Little Big Man

By Travis Creel

Published on Mar 12, 2023

LITTLE BIG MAN – a serial novel by Travis Creel

CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN: SHOWDOWN (Part Two)

In the first half of this chapter: After the party, Alexei and Matti awaken in the trunk of a car, having been sedated. Dmitri, noticing the two slaves missing, confronts the Prince Regent, who doesn't deny that he has them. He and Khalid are preparing to leave, but must first locate Jamal, who is not in his room. Dmitri is confident that he can prevent the P.R. and Khalid from leaving with his slaves (and the runaway princes) because they can't get past the locked gate. The P.R. smiles and says, "Don't you think we haven't thought of that?" The P.R., in turn, suspects Dmitri of hiding Jamal. To pressure him into producing Jamal, Khalid produces Pyotr with a castrating device around his balls. When Dmitri calls his bluff, Khalid presses a button, and Pyotr screams.

[DMITRI: SUNDAY, 29 JANUARY, MID-MORNING, LIBRARY – continued]

Okay, that was enough.

(P.R.) Khalid, stop.

Khalid stopped, but held his finger over the button as if to renew Pyotr's gradual castration at a moment's notice.

(Khalid) Alexei will wear one of these tomorrow, by the way.
Where is Alexei?
(Khalid) In the trunk of the rental car. Along with 4387. It's a large trunk.
And Abdullah?
(Khalid) In the back seat. He's not going anywhere.
(P.R.) So you see, Dmitri, we hold all the cards. Just give us the keys – or better yet, just bring Jamal to us; I presume you know where he is.
I do.
(P.R.) You seem surprisingly confident for a man about to lose two slaves and possibly witness the gelding of your chauffeur.
If you geld him, then he certainly won't release you. So you'll be stuck here and have to surrender Matti and Alexi.
(P.R.) That's your plan? Sacrifice your chauffeur's balls for the sake of a fucking slave?
It's an option. Your Highness, at least put that thing in your pocket. You might set it off accidentally, and you're frightening Pyotr. He doesn't understand a word we're saying.
(Khalid, complying) If we do not get Jamal, it is coming back out. And it will be used.
(P.R.) What if I were to tell you that Sasha and Oleg have been fixed with similar devices?
I'd say you're bluffing.
(P.R.) I don't bluff.

Which was true enough, as I have noted before. I texted Sasha and got no answer. And I hadn't seen either of them at breakfast. Could the Family have gotten to them and tied them up somewhere? It was possible. The Prince Regent was playing hardball, all right. Hardball with balls.

It was time to play the only card I had and hope it was enough. I told Alexei yesterday that we were going to win this fight. I was confident then – I wasn't now. But I would have to act confident.

Your Majesty, you think you're asking me to decide which I value most – my employees' manhood or my slaves. My slaves, of course, are irrelevant. I can get new slaves. What matters is my self-respect and whether I am willing to allow myself to be bullied by a man I consider my friend.
(P.R.) As I consider you my friend, Dmitri. So let us settle this amicably. Give us the keys, we'll take Jamal and the slaves, and I'll reimburse you half the cost of your new slaves. There's an auction in Buenos Aires in two weeks. I'll even fly you there.
That is generous in some respects, Your Majesty, but we're not done negotiating. You have a decision to make as well. And that is how much you value your reputation.
(P.R.) My reputation? You think my reputation will suffer from asserting my authority over my sons?
Of course not. You are a strong leader, that will only make you appear stronger. But what about the reputation of the royal family if it got out that your son was raped by a lowly slave?

There was a pause.

A very long pause.

A very, VERY long pause.

(P.R.) How do you know of this?
(my turn to smile)
(Prince Regent) I repeat. Dmitri, how do you know of this? Was it 3914?
Your slave? No. Your son. He told my slaves.
(Prince Regent) My son . . . told this to your slaves? To your SLAVES? To YOUR slaves?
Yes.
(Ruslan) Glad you admit that they're OUR slaves.
(P.R., ignoring him) How did this happen?
Perhaps you had better ask him that.
(P.R., after another pause) I will. When I get him home.
(Khalid) Abdullah. Jamal couldn't have told you, he was too devastated to say a word about it.
(intentionally mysterious look on my behalf)
(P.R.) If you spread it around, Dmitri, no one would believe you. And that would damage YOUR reputation.
Jamal wasn't exactly devastated, Your Majesty. He enjoyed it.
(Khalid) That's a lie!
It's not, and we can prove it. Colonel?
(Tcherepnin) Your Majesty, yesterday morning we administered a lie detector test to Prince Jamal.
(Khalid) What?! This is outrageous! How dare you do such a thing!
(P.R., more concerned than angry) What led you to do this?
Friday night, he was given the opportunity to fuck Alexei. He said he would, but didn't. All he did was put his penis in Alexei's mouth for a few seconds so that Alexei could report that he sucked Jamal's cock, if questioned.
(Khalid) I suppose your lying slave told you this. Perhaps I will cut off more than its balls when we get it to the palace.
My slave does not lie, Your Highness. And the polygraph confirmed this – correct, Colonel?
(Tcherepnin) Correct. Jamal also stated – truthfully – that he does not like fucking slaves in the ass.
(Khalid) Impossible. Our genes -
(Tcherepnin) Furthermore, he refused to say whether he would rather be a slave or a Master.
(Khalid) I've had enough. (Reaching for his pocket)
(Pyotr, in Russian) Boss, no! Stop him, please!
(P.R.) Khalid, leave it. Let's hear this out.
(Khalid) Very well. But I rather enjoyed the look of panic on the chauffeur's face.
(Tcherepnin) We then interrogated Alexei, who confirmed that Jamal had told him about the rape and further revealed that Jamal said he had, and I quote, `liked it'. Alexei passed the lie detector with flying colors. The only time the polygraph uncovered a lie was when Jamal initially said that he enjoyed fucking slaves.
(P.R.) Lie detector tests are not a hundred percent reliable. They're not admissible as evidence in most countries. You have to have more than this.
I do. Last night at the party, your son requested to be treated like a slave, indicating that he thought it would be fun.
(Khalid) He said no such thing.
(Bobrovsky) Yes he did. I heard him.
(Khalid) Fine. You can produce witnesses to say he said that. We can produce witnesses who will say he didn't. We can even produce witnesses who weren't at the party but will say they were. You have no proof.
Wrong, Your Highness. Have you forgotten that we videotape all of our parties? Oleg edits them and Sasha sells them online. This one won't need editing. And it can be broadcast to all our subscribers.
(P.R., after a pause) You wouldn't, Dmitri –
I would, and I will, if I need to. Can you imagine how IAMSO will react if they learn that Prince Jamal secretly yearns to be a slave? Right now, you're a demigod in the slave-owning world. After this comes out, no one will look at you with the same respect and there will always be whispers behind your back. `Did you hear? He claims his whole family are doms but his very own son . . .' Is that what you want, Your Majesty?
(P.R.) Dmitri –
I'm not finished. Ruslan?
(Ruslan) This document was written and signed by your son Jamal this morning. (Pushed forward) In it, he answers the question he would not answer yesterday. He affirms that he would rather be a slave than a master.
(P.R.) What?
(Khalid) It's a forgery.
(P.R.) It does look like his writing.
(Khalid) You pressured him.
(Ruslan) What, you think we put a device around his balls that would castrate him? No, Your Highness, we wouldn't stoop to anything as low as that.
(Khalid) Don't forget that I still have the control in my pocket.
(P.R.) I want to see my son. I want to hear this from his own lips.
Fair enough.

I picked up my phone.

Nikolai? Bring Jamal down to the library.

I said nothing else. Neither did either of the brothers. There was nothing more to be said. They would have to see for themselves.

A minute later, Nikolai appeared, followed by Jamal.

Jamal was naked. The Prince Regent gasped.

Jamal immediately dropped to the floor and presented his ass. Nikolai pushed him prostrate and planted his foot squarely on the boy's ass. The traditional manner of claiming a slave.

(Khalid) What do you think you're doing?
(Nikolai) Up, boy. Stand in the corner, next to Rodion.

Jamal looked around, deduced that Rodion must be the slave who wasn't Declan, and moved next to him.

Jamal was no longer in possession of pubic hair.

(Nikolai) I haven't had a chance to shave him completely, just took off his bush.
(Khalid) I repeat – what do you think you're doing?
(Nikolai) Breaking in my slave. He's sixteen now, isn't he? IAMSO allows slaves as young as sixteen, with approval. I'm in good standing, they'll approve.
(P.R.) Jamal, come here.

Jamal looked to Nikolai, who nodded, and Jamal approached his father.

(Khalid) This is an outrage! (reaching for his pocket) I should take off his balls just to punish you, Dmitri.
(P.R.) No. It would not punish Dmitri, just his chauffeur, who's done nothing wrong. If you want revenge, you must select the right target.
(Khalid) Then I will find a way to avenge you, Nikolai. And Dmitri. And Ruslan. as - (P.R.) You will not. I must speak to my son. Alone. You may stay, Dmitri, as witness. Nikolai and Ruslan as well. Khalid, go release Sasha and Oleg.

Yuri, Khalid, Tompkins, the F.S.B. men and the two slaves left the room. Pyotr hovered near the door, looking anxious.

(P.R.) And I suppose the chauffeur should stay as well, or Khalid may castrate him while I'm not looking.

I conveyed this information to Pyotr and told Tcherepnin to keep an eye on Khalid.

(P.R.) Jamal, are you all right?
(Jamal) Yes, Sir.
(P.R.) Sir? I'm your father, and you're calling me `Sir'?
(Jamal) Slave protocol is to call all men `Sir' other than their Master.
(P.R.) Did you ask to be this man's slave?
(Jamal) No, Sir.
(P.R.) You didn't? But you agreed to it?
(Jamal) No, Sir.
(P.R.) Wait a minute. (to Nikolai) He didn't ask to be your slave and he didn't even agree to be your slave, and yet you're claiming he's your slave?
Your Majesty, you of all people should know that the whole concept of slavery is based upon its being involuntary.
(P.R.) Yes, but Dmitri, he is royalty. You don't go around making slaves out of royalty.
Of course not. Consider Jamal the exception that proves the rule.
(Nikolai) The boy is a born slave, and he knows it. For such a person, it is not necessary for him to request or agree to become a slave. That decision is made for him, but we both know that it is his destiny.
(P.R., to Jamal) So you had no choice in this matter – he just claimed you?
(Jamal) Yes, Sir.
(P.R.) Did you object?
(Jamal) No, Sir.
(P.R.) You let him strip you and shave you and you did nothing to try to stop him?
(Jamal) That is correct, Sir.
(P.R.) Jamal. Look into my eyes. Answer me truthfully. Do you want to be a slave?
(Jamal) More than anything, Father. I mean, Sir.
(P.R.) Yes, Jamal, I believe you do. . . . Dmitri, you have won. I cannot have Jamal back in the palace after this. Nikolai, you may keep him. Of course, we will take Abdullah back with us.
And my slaves?
(P.R.) I will not insist on them. (to Nikolai) Have you taken his cherry?
(Nikolai) That had been done previously, Your Majesty.
(P.R., muttering) Does everyone in this house know this?
Just Ruslan, Nikolai, and myself. And the FSB men.
(P.R.) So have you – taken him yourself?
(Nikolai) Yes, I fucked him this morning.
(P.R.) Jamal, did you enjoy it when he fucked you?
(Jamal) Oh yes, Sir.
(P.R.) . . . I think I have nothing else to say to you.
So, Your Majesty – I produced your boy, will you produce mine?

The Prince Regent rose and went to the door.

(P.R., in English) Khalid, have Declan and Tompkins unlock the car trunk and bring the slaves back. They might as well bring Abdullah in as well. I'm not sure when we'll be leaving, and I don't want him to freeze to death waiting.

There was an exchange in Arabic, but it was evident to me that Khalid had lost this battle.

ALEXEI:

Do you know Tennyson?
Of course I know tennis. And don't call me `son'.
Tennyson? The poet?
I only know accountants.
`Now folds the lily all her sweetness up, And slips into the bosom of the lake. So fold thyself, my dearest thou, and slip into my bosom and be lost in me.' That's Tennyson.
Oh, I am lost in you, babe, I am lost in you. Only it's not your bosom I'd like to slip into.
How I wish you could. Slip into me.
You don't have much of a bosom.
True enough. You should slip into something else.
A week ago I slipped into you. You slipped into me. Hold onto that date, remember that date. January 21. We made love.
Are you worried that I'd forget that date?
I want you to remember it for the rest of your life.
Matti, January 21 is my birthday. I think I can manage to remember it.
Oh, good point. You see, I always forget birthdays. I thought maybe you did, too.
Your own?
I've forgotten the first one.
For the rest of my life, I'll cherish what happened on my twenty-first birthday.
Me, too, Cheesehead. Of course, the rest of my life may not last past Tuesday.
No, Matti. No talk of that. I mean, we're together now. Let's enjoy that.
The trunk of a car. Can't think of a more romantic spot for a date.
(Abdullah, calling out in Arabic)
(Matti) Your Highness – we don't speak Arabic.
(Abdullah) They're coming.
Oh, shit. I guess that means we're leaving.
(Abdullah) Maybe not. It's just Tompkins and 3914. Neither Father nor Uncle Khalid is with them.
(another voice speaking Arabic, presumably Tompkins)
(Abdullah speaking Arabic)
(Tompkins speaking Arabic)
(Abdullah speaking Arabic)

Footsteps. Sound of a key. Light. Tompkins staring down at us.

Halle. Fucking. Lujah. (Maybe.)

A moment later we were out of the trunk and walking back to the house. Tompkins didn't know about the slave tunnel, so we walked in the newly fallen snow with our bare feet. Usually when I came in from outside in winter, I had a blanket and a cup of Henri's tea waiting for me. How lovely that would be.

DMITRI:

Dmitri, I'm in an impossible situation. You understand this.
I do.
Please tell me you will keep quiet about Jamal. It would devastate my family, and some may even suggest that I be deposed.
Is Abdullah ready to govern?
No. But Abdullah may also be suspect; there are those who were ashamed of him for sticking up for his slave during the poisoning incident.
Despite the fact that his slave was innocent?
To a certain faction, that is irrelevant.
Your next son?
Malik is too young. No, it would be Khalid they want. And while Khalid would maintain our traditions and way of life, he pays little attention to other aspects of the job, like diplomacy and social welfare. And with his temper, he is not skilled at negotiating rationally.
I've noticed that.
Dmitri, you have to help me. What do I need to do to ensure your silence?
You can start by freeing my chauffeur from that device around his balls.
Yes yes, of course.

The Prince Regent went to the door and called in his brother.

(P.R.) Take that thing off him. (to me) You remember on the boat, we had versions of this device that only simulated castration, but the victims couldn't tell that it was fake. Pyotr and the others got the benign version, we wouldn't really have gelded them.

Khalid and the P.R. sparred verbally in Arabic, but finally Khalid freed poor Pyotr from that wretched device. I had no idea what the rest of their conversation was about, but Ruslan, who understands Arabic, later told me that the P.R. informed Khalid that they were giving us our slaves and that they would have to be content with returning home with only Abdullah and Declan.

They didn't know that I had more to say on that issue.

Horst appeared at that moment.

(Horst) Oh, there's Pyotr! Is he free to take me home?
I think `free' is the right word for what Pyotr is now.

Ruslan translated for Pyotr, who allowed himself an ironic smile.

But, Horst, don't leave yet. Stick around, you might find this interesting.
(Horst) Might find what interesting?
It depends on what happens. Ruslan, bring the others in.

Yuri (with Rodion) and Tcherepnin re-entered, the latter explaining that Bobrovsky had veered off to the kitchen in hopes of procuring additional samples of Henri's pastries. We didn't need Bobrovsky, anyway. We did, however, need Tcherepnin. I'll confess, this next bit was all Ruslan's idea. He saw that we could really press the advantage while we had it – and I suspected he had some ulterior personal motive, although it wasn't evident on the surface.

Your Majesty, you asked what you could do to buy our silence. We have no desire to humiliate you on the international stage by making the video and other documentation public. Including, by the way, the fact that there is an active camera in this room which recorded Nikolai's claiming of Jamal and your conversation with him.
(Khalid) And now you're going to squeeze us for all we're worth, is that it?
You are the second richest country in the world per capita, and personally you are among the top three families. You can afford to buy a boat.
(P.R.) A boat?
Ideally, we'd like to run LBM Europe simultaneously with LBM America and merge the slave sale in Mogadishu. But with only one boat we have to stagger the timing. We don't have enough liquid funds for a second boat. You do. Too much is in place to alter the schedule for this year, but if you purchase it in the next few months, we can modify it in time for next year.
(Khalid, angry as usual) Do you have any idea how much this will cost?
(Yuri) Of course we do. We scouted around for a second ship but the corporation can't afford it.
(P.R.) Dmitri, you're a billionaire.
I am, yes, but it's tied up in dozens of enterprises. LBM needs to buy the boat and the problem is liquidity. We still haven't recovered the funds that Ilya stole from us –
(Tcherepnin) They will be recovered, but the process is slow. Probably not for a few months.
(Yuri) And, in fact, we have found a sister ship to the Fundamental Experience. Almost identical, so the perfect size.
It's moored in Andros and is called Greek Adventure. We won't even have to change the name. We'll cover the cost of the modifications. You just buy the boat. And if you buy a third boat –
(Khalid) What?
(smiling) If you buy a third boat, we'll franchise out LBM Africa to you when it gets going in three or four years. You'll get half the profits and can cherry-pick the slaves you want for yourselves.
(P.R.) With three Little Big Mans – Khalid, will we need that many new slaves?
(Khalid) Some of our slaves are approaching their termination age. 3914, for example, will need to be replaced. But I have no problem raising our standards and ridding ourselves of some of the lower-performing slaves.
(Ruslan) By which I hope you mean sell them.
(Khalid) Possibly. However, more new faces in the Hall of Shame would provide incentive for slaves to be at their best. The bottom line is that we can accommodate as many new slaves as you want, brother.
(P.R.) Starting with a new one for Abdullah, now that he won't have 4387.

Timing, sometimes, is remarkable. It was at that precise moment that Abdullah, resembling very much the proverbial wet hen, entered the room in a hurry.

ALEXEI: There was no blanket or tea to greet us, but the warm air seemed to buffet my skin the moment I reached indoors. It was only then that I fully realized how cold I was. Matti moved stiffly, the cramped position of several hours in the trunk having taken its toll; no amount of kisses could have eliminated that. But he smiled at me, and I smiled at him, and for the time being, all was right in the world.

All was far from right in the world for Prince Abdullah.

(Abdullah) Where is my father, Tompkins? I want to see my goddamned father.
(Tompkins) They were in the library. Shall I -

Abdullah charged ahead, pushed open the door to the library and burst inside. Tompkins, perhaps wisely, cautioned us to stay out of the room until he himself entered. We waited just outside the library and, the door remaining open, heard every word.

(Abdullah, speaking Arabic, violently)
(Ruslan) Your Highness, stop. This is not a conversation you can have in private. I understand every word you are saying, and I will report it to everyone present. So save us some time and whatever you have to say, say it in English.
(Abdullah) Fine. I want them all to hear it, anyway. I want them to know how you treat your son. Your son and HEIR! You chloroformed me and put me in a straitjacket! Is it any wonder I want nothing to do with you?
(P.R.) Abdullah, calm down.
(Abdullah) Calm down, my ass.
(Khalid) We were acting in your own best interests.
(Abdullah) The fuck you were! My own best interests are to have Matti back – yes, I call him Matti and not 4387 – and I'm not going back unless he comes with me, and I need you to guarantee that you will not touch a hair on his head.
(Khalid, with a wry smile) As long as there are no hairs on his neck, I think we can do that.
(Abdullah) You see, Father? You see why I can't go back with you? He wants to behead Matti.

Matti and I exchanged glances. And then he shrugged.

(Khalid) It would be the jury's decision, not mine. But your behavior would not help your cause.
(P.R.) I'm afraid my brother is right, Abdullah. The jury – even those whose votes Khalid and Mustafa do not control – would recognize that you have become emotionally attached to this slave – and that for your own good you must be separated from him.
(Khalid) And demotion would not be sufficient. The temptation must be permanently removed.
(P.R.) If you insist on taking him home with you, I'm afraid that will be 4387's fate. It will only be Level Two, not too brutal, but he'll be dead nonetheless. But fortunately, there is another option.
(Abdullah, warily) Yeah, what is that?
(P.R.) Where is he, anyway? I thought the boys came in with you.
(Tompkins, stepping into the room) In the hall, Your Majesty. Do you want them in the room?
(P.R.) Yes.

Matti and I stepped inside, nervously. Abdullah looked over at Matti as if he wanted to hug him, but couldn't. I understood that feeling – I wanted to hug Matti as well, just for support.

(P.R.) We have agreed to leave these two here.

My joy was boundless. I know it showed on my face. I wanted it to show on my whole body. I wanted to hug Matti and kiss Matti and hold his hand and dance. And I stood there motionless, trying to remove the happiness from my face as quickly as I could. And not looking at Matti because I knew if I did I would break into a grin even more infectious than his. And maybe my cock would spring into action as well.

So this is why we had been brought inside. We weren't going anywhere. Unless Abdullah did something to muck this up. And he was giving it a go.

(Abdullah) Unacceptable. I'm not giving up Matti.
(P.R.) I'm sorry, Abdullah, but you cannot have it both ways. When we get home you can have your pick of any slave in the palace. Any of them. But you cannot have 4387 and keep him alive.
(Master) Actually, he can, Your Majesty. Your two boys come as a package deal.
(Khalid) What? You're not going to make Abdullah a slave, too!
(Master) No, of course not. The boy is a natural dominant.
(Abdullah) I'm confused. What did you mean, uncle, making me a slave, TOO?
(Khalid) Look in the corner.

Of course, I looked in the corner as well, not having paid any attention to the fact that there were two naked bodies standing side by side. One of them was Rhody. But the other was – WTF???

(Abdullah) Jamal! (rushing over to him) Jamal, what's going on?
(Jamal) I'm a slave now, `Dullah.

Which prompted Nikolai to rush out of his seat, run over to Jamal and punch him in the gut.

(Nikolai) You call him Sir', boy! He is no longer your brother, he is a Man, and you are a slave, and you call him Sir' like any other Man.
(Abdullah) Jamal, did you – my God, how did this happen?
(P.R.) We'll explain later. The bottom line is that Jamal is now a slave and Nikolai is his Master.
(Khalid) And Dmitri is blackmailing us over that fact, and squeezing us dry.
(Master) Your oil wells won't run dry for decades if not centuries. But now you know the price of our silence – you buy us our boat, you return us our boys, and Abdullah stays here.
(Abdullah) Really? I can stay here?
(Master) So far as I am concerned, yes.
(P.R.) I will leave it up to you. But think about the consequences. If you stay here, you are no longer part of this family. You are no longer the heir to the throne. You will never be king.
(Abdullah) I don't want to be king.
(P.R.) And you will be losing your entire family. Are you willing to give that up – your father, all your uncles and cousins – for a stupid slave boy?
(Abdullah) He's not stupid.
(Khalid) He's also not your slave. He's Ruslan's.
(Abdullah) Yes, but I'd still be around him. I'd have access to him, wouldn't I? I could fuck him sometimes?
(Master) You will be expected to. That goes for any slave in this house.
(Abdullah) . . . Would I have to fuck my brother?
(P.R.) He is no longer your brother. He is a slave. He has no family.
(Nikolai) Jamal will not be living here. I am only here because my services were needed and I had no slave of my own. I have one now, and I will take him home with me. After next Saturday's party.
(Master) At which you – and several others – will fuck him.
(Ruslan) Your Highness?
(Khalid) Do not call him that. If he is giving up his family, he is no longer royalty.
(Abdullah) I accept that. Call me Abdullah.
(Ruslan) Very well, Abdullah. Would you like to have Matti as your slave again?
(Abdullah, filled with astonished optimism) Do you mean that?
(Ruslan) I have only been a slaveowner for a week. The original plan was for me to get a slave from Little Big Man this summer. Until then, I can go back to the way things were before. If I need to.
(Abdullah) OMG, this is amazing. Thank you, Ruslan, thank you so much. Matti, come here!

Matti looked at me, letting go of my hand (which I had not realized was clasped in his, and hoped that no one had noticed) and approaching the young ex-prince.

(Abdullah) Get under the table and suck my cock.

Matti ducked down and disappeared under the table.

(P.R., smiling) At least there are some things he has learned from his father. I would have Alexei and Yuri's boy provide the same service for me and my brother, but it might get a bit crowded under the table – and I think the meeting is probably about over.
(Khalid) Wait, brother. Are you telling me we are going home without either Jamal or Abdullah?
(P.R.) I'm afraid, brother, we don't have much choice.
(Khalid) And how are we going to explain that? Jamal maybe – we can invent an infection, he's somewhat frail, there's a cover story possible there. But both boys? How are you going to explain that?
(P.R.) My brother has a point. I don't see how we can allow Abdullah to remain here without a credible cover story.

I saw Master smile.

(Master) I think Ruslan has an idea about that.
(Ruslan) There is a reason we have Col. Tcherepnin here at this meeting. He's something of an expert in arranging disappearances. Colonel?
(Tcherepnin) Let me first get some information. Who at the palace knows you are here?
(P.R.) Only my brother Mustafa. We told everyone we were going to a conference in Geneva on . . . something or other. There is one going on, apparently.
(Khalid) Water resources.
(P.R.) That's right.
(Tcherepnin) The point is, no one knows you're here to retrieve your sons.
(P.R.) Correct, except for Mustafa.
(Tcherepnin) Who knows that the boys did not go to the conference in Turkmenistan?
(P.R.) Again, only Mustafa. We didn't even tell Rashid.
(Tcherepnin) When are they expected back?
(Khalid) Tuesday.
(Tcherepnin) Excellent. That gives us time. Listen: There will be a car accident on Tuesday, on the way back from the airport. Both sons, the slave, and the driver will be killed in the crash. It will be a fiery crash and they will be burnt beyond recognition.
(Khalid) We can't come back with that story. People will want verification, pictures –
(Tcherepnin) The crash will be real. There will be bodies inside. It just won't be the right bodies. Get some from the morgue of approximately the same size.
(P.R.) Four bodies? But we only have to explain two.
(Tcherepnin) Let's start with the driver. Who would be driving the boys back from the airport? Tompkins?
(P.R.) Not usually. We have a small civilian crew that works for us under the same conditions as Tompkins' company.
(Tompkins) IAMSO vetting, frequent lie-detector tests, and penalty of death for mentioning anything about slavery to anyone.
(Tcherepnin) Would anyone at the palace know or care who the driver was?
(P.R.) One of the slaves handles the records. He won't say anything. No one else pays attention to the records.
(Tcherepnin) Make up a new employee and `hire' him for the job. That will allow Tompkins to keep doing what he's doing.
(Khalid) Yes, but what about 3914?
(Tcherepnin) Well, I'm afraid he can't return with you, unless you wish to have him actually be in the car when it crashes. It would be an extremely painful death.
(Ruslan) You don't want to do that. He's been a faithful slave.
(Tcherepnin) Find some bodies in the morgue – or prisoners you're going to execute anyway. Two need to be young enough to pass for your sons. Put a third in the driver's seat, in a uniform. The fourth will have to be of a similar size to your slave. Strip him and put him in the trunk. They should be dead before they go into the car, but no one is going to do an autopsy to find the cause of death.
(Khalid) You're saying that we must give up 3914? You want yet another slave here?
(Master) We have enough slaves. But Horst needs one.
(Horst) What?
(Master) I think he's just your type, Horst.
(Horst) This beautiful trusty, the big one? I can have him?
(Master) How about it, Your Majesty? I think we've solved your cover story problem. And after this accident, there will be a great outpouring of support for you. This will be a tragedy of monumental proportions within the IAMSO network. You'll be even more loved and revered than you are now, because of what you've supposedly suffered.
(Khalid) All very nice, but now my brother has lost his trusty. And I think we should still be compensated for losing 4387, even if Abdullah is not there to be his master.
(Master) I've taken care of that, too. Last night, I made a couple of phone calls and purchased two slaves for you, pending your approval. They're both new to slavery, only a couple of months, but working out well, according to their owners. The first is the size to be your trusty. His name is Latronius.

What? Is that what happened to Latronius – they made him a slave? I'd assumed he had simply been banned from the house. But they actually sold him into slavery? In some sense, I felt bad for Latronius, but there was another part of me that was secretly enjoying how the tables had been turned upon a man so intent on intimidating and dominating me. (Although he was a great fucker.)

(Master) The second is a young man who looks a lot like Alexei, but taller. His name is Arkadi.
(Pyotr) Arkadi? (Russian, Russian, Russian) Arkasha?
(Master) (Russian) Arkadi (more Russian)
(Ruslan) Pyotr was friends with Arkadi in the days before he became a slave.

Pyotr looked some combination of relieved and anxious about this development. This must be the boyfriend that Ilya told me Pyotr was sneaking in at night, and of whom I had caught a glimpse of the night that I spent in Ruslan's room. I had heard rumors that Pyotr's boyfriend had been caught in the house, but, again, thought he was simply thrown out and told never to return.

(P.R.) Show me pictures.

Master called up some on his phone and showed them to the Prince Regent and Khalid.

(P.R.) I agree. Thank you, Dmitri. I cannot say that I am happy about the developments this morning, but you have spared me a devastating humiliation. (to Tompkins) Where are our suitcases?
(Tompkins) In the car, Your Majesty. We couldn't put them in the trunk because the slaves were there.
(Abdullah) Some of them were in the back seat with me.
(P.R.) I seem to have no more slaves. Dmitri, can I borrow one of yours to put our luggage in the trunk?
(Master) You can have Alexei. Are there luggage tags? He'll need to bring back your sons' suitcases.
(Tcherepnin) Actually, no. The suitcases should be in the car that burns. Sorry, Your Highness, you'll have to get a new wardrobe.
(Abdullah) I won't be needing my robes here, anyway. I'll get Western clothes.
(P.R.) Jamal obviously won't be needing his.
(Master speaking Russian to Pyotr)
(Pyotr) Da, Boss.
(P.R.) I presume you just told him to go open the gate for us? We're ready to leave once the suitcases are taken care of.
(Horst) Then I'll take the same opportunity to leave at the same time, if Pyotr is already out there. Declan, take my suitcase from my room to my car. The white Rolls. The black one is Dmitri's.
(Yuri) We'll leave, too. Rodion, inform Nurbek and take our suitcases out to the car.
(Tcherepnin) Our cue to leave as well, if I can drag Bobrovsky away from stuffing his face with Henri's pastries. We didn't have luggage, but we do have our polygraph equipment.
(Ruslan) Matti can take it out for you. We seem to have enough slaves around, don't we?
(Abdullah) Uh, Matti is busy at the moment. (voice rising with tension) Although he'll be available in a few seconds.
(Nikolai) No, take Jamal, Gennady. It's time he started learning how to do work.

Tompkins handed me the keys and I headed toward the stairs leading down from the library to the basement and the entrance to the slave tunnel. As I reached the top of the stairs, I heard Abdullah give out a satisfied sigh. Matti, evidently, had just swallowed his load.

Abdullah wasn't the only one who was satisfied. I was deliriously happy. I would not be losing my balls and Matti would not be losing his life, and today would not be the last time we saw each other.

It was not happily-ever-after. Abdullah could move away and take Matti with him. And I had to get past this year's Little Big Man, from which Master would emerge with a new slave candidate he could use to replace me. And if he sold me, I knew who the most likely buyer would be – which would mean a (shortened) lifetime of porridge, cold showers, no toilet paper, and sleeping on hardwood floors.

I would have to settle for happily-for-now. And keep my fingers crossed.

Little did I know how things were yet to change.

[COMING UP NEXT: CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT - OUT OF THE HOUSE]

Next: Chapter 70

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