Early November, 2015

"I know you have a lot of questions." Aya said.

"No shit." Leen said angrily. Aya chuckled.

"All your questions will be answered, but not at the times you expect, or want. Right now, you'll no doubt feel hungry. On the table, there is enough food to fill in the gaps of your hunger." The eight women perked up and looked for that table. "You'll notice the watches you wear aren't normal. Press the green button when you're finished eating. It will signal me that you wish to continue this conversation." The TV turned itself off, while they started to get to their feet.

"Food first, girls." Mer said, albeit reluctantly. They went into the kitchen and found a large platter filled with eggs, bacon, toast, utensils, and bottled water.

"Everything is still warm, Mer." She looked at the food, took a fork and tasted the eggs. She took a strip of bacon. "It's all fresh." She looked at Mer carefully.

"If she wanted to kill us, she would have while we were being brought in. Eat up." Mer sniffed. "We have to be kidnapped in order to get fed properly. What kind of fucked up world is this?"

"As far as I can tell, Mer, the one who found us doesn't have evil intentions. I don't have bruises, or internal soreness, so I'm still intact." Brit blushed a bit. "Also, I've gained some weight, and I'm wearing new clothes. Is she our backer? You know, the one we all hoped for?" Mer's face twitched as Brit spoke about that dream they all had. They no longer hoped for a good mother, as they were well beyond adoption age. They hoped for a powerful person to give them a hand, so they could get over that difficult first step.

"Eat up, Brit. We'll talk after we've eaten. No sense letting the rest of the dogs eat and not let you have a bite!" Mer slapped Kata's now more ample bottom.

"Hey! Oops, I guess I did start to pig out, didn't I? I just..." Kata started, but saw Brit's grin.

"No apology, Kata. This is a first class hotel, the one we camped near. It's got us all rattled. Let's eat!" Brit said eagerly.

 

* * *

 

"They are adjusting well, baby." Tandy said as she monitored the gang.

"Yes, but it's not like we expected they would try to bolt. I hoped not to have to use the loyalty conditioning programs, and I still hope that I won't have to. They exist within the chips, and are ready to be uploaded, but I want their loyalty freely given." Aya said firmly.

"That makes sense. Loyalty bought with brainwashing will never be solid. You'll always question it. So how do you intend to earn it?" Aya smiled.

"It won't be easy. These girls have had it rough. The only way to earn it, is to let them earn my loyalty too." She turned slightly. "Jill, is the club ready?"

"All ready, boss. It looks abandoned, but the club only disappeared six months ago. The assets are ready, as is that new chem, the non addictive one. Although I don't want to introduce a new drug onto the streets, it might be a better alternative." Jill said quietly.

"Negative. We'll give them the ability to earn, give them the tools, then let their minds do the work. They have to earn it, not have it given to them." Aya made the call, which made Tandy smile.

"They've signaled you, baby. Time to meet the troops."

 

* * *

 

"Why?" Mer's first question was simple, but complex at the same time.

"I could say a whim, but that would be a lie. I could say something odd, but I'll give it to you straight." She looked at Mer firmly. "The way your members treat you and you treat them. Absolute loyalty. That is not given, it is earned. To you, they are your family." Mer lowered her eyes.

"They are my girls. They are all I have." Mer said quietly.

"Wrong, boss. You are all we have. We have each other, but without you, we would have been slaved out already." Brit said firmly.

"Which is why you're still alive, and much healthier then you were." Aya said and waited.

"What do you want from us?" Mer asked.

"You really know how to ask the hard questions, Mer." Aya smiled. "Simple. I need troops. I have a few that are loyal from their toes right through to their soul. I have earned that. Now, I will earn your loyalty in the same way. I have a club, a base for you to work out of. I'll set you up with some working capital. Hand to hand combat weapons. The price is a job." Mer became alert.

"What kind of a job?"

 

* * *

 

"As the boss said, right on time." Mer and the girls watched from the shadows. "Always the same time every day." Leen pursed her lips.

"At the end of the day?" Leen asked.

"Yes. We'll break a few bones, bruise him up real good, and call for an ambulance. This is a warning. His bitch daughter is causing problems for rich kids by setting them up, and filming them doing things their parents wouldn't like." Mer said quietly.

"So why not put a beat down on the girl?" Brit asked. "I'm ready to test out my new muscles. It's been a long time since I have felt strong enough to do something like this."

"The warning must be issued, so they have an opportunity to correct the situation. According to the boss, this kind of thing is normal in this business. We make the warning, which is paid for, and wait for the result. If it doesn't work, we become more direct, for an additional fee." Brit's eyes started to shine.

"I like the sound of this. What's the fee?" Brit asked.

"Our new home, and five thousand in operating capital." Leen said. She looked at the sheets that were left for them in the living room. "This job is the first. If we do it properly, we'll continue to work for her, and earn. No more huddling around a fire barrel, and no more starving." Brit smiled.

"Then let's make sure it's good. When it's time, I'll take the baton and hit his knee. That will put him down, and I'll keep going. I'll watch from the corner." Mer nodded at Brit's idea.

"That works. Leen, you hit his closest arm. Kata, you hit the other arm. When he is on his back, Jana and Rem hit the other leg. Lina, you and Corrie hit the ribs. Two each, but don't hit the stomach. It will put him in critical, or kill him. Try to break bones, or shatter. Don't hold back. Understood?" They all nodded.

"Good. I'll use his phone to make the emergency call, then we scatter. Head to the old utility room to wait for instructions."

 

* * *

 

They were excited. The job went down without a hitch. He was knocked down, and beaten. Mer made the call, and they disappeared from sight. No one saw a thing, they left no clues, or prints, and their faces were covered.

Mer disguised her voice, but it didn't matter whether or not she used her real one. This call was scrambled by Tandy, so her voice would be unable to be recorded. An ambulance was sent once the cops were sent to investigate the ongoing call that had no caller on the end.

*Ring* Mer looked at the table.

"How did we miss a phone being left there?" Mer went over. A small flag was on the phone. "Pin number? Is this for us?" She picked up the phone.

"Mer, good work, but the message did not work on the daughter. Under the table, you'll find some tools you may find interesting. Also, there are possible locations you can pick the target up at." Their boss's voice spoke.

"What about the club?" Mer asked carefully.

"Pick up the target. Once she's acquired, the pin number for the phone will work for the door to the club. You'll have a base to operate out of. Instructions are in the box on what to do when you acquire the target." Mer let out a slow breath. "I intend to earn your loyalty, Mer. I have no intention on screwing you over." The phone disconnected.

"Boss?" Brit asked carefully.

"Under the table. Some tools and instructions. Once we pick up the girl, the pin for the phone will open the club doors. We'll be set up." Brit let out a slow breath and shook a bit. Mer frowned. "What's wrong?"

"We appeared in that room without knowing how we got there. We are in better shape, and well fed. We have new clothes, and things appear for the things we are instructed to do. This is not someone we can afford to fuck with." She said anxiously.

"True, but she intends to gain our loyalty, Brit. She wants us to work for her. You don't do all this, and go to all this trouble, just to send eight girls after some random guy for a few grand. That room alone costs a few grand a night." Leen said firmly.

They all knew that the Revenant Hotal was a silent giant in the city. Powerful people paid big money to stay there, and have no one bother them. The security was insane, as more then one reporter found out when they tried to enter. If they weren't in the system, they were automatically shocked, and removed.

If they were persistent, they disappeared. It was basically a modern day fortress, or like a video game dungeon, and Aya controlled that dungeon ruthlessly.

"Alright. You've kept us alive so far, Mer. I'm with you."