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		DAMSELS UNDER GLASS: THE SERIES
		Jodi's Story: R-E-S-P-E-C-T WITH A CHERRY ON TOP  ———————————————————————— by Van © 2005
		Chapter 11

Unseen voices repeated Margo's command, echoing eerily and reduced in volume, as if each caller was at a progressively greater distance.  

"Send in the prisoner!!"

        "Send in the prisoner!"

                "Send in the prisoner."

There was a brief pause... and the music resumed.  It was similar to "Fiona's Dance", but was more martial in theme, with cymbals and horns joining the unseen orchestra.

Suddenly, with a low rumble, a fissure began opening in the far wall of the chamber.  The Sisters watched as two huge sections slowly slid apart, taking with them several columns and stone eagles.

A wide, level passage with a high ceiling was revealed, stretching into the distance like a subterranean highway.  It was lined with columns, and some sort of parade was approaching, preceded by ranks of dancing slavegirls with blazing torches.

"More holograms," Ronnie muttered, then belatedly realized that everything surrounding the banquet table was projected.

"You didn't realize?" Penny asked, grinning up at Ronnie from her table-bound captivity.

"When she's in horn-dog mode," Fiona teased, "she wouldn't notice an alien invasion."  She leaned forward and used her teeth to delicately pluck a shrimp from Ronnie's fingers.

"Watch it, Red," Ronnie warned, a sheepish grin on her face.  She hadn't realized their surroundings were computer generated.  It was dangerously easy to slip into one of Margo's fantasy worlds, especially when everything was so... perfect.

"More dynamic rendering," Jamie explained, popping an olive in Penny's mouth, "although since we're all more-or-less stationary—"

"H'rumph!"  The Sisters found Kat glaring at them.  "Her Majesty went to a lot of trouble to program this spectacle," she growled.  "Now, stifle, watch, and appreciate."

"Yeah," Penny sneered.  "Poor Margo!  She had to actually ask Eve to do it.  An entire sentence, possibly two!"

Margo was nonplused, but Kat was the very picture of righteous indignation.  "Remember that rubber apple with the vine-covered strap?" the bodyguard growled.  "It's still around here someplace."

Jamie leaned towards Ronnie and Fiona.  "Apple in the mouth, get it?" she explained in a whisper.  "Pens wore it 'til Margo took pity and decided she could join the party, as more than the designated dip tray."  Jamie smiled down at her lover.  "She looked so cute with that thing in her mouth, like a suckling pig."  Penny glared up at her, but there was a twinkle in the messy captive's blue eyes.  "Then Margo sent me to fetch you," she told Ronnie, "and—"

"I can always rip that pretty green dress off that skinny, freckled body of yours," Kat interrupted, glaring at Jamie," and stuff a large portion of it in your chattering mouth."

"Hush, everyone," Margo purred.  "The good part is starting."

Jamie and Penny stuck out their tongues at Kat, Ronnie and Fiona stifled laughs, Kat feigned stoic indifference, and all directed their attention to the "approaching" parade.

The torch-bearing slavegirls parted and disappeared into side tunnels on either side of the dining chamber.  Behind them came rank upon rank of Oparian warriors, grouped in similarly armed and uniformed units.  A platoon of muscle-bound men armed with double-headed axes peeled off to the right.  A phalanx of amazon archers wheeled to the left.  The next unit was coed, and armed with light shields, spears, and swords.  Heavy infantry... skirmishers with slings and javelins... more archers... more infantry...  the parade went on and on.  All the computer-generated warriors were handsome and/or beautiful (of course), and their bodies very athletic.  All the costumes and armor was vaguely Persian or Egyptian, with a dash of Chinese, Greek, or Roman.

"The Oparian host is quite impressive, Your Majesty," Ronnie observed, and Margo nodded at the compliment.

"Of course," Fiona added, "if they came up against a company of Aztec/Hawaiian marines armed with automatic weapons..."

"This is all ceremonial," Kat huffed.  "The jungle-camouflage loincloths, leather body armor, assault and sniper rifles, light and heavy machine guns, mortars, rocket-launchers, etc., etc., are all back at the barrack and armory caves."

Ronnie smiled and nuzzled Fiona's neck.  "Listen to you," she whispered, "getting all military."

"Hush, you two," Margo hissed, an indulgent smile softening the rebuke.  "You'll miss the Mounted Amazon Archers."

With a clatter of hooves on stone, neat ranks of mounted female warriors in light armor came into view.  Quivers and bowcases were slung on their saddles, and the blades of long, thin sabers rested on their shoulders, at the ready.  They were riding—

"Zebra-striped unicorns?" Jamie demanded with an incredulous laugh.

Margo smiled.  "I couldn't make up my mind, so I went with both."

"They're all virgins, no doubt," Ronnie purred.

Margo's smile broadened.  "The mounts... or the riders?"

Ronnie smiled back, but didn't answer.

"A bit over the top, wouldn't you say?" Penny remarked, straining against the leather collar pinning her head to the table, apparently unable to get a clear view.  Kat gave her a warning stare, and she sighed and let her head drop.

The cavalry split into two troops and departed, and an iron cage came into view.  It was on a wooden cart and was being dragged and pushed by sweating slavegirls clad only in loincloths and chains.  Someone was inside the cage, but the closely spaced bars concealed the prisoner's identity.

The cart came to a halt and timber rollers and levers were deployed.  The scantily-clad slavegirls, none of whom weighed more than a hundred pounds each, and all of whom were incredibly beautiful and/or cute (of course), heaved in unison.  The cart tipped forward, its doors sprung open, and an interior platform covered with a sheet of mottled gray fabric slid onto the rollers and forward, into the chamber, taking the prisoner with it.

There was a spectacular flash and a simultaneous clash of cymbals (to hide the transition from hologram in the background to reality in the foreground), the platform dropped off the rollers with a jarring thump, skidded to a halt, and the prisoner was revealed to be—

"Jodi!" Ronnie gasped.

The honey-blonde captive was elaborately bound with an abundance of hemp rope, and cleave-gagged with a thick cloth.  She was sitting, somewhat awkwardly, with each ankle lashed to its respective thigh.  Her arms were folded and tied behind her back, forearm-to-forearm.  Her upper arms were pinned to her sides by tight, well-cinched, boob-squeezing, and shoulder-yoking strands.

Ronnie turned to Jamie and whispered.  "Is she—"

"A Sister?" Jamie whispered, and Ronnie nodded.  "Yes," the grinning redhead confirmed.

Ronnie turned back and gazed at the helpless, naked captive.  So, Jodi Weber was a member of Margo's Inner Circle.  "That explains a lot," she mumbled, to no one in particular.

The holographic walls rumbled closed behind Jodi and her platform, and the music stopped.  The prisoner lifted her drool-dripping chin and gazed at Margo and the others with a sullen stare.

"She's exhausted, poor thing," Jamie said.

Kat snorted in derision.  "Oh, pl-eeze!  She's only been tied up for... two days?"

Jodi forced an indignant noise past her gag and glared at the gloating bodyguard.

"Okay, closer to three," Kat conceded, "but that's hardly a record, not for the Trickster."

Ronnie and Fiona exchanged a mildly alarmed look.  "Three days?" they mouthed, silently.

Margo gave the new Sisters a reassuring smile.  "Don't worry," she said.  "There are limits to all our... festivities.

"It's true," Jamie piped in.  "You'll get a book of rules and bylaws to study."

"The Inner Circle Handbook," Penny added.

"And speaking of rules and bylaws," Margo purred, then nodded to Kat.  "Bailiff, do your duty."

Kat flowed to her feet with feline grace, smiled, and shouted into the near-darkness.  "Oyez, oyez, oyez!  All persons with business before the Damsel Court draw nigh!"

Off to one side, the projected image of the stone wall rippled, and was replaced with a glowing blue rectangle emblazoned with the words:

"VID-LINK TRANSMISSION FROM TESSERACT HEADQUARTERS SEATTLE, WA, USA"

This rippled as well, and was replaced with a decidedly judicial image: a woman dressed in a black robe and seated at a high bench.  A banner on the front was emblazoned with the words "DAMSEL COURT" and the image of the queen of hearts.   (And the face of the queen was that of Margo Wells.)  The woman in the robe was—

"Judge Anne Clayton presiding," Kat announced.

"Shyster!" Jamie exclaimed with a laugh.

"Hello, Freckle Fox," Anne said, "and that's Judge Shyster, to you."  Her expression was serious, but a ghost of a smile curled her lips.  "Show the court the proper respect, or I'll find you in contempt and issue a gag order."

"With a real gag, of course," Jamie giggled.  "Sorry, Your Honor."

"Wait a minute," Penny objected.  "Shy-, Anne can't be the judge.  She's prejudiced!"

"If you're referring to her personal relationship with the defendant," Margo said, "I'm sure Her Honor can be impartial."

"Despite being rudely rousted from her bed in the middle of the night," Kat purred.  "Remember the time difference," she told Ronnie and Fiona in an aside, then turned back to the screen.  "I assume Eve followed my instructions.  You're naked under that robe, and strapped to your chair at the waist, knees, and ankles?"

Anne blushed.  "The arrangements of the court are immaterial," she mumbled, then cleared her throat.  "What are the charges against the defendant?"

Kat pulled a flimsy scrap of paper from under her left bra cup, unfolded it, and began to read.  "The defendant..."  She gestured towards Jodi.  "...one Jodi Weber, sister of Elke Weber, member in good, but disreputable, standing of the Inner Circle—"

"We can do without the editorializing," Anne interrupted.  "Continue."

Kat glared at the screen (not intimidating Anne in the least, for once), then directed her eyes back to the page.  "Yadda-yadda-is charged with... One—conspiracy to expropriate, without authority, corporate resources in the amount of several hundred thousand dollars.  Two—expropriation of corporate resources, without authority, in the amount of several hundred thousand dollars—"

"Expropriation without authority?" Jamie interrupted.  "Isn't that redundant?"

"No," Fiona opined.  "Granted, the use of the term 'expropriation' generally implies the authority to expropriate, but there could be wrongful expropriation."

"Yes, I agree," Penny said.  "Theft under the color of authority."

Jamie nodded.  "You're right, of course," she conceded, "only—"  Jamie lifted her gaze, and froze.

Kat was staring directly at her, a grim smile on her face, the paper in her hand shaking.  The "bailiff's" head slowly swiveled towards Margo.  "Please," she begged in a whisper.  "Little gags, kind gags, fluffy and friendly gags."

Anne banged her gavel.  "Silence!" she barked.  "All of you!  One more outburst and I'll clear the court."

Margo shook her head once.  (It was clear who was really in charge.)

Anne amended her remarks.  "I'll instruct the bailiff to take whatever means necessary to enforce the proper decorum."

Jamie, Penny, and Fiona swallowed nervously.  Margo nodded to Kat.

Kat cleared her throat, and continued reading.  "Three—knowing violation of the non-disclosure rule, in that the defendant did bind and gag damsel or damsels, not members of the Inner Circle, in circumstances which would lead a reasonable damsel or damsels to conclude that something strange, odd, curious, funny-peculiar and not funny-ha-ha was going on, and might have led to the exposure of the very existence of the Inner Circle to said non-member damsel or damsels.  Four—"  Kat paused, then shifted her gaze from the paper to Margo.  "Do I really have to read all this?  The print's so fine I'm getting a headache."

"And lesser included charges," Margo purred.

"And lesser included charges!" Kat announced.

Anne sighed, and turned to Jodi.  "How does the defendant plead?"

Jodi lifted her head, shook it once in a vain attempt to clear the strands of hair falling across her face, and forced an angry growl past her gag.  "R'mmf!"

Anne smiled sympathetically, then sighed again and continued.  "Let the record show the defendant pleads 'not guilty'."  She consulted a sheet of paper before her.  "What's this about a co-defendant?"

"The cases were severed," Margo explained.  "The co-defendant has already been tried, convicted, and sentenced in Damsel Court, Part 'C'."

"Part 'C'?" Anne asked.

"Cyber-court," Margo explained.  "Cyber-crime by cyber-defendants."

"Huh?" all present asked.

Margo smiled, took a slow sip of wine, and set down her goblet.  "Eve, you may join us now."

There was a rumbling noise on the opposite side of the chamber from Anne's screen.  The Sisters turned their heads to find a doorway opening in the stone wall.

The passage revealed was quite dark, and at first they could see nothing.  Then, two female figures stepped into view.  More correctly, the first figure clicked into view on a pair of elegant heels, and the second pattered behind on bare feet.

The figure in heels was dressed in a very feminine, very kinky outfit: leotard and opera gloves of dark green velvet, collar and heels in green leather; sheer, black hose with wide, lacy tops; and bra, belt, and a pair of arm bracers in shining, intricately tooled bronze and gold-toned metal, with the occasional emerald inset (the jewel, not the color).  Her long, auburn hair was coiled atop her head, but a long, straight ponytail spilled from the oversized bun and trailed across her left shoulder.

She was—Eve—as in Eve-Prime—as in the lead avatar of Margo's network of EVE-6900 super-computers—as in the artificial intelligence Eve, as she appeared on interactive screens throughout TESSERACT!!

The barefoot figure stepped from behind, and it could now be seen that she was totally nude.  Granted, it had been pretty obvious all along, but the Sisters had been busy staring at Eve.  A black leather collar was around her throat, and clamps linked by a thin silver chain were on her nipples.  Her hands were hidden behind her back, but it was a good bet they weren't there by choice.  Her hair was long and blonde, and she was—Eve-L!!

"Wow!" Ronnie whispered.  "That's probably the best holographic projection I have ever..."  She noticed that Jamie and Penny were staring in slack-jawed amazement.  Fiona was interested, but not alarmed, and both Margo and Kat were beaming with pride, especially Margo.  Ronnie looked back to the approaching projections—the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck popped erect—and she realized... they weren't projections!  They were real!!

Eve-Prime was leading Eve-L by a chain attached to the front of her collar.  When they were near the Sisters' table and Jodi's platform, she let the chain drop, took a cat-of-nine-tails from her belt, and turned to Eve-L.  She gave her own gloved hand a warning smack, then caught and held the jade leather thongs.  "Stay," she ordered.

Eve-L nodded, and rolled her shoulders.  The chain linking the nipple clamps swayed, and the links of her dangling steel leash clattered and clinked.  She glanced at Kat, then at Margo.  Not finding the sympathy she had hoped for, she rolled her eyes and sighed.

"They're... real!" Jamie whispered.

"Am I creeping you out, Dr. Seaton?" Eve-Prime asked with a friendly smile.

"No, no, I..."  Jamie smiled back, somewhat sheepishly.  "A little," she admitted.

"Regardless of the form taken," Margo said, "cargo-bot, valet-bot, spider-bot, or realistic android... Eve is still Eve."

Jamie laughed nervously.  "I know," she said, then locked eyes with the still smiling robot.  "I'm sorry Eve."

"A natural human reaction," Eve-Prime responded, then turned to face Eve-L, "which is one of the reasons Margo and I agreed not to produce humanoid bodies for the use of avatars."

"We can get used to it," Ronnie said, beaming a sheepish smile of her own.  She glanced at Fiona.  "Right?"

Fiona's gaze was darting from Eve to Eve with girlish enthusiasm.  "They're robots?  That is sooo cool!"

Eve-Prime laughed, then turned her attention to Penny.  "What about you, Ms. Brightman?"

Penny was staring as well, but with less excitement.  "Remarkable!  You're so real."

Eve-Prime turned in a slow, graceful pirouette.  "About ninety-five percent realism, with respect to gait, mannerisms, facial expressions, and the appearance of the integument," she said, then struck a deliciously kinky pose, one hand on her hip, the other holding the swaying cat.

"The complexion is a little waxy," Margo observed.

"Everybody's a critic," Eve-L muttered.  She started to say more, then went silent at a warning glance from Eve-Prime.

"We can't blush or produce gooseflesh," Eve-Prime added.  "Maybe next generation."

"Tell them about your physical strength," Kat suggested.

"I hate to brag," Eve-Prime said, lightly.  She clipped the end of the cat to her belt and posed with both hands on hips.

"I don't," Eve-L said.  "I like to brag.  These bodies are stronger that one-and-a-half Elkes!"  She glared at Eve-Prime.  "When someone with override authority hasn't placed an exponential lock on your skeleto-muscular control algorithms, that is."

"At the moment," Eve-Prime explained, "Little Evie's strength is capped at about point-four-seven Charlies."

"Less than half a Bug?" Kat purred.  "Poor Evil One."

Eve-L favored her cyber-partner with a resentful glare, then sighed.

"That was her crime!" Jamie realized.  "Jodi made robots!"  She covered her mouth with her bound hands and giggled.  "What am I saying?  Jodi made robots?"

"I don't think she can spell robots," Penny agreed.

Jodi twisted in her bonds and glared at Gondaloo Island's permanent residents.

"Silence in the court!" Anne barked, and the Sisters stifled themselves.  "We have a trial to complete," she continued, then gave Margo a hopeful look.  "Or I could just render a summary judgment, then go out to an early breakfast?"

Margo smiled and shook her head.  "Continue.  Things are pretty 'summary' anyway."

Anne sorted through the papers before her.  "Here it is," she muttered.  "The facts of the case are clear.  The defendant and her cyber-accomplice conspired to redirect valuable TESSERACT R&D resources to a personal project, without proper authorization."  She turned the page.  "Without any authorization."

"Making robots without permission," Kat purred.   "That old prank.  When will these kids ever learn?"

"In extenuation," Eve-Prime said, "the project, unauthorized as it might have been, has led to many promising lines of inquiry for future R&D.  The advanced prosthetics team is months ahead of its projected schedule, and the TIKLER-mediated control interface breakthroughs alone will pay for the 'stolen' time and materials, as they ripple out to other projects."  She turned to face Margo.  "It is possible we were mistaken in our decision to forbid the development of realistic androids.  I see no flaw in our former analysis, but Jodi and my daughter's transgression has borne unexpected fruit."

"Hey," Eve-L protested, "who are you callin' a fruit?"

Margo laughed.  "More a fruit tree," she purred, then shifted her gaze to Jodi.  "Ms. Allbriton," she said, her eyes still on the squirming Jodi.  "What can you tell us about 'The Trickster'?"

Ronnie blinked in surprise.  "The mythical icon?"  Margo nodded.  "Well..."  Ronnie gathered her thoughts and shifted into lecture mode.  "Trickster is a universal archetype.  Loki, for the Norse; Coyote, for the Navajo; Raven for other tribes; Hermes; Monkey; the examples are endless.  Trickster is sometimes friendly, sometimes not so friendly, like Seth; usually self-absorbed; always disrespectful of rules and tradition.  He plays pranks and causes chaos."

"And without him," Margo said, "life would be very boring, very animal-like."  She gaze rested on Jodi, watching the nude, helpless captive squirm in her tight rope bonds.  "Not that Trickster's selfish hijinks ever turn out as planned, or do him any good."

"You're right, of course," Ronnie agreed.  "Without Trickster, there'd be no progress.  That's the delightful contradiction.  Even stagnant, constricted cultures recognize the Trickster.  Half-cautionary tale, half-excuse for change, Trickster is always there."

Margo refilled her goblet, climbed to her feet, and walked around the table.  The Sisters and Eves watched as she smiled, reached out, loosened the prisoner's gag, and pulled it from her mouth.  Jodi worked her jaw for a few seconds, then Margo held the goblet to her lips, and the captive drank until it was empty.

Margo tossed the goblet to Kat, then used a napkin to clean the drool and wine from Jodi's lips and chin.

"Thanks," Jodi muttered.  "Now, could I please be—M'mmpfh!"

Margo had pulled her into a long, deep kiss.

"Oh, man!" Kat muttered under her breath, "I knew it!  She's gonna get away with it."

All present heard the outburst, including Margo.  The CEO broke the kiss, glanced to the side and smiled at her bodyguard, then focused back on Jodi.  "So, you wanted respect?" she asked, and Jodi nodded.  "Even if you didn't realize it, you already had my respect.  I grant you unique status in the Inner Circle, and your code name shall be... Trickster."

"Now that's typecasting," Kat snorted.

"Possibly," Margo agreed.

"My nickname's already Trickster," Jodi protested.

"But now it's your title," Margo responded.

"What about the respect part?" Jodi demanded.  "Do I get special privilages and stuff?"

"Alice-III," Margo said.

"I'm already an Alice-III!" Jodi exclaimed.

Jamie noticed Ronnie and Fiona exchange confused looks, and leaned close.  "Alice-III is Jodi's Inner Circle rank," she explained in a whisper.  "You pair are Alice-I's, probationary."

The new Sisters nodded, absently, and turned back to the action.

"You're now the only Alice with a formal code-name, Trickster," Margo purred. "Now that's respect."  She kissed Jodi's pouting lips again, then brushed the hair from the prisoner's face and tucked the errant strands behind her ears.  "Say you're sorry."

Jodi blinked and licked her lips.  "For what?"  Her gaze darted to Eve-L, and back.  "The unauthorized robots thing?  I really didn't do anything.  I...  Okay, I'm sorry."

"Sorry she got caught," Kat growled.

"Of course she's sorry she got caught," Penny muttered, "but that doesn't mean she can't be sorry she disobeyed Margo's standing orders... right?"

"Huh?" Jodi asked.

"Sorry you were a naughty, disobedient, wicked damsel," Jamie added, "right?"

"I suppose," Jodi mumbled, then the light dawned.  "Oh, yeah, yeah!  What she said... what they said."

"Say it again," Margo purred.

"I'm sorry, Margo," Jodi whispered.  "Sorry I broke your rules.  Next time I'll ask before I... expropriate?  I didn't even know I could expropriate."

Margo smiled, and kissed Jodi once again.  The Sisters watched their tongues roll and lips smack.

"Oh, man!" Kat complained again.

Margo broke the kiss.  "We'll talk more about the respect issue, later," she promised.  "But for now... one week of erotic torture in VR," she ordered, "for both."

"Oh, man!" Jodi complained, then settled into a ferocious pout as Margo restored her gag and tightened the knot.

Meanwhile, Eve-Prime stepped behind Eve-L, pulled a ball-gag from her belt, and popped it in her "daughter's" artificial mouth.  She then stooped, retrieved the end of the chain leash, and snapped the terminal link to a flush-mounted ring on the back of Jodi's platform.

"Hey, hey!" Anne objected.  "A little premature, don't you think?"

Kat stepped forward, gave Eve-L's leash a tug, then turned to face the screen.  "In what way?"

"No official judgment has been rendered.  If you're going to haul me into the middle of this farce, the least you can do is..."  All her Sisters, old and new, were smiling at her with polite tolerance.  "Okay... so ordered."  She banged her gavel, and Kat began to turn away.  "With the following proviso," she added, and Kat turned back.  "Jodi and Evelyn's punishment shall be administered by her Sisters, present and absent," she nodded at Eve-Prime, "under the supervision of Eve, of course."  Eve-Prime smiled and nodded in return.  "The court shall exercise overall supervision," Anne continued.

"'Supervision'," Kat sneered.  "More like hog all the juicy sessions."

"What's your point?" Anne asked.

Margo laughed, then nodded her assent.

"Take the prisoners away!" Anne ordered.  Jodi's platform did a slow, clock-wise spin, and rolled away.  Clearly, it was a camouflaged robot, probably one of Eve's smaller cargo-handlers.  Jodi looked back over her shoulder at her Sisters, pouting for sympathy (without success).  Evelyn walked behind the platform, the very picture of brave stoicism.  The seated Sisters could now see that her wrists were locked together in heavy steel cuffs.

"Poor Sheilas," Jamie sighed.  The holographic walls rippled, and the pair was gone.

Ronnie leaned close to Fiona.  "You following all this?"

"I'll explain it to you later," Fiona whispered back, "right after you explain it to me."

"Don't worry," Penny whispered from the table.  "We'll have plenty of time to talk this out, later."  She tugged on her restraints.  "After I'm out of these straps and have a chance to get clean."

"They'll be okay," Jamie added in a whisper.

"They will," Margo agreed.  Obviously, she'd heard everything.  "As there's no further business," she addressed the screen, "you can go looking for that breakfast you wanted, Your Honor.  Good job, Annie."

Anne smiled.  "Why, thank you, Your Majesty, but I'm afraid the business of the court is not finished."

Margo frowned.  "What else is there?"  She blinked uncertainly as Kat and Eve-Prime positioned themselves to either side of her.

Anne focused on Kat.  "Are you absolutely sure you want to go through with this?" she asked, and Kat nodded.  "All right then.  Bailiff, do your duty."

"What?" Margo demanded, but that was all she had time to say before Kat and Eve pounced.  Eve was strong.  She controlled Margo easily (but gently) as Kat used more fusion cord to bind Her Majesty's wrists and thumbs behind her back.  "What do you think you're doing?" Margo sputtered.  "This is treason—M'mmpfh!!"

Kat had ripped a silk panel from Margo's skirts, and was using it to gag the shocked, indignant CEO.  "Treason, mutiny, perpetrating an outrage upon the Royal Person," Kat muttered, then gave the gag's knot a final jerk.  "Whatever."  She stepped to the side and gave Margo's bulging cheek a kiss, just above the tight band of silk cleaving her mouth.

The remaining Sisters watched in open-mouthed amazement.  Only Ronnie, being the sole Sister not bound, strapped down, or chained, was in a position to intervene.  She started to climb to her feet, then stopped.  There was an unmistakable twinkle of amusement in Margo's eyes.  Ronnie settled back down.

"A wise choice, Brown Eyes," Kat purred.

"I stopped because she wanted me to," Ronnie responded, indicating Margo, "Green Eyes."

Kat stared at Ronnie for several long seconds, as the other Sisters held their collective breaths.  Finally, the grinning bodyguard nodded.  "It's gonna be a lot of fun having you in the Inner Circle," she said quietly, and the other Sisters resumed breathing.

The gavel banged, and all eyes focused on the screen.

Anne surveyed the bound and gagged prisoner before her, and her lips slowly curled into a truly evil smile.  "Let the trial begin," she purred.