Tothshore's Trial Ch. 02

The group began to leave the reception room and move into one of the back rooms. Tothshore noted that it was the room Tina had emerged from and without warning an uncontrollable panic seized her. All thoughts of peacefully submitting had gone, rationally she knew this would only make things worse but her primal instincts had taken over. A thin film of sweat had covered her, she could feel it dripping down her back and along her arms. The breath she was taking had caught in her throat and without even thinking Tothshore was running. A burst of adrenaline took her farther and faster than she should have managed in her high-heeled and impractical shoes. The door to the hallway was only a few feet away and Tothshore couldn't feel the presence of anyone around her. This was possible! She was going to make it! Six more strides and she was at the door, still not breathing. Not daring to hope she smashed into the door at full pelt and wrenched at the handle. It didn't budge. She tried again only to get the same result, refusing to believe the door was locked she started to frantically yank at the handle. Nothing worked, the door wouldn't budge an inch.

Laughter erupted behind Tothshore and although she knew she was beaten she refused to abandon hope, slamming the door she began screaming for help,

"ENOUGH!" Fangio's voice cut straight through Tothshore's screams and to her disgust she found herself immediately comply. There was a power in his commands, the kind of power a man only gets when his orders are obeyed without question for a lifetime. Tothshore couldn't pretend anymore, she was terrified of Fangio, he had brought her here tonight to kill her and anything he did beforehand would only serve to make her death more painful or more humiliating, probably both.

"We are the only guests in this hotel within screaming distance Tothshore, although that won't be the last time you scream tonight." The group laughed again,

"I'll fetch her boss," Mark offered,

"You will do no such thing," Fangio stared at Tothshore and for the first time tonight their eyes met, she was lost in the inky black depths immediately, "you will come here voluntarily Tothshore, you're about to find out that there's nothing you won't do when the correct incentives are applied."

Tothshore couldn't move. Fangio could make her do whatever he wanted, she had no doubt about that but the immediate fear of Fangio and his group greatly outweighed the future torment he could apply. There were several seconds of silence in the room as Tothshore and Fangio stared at each other. It was obvious to the room that Tothshore was not being defiant, she was terrified, Fangio looked calm, contemplating his options,

"You will discover Tothshore that obedience is the virtue I value above all others, in your case you must realise that I am your protection and only chance of survival," Tothshore snorted involuntarily, his comment and condescending tone had broken her trance, she squared her shoulders and stood up straight, her meek stare had turned into a glare. There was an ominous croaking sound from her throat before, still staring directly at Fangio, Tothshore spat on the ground,

"If you going to kill me then just do it, I'm not going to be played with like some toy," Tothshore growled. Lindsey gasped and the room fell silent. Marcus was looking at Tothshore with something close to pity, they knew she had crossed the line. The only one to keep his composure was Fangio, he just smirked at Tothshore, infuriating her further,

"I like it when they resist," he laughed, looking around the room and finally breaking eye contact with his victim, "it makes it so much more enjoyable when you see them begging later on, Tina was such a disappointment in that respect," pausing to turn once more towards Tothshore he called,

"Open the door boys," with a groan a lock moved in the great oak door behind Tothshore and it smoothly opened. Tothshore bolted immediately but ran into two men who grabbed her in a vice-like grip. Struggling ferociously against her assailants Tothshore flung herself sideways in the hopes of gaining some wiggle-room and the opportunity to escape. She was tired now though, her ordeal had drained her mentally if not physically, and she couldn't raise the energy to resist with any great force. In desperation she looked up at the two men who had grabbed her and recognised them as the pair who had delivered her to Fangio just a few hours ago.

"Tothshore doesn't want to play boys, take her away," Fangio called, still maddeningly calm. In horror Tothshore felt herself being bodily lifted into the air and saw that the body bag they had transported her in was lying on the ground, open and ready for her. A fresh wave of horror gripped Tothshore. She could remember the car ride to the hotel, struggling and straining, hyperventilating as the bag refused to provide enough oxygen,

"I think burying this one alive might be most appropriate. Set up a camera in the coffin and we'll watch her die from here, we could take bets on how long she'll last," Fangio laughed his cruel, humourless laugh as Tothshore cried out,

"I'll be good, I'll go to Fangio, just let me go," she carried on pleading but her words became indecipherable as tears and terror reduced her to a mumbling mess. The two men relentlessly continued to push Tothshore down into the body bag while Fangio called out,

"Call me Master," without hesitation Tothshore screamed,

"Please Master, I'll come to you, just please, please Master don't put me back in the bag,"

"Better, put her down boys," Tothshore was unsteady on her feet as she was put back down, her entire body shaking,

"For your disobedience you must crawl," drooled Fangio. Tothshore tensed again and the atmosphere in the room somehow turned more hostile. The group were impatient to get onto their fun and games now and Tothshore was holding them up. One more act of disobedience and they would tire of her and nothing could spare her from her grave.

Summoning up all her self-control Tothshore crouched down and crawled along the floor. Staring down at her were five people she had campaigned against for years. She had been one of the chief opponents of Fangio, a great source of pride for Tothshore. Furthermore, she was the only powerful women in the city who hadn't had to sleep her way into authority. That was going to change tonight. Fangio knew her pride and he would take it from her, after tonight everyone in the city would know that Tothshore had been broken by Fangio and his cronies. And they were doing it for fun!

Put aside those thoughts! She commanded herself, find a way to survive, everything is recoverable if you just survive. They must have a need for her in their organisation, she thought, if she almost brought them to their knees then maybe Fangio wanted her as an ally, knowing she would never go willingly this was his way of recruiting her. Oddly the thought that this whole ordeal was a perverse job interview calmed Tothshore. It moved the evening into an area she had dominated since she graduated from Law School all those years ago. This was her realm, in the world of work Tothshore, not Fangio, was the dominant force in the city. They're bluffing she told herself. If they just wanted you dead you would be dead, they think you could be useful, just do as they say, let them have their fun and live to see another morning.

Fangio beckoned Tothshore and the group moved into the backroom. For the purposes of the evening this had been converted into a study. There was an ornate desk with a laptop set up on the left wall in front of a huge window which provided stunning views of the city. Tothshore reflected that after the events of this week most of the citizens in the city would be feeling about as comfortable as her this evening. The far wall was covered in bookshelves, only leaving room for a door. It was the right wall however that struck fear into Tothshore. The entire length was covered in all manner of straps and bondage devices. On the far wall Tothshore could be restrained in any position imaginable for the duration of the evening.

Fangio walked over to the desk and started to tap away at the laptop. Tothshore started to get to her feet, the carpet was irritating her knees, before Fangio said,

"Stay exactly where you are until called or you'll be restrained," internally Tothshore shrugged. Now she was actually down on her knees this wasn't so bad. In terms of humiliation this was actually pretty minor,

"Okay Tothshore, over here... now," Fangio's tone brooked no argument and Tothshore crawled over to the table. On the laptop screen she could see that Fangio had brought up an online banking site,

"Now Tothshore if you are to survive the evening we will need some use out of you," Fangio looked menacingly at her as he said this, "and we've determined that you are... how would you lawyers term it? A flight risk," the room laughed appreciatively and Tothshore saw why. All of them had henchmen she had detained within city limits before trial, spoiling some fairly elaborate get-away plans in the process.

"As such we have set a provisional bail for your case. This is non-refundable and will be completely wasted in the event that you don't comply with our instructions tonight, because you'll be dead," again the room laughed,

"How much do you want?" Tothshore hated the crack in her voice but she couldn't help it. Her Father had always been adamant that they kept all their money above board to reduce the avenues down which the authorities could pursue them. She had gotten lazy and everything she had ever earnt was locked up in a single bank account.

"Everything Tothshore, we will need everything," it was what she had expected but it came as a sucker punch nonetheless. "Think of it this way Tothshore," continued Fangio seeing her look of dismay, "how much would you pay to get out of this room alive? You can die rich or live poor, make your choice" There really wasn't a decision to make, Fangio passed the laptop down to her and right there, kneeling on the floor, she transferred almost exactly one million dollars into the bank account indicated. Inwardly devastated but outwardly calm Tothshore made to pass the laptop back to Fangio,

"What are you doing?" Fangio looked incredulous.

"I've transferred everything I own... Master," the final word stuck in her throat but Tothshore was determined to stay compliant, there would be plenty more opportunities to make money,

"I wasn't demanding everything you own Tothshore, I want everything you have access to,"

Tothshore looked around at the people in the room confused, panic setting in as she feared she couldn't give them everything they asked for. Suddenly however the penny dropped and Tothshore longed for the panic and uncertainty of a moment before, compared to the horrible realisation she had now.

"I can't give you the firm's money Fangio, are you crazy? Half of it's public money, it would be noticed before the end of the week!" Tothshore was incredulous, Fangio just stared at her, "sorry I meant... This won't work Master, I can't be any use to you in jail," Fangio smiled down at her,

"Actually Mark informs us that it won't be discovered until the first of next month... when you are unable to pay your employees," Fangio was assured, this was planned, "we will pay you for any work you do for us, as long as you're obedient nothing irreversible will happen ," the room was staring at Tothshore, they knew she had no choice, even if she ran straight to the authorities nothing would happen, the Tothshore's were no friends of the law, and without any other families to back them up... Tothshore transferred the money. $10 million dollars, half of that straight from the tax payer, straight into one of the many shell corporations owned by the most notorious criminal in the city. Her Father would never forgive her. Again Tothshore made to pass the laptop back to Fangio, this time he slapped her hard across the face and she dropped the computer, her face smarting and her eyes instantly filled with tears.

"We know about the other account you have access to," he whispered, this time genuine fury in his voice, "don't flatter yourself or overestimate your importance here Tothshore. You may be of some small use to us but you are the minor player in your family of two. Daddy dearest has seen more of my men put behind bars than anyone else. My Father and his before him didn't have half the men locked away that I do and it's all Brandon Tothshore's fault. We know you have the password to his account, he's the one we're punishing tonight, you're just the pathetic weak link we're using to do it," Tothshore gasped. It was true, it was all true but her Father hadn't given her the password until a few days ago. Fangio laughed at Tothshore's obvious shock, "don't look so surprised, Brandon Tothshore wouldn't have gone to prison without leaving someone the ability to move some money around in case of an emergency, and who else but you?"

Comforted only by the thought that Fangio couldn't actually read minds Tothshore once more reached for the laptop, inwardly cursing. If they had just used a normal bank none of this would be possible but they had gone for a high-end City Bank. It had given the Tothshore's chance to move their money around freely while being transparent with the authorities but it was also the sort of bank that wouldn't bat an eyelid at two accounts being completely emptied in the middle of the night. When she got to the account balance it was worse than she had feared. Brandon Tothshore had over $2 million dollars in his bank account. That too, Tothshore guessed would be almost his entire life savings and her Father had much less time to earn it back. A well-deserved retirement would be a pipe dream for her Father after tonight. Still Tothshore was sure that if she could have spoken to him right then and there he would have sacrificed far more to see her safe. It would be the company finances that he would be most aggravated about. Tothshore could earn that back though, Tothshore would earn that back she vowed, and make Fangio pay. The transfer done Tothshore looked up to Fangio. Scared to pass him the laptop again in case he had some other bank account he wanted her to empty, Fangio just laughed,

"Already it waits for instruction before acting," he seemed highly amused, and why not? One of his fiercest rivals was literally on her knees and he had just made $13 million dollars and some fairly significant change.

"Now are you ready for your test?" Fangio leered tapping away at his keyboard and bringing up a video feed of a Prison cell, Tothshore just gaped stupidly in response,

"What the fuck was that? Just a warm up?" She asked savagely.

"Remember to call me Master," the condescending tone made Tothshore grind her teeth but she complied,

"Was that just a warm up Master?"

"Precisely, you have one foot out of the grave Tothshore, but have no doubts you're still in some very deep trouble indeed," Fangio once more tapped away at the laptop and brought up a video feed of a Prison cell, "I must say I admire the guts of your Father if nothing else. Hiding out in a Prison while all this heat blows over. He gets well treated in there as well your Dad. His own private wing, furnished room and personal cook. It took a very well placed spy, one of Lindsey's, to find him," Fangio was back to his most menacing now, he had Tothshore cornered and he knew it. She had known it ever since Fangio had revealed he knew Brandon was in prison. A prison cell was an incredible hiding spot, outstanding security and enough privacy that the wrong criminals would never find you, plus it was the last place anyone would ever look. The downside was if someone did find out where you were, you were trapped. Brandon Tothshore was many things but an escape artist was not one of them.

"Now Tothshore, about your test. We have a Gentlemen who would very much like to fuck you," Fangio paused here to savour Tothshore's embarrassment, "don't worry we wouldn't ask you to fuck a stranger, you know him. Quite well actually..." again Fangio paused savouring Tothshore's uncertainty and anger, "... it's Gerrard, our defence lawyer,"

"No," Tothshore hadn't meant to speak but it had been a reflex. Gerrard was a morbidly obese middle-aged lawyer who would only hire a woman if she slept with him. Tothshore had taken out several sexual harassment lawsuits against him but all her witnesses had been paid off before it got to court. He stood for everything she stood against.

"Now we promised him he could fuck you as payment for some outstanding work he's done over the past couple of years," as far as Tothshore could ascertain this mainly involved keeping Fangio and his gang out of prison and fucking women half his age who just wanted a job, "he's used Tina before but he really wants to get at you. You're the only female lawyer in the city worth their salt who's not fucked him. He wants to finish his collection tonight. It's flattering really,"

"You have my money, and a lot of money I don't even own, please just leave me alone," Tothshore was getting desperate but an idea occurred to her, "please Master if I don't have to sleep with him, I'll have sex with you instead," the room erupted. Horacio actually fell off his chair laughing, and Mark doubled over, tears in his eyes,

"You bastard, how did you know?" Horacio called, walking over from the other side of the room and slapping a $100 bill on the table, "I never thought the little slut would actually offer! By God we haven't even strapped her up yet," Fangio just smirked in response,

"No Tothshore, I won't be taking you up on that very generous offer," Fangio had returned to his favourite condescending tone, the room was still echoing with the laughter of his group,

"Although thank you for winning me that bet. The sex... well I'd prefer not. Gerrard is the man for you tonight, would you like me to tell you why?" Tothshore gritted her teeth and looked towards the video feed on the camera. "What do you see Tothshore? Anything unusual for a prison cell?" Tothshore saw it as soon as the camera panned out. There were three women lined up around the corner from her Fathers cell.

"Brandon does have a weakness for women doesn't he? Surprising really that we didn't track him down that way but then again plenty of men in that Prison don't know what an empty bed feels like. Now you won't know this but you've already done rather well for your Father, five of our men were also in that line when you crawled into the room. By sending the money over you've saved Daddy death by buggery," once more a chorus of laughter spread around the room. Brandon Tothshore was not a popular man this circle, "however he doesn't know which woman he will be receiving tonight," Fangio continued as if he was explaining an everyday situation, "choice number one is a wonderful prostitute who will fuck his body mind and soul, the next has a knife in her pocket and will relieve him of some appendages and the last is just a nasty bitch who will beat him to a pulp, which one enters his room will be down to your actions,"

"What do I have to do?" Tothshore was resigned, she only hoped Gerrard made it quick, mentally she started to make a note of every grievance against her, to be repaid in kind later on,

"Well," Fangio smiled at her, "we've promised Gerrard that we could make you want him, he thinks he's turning up to a hotel for confidentiality, you have to persuade him that you want him, do that and Brendon gets the night of his life. If you fail then he gets beaten to a pulp... at best," Tothshore was sick, physically sick. The fear and humiliation washed over her and her body needed some physical response. She had left work that day a wealthy, successful and respectable women. Within minutes see would be none of those things.