. You will file exemptions and we will sit on them until after the inauguration. And the other states with reciprocity will do likewise. And David, what about your Goats?" Maguire asked.

"What about them? They are no different from anyone else. I will file the exemptions for them now. Only problem is that they have to wait on job searches until this mess is straight. I can continue to pay them to handle the front end and intake."

"What about your process personnel? How are you going to support them?"

"Well, we have arrangements that will allow them to be employed. And that is my worry, right? Didn't you say that to me before, Maguire?"

-------

Monday Noon at the Goat City Auditorium

"Ladies and Gentlemen. If I could have your attention." David said to the entire crowd.

After a few moments, all of the ladies and gentlemen quieted down. "As you know we have a unprecedented situation. Good and bad. The bad is, for all you backroom guys, you are out of a job as of now. I will continue to pay all of you until after the election. But we are not doing any more operations here. Girls. As of now, every one of you is being registered as exempted by Presidential order. So you can leave and do what every other woman in Chicago and the state is doing right now. Watching and waiting."

After a few moments, David continued. "But those of you who have some free time, I would like to ask that you work for me for a while helping to answer phones, e-mail and our sessions from all of those women out there who are scared and nervous and wondering what to do. You will be doing this as paid employees, since you won't be goats any longer."

"And what are we going to do?" Shelly Davis asked.

David said "We are going to accept registration and then file exemption under the executive order for any woman that applies here. From any state we have reciprocity. We want their information on the intake form, and that includes their notification information. We then charge them for the actual fees associated with us doing the registration if they have a credit card. If they do not, we file anyway and apply to the state under the destitute statute. Make sure that they complete electronically all of the information on the intake form questionnaire. We are doing this exactly as if they had reported; we acknowledge the report and file for exclusion. Any questions?"

"Won't that change their status?" Elaine asked.

"They are already selected. What we are doing is providing a file of compliance. Which makes process of their contract with us." Carol replied. "If the executive order is rescinded, or other legal action takes place, it will be after the inauguration. Which will put it into next year."

"What happens then?" Shelly Davis asked.

"Shelly, what was the first thing we told you when we pulled you out?" Candy asked.

"One day at a time. The key part of Two-by-Four therapy. Yea, I get it. So we are playing all of these people for time?" Shelly Davis said.

"Think Schindlers List." Nancy said. And then went into a history lesson about a greedy businessman in Nazi Germany who accidentally saved over a thousand people. "Our David is a little more ambitious."

-------

Politics in Springfield Illinois

"So, what do you think? What is Findley's game?" Everett asked the Chicago office of the PCB. "What is he up to?"

"I think we are seeing a guy preparing for any eventuality. If the act is rescinded permanently, then he is a hero for providing cover for a lot of women during the interim. If the act is regressed, he has a stream of product to process. If the act is fully restored, he has all of these assignments that he can then sell on the market. I think it is a smart move," Maguire said.

"What if we are figuring him wrong?" Donaldson asked.

"What do you mean?" Maguire said.

"Ok. This guy has been playing a weird sort of game all along. He is egotistical in that he feels he has the only good game in town. And he is a pretty good salesman because everyone else agrees. He took Merle Hill's actions personal. No one knows what really happened. He expands his business influence everywhere, even to the Mayor's office. He has parleyed his business into a lot of political clout. There are a lot of things going on here." Donaldson said.

"Can we trust him?" Everett asked.

"We can trust him to make a buck. He is a businessman. He makes honest bucks and does follow the law better then anyone. He has a sharp lawyer working for him." Donaldson said

"Yes he does. I worked with Carol when I was in the Prosecutors office. She is a real sharp lady and a killer in court." Everett continued.

"And he has a bunch of women working for him who he kept out of stew cans. I can't think of a better reason for loyalty and appreciation." Maguire said. "How did he get into this business to begin with?"

"Does it matter?" Everett asked. "We need to know three things. One, if he is going to do these registrations, are they going to be in line with current law? Two, if he is going to file these documents exactly as we outlined, what are we going to do about responses? And three, are there any public relations issues on this or criminal issues on this that can bite us in the ass down the road?"

"Well, Carol sent me a brief on the compliance of the executive order. With footnotes and case law dating back to 1861. This is not something that they just whipped up. It has enough legal smoke to keep a courtroom tied up for a year. And if the women register preference to Findley or his operations, then they have protection from termination while he provides capacity if and when the executive order is rescinded or over ruled." Maguire said. "I'm no lawyer, but it looks pretty good to me in brief."

"It's good. If Carol Black crafted it, it is sitting on bedrock and it has more concrete and steel then the Sears Tower. Sharp move getting her to work as his lawyer." Everett said. Continuing, "Well then, gentlemen, I think we have our marching orders. We let Findley do his intakes and file exemption and exclusion orders, that satisfies the intake portion of the law, and we grant exceptions or exclusions based on the executive order."

"What about the lottery? Do we keep running it?" Donaldson asked.

"Bigger question. If the exemptions do not count against the allocation, does that mean that we don't have to add higher numbers to account for the exemptions. And if they don't, then the lottery is harmless. We have always looked for specific reasons on the exemption and exclusion requests. Those excluded were not made up in the next lottery round. If all of them are excluded, then why have one?" Maguire asked.

"Because we have a existing law that is not covered by the executive order. That order covers process termination. It does not cover the selection process. So we keep the lottery, but we exclude based on executive order." Miller said.

"Hell, this might put the whole business in the toilet given what is going on. Would anyone be upset if it did?" Maguire asked.

Silence greeted that question.

-------

Political reality, Washington

"That simple minded old son of a bitch." The new chief of staff for the president elect said. "Not a word or a whisper of this anywhere before this damn news conference."

"No. I have to admire Ben in a way." The president elect said speaking of his immediate predecessor. "He really took the heat on this issue."

"He did more then that. He left you with a shit box to deal with. If you continue his order, you will have international relations problem with China that will be enormous. If you don't you will have a possible revolt on your hands." The future Secretary of State said.

"I have to admire his thinking" the security advisor said. "He puts this into the context of a real constitutional problem."

"And he leaves it squarely in your hands." The chief of staff said." Congress won't do squat. The Supreme Court is going to be ambivalent on this. So it comes back to you."

"Put up or shut up." The president elect said. "I guess that means I either take action, or let it wander around in the corners and the courts for the next two years." The president wondered if he could find Harry Truman's old desk sign "The Buck Stops Here".

"You know, the Amicus Curie brief on the birth sex shift over the last ten weeks can be a part of this. If it is not a abnormality, we could use that as a reason to not reinstate the terminations." The future security advisor said. "We could use that as a reason to revisit the issue later instead."

"Where did you say that came from?" the President Elect asked.

"Some lawyer working in a meat packing house in Chicago. She is charging that these results would be validated if other states were fully compliant with the regulations that they have in Illinois." The Security advisor continued.

"You know, we could have the Department of Health look into the evidence she has, as their first official action, and see what the impact would be. That would give us the out to put this into a matter of modification of public health. The Population Control Act used birth sex as part of the justification. According to this brief, anyway." The chief of staff said.

"Get ahold of Ben Conyers, and tell him we are looking to find evidence to support his bold move. And that if it is possible, we will make sure his term as President has one hell of a Foot Note." The President Elect said. "And get ahold of my new attorney general. We want to closely watch how the states act with respect to this."

"What do we do for comment to the press?" The press secretary asked.

"We tell them the truth. We applaud the action that Ben has taken that gives us the latitude to investigate what our actions should be. And that we will move with due deliberation to consider what actions we should take after the inauguration with respect to these actions."

"Even if it is divided along party lines, throwing out a bad treaty is a good idea." The press secretary said. "I can spin this to keep approval ratings up."

"What about the political impact down the road?" The political advisor said.

"Well, we have three years to think about it. Let's see what it does" The President elect said.



-------

Chapter 37



A new operating model called Bedlam

"Findley Processing, how can I help you? It's simple, really. You fill out the forms we have on the website and commit to registration. We added it already. Or you could come here to us and do the same. The intake form simply lets you get all of the activities out of the way and establishes that you have reported. We use that to file the exemption based on the presidential order and you go home. No harm, no foul and you have complied with both the State Law and the federal law."

"Findley Processing, how can I help you? No, there is no change in your status, a death certificate cannot be issued, and our operations are suspended for at least a week after any ordered resumption. So even if the process is reinstated we have a week to file for extensions and exemptions. The only charge we have is our charges to file the exemption paperwork. The court costs and court fees. No one will be turned away regardless. We do have some applications on file for public assistance but we will file anyway. No, we won't wait, we will file and bill you or bill the state."

"Findley Processing, how can I help you? You want to know how to help us offset the cost of filing for exemptions? Oh, Kathy Hancock. Yes, I remember you. Sure, well we are busy as hell helping people. You want to come down? Come ahead, girl. You know the drill. I must have fifteen calls on hold right now. Sure. Come ahead. You want to bring your women's group? Absolutely. We have to spend some time with them to make sure that. Ok. Yes, I know you know the drill. We just don't want anyone to have any incorrect information. Sure, come on down."

This and several hundred conversations were what eavesdroppers would have heard in the office and reception room at Findley's processing plant on Wednesday morning. For the first time, all the women were clothed, and not a collar in sight. Of David's forty goats from staff at H&S and Findley, and the twenty-eight at M&H, eighteen were sitting in the reception room with their portables, doing intakes and filing exemptions. Many of the rest had gone home to families and friends as soon as the exemptions were filed and documents printed out. Most were coming back tomorrow or later in the week to take turns on intake duty to spell the ones working.

Kathleen Myers, a very gifted web developer, had added speedy shortcuts on the Findley web pages to identify what the process changes would be, and how people would be able to get information. She also added a hot button on the internal process intake page to point to the exclusion request being filed with the MAB in Springfield.

Carol was on a natural high. She and David had a second call to Maguire to talk about the status updates of over three hundred women before noon.

"David, these temporary exceptions we are filing are going to clog the system if we ever reverse." Maguire lamented.

"So, Don't do a temporary exception. Do a permanent exemption. That way the counts don't fluctuate, we don't have any adverse impact and production won't have to do any catch-up when things return to normal." David said with a straight face.

Carol held her breath at that suggestion. David had un-wittedly given her a massive legal tool to permanently close down the entire lottery system if Maguire agreed. This would demonstrate that the state confirmed the executive order as a Fiat Accompli.

"We could do that. In fact, we probably should for production reasons. I will tell Deloris to do that with all of them. Include the phrase Presidential Exclusion in the subject and we will route them automatically like that." Maguire said, feeling smart at having made this decision."

"Ok. I will have all of our requests retransmitted to reflect that new subject line." David said calmly.

After cutting the connection, David let a slow gradual smile creep across his face while he looked at Carol's expression of awe and shock. "You didn't think I was going to leave anyone out, did you?"

"David do you know what you did?" Carol asked quietly.

"I have put the State out of business and given you a whole new brief to apply to the court. Right?"

"David. Did you plan this originally?" Carol asked

"No. But this whole thing was never for the money. That was not why I got into this business in the first place. You know that. If it was going to be done, I wanted it done the right way. And if it is not going to be done, I will go do something else. So. How are we coming with compensation for out of state filings? I don't want to go bankrupt on this." David said.

"I called Cathy Cox and we are working on that. You know, I bet that a lot of women think that they don't have to report at all. I think we need some air time on this."

And so it was that David and Margaret Findley, with other guests, were on a special edition of "Chicago Life" on Tuesday at six PM. Carol was along as an attorney.

"Good evening Chicago. I'm Chelsea Winters. We have a special broadcast tonight on the issue of the women's reaction to the Presidents order. Tonight we have a special and very well known guest David Findley and his wife Margaret. Also with him is Carol Black, formerly of Dewey Cheathem and Howe, and before that, the District Attorney's office. Also tonight we also have Robert Mitchell, of the Illinois Justice Project."

"I'll start with you tonight David. What has this presidential order affected you?"

"Well, Chelsea, it has not changed our front end at all. We still have intake counselors sitting with women going over selection letters, conducting our normal intake and performing registration in compliance with the Illinois state law. The only difference is that we automatically register a permanent exemption request for all of our clients and provide them with a print out of the permanent exemption response from Springfield."

"Excuse me, did you say Permanent Exemption?" Robert Mitchell asked.

"Yes, Robert. Permanent. And I will let Carol explain."

"Robert, as you know, current thinking is that the President's executive order stopped all terminations in compliance with the act. But it did not address registration. Women still have to comply with the registration and report portion of the law if they receive a selection notice. You said so yourself on the early show." Carol said.

Robert had the good grace to smile and keep quiet. He had been quite outspoken that the executive order had not gone far enough, and that women were still exposed to penalties that would be quite expensive, if not dangerous, under the situation that still existed.

"Yes, and that is the biggest hole in this whole sad situation." Robert began.

"Exactly. It is just like the selective service act of the nineteen seventies. If you didn't comply with registration, regardless of the fact that there was no military draft, you were in felony violation." Continued Carol. "We saw that as well. So we decided to encourage women to comply with the law regarding registration and appearance, and that we would automatically file a exemption request for all women."

"I see. And how much do you charge for this?" Robert began.

"The state filing fee is thirteen dollars and seventy five cents. We charge our clients thirteen dollars and seventy-five cents. If they cannot pay, we bill them and file for compensation under the unemployment relief act." Carol said smugly.

"You mean with your surcharge." Robert responded. "And how much is that?"

"Robert" David replied. "We do not surcharge any exemptions or exclusion filings for any of our clients. We never have and we won't now. I believe that it would be immoral. I don't see bringing financial burden on women caught up in this mess. It is bad enough to be selected. You have enough on your mind. I don't want to have on my conscience anyone's additional stress over us trying to save their lives."

"David, it seems inconsistent to be saying and doing this when you know you run the most infamous slaughterhouse in the Midwest. Women are shipped to you from all over the country to go to their deaths." Robert said accusingly.

"Robert, your implication in pubic this morning was incorrect. We advertise and do not individually solicit. We never have. Women are not shipped to us. They apply to us and they come to us for the human treatment we provided to them. I would be happy to provide you with facts about how our operation was conducted. However that is another subject for another time."

"So, David, Carol, what do you advise our audience" Chelsea said, taking back control of the conversation.

"Contact us or any other processors if you have received a notification." Margaret said. "Tell them you want to do an intake with an exemption filing. If they won't help you, contact us. If you can't get through to us during the day, leave us e-mail and we will return a call to you."

"For Illinois or any state we have reciprocity with, we will file the exemption for just the amount of cost with no surcharges or handling fees and we will bill you for it if you cannot pay at the time of service." David said. "Please do not leave yourself exposed."

"David, Robert, what are the penalties if they don't file."

"Robert, you are much more versed in Penalty law then I am." David said with a smile.

"Yes, I probably am. Although Carol is also very well versed in it. Penalties include Staking in City hall. Which would probably run afoul of the Executive order. However that has not been determined or challenged by the courts. The legislature is probably going to have to have to revisit this in session after the holiday. I have to say that David's advice is probably the soundest of all. Registration and Processor agreement provides the most legal protection. David, what are you doing about housing?"

"We don't' house. We never really did and we don't' need to." David said.

"Really? How is that possible?" Robert asked.

"It is easy." David said. "Women who come to us expect humane treatment and compassion. The penalties are on them, not us. If they choose to leave, we don't stop them. We never have. Even in end stages of processing, women were never forced to stay. Remember, the penalties for the woman were always far more harsh then against the operator."

"So, how do you process women now?" Robert asked, with an incredulous look on his face.

"Simple. We take the intake information and use it as contact information in the event of a reversal of filing. We have sent home over two hundred women prior to the executive order for various exclusion and exemption filings. If they don't report back to us after we contact them about the status of their filing, it is a legal issue for them. We are complying strictly with the law. I don't need hold a woman in a cell while we wait for a judge." David said.

With shock on his face, Robert replied "You do the intake, you file and then you send them home?"

"Sure. We are not a jail. We present only the information we have access to and which is presented to our interviewers. The whole holding tank idea was for women who could not be processed in a timely fashion. And that was due to a capacity issue with the operator. If a woman is stopped in advance of her due date, there is no penalty. If she was alive beyond her due date, and was found at large, she was subject to punishment. If she had registered at a processor and was found alive in the public and unmanaged beyond her due date, the operator was due a fine and the woman could be terminated." David said. "In this case, we have a memoranda of understanding that dates back several months that women are released in good faith pending review of her issue. All extensions were automatic for one week before."

"Didn't most operators have capacity issues? That caused them to hold stock over night?" Robert asked.

"We don't have a capacity issue at Findley or F&S." David said. "Everyone was processed on due date. No holdovers for selectees unless they were goats. Since the current process is to automatically provide exemption there is no need to stay. They are home before dinner."

"How many women did you process in a day." Robert asked.

"Our peak production was one hundred fifty at Findley and three hundred twelve at F&S. Our average is one hundred twenty eight at Findley and two hundred fifty six at F&S. Since that is well over the State target, we didn't require overnight holding." David said.

"That's over a eighty thousand women a year." Robert said, doing a fast calculation in his head.

"And we add another fifty thousand from M&H where we manage operations as well."

"David" Chelsea asked, " How does this order affect you economically?"

"I am out of the slaughterhouse business. Do you have any good ideas?." David said.

After the interview, Robert approached Carol, David and Margaret. "Nice show. David, are you really doing filings at cost?"

"Sure are. We have done over a thousand today alone. And we are doing reciprocity with eight other states as well. I expect we will be a clearing house at the rate we are going." David said.

"How long can you go about doing this? It has to be a terrible outlay of cash."

"Well, now that you mention it." David said "We could use some help on that."

"How would you want to structure it?" Robert asked.

"How about you establish an account for filings. You solicit the funds from your well-heeled contributors. We present a claim with the notification number and claimant identification number and the state bill of filing, case by case. You reimburse us directly for the state expenses only. That way I don't have to handle any one's money as a charity."

"What about your expenses? There has to be a lot out of pocket for you." Robert said.

"If this goes on, I may file for state compensation. Or we will have a bake sale. But we are not billing for any overhead costs. I have enough volunteers right now." David said with a simile

-------

Demonstrations and backlash

There had always been a lot of resentment regarding the slaughterhouses. Which was part of why Merle had so much security at H&S in the early days

The first firebomb was thrown into the M&H building on Monday night. M&H's people had all been transported to Findley early on Monday morning. So there was no one around when the first Molotov cocktail was thrown on the outside of the building. The second and third that were thrown inside were quickly followed by police who were able to use the surveillance cameras to make the case of arson vandalism.

Tuesday night, F&S was hit. The street-lights were destroyed first as were the corner cameras. Once again, Molotov cocktails were thrown onto the building and loading areas. This time, no arrests were made.

David knew he was probably going to be hit next. So he asked that the street be closed at each end. Fire hoses were unrolled and pressure built up from the fire truck that was dispatched early in the morning as a safety measure. There were still seven people living upstairs at Findley, and David wanted to make sure they were safe. Candy was extremely emphatic that no one was going to chase her out of her home.

Vicky had reported into headquarters after she got her exemption notice, and was told that they had no idea of what to do with her. So far as they were concerned, she was still on a one hundred and eighty day medical leave. So, she went back to Findley's. Her, Candy and Nancy were all comfortable in the house, and Margaret and David stayed also. They had company.

Monarch security had internal responsibility for Findley. The Chicago Police department closed off the entire block in both directions and the adjacent area to the rear of Findley. At eight o'clock on Wednesday, the department of public works dropped jersey barriers closing off the street to traffic. The employees and women coming to Findley had to park on the next block and walk. Public transportation officials felt it was unseemly to increase service to Findley given the recent history. But the incoming Mayor began reminding them that it was a public service to provide transportation. The bus ridership on routes to Findley's, and express bus service from O'Hare was doing three round trips a day.

A small crowd of anti registration demonstrators picketed the closed off streets, and gave interviews urging women to not comply with the law at all. The media compared these demonstrators to draft card demonstrations of the previous century.

New media vans were conducted numerous interviews regarding the arrangements inside. The most consistent story was that everyone was "going through the motions, and taking the registration seriously, just like before." Most of the women were praising Findley for keeping open the registration facility, while they were complaining about the slowness of the state legislature in Springfield for persisting in the stupid registration act and lottery.

-------

First Friday night of the new Era

It was a remarkably small and noisy crowd at the break room on Friday. Most of the women had gone home. Carol was enjoying the weekend with her husband and Christine. It had been a tearful good bye when David helped pack up her personal items, and load them into the van. She had caught up with Sue Barksdale and they had talked about opening up a small joint firm, along with Cathy Cox who was doing public relations work.

Carla Sanchez was picked up on Tuesday afternoon by Juan. Who refused to drive her back to Findley. So she drove herself every day to work the phones. She stayed late as well to help with chat and the internet and felt like she was doing real valuable services. She was staying late tonight as a "Girls night out". Juan had dinner and kid duty.

Kim and Phil had a long talk the evening of the Presidential News Conference. Kim was not able to forget what he had done. They had sat with Elaine three nights during the week, and it was clear to Kim that they had problems. She had made up her mind that she wasn't moving back in with him until they resolved the issues.

"Damn it, I am not going to be holding up his guilt. That is his problem. And I am not about to be guilty for taking the steps to keep alive." Which lead to a long conversation with David and Margaret. Which lead to moving furniture back into Findley from F&S so she could take up comfortable residence. And for David to open up an additional contact line so she was able to start her own business as a Construction management and design company. "Maybe I will merge the new business with Phil, and maybe not."

Cindy had spent the week day evenings at Findley, working with filing and general household stuff. She and her mother had come to an understanding that she had been living too independently for too long to be back under her mother's roof without some concessions. The Chicago elections had caused some complications to that. Jane Carmichael had been elected Alderwoman when Joe De Fortes announced his retirement.

Both women had realized that the Chinese proverb of trouble being two women under one roof had some validity. "I sent my little girl away to a slaughterhouse, and a woman I'm very proud of came back" Jane said when she picked Cindy up. "Carol, I want to thank you."

So tonight Cindy was spending the first night at home, to see how it turned out. She was coming back to Findley tomorrow to work the phones. "I get to service people and keep them alive" she said. "Mom is going to see that this counts as public service time for college credit."

Candy had tried contacting her family and found that they had moved without forwarding address. Her best friend Stacy had gotten into a committed relationship and was living in Michigan. She was still studying every night, determined to get a education. Abby and Cathy both were acting as tutors, and visiting during the first week.

Haflie was free, but had nowhere to go. Multi Lingual, she was coached by Carla and Christine in business. Both of them wanted her to become the next international millionaire. Staying at Findley was smart financially. Besides, they had an industrial Sybian, and she loved that.

Vicky's townhouse had been rented to a couple by her mother when she reported. So she was without a home for at least a year. David and Margaret offered to have her stay at their home, but she had felt comfortable with her place at Findley. And besides, the food was good and the rent was free. She did report for psych evaluation while she was there, however, to measure for PTSD. She was told to keep her weapons and shield and was reminded that she was still under oath as an officer.

This was to be fortuitous.

Tim, Marty Robinson, and Kevin were staying over for the evening. As Kevin said, "the is really the best meat market in town."

That statement was followed by many loud groans and a shower of popcorn.



-------

Chapter 38



A truly new year.

It was the end of January. The holiday season had been the most joyous in decades, and the Presidential Inauguration speech had the highest televised audience in history, both numbers and percentages. The announcement that the termination ban would be made permanent as the first order of the new congress was greeted with the wildest of enthusiasm.

The research and development of fertility treatments targeted at increasing male pregnancies had come out of the closet with a bang. The fact the operators of a slaughterhouse first discovered it was footnoted in small print on the research documents. The impact of the discovery was not. The underpinning of the PCA was the population imbalance. This was no longer valid.

The PCA in America was fully uprooted by the Supreme Court decision immediately after the inauguration, with the announcement that it was a violation of the 13th and 14th amendments.

The religious objections to such selective pregnancies were swept aside as women all around the world sought to balance the next generation with male and female members.

The anticipated Chinese reaction to the President's Executive Order was a paper tiger. Future historians would say that the threat was greatly overrated and should have never been accredited for the act in the first place. Like all histories, the facts would be written to fit the future conceptions.

The various states reacted differently to these events. Even though the activities were unconstitutional, the state laws remained on the books pending legislative repeal.

In Illinois, the situation was complex. The Lottery act was itself not associated with termination. Thus the Selection board was still in business. The Termination act portion of the Population Control Act was declared unconstitutional, and thus no longer enforceable. But no one initially closed down the Lottery.

So, David continued to keep his doors open in response to selection processes. From eight thirty to nine in the evening, Monday through Friday, paid staff and volunteers answered phones, took down intake information and filed exemption requests. The information was separated so that financial and other personal information was associated with the index number and not a client SSN. The clients got a copy of the print out to take with them, as well as a copy of the exemption letter and it's associated reference number.

When the legislature finally enacted a closure of the Lottery act on January thirtieth, David sent the last of his people home, closed the offices and took Margaret on vacation to Florida, for a long needed rest. Some of his friends took advantage of the closure to remain at the plant and enjoy free room and board.

-------

What is Slavery? What choices reflect Free Will?

It was a chilly February day in the lecture hall at the University of Chicago. Professor Edwards' class on ethics in society was an elective class for the humanities, and he was hard put to get any traction to have it upgraded. So far, he had marginal success. Hopefully with this new subject it would take on a better light and he would see tenure.

"That is the heart of our class today" Professor Edwards said to his law class. "What is the core of free will and how does society limit or control it?"

Looking out to his crowd of intelligent women, Edwards launched into his favorite spiel. "Slavery is the indentured servitude of one person to another without compensation, and obedience is conditional against reprisal. People enter Slavery voluntarily or are forced by a system that deliberately strips them of their rights and actions of free will. Who can give me an example of Slavery in this country?"

"The condition of the Negro in the southern states before the emancipation proclamation?" A young woman said from the rear of the auditorium.

"Yes, Ms. How do you pronounce your name?"

"Haflie, sir. I don't want to burden you trying to pronounce my last name."

"Yes. We have had many circumstances of slavery our history. And all of them are terribly distasteful. Can you think of any other examples?"

"Germany during the Second World War. Russia after that war. Cambodia in the mid twentieth century. Ethiopia, Niger, Myanmar and Somalia at the turn of the century." Haflie continued.

"Excellent examples. Now, more recently, one of my graduates asked me about the instance of slavery during the recent PCA era. Does anyone know what I am talking about?"

Everyone was silent for a few moments. After a short time, Haflie raised her hand. "Do you mean the Goats under the PCA act, sir?"

"Yes. Exactly. These young women were sentenced to death under an unjust law. Some of them were yanked from the flow of doomed women and forced to work under uncivilized conditions and assist in the murder of their fellows. Regardless of the incentive to do this, fear, coercion, or preferential treatment, it was as unjust as the status of the Negro in the Carolinas in the eighteen fifties."

"Could you please explain that with a little more detail, Professor?" Melanie Clark asked.

"If we accept the concept of free will as a society, then we accept that we are all responsible for our actions, regardless. If we do harm to our fellow man, we are reaping benefits to which we are unentitled." Edwards said. "If you are taken from a flow of doomed people, and you assist in the deaths of your fellows, you are as guilty as the person who is the initial owner of the slaughter house. These human "Goats" as it were, convinced their fellows to die. And as was pointed out at Nuremberg, there are no innocents when crimes against humanity are concerned."

"Professor that might not be an accurate view of the situation." Haflie said, raising her hand.

"Ms., Hafie. This is not a discussion. This is a lecture. I think taking notes would be more appropriate for a student such as yourself. I expect that much of this will be in the newspapers shortly. Now, given these facts of bondage without free will, how heavily can the perpetrators be punished? And where does the guilt lie?"

Hafie and Melanie both took careful and exacting notes for the remainder of the lecture. Realizing that perception was power, they both realized that speaking up now would not be good. They had to get the news of this to David as quickly as possible.

-------

Legal Persecution. Not Prosecution

The former graduate student was Colleen McNair, currently the assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois. A diligent and tenacious lawyer, Colleen has a personal interest in Findley. Colleen had been investigating Findley since her youngest sister Sarah's termination.

According to Sarah's friend Kitty, under deposition and under oath, they had refused a substitution request. "They said that they wouldn't trade prime for pet food."

This started Colleen on a personal crusade to punish those who had killed her sister. And she pursued it with every tool at her disposal. Beginning in October, She had detailed two research clerks to find the laws and ordinances that Findley would have had to comply with, regarding their business. Additionally she researched any of the statutes surrounding the PCA and it's administration.

After weeks of the clerk's investigations, Colleen was finally able to convene a grand jury investigation on ethics and possible irregularities of Findley's conduct in the administration of the PCA. The question was "Did selective behavior by the termination and butcher facilities constitute prejudicial behavior?" That none of this was germane to the law at the time was irrelevant.

Grand Juries were the prosecutor's tool to get the permission to go to trial. They are extremely powerful institutions with immense power. In the right hands, they are an extremely useful tool in uncovering injustice and wrongdoing. In the wrong hands, they make an excellent podium for a witch-hunt.

Grand Juries are also supposed to be secret. The testimony, evidence, and even the existence are supposed to be classified. They are the Prosecutor's personal dry run at bringing people to Justice, and as such are considered not to be "Public". Even though the public pays for them, they proceedings are considered too sensitive to be publicized unless an indictment is brought. Even then the methods and practices are never fully disclosed.

People summoned to testify were not given the advantage of consulting with a lawyer and could be ordered to testify regardless of implications to them. In most states, all witnesses were denied legal representation. In fact lawyers were usually barred from the proceedings.

-------

Case Law

Colleen did not intend to enter into the argument about Findley's methods of termination. That was too easy to defend. Nor did she want to get into the any of the other aspects of the operation.

The basis for this case would be that there was prejudicial selection of people by Findley and their management. Since the mention in many of the exclusion orders and extensions referenced "value to society as a whole", she felt that she could make the case that the process of evaluation was "capricious and prejudicial" and unfair.

This would give her two sets of charges. One was slavery. Slavery under the PCA was defined as "Unfair coercion to cause a person to accept substitution under the selection act, or to provide services in exchange for not being selected." The goal legally would be to stretch this definition to include not just selection but execution, and to extend the process to the slaughterhouse and not just the Selection Board.

The troublesome issue seemed to be in the regulations governing the use of "Goat" assistants in the slaughterhouse. There seemed to be no firm guidelines on the use of these people, or any guidelines over how they could be selected. They could not be used to do work undertaken by Union employees, nor could they be used in a brothel. But there were no recommendations over treatment or use. The limitations were that they had to be registered in five days, extensions were filed after thirty days and that the extensions were for ninety day increments.

Colleen also hoped to develop a case where a person was forced into this situation against their will. Or prove that they had been placed into this situation capriciously or by prejudice.

The big challenge would be showing that the goats were pulled illegally. Proving that to a jury would be a challenge, but Colleen felt that if she could bring enough charges, that Findley would take a plea bargain. Pleading guilty to one felony count with twenty years was better then being convicted of two hundred counts with possible death penalty for each one. Willful Manslaughter was second-degree murder. First-degree murder would be pressed and charged, with manslaughter as a fall back. No way these people would get off Scott free. They would pay for killing her sister.

Colleen could still remember seeing Sarah on the spit at the ASPCA banquet. She would get revenge.

And so people were summoned.

-------

Legal Discovery

No legal charges can be brought against a person or a business without either evidence of violation of a law, or conspiracy of intent to violate that law. You can be prosecuted for writing a document that advocates the overthrow of a government by force, even if you do not take any action in that direction yourself. Conspiracy is about intent. Not about action. Thus it is the hardest to prove and the hardest to defend once the ball starts rolling.

To establish a slavery charge, Colleen started with interviews.

First on the list was Delores Freeman, a retired manager at the PCB, subpoenaed to appear to testify. Delores swore in her statement that Findley did not receive any preferential treatment under the Act, and that in fact they had been a minor player up until the last six months of the span of the act.

"David was always very polite and essentially small fry. H&S and M&H were the real players. Until H&S was closed for health violations, David never gained any real allocation under the MAB."

"Why was that?"

"He had a niche in the marketplace. His selections were usually destined for the pet food industry. Women who reported there were not going to be in a meat case, but a soup can or pet food can. His initial intake was never more then fifty or so a week."

"What changed?" Colleen asked. "And remember you are under oath."

"The situation with H&S. The state had a seventy-five thousand-woman allotment per year for population management. David was a bit player. I think the only reason he was ever in the business was to provide a secure place in case his wife was selected."

"SO he could provide an escape hatch for her?" Colleen said.

"No. So he could have the termination done humanely. Everyone knew that Merle Hill was an absolute horror. And no one knew anything about M&H. Margaret and he both told me that hearing how her sister was terminated. Imagine being skewered alive and then roasted?"

"Were the records of the exempted and the excluded kept along with the reasons for exclusion or exemption?" Colleen asked.

"Yes. Along with all the Goat registrations."

"Goat Registration?" Colleen asked. "What was that?"

"David kept more goats longer then anyone ever did during the entire PCA program. He maxed out his number from the time Margaret was exempted and kept that up to the end of the law. And he kept the same group for almost the entire time."

"Really? Is this unusual?"

"Yes. Merle Hill never had more then six of his allotted sixteen, and they were never kept longer then three weeks. I think he used them for his personal brothel. When he and his men got tired of them they termed them." Delores continued.

"And how was Findley different?"

"Well, when Margaret was exempted, she took an interest in how operations were done. She and David changed the operations model significantly. He told me once he had the most valuable senior staff in the world. A leading lawyer, Clinical Psychologist, Market development manager and Woman's chair at the University of Chicago. And all of them working to change the model." Delores said. "I think he was more prepared for the end of the PCA then anyone was."

After subpoena of the MAB records it wasn't long before a pattern began to form in Colleen's mind. If you were special or connected, or had something to offer Findley, they kept you around. Usually a week or two, but sometimes longer, depending on how and what you were used for and what you had to offer. Of the sixty goats that had been in the three locations while Findley managed them, twelve had voluntarily changed their status before the repeal of the PCA. Three were there from the beginning. One was Carol Black, who Colleen did not want to see just yet. Just in case she is a co conspirator.

Cindy Carmichael was another. A bubble head and a piece of fluff if ever she saw one, Colleen didn't want to touch her for fear of the political fallout. Her mother had a reputation of being a shark and having too many connections. That left one that was one of the longest members. Colleen decided to meet with her last after she got the preliminaries out of the way. Cracking one young woman would be easy. She was barely past being a teenager.

First on Colleen's list was the union steward. Marty Robinson was a large, beefy man, with strong arms and a clear mind. As a member of the Teamsters 2953 he was also unemployed. The PCA had put the entire union group out of business, but they were pursuing contracts in other venues. One of them was the possibility of Tofu product development. "Protein is protein," they said in their advertising, and Stienhauer was already announcing a large-scale production plant to be fully staffed by union membership.

"Mr. Robinson. You were the senior steward at large at Findley's, and later Findley and Stienhauer?"

"No mam. Never Findley and Stienhauer."

"I see. Just Findley's then."

"Yes. We did retraining for the Stienhauer team, but they were under a different team with a different steward."

"I see. What did the duties of the union butchers consist of at Findley?"

"We were the initial slaughter and butcher teams for Findley."

"And did that change?"

"It never did. The Teamsters were always the slaughter and butcher teams at Findley."

"We have seen some evidence that Candy Mitchell and others were actually Union members, even though they were selectees. How do you explain that?"

"That is correct. Fact in evidence before you with reference to her membership book."

Marty said with a smile. "The circumstances of the employee membership are contractual. She voluntarily became a member in good standing, and was the most respectful and hardest working member I have ever had the pleasure of working with."

Becoming frustrated, Colleen began to loose her temper a little. "Marty, did you fuck her? Is that why she became a union member?"

"Ms. McNair, my relationship with Candy Mitchell was first and foremost professional. It became intimate on those occasions that she initiated and remains intimate on those occasions that she initiates. And beyond that it is none of your god damn business."

"So you admit that she slept with you to avoid being killed." Colleen said.

"Mam, I think you have to draw your conclusions as to her motivation. I would say however that there never was any question of a sexual favor in exchange for her employment at Findley. She was employed as a butcher and terminator, and probably terminated a substantial number of the women who were termed at Findley for the duration of her employment."

That piece of information stunned Colleen. "You mean that women slaughtered my sister?"

Sitting in the chair, Marty realized that he had given away a important piece of information that was not released to the public. And that he had gotten a piece that was important as well.

"That would depend on what day she appeared for processing. When was that?" Marty asked.

"I doubt you would remember her." Colleen said, loosing for a moment her professional decorum.

Looking closely, Marty saw familiar features that he had seen when he had spit mounted a woman for the ASPCA banquet. "Sarah. Her name was Sarah" George said. "I remember her because she was a special product. Her last name was Blair, though."

Hearing the name of her sister come from Marty broke through Colleen's professional veneer. "You bastard" she said quietly.

"Ms. McNair, I believe you are finished with this witness. Mr. Robinson, you are dismissed. Please remember you are under oath and bound by the secrecy of these proceedings." Judge Harkness said.

"Thank you, your honor. I would like to inform you that I will be talking about this with my attorney, based on the conduct of Ms. McNair." Marty said.

With that, the judge admonished Colleen. "You don't gain any sympathy from me or this court by falling to base insults."

"I apologize, your honor. I would like to establish that it is evident that sexual favors were exchanged between a selectee and management. I believe that the union membership was a sham to disguise the true nature of the relationships."

Which lead to the next interview.

"George, what was your position at Hill and Stienhauer?" Colleen asked.

"Senior Shop steward for all hourly employees."

"And did that include all front end and back end operations?"

"It did under H&S. After we were closed down, and Findley came in, we did back end only. Not validation or intake." George Harkness replied.

"So, you didn't do any of the selection process or exemption processes." Colleen said.

"No. In fact when we were H&S we never exempted anyone." George said.

"No exemptions?" Colleen asked.

"Nope. If you walked in the door you went out in a box or on a stick." George said.

"So, termination was universal and without any kind of selection or preferential treatment?"

"No. It wasn't preferential treatment." George replied. "The review process was to weed out those who should have not been selected in the first place." George said.

"Why did Findley do such a careful review?"

"Regulations. There were pregnancy tests, blood tests, carcass classification that was honest. And we followed Sanitation regulations that we never followed before. And there was no bullyboy behavior any more. Findley had us doing all that stuff by the book, with a USDA inspector on every step of the page. And they used us to rotate and train them USDA guys too, after Findley took over." George said with pride.

"Why was that?" Colleen asked.

"Because we did it right. Lady, we were closed down because USDA found our product was tainted and poisoned people. After we were closed down, and Findley came in and took over, they revamped everything we did. A woman never saw a man from the time she walked in the door. The goats did everything on intake, management, and review of paperwork. All the stuff that was above and beyond the regs." George said.

"George, how were all the Goats paid?" Colleen asked.

"Union scale. Money deposited into individual accounts. Two nurses, the Doc when she was there, and all the intake people."

"What doc?"

"We had an MD who was selected. We pulled her out of the stream and had her added to staff for case management and health screening. When the legal exemption for her came through, we put her back out the door." George said.

"So, who did the selection of the Goats?" Colleen asked.

"Usually it was the screening teams. If a woman had a particular talent or skill with people, and she was compatible with the team, and we had an open slot, we held them over. If they fit into the team, and were willing to work, we collared them. If we could get them exempted, we did. And if they decided to complete, we termed them." George said.

"Why would a woman decide to complete?" Colleen asked.

"Lots of reasons. Most were staying around to help while they got the last of their affairs in order. See their kids and stuff. Some wanted to help with keeping things straight. Haflie did that. And after that situation changed, she was re-evaluated and decided to help out permanent like. There are lots of reasons. We did a lot of extensions for people to let them get affairs in order. Marty Burke would know the numbers."

"And how were they treated?"

"Like everyone else. Audrey decided that she didn't want to do intake and lead anymore. So she told Marty Burke and me that she wanted to go on. She asked if we could take her over to the Saddle shop. And we did. Chelsea Blair saw her kids and then left her collar on the table and took a group down to a blue light special. Different women had different reasons." George said.

"Did the women perform sex as part of their arrangements?" Colleen asked.

"They had sex as part of their living arrangements. The bulletin board was posted with the Swinger House rules and everyone stuck to them." George said.

"Swinger house rules?"

"Sure. The women started it. If a woman was interested, she made the first move. If a door was open you knocked. If it was closed, you didn't knock. It was all private and personal."

"George, do you think the women were pressured to provide sex?"

"With Findley? Hell no. If you touched a goat it better be cause she asked. Women were totally in charge. They called all the shots. Course, most of them were older and horny as hell at the end of the day, so we obliged. But during the day I never saw a live women and my main job was to keep Kim and the others happy."

"Kim?" Colleen asked.

"Yes. Kim was my operations lead. Like Candy was at Findley. She was the journeyman in the union that did about half of the terms. Carley Swenson did line two. Like I said, we were a union shop."

"So the Naked Goats were in charge?" Colleen asked.

"Yes. The state rules said that the Goats had to be naked and with an orange collar. And the Findley rules said that they were in charge. Hell, with them running intake and management, we never had a fight or a bolter the whole time. Low key and quite and calm."

"How were women terminated?"

"After Findley? You have to get a release on that. I signed a confidential waiver and I was told that I could not discuss it." George said.

The Union representation was a wrinkle that Colleen had not anticipated. That might throw a defense in there that she didn't want to deal with.

Colleen expected her last interview to be the one that cracked the case for her. She started off by trying to set the stage by having her witness seated at a chair before she came in. Intimidation with lots of folders and files should provide the leverage to crack this young woman open.

"So, Ms. Mitchell, how did you become exempted from termination at Findley's?"

"I became exempted as a result of the presidential order on November 12" Candy replied.

"Let me rephrase that. How did you come to be a Goat?" Colleen asked.

"Ms. McNair, until I have had a chance to talk with legal representation on this issue I decline to answer any questions regarding my involvement at Findley Processing." Candy said politely.

"Look young girl."

"Excuse me, Ms. Getting all authoritarian with me really is not going to work. Trying to intimidate me is not really going to work either. Unless and until I have an opportunity to talk with my lawyer, I refuse to comment on anything other then facts in evidence as presented to be reviewed." Candy said in an even tone.

"Young lady, you are on the border of being indicted as a conspirator."

"Which means you read me my rights and allow me to see the charges and to contact a lawyer. Right?"

Looking at the cool grey eyes of the young woman in front of her, Colleen realized that this woman was not going to be intimidated. "Ms. Mitchell" Colleen began.

"Ms. McNair. Most people call me Candy. Let's try to keep this at least minimal on the drama, ok?"

"Ok. Candy. You were selected and then retained by Findley processing from the time of your arrival as a substitute for your mother until the end of the PCA, is that correct?"

"That is a fact in evidence, yes." Candy replied.

"And why do you think you were retained?" Colleen asked.

"Not a fact in evidence." Candy replied.

"What did you do while you were there?" Colleen asked.

"Actions as permitted for me by the PCA, and my membership in the local union 2953 of the meat cutters of America." Candy replied.

"You were a meat cutter?" Colleen asked.

"Yes. Journeyman. And my Union will provide representation to the fact of my performance of duties under the PCA and MAB regulations of the time." Candy replied coolly.

"Is it true that you were kept as a play toy for the management and employees at Findley?"

"Fact not in evidence and I resent the implication." Candy said.

"Young lady, do you want to call your Lawyer now?" Colleen said with sickening sweetness in her voice.

"Sure. Do you mind? I have her number. Her name is Carol Black."

Colleen was taken aback at that. Not the person she wanted to encounter in preliminary findings. Especially if she was on the other side. "You are a client of Carol Black?"

"Client, Friend, and student. And I will be talking with her regardless of what your cute little form says regarding secrecy. I do have a right to an attorney. And I have a dollar to pay her with." Candy said sweetly.

"Your Honor, Please instruct the witness to answer the question." Colleen said.

"Ms. Mitchell, please answer the question." Judge Harkness said.

"Your honor, the question implies a possible wrongdoing on my part, and as such I feel that I cannot answer it without first discussing it with my attorney."

"Ms. Mitchell, I will decide that". Judge Harkness replied.

"No ma'am, I am afraid not. If you place me under arrest I still have the right to my attorney. The question I was asked implied that I committed an act of prostitution to save my life. Agreeing with that would leave me open for prosecution. The prosecution has already implied wrong doing on my part and as such, I feel it necessary to exercise my Fifth Amendment rights." Candy said quietly and calmly.

"I am finished with this witness, your honor. Ms. Mitchell, I will be looking to get in contact with you later regarding possible charges." Colleen said as Candy stood up to leave. After the door closed, Colleen turned to the jury and commenced her summation of the testimony to the jury.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that we have established at least one case of some sort of manipulation of these women. And this manipulation started after Findley took over the operations of their slaughterhouses."

Kimberly Martin was calm and relaxed as she sat I the witness chair. As the last witness that Colleen was going to be able to call due to budget constraints, Colleen knew she had to make or loose her case now.

"Ms. Martin, I understand you were listed as a union member at Findley Processing and then later at F&S. What exactly were your duties while working for Findley?"

"I was initially working as a consultant on decorating and industrial design. When my selection notification came through, I was asked to work as a project manager to finish the update of the H&S facility."

"So you traded your services for a delay in your termination?" Colleen said.

"Yes, I suppose you could say that. I wanted to see my kids one last time and David and Margaret asked me if I would care to stay around to finish up the work pending in the construction modifications." Kim replied. "After I was abandoned by my husband, I asked David what I could do to extend my value to the business."

"And that is when he suggested sexual favors" Colleen said.

"No. He never suggested any sexual favors. No one ever did. In fact, the rules on that were pretty solid. If you read the blogs about us, you would get a better picture. Individuals wrote them. No one edited them."

"So the night of drunken bacchanalia leading up to mass executions was true?" Colleen said. Turning to the jury, she continued "This circus was preformed for a mass of people who paid top dollar for a reenactment of a Parisian slaughter of innocents? Using a guillotine that was discarded as unusable in another slaughter house?"

Smiling, Kim thought back to the parties and said, "Yes. And the condemned woman paid for the whole thing. Because it was how she wanted to go and she wanted it in a safe environment handled by professionals."

"You charged women to be forced into these so called events?" Colleen said, thinking she finally had a breakthrough.

"No. We charged women for services relating to their desired terminations where those were different from our normal process. All of the force was due to the PCA. They were already selected and thus forced by the system." Kim replied.

"Different from your normal process. And what was that normal process?" Colleen asked.

"Sorry. Covered under a non disclosure and I have not been presented with documentation that states I am no longer under NDA." Kim replied.

"Your Honor, We have heard this repeatedly stated by witnesses that this was a trademark process. To better understand the circumstances, we will have to get co-operation from the witness. I ask again, what was the normal process." Colleen said.

"Your Honor, All of the process is radily available to the prosecution from the USDA. Our trademark was reviewed by them as were all of our locations. Normal processing was attended by representatives of the USDA on all days we had operations. I am bound by a NDA, but another agency can be more cooperative then I have to be." Kim said.

Sensing that this was a tact that she probably should have followed earlier, Colleen changed her focus. "Ms. What were the living arrangements at Findley and F&S and under what circumstances were you required to perform acts of sexual congress to keep alive?"

"Lady, I resent that implication." Kim replied. "Obviously you seem to feel I should implicate myself in a felony here, and I choose not to do so."

"Your Honor, the witness is being hostile. I ask that she be held in contempt."

Sensing that the tempers were getting close to a blow up, and desiring to get home today, Harkness made a decision. Time to directly inject herself into this.

"Ms. McNair, you will refrain from further questioning of this witness. Ms. Martin, Answer to the best of your ability the question about the circumstances of your housing at Findley and later at F&S, and the circumstances of any personal interaction you had or felt you were forced to have while you were there."

"For your first question. Everyone had a private room. Like a dormitory room only they were singles. Queen sized beds, a window, office chair, desk, end table and dresser. All of the stuff was new. After I came into the group, I was in charge of colors and fabric and paint."

"You mean you had your own." Colleen said.

"I said I was in charge of colors, fabric and paint. When a new woman joined us, I sat with them to get some sense of color and soft needs for their room. The furniture was all the same unless you brought stuff from home. Like Abby said, it was like Long Term hospice care."

Judge Harkness leaned forward and asked "Who was Abby, and why would she know?"

"Abby was a MD we had who was awaiting termination. Carol Black got her a exemption on social value and we put her back into the stream, along with a nurse. Abby was at Cook County General as a emergency MD. but had also worked as a Hospice medical officer. She said that what we did was exactly like high-end hospice facilities would do. And it made sense, looking back on it. We were all past our expiration date. When the work we did or when our contributions were ended, so were we."

Kim took a deep breath and then continued. "As to the second question. Did we agree to have Sex in exchange for continuation? None of us thought like that. Haflie was a virgin when she came with us and decided that she didn't want to die as one. We had confidence in Findley keeping us alive and around as long as they could be useful and honorable. We had no confidence in the MAB and PCA. The law was against us." Kim said. "All of us were abandoned by our friends and families, with a very few exceptions. And we expected that the MAB would be pushing for longest expired to be termed first. That was what Merle Hill was saying. David and Carol were pushing that the reason for the long exemptions was because we had become vital to the business. And we all felt that we had to prove we were exactly that."

"So if you were important to the process of killing women, you were needed and if you weren't then you weren't" Colleen said.

"Not just killing people. Carol, Nancy, and everyone else spent the evenings typing on exemption and extension requests. We buried the Selection Board and PCA groups with requests. We did close order examinations on health and screening. We were constrained by the law, but we did everything to find exits for anyone who would take them. Biggest problem was one of time."

"What was the price of the Exit?" Colleen asked.

"What did you mean?" Kim asked.

"Who did you have to fuck to get an exit?" Colleen said. "Excuse me for speaking plainly, your honor."

Judge Harkness glared at Colleen and said "Some more appropriate language and respectful treatment would be expected. Ms. Martin, what exactly were the constraints on being exempted or extended? And how did that differ from your situation?"

"Your Honor, we had three criteria we used. Exemption was for cases where the person had a legal right to not be in the lottery at all. Family members in the last five years, family hardship that resulted in increased costs to social services, and other legal issues that were clearly outlined by the law. Those were cut and dried and our questionnaire was designed to ferret them out quickly. We could draft an exemption to the MAB,

In the beginning, we had to collar them to keep them on ice to get MAB to reply. Later that was pretty much automatic and we sent them home with a provisional exemption pending review." Kim said.

"You did this for every intake?" Colleen asked.

"Every one on my watch. If we had early intakes it was easier. We had a couple of days to set the stage and work through the system, so we could keep them out at the front end." Kim said.

"This seems like a lot of work." Colleen began.

"Yes, it was, and it took a lot of people to do it. Which is why we had so many collars." Kim interrupted. "And why we had so many people involved. The second set of criteria was harder to deal with. We were looking for people with social impact. Or who had misguided reasons. We had to send one woman home who trying to volunteer for an adoptive sister. She had gotten herself into a cat-box were she was seen as a volunteer at large, and not a specific person. Carol untangled that mess and got her exempted. We had people who were on the point of inclusion due to fraud from family members or businesses. We caught three of those in one week."

Colleen began to blanch, as this case was her own sisters. And it was treacherously close to facts that she did not want to have public, or in court.

"Why did this happen? Simple bureaucratic screw-ups?" Judge Harkness asked.

"Some were. Some were malicious. We didn't have a means of follow up on the fraud stuff and didn't want to for fear of having the Selection Board come down and start to blanket deny our exemption requests. We had gotten them to the point where they pretty much rubber stamped our requests, because we had lots of case law and information behind them when we filed." Kim said.

"That was the heartbreaking thing." Kim continued. "We had people we could do exemption projects with, but they showed up on their last day. We didn't' have time to do anything with them. So we tried to hold them over on ice as long as we could. Usually that was overnight. We hit about eighty percent on those. We still had to comply with the law, but worked our asses off to find exemptions or exclusions for them."

"It would seem you felt you kept everyone out you could" Colleen said. "What about the ones you couldn't?"

"You mean like me?" Kim asked. "Come on. That is what you have been trying to do since I came in here."

"Yes. Exactly like you. What deal did you do to avoid termination?"

"Simple. I was given a couple of days to get my affairs in order, since it was such a shock. In my case, I found I was three weeks past expiration. It was really funny how it happened. We found it out when I came to audit the screening process at Findley, while I was doing the rebuild design for H&S. Due to the shock of it, David and Margaret extended me over the weekend." Kim said." I believe you can imagine the shock."

Looking around at the jury and other participants, she saw all of them drop their mouths open. A few shook their head in sympathy.

"During the weekend I reached out to find how I could get out of the situation. Eventually it was explained that I could join the team at Findley. I could work to weed out the ones we could, and kill the ones we couldn't weed out. I could do it as politely and as humanely and with as much empathy as I could." Kim said in a quiet voice. "And if I couldn't do that, I would be termed myself. And when I couldn't, then I could be termed as well. It was a waystation on the way. Not a permanent release. A lifeboat, not the shore." Kim said with some tears. "And you had to make adjustments to be in the lifeboat."

"What adjustments? Sexually? Morally?" Colleen pressed.

"Definitely morally. You had to talk with someone knowing you were going to take them down the hall, get them to strip, put all their belongings into a bag to go home, and then cut their head off. You have to make a lot of moral adjustments to do that so you could stay alive. It wasn't like selling used cars." Kim said, getting stronger in her voice.

"The sexual release was to keep us sane. Helen told us we only had two releases available to us. Sexual or Sadistic. If we got to the point where we loved what we were doing, then we were beyond absolution and should be put down ourselves." Kim said.

"So you were sexually pressured." Colleen said with a sound of triumph.

"No. Hell no. Not external pressure. The pressure came from working every day to take a woman through questionnaires, medical screening and then to their execution. At the end of a day of doing that to thirty or so women three or four days a week, sex and alcohol were the release you needed." Kim said. "Believe me, a day of cutting throats or cutting off heads gives you an almost indescribable mental set."

Seeing that everyone in the room was now firmly shaken and stunned, Kim continued.

"We had rules. Swinger-house rules. No means no. Open door means knock. Closed door means don't disturb. Open door and yes means HELL YES. And everyone had to have blood tests on both sides."

"Sounds like a Nevada Brothel to me." Colleen said.

"You don't get it, do you? It wasn't expected or required. I needed it after a day of what I did for a living. I needed to be held, and loved and have my brains fucked out. Men on the inside were as much a commodity there as outside." Kim said.

"What about visitation?" Colleen asked.

"Whoever wanted to of our families visited in the evenings and on Sunday. Friday night was Hen night. Everyone sort of hung out together as family. Sunday was family day. Friends of mine brought my daughters because my husband would not visit. Which is why he and I are in counseling." Kim said. "It was a hell of a lot better then visitation in Jail. The thing is, we were there pending execution. And there was the joint responsibility thing going on too." Kim said.

"What joint responsibility?" Colleen asked.

"There were only three main rules. You could not get off of the property. You could not invite others in without request first. And at ten o'clock the doors were locked because of the security requirements. We all had to obey that because if we violated it, the PCA act allowed for the police to respond, remove all of us and then term us publically. So everyone was responsible for everyone else. It was a community at risk situation." Kim said.

Colleen was not interested in having that perspective introduced in a Grand Jury. Community at Risk means that all were doing what was needed to preserve the community and not just themselves. "Your honor, I ask that that last be stricken."

"No, Ms. McNair, I won't have that stricken. Let it be entered into the record that all of the participants felt a community responsibility for their actions."

"I have no further questions for this witness, Your Honor."

"In summation of the testimony given here, I believe that a conspiracy existed at Findley where people were pulled out of the stream of humanity for the purpose of furthering an agenda of business growth by Findley's business. This business may have been legal, but gaining unfair economic advantage by using indentured labor is not. I believe that these women were coerced in the most horrible means possible to conduct acts of murder that they would otherwise never commit. And that the means to coerce them into doing this was a cruel game of survival."

On that single discussion, A Grand jury returned a warrant to investigate further and possibly present charges.

-------

Rumbles in the Jungle

"Carol, thank you for taking my call." David said. "I was wondering what you and Cathy were going to be charging these days? I got a text message from Candy saying I should pay you a dollar."

"Depends, David. What did you do?"

"I don't really know. Apparently some of our friends are being questioned." David said.

"What information do you have?" Carol asked.

"Apparently I am being investigated for running a slavery ring during the time of the Population Control Act. Vicky called me to tell me she is hearing of a warrant being prepared to seize the property and take Margaret and I in for questioning."

Silence for a few moments greeted this message. After a short time, Carol spoke.

"David. I do not know that anyone provided you with any advance knowledge of any possible actions. But I do need a dollar."

"For sure. And Carol. Margaret and I want to talk about this with you privately. And bring your partners. We need your help in development of a strategy."

After she hung up the phone, Carol's mind was in high gear. Candy had called her immediately after getting out of the jury room and paid her a dollar in her office. After saying that she had seen George, Marty Burke, and Marty Robinson in the hallway, Carol began writing notes. The Union membership would cover almost all of the goats and employees at Findley. A phone call from the Union Local Law firm (at the request of Marty Robinson) had given Carol some very valuable intelligence about Ms. Colleen McNair's court activities. Carol, Nancy, Elaine and a few others were considered executive staff and that would figure differently. The fact that David had heard of this without her telling him anything meant that she could begin to actively start to plan.

The thought of Colleen McNair as the DA brought a smile to Carol's face. "I taught you everything you know, woman. But not everything I know."

-------

What do you mean there is nothing there?

On February sixth, at ten o'clock in the morning, Illinois State Police executed a search warrant on the Findley Processing property in compliance with a search for materials involved with the Slavery ring that was operated at this premise. This warrant was legally executed based on the findings of the Grand Jury investigation. The primary contact in the District Attorney's office on this warrant was Colleen McNair, who was called with the results of the search.

"What do you mean that there is nothing there?" Colleen thundered at the speakerphone.

"I mean, Ms. Assistant attorney general, that the building is closed, except that there are personal apartments on the second floor, and the entire facility is empty. The only thing we got was a response team from Monarch Security that informed us that they would have opened the door if we had called. Building is empty." Sgt. Adriane Kimball said.

"Who is in the personal apartments?" Colleen asked.

"According to Monarch Security, three students, a professor of women's' studies at U of Ill., a independent decorator and construction project manager and a CPD Homicide detective." Adriane said.

"What?" Colleen said angrily.

"That's right. Those are the people living here." Adriane said.

"What documents did you find on the location?" Colleen asked.

"Nothing. No file cabinets, and the computers here were either personal or networked."

"Seize the property and don't let anyone in. It is a crime scene."

"We don't have evidence of that, Colleen. There is nothing going on here. Hasn't for weeks."

"I don't care. That place was a crime scene and we are going to squeeze the evidence out of it. Get forensics there now."

"Colleen, it was a slaughter house. It was supposed to have blood, gore and a lot of dead bodies go through it." Adriane said, beginning to question the intelligence of the lawyer on the other end. Again.

"I don't' care" Colleen said. "Impound it as a crime scene."

-------

First Impact

Vicky's portable buzzed with a message from her roommate, Kim, with the following important text message. "Police have served warrant on Findley, have broken into front door area. Monarch called to inform. Do not know further."

"Will look into it." Vicky texted back. And proceeded to start looking for what was going on.

Two hours later, in a classic mix up, Chicago Police department confirmed that ISP had executed a warrant based on a case being brought up in Springfield regarding illegal activities at Findley. And the Homicide Division commander wanted to see Vicky in her office immediately.

"Sargent, have a seat. I was wondering if you were aware of any illegal activities going on at the residence you live at." Katherine asked.

"What do you mean, sir?" Vicky replied.

"We have reports of activities of slavery and prostitution having been committed at the address you are listing as your temporary residence." Katherine explained.

"Slavery? Sir? Pardon me for being blunt but is someone out of their fucking mind?" Vicky asked.

"No, we aren't out of our mind. I don't think. But someone in Springfield might be." Katherine said. "Did you see anything that would lead to criminal investigation form Springfield on this?"

"I sure did. And I saw a lot of things that are not legal outside of the PCA, but nothing of slavery. Hell, we didn't even abuse women. Killed them, and they picked their own way to go. But we sure as hell were not engaged in Slavery."

"Well, that is what is coming out of Springfield. Apparently the owners of that place stepped over the line, and Springfield wants their ass." Katherine said.

"We stepped over a lot of lines. We circumvented that law every way we could while I was there. Hell, we shipped home more people then any other operation, for every exception and exclusion we could find. What the hell does the warrant say?" Vicky asked

"I don't know all of the details. But the property has been seized. We have to go through ISP for any access. Do you have any personal items there?"

"Only everything in my life. Including the safe with all my Emergency Response Unit gear. Hell, I live there. So do four of my friends."

"What kind of friends are these?" Katherine asked.

"Hafie is a student in international business. She has a Masters and is picking up her MBA. Nancy Ayers is Women's Studies Chair at University of Chicago. Candy Mitchell is a med student with undergrad studies at Cornell. Kimberly is a decorator and construction project manager. And Cindy Carmichael, Alderman Carmichael's daughter does too."

SHIT. That doesn't fit the profile for a slavery ring. "Anyone else? Parties? Boyfriends? Girlfriends?" Katherine asked.

"Nope. Since the executive order and the closure of the MAB, the place has been closed. David and Margaret took a long vacation, and left us as caretakers. I have been living there since my townhouse was rented out, and Nancy's condo as well. Cindy and her mom don't always get along so she stays with us. It is like living rent-free in a dormitory close to I55. You know how expensive housing is near Bedford Park?"

"You live there for free?"

"The building is industrial and closed. We each have a bedroom and shared kitchen and rec room. Off street secure parking and free wireless and other perks as well. For us it is a sweet deal and for David it cuts the cost of building insurance."

"Well, unless we can pry it out of the State Attorney office, you just lost your good deal. So did your friends."

-------

Recoil

Carol, in the meantime, had reached out to Hafie, Candy, Cindy and Nancy. She had all of them on a video conference call with David and Margaret.

"Ok" Carol said. "First thing is first. We will submit to allow you to recover your personal property. David, Vicky and Kim haven't returned my call yet, but I will do the same on their behalf."

"Thank you, Carol. I guess we need to fly back as well. Is the house listed on the warrant, and can we still live there?" David asked.

"Your personal residence is not listed on this warrant, but I am not sure what is next. The grand jury is looking to return an indictment on discrimination with respect to the PCA and slavery as well. My guess is she is looking at the Goat arrangements and wants to say we were coerced."

"Well, there is truth in that." David said.

"Yes, there is, but it was legal coercion not illegal coercion. Big difference." Carol said.

"Didn't you once say that's in the eyes of the Jury?" Margaret said.

"Damn, you picked a fine time to listen to me." Carol said. "Silly slut. You know that we have to try this on the law and not the events."

"Why?" David asked.

"Because, we did coerce. Every woman who wore a collar from the day we picked it up to the day the executive order demolished the terminations did so as an alternative to dying. It was the reasonable alternative to a permanent consequence." Carol said. "The only possible illegal part of this was the selection process of who to collar. There are no guidelines at the time, but if they can prove a discrimination, and then prove you acted with malice, that could fit the definition of the Slavery statute." Carol said. Grimly she thought to herself that this was a perversion of a law she helped to write and submit ten years earlier.

Colleen, in the mean time, was researching RICO statutes to see if prejudice in this sort of activity could be considered a criminal enterprise. "If I can get the slightest wrinkle that says that this was a ongoing conspiracy or a agreement that was prejudicial against any one, I can lever that against the whole group. Then one of them will cop a plea." She thought to herself.

Which is what she did. Colleen issued arrest warrants for every employee at Findley processing that was engaged in the "Intake, interview, qualification and assessment" of subjects selected under the PCA act for "Instances of prejudicial exclusion from termination."

She made two mistakes. First she only went after the goats on the union list, feeling that they would give her leverage on the key conspirators of the operation. The prosecution key targets were Margaret and David Findley and Jack and Susan Stienhauer.

Her second mistake was Candy Mitchell.



-------

Chapter 39



Wheels of Justice

Jamie Peterson was a five-year veteran prosecutor. Being called into the State's Attorney's office in Springfield was not all that unusual for her, as she had been doing well in high level cases in the past.

"Jamie, I want to thank you for coming in." Charlene Davis said. "I am afraid I have a case we have to ask you to take over."

"High level?"

"Actually it is. But it has some ugly twists. We have spent over half million dollars in investigation and grand jury time on something that has overtones of a witch hunt."

"Findley." Jamie said.

"What are you hearing?" Charlene said with apprehension in her voice.

"Only that Colleen was on a witch hunt to hang everyone in the slaughterhouse movement. And the reason is because her sister was selected." Jamie said. "I knew she spent a lot of money on testimony and research, and that it was a grand jury witness who caught the link." Jamie continued.

"So. You can see we have a problem."

'Yes, you do." Jamie continued.

"Actually we all do. Remember that. I am going to ask you to step in and handle the prosecution on this case."

"With Colleen sitting behind me jabbing me to do it her way? I don't' think so." Jamie said.

Silence greeted this response. Continuing, Jamie said, "If this get's public, Colleen will be pilloried and possibly disbarred for prosecutorial abuse. Even in Illinois there are some limits. I don't think you would be able to run successfully for election to an outhouse, much less the governor's mansion. So, if I am going to work this trial, I don't want any hint of her personal vendetta involved."

"I am not so sure it would be that bad." Charlene said.

"I have thirteen felony trials held up for lack of resources due to her grandstanding on this. It was a mismatch of resources and you know it." Jamie continued. "She may be your ADA and my boss, but I didn't do this. This case could blow up in a heartbeat, and I don't need her help to light the fuse. And if there is ever an investigation on how resources were sucked up by this case and others were left without, the stink will reach everywhere. I don't look good in Federal Orange."

"I don't' think you have a lot of alternatives" Charlene said.

"There is always private practice. And I can make it. So either put the bitch on a leash or find someone else. And if this blows up the way it can, I would rather quit now then try to find a job after the whole prosecutor's office was laid bare with the fallout of this." Jamie said with a straight face.

"I'll see what I can do."

"In the meantime, I will look at the documents and see what kind of charges we can make if any." Jamie said.

"I think Colleen had a pretty strong playbook planned." Charlene said.

"We'll see. I want to look at the facts in evidence first." Jamie said. "Then we will talk about any sort of prosecution strategy."

-------

Tactics, Strategy and Opening Salvos

The first rule of prosecution in state and federal law is to find a bargain. Regardless of what you feel the suspect is guilty of, you are more concerned with what you can prove and how you can prove it. The goal is to get the suspect off the street and set the stage for a finding under the law.

Having the suspect admit to guilt is the easy way. Then all you have to do is get the agreement validated by the judge and close the case out. This is called getting a person to cop a plea. It works best with people who are looking for an easy way out or who don't have enough money for a good lawyer. That was not the case here.

If you can't get the Suspect to confess, you have to find a witness to motivate to testify. Guilty people are easily motivated and easily managed. Honest people less so.

Witnesses have different motivations. Ego, Spite, Revenge, and fear are some of the best ones. Fear of personal consequences is the one most often used as a fall back. The "We will go lighter on you if you help us with this" gambit. This also works with people who are impoverished, easily intimidated or not given good legal advice.

And if your case for conviction is weak, you add a Conspiracy charge to the mix to make sure that even if the suspect did nothing directly wrong, you can hope to present enough evidence to convince the jury that they were doing what they were doing while conspiring to do something. This was always a favorite, especially at the federal level.

The rule is that prosecutors aim for the moon and hope to get among the stars.

This all assumes you don't have a competent defense lawyer ahead of you. Or it assumes that the suspect does not have enough money to mount an effective defense. And one of your tricks there is to assume that the money was earned illegally, so you can freeze the funds. That keeps most paid lawyers away. That didn't work here.

Legal prosecution depends on working best in a public vacuum. You spend the time preparing the case and then spring it on the suspect in hopes of starting with them on the defensive. (That is why lawyers are called Prosecutors or Defense Attorneys). This does not always work.

Every member of the Findley team that Colleen subpoenaed had called Carol Black. Carol had spent hours with them preparing them for testimony and giving them an overview of the types of questions that would be asked. For the State and Federal Employees, Carol provided help to them to reach out to their departments and get other legal advise to protect them and their agencies.

From the questions, and the background given about Findley's operations, Jamie shook her head at the case she had. And finally distilled her chances of a successful prosecution down to three small and very slight hopes. Only one of which she really thought anyone would pay attention to.

The real worry was the fact that Findley was able to demand a Jury trial. Playing the publicity card could work in either direction, depending on how publicity went. Controlling the press and the flow of information was as important as the rule of law in this case.

On March first, Warrants were issued for the arrest of David and Margaret Findley, Jack and Helen Stienhauer, and Carol Black and Nancy Everett on the charges of violation of the Illinois statute on Slavery under the PCA.

Additional charges were listed for two thousand individual cases of violation of civil rights under the state equal opportunity act.

Additional warrants were executed for Conspiracy to violate the slavery act to each of the goats working at Findley, and F&S.

As normal, the prosecution charged that all monies and income was based on violations of the law and thus were ill gotten gains. Thus they filed for a request that all assets be held in escrow pending the trial outcome.

Additionally, Colleen McNair personally filed formal deposition with the State Bar Association to review the behaviors of Carol Black and to have her disbarred. As the Assistant States Attorney, this was taken seriously, and in response to this, Carol's license was suspended.

Having the balls to charge Carol Black with conspiracy and work to have her disbarred was Colleen's idea to deflate the defense resources. She felt that Carol would be more amenable to settlement. After all, Carol was a prosecutor. She knew how the game was played.

-------

Reaction 1

And play it she did. Carol's first contact was with the meat cutter's union to remind them that each and every member of the goat staff was a member of the Union in good standing and that dues and salaries were paid throughout the time of service. This was a courtesy call among friends, an as such not actionable and it was outside of the controls that the Bar Association had.

The teamsters responded with enough paper and legal help for their membership that even Jamie was surprised. Sensing that there was something that needed to be done quickly, she set up a call with Charlene over case strategy. And to pave the way for her departure if Colleen continued to act in a way that affected her case.

"The Teamsters are coming after this with everything they have. These guys don't usually go after defending the rank and file except about contract stuff, but so far I have gotten paper from Schmidt and Holloway, and Heinz and Maguire, and a call from the state political party chairs of both sides. The feds were nosing about offering to add assistance, but then they left town like scalded dogs. I think that politically this got escalated pretty quickly." Jamie said, after the opening greetings were exchanged.

"I know. The Governor had me in for a short talk to review the budget spent on this prosecution this morning." Charlene said "And she was upset when she was asking if this was a good use of prosecutorial assets. I think you were right. See if we can get a plea from someone on this." Charlene said. "I'll reach out to Carol and ask her if dropping the charges for her will mollify this a little."

That phone call did not go as Charlene hoped.

"Hello Charlene. Call to talk settlement with me already?" Carol said.

"Now Carol, I think that would be premature." Charlene said in response.

"Don't you want to hear my offer? A good start would be jumping into a time machine and going back to before that stupid bitch filed a formal bar association complaint. But since we can't do that, I will settle for Colleen's head on a platter, a letter of apology and dropping all charges."

"Carol, that is pretty outrageous even for you." Charlene said.

"Ok. I don't want her head on a platter. Those days are over. Everything else stays the same."

"You always did have a sense of humor," Charlene said with a laugh. "Seriously, Carol, what would be accepted at this time?"

"Charlene, it is hard to get federal agencies to investigate prosecution misconduct. But for civil rights violations, conspiracy and government abuse of power, I might get them interested. I'm going to be holding news conferences every day. And asking the help of every woman we were able to pull out of the system. We will see where things fall."

"Carol, you know what happens when you let your temper get ahead of you." Charlene said.

"Charlene, you were elected. I was selected. I have a different perspective."

"Carol, you know how this goes. We invest a lot of resources on some cases to prove guilt, and then we compromise. What I am looking for is the compromise."

"Charlene, I helped to mentor Colleen McNair. I know what and why she is the way she is. You know you are in trouble. So, either drop all charges and conduct a press conference throwing Colleen in the street, or tell me when is our day in court."

Charlene thought to herself that this didn't go any way like she expected. What was Carol going to pull?

-------

Wearing down the opposition

It was June first. The last few months had been brutal on David and Margaret. The prosecution convinced a succession of judges to not allow bail, saying that David and Margaret's crimes were heinous and that they posed a flight risk. The State's Attorney's office had spent almost all of it's legal and political capital on this case so far. At this time the charges had dwindled down from the initial set, but the State's attorney had remained dug in on three general sets of charges. Slavery (through inducement and extortion), Discrimination under the PCA (for filing so many exclusions for women already selected), and prostitution with aggravated rape (the implication was here that the women were confined and then offered to men as a benefit in exchange for not being killed).

The right to a speedy trail usually is something that prosecution is in favor of and defense is against. This time, the game was going in the opposite direction. Time after time, the state's attorney's office petitioned for extensions on discovery and each time a counter motion was filed to dismiss. So the Findley's and the Stienhauer' remained in separate jails in seclusion "for their own protection" for three months. Visitation was limited to attorneys and family only, but supervision was required for family.

There were three thousand individual counts of discrimination. The basis for that was the preferential treatment shown to some of the selectees, while others were terminated. Pointing to the previous management of H&S, where there were no selectees were excluded in over eight years, the prosecution was presenting the case that something was obviously wrong.

The sixty-eight individual charges of slavery gained the greatest press coverage. Commentators and editorials ran weekly bemoaning the unfair treatment of those women who had no choice besides death. All news commentators tactfully avoided the fact that the state laws in place during the time encouraged these actions.

The charge of forced prostitution and aggravated rape was based on the belief that Findley's was a house where prostitution was an income or benefit of working in otherwise substandard conditions. That charge was given for each calculated instance of fornication based on the eight women living there nightly. The calculation was that over six thousand incidents occurred.

The charges that the Prosecution was hanging it's hat onto the most was "Criminal Intent, and Conspiracy to Defraud." This was an overarching charge that was intended to convince that there was guilt, even if it could not be proven case by case. Conspiracy is at tough to prove or disprove.

The union Amicus Curie briefs caused the court to review and then throw out the charges against the goats for discrimination and actions depriving women of their rights. The entire herd had hung together long enough to get lawyers from the Union involved. Which brought the US Justice Department investigating why the Union was defending rank and file. The union held a press conference with the answer "This is what unions are about. Defending the little guy". It was pointed out that the Findley and Stienhauer legal issues were not part of the Union defense of employees, but that it did have some impact on the prosecution. And on the defense.

The prosecution reaction was skillful leaks of information and informal comparisons of the Findley staff to a Death Cult, only interested in slaughter of indiscriminate women. Every interview or "public comment" drew a comparison between all of the Findley staff and Auschwitz. Which was leaving aside the fact that discrimination was one of the basis of the case the prosecution was bringing. The whole goal was to influence the jury pool as far as possible.

The daily leaks from the prosecutor's office had become a hose of lies repeated daily in the media. The campaign was launched to turn David from a guy who tried to help people out into a monster who was responsible for the murder of thousands of women, who he felt were not "good enough" to keep alive.

Kitty's tear streaked face was in at least one news release ever week talking about the horror she felt at being alive, at her friends sacrifice, and how she was not considered good enough to substitute for her friend.

Cathy Cox was constantly countering accusations in the media and had been acting as spokesperson. For this she got an unsavory reputation and snide charges of having been exempted as a favor. Cathy found herself visited by investigators three times. There were accusations of her possible complicity in the conspiracy, and some mutterings and threats were made about charging her as well. Her reaction to that was like gasoline vapor to a lit match. The initial investigators were forced to leave under the watchful eyes of reporters. And Cathy answered all calls and e-mail with a open copy to Carol. Thus all communication was privileged. And not easily leaked.

This was the political backdrop that was surrounding the case as Sue made her weekly visit to David in the detention center.

"Mr. Findley if you could please come with me?" the young guard said. "Your lawyer is here."

"Sure. Could you please get me an appointment with the prison doctor? I can't seem to shake this cold. Don't want to be too sick to go to court." David said as he was standing up in his cell.

"Hello, David" Sue said as David came in. "Margaret says she loves you and that you have to take care of yourself. And the rest of the group sends their love"

"How is everyone?" David asked. "And what is going on?"

Sue began to update David on the circumstances.

"The charges against Carol Black have finally been dropped. The bar association review of her license has been completed and the extraordinary circumstances caused them to drop their investigation with a recommendation of no action. Carol finally got that straightened out." Sue explained. "I am sure glad that is cleared up, because I need her help"

"I am happy to hear that, finally." David said. "I depended on her to help us to keep inside of the law."

"The smartest thing you ever did was unionizing the goats." Sue said. "Even the stock management agreements were within the law. You having them all paid hourly as union scale gave them cover. And the union lawyers were great. Getting the goats out of the line of fire dropped the leverage the prosecution had against us. None of the Goats is being used as a witness under duress of prosecution."

"Carol was smart on that. Her and Marty worked on that a lot." David said.

"Not that it helps us any with your case." Sue continued.

"I know. But they are safe. And that is what counts."

"They tried to hammer on Candy with separate charges. They were hoping that they could scare her with conspiracy charges. They felt they could go for the two youngest. But Cindy was too hot to handle politically, so they thought Candy was the weak link and would provide them testimony that you had used the selection exemption for building your own personal harem. I have to tell you, she is one very tough and cool kid. I sat with her in interrogation for over an hour and she never broke a sweat. And never lost her temper."

"Where are they all now?" David asked.

"Joe De Fortes had a small apartment building that was undergoing renovation. It had six walkup apartments with rear parking. Two bedrooms, two and a half bath units on the lower side of Chicago. Kim, Candy, Vicky, Nancy, Cindy and Melanie filled it up. Joe said it was great having beautiful women there. Upgraded the neighborhood."

"And everyone else?"

"Everyone else pretty much went back to their old life. Carol and Jim are doing well. Carla and Juan send their love and support. They work the research with us every weekend. With Candy setting the lead, and the union lawyer stepping up the way that they did, the charges of conspiracy and willful murder all of the goats were thrown out. I don't think anyone on the state level can deal with the Teamsters on this."

"So. What about us?" David asked.

"Well, we have a wrinkle that came up that I think can be leveraged. Candy found out from Marty Robinson that Sarah Blair was Colleen's younger sister. Now Charlene was smart enough to pull her out of the case, but too late to say she didn't have any influence on the development of the charges. We are going to petition the court to have the case reviewed as prosecutorial misconduct. If that won't work, we have some other angles being pursued."

"Really? I should have known that someone's older sister would come back to haunt us." David said. "So what does the lead prosecutor have to say to you these days?"

"Jamie is being coy about what she wants here. I think she knows she has a rotten hand and that any serious investigation will blow things up. But I also think she has to figure out how to save face. FOIA indicates that the grand jury cost the state half a million alone, and that the rest of this is going to cost a lot more. They don't want a misconduct to open a lawsuit that will wreck the budget. Plus there are criminal penalties for misconduct." Sue said.

"Sue. What's our biggest challenge?" David asked.

"David, even if they throw most of this out, now that Carol's mess was cleaned up, there is a lot to deal with. The public perception is that you don't have this much smoke without a fire somewhere." Susan said

"Well, then, find some sort of plea that gets Jack and Susan out of this along with Margaret. That is the first order of business."

"David, I got some marching orders from one of your Goats. Her orders to me were to bring you home. Or she will." Sue said.

"That had to be Candy." David said with a laugh. "Well do what you can. Get Margaret out of this any way you can. That is the main thing to me. Everyone else is safe, now I just have to do the same for her."

Thinking back on her conversation with Candy, and Vicky, Sue was not so sure that would be acceptable. By any of them.

-------

Working for a Living

In the meantime, Candy was sitting down on her lunch break of Pasta Verde with her friend Cindy and her boss George Ortiz.

"George, I have to tell you, this new pasta formula is great. This stuff is light and it no heavy feeling when you eat it."

"Glad you like it. You know, since you came here, the whole kitchen and staff has been happy as hell. You sure you don't have a graduate degree in restaurant management?" George said.

"She has management skills, all right. And you haven't seen her best ones." Cindy said with a smile.

"Cinderella, don't be spreading stories about me." Candy said.

"I'm not. Just telling the truth." Cindy said with a fork headed to her mouth.

"I got to tell you, I was skeptical when Joe told me to bring you in as a manager. That first night I was watching and you move people around like you were doing it for years. And you saw things I never did. And I own this place." George added.

"Thanks. I have to tell you this is a real challenge. I enjoy it and don't want to mess up." Candy said.

"It shows. Everyone here thinks you are top drawer. You have one hell of a lot of future in the restaurant business. Did you ever think of being in the business as a career?"

"Actually, George, I am working on being pre med. Feeding people is wonderful but I want to work with them too. You know, Orthopedic or Neurology. Fix peoples breaks and pains?"

"Well, I got to tell you, what ever you set your mind to do, I am sure you will."

At nine o clock, when everyone had left and the kitchen was being cleaned, Candy and Cindy sat down with Sue and Carol to a late night dinner of the new pasta with crème sauce, a decent white wine and fresh bruschetta.

"Ok, law dogs, speak." Candy said, pouring wine into everyone's glass.

"Don't you like how she so carefully and politically works her way around to a subject?" Sue said with a smile.

"Sue, I have known this kid long enough to know that she prefers two by four therapy to sweet talk. Except in bed. James misses you by the way." Carol said with a smile.

Blushing, Candy swirled the wine around in her glass for a moment before answering. "Tell him I'm sorry, but with work and everything else, my schedule has been a zoo."

"We know. How are the studies coming?" Carol said, feeling she had changed the subject. "And how is Vicky?"

"Carol, you're not as good as Helen or Elaine. Quit trying to change the subject. Sue. How is David and how is Margaret?" Candy said, smiling.

"David is a little sick. We are petitioning to have a better medical treatment but we are being given the run around. Seems that they don't want to transfer him to a hospital." Sue said.

Looking at Candy's face, Carol quickly added, "This is just a formality, kid. They can't keep him there for long. The rules apply to everyone."

"I hope so. After all they did for us, they don't deserve this." Candy said quietly. "You know that David left me in charge of the building and his house when he and Margaret went to Florida?"

"We know, kid. The rest of us had other things and you were stuck with it." Carol said.

"I never felt stuck with any of that. I go over to their house every day to check on things and make sure that the lawn is kept. No one has broken into the house yet. The police have the plant boarded up and covered with all kinds of warning signs. That reminds me, I have David's drivers license renewal at home. What should I do with that?"

"Don't worry too much about that. If I can get him out in less then ten years we will be lucky" Sue said, being discouraged.

"That isn't fair." Cindy said. "Of all the people in this mess, David was the one who tried to make a difference. It's not fair."

"We know. But you have to move on. Candy, you are doing a hell of a good job here." Carol continued. "And we know your studies are going well. Abby says you are on top of your class. You still thinking of Pre Med?"

"I think so. Give back for what I have taken away. Heal people instead of killing them. Vicky said I am being a fool for thinking that. Actually she said something different." Candy said with a smile.

"No one ever thought you were being silly or dumb." Carol said.

"Anyway. Sue, I don't know what I can do to help with the case. But let me know what we can do if there is ever a break for them. We owe them." Candy said.

Looking at the cool grey eyes of the young woman across from her, Sue thought back to what Carol and her had talked about. "I promise we will. And we will find a way."

-------

Egos in the lead

At the same time, in Springfield, a very angry Jamie Peterson was meeting with Charlene Davis in her office. The reason for her anger was Colleen McNair being in the same office at the same time.

"I didn't' think you had the chops to go into a difficult murder case. I figured you would be better off kept with white collar crime and finance." Colleen said.

"Colleen, this vendetta of yours has gone on long enough." Jamie said. "You going after Carol was spite and we are paying for it."

"She violated her oath as an officer of the court" Colleen said.

"And you violated your oath of office." Jamie said.

"Not in my eyes. These people have to pay for what they did to the women in Illinois."

"Both of you sit down. Colleen, I removed you from this case because you are too emotional about it and because of the conflict of interest. I told you to stay away and your little trick with the Bar Association didn't help us any. I think we could have bargained with Carol if you hadn't made it personal." Charlene said.

"They killed my sister. They killed her and sent her to a goddamn ASPCA dinner as a centerpiece." Colleen said. "I saw her on a spit cooking when I came into the benefit dinner."

Charlene sank back into her chair at that outburst. "It may be the facts, but it was a legal action at the time, and there is nothing we can do prove anything was out of order."

"How can you say that? If anyone had a social excuse it would have been Sarah. You knew her. How can you say that these people deserve to get away?" Colleen said

"Colleen, You better not say that or anything like that or our entire case will look like what it is. Prosecutorial excess. We won't be able to convict on a parking ticked if that comes out." Jamie said.

"You just don't have the chops to go to court on this." Colleen said.

"Actually, I do, if I believed in the case. But frankly I don't. Everything I have seen in evidence points to clear and outrageously ethical conduct. I don't think that the Slavery law will stick. The only conspiracy was to evade the PCA any way they could on a case by case basis."

"So we charge them with that." Colleen said.

"You mean we charge them with not exempting your sister. When they had no responsibility to do so." Jamie said with venom.

"No. We charge them with unfair treatment under the law. It isn't the termination that is the crime. It is the capricious exemptions that are." Colleen said.

Sitting in shock Jamie returned a confused look. "What?"

"Look. The core of this case is that someone selectively applied extensions to some women while killing others. We need to prove prejudice in business as applied to the law. That's all we have to do." Colleen said. "That's your opening argument."

"I can't believe you are saying that."

"Look. Every day the press is saying that Findley was a monster that picked who lived and who died. They admit it. Their defense is that they provided every loophole to anyone they could. We simply prove that they were selective about how they did it."

"That's it. I quit. Charlene, I will leave my credentials here. I don't need to clean out my desk." Jamie said. "I don't intend to go down with this mess."

"Settle down. Neither of you has the holy ground on this." Charlene said, attempting to gain some control.

"The difference is, I don't have to stay here. I don't need political deference to stay out of the stew pot any more, and private practice is looking awful good." Jamie said. "As my father used to say, Alpha Mike Foxtrot. Adios Mother fuckers."

"Jamie, remember you are covered by confidentiality agreements. And you cant' say a word about strategy or anything else about the case." Colleen said.

"Unless subpoenaed by the defense. And then I will answer any question truthfully." Jamie said. "You can't order me to commit perjury. And if you do, I will have to attest to it. Charlene, don't bother sending anything home. Like I said, I already cleaned out the desk.'

This day had turned into more shit, Charlene thought to herself as she watched her lead prosecutor walk out the door.

"Good riddance. The woman didn't have the chops to do this case anyway." Colleen said.

"Neither do you. I will have to do this myself I guess. In any case the responsibility will stop with me." Charlene said, shaking her head.

-------

Plan B

Later in the evening, George sat in a corner table with Candy. Leaning over the table and looking around, he whispered carefully to her.

"Candy, your friends the Findlay's, this situation not looking so good for them. I got to tell you, after talking with you and the others, I think this is a rap."

"George, I have to tell you. We did a nasty thing to people and we did it the nicest way we could. It was the system, and they encouraged us to do whatever we could. If there were a way I could get them out of here with new names, I would do it." Candy said.

"Well, you know, we could do maybe something like that. They would have to be Canadian, though" George said.

"You mean smuggle them to Canada?" Candy asked.

"More like make Canada come to them. United States documents are too hard to forge any more. But we could get some Canadian ones and give them new Canadian identities."

"George, How would that work?."

"I have a guy that knows a guy that knows some people. Good people. And it won't cost much, as much as you guys thumbed your noses at the law."

"George, I would never want to put you at risk. But if there is some way I could talk with them to help, I would do it in a heartbeat."

"Don't worry. Think of it as a favor in return for what you do here. You really are doing a hell of a job." George said.

Candy continued, "We have to figure how to move money. That is the hard part. How do liquidate funds and have them disappear."

"Leave that to old Papa George. I know how to make dollars come and go. Just watch."



-------

Chapter 40



Public Response

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Tonight, we have on our show one of the most notorious women in Chicago. Called the "Princess of Death" by Grace Miller, and identified by the Illinois prosecutors office as "the most misguided member of the Findley Cult", I would like to welcome Candy Mitchell. And with her this evening is Robert Mitchell of the Illinois Justice Project. Now Candy and Robert, for our viewers, you are not related?" Chelsea Winters said in her opening of the evening edition of Chicago Today.

"No, Chelsea. We are not. But I might change my name with all the notoriety around here" Candy replied with a laugh." Although the prosecutor's office and some other media have been calling me something else." Candy said.

"So, Candy, do you feel that you have been unfairly described in the media?" Chelsea asked.

"I think that calling me a calloused and sadistic murderer is unfair. I think Colleen McNair is a very unhappy woman and has overstepped the bounds of her office with what she has done. I feel that her personal persecution of me and others shows that there is abuse of the system for her personal satisfaction, and that only good legal help has kept me from being imprisoned for obeying the law." Candy said.

"Now, Robert, is the Illinois Justice Project involved this.?" Chelsea asked.

"Not directly. Actually we are investigating prosecutorial abuse regarding a lot of issues in the office today, but this is probably the most interesting. I approached this with an open mind and I was convinced here several months ago that Findley was peculiar but within the law at the time. Waging retroactive prosecution in criminal court is not a good use of the legal process."

"So what do you have to say about the accusation of enforced slavery with respect to the charges we are seeing?" Chelsea continued.

"Robert, you are the lawyer. I will give my own impression later." Candy said.

"Chelsea, the Slavery Statutes were brought about two and a half years ago after the involuntary termination of Meredith Williams of USN. Her termination on broadcast television as a part of the educational program that was done by Merle Hill at H&S Meats caused a major uproar. That and other substitution for pay incidents forced legislation of the Fair Selection Act under the Illinois operation of the Population control Act. Oddly enough, one of the co-authors and researchers of that bill was one of the people who was selected and sent to H&S last year. That is Carol Black."

"Really? Isn't that a coincidence that she was later picked? Carol was your workmate and she is your lawyer, isn't she Candy?" Chelsea asked.

"Yes. She was selected and reported the same day that I did. We were all pulled out by David Findley for business purposes at the same day." Candy said.

"What do you mean when you say you were pulled for business purposes?" Chelsea asked.

"There were four of us pulled out by Margaret and David. All of us were supposed to go to H&S that day, and we were sent instead to Findley because of the health department closing down H&S. It was Margaret's first day at the business, and she and David had talked over doing a different model from other slaughterhouses."

"So what happened?" Chelsea asked.

"There were four of us initially. I was there as a volunteer replacement for my mother. Carol was there, Elizabeth Carter a friend of hers who was a Marketing VP at UMC Financial, Nancy Abbot, professor of women's studies at U of Chicago and me." Candy said.

"Wow. That is some pretty high-powered company, Candy. How did you get mapped into that?" Chelsea asked.

"Margaret pulled me aside as well as another volunteer to talk with us about why we were there and what we wanted and why. My friend Stacy was the other volunteer, and she was found to be pregnant. Secondary screening found out she had a boy, so she was sent home to family services."

"Chelsea, I want to point out something. Findley had the highest percentage of Male pregnancy exclusions in the history of the PCA anywhere." Robert said. "No one else in the country ever provided the level of screening, intake processing and exclusion that Findley did."

"We had all heard that from the blogs and press, Robert." Chelsea said. "What I want to know is what happened next. I want Candy's story"

"Well, there isn't much to it. The four of us were part of a string of eight women being terminated at the end of the day. We entered the service area first and Margaret had us stand aside while she brought the other four women through and terminated them one at a time."

"Margaret Findley did this?" Chelsea asked.

"Yes. Then she slid them down to the butcher tables and set them up for carving. While she was doing that, she told David to take us up to the break room for Pizza and she would be there in a little while." Candy said.

Chelsea looked at Candy in shock. "What happened next?"

"Well, Carol went into dry heaves. Nancy feinted. Liz looked at Margaret and said she was a cold-blooded bitch. I asked if I could stay and help." Candy said in a calm monotone.

Chelsea was now thoroughly stunned. Robert was smiling at the other seat next to Candy, as he had heard this story before.

"What is important to realize, Chelsea, is that all of these women had been legally selected and had legally reported. They were in actual fact beyond the guidelines and governances of the Slavery amendment to the PCA in Illinois. There were no rules regarding their treatment at this point." Robert said. "They were surrendered to the butcher as being already legally dead. How they were to be terminated was not covered under any of the statutes." Robert continued.

"Actually, there were some rules regarding us." Candy said. "We were facility limited. We could not leave the property. We were marked as any individual in confinement was. And we were a community at risk." Candy explained.

"Now that is not legally clear." Robert replied, getting agitated." Nor has that been established by case law."

"In our case, I believe that we were. If any of us had violated the constraints of the situation, we all would have been removed. Which would have meant that we would have been terminated. The first weekend there, I had to confine one woman who was taking about having unauthorized company. The alarm would have brought the police who would have removed us pending management presence. And we would have been spiked at City Hall." Candy said.

"That is not normally the community at risk. You cannot be at risk unless you would be placed in violation of the law." Robert continued.

"I think that will be established in court." Candy said.

"Moving along, Candy, I have a question. What happened then?" Chelsea asked.

"Carol, Elizabeth and Nancy went with David, and I helped carve up Jane, Caroline and Stephanie. After that, I helped clean up the floors and came out for dinner. That was when Marty Robinson said that if I was going to be working in the process area I had to be unionized with respect to the contract". Candy said.

"And this is the real interesting part of all of this, Chelsea" Robert said. "All of the women who worked at Findley as part of the process plant were paid union employees. All were governed by conflicting rules of the PCA and the union contracts. The Union shop rules were the only issue of forced membership. Everything else is voluntary."

"You mean voluntary if you wanted to stay alive." Chelsea said.

"Yes" Candy said. "You had to make a decision to contribute to the business. And you had to kill people as part of that contribution. Or help them get ready to die." Candy said calmly. "It sucked but it was what it was."

"Candy, How were you able to do that?" Chelsea asked.

"I had grown up on one of the last farms to be able to raise livestock in Tennessee and had worked slaughtering animals for a long time. My uncle was always very respectful of the animals he slaughtered, and I guess I could see how it applied to humans. Margaret was extremely warm and consoling to the women we serviced, and I wanted to be that way too." Candy said.

"Now, how can you be warm and consoling to people in a slaughterhouse?" Chelsea asked.

"Chelsea, Did you have any friends sent to us?" Candy asked.

"Yes. And we heard all about the intake and settlement questionnaire before they were terminated. But what I want to know is how can you be warm to someone you are going to turn into a steak?" Chelsea asked.

"Is this the part of the interview where you ask embarrassing questions and try to put me on the spot?" Candy said with a smile. "Chelsea, you are a woman. Do you want to be ordered around and pushed with a club or a shock stick?"

"No" Chelsea responded, smiling.

"And do you want to face death surrounded by strangers who have no concern over your feelings or how you are treated?" Candy continued.

"Not hardly" Chelsea answered "but"

"Excuse me. One last question." Candy interrupted." Do you think that anyone not in the position of being selected could understand what you were going through? Your worries and your needs as a woman?" Candy asked.

"No. I guess not. And that was what I am getting at. Do you really know what a woman was thinking?" Chelsea asked.

"Chelsea, every woman who worked at Findley's went through the entire standard process experience up to the point of being terminated. All of us were interviewed and had consulting with respect to end of life matters. We were given our choices of how to die, and we were processed. We had our documents filled out, we had our medical workups done and we were stripped and marched into the slaughter room. All of us really didn't know what to expect when we went through that door. Often we were stunned, hung upside down and when we recovered we were let down and further interviewed. Everyone experienced everything short of having our throat slit or our head cut off." Candy said calmly.

"Really?" Chelsea asked. "And how did you determine who you killed and who you kept around?"

"The interview process. We picked out everyone who we felt we could pull out of the stream and either exclude or have work with us. We talked it over amongst our selves, and if a case could be made to exclude we started on day one. David and Margaret only picked the first 5 or so. We picked everyone else as a team. David and Margaret gave us their input, but we picked the women we worked with and lived with." Candy said.

Robert spoke up at this point. "You mean that the selection of who stayed and who could not was not David's?"

"No. David had to confirm our choices. He was the responsible licensee, but he didn't pick. Except for the first three, Carol, Elizabeth and Nancy. Margaret picked me out of curiosity more then anything. Helen was supposed to be like Carol, Elizabeth and Nancy. David picked them for a short-term business plan setup. They agreed to that. The initial deal was a fantasy termination for the four of them. But we kept delaying them because of the workload. I was the first to be a Union card butcher and lead." Candy said.

"So you really as a community selected who you thought you could save? And who you would want to be with?" Robert said.

"Like I said. We were a Community at Risk." Candy said. "At least, that is what my lawyers have all said. Not just Carol."

"So, Candy, you still haven't explained how you knew what a woman was thinking." Chelsea said.

"If a woman was going to be a interviewer, she had to be able to answer simple questions. Is it going to be painful? Am I going to be abused? Is this going to hurt? You can't answer that honestly if you have not had almost all of the experience." Candy answered. "You ask a doctor about pain or surgery, and they don't know. We knew exactly what the experience was, except for the last sixty seconds, because we had been through it. And we had lead women through it."

"How many?" Chelsea asked.

"This is where people start to look at me funny. Chelsea, I terminated an average of over thirty a day, three days a week, for fifteen weeks. Over fourteen hundred women." Candy answered.

The close up of Chelsea's face showed pure shock. She involuntarily moved away from Candy while remaining in her seat. "Fourteen hundred?" She asked.

"And as operations manager, I was responsible for five thousand that I didn't kill personally. Including Assistant State's Attorney Colleen McNair's sister, Sarah Blair." Candy continued. "Which is why I believe that this entire investigation was started in the first place."

Robert was stunned. Candy had dropped the bomb and directly accused the State's attorney's office of malicious abuse. He had not intended to announce this yet. "Candy, That is a serious accusation." He said.

Chelsea was also shocked. This looked like a real story bubbling up. "Do you think that is the reason for the investigation?" She asked.

"Chelsea, you had David and Carol on your show a few months ago. Carol was one of the people in residence. Did she look like she was enslaved to you? Do you think she violated the rules of professional ethics?" Candy asked with some emotion." Colleen is pissed because her little stubborn sister was not excluded like the other thousand women we excluded. And the reason we could not do it was her own stubborn attitude."

"Robert, What do you know about this that we can tell our viewers?" Chelsea asked.

Smiling ruefully, Robert looked at Candy and shook his head. You would kick over that hornet nest now, he thought to himself.

"Chelsea, after reviewing a lot of the facts in evidence, it would appear that the prosecution has gone after Findley for reasons that are not apparent in existing or pre order law. It has been an extraordinary expensive undertaking and it has yielded no sign of real prosecutorial justification. I believe that there is evidence of malice in this prosecution and we are looking to continue our investigation." Robert replied.

All concerns about Candy's past profession forgotten, Chelsea moved back toward her and asked "What exactly do you think is happening?"

Candy responded. "Colleen's sister Sarah Blair came to our offices along with a friend of hers who had volunteered for her. Kitty, the one you keep seeing in the news. Kitty had bollixed up a volunteer status for her friend. They came to our offices to report and we netted them in intake. Carol, Helen, Nancy and I all did separate intakes on them both. Sarah had a lot of social value and we were going to make her a project and return her to the general population. Kitty did not have the social value, but we took advantage of the PCA to deny her substitution. And to have a 5 year permanent rejection letter filed. Sarah was happy we did that and came back two days later."

"You sent women home?" Chelsea said.

"If you reported before your due date, we went through intake with you. Helped get things in order and processed the questionnaire. Sarah showed up along with Kitty and both of them were fighting before their due date. We straightened it out and sent them both home, with Sarah to report back on her last day."

"And Chelsea, this is one of the important things. Except for Findley, there were no questionnaires, there was no screening, no support at all. Findley worked with the Selection Board and the PCB and found social, legal and other exclusions on over a thousand women. And found over three hundred male children in vitro." Robert said.

"So, if Findley was so good, why are they in jail?" Chelsea asked.

"I'll give you my opinion. Sarah Blair reported on her due date. We talked with her because we wanted to work with her to return her to society, but she had to work with us while we worked for her. She would not do that. She felt it was unethical, and that she hated what we did and would not cooperate with us. Her attitude was poisonous to us and so we terminated her. She was a victim of her own vision of integrity. And if she had worked with us for a few days we would have been able to return her to society. Instead we terminated her. And sold her to the ASPCA who had her as a centerpiece at a banquet. Which is where sister Colleen saw her." Candy said.

Holding her hand over her mouth, Chelsea worked to suppress a laugh.

"And Chelsea, the facts in evidence do seem to bear this out. We have had one assigned attorney resign and move away over this issue. She is unavailable for our questions and we have been blocked from the transcripts of the Grand Jury investigation so far. Our investigative team has had no cooperation from the Attorney General on this." Robert said.

"So you are saying that there is a lot of smoke but no fire?" Chelsea said.

"I am saying that this attorney generals office has been extremely slow and reluctant to reply to our requests for information. This sort of behavior usually occurs when they are trying to make a case where they have little or no evidence." Robert replied.

"So, now what is going to happen?" Chelsea asked.

"Well, Trial date has been finally set. David is going to be getting medical treatment for the illness he has contracted while being imprisoned. And the judge named on this case is one of the finest in the state. So I expect that the trial will be relatively short and concise, once all of the real facts are presented in evidence."

"And we are also going to be going around the roadblocks that the State has put up." Candy said. "You know, one thing I have learned form this is that we are all interconnected. There was an experiment a long time ago and a book I read called the six degrees of separation. We are all interconnected."

-------

Degrees of Separation a week later

Jamie was no longer upset about the subpoena. Looking across the breakfast table at the calm grey-eyed blond, she had to suppress a laugh. Jamie had seen the films of Candy and her testimony several times and was impressed with her.

Thinking back on how the scene at the gym played out, Jamie could not help but smile. In plain view of both the Casio security, a security camera and a group of women, Candy had walked in, dressed for a workout and calmly reached into her gym bag next to her water bottle and brought out the blue covered document. As well as a round trip airline ticket from Vegas to Chicago booked with an open return.

"See? I didn't want to cause any financial hardship. We can even arrange a hotel if you like." Candy had said in front of the camera. "And if you like, when we are finished exercising, we can get some breakfast. Exercise always makes me hungry."

Recovering from her shock, Jamie shoved the subpoena into her bag and followed the young woman into the gym for her workout. Forty five sweaty minutes later, she took a break and look at Candy single mindedly running at high speed up hill on the exercise trainer and shook her head. "Hell, I might as well join her for breakfast."

Which was how Jamie was sitting at the Casino eating breakfast with the most famous killer in the history of Chicago. And despite that reputation, Jamie felt strangely comfortable.

"So, how did you find me?" Jamie asked.

"Reciprocity of bar association membership combined with you graduating from UNLV. Finding the casino for your "Vacation" was a little harder. Getting a room here was the real challenge. Had to pull a few strings through the restaurant to do that." Candy said.

"I see. How long have you been here?" Jamie asked.

"Couple of days. I think our service is coming, pick something nice to eat." Candy said turning to the aisle

"Ms. Mitchell. It is good to see you in my restaurant." The manager said standing at the end of the table. "I don't think we can do pasta for breakfast, but I am sure we can do something with that wonderful spiced peppers and onions recipe you had for us. Carmine absolutely loves the recipe and it is our best recommendation. Excuse me, I am Philippe Morgan, the manager here."

"Philippe, you honor me with your presence." Candy said. "We really enjoyed you and your father when you came to Chicago. Please, surprise me. My friend Jamie here likes her food a little sweet and sour, so I would recommend that excellent side sweet chili salsa you made for us." Candy said. "And Coffee for us both, I believe she takes hers sweet only."

"We will be right with you. And enjoy your meal.' Philippe said.

Jamie sat in silence waiting for Candy to break open the conversation, but found her coffee and sweet rolls appeared almost immediately after Philippe left.

Jamie was now totally surprised. "Ok. I'm impressed. How?"

"Jamie, we have over a thousand women who were exempted one way or another from the PCA thanks to David and Carol. And over ten thousand families who know that their daughters, sisters, mothers and loved ones were treated with respect and dignity. You think we weren't going to leverage that wide a intelligence network when we needed it?" Candy said with a smile that did not quite reach her eyes. "Especially after the ham handed way that Colleen went about trying to set up a case. All of this could have been spared months ago if Colleen would just have sat and talked with us."

"I can't comment on the case." Jamie said.

"I know that you can't do that here and now. I respect that. But you will have to in a few days. Unless you want Thelma Watson to issue a bench warrant. Which won't sit well with the Bar Association here in Nevada. Might make getting settled here as an attorney a little difficult. But you know that. In the meantime, are there any questions you would like to ask the most notorious killer in the history of Illinois?" Candy asked. "I believe Grace Miller called me a Princess of Death."

Jamie sat back and shook her head at that. "How many did you kill?"

"One thousand six hundred and forty-three. And I was responsible for all of them terminated at Findley from two weeks after I walked in the door." Candy said calmly. "That is probably another five or so thousand. It was Margaret that taught me how. Want to know how it happened?"

Nodding her head, Jamie sat and for the next hour listened to the most unusual story she had ever heard in her life.

"So. For all of us it was a choice. Every one of us knew what the job was. Including Sarah Blair. She was a candidate, did you know? Carol wanted to make her one of her release projects." Candy said, drinking her juice.

"I didn't know that." Jamie said, shocked. "How so?"

"She had social value written all over her ass. Carol was on a real mission to get as many social exemptions as we could. David jacked up the system to get more collars and later to get us able to write a one or two week extension on women while waiting for the court to exempt, but at the time we could only do that if we had a woman collared. We caught Sarah when she kicked up a fuss over Kitty trying to substitute for her. David and Carol straightened out the botched substitution for Kitty and we would have been able to exclude Sarah as well for her work with children if she would have just gone along with the program for a week." Candy said.

"None of this ever came out at the Grand Jury." Jamie said.

"Nope. Margaret walked Sarah down herself and kept asking her every step of the way to work with us to work with her. But the uncompromising bitch would not listen to us. Cindy cut her. And talked with her the whole time she bled out. We remember she was worried about a cat named Max. Kitty told us later that she had him and that he was ok."

"How do you remember this?" Jamie asked.

"Jamie, Marie Stephens sent you her belongings and apologized for not being able to be around for your birthday. I helped her box them up. Sandra McPherson sent your mother her box and named you as contact on her questionnaire for taking over her apartment. Helen worked with her. I remember every one of them. We took notes so no one forgot. Helen said it was our way of making sure they were not forgotten. At least by us. And we all knew if we didn't do it, nobody would."

Jamie sat stunned in silence for a few moments. "I didn't know."

"Jamie, we were there because of the system. I am a living scar for what I chose to do rather then die. I doubt anyone will want a serious relationship with me, and I will have a up hill battle in any profession I am in because of these silly news papers and media reports. But I am alive. And I never hurt anyone. I killed them, but they didn't' suffer. " Candy said.

"That sounds almost like a rehearsed speech." Jamie said.

"It is. I tell myself that every night. So I can wake up in the morning. Otherwise I would not want to. Helen, the one Merle killed, spent a lot of time talking with us before she was killed. She was worried that I would either crack up or become a total sociopath. She spent a lot of time with Cindy and me, trying to keep things in focus. I think she was more worried about us then the others. We grew up a lot in six months. A lot more then we would have any other way." Candy said quietly.

"I don't know how I feel about this. Marie was my best friend. Sandra was almost a sister." Starting to cry, Jamie continued. "When I got the box from Marie I cried for hours. Damn you, you made it come back."

"For me, it never leaves. I hurt you. I killed her. And I tried to not hurt her doing it. That is how it was. If you want to punish someone, punish the people who put this in place to begin with and punish all of us for going along with this thing for as long as we did." Candy said.

"And you are working for those people?" Jaime said as tears began to well up in her eyes.

Passing Jaime a napkin, Candy replied. "Yes. I worked for them to stay alive and to try to help everyone I could. There was no rabbit hole for Marie or Sandra. Or for Sarah that she would take. And we tried with each and every one. And I am working for David and Margaret now because they worked for everyone that came through that door. I will find a rabbit hole." Candy said, calmly and with no inflection.

"I know how the law was written." Jamie said. "I know how the regulations were structured. But I don't think what you did was right."

"Jamie, if there was any way around what we had to do, I would have taken it. But you don't get to pick and choose the laws you have to live with. Even if you are prosecutor." Candy said. "That is called prosecutorial abuse. And we are going to prove this starting about the day you get to court." Candy said. "I think that you quitting was the smartest thing you could ever do."

Breakfast continue with minimal conversation. Candy seemed content to eat and enjoy her food when it arrived. Jamie was lost in thought much of the time and only occasionally came out of her revere when the check and coffee finally came.

"I'll get that." Candy said.

"I guess I need to clear my schedule to go to Chicago." Jamie said. "So who else is getting these surprise packages?" Jamie asked.

"Everyone complicit in the case before the court. We are providing transportation and residence in good faith. Just like the prosecution would." Candy said.

"Carol Black. That is who is pushing this, isn't it?" Jamie asked.

"And a few others. Might even be a judge or two. The change of venue trick to Springfield didn't work, by the way. Colleen is a little upset." Candy said.

"I didn't think it would work. They are going to prove something, you know. They have too much to loose if they don't" Jamie said.

"I am not worried about the Court or the public relations stuff. I leave that to the real experts. I am just a gofer on this." Candy said. "People in corners do scary things sometimes. I am more worried about physical security outside of the trial. There are many ways to not loose a trial. Dead Defendants are not guilty, but the prosecution isn't in trouble for wasting money and time over it."



-------

Chapter 41



Early Retirement

"So, what am I going to do now?" Vicky thought to herself.

Vicky had been called into headquarters six times since the presidential order had released her from Findley's. She had been subjected to three evaluation sessions regarding her mental stability and each with a different doctor. Her Captain had called her in yet again for another talk about the situation.

"Sergeant, here is the situation" Erica Christiansen explained. "The District Attorney's office is insisting that you cannot be satisfactorily returned to duty due to the trauma of your situation at Findley's."

"Ok. So what does command think?" Vicky asked.

"Command thinks that we have three different shrinks that are convinced you are stable as hell and that I happen to agree with them. But the Command is concerned that any cases you work might be compromised by the constant bitching coming from Springfield".

Erica continued. "I frankly don't' know how you were able to keep you sanity, but I have to admit you are sane. And you are a damn good cop. So, we have some choices here."

"Ok. What are they?" Vicky asked.

"First, continued administrative leave with full pay and powers. We can play that for another few months, but budget is going to raise hell. Second, we can move you into a different division that is not associative with any cases under investigation or on patrol. I was thinking of Education and training, because you are one hell of a cop and we can put you there with no problems. Third we can retire you at sixty six and two thirds as a medically disabled in the line of duty"

"With a Laughing Academy nut sack retirement?" Vicky asked. "Hell, I won't be able to get a job in a grocery store if you drop me out for that.'

"I know. That is why I told command we weren't going to go that route. Even if the DA did suggest it."

"Why are they pushing this on me?"

"My guess? They have no traction on the case with Findley and you didn't roll over. So they think putting you as a nut can defuse your ability to be on the defense witness team." Erica said "And if you ever repeat that I will shoot you myself. Scratch that. Don't you dare tell that grey eyed bitch you live with I said that." Erica said with a shudder.

"My lips are sealed. And you really shouldn't worry about her. She is not what you think she is." Vicky said with a smile.

"I'm not so sure. Every time I think back on that situation I get a bad case of the sweats." Erica said.

"That was a different time and place. She was just doing her job that no one else wanted to and she did it better then anyone else could. You should come over to her new restaurant for dinner with me. She is doing a hell of a job with the new place."

"I heard she opened up her own place. Took over one that went belly up and is doing well. Who staked her?" Erica asked.

"Lots of folks. I got to tell you, it is tough getting reservations in the evenings and brunch on Sunday is a standing line. And that is because of the food. Hell, the board of realtors just contracted every month for a Saturday brunch, and she is looking to expand that." Vicky said with pride.

"Well, she sure turned Antonello's around. I used to gripe about the service there, but it sure got better quickly. And food quality went up the scale a lot. It's still noisy but it sure feels better."

"Our new place is a lot better. If you think it would be better for me to leave, I can. I won't take a nut-sack retirement. My attorney told me that would not be good. But I would take one for other service incurred reasons."

"I had hoped you might. I called around about this earlier and asked what would be my path of least resistance for you. We thought you might take Administrative retirement with full benefits as Lieutenant. What do you think?"

"What about rights under retirement?" Vicky asked. This was an important question. One of the things that retiring officers gain in some states (and Illinois is one of them) is a permit to carry firearms. In Illinois CDW permits are still reserved to politically connected or retired officers. With this in the mix, then there would be no question of mental stability.

"You mean your CDW? Your permit paperwork is right here. You don't have to prove you are sane, the State has to prove you are crazy."

"If I turn this deal down, you would have proof that I was crazy. Starting effective when?" Vicky asked.

"Administrative duty for two more months, retirement starting after that. Full hospitalization for you and domestic partner. If that means something." Erica continued, looking at Vicky closely. "I shouldn't pry but is this something permanent for you?"

"Boss, you take things where you find them. The male female ratio still stinks. And I know for a fact that she cares. And she has my back. I can't say or expect anything more."

"I can understand that. She sure is a tough nut. I hate to think what would happen if she ever went off the wire." Erica said.

"Boss, from the minute I met that little she wolf, she came straight at things with no hidden agenda. And if she says she is going to do something, it is done. I trusted her with my life and she took care of me. And along the way I fell in love. I don't have any worries." Vicky said. "I am thirty eight. Old enough to be her mother. And I feel like the kid sometimes."

Katherine nodded in agreement. "Well, if you take this with you and let your pet law shark look at it, and bring it back tomorrow, we can get your useless ass out of here." Erica said with a smile. "And good luck."

"So what do I do now?" Vicky said several hours later as she looked at her partner getting ready to go out the door to work.

"Well, you can come with me and bring your books and get back to studying. Tonight is Friday and we have the other girls coming tonight. So you can sit, eat, drink and goof off and then drive me home." Candy said with a smile. "And let me tell you all about my trip to Vegas."

-------

Treatment

Medicine had come a long way in the 21st century. But there were still some real challenges. New resistant bacteria were becoming common, and when you add a weakened condition to that due to stress, confinement, and a viral pneumonia, you have a recipe for a singular disaster. Singular because David Findley had been in solitary confinement for over six months. The prosecution had released a stream of "death threats" as justification for the confinement, as well as calling David a "flight risk".

After innumerable filings and hearings, a superior court judge finally signed an order that had allowed David to be transferred to a hospital instead of prison. This court order was covered as a news event by Grace Miller as another example of injustice, running another broadcast of the tearful interview that Kitty had done months ago. The constant theme was Sarah's unfair termination, while others were just let go.

"This shit is going to stop." Carol said. "It's time to get on the offensive now."

"How so?" Sue Barksdale asked. "You know that Grace's nose is so far up Colleen's ass that she is tasting her tonsils"

"Ugh. What a nasty image that is." Carol said. "Do you know how much intestine is in a woman?"

"I am sure you do, but I don't need to." Sue said. "So, how are we going to work on this little smear campaign?"

"The Chicago way. Bare knuckles and brass bats. Did Candy serve the bitch in Vegas?"

"Yes, she did. And she said she had a very good talk with the former prosecutor and that there is a lot of room for her to work with us. And we should not call her a bitch any more. She isn't on that team." Sue said with a laugh

Carol smiled. Damn girl was giving orders again. "She is coming back early? Great. What about the others?"

"We haven't been able to get to Colleen yet. I was going to ask Vicky if she wanted to take a run on that."

"Oh, that would be funny as hell. She can't dodge cops all the time." Carol said with a grin. "I wonder if Thelma would have any objections?"

"I don't know. But the Feds are back." Sue said." I got a call from a Martha Jamison. She is asking if there is a possibility of civil rights violations."

"Who is she with?" Carol asked.

"Justice Department, Public Integrity section." Sue said with a smile.

"Well, that is interesting. They aren't coming after us if they are nosing around here. What did she ask about?'

"She was coy. She was curious about why this state seems to be pursuing the only slaughterhouses that were always inside of the law."

"Thank God. Can you get an appointment?" Carol asked.

"I had a better idea. I offered to take her to dinner" Sue said with a smile.

"Oh, I know exactly the place." Carol said. "Do you think you can get in?"

"I think we have an in with the management." Sue said with a smile.

-------

Admissions

The Jail Transportation ambulance went to Chicago's Cook County from the holding cells at city courthouse with six guards assigned. The weakened and infirm man in the ambulance did not represent any credible risk, but orders were orders. And the transport had been interrupted by the Attorney General's office to delay the transport until the last possible moment.

It was a very sick David Findley that woke up and looked into the face of nurse Cathy Mendelsohn. "What are you doing here?" He said with a smile.

"Taking care of you for a change. So, will you be able to tell us if prison food is worse then hospital food?" She said with a smile.

"I don't know. But I am sure you will let me find out." David said.

"You do that pretty good" David said, after Cathy got the twelve tubes of blood.

"I have had a lot of experience. David, I will come back up to see you in a few." Cathy said.

Getting into see David had not been an easy task. The overly eager guard was emphatic, and argumentative. "Nurse, this man is to be kept isolated" Officer Casey Merriman said.

"Me No Nurse. Me manager nursing and laboratory services. And to a great extent, this is my hospital. You sit in the hall, and drink coffee, and stay out of the way, but that is all. In my hospital, I am in charge".

"Lady this man is dangerous." Casey replied.

"Lady, this man is sick, depressed and in a hospital. And I lived with him for almost four months. So I have more intimate knowledge then you do. Shut up, sit down and read a book and let me do my job." Cathy said in her best Nurse Crotchet voice as she was leaving.

"Who was that bitch?" Casey asked the admin after Cathy left.

"Our new director of medical technology. She is really good, but she is a no bullshit person. And she really knows her stuff."

"She sure seems like a tough cookie."

"Working in a slaughterhouse does that to you, I guess." The admin said.

"She was one of those?" Casey asked.

"Yep. And so is the senior resident in ER, and a few others. The assistant head of Nursing is as well. They are all great people, but they don't' have a lot patience for bull shit." Susan Packet continued. "If I was you, I would sit down and be patient. You can get real sick in a hospital if the nursing staff want you to."

-------

A political Dinner

"Liberty" was a revamped restaurant that had gone under due to lack of clientele and no real direction in the kitchen. Candy had started it after she had turned Antonelli's around and demonstrated that good management with a good cook was the key to success. The food was a departure from the traditional Italian with a mixture of new wave American and interesting synthetics. For a population that had used Human Protein for some time, it was a bold venture and one intended to help shift appetites. So far it was packed every night.

The first four times the girls had come, it was to give support to the new fledgling place. But after that, it became a habit. Candy dropped by in the banquet room frequently that was reserved every Friday for her "Girls" and it was usually twelve to twenty guests. It was a riot most nights.

Martha Jamison didn't know how Sue was able to take her to dinner to such a well-publicized place on short notice. She was impressed when she was whisked away from the front door to the rear and into a banquet room that seemed to have over a dozen people already.

'What have you gotten me into, Sue?" Martha asked.

"Nothing. We have a Friday night thing here every week. The group varies but we always seem to find friends." Sue said.

"So, what is your agenda tonight?"

"Dinner. You know? That social sharing of food that people do?" Sue said.

"Nothing about Findley, right?"

"Not a thing. I promise." Sue said. "Unless you bring it up."

Martha smiled. "So, Is Carol coming tonight?"

"No. She is tied up with her husband and Christine. There are a few other friends of mine." Sue said.

"So how would I get into interview some of these people you say would be able to contribute to the investigation?"

"Well, you could ask around. Or I could get you a list. Or you could just listen tonight."

"Why? Is this the Friday meeting of Murder Incorporated?" Martha asked.

"Just the slaughter house group. We don't usually see the meat cutters union here." Sue said.

Looking around, Martha got a queasy feeling. "You are not kidding, are you?"

It was an educational evening. Sue quietly introduced Martha around as a friend to a whole host of people who had been names on documents up until now. Abby showed up with Doug Hume and his wife. Kim and Hafie showed up with Kim's daughters. Phil and Kim had reconciled, but he still wasn't comfortable being with the Findley Crowd. So Kim came with friends every Friday.

Melanie was there with two friends of hers who had been excluded. Everyone was animated and talking about their jobs, kids and the events in their lives, When Sue and Jack Stienhauer showed up, Martha was amazed that there was not rancor or signs of enmity for the former owner. Jack joked that he was finally going to be able to kill protein that didn't' talk. The new location he had opened up with his insurance money for processing Soybeans was doing very well. And Candy was doing a lot of experimentation on new ways to present different plant and other proteins as interesting food. She was even working on a new lasagna recipe.

Martha kept her wits about her with all of these potential witnesses around her. She knew she was going to have to do a lot of disclaimer work on any investigation, but she was intrigued by the camaraderie of the women involved.

Conversation later in the evening focused on David's transfer. Abby was quizzed about how he was doing, and had to beg client patient confidentiality. She did promise to take a get well card into him, and Candy said "Hell. Bring him one of our menus. Everyone sign it. Let me know what he can eat and we will sneak in a nightly care package."

"I don't know what our dietician would think of that." Abby replied.

"Have her come here tomorrow night on the house and I will show her what we can do. Hell, send her every weekend and she can take the doggy bag home with her." Candy continued.

As the evening closed Martha drew Sue aside and asked "What exactly have you accumulated in this case with respect to your earlier comments of prosecutorial abuse?"

"Well, we haven't really bothered to advertise what we intend to do. But I can definitely give you the product of our research and efforts to defend our clients. Everyone here has signed release to allow their case work to be used as part of the defense of the remaining plaintiffs."

"Lot of solidarity, I guess." Martha said.

"That sort of goes with the experience. Every woman here felt the breeze of the scythe at the hand of the grim reaper here. And all of them knew that this merry band was the team that was trying to keep them out of the drain." Sue said. "It breezed by me."

"Really?" Martha asked. "How so?"

"I showed up at David's looking to sniff out a client. I thought I could do some trolling. I went through David's intake process and caught me when my Sister in law and my ex-husband had nominated me. If I had not been going over status check as a snooping expedition, I would have been like any of these women here. My Husband and his sister had filed a volunteer status for me."

Martha blanched at that. The idea of being shipped out behind your back was every woman's nightmare. "How often did that happen?" She asked.

"Once selection was opened up, we found more then we liked. We didn't raise any more stink about it because we didn't want to have the screws tightened on us. We had rubber stamps on most extensions while we fought for exemptions. So blaming bad process would have been counter productive. We did intakes every day and fished out over a hundred abuse or fraud cases." Sue said.

"I think" Martha said "I have heard enough. I don't want to hear too much more for fear of prejudicial accusations. But tomorrow, I am going to make a few calls."

-------

The Feds return

"Martha, why are you calling me on a Saturday?" Kelly Burns asked. "Don't you know that people in Washington don't work on Saturday?"

"Kelly, I have a question. Remember the briefs you got from the PCA advocate regarding birth statistics in Chicago?"

"Sure. They had the only information of actual fact that we were able to use to defend breaking the PCA treaty. Why?" Kelly asked

"What if I told you that the slaughterhouse that was doing that research is being actively prosecuted for violations of the PCA and the Slavery act of substitution for the PCA?"

"I would say that it was a state matter. Unless you smell something else."

"Prosecutorial abuse because of personal tragedy. The younger sister of the ADA was selected and processed by the house. And the system is pursuing the owners because they did not exclude her when they excluded others." Martha said.

"Well Chicago has always been a bare knuckles town. You know that. What is your play?"

"Kelly, I have lived here for a while. And this is a case where the DA should have ditched a long time ago. It is one of the whiplash cases we were talking about."

"Yea, we had to squash one in Texas last week. Local DA was trying for acts legal under the PCA. Is that what is happening there?"

"It sure looks like it. They are going to trial in a couple of weeks and I am late to the game, but I think it is a misconduct issue."

"You know, the new Senate Majority leader is from there. I can ring him up and ask him what he thinks." Kelly replied.

"Could you do that and give me some guidance?" Martha asked. "I don't want to piss in the punchbowl with everyone doing kumbyayah on this "After the slaughter" feel good that is going around." Martha said.

"I'll call you back after I reach his office and get some feeling for the temperature." Kelly said.

Senator Everett answered his own private line. Kelly was surprised and took a second to continue. "Senator, I am sorry to bother you today but I was wanting to ask you for a reaction to an action we are contemplating with respect to an investigation in your state regarding Prosecutorial abuse."

"Findley" Bill Everett answered.

"I can't go into the details." Kelly started.

"But I can." Bill said, cutting Kelly off. "I was going to reach out to you earlier but since this is across party lines I didn't know how receptive you would be."

"I understand Senator."

"If you want to saw the legs off that hard headed bitch in Springfield I won't be upset. In fact, I will call a press conference to support it and say that it is time to put all of this behind us."

Wow, Kelly thought. "Senator, that is a very generous offer." Kelly replied.

"Kelly, that man ran the only totally honest operation in the country. He tried to exempt every person he could and he ran the only registration and exclusion hotline there was in the Midwest out of his own pocket for three months while Springfield had it's head up it's ass. What is happening to him is prosecutorial abuse. But I can't get into interfering with prosecution in the state I represent."

"Senator, that is definitely more cooperation then we would expect. I am sure that you would not want to skew the investigation." Martha replied.

Senator Everett continued "I will go on record as saying that any investigation you conduct is in the best interest of the nation as we work to put this sad era behind us. And that we should come together to mend the issue, and not continue to work to punish those who were following the law."

"Understood." Kelly replied.

The remainder of the conversation was brief and focused on the details of any press release.

"Martha, how hungry are you?" Kelly asked when she called Martha back.

"Why?"

"Well, I floated this around here and it looks as if we won't get any political whiplash if you eat the DA alive and then trash her case." Kelly said.

"Damage Control?" Martha asked.

"No harm no foul. Find out what the hell is going on. And you don't have to be quiet."

"Got you."

-------

Cook County

The ER Chief of staff was not usually seen making rounds on Saturday morning. But she was in this case for this special patient. A brief discussion at the door was held that verified that the Chief of Staff could talk to anyone, DA be damned. Besides, Vicky was there to pull rank.

Leaving Vicky to help the officers to understand the rules inside the hospital with respect to this patient, Abby went in to wake up the latest patient.

"Good morning, lazy bones" Abby said to David. "How are you feeling?"

"Sick as a dog. I was wondering if a Strawberry shake is enough liquid to have it on my diet?" David said with a chough.

"Not sure yet. We are worried about your potassium levels right now and those seem out of whack." Abby said. "And that could be serious if we don't get it under control."

"How bad am I?" David asked.

"We are worried about the kidney and liver function. Bacterial infections these days are attacking those boys a lot more aggressively then in the past, and your diet in jail had way too much potassium and sodium. Your urine and blood tests have been pretty scary. And I don't like this fever you have."

"Well, at least the bed is more comfortable. And the scenery is a lot better." David said.

"Well, we will try to improve it. Now, I have left some orders at the nurses station for you and if you have any difficulty push this panic button. I understand that Carol and Sue will be by later."

"Well I hope I am not paying premium time for lawyers on weekends." David said with a laugh that turned into a hacking chough.

"Don't you sweat it. And I'll check in on you as often as I can." Abby said.

"Thank you." David said.

Standing in the hallway, Vicky was enjoying the impact of the new butter bar on her collar. "Officer, you will instruct your relief to call me at this number prior to your departure. You will remain until I have had that call. Is that understood?"

"Yes Ma'am. But our instructions were isolation."

"Lawyers and any interested medical personnel. You will keep a log of all entry and follow all hospital rules regarding admission. And any others requesting to see Mr. Findley, you call your chain of command or me. You don't just say no."

"But".

"I am entering this as an entry into the log here at your station, and any calls from the District Attorney or Attorney General's office will be referred to me. Is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Besides, you don't want to be chained to this door forever." Vicky continued, easing up on the command presence.

"Not hardly. Guarding these guys is not my thing."

"This one should be guarded. He did a lot of good." Vicky said.

"If you say so. I just think that all of them should be hung."

"Some of them were. Or worse. But this guy was one of the good ones. Remind me to tell you later."

Seeing Abby coming out, Vicky said "Visitors?"

"Not yet. We still don't know what this bug is and I am keeping quarantine on him for now. Once we get a handle on it, we will be better able to deal with it. I want to update orders while I am here." Abby said, as she went toward the nurse station.

Looking at the charts, David's blood gasses showed a drop in oxygen at rest and heightened potassium and phosphorous levels. An indication of kidney issues. Checking on the chart she saw that a stint was being placed for dialysis and a portable machine was on order for later today. She made the suggestion that additional blankets be provided to keep the patient warm. Nothing to panic about yet but something to keep an eye on.

"Nurse, put me on the emergency call list for this patient and copy me any changes in status, legal or medical." Abby said.

"Yes Doctor."

Having done what she could, Abby collected Vicky and headed out to enjoy the summer sunshine.

Two hours later, a young woman in a hospital shift approached the officer guarding David Findley's room. Getting a silent nod from the officer guarding the door, she entered the room, without leaving a record. A few moments later she left, again nodding to the officer as she walked down the hall to the stairs where she slipped out of the hospital.

Moments later the room alarm on the EKG began to sound. But the transmit to station was shut off, and the officer outside the door continued to read her magazine for several minutes before she slowly wandered down to the floor station to ask if there was something wrong with the machine.

-------

Impact

The news of David's death was announced on the evening news. Margaret was in solitary and heard the loud cheering and voices in the hallway at the time of the initial announcement. She was denied visitors or any access as part of her confinement and thus heard from a guard on the floor that David was dead. She was so agitated and upset that the prison doctor had her sedated for her own protection and she was placed on suicide watch.

Carol, James and Christine were all sitting in shock. They had gotten the news from Abby, who had been called immediately when the crash cart went into David's room.

Vicky was called by Abby as well. Candy was on her way to Liberty to open up for the busiest day of the week. Abby called Vicky so that she could tell Candy in person and be there with her. Vicky was unsure of how her partner would take the news as she drove to the restaurant.

Vicky was scared at the reaction. Candy didn't say anything for several moments. And when she did, she was as calm as if she was asking about the weather. "Has anyone gotten in touch with Margaret? Is she ok?"

"I don't know. I will look into it and see if I can get anything from Corrections on that." Vicky answered. "Will you please talk to me?" Vicky asked getting agitated.

"I will. Right now I have to get things organized here. Do they know what killed him?"

"It appeared to be a heart attack, Abby said."

"Well, tomorrow, we will know more. Give things time to sort themselves out. Main thing now is Margaret's defense. Let's get her out of there and then see exactly what happened. And what we can do about it." Candy said as calmly as she had ever been.

"How about if I stay here with you tonight?" Vicky asked. "I don't have anything else and I don't want to be alone myself."

"You can stay if you want to. But I am ok. Really. I won't be later but I have Monday and Tuesday to fall apart." Candy said to Vicky.

If Vicky had not lived with Candy for three months and been with her at Findley's for three before that, she would have been very nervous. This kind of reaction was atypical for someone who experience a death of a relative. But Candy compartmented things better then anyone she knew. It was almost scary. Thinking back on how Candy saw loyalty, Vicky knew that someone better not be responsible for David's death. She remembered Merle Hill.

-------

Sunday review

"Actually, Abby, this does not look good at all" Donald Hume said during the phone call. "The last person recorded as entering the room by the activity log of the officer on duty was you. And the cause of death was David's elevated potassium levels. That's what caused cardiac failure. Are you sure you saw the station monitor turned on?"

"Absolutely. And the nurse at station saw on the monitor saw the same things when I entered the orders into the chart for paging me if anything happened."

"Well, I don't need to tell you what a stink this is. The DA's office is requesting an investigation into how a patient in our custody could die here, when they were apparently healthy when they were transferred to here." Donald continued.

"Of course. I don't understand. I looked at those blood levels myself and they were not that far out of wack. We were going to do dialysis later today. This makes no sense at all."

"We are impounding the IV that was on David at the time and checking for levels. But I have to tell you, I don't know what we will find. And you have to stay out of the investigation, since you were the last person to see David alive. You and Vicky."

"I understand." Abby said quietly.

-------

Springfield Attorney Generals office

"Well, that's one down. Now we get the bitch." Colleen said.

"We are still going forward with the trial, but I am not so sure it is worth it now. We should probably drop the case and hold a press conference" Charlene said.

"Don't you dare! It's bad enough that the rest of the murdering bitches get away with this. Don't let the other main beneficiary get away with this." Colleen said.

"Colleen, you don't get it, do you?" Charlene said.

"What I do get is a press conference regarding your political aspirations and how you don't want to do your job in the next election." Colleen said.

"Lady, you are way out of line. And out of a job."

"Go for it. If you back down, I will be doing everything I can to return you to private practice." Colleen said. "I have no political aspirations. So I have nothing to loose."

"We will do the trial. But you are finished with this office."

-------

Sunday Evening News

"We bring you this announcement from the press office of the District Attorney's office. As we reported earlier, David Findley died yesterday in hospital confinement awaiting his trial on eight charges of Slavery. The co-defendant in this case, Margaret Findley, is still in custody awaiting the trial. The District Attorney has released the following statement.

"It is unfortunate that David Findley has died with out the finding of guilt in his case. The office continues to vigorously pursue the charges against Margaret Findley, his wife, as co-conspirator in this mass of criminal abuse."

"That would seem to indicate that they are ready to go to trial against the remaining defendant, right Hugh?"

"That seems to be the case, Chelsea. I do have to admit that this has been a unexpected turn of events. Given what I have see, I don't understand why the prosecution is continuing with this weak a case."

"Well, we will just have to see. Stay tuned for reactions from our audience to this latest news."



-------

Chapter 42



The Interesting Evidence

Casey Merriman was nervous. She had her first major assignment blown with David Findley's death on the watch of one of her team members. And she had live dynamite to go with it.

After talking with Cathy, she had felt a little uncomfortable. The fact that the entire guard team was a scratch team made up of different women from different commands made things more uncomfortable. Before she had left Friday to go home she had taken a very unusual step. She felt it was for her own protection. Little did she know it would do much more.

Nanny cams had been popular at the turn of the century, and had become increasingly innovative and capable. The floppy ears and bright blue eyes of the bunny rabbit sitting on the table next to the flowers labeled "Get well David" was a far cry from the primitive devices of the earlier era. Blessed with binary SSD storage, low light video, and Stereo recording, burst wave transmission capability and extended range optics, as well as a receiver tuned to the national clock for time stamps, this device was well accepted as fulfilling the needs for prosecutorial evidence. Casey had bought the unit herself and had called to have it impounded when she heard of David's death on Sunday night.

The nursing staff had bundled the rabbit up amongst the other effects that were in the room when the room was sealed. Casey had taken along an investigator from internal affairs and homicide with her when she went to retrieve it. That was to prove to be fortuitous.

Looking at the timestamp and clear images on the projector screen caused Melissa Dove to exclaim "Shit. This is NOT how I wanted to start a Monday."

Clearly depicted was the woman entering the room, walking over to the IV stand and injecting something into the line going into David's arm. A few moments later, she reached over to the consoles and pushed a series of buttons, which immediately blanked the status board from yellow, indicating remote monitoring, to blue, indicating local monitoring only.

The woman turned to David and held his wrist, while watching her watch for several moments. After about two minutes, she walked away. The monitors visible to the camera clearly showed an abrupt cessation of activity on the Cardiac monitors.

The three officers looked at the screen and then at each other. This was nuclear waste of the worst sort. "Who do we even go to with this?" Melissa said out loud.

Silence was a response. After a few moments, Casey said "Well, I brought it to you guys. And I want a copy for my own files. Now you guys figure out where to take this"

"Casey, You are NOT to talk to anyone about this. In fact, you are to stay in the office here with me until we can get someone here to talk this over with you." Melissa said.

"Sure. But I want my PBA lawyer here as well. You may be trusted, but I recognize that face."

"I don't blame you." Melissa said, as she looked at the image of the woman in the nurse's smock. A woman she also recognized as the Director of external affairs for the Chicago Police Department. And who was clearly taped while murdering a suspect in custody.

"This is one hell of a way to start a Monday." Melissa asked aloud, "Who the hell do I even go to with this?"

-------

Pre Trial Meetings In Judges Chambers.

Thelma Watson was the absolute last jurist that Colleen and Charlene ever wanted to present a case in front of. She taught part time at the University of Chicago Law school, had been anticipating becoming the Dean of that institution when she retired from the bench and was a very canny lawyer in her own right. Fifteen years in the DA's office had followed five years in the Public Defenders office, which meant that she knew both sides.

She also ran her courtroom like a ship at sea in wartime. You crossed her at grave risk to your self and others. She was also as fair as possible with each and every case. And had never been reversed on appeal.

"So, Charlene. With the primary defendant dead, why are we continuing with this trial in my courtroom? " Thelma began.

"Your honor, we believe that the remaining defendant was clearly a co-conspirator to the offenses we have presented, and that the charges we bring to this court are sufficiently heinous to result in a quick and damming conviction. We do, however, acknowledge the demise of Mr. Findley and offer to reduce from the current charges to a single charge of criminal abuse and negligence on the part of Ms. Findley."

"You wish I would take that" Sue Barksdale replied. "We will see you in court."

"Ms. Barksdale, I hope you have a solid line of reasoning for rejecting this offer?" Thelma replied.

"I believe I do. Your honor, the prosecution's assistant conducted an expensive witch-hunt to punish the people who lawfully terminated her younger sister. This activity has already indirectly resulted in the death of one of the defendants. The District attorney's office has squandered resources and filed a host of unsupportable charges in the hopes of trying this in the press and in persuading you to continue with a trial that has no merit." Sue said.

"Really? You believe that a conspiracy exists to punish your clients?" Thelma said.

"I believe that a single sad and grieving woman has abused her prosecutorial office and now her boss is trying to save face by manufacturing a charge that is outside of the legislative intent of the statues she is sworn to enforce." Sue said carefully.

"Your honor, it is the responsibility of judiciary to interpret the law and apply it to all situations where violations may have occurred. It is the responsibility of the prosecution to bring all of these issues to light." Charlene said.

"I am well aware of my responsibilities as a Jurist, Ms. Davis. And I thoroughly intend to execute those responsibilities. However, I am not comfortable with conducting a trial where the goal is to expand the meaning of a law outside of the legislative intent." Thelma replied.

"Your honor, our office believes that we have offered several times in good faith to reach a agreement on these charges in the interest of the state and have been rebuffed." Charlene continued.

"Excuse me" Sue interrupted. "Your honor, the prosecution started with over three thousand charges of unlawful discrimination and eighty six charges of slavery. They have charged over six thousand instances of Prostitution against women who were living there as live in workers because other laws restricted their movement. They have badgered all of the people exempted under the PCA with Findley's help and have incarcerated the man and his wife with no bond, conducted a massive public relations campaign, and have frozen their assets leaving them locked up and penniless. And they have been forced to drop everything except eight remaining charges of Slavery. For which you do not have a single living complainant. At the expense of almost two thousand man hours of grand jury investigation. And now the prosecution wants to extend the law to accommodate a new definition because the old one isn't good enough to get a conviction?" Sue asked.

"Your honor, we are offering now to settle for reduced charges on humanitarian grounds", Charlene began.

"No." Sue interrupted. "We are prepared to argue this case on the Facts and on the law at the time you say crimes were committed. Your honor, this is about the law. And what the law was. Either the state drops all charges or we continue with a full trial."

"Well, Ms. Davis. You have a decision to make here. But I want to let you know that I will not harbor any lawmaking in my courtroom. This is a decision on the case and the law as it was at the time of the alleged offenses. Ms. Barksdale, I assume you have sufficient witnesses to educate us on the aspect of the law in question?" Thelma said with a smile.

"As a matter of fact, I do. The woman who helped write the book on the slavery statute with respect to the PCA in Illinois and the Women's' chair of the University of Chicago."

"Your honor, calling the victims of this to testify for the defense is hardly prudent. They are people who are too close emotionally to see how badly they have been damaged." Charlene said, starting to object.

"But you have already quoted Nancy Ayers in your earlier case presentation without calling her as a witness. I don't think you can selectively quote a publication without cross examination, do you?" Sue said with a smile.

Sitting quietly, Charlene realized that delay was her friend, not the defense.

"Your honor, we need to have a continuation while we consider another offer that the defense may find more palatable." Charlene said.

"Ms. Davis, I will grant you an additional week. At this time, I am going to order the Margaret Findley's release." Thelma said. "In the mean time, If you move to re-file charges, or sue for a change of venue, or any other shenanigans, I will find you in contempt of court and hold you personally here until such time as I feel you have mended your ways." Thelma said coldly.

"Your honor, I object to the release. The circumstances of the Findley's being a flight risk have not changed." Charlene began.

"Sue, do you feel your client would object to surrendering her passport?" Thelma asked.

"No. Your honor,"

"So ordered. Ms. Davis. Either be prepared to try the cases with the victims testimony or be prepared for a finding. And no monkey business about Nula Proses. If you say that in my court while I am seated, you will be in jail for as long as I can keep you there." Thelma said.

In many states, the prosecution reserves the right to Nula Proses (or nullify processing) of the trial. They are in effect dropping charges and going home. This does not mean a finding of not guilty. It means that they elect to stop the process of prosecution at this time. This is usually done when the prosecution feels that they are afraid that a judge will render a statement or verdict that is absolutely off the wall. Very seldom used, because it is considered a withdrawal before verdict. And it pisses judges off a lot.

"Your honor, I would never do that without having extraordinary reasons" Charlene said

"Just remember it will have extraordinary consequences if you do." Thelma said.

"Your honor, I do want to bring up an issue that may have impact on this case" Sue continued with a smile. "Begging your indulgence, your honor, Ms. Davis, I am presenting you with a subpoena to appear before a grand jury of the US Seventh District Court in Springfield. There are some matters of investigation that you can help them to clarify"

Stunned silence filled the room. The old fashioned blue envelope was clearly embossed with the seal of the Justice Department and the notification was for today. "Your Honor, I was very thankful we went into chambers, as it would not be in keeping with my respect for your court to present it in public." Sue continued.

"Well, you damn sure have hutzpah doing this in my Chambers." Thelma said severely.

"Your honor, this is a very sudden development and one which we felt the court should be aware of. I did not intend to be either criminally or civilly in contempt, and this seemed like a good time, given your history of having an orderly courtroom, to deliver this. I would not want to cause a stir." Sue said with a very faint smile.

"I presume that this may have some impact on the ability of the prosecution to be ready in four weeks?" Thelma said drily.

"I would not venture to make any assumption on the amount of time needed." Sue said with a smile

As Sue walked toward the door, she suddenly stopped and turned. "By the way, Jamie Peterson has already flown back from Vegas. Among other things, I will be asking her specifically why she left the prosecutor's office. And why she left this case. And her opinion of the case management. Under Oath. And she has already received her subpoena as well."

"How did you find her?" Charlene blurted out.

"Counsuler, were you entertaining an obstacle to the process of the defense?" Thelma asked quietly.

The silence was broken by Sue. "I am not sure how Ms. Peterson was served, but I do have a recording of her accepting service." Sue continued. "And she is staying here in Chicago. At our expense."

"Your honor, we will need some time to prepare" Charlene said.

"Why? You already know what she will be testifying to. Nothing outside of the management and conduct of the case at trial." Sue smoothly continued.

Charlene started to object, but was interrupted by Thelma.

"Charlene, you have a week. Regardless of your new federal commitments, you will either be present in my courthouse in person, ready to continue this trial as you have so carefully laid out, or I will find you criminally in contempt. And if you are not prepared when you come here a week from today, start carrying a toothbrush." Thelma said coldly. "I understand you will be furnished clothes."

-------

Who can't do that?

In another section of Chicago, at the this time, another woman walking into the administrative section of the police headquarters where she saw a young woman arguing with a uniformed officer next to the steps. Recognizing the young woman as Candy Mitchell, Colleen snickered, thinking that she would be happy to see this young woman in jail under any circumstances. Drawing near to provide support to the officer in case she needed it, she was stunned to see that the officer was Homicide Sargent Vicky Peterson.

"You can't just do it like that on a public street." Vicky said to Candy Mitchell.

"Yes I can. All I have to do is turn around and say" Candy began, as she turned to face Colleen McNair" Ms. McNair. My name is Candy Mitchell and this is a federal summons to appear before the grand jury on Prosecutorial abuse in Illinois, and I herby serve you with same."

Colleen was livid. She had purposely avoided Springfield for the last two weeks, after hearing through the grapevine that there was a stir going about. To have a civilian show up and hand it to her in front of a sworn officer of the law made it very difficult to avoid. Realizing that this disturbance was a sham to draw her in, Colleen started to reach for Candy's face.

"Now counsolar. You don't want to assault a woman in the service of the law in front of a police building. Don't shoot the messenger, didn't you say to me?" Candy said as she started backing away.

"You bitch. I will get this squashed so fast you won't believe it."

"Maybe. Maybe not. But in any case, it sure makes for some interesting press. Smile, you are on candid camera." Candy said, looking toward the street.

Looking toward the direction that Candy indicated, Colleen saw a News camera van with a camera suddenly swinging toward her. And the well known face of Chelsea Winters, of Chicago Today.

-------

Should she be a process server?

"I don't believe it. Caught on camera in front of a police station. Now that was diabolical timing" Carol said to her husband and their lover. "How in the world did the little minx know?"

"I don't know. Candy once said something about the six degrees of separation and I looked it up. It seems that there was an experiment in the last century that showed that everyone was connected by friendships or casual relationships by no more then six steps. So I think that what it refers to is finding a path from one person to another is only six calls away." James said as he snuggled down next to his wife and other partner.

"Well, I wish I knew how she did it with six calls. I can't get through anyplace in under ten or more." Carol said.

"This is Candy we are talking about, right? The woman who finds things and never forgets? David once told me she was almost physic" Christine said.

"I'm not sure if physic is the term, but she sure does get things done. Kim said she was a natural project manager." James said.

"She is that. She is a great partner for Vicky. They both are as close as any couple I have ever seen." Carol said.

"It is a different relationship" Christine said. "They both almost glow when they are around each other. And it isn't mother daughter either. It really is a deep connection on so many different levels."

"There is a lot of mutual respect there. Vicky especially."

"It goes back to the house. Vicky was shook by Candy when she met her. The Alpha Bitch struck terror in everyone a little. And after Helen's death, Candy was a little scary with her ideas that came up regarding how we serviced Merle. I have to admit that she used to scare me a little with her determination. I wish she would go into Law, because she would have real impact."

"Isn't Vicky going to do that now?" James asked.

"Yes, I think so. She wants to work with Sue and I when this trial is over. Nancy wants us to collaborate on women's issues now that the selection act is over. Work on rebuilding society while the male population comes back up. I think we might do that."

"Do you think she will go into medical?" Christine asked.

"Candy? Not sure. She could do anything. She is running Liberty right now better then any place around. And Cindy is working for her part time. I have to tell you, it has all turned out surprising."

"So, now that the Feds are involved, what will happen with the trial?" Christine asked.

"Not sure. Sue said that Thelma gave Charlene a rough way in chambers. Told her to be ready or bring your toothbrush. I know Thelma from before and she is pretty tough. We are ready if all the prosecution has is what they talked about today."

"Where is Margaret?" James asked.

"She is with Helen's husband, Mark. They were friends from before and he and the woman he was dating broke up after Helen died. I think the guilt monster ate at him." Carol said. "You know, I was figuring you two would be settled and move on without me. Helen said you probably wouldn't. And Christine, I am very happy we have you in our lives." Carol said.

"Thank David. It was a lucky accident that I was sent to Findley. He really set the stage for me. Not that you didn't do a lot as well." Christine said, tickling Carol on the ear.

"Don't give me more credit then is due. He set the stage in those early days. Once we started to follow his lead, I saw more and more ways to beat the system. I think he hated it more then anyone." Carol said. Thinking to herself "He damn sure did more about it then I ever did before I went there. We just juiced him up."

-------

Elsewhere

"Well, that was an interesting spot." Vicky said as she cuddled Candy under her arm.

"Yes. That camera caught the look on Colleen's face perfectly. And Chelsea's coverage was excellently done. She implied as opposed to stated that the document was a summons."

"Well, the close up of it and the statement that Federal Subpoenas were usually in blue envelopes was hard to miss." Vicky said with a laugh. "How you doing kidlet?"

"I'm Ok. I'm not going mad eyed on you. Besides you have your trunk locked." Candy said in response.

"Yes, but the knives are still in the kitchen." Vicky said with a laugh.

"Now, Vicky. I don't do that any more. You know me better. I only cut up in the kitchen."

Smiling to herself, Vicky sighed in relief. Then she harked back to her conversation with Helen. "I think that she has just the right touch of sociopathic judgment to do what needs to be done without consulting with society first." Helen had warned her.

"Darling" Vicky began. "Please remember to talk with me before you do anything that would get you in trouble. So I can at least help plan to avoid leaving any evidence."

"Vicky, my love, I am not about to get us into trouble that we wouldn't be able to avoid." Candy said with a calm honest stare. "Revenge isn't my style. At least where it reflects back on me.'

-------

First Night Out.

Margaret sat in the recliner in the living room for a long time. It had been months since she was in a room with rugs, warm furniture and silence. She was thankful for the silence and the privacy that Mark had given her when he picked her up at the courthouse.

She had been surprised to see Mark at the court-house. There was no more then the normal red tape attached to her release in response to Thelma's order, but it still seemed to take forever. It wasn't until almost four o'clock that Margaret was able to walk outside of the side doors Realizing that all she wanted to do was go home, Carol and Susan had arranged to have her taken away to her home. But Mark had contacted them and offered to have Margaret stay with him to provide some company and to keep the press away. No one knew Mark.

Someone had leaked information to the press about subpoena's being served against the District Attorney's office in Springfield. The film of Candy handing the envelope to Colleen was on all of the media broadcasts. The news of Margaret's release on her own recognizance was greeted with the reactions ranging from "Justice Finally" (Chelsea Winters, Chicago Today) to "Letting the guilty slip away?" (Grace Miller, Universal Network News). The editorials ranged from sympathy to vindictive glee. None of which made any sense.

"I can't believe that David is dead." Margaret thought to herself. Sitting in the chair, she couldn't help but wonder what was next.

"Can I get you anything?" Mark asked from the doorway. "Something to drink perhaps?"

"Actually, I want to go to sleep somewhere I am not being watched." Margaret said.

"Well you can have any bedroom in the house. And either by yourself or with me. Whatever you want." Mark said.

"Mark, would you mind if we just cuddled?" Margaret asked tearfully.

"Not at all. I miss them both too." Mark said in response.

-------

Doing the Right thing

Casey was just sitting down to dinner at home. Her day had started with Homicide, Internal affairs, meetings with the Fraternal Order of Police lawyers, and her own lawyer as well. All of whom were sworn to secrecy.

The access logs and statements of the officer who had door guard duty when David was murdered were already a matter of record. All of which were impounded before the contents of the camera came to light.

The doorbell ringing was unexpected to Casey. Walking to the door she saw two strange women who she had not seen before. Neither was in uniform, but both looked as if they should be. Triggering her emergency pager, Casey said to the door "Hello? Who is it?"

"Chicago Police and the District Attorney. We would like to talk with you."

"Not before roll call tomorrow. I have nothing to say without the presence of my attorney." Casey answered, waiting for her cell phone to ring.

"Listen, you don't want any more trouble then you are already in. Do the right thing and let us talk with you." The voice from the doorway said.

"I am not sure what you mean." Casey said, looking at her phone, wishing it would ring.

"Shit" Casey heard. "Signal 13. We have to leave now." One of the two voices said from beyond the door.

'Casey, you need to talk with us. You are making a horrible mistake and one you will be sorry for the rest of your life." The other voice said. "Let us just talk with you and help you understand what is going on."

Casey was jarred by the ringing of her phone. "Emergency services. Am I speaking with Casey Merriman?"

"Yes. I have two strange women at my front door who have identified themselves as Chicago police and the District Attorney. I am in need of investigative officers to ascertain the true identity of these people. I am in fear for my life." Casey said calmly.

The loud banging on the door with the frustrated noise of one of the two outside was clearly audible.

"Are you armed?" the woman on the phone asked.

"Yes I am. I have secured myself with a clear view of the door and I am awaiting service."

"Please move away from the door, we have officers on the way." The voice said.

Keeping her eye on the door, Casey figured that the dispatch was coming code 2, no lights or sirens. Quietly she moved away from the door across the living room to the far corner.

Casey never felt the shot that crashed through the window and hit her head. The Police sniper rifle firing the six millimeter suppression round tore into the back of her head and out through her cheek bone, splattering her face and brains across the inside of the front door.

Hearing the splat on the inside of the doorway, the waiting officer calmly hung up the burner phone she had used to call Casey. "That tidies up one of these details," she thought to herself. "Now all we have to do is get to the rest."



-------

Chapter 43



One Last Investigation before I go?

Vicky was sound asleep, having been up late the night before helping Candy at Liberty. Disentangling herself from Candy, she reached for the ringing bedside phone and sleepily answered. "Hello?"

"Vicky, this is Erica Christiansen. Can you be in my office this morning? There is something I would like to talk over with you."

"Sure. What time?"

"As soon as you can get here. And drive safely and be careful." Erica said.

Scratching her head as she sat up, she looked at the awake and aware eyes of her domestic partner. "Hey, They want me to come downtown."

Seeing the raised eyebrows of her friend, Vicky continued, "Don't' sweat it. Probably some issue with the paperwork."

"Ok. Do you want company?" Candy asked.

"No. They are probably a little pissed at the stunt we played yesterday. But I doubt it will be too bad. We did tweak the noses a little." Vicky said with a laugh.

"I don't want to get you in trouble. You will let me know if I can do something?" Candy continued.

"Yes, Dear. I will let you know. Go back to sleep. I will call you before lunch." Vicky said.

The ride downtown was uneventful. But the greeting at the side door was not. Two uniformed officers immediately came to Vicky and brought her through the line and into the headquarters building, and to the seventh floor. The escorts were very polite and professional, but no information. Walking to Erica's office, Vicky saw two additional officers on guard at the hallway, who opened the door when Vicky approached.

"I am either in deep dog do, or there is something else going on here." Vicky thought to herself.

Erica answered the door to her office with the knock, and greeted Vicky warmly.

"Vicky, I am very happy you could come in so quickly. Please sit down. This is Melissa Dove, IAD, and Deborah Maxwell, of the United States District Attorney's office, and Carey Jackson from the FBI. Ladies this is Vicky Peterson, soon to be retired and one of my finest investigators in Homicide."

Hands were shaken and cards passed around. Vicky saw coffee on the desk and assumed that this was a working meeting of some sort.

"Detective, have you been following this morning's news?" Deborah asked.

"No. I usually listen to Sat radio these days. Why?"

"Vicky" Melissa began, "were you closely associated with David Findley?"

"I believe that all of the relevant information concerning that relationship is covered in the testimony already given to three department shrinks and a grand jury. If you want to start asking questions, read the transcripts first." Vicky replied coolly.

Looking at the glances that passed between Melissa and Deborah, Vicky then turned to Erica, who was smiling. "Ok. Give. What is going on?"

"Vicky, last night a police officer was murdered. She was a key witness in another murder and we believe that she was killed because of the information that she had developed." Erica said.

"So this is affecting me how?" Vicky asked.

"Did you know officer Casey Merriman?" Carey asked Vicky.

"Merriman. I remember the name. She was in the detail guarding David Findley." Vicky replied, her eyebrows knitted together in concentration.

"Yes. In fact, she was in charge of the transport and guard detail. What was the extent of your contact with her?" Carey asked.

"I talked with her once, when David was admitted. And I never saw her again. I talked with one of the others of the detail on Saturday, the day that David died. But that was the extent of my contact with the detail. Why?"

"Vicky, where were you last night between the hours of eight and one o'clock?" Melissa asked.

"Working. I have a new career at a part time chef at Liberty. Why?" Vicky asked.

"Is there anyone who can testify to that?" Melissa asked.

"A whole bunch of chefs and some customers. What is this about?" Vicky asked.

"Vicky, Casey was shot and killed last night in her apartment. It looks as if it was a silenced rifle that was used." Erica interjected. "This obviously is something that I take seriously. But there appears to be some information as regards to motive that causes us to want to talk with you."

"Was Casey a suspect in a ongoing Internal Affairs Investigation?" Vicky asked.

"Actually, she was a material witness." Melissa answered.

"To what?" Vicky asked.

Silence hung in the air for a few minutes. Living with Candy and her own career as an investigator had taught Vicky the value of patience. "I am waiting, ladies." Vicky said.

"Vicky, you have a department issue suppressed rifle as part of your TOE." Melissa said calmly.

"I also have an armory receipt for it showing that it has been in the armory custody since I was forced to move three months ago. " Vicky said. "And I can produce that."

"We know." Erica said. "Ladies, if we want to quit dancing around and lay the cards on the table, I think that things will go easier. Vicky, If David Findley was murdered, how would you feel about the detail charged with protecting him in custody?"

"If it was due to oversight, I would want the detail lead brought up on negligent homicide. If it was a member of the detail, I would want that person brought up on either homicide or accessory to homicide." Vicky replied.

"You wouldn't want to take things in to your own hands? You have killed by your own admission several hundred women." Melissa said coolly.

"Different times, different circumstances. And I used either a rope, a blade or stuffed a electric prod in them and lit them up. Was that how your victim died?" Vicky said, with a slight edge on her voice.

Erica smiled at the discomfiture of the other women in the room. "Ladies, I did warn you. Vicky, Casey was shot from across the street with a high-powered police rifle. A suppressor equipped rifle, firing six millimeter ammunition." Erica said.

"Was it while I was chopping lettuce and carrots to make salads, or was it while I was working on peppers, garlic and onions along with broth to make rue?" Vicky said. "Need a closer time to be able to tell you which."

"Ladies, Play the recording." Erica said. "Vicky, you can't comment on this to anyone. Especially anyone you know from Findley's."

Ten minutes later, Vicky was furious. "You sent this woman home after you saw this in the context you have shown this to me?" She said.

"In hindsight, that probably was not a good decision" Melissa said.

"You think? We have a DA and an ADA with personal vengeance in their eyes about the victim, we have evidence of a murder committed by our own external affairs director, and you let this sit over night? You sent your primary witness home without security? The only one who can testify to the validity of the film? This is as screwed up as Baltimore." Vicky said with exasperation. "So has anyone bothered to find the good director?"

"She has not come into work today." Erica said.

"What about the officer that was on duty at the time this was taken?" Vicky asked, getting more agitated.

"She has not reported for roll call. And she is not answering her phone." Melissa said.

"Who had access to this little piece of film? Or any information about it?" Vicky asked.

"We have accounted for over thirty people who may have known of the existence of the cam or it's possible contents. Four of them are in this room. One is the victim." Cary Jackson said with a tone of disgust.

"Jesus. Has the news media gotten ahold of this?" Vicky asked.

"Not yet." Deborah said, in her first comment since sitting down. "And we really don't want that. Vicky, we are in the preliminary stages of investigating the DA office about this, as you know." Deborah said.

"No kidding. We served one of your subpoena's yesterday."

"And another one last week. Which is why I wanted to ask you this. Do you think Candy may have had any involvement in this?"

"No. I can say with a lot of confidence that my partner did not know of this piece of film, nor would she have done anything like this if she did." Vicky said with confidence.

"How can you be so sure?" Melissa asked.

"First off, she would not hold Casey responsible for someone else's actions. Second, she would wait until the system worked itself out."

"And then?" Deborah asked." What would she do then?"

"Well, we will have to see that happens first, won't we?" Vicky said with a smile.

"Would you care to conjecture what her actions would be?" Melissa asked.

"No I would not. And I would advise against you doing that either. You would find yourself explaining on the six o'clock news. My partner is pretty good at arranging publicity with wide coverage." Vicky said.

Erica smiled and nodded at that statement. "Obviously we have to ask that this be held confidential. Vicky, I personally would like you to undertake the investigation of Casey Merriman's murder." Erica continued.

"No Way in Hell." Vicky replied. "You already have me on admin leave with pay pending retirement, because of how Springfield is acting about this mess. Getting further into this is like painting a bulls-eye on my back, along with Candy's back. It gets out that foul play was involved, and you guys can't keep a secret for shit, then this will be going sideways in a lot of different directions real fast. I already papered the ADA with a subpoena." Vicky said in a machine gun voice. "This is not good. Hell, I was safer at the slaughterhouse then I will be once this gets going."

It was at this point Deborah broke into the conversation in earnest. "Vicky, Here is the deal. The ADA and DA have pursued this couple for months."

"I know." Vicky interrupted. "I was one of the people initially investigated. Like I said, no need for another bulls eye."

"Besides, I am not stable enough to remain on active duty, isn't that right?" Vicky said looking at Erica. "Not to mention that I will have a whole lot of baggage, that a defense lawyer would love to have a hold of. It would be unfairly prejudicial to the case when it came to court. No. For the good of the case, I can't be involved." Vicky said with finality.

Not for the first time, Erica was totally pissed at the entire situation. First with Vicky being selected a year ago, then being safe harbored at Findley, then the mess with Springfield, and now this with one of her finest investigators sidelined over this mess. "Vicky, I obviously can't order you to have anything to do with this. But we all would appreciate your discretion on this."

"I can promise to not say anything about this. But I damn sure won't promise that I won't hear about it."

"What do you mean?" Melissa asked.

"In this town, gossip flows fast. You already have too many people knowing about this since one of them is already dead."

Which was pretty much the case, as "Chicago at Lunch" presented in it's breaking news story linking the death of a Chicago police officer to the possible murder of David Findley. Candy listened to the news as she was working to prepare for Tuesday dinner.

-------

Afternoon Calls

"So" Deborah said to her boss. "This is a real stink festival, even for this town. The homicide chief wanted to bring in one of the key players to do the investigation. Can you believe that?"

"I can't think of a better way to screw up this investigation. Talk about having an impeachable source. What was she thinking?" Martha asked.

"I don't know. But I have to hand it to Vicky. She has integrity out the ass. Did not want anything to do with this case. Carey liked her from the start and said we should pass on her as any involvement. One thing is for sure. With this on the news we better get ready for a storm."

"I agree. Well, we are starting to convene this week, and I have managed to get denied all manner of moves to delay from Springfield. Other then the Press officer and the officer on duty, who else do we have in this mess?" Martha asked.

"I don't know. But I am sure it will get worse." Deborah said as she broke the connection.

Carol and Sue were absolutely furious at the afternoon news. They followed the story with three different slants that clearly stated that the murder of a Chicago Police officer was a follow-up on a possible murder of David Findley while in custody. The dark rumors of conspiracy were being bandied about as well as the implications of a cover up.

At first incredulous, and then angry, then busy as hell working to file a motion to dismiss all charges, Sue and Carol were busy much of the afternoon. When they Called Mark's house to get to Margaret, they found all calls going to an answering machine.

"Should we go over there?" Sue asked.

"I am not sure." Carol said. "I don't' want anyone following me to Margaret's location."

"Do you think we are in danger?" Sue asked.

"I am not sure. Would probably be a good idea to stay in public though."

The ringing phone added to the paranoia for a moment. Until Sue saw it was Alderman Carmichael.

"Hello Jane." Sue said.

"Hello Sue. Is Carol there with you?"

"Sure. Let me put you on speaker." Sue said.

"Ladies, I am sitting here with Deputy Police Commissioner Paula Myers. We are concerned in light of recent events for your safety."

"We aren't yet, Jane. We didn't watch any police officer kill any suspects in custody." Carol said.

Silence followed for a few moments. "But I appreciate the sentiment. We are going to file for dismissal of all charges due to these events." Carol continued.

"You know I don't have any input to the judicial system here" Jane replied. "But off hand I think that is probably a reasonable idea. There is no evidence to link this with Springfield yet, and anything would be speculation at this point. But I am worried about you guys. And Margaret."

"Jane, Margaret is safe and secure and able to be produced for any appearance in court that is necessary. And beyond that I am not at liberty to tell." Carol said.

"Carol, I understand. Please give her my sympathy and tell her that I will get to the bottom of this." Jane said.

"We all will." Carol said.

-------

Events at Liberty

Vicky was not able to get away from headquarters before late afternoon, and went directly to Liberty from the office. Walking inside, she saw Candy behind the counter talking with three vendors of food stocks and walked over to her partner. "With you in a second lover. Let me just finish up here" Candy said with her usual smile. But knowing her partner, Vicky saw the stress and focus around the eyes and realized that the news had already reached here.

"I'll grab a table." Vicky said walking back to the corner furthest from the door.

Vicky was reading her reading list for next semester when she saw Candy coming up with two glasses of wine. "Are you old enough to drink yet?" Vicky said teasingly.

"I have my guardian's permission. Right Guardian?" Candy teased back.

"No respect. This younger generation has no respect." Vicky said as she picked up her glass. "Thanks. It has been a ugly day."

"Vicky, I have been watching the news. It's probably a good idea that I don't ask any questions because I don't want to get you in trouble. But I think I have a favor I want to ask you. And I don't want you to get upset with me when I do." Candy said.

"Ok. What's that?"

"I want to move into David and Margaret's house. Our place is too small for everyone, and I think I don't want her alone if she wants to go to her house." Candy said.

"And you want me to bring my trunk." Vicky said quietly.

"Might be a good idea. Mainly I don't want her alone. She is with someone right now but I think she is going to want to go home soon and have her own things and surroundings. I got everything I could from the Office and brought it back to the house and all of the things she had in her closet there. I don't know how she is but I don't want her to think she is alone." Candy said. "Once the trial is over, one way or the other, things will settle down. But right now, I think she can use a friend or a few."

"Do a few Girls Nights in?" Vicky said smiling.

"Can't do it on Friday, because of here. But we can have Sunday morning waffles again."

Vicky's stomach chose that moment to growl. "Damn, Kid. I guess you know my body's answer to that."

"A woman after my own heart. And the way to it is evidently is still through your stomach these days." Candy said with a laugh.

"George is coming over tonight to talk about his place. We may want to invest in it and run both." Candy continued after the laughter.

"Girl, I think you have a touch for management. And I think it is your calling." Vicky said.

"Well, we will see. I guess I should do what I do best." Candy said with a smile.

Vicky noticed, however, that the smile didn't quite reach her lover's eyes. The cool grey command look was there instead.

Tuesday Liberty closed early. Usually by ten o'clock everyone was out and headed home and the arrangements were made to clean up for Wednesday. Liberty was closed on Wednesday and Sunday until after noon. The topics of discussion in many of the conversations did center around the news, both the noon and the late evening news, where an "inside source" commented that the murder of Casey Merriman was related to an apparent murder of David Findley and that photographic evidence existed which could incriminate a member of the Chicago Police Department. Martha Jamison was caught on camera as talking with the FBI resident senior agent where it was admitted that the FBI did have a case for investigation of the murder of a police officer. And they were particularly interested in the motive as well.

Candy had busied herself in all manner of activity until the last guest left, from cutting up protein to sauce preparation, and working the door for her good friends.

It was a tired trio who sat down at the end of business hours to enjoy a glass of wine with George Ortiz. Vicky, Candy and Cindy were all foot sore from a busier then normal Tuesday night, and the receipts were very good.

"Well, George, what do you think of a busy Tuesday night?" Candy asked.

"Candy, I knew you would do well. I didn't know just how well you would do." George said. "An that brings me to something I wanted to talk with you about."

"What's that?" Candy asked.

"We are getting some requests for some of our former Chef's special occasion meals from before. You know, last year."

"You mean Human?" Candy asked.

"Yes. And we have a importer that will handle transport through customs and USDA from Canada. They still have a selection act." George said.

Vicky felt a chill in her stomach. Being an investigator she knew when it was time to listen.

Cindy's response was more immediate. "Well, so long as none of us are on the platter, we could probably do justice to whoever it was. At least they wouldn't go to waste."

"Cinderella, you have had too much to drink." Candy said. "George, we need to find out how that would be treated with respect to local law. I don't want to run afoul of any whiplash. We already got through that with David's trial and what Margaret is going through."

"You know how good my lawyers are. Besides, we aren't terming, disposing or doing anything like that. All we are doing is cooking from meat already graded in a package. Like buying from a grocery store." George said.

"That is kind of a slippery slope, isn't it?" Vicky said. "How soon will it be before we start to want to shift to domestic production? Which would lead us right back to where we were before."

"It could be. But we don't know. I think I am going to look into it a bit more and see." George said.

"Well, don't be too upset with me if I am not too close to this. It won't do my reputation any good at all in this town." Candy said with a laugh.

Vicky glanced at Candy as she was laughing, and saw something there that disturbed her. Candy's eyes had the look for a moment of active speculation and interest. A look that Vicky had seen only once before, at the demise of Merle Hill. Suppressing a involuntary shudder, Vicky looked again and saw that it had disappeared and was replaced with an honest expression of laughter.

"Yea, I guess cooking humans wouldn't do much for your reformed public image. Hell, people would be worried about looking in the kitchen." George said.

"They should anyway. You never know who is coming as dinner." Cindy said.

Vicky sputtered into her wineglass at that comment, thinking back on her early meals at the house. She had to admit being ambivalent to some of the meals that they had there. Knowing who was in it did cause a queasy feeling at times. But they did taste delicious.

"George, we should probably talk about this some more tomorrow. We are closed here and you and I can get together." Candy said.

"Good. Meet me at my place tomorrow and we can talk about something for next weekend." George said.

-------

Getting ready for the Weekend.

Friday morning was bringing to a close a very newsworthy week in Chicago. Both main stream and alternative media were abuzz with the constant stream of notices and leaks had drawn national attention and the Senior Senator from Illinois had gone on the air with Chicago Today to denounce the perpetual unseemliness of the leaks and the materials that he had seen. His closing statement for conciliation closed with "It is really in the best interest of the nation to put this sad era behind us. We should work to mend the issue and not work to punish those who followed the constraints of the most unpopular legal proceedings since the Dred Scott Decision."

"But Senator, the issue of Slavery is the core of the prosecutions' allegations."

"That appears to be cloak they are covering themselves with, but it does not seem to be the issue that started their proceedings. We all feel for the losses of our loved ones. But we have to remember that we as a nation enacted that law to support the termination of hundreds of thousands of women each year. And you cannot really punish someone for enforcing the law or acting within the guidelines." Senator Everett said.

"What do you think of the circumstances of David Findley's death?"

"Chelsea, There are a lot of ways to not loose a court case. Death of a defendant is one of them." Everett replied.

Sensing an opportunity, Chelsea asked the next and most bombastic question of the day. "So, what do you think of the situation?"

"Chelsea, I think a unbiased and unaffected federal investigation is entirely prudent in the actions that surrounded the assassination of Officer Merriman. What I think the question we all want answered is who knew and why?"

-------

Rebounds on the Law

Angrily, Charlene turned off the news. Her political career was going down the tubes with this turn of events. If she knew who killed David at this late date, she would spike them herself. Now the whole house of cards fell onto Margaret as a conspirator. And she still had none of the subject women willing to testify that they were slaves.

This was getting worse by the day. And Thelma had left a message that she intended to see her in Chambers on Monday to discuss the latest in Dismiss moves from the Defense.

"I am so screwed by this case" Charlene said. Some enterprising researcher had uncovered the news that Colleen and Betty Ridgeway had been roommates at Northwestern. Betty was the woman being searched as a suspect in the "Monster Meets Justice" or the "Findley Murder" (depending on who and what news story you were following).

And the federal grand jury was on a roll. So far, the issues were prosecutorial abuse of power, murder of a witness to a federal investigation (David was actually on the witness list), and murder of a police officer.

This was in concert with Federal Prosecutions in South Carolina (the selection board went only after racial or religious minorities) and Texas (where livestock and goats were treated worse then the work employees in Sinclair's book "The Jungle").

This is a perfect storm Charlene said to herself. I can bitch about the federal interference and political grandstanding, but who will listen? And trying to call Colleen resulted in going to a voice mail that announced the mailbox was full. She had disappeared on Wednesday.

Candy in the mean time had left to meet up with George at his Antonelli's to review the latest in stock that was being delivered for the weekend's sanctioned meals of human This would be the first time since the supply of domestic product had been halted six months ago. All of the documentation on the imported meat packages had been clearly marked, and the new manager for inspections for the USDA had already validated the grading.

Getting there, she was surprised to see Tim and Marty working at the rear receiving dock of the kitchen next to the coolers.

"Gee, fellows. Long time, no see." Candy said.

"Hi sweetness. George called us and said you might want some help in parting these packages." Tim said.

"We shouldn't need to. These should be packaged, right George?" Candy said.

"Well, I am not sure. I think that the Canadians sent whole carcasses, not packaged pieces." George said.

"How did that get through customs?" Candy said. "Or more important, USDA inspection?"

"I think that USDA was not a problem. After all, they were graded in Canada." George replied.

The inside of the cooler, Candy was greeted by two decapitated and clipped corpses. Both were still warm, gently swinging on the hooks of the overhead.

For the two corpses, the last forty-eight hours had been a nightmare.

-------

Wednesday Night, North of Chicago

Colleen thought she was pretty safe when she left her home. That nosey cop was out of the way and she was sure she was able to work with the Chicago police to get the recordings destroyed or compromised. She had thought she was pretty cute, after changing cars two times before she went to the old motel where Betty was hiding. Carrying the packages into the room and securing the door she felt safe for the first time all day.

Betty was in an absolute state of shock. "I had no idea there was any video. We had deliberately booked a room that had minimal facilities. Why did she do this?"

"I don't know, but what is done is done. Pretty soon the actual testimony will be heresay and we can get you back home."

"How do you know?" Betty asked.

"I made an arrangement to take care of this. The ISP liaison owes me a lot, and we are taking care of this with some resources from Bloomington and St Louis." Colleen said.

"Will they tell anyone?"

"No way. In fact I am taking you to where we can get you shipped out to Denver until this is all over. Your vacation notice shows you were already out there when David was killed. We'll get this cleaned up pretty quick" Colleen said.

After Betty changed, she and Colleen left the room to get into the car and their meeting to get Betty away.

Two hours later, both of them awoke taped into a pair of chairs in a empty room. The injection site was sore for both of them and Colleen had bumped her head on the door frame when the ESD had hit her once she went into the doorway. Other then that, both of them were not too much the worse for wear.

Groggily, Colleen came to realize three things. First off, she was naked. Second she was strapped into a chair in a reclined position. And third, besides Betty, there were three other women in the room with her. A couple of them seemed vaguely familiar. The duct tape over her mouth prevented speech, but she it didn't block her hearing.

"Well, Ladies, I want to let you know that it is Thursday morning and you are here compliments of Di Grasse shipping. I also want to let you know that you are due for delivery to Antonelli's restaurant on Friday afternoon. You are both the guests of honor for an expanded menu that you have been selected to assist with the weekend's festivities."

Colleen blanched in shock when she recognized the voice belonged to Kimberly Martin, who she had unsuccessfully attempted to charge with selection violations. She also recognized Carla Sanchez, a friend of Margaret Findley's and one of the last of the slaughterhouse gang.

"Now, I am not going to trouble you with any details of what is going to happen as we feel it just stresses the stock out further. But you need to understand that we are going to term you on Friday, and if we do it nicely or nasty depends on how you answer a few questions. Unfortunately we are not going to ship your personal effects home nor are we going to take any "Imitation humane" measures regarding final disposition. No questionnaires for either of you I am afraid." Carla said.

"I do want to let you ladies know that we have carefully thought out how we are going to prep you for the weekend, and we thought we should give you some of our options. Free of charge of course." The third voice said. Colleen recognized that it was Cindy Carmichael.

"Here is the gig, ladies" Kim continued. "We are going to hang a water bottle in front of you so you don't die of thirst. Did you know you can die of thirst relatively quickly, but you can deal with hunger for three or four days easily? The seats you are in will be the last place you will ever be in. You can shit and piss yourselves to your hearts content, because when we kill you in those chairs, we will be wait until you are dead before we scrub your carcasses, gut you and move you into hangers for transport. And we all know how dead bodies act."

"And we have to do this manual because the plant is closed." Cindy said. "And I am not nearly as good with a knife as I used to be, so it will probably hurt a bit. And I might not hit the arteries clean so you won't bleed quickly."

"This is nothing like how we treated any other woman at Findley's I am afraid you girls are going to feel everything." Carla said.

"We don't want you to think we don't care. We do care. We want your final experiences to be as miserable as we can make it within reason. Now ladies, we are going to remove your gag and tape, and we are going to hang your water bottles and we are going to leave you here. The fiberglass tape on your upper arms, lower arms and wrists as well as your ankles and thighs will keep you in place. And this door is pretty strong. Plus someone will be watching you all night and tomorrow. You are familiar with the little Nanny cam here. It is an excellent little tool." Cindy said as she ripped the tape from the face of Betty and then Colleen.

"And here are your water nipples, and we have a gallon of water for each of you. We will come back in the morning and replace it as needed." Vicky said as she set the nipples on the collar supports.

"And don't bother yelling or any of that. You guys are as secure as we can make you in a place where you won't be found. And you are only here for a little while." Carla said.

"And later today, we will come back and talk with you about some questions we have." Cindy said with a smile.



-------

Chapter 44



Sunday Morning Brunch

Brunch was a relatively new affair at Liberty. The patrons were low key and in search of French style brunch, with Mimosa drinks, breads and the occasional hot eggs in one form or another. It was an after ten o'clock affair because no one wanted to wake up after closing the restaurant late the night before.

Vicky and Candy were out front, and were surprised to see Cindy, Carla and Juan and Kim and her husband there for an early meal. After taking the herd back to a seat for themselves, Candy then went about the business of being the manager, while Carla asked Vicky to stay with them. "Join us, we haven't spent time with you in forever."

Sensing that there was something more then casual camaraderie, Vicky pulled up a chair and became the sixth.

After a general breakfast and banter, Cindy opened up a conversation. "So, how is retirement treating you?"

"Not too bad. Working here is more fun then running down felons. And the benefits are pretty good." Vicky replied.

"Vicky, how would someone provide evidence anonymously to the police department? Something that might help the investigation of a murder?" Carla asked.

Sensing that this was a touchy subject. "Off the record, police have tips all the time. It is when it becomes the pivotal piece of evidence that leads an investigation that things get touchy. Prosecutors lean on you a lot to get names and force testimony. And that usually puts a witness in the pubic eye, and actions by the defense." Vicky said. "Of course, you don't want to have your evidence be the basis of charges against you either. That happens a lot and prosecutors say you either testify or we will lock you up for interference with an investigation. I used to do that all the time myself."

Vicky had been doing this too long to not notice the sudden glances between Carla and Kimberly. Unsurprisingly, she did not see any sense of alarm on Cindy.

"So, it would better to just not say anything?" Cindy asked.

"That depends. If you had something that could be corroborated by other evidence, or verified by other factors, you could anonymously send it to the investigators, with pointers to where the verification would be found. We had a couple of murders a few years ago that were like that. The anonymous tip pointed to the weapon lead us to the mutt who did the murders. Who rolled over on the rest of the connections about why and how. The big thing is to either be anonymous or be public. There is really no middle ground." Vicky said.

Looking at the faces of the trio, Vicky suddenly felt consternation and some anxiety. "But ladies, I want to tell you right now, an investigator always wants to know why. Not just what. If something credible is sent in, believe me that as much effort will be put into finding out who sent it in as there will be on what the evidence itself."

"Why is that?" Kim asked.

"Because, investigation never stops. Prosecution may limit what it can and can't use, but investigation looks at everything. The fact that you saw a crime while committing another gives leverage to force you to testify. A burgler seeing a murder has to weigh jail vs. testimony and reduced sentence. Those are the kind of games police play. Carol knows the games that lawyers play." Vicky said. "Now, ladies, if you excuse me, I have to get back to helping my partner. You all take care."

The knowing glances at the table spoke more volumes then Phil or Juan were ever to know.

-------

Tuesday Afternoon

It had been a rough morning for Charlene. The US District Attorney had been polite but coldly hostile in their questioning of Charlene about the particulars of the Findley case, and the absence of her deputy prosecutor. While not directly saying that Charlene was shielding Colleen from being in court, the implication was pretty significant. When the session broke at noon, she was not happy to see an electronic summons to appear in chambers for Thelma this afternoon. When she arrived, she was not surprised to see Carol. But seeing Deborah Maxwell in the company of two other women was a shock.

"Well, your honor, I admit that I am late to this gathering. Could I ask what the reasoning for this is?"

"Charlene, I am glad to see you here. We have done nothing beyond introductions. This is Melissa Dove of the CPD Internal Affairs division, and Carey Jackson, from the FBI. You know Carol of course. Apparently all of us received this little piece of evidence and I wanted to have you here with us when we reviewed it jointly." Thelma said.

Seeing the bewilderment on Charlene's face, Carol smiled and thought to herself, "you didn't get the memo."

The next ten minutes were a film that was an interesting composite of text with the responses of Colleen's testimony of having used her office to persecute David Findley for personal reasons, followed by Debby's testimony that she killed David deliberately in response to an agreement with her old room mate for a position on the ISP as director of external affairs. The films were shot against a background of white cloth. The comments and questions were typed on the bottom of the screen, and the presentation was carefully edited to remove any voices or noises other then the sounds of the two women.

In the final edited scenes of the film, Betty was crying that she had just seen Colleen murdered in front of her by having the arteries in her lower legs cut and watched as she slowly bled to death. Betty's tear stained face apologized and hoped that this film would eventually be seen by her family so that they knew what had happened to her.

"I have been told that I am in Canada, where the PCA is still in effect. I was told that my body will be processed just like I saw Colleen's body processed, and that I would end up in soup tonight or tomorrow. And that David Findley treated all of his clients a lot better then this, but that this was what I deserved."

The next scene showed the two women hanging inverted, with their abdomen open and empty, ready for parting, boxing and shipping.

"Debby has also named several additional women who were involved in the shooting of Casey Merriman, We are following that up ourselves." Melissa said, breaking the silence after the showing.

"Where did this come from?" Charlene asked.

"This was sent to us as a link to a public social network of films that is based in England. The remailer is in Canada. The posting was made from an anonymous server in Cuba. So we really don't know where or who provided this." Melissa said. "My office, the FBI and Thelma were sent direct links to this."

"So there is no corroboration to any of the content of this." Charlene began.

"Charlene, this piece of work absolves you from misconduct in the use of office. Unless you continue to pursue this case." Deborah Maxwell said. "So far, we have found evidence to support charges of murder of a police officer against the six other names given on this film. Which is in public domain at this time. U-Tube picked it up and reposted it last night."

"I am going to have to consider this, I suppose." Charlene began.

"Charlene," Thelma began, "I can't in good conscience allow this case to come to my docket until this evidence is evaluated and the additional impact is reviewed."

"It would be better if the DA just dropped the charges and joined into the investigation of how this came about to begin with." Carol said.

"Not going to happen" Charlene said.

"Then we have no choice but to continue to investigate the abuse of office investigation we are conducting. It is difficult to envision a case where the District Attorney was not knowledgeable of a case that cost over half a million dollars to investigate." Deborah replied.

"What about these murders?" Charlene said.

"We will get in touch with the Canadians and find out if Colleen and Betty were processed under the law. But that is a different affair." Carey Jackson said. "Our marching orders are to still follow the information that was delivered in this lead regarding two murders that was committed here."

"And Charlene. I am going to keep this case against my docket. I will allow you an extension until the other investigations are complete and then we can review it again." Thelma said.

Having a judge want to keep a case is usually a issue for either side to push for the judge to recuse themselves. This is risky, especially with a sitting superior court judge who had a lot of experience and a bad temper. Charlene simply nodded her compliance, and then said, "Well I guess I have some spare time now. Looks like you are in good shape, Carol."

"Not really. Not after four good people died for no good reason." Carol replied. "Especially when everyone was just trying to do what they thought was the right thing."

-------

The Evening News

"Good evening Chicago Today. I have here with me Carol Black and Jamie Peterson, as well as Robert Mitchell, and as you can imagine, the key story today is the latest in the twists about the Findley case. So, Carol, would you like to lead off as to how you feel about this latest series of events?"

"Sure Chelsea. I don't know for sure how or what the prosecution will do in the weeks or months to come regarding this case, but the posting of film of Colleen's and Betty's confessions, plus the Chicago police arresting six members for complicity in the murder of Casey Merriman, plus comments about obstruction of justice have definitely placed the case in the background. Thelma Watson ordering the prosecution to reinvestigate the case while the Justice Department is holding a separate investigation has definitely caused some turns in this opera."

"So, Jamie, I understand you were the lead attorney on the prosecution of this case. Care to comment on what will happen next?" Chelsea asked, coming to the heart of the matter.

"Chelsea, I can't imagine anything happening soon. With the need to re-investigate, the issues of possible procedural misconduct, and the murders, now totaling four, I doubt that this will be straightened out any time soon." Jamie said. "I do know this, an awful lot of resources were tied to this case, and I cannot imagine the State Attorney General wanting to explain too much of that to the voters in the next election. It would probably be a better idea to just let this die and leave these poor people alone."

"So you think that the Findley's were unfairly prosecuted?" Chelsea asked.

"I think that it was a matter of opinion on a legal issue and that the chief proponent for prosecution had a private agenda. Even if it was coerced, regardless of the public opinion, the facts still are the facts. The route of discovery wouldn't stand up in court, but the facts themselves will."

"So, what is next?" Chelsea asked.

"Well, Nancy and I are doing a bit of a book about this." Carol said. "We think that the entire story about Findley is worth publication and that the legal, social and moral issues about the whole PCA can be seen as a microcosm in this case. The entire action, reaction to the act was right here in Chicago, and it will be the defining series of events for much of the last half of this century. It is almost as fascinating as the Slavery issues of the 1800s and I think it will have ramifications on us for years to come." Carol said.

"So, Jamie, are you working on this too?" Chelsea asked.

"Not now. I am going back to Las Vegas to re-enter law practice there in Nevada. But I will stay in touch. I don't want Carol's accomplice hunting me down again." Jamie said with a smile.

"Who was that?" Chelsea asked.

"Just someone we know." Carol said. "And I am going to leave it at that."

Sitting on Mark's couch while she watched the broadcast, Margaret could not help but feel both sadness and relief. Carol had called her earlier to tell her to watch the broadcast and to also tell her that her bank accounts were now released, and that the crime scene seals would soon be off of the property at the process plants. Mark had proposed that they both leave the area and go back down to Florida, and that put their houses on the market when they got there.

Entering from the kitchen, Mark sat down and handed Margaret a cold drink. "Well, what do you say?" He asked.

"I say that you might be right. There really isn't much here for me anymore. And the girls can always visit us." Margaret responded.

"Then we'll contact Carla tomorrow and get her and carol's advise on liquidating the properties here. I think that now I want to get as far away from here as possible." Mark said.

"I agree. I think both of them would have wanted us to do that." Margaret said quietly.

"Margaret, I can't replace David. And you can't replace Helen. But we can at least enjoy what they would have wanted to enjoy as well."

Nodding her head in agreement, Margaret thought of the last few items in the will that David had left behind. There would be a couple of surprises, but none of them unwelcome. And now it was time to go.



-------

Epilogue

The ringing phone interrupted her thoughts. Looking at the number, she smiled and picked it up and heard "Hey girl friend, how you doing?"

"Sitting down here at the old plant. Going down memory lane." The blonde replied.

The caller, a very successful attorney who was her life partner, replied "Don't' be getting all morbid and morose on me again."

"I won't. Just sitting here and thanking god that this is over and we were both lucky. Heard from the boy yet today?"

"He is finishing up his packing and getting ready to go to Northwestern this afternoon. We have a drive tomorrow girl."

"Just what I need, another lawyer in the family."

"You can blame that on Carol. She really pushed that boy. Hell, he had to listen to them while they pushed me. Besides, He didn't want to be a doctor, after seeing all you went through. I think too many people didn't think you would make it there while running four restaurants."

Margaret would. Helen would. Elizabeth would. And David would. "Some people had pretty high opinions of me." She replied.

"That is true, alpha bitch. Especially me. Get your ass home."

Stacy had died two years after her son was born. Her will decreed that her son live with his godmother and her partner (now married legally) as she felt that he would have been better treated there then anywhere else. And he had gotten along with the two other children that the couple had themselves by a posthumous sperm donor named David Findley in his will.

It had been pretty good in the Post Findley world. She would never have made the friendships she had without being yanked out of the stream that scary Friday morning.

She had been thrown into a close quarters for a long time with the most intelligent people she had ever met, and they had treated her as a confidant, daughter, friend and equal ever since. She had gone in with no expectations and come out with a totally different life, far and above the goals of a country girl in the city.

The federal rehabilitation money had paid for college, but the attraction of medicine really didn't take as much as running a business did. Strange, but the restaurant and then later hotel management was where she found her real niche in life. Making people comfortable, giving them a great meal or a social experience was work that was rewarding, and that she had a flair for. She ran three hotels now, one downtown, one lakeside resort and one that was a upscale wooded hide away in Michigan. As well a management contract for the convention center.

Because of her history, the commercial insurance required her to continually be in therapy. She still had arguments with her shrink. The fact that she was alive did not bother her shrink as much as the fact that she didn't feel guilty about it. She often wondered what Helen would have thought of her current shrink. Probably would have said she was full of shit.

I miss Helen most of all. I owe Margaret and David the most, but I miss Helen the most.

The Federal investigation into prosecutorial abuse had dragged on for almost a year. Of all the various states that had conducted different investigations and hearings, only Illinois had the single court action. And the backlash of that investigation scared every other state away from any sort of prosecution.

Carol and Nancy's investigative book on the aftermath of the legal mechanizations had been an international best seller, and made them a guaranteed attraction on the rubber chicken circuit for several years...

Carol highlighted in the book the real case that the prosecution wanted to make. David was charged with coercive force and discrimination. The key evidence would have been the filings of the goat registration extensions. The reasons given for the extensions were "Required for the continued successful operation of the business". In those terms, the state contended that the women at Findley's were in fact non-compensated forced labor. In other words, labor slaves at the least. At worst, slaves forced to perform prostitution.

The financial defense would be the combination of Union memberships and the escrow accounts maintained for all of the people at Findley. David had followed Carol's advise from the beginning, and with careful accounting, all of which was in the book, the evidence that would be in trial would show that none of the participants were ever paid less then minimum wage, and that housing food and medical had been provided free of charge. And David never got more then 50 people working for him. The facts of the case in the "Special circumstances" would have blown Charlene out of the water.

Of all of the cases, the political case for coercion would have been Cindy Carmichael, where a political connection could indicate favoritism. The case, because it was a one week favor, could have been made for political connections for Cindy. But there were over twenty other cases of exceptions held over for a week or two, while Carol either got the woman back onto the street, or they went through the door of their own volition after finishing up their different business.

The only single case of coercion with no business value was Candy Mitchell. After all, she was seen lacking any real value as a business asset at the time she was fished out. She knew that the main reason for her initial removal was Margaret wanting to see David get a great young piece of ass. But her conduct as manager would be defensible as "a very shrewd assessment of raw talent". What she made of the opportunity was defense enough.

All of the women that were later fished out of the stream were fished out based on the judgment of his wife and her friends. This was the heinous crime.

David was portrayed by the prosecution as a man who set his judgment of the value of some people above others and acted on that. When in reality the court trial would have shown that it was a community at risk that selected who was safe enough to keep, and who was too dangerous to keep around.

The Canadian investigation of the films of Colleens and Betty's confessions never went very far. If it was true that they had illegally infiltrated Canada without Visas at the time and were caught, they should have been terminated on a spike in Toronto. If they had been caught by the local RCMP, then it was entirely possible that they were just dropped off at a processing center. Neither of them had exemption papers issued for their passports yet, which would explain how they got lost. But the appearance of the films was discussed and debated for a long time. While their validity was proven out based on subsequent arrests and trials, their source was never proven. It remained a mystery.

Quietly, after two years, a presidential pardon was provided to Margaret that excused her and the Stienhauer from any prosecution at federal or state level for their actions during the PCA. It was a gift from a grateful president who had used a lot of Findley data to justify the abolishment of the World PCA treaty. And the study material from that data helped discover the combination of drugs that encouraged male sperm to begin to be dominant in combination with health and diet.

Margaret and Mark had indeed moved south. She had heard that they sold their house through Carla, and that all of the assets were transferred to an address in the gulf shores area of Alabama. Florida was too expensive and Louisiana and Mississippi were too corrupt. Besides, Alabama was cheaper.

All of this became a footnote in the history books of the PCA. Carol had used it to get some publicity for additional book sales and it had started another round of rubber chicken tours for her, Nancy and Jamie Peterson. Soon, in time, everything in the case had been forgotten or shifted to half truths and revisionist history. Eventually, everyone mainly forgot it, with the exception of the occasional historian or reporter seeking to get some time on the evening (Very late evening) news.

Just like us, she thought to herself. Almost everyone had lost interest and everyone was forgotten. The shame of the public cooperation made the sin all the more unforgivable and forgettable. Nancy had told her that this was like the events after WWII, when all of Germany was found guilty of the crimes committed in compliance with the German law. The born again humanitarians were determined to punish people for sin, not for legal violation. "You are supposed to disobey an immoral law. Even if it gets you killed." Nancy had said with a grin. "But after a few years, the born again found another shiny rock to focus their attention on, and the attention just died away."

The gradual fade to obscurity was welcome. Events became a small footnote, and the participants disappeared.

And the people involved realized that the real issue was not about the law or the world outside. It was not about David or Margaret or the money. It was always about all of the rest of us. How we were treated. And how we treated those we touched,

"Yes, Honey. I am coming home." Christina Louise Mitchell said as she hung up the phone. And left the first real home she had ever had.


-------
The End
-------
Posted:  2011-10-13
Last Modified: 2012-12-09 / 08:51:01 am
Version: 2.00
-------
http://storiesonline.net/
-------