Savages Recruit

by Loki Renard

  The moment her eyes narrowed he knew it had failed. “Is that what you’re going to do now? Just hit me for every little thing?” She started in on him, her voice dripping with very real derision. She thought him a bully. She was about to think him an even bigger one.

  “Yes,” he growled, yanking her up from her chair with one arm and laying another very hard slap across her ass. It landed like a gunshot and she screamed as he started thrashing her right there in front of Ethan, who had rolled away from his terminal and was gawping at the scene unfolding in front of him.

  Zora was too busy fighting to see Savage’s expression as he laid several more viciously hard blows across her bottom, each one slightly harder than the one before. He had gritted his teeth, not enjoying his task in the slightest. He willed her to give in, the silent voice in his head screaming along with her. Give in. Just give in dammit. Stop fighting. His arm rose and fell over and over again, a repetitive solid movement outlined by frantically kicking legs and windmilling arms. Zora screamed with what could only be described as rage, her face turning beet red as she struggled against him.

  Finally, when he was sure he must have bruised her, tears signaled the end of her resistance. He’d never been so glad to see her cry. Even when she pulled away from him and cowered next to Ethan sobbing deep breaths, he was happy. He might finally be getting through to her. She wouldn’t understand why he was being harsh, but she’d know not to cross him. He’d rather she hated him and lived than loved him and died. He would be the very devil himself if that was what it took to keep her breathing.

  “Get back to work.” He ground the words out mercilessly. When she didn’t move he took her by the and yanked her down into her seat. “Work. Now.”

  She put her hands on the keyboard, her fingers trembling as she cried. As the urge to sweep her up in a hug and reassure her caught him, he gritted his teeth and turned away without another word. There could be no affection. Not whilst her head was on the chopping block. It was better this way for both of them. Knowing that did not break his heart any less as he strode away, the muffled sounds of her weeping into her cupped hands following him all the way to the door.

  ***

  “God, are you okay?” Ethan hissed the question urgently once Savage was well clear. “He beat the hell out of you.”

  Zora nodded wordlessly. She was in shock emotionally and perhaps physically. Her bottom was throbbing and aching but she didn’t dare get up from the chair for fear that Savage would return and beat her again. What had happened to the almost tender spankings? The gentle explanations? The hugs afterward? He’d promised he would never spank and leave her, but he had. He’d lied. Her sense of betrayal was the only thing deeper than the fear and pain that racked her body as she sniffled and tried to make out the numbers on the screen through the haze of her tears. “He’s a fucking liar,” she whispered, tapping away as she finally began the task she’d been assigned.

  “They all are,” Ethan agreed, pushing away from his workstation and settling his chair next to hers for the purposes of commiseration. “They say whatever they need to say.”

  She snorted through her tears, tasting salt in her mouth. “And if you don’t do what they want they beat you?”

  “Not usually,” Ethan glanced at her. “Usually they just…”

  “Just what?”

  “Get rid of anyone who doesn’t play by their rules.”

  She wiped her eyes on her shirt and looked at him, her red rimmed eyes tinged with a spark of hope. “You mean they go home?”

  He gave her a quizzical look. “No, they go dead.”

  Her face grew pale. “They go dead?”

  “Yeah,” Ethan looked worried, as if he’d said something he possibly wasn’t supposed to say. “It’s not exactly a secret. I thought you knew.”

  The news made Zora felt very dizzy and very ill. “I did not know that,” she mumbled through her suddenly dry mouth. “I definitely did not know that.”

  “Oh shit. I’m sorry.” Ethan squeezed her shoulder. “You’re still here though, that’s a good sign. Just keep your head down and do as you’re told and you’ll be fine.”

  “Keeping my head down and doing as I’m told isn’t exactly my strong suit,” Zora muttered as she bent her head to the assigned task. Her tears slowly dried on her cheeks as her fingers tapped ferociously at the keyboard. The task was too simple to be engaging, it felt like busy work. Perhaps it was. Maybe they were just trying to keep her busy before they killed her. As she worked, her ass continued to throb and burn, a constant reminder of the hell Savage had unleashed on her. But why? She didn’t get it. He was like a different person in this place. Outside the compound he was personable and kind, loving even. Inside he was a tyrannical monster. Which Savage was the real one? Did he care about her at all?

  “There’s an upside,” Ethan whispered at length, apparently as an afterthought.

  “Yeah?” Zora doubted that there really was an upside.

  “Make yourself useful and you can get away with an awful lot. It’s a meritocracy. A really harsh one, but if you know how to work it, well, let’s just say life isn’t unpleasant. If you want out of here, you need to play by their rules.”

  “You’re starting to sound like a plant, Ethan,” Zora pointed out dryly.

  He smiled shamefacedly. “I’m just telling you how it is. I’d rather you not disappear, you know? You’re good value.”

  “Tell them that,” Zora said.

  “That’s something you’re going to have to do on your own.” Ethan winked. “I’m sure you’ll find a way.”

  Zora smiled slightly. Ethan was fast becoming her only friend. Brian had disappeared since the mission. That made her sad, but Anja had gone too and that didn’t. It was lonely with nobody in her corner though, and she’d take Ethan’s slightly awkward attempts at friendship, even if he wasn’t exactly prepared to help her when she was in a tight spot. He’d made himself damn scarce when Savage had started whaling on her.

  Biting her lower lip nervously, she promised herself one thing. She wasn’t going to let any of them see how scared she was. They weren’t going to win. She’d beat them at their own game if it was the last thing she did. Resolution made, she turned back to her newest friend. “So Ethan, want to teach me more about these systems?”

  ***

  When Savage returned to check on her progress, he found Ethan and Zora very buddy buddy, snuggled up at the same terminal and laughing at something.

  “What are you doing?” He snapped the question from the door, expecting a fear based reaction. She’d flinch, or cower, perhaps even squeak in concern. None of that happened.

  “Learning.” She looked him right in the eye, no sign of fear whatsoever. For a moment he wondered if he’d really spanked her as hard as he thought he had. Then he saw the slight redness that still lingered about her eyes, the dew on her eyelashes. Damn she bounced back quickly.

  “Have you completed your task?”

  “Yes.” Again a straight answer, delivered without even blinking. There was nothing he could complain about in her demeanor, but he still felt as if he was somehow being told to fuck right off.

  Next to her, Ethan was grinning like a chimpanzee. “She’s done some additional work as well actually.”

  “Good,” Savage nodded. “Then she can help you analyze the data from the Somali mission. I need it by midnight.”

  “Righto boss,” Ethan made a mock salute. Zora had redirected her attention to her terminal and was ignoring him pointedly. He couldn’t exactly blame her for that, though the pang of regret was unpleasant.

  He turned around to leave and heard her giggle, a conspiratorial sound that he was excluded from. Glancing out the corner of his eye, he saw the way she leaned towards Ethan in a typically feminine display of casual intimacy. So that was how she was going to play it, was it? She was going to try to work Ethan into the mix. Interesting. Smart too. Ethan would have been Savage’s pick if he’d been in her situation.


  “Oh Ethan,” he said over his shoulder.

  “Yeah boss?” There was a wariness in Ethan’s voice, a slight guilt borne of the filthy thoughts Savage was sure would be running through his brain.

  “Make sure the assessors get Zora’s numbers, okay?”

  “Sure thing boss.”

  “Better do it, or he’ll beat you.” Zora snarked sarcastically.

  Savage’s shoulders slumped. Was the girl insane? He’d just thrashed the hell out of her not an hour ago and she was already back proving she wasn’t scared. A part of him wanted to ignore the challenge, but he knew what would happen if he didn’t respond to the comment. She’d take it further, and further and eventually she’d end up with a bullet between the eyes.

  Wordlessly he turned back towards her. As he took a step forward, he saw the flicker of genuine fear in her eyes and the way she slumped down in her chair, trying to make herself smaller. But it was too late. “Come with me Ms Matthews,” Savage snapped. To her credit, Zora got out of the chair fairly smartly, her hands going back to clutch at her sore bottom. “Follow me,” he ordered tersely.

  She followed him dutifully back to his office and stood, trembling ever so slightly as he closed the door behind her and gave her a long, hard look. At first she met his gaze, but then she whimpered and looked at the floor. He could see her lips moving slightly, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t quite bring herself to speak. Whether it was from fear or something else, he didn’t know.

  “Pants down, Matthews,” he ordered.

  Her expression was pleading and she uttered a small squeak, as if she was going to beg him for mercy, but then she pressed her lips together and he watched as her hands went to her waist and she pushed her sweatpants down in one almost defiant motion.

  “Turn around.”

  She turned away from him. He surveyed the damage he’d already done to her bottom. As he’d suspected, there were signs of bruising already coming up. He could see it along the sides of her white cotton panties. It was going to have to be a light, stinging implement for this round.

  “Over the desk.”

  Savage admired her stoicism as she shuffled forward without looking at him and bent dutifully over the desk. Some might have mistaken her compliance for submission, but he knew she wasn’t submitting to him, she was fighting him as hard now as she had been when she kicked and hit him. He walked around the desk and retrieved the short cane from the long drawer, then returned to her side where he made physical contact by placing his large palm on the small of her back. She was bent over nicely at that moment, but he would put money on that changing when the cane lashed down.

  “In future, keep your opinions and smart remarks to yourself,” he said, whipping the thin bamboo down across her panty clad seat with a harsh crack. She made a muffled squeaking sound, but to his surprise, she stayed in position. He repeated the treatment, lashing the cane down across the center of her bottom, a stroke that landed just below the one before it. Again she made a stifled sound, but she did not cry out. He’d expected cursing and yelling and her usual barrage of temper but she hadn’t spoken a word since he’d commanded her to follow him.

  A third cut followed, then a fourth. Grunts were the only sound accompanying those cuts of the cane, and by the time he applied the fifth and the sixth, the grunts had turned into groans. The response was so much unlike her that he began to get quite concerned.

  “Zora?” He leaned over to check her and saw that her eyes were pressed tightly closed, but tears were streaming down her face. Her mouth was clamped shut, but she was breathing heavily through her nose, her thighs trembling as she seemed to silently scream. She was trying so damn hard to hide the pain that her body shook with the effort. Savage felt his resolve begin to crumble yet again as he questioned his ability to be the harsh master she needed. “Look at me Matthews,” he ordered briskly. Her eyes snapped open and he saw her defiance written there plain as day. “Do we have an understanding?”

  “Yes sir, we have an understanding.” He sighed inwardly. She was so cold. So distant. He didn’t like it one bit. “An understand that you’re a lying scumbag,” she clarified in a burst of sudden temper.

  He had to hide a smile of relief. She was still in there after all. He managed to convert his smile into a hard smirk. “A scumbag that owns your ass, remember that and watch your mouth when you speak to me,” he said, giving her a light, almost playful tap on the rear. For a moment, they were back to their old selves. He knew it couldn’t last, but he treasured it regardless.

  “There’s not going to be anything left of my ass by the time you’re done with it,” she observed, the cheek coming back in full force.

  Savage shook his head at her. “What am I going to do with you Matthews?”

  She sighed as she stood up and started rubbing the sting out of her bottom. “Hit me until one of us gets shot.”

  She had no idea how very right she was.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Image after image zoomed by in front of Zora’s eyes. Glued to the screen in front of her, her face lit with the reddish hue of the desert images she inspected, she was like a zoned out zombie. Occasionally, something would catch her eye and she would hit a button to freeze the image. After a more careful inspection she would either decide it was nothing after all and move to the next picture or report the image for further analysis.

  Weeks of harsh discipline and distance, not to mention constant supervision from a seemingly endless parade of authoritarian bosses had created a new Zora, a Zora who did her job and little else. Her performance had never been better, her numbers were high and there were even rumors that she might be up for a promotion. If any of those who supervised her transition from free thinking rebel to good little cog in the machine had paid closer attention, they might have noticed the spark of impishness that never entirely left her eye, even when she was engaged in the most punishingly monotonous of work. They might have perhaps considered the possibility that her apparent acquiescence to their extreme demands had come a little too easily. But the powers that were had far too much confidence in their own abilities to break and shape people to consider for a second that one civilian might be smarter than they.

  And so Zora sat there, the model of a perfect worker bee. Occasionally she shifted slightly in the ergonomic chair, but that was the only deviation from her profiled activity and it did not draw the ire of the severe looking woman who sat at an elevated desk behind Zora, her hair scraped back into a bun so tight the white skin of her scalp was visible between the graying strands. Kransky was her name. Killer Kransky to those in the know. She probably had a first name, but Zora had never heard anyone use it.

  Unlike Savage, Kransky didn’t believe in spanking or physical punishment. She believed in berating evildoers at great lengths and assigning them tasks of such mind numbing monotony that it was not uncommon for those subjected to them to break down and cry. Zora had been smart enough to avoid crossing Kransky up to that point, she had been warned about the woman’s reputation and she had no interest in moving a pile of Chinese Checkers from one side of a room to the other for days on end, as the last person to anger Kransky had done.

  “Matthews!” Zora’s name was barked officiously, as it was several times a day. Nobody in the place aside from Ethan seemed to be able to communicate without shouting.

  Zora hit the button to stop the scrolling images and looked up from the screen with square eyes that took a moment to readjust to looking at people in the real world. It was Savage, making his first appearance for the better part of a week. “Yeah? I mean, yes, sir?” She added the ‘sir’ as Kransky made the grunting overtures of what could have been quite a tedious lecture.

  “Report to my study. Now.” Savage snapped the order.

  For once, she wasn’t entirely sure what she’d done wrong. She’d been keeping her head down and working her tail off for weeks and had even been commended by a few of the old hands. Her skills had transferr
ed well to data analysis, and she was being trained in the delicate art and science of gleaning complex webs of information from scattered intel.

  After being dismissed by Kransky, she made her way quickly to Savage’s study. She knew from the snooping she’d been doing whenever she was unobserved for a few minutes that the rotation they had him on was very heavy indeed, most weeks he was flying to one god forsaken place or another to get shot at. Even if they hadn’t been in the queer standoff they were in, there would have been hardly any time at all to rekindle their flagging relationship. She suspected that this was not an accident. Someone somewhere wanted them separated.

  In spite of his occasionally harsh treatment, she missed him. She missed the way the skin around his eyes crinkled when he smiled, the way his body felt when he held her. Not being able to talk to him properly without being spied on by the people in the compound made things even more difficult.

  “What did I do wrong?” She asked when she got to his office. He had been looking overly stern when he’d summoned her, but he now looked far more relaxed. Her senses tingled with the sure knowledge that something was afoot.

  “Nothing yet,” he rumbled, sitting in one of the stuffed chairs. “But I want to prevent that.” His face grew solemn as he looked at her very sternly indeed, then flickered a small wink in her direction. The little gesture told her everything she needed to know. He was trying to get away with something.