Master B-0077

I’d been to the tallest and most luxurious buildings in the world. I’d seen the best, the worst, and stayed at resorts I never wanted to leave. I didn’t think much of the accommodations at the Gardens, but I didn’t have the view outside of the Main Master’s office, either. We were high. Not overly so, but a good twenty-floors above the city, and for the first time, I was looking over the streets and buildings in a bird’s eye view. It was astounding, and so much bigger than I realized being down there. I could see the stage in the far back. The orchards. The streets were busy, but not too bad this early which reminded me I had to go down there afterward to grab Ashlee’s clothes I’d ordered online through the boutique. The mere thought made me want to hit the bottle. I wasn’t doing that anymore until I figured this out. Was I even doing the right thing? Did I have a choice? Well…I had a few.

The sound of a door opening had me turning. The Main Master’s features were set tight as he took me in and gestured to his office.

“Master Seventy-seven.” He shut the door behind us, pointing to the elaborate chair on the other side of his desk. As he took his seat, I followed suit, trying not to overthink my damn situation. “What brings you here?”

“A couple of things, actually.”

“Let’s start with the most pressing issue. We’ll go from there.”

“Alright.” I let out a breath. “Slave one-fourteen.”

“I thought so. You spent a lot of money on her. Is that an issue?”

“Not at all.”

“Then what’s it about her that brings you all the way to me? It would have to be important. After all, I offered you a meeting with any of my board members with which you declined.”

My lips pressed together, annoyance and anger leaving me even more on edge.

“I declined because what needs to be revealed can only be said to you. Slave one-fourteen is my half-sister. She doesn’t know, but I do. We’ve never met before the night of the auction, but during research to uncover more about my father, I found out he had other children. Children he apparently abandoned like me.”

Elec’s fingers interlaced on his desk. “I see. So, you’ve come to me before even informing the slave she’s your sister.”

“Half-sister,” I corrected. “And yes. I’m not sure yet if I’m going to tell her.”

His lids narrowed the smallest amount. “Have you fucked her yet?”

My back stiffened before I could stop the reaction.

“You have. Well, that makes things easier. I’m guessing you have no argument on her staying?”

“No. I want her as my slave. I didn’t come to try to set her free. I came to you because we’re required a level of honesty and disclosure to remain here, and I’m giving it.”

“I appreciate that. You said there was more.”

I let out a breath. “She was raped at thirteen. She has a son on the outside world. He’s four.”

Elec was quiet as he drew his hands apart and leaned back in his chair.

“What is it you’re asking me, Master? You don’t expect me to allow a child into the Gardens to live with the two of you. Tell me you’re not stupid enough to want to do that.”

“Not to live, no. He’s young. One visit so she knows he’s okay. He doesn’t even have to see her. Then he remains in the outside world with the care I provide for him. Kyle is blood, and I feel an obligation no matter how much I’ve been fighting it. And trust me, I know who I am. My life isn’t suited for a kid, but he doesn’t deserve to grow up shitty like Ashlee and I did. I have the means to give him a good life. Raise him in our lifestyle.”

“Our. So, what you’re truly saying is, you’re grooming him for this world.”

At Elec’s words, I couldn’t help the certainty in my nod. I had been thinking it despite I was crazy for doing so.

“He’s going to be someone. I’ll make sure of it. He’ll have wealth, power, and whatever else he needs to fit into the right circles. Regardless of your answer today, he will be raised by me. He’ll be at the Garden’s some day with or without my help. Kyle won’t be able to escape it. Aside from the bad blood in his veins, he was born from a violence only we down here understand. There’s no being free of that. The child was doomed from the start. Or blessed. It’s up to us.”

“You’re either a fool or extremely smart; I haven’t decided yet.”

I shrugged. “Hopefully the latter. I’ve heard stories of the old place. This…Whitlock. Masters were born into that world. They were held spots and allowed their place there after a certain age. They banded at the fortress and the outside world to take care of each other. I wish that for Kyle. A new era, so to speak.”

“Appealing, but this is not Whitlock, and you have no idea what you’re asking. You want a brotherhood for him. The Gardens is not that. It’s a place that caters, but you have no identity here. You are a number, nothing else.”

“I understand that. I do. But I’m not merely talking about the Gardens. I think you know what I’m referring to. It’s the force that makes this world move. The stability of it. The protection.” I paused, seeing his interest. “Is a deeper connection between all of us not worth it? Would it not be better to start now with the younger generations so that they can be prepared and accepted? Raised into it? This could be a great idea. Kyle could start that generation. He could grow up to be made for this world. To help it. To build it. To lead it.”

Elec’s eyes were narrowed as he listened.

“Main Master, I never wanted kids, but now that I’m going to be raising one, I want what’s best for him. Our way. Not with money, I can set him up just fine as he begins his own life. I’m talking about the power and camaraderie amongst the darker elites. Let him start this or be part of it if something like this already exists.”

“What of the slave, his mother? Does she know what you’re trying to do?”

My mouth twisted. “No, nor do I care to tell her the direction I plan to take with his life. She’ll know he’s safe and happy and that’s enough.”

For the longest time Elec took me in. He didn’t show emotion. He didn’t fidget or react under my intense gaze. I was the one who almost reacted as he devoured me with the emptiness of his stare. He only started talking when he was ready, showing me who held the control between us, and it wasn’t me.

“Let’s just make this clear. You do understand that what you’re asking falls outside of the Garden or auctions, and you’re bartering with me one-on-one for this child’s life?”

“I want him to be a part of this world. Your world. You can make that happen.”

“I can, but do I want to?” He got quiet, seeming to weigh things I hadn’t a clue on. “The idea does have appeal, but the biggest question is, can he handle the cost? Can you, and I’m not talking money.”

Scenarios filtered through. My past. Ashlee’s. I didn’t fail at anything I went after. I was incapable because I wouldn’t stop until things were exactly as I wanted. Ashlee appeared the same way, even being forced as a slave. She took my pain, no matter the degree. She took everything I dished at her because she had to. She had a role, and she knew how to fulfill it. It was one of the main reasons I was here. We were alike. We had paid our price. And I related to her. After the loneliness in the last few years, it was so fucking nice to be able to breathe. The child would be like us: strong, prepared. I’d make him like us. He’d have a good life. Better than we ever had, but with raising him right, I could make him stronger than us. With that foundation and drive, how could he not fit in this world and thrive amongst it?

“Answer the question, Master Seventy-seven.”

“I could say yes without a doubt in my mind, but you tell me how this will work. What cost, so to speak, should I expect on your part? What would it take to bring Kyle in completely?”

Elec stood, walking to the small bar at the edge of the room.

“Completely.” He stopped, pouring his drink. “Such an encompassing word for what I see your nephew having to go through. We’re not just Masters at the Gardens, Seventy-seven. Some of us will never own a slave. Some of us have no need to come here at all. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to charge you for it. We’re a new breed, made outside of blood or circumstance. Our agenda is one, and yet all. What has got us there, the training, what we survive and see, you’ll never know or learn, but I can tell you it’s beyond what you can begin to process. Let me just get to specifics on where we should start. Aside from the fortune I’m going to charge you to assure his alpha status when he comes of age; I’ll tell you exactly the terms and conditions if you wish to go further. I may even make it better than you could imagine. But again, I want to stress the cost. It may be too high for you to pay.”

“I want to hear.”

He nodded, taking a sip and heading back towards me.

“Two yearly, one-hour visits with his mother at the military installation above. She will know of it; he will not. Once he leaves that room, his memories will be blocked. Only when he comes of age will he learn and see the truth. During the meantime, his schooling will be through special tutors of my choosing. He will have strengths. Whatever they are, I will build on them to suit my purpose. At the age of nine the child will return here and his identity of being a sovereign individual will end. He will be examined, chipped, tracked, and every other weekend you’ll bring him here where his real training will begin. When I deem necessary, he will undergo testing. He will take polygraphs, and that part will never end, just like with me. He will learn our ways. Not your ways. Not the ways of the outside. Mine. Ours. The events he will undergo over the following years will be nothing short of horrifying. You want to know the cost? This may break him. It may kill him.” He paused… “Best case scenario, he becomes part of this remarkable machine and turns into an impressive monster. If he’s like me, and those who have walked this path before, he will be born into more than this facility. He may be lucky to someday help rule it, or one like it. If not, he will play a major role in the outside world to support it. There is no going back on your word once you agree. If for some reason you fall on hard times and you can’t maintain my fees or this lifestyle, you die and the child, the collateral, is mine to do with as I please.”

“What is that exactly?”

The Main Master shrugged. “It depends how much promise the kid shows and his age. The possibilities are endless, and they can go any way. Worst case, you die or fall in status, he proves useless, and I make him a slave. You can never have too many of those.”

“A slave.” I blinked through the word. “That’s the opposite of what I want.”

“Then you better not slack off or die anytime soon. If you want the kid to make it in my world, you better do a fantastic fucking job of raising him.”

Easier said than done, but I wanted this for Kyle. The kid’s life was literally resting on my shoulders. I never dreamed nor wanted to be a father, but I suddenly had more responsibility than my own dad. There was something...challenging…rewarding in that. Even if it was a fucked-up deal I was trying to barter. It gave me purpose, where I’d been lacking that lately. Maybe this was the best thing that could have happened.

“I believe Ashlee’s mother has him now. What of custody? There has to be a lawyer good enough here I can use. It won’t be easy to obtain him out from under her.”

“I’ll do you better. I’ll give you a lawyer and the judge. The child is yours if you’re ready to make this deal. We can even speed up this process if you’d like. Just say the word, Master, and I’ll have the child here within days.”

“That soon?”

“If we don’t want any suspicion, which would be best.”

It was one thing to want in this darker world, and another to see just how easily the outside one could be manipulated. If I had any doubt of the Main Master’s power, I didn’t anymore. He wanted this deal, where I hadn’t been sure he’d even listen. It gave me pause, but it didn’t take away from what I wanted either. I could raise Kyle. Make him into who I wanted, but…I wouldn’t be the only one. The boy would belong to Elec just as much. Even if it was through schooling or training.

As I scanned the Main Master’s hard face, I suddenly saw him in a different light. Not just as powerful and dangerous, but sinister, maybe even heartless. There was something bigger in play here. Maybe the essence of control, itself. Elec didn’t just govern killers in this underground world of nightmares, his reign on the world above was just as equal, and no one knew just how much. This man had a power to ruin lives. To change them. I stopped, not able to hold in my smile as only one thing overshadowed them all. He could take lives, and Kyle deserved not to suffer like I had. He wouldn’t have to if he had no father to worry about.

“The rapist.”

He laughed under his breath, seeing all too clearly where my mind had drifted. “Shake my hand, sign the direction of Kyle’s future over to me, and the rapist is all yours. I’ll even make this deal a little sweeter. How bad do you want to find your father?”