Trixie or the WG

Part 4

Chapter 22 The Gear

Although Trixie's back was hurting quite a bit, that was of course no excuse for not going to work the following morning, for instance. Beate had, however, smeared her back again that morning with an ointment and given her a painkiller. She had also given Trixie another tablet to take around noon.

That morning, she reported to the head of the department, a Mr. Schmidt, in the design department, who was already expecting her. He introduced her to the staff of his department and finally handed her over to one of his employees, Mr. Steffen, who was to explain the first basic features to her. Trixie had already seen in the previous week how complex the systems were that were produced in this company. But now she was surprised by the fact that the individual components of these systems were each much more complex than she had expected. Devices that were added to a project in the project department with just a few mouse clicks often consisted of countless, sometimes tiny individual parts.

Mr. Steffen showed her this with various examples, bringing the design drawings to life in individual simulations. Trixie could have watched these simulations for hours.

Shortly before the lunch break, Trixie received a call from Mr. Häfner, the head of purchasing. "Hello Ms. Hansen, yes, I know, so hello Trixie. Our director said at the last department head meeting that they need a server for an Oracle system. I had a visit from our computer vendor this morning and mentioned in passing that we would be requesting such a system from him soon. Now he just called me back with a great offer. Apparently their testing department has implemented a feasibility study that was about just such a system. It seems that it's quite a power piece. Just saying, two Xenon 2679 processors, 128 gigabytes twice, a Raid-5 system with SSDs, and a few other odds and ends. Even an Oracle version for 99 users is already installed. We can get the system for at least one year for testing purposes. Won't cost us a dime, the vendor just wants a few evaluations each month to gauge performance."

To Trixie, the whole thing sounded very tempting. Therefore, she then said "I wouldn't mind. Don't we have to ask Director Bergmann about it?"

"No, we don't have to pay anything for it. But we should at least mention it in the next department head meeting."

"And what's the delivery time," Trixie inquired.

Trixie heard a giggle from the receiver. "That's the best part. What do you think about the day after tomorrow?"

Trixie was excited. She hadn't expected it to happen so soon. She agreed that she would be notified immediately when the device arrived. Mr. Häfner also mentioned that a technician would probably come along to supervise the installation. Then Trixie turned her attention back to getting to know the construction department.

At about the same time, a customer entered Antje's store. Antje greeted her with a smile, "Hello Doris. How was your weekend?"

"Absolutely amazing. Your Trixie is a stunner. I mean, the way she hung there, you could see and feel every bone in her body. And then her willpower. I hit her full force a couple of times, but if you think she ever begged for mercy, no way. With every blow you could see it go through her whole body. Even when Helga said enough was enough, she didn't care and asked for more. If she's going at it so intensely now after barely two months that she's been with you, I don't want to know what's going to be going on in a year or two. I think then she will even outshine Karin, albeit in a slightly different way. I mean, less focused on pain, but she's going full on into the lifestyle."

"I'm glad you liked it so much," Antje replied. She pulled a thick envelope out of her purse and handed it to Doris. She pocketed it without looking inside. Then Doris picked out another whip before paying and leaving the store again.

"Say, what was that all about," asked Karin, who came from her workshop to the front of the store. "What was in that envelope you gave Doris?"

Antje turned around. She grinned at Karin. "You know we're here in Cologne? Pretty far in the west of Germany?"

Now Karin stumbled. "And what's that about?"

"In the West, it's never good for one to know too much," Antje said, leaving her friend dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, Trixie continued to occupy herself in the design department. She had various programs shown to her and was seriously impressed by the dexterity of her colleagues.

Two days later, she was called to her office in the morning, where a technician from the computer supplier was waiting for her with the new server. He showed her the configuration and explained in particular the elaborate security features. The system was even equipped with a fingerprint scanner, without which various functions, for example the delete function, could not be used. Trixie then went back to the engineering department, but later in the day she took some time to look at the server.

It excited her to try out how fast it was. Looking at the clock, she realized that in fifteen minutes it would be closing time in most departments. On the spur of the moment, she typed in a few commands, started a monitoring program, and ordered the computer to copy the entire contents of the company's main server to its own raid system. She expected it to take at least all night, but since hardly anyone would still be in the house, the internal network would easily be able to handle the load.

In fact, the next morning she found that the new server had completed the task in just under 4 hours and that the new raid system was just 40% busy. She briefly considered deleting everything immediately, but then decided to wait. She was also in a bit of a hurry because Mr. Steffen had promised to explain one of the design programs to her in more detail.

She spent the next few hours designing a gear in this design program with Mr. Steffen's help. Before this moment, she would never have thought that even the construction of a gear could be so complicated. But Mr. Steffen was very patient and showed her every step. Gradually she understood everything and when they were finished with the gear, she was really happy about it.

Mr. Steffen just briefly looked at his watch, "So now it's just before eleven." He pressed a button and the construction disappeared from the screen. "You now have until say one o'clock in the afternoon. You start from the beginning now and by one you should be done. If you can do it, there's an ice cream truck out there around 1:30," he pointed to the window facing the street, "I'll buy you a giant ice cream. If you don't make it, you pay."

Trixie laughed. She loved a challenge like that. She threw herself into the task with alacrity, but after only half an hour she guessed she would have little chance. She tried again and again to recall the individual steps she had previously performed under Mr. Steffen's guidance. But in many cases she needed several attempts before anything worked.

When Mr. Steffen actually came at one o'clock to see how far she had come, the gear was just halfway done. He then sat down with her and helped her with the next steps. Suddenly everything worked like clockwork. When a bell rang from outside shortly after 1:30, signaling the arrival of the ice cream truck, the gear was ready. Trixie picked up her purse and got two large portions from the ice cream truck for Mr. Steffen and for herself.

"I never thought it would still be this hard," she explained as she spooned her ice cream.

"Well, if it were that easy, I could look for a new job next week," Mr. Steffen replied. He didn't mention that most of the apprentices he had taken the same test with had taken much longer. Then he showed her more tricks with this construction program during the afternoon. Just before closing time, a worker in green coveralls came into the office and placed a small brown cardboard box on the table in front of Trixie. Trixie looked at him, puzzled, but the man just said "You're welcome" and left the office again.

Trixie looked questioningly at Mr. Steffen, who asked her to open the cardboard box. When she did, there before her was a stainless steel gear, shiny and flawless. "Is this, by any chance, the gear I constructed with your help this afternoon?"

"I added one more tiny thing when you got the ice cream," Mr. Steffen explained. As he did so, he pointed to a spot on the gear. Trixie had to look closely to see it. There was engraved, "Trixie" and today's date.

"This gets a place of honor in my office," Trixie declared. She hugged Mr. Steffen and thanked him for his patience. In the evening, however, she took the gear home first, where she would show it to her friends.

In the WG, she was once again bubbling over with enthusiasm. Beate and Siggi, who were already at home, let it pass. Beate locked Siggi and Trixie naked and in chains in the cages in the living room, while she herself sat on the sofa and watched the news. Together they waited for Antje and Karin to come out of the store as well.

When the doorbell rang, Beate went to the door opener and saw a young woman on the screen. Beate asked her what she wanted and talked to her for a short moment. Then she came into the living room. "You, Trixie, there's someone at the door. A ‘Natalie’, she wants to see you. Do you know her?"

Trixie thought for a moment, then answered in the negative. "Did she say what she wanted from me?"

"No, she didn't. She's a little strange and has a heavy accent. Apparently a foreigner, I'd say from England."

Now Trixie shouted loudly, "Natalie! That's Mortimer's daughter. You know, Antje's investment advisor from London. Quick, let me out!"

Beate opened Trixie's cage and she rushed to the door, still naked and in chains. She looked at the screen and sure enough, there stood Natalie, whom she had met in London. Trixie pushed the door opener with her nose and a moment later Natalie was standing in the hallway of the WG. She hugged Trixie, and Trixie would have liked to return the hug as well, but the chains that bound her arms behind her back wouldn't allow it.

"What are you doing here," Trixie asked.

Natalie first greeted Beate, then said, "I just wanted to visit and see how you were doing. Also, I need some time to think about some things and could use a friend to talk to about everything."

Beate took her small suitcase from her, and put it in the hallway. Then she and Trixie took Natalie into the living room. Natalie thought this was great that Trixie was actually walking around her home naked and in chains. Trixie had told her that, but Natalie didn't quite believe it. When she saw the naked Siggi in the cage, she stood there with her mouth open and looked at the picture that presented itself to her.

Without a moment's hesitation, she tore her clothes from her body and knelt on the floor. She crossed her hands behind her back and lowered her eyes.

Chapter 23 Visit

About half an hour later, Antje and Karin came out of the store. Karin was once again naked except for some chains and Antje had transported her like that in the trunk of her car.

When they got to the apartment, they immediately saw Natalie's suitcase still in the hallway. Beate came out of the living room. "Hello you two. How was your day?"

Antje replied "As usual. And with you?" With that, she pointed to the suitcase and looked questioningly at Beate.

"We have a visitor," Beate explained, "And I'm not sure you'll be thrilled about it."

Together they went into the living room, where by now all three cages were occupied by naked young women. Antje's eyes widened when she recognized Natalie. "Hello Natalie, what are you doing here?"

Beate explained, "As I understand it, she escaped from home. She must have had a lot of stress with her parents. But what exactly it's about, I haven't really understood yet."

"Mistress Antje, I didn't run away," Natalie exclaimed. "I'm over twenty-one! There I can come and go as I please."

"That's true, of course," Antje agreed. "But as far as I know, you still live at home and go to law school in London. Of course, you can come and go as you please. But still, your parents do worry about you. And your father is one of my most important confidants. That being said, I'm not a mistress. At the moment, Beate is the mistress and I am a slave."

"But in London, you were Trixie's mistress," Natalie objected.

Now Trixie interfered. "I explained to you that the role of Mistress rotates. But we had special appointments last weekend and also the next, so everything got shifted a bit there."

Beate had to put her foot down now. "I think you're all coming out of the cages now. Antje, you can go undress and freshen up. Natalie, Trixie will show you to the guest room. Then we'll meet back here in ten minutes and Natalie will explain everything from the beginning and very calmly."

When everyone was back in the living room, all naked except for Beate, they sat down around the table. "First things first, Natalie. We are all on first name terms here, even the respective mistress is on first name terms. So no formalities. Now explain to us what's going on."

Natalie cleared her throat, then began, "Well, it's true, of course, that I still live at home. I also get an allowance from my parents while I'm still not earning anything. For more than two years now, I've been going to law school to be trained as a lawyer. But that's not really what I want to do. Yes, I admit, in the beginning that was my wish, but that has changed. Just sitting over files all day is not for me. I want to deal with people, and I want to help those people. I thought about whether it would be better for me to train as a nurse instead. Or a social worker. Mother is against it, though. Father has asked me if I might want to be a doctor, but with my grades it's not easy to get a place at university. I could study abroad, in Austria or Hungary. But that would also take too long for me. I can't discuss this with my friends in England, they just roll their eyes. They're so....."

"And so you thought you'd come here and talk to us, especially Trixie?" asked Antje.

"I guess I'm not such a good counselor," Trixie interjected. "Look at what my expertise got me: three years in jail."

"But you learned from your mistakes," Natalie chimed in. "My father has tremendous respect for you. He says when someone learns from their mistakes and starts a whole new life, you can learn from it."

"After all, that's why we like Trixie. And because she's so determined to overcome any challenge," Beate explained. "Trixie doesn't let anything get her down. If you want to talk to her at length, maybe you couldn't have picked a better weekend because the rest of us have an appointment to keep this weekend, while Trixie is actually off. But I think we should at least call your dad and let him know you're okay."

"I think so, too," Karin said. "It's best if Antje talks to him."

"Please don't," Natalie pleaded. "If he hears I'm here, he'll be on the next plane to here, and then he'll show up here!"

Now Antje became thoughtful. Of course, this was a perfectly normal reaction. "I'm going to talk to him. We need to tell him you're here and that you need some time. I think he'll object at first, but he's reasonable enough to see what's best."

Hesitantly, Natalie gave in. Antje picked up her cell phone and called London. Mortimer was on the line immediately. The others listened to Antje. She was very quiet as usual, yet she had to repeat herself often. But slowly Mortimer relaxed a little and promised to stay at home for the time being.

"Good, then that's settled," Beate said after the phone call was over. "But how do we go on now? We should welcome Natalie as a guest for now. Trixie and the rest of us have to go to work tomorrow. Would you like to visit Cologne or what do you think about going to the store tomorrow with Antje and Karin? You can help with the sales or even serve as a model. And Trixie can think about what you two are going to do on the weekend, so that you don't just sit around here and get lost in an endless discussion. Maybe you could go somewhere, relax, and then you'll find a solution sooner. And you can count on us to support you as best we can."

"You guys are really nice," Natalie agreed.

They all went to the kitchen together for dinner. As they did so, they discussed the day's events as usual. Trixie showed them the gear, which everyone dutifully admired, of course.

Afterwards, they treated themselves to a few more drinks in the living room until they went to bed one by one. At last, only Trixie and Natalie remained. Trixie also wanted to go to bed then. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" Natalie asked.

Trixie hesitated for a moment, but she realized that Natalie needed her closeness. So she agreed and they went to Trixie's room together. There Natalie snuggled up to Trixie in bed and they slept close together.

At the meeting on the following Friday, Natalie sat at the table, but of course only listened. Of course, it was also about the appointment in the dungeon, where they were to perform as guards that weekend. Natalie asked what that was about, but Trixie promised to explain that to her the next day as well.

"I think I'm going to go to the mercy farm with Natalie," Trixie explained. "And after that, I was thinking of visiting the Burgers Zoo in Arnhem sometime. I hear it's really neat, and we'll have plenty of time to talk on the way there."

"Good idea," Siggi agreed. "But why don't you stay there overnight and come back on Sunday afternoon. Why don't you go to a nice hotel, eat something tasty, or go to a disco? You've got your credit card, Trixie, you're welcome to use that to pay for it."

Trixie was still hesitant, but the others encouraged her. Finally, she looked questioningly at Natalie, who smiled brightly and nodded at her. Later, Antje went online and booked a room in a good hotel, because she was afraid that Trixie would not dare to check into a more expensive hotel.

On Saturday morning, the usual cleaning service began again. Natalie was gobsmacked that Antje joined in like everyone else because her father had told her she was so rich. But Antje only waved her off and finally shooed Trixie and Natalie out of the apartment.

First, they drove to the mercy farm. On the way, Trixie told them what the dungeon was all about and that they had arranged another nice donation that way. "Weren't you scared then when you were auctioned off," Natalie wanted to know from Trixie.

"Of course I was nervous. And how. But the others have done it before and I trusted them not to let me do anything stupid. And in the end, it was really awesome. I never thought I could come just by being whipped violently in the process. That was totally new to me."

At the mercy yard, they were greeted in a very friendly manner. Trixie showed Natalie around and showed her the stalls and pastures. Then she had another long talk with the manager of the sanctuary. The conversation lasted quite long, but finally Trixie was satisfied with the result. After that they drove off in the direction of Arnhem.

Now Natalie had the opportunity to explain the problem to her friend. Natalie's parents, like all parents, wanted the best for her, and Natalie understood that. But a career as a star lawyer or a wealth manager like her father was simply not what she wanted. And marrying a wealthy man, as her mother had in mind, was out of the question altogether.

Trixie then asked about Natalie's ideas. But she realized at some point that Natalie knew rather what she didn't want and little about what she herself wanted. It became apparent, however, that what she wanted most was contact with other people, and that she wanted to do something to help the underprivileged, as she called them.

They talked about it for hours, even as they walked through the zoo later and even in the evening. Over dessert, Trixie had ordered crepes Suzette for them both, Trixie had an idea.

"Tell me, have you ever thought the other way around," she asked Natalie.

"What do you mean, the other way around?"

"Yeah, Well, what if you did what your parents wanted you to do first and finished college?"

"And then?"

"Well, when I think back to the time in prison, we often sat together and talked about many things. But what I noticed was that although there were many offers of help for prisoners and their families, or even for welfare recipients, they were rarely taken up. Either because people didn't know about it, or because they were too proud, and sometimes because they gave up at the first resistance from the authorities. Surely there are organizations in your country that support such people and that also help them with legal advice. Couldn't something like that be an option for you?"

Now Natalie began to ponder. "I'm sure we have something like that. I hadn't even thought of that possibility. That might be satisfying, too. But I'll have to think about it. I can't say anything about it so quickly. Mom would probably be thrilled, she would walk around with a halo." They both had to laugh now.

"And your father," Trixie asked?

"He might like it, too. He gets excited every time he can somehow squeeze a subsidy out of the bigwigs. Or squeeze the tax. Comes out the same."

They talked for a while longer, then went up to their room. Trixie got a pair of handcuffs out of her travel bag and showed them to Natalie. She grinned and they both undressed completely first, Trixie noticing that her friend had also dispensed with underwear. They lay down on the bed together and embraced. At the same time they put on the handcuffs and thus fixed themselves in the embrace. This is how they spent that night.

In the morning, Trixie unlocked the handcuffs and after breakfast they went to the hotel's wellness area. They first went to the sauna, then they had a massage. Natalie was much more relaxed by now and Trixie was sure that her friend had found a way for her future.

In the early afternoon they drove back to Cologne, where the others were already waiting for them in the WG. Natalie told them how she imagined her future. Even though there were no concrete plans yet, she still had a good feeling. She called her father and promised him to come back to London the following Monday. Mortimer had Antje give it to him again and thanked her for her help and patience. Karin offered Natalie a ride to the airport in the morning.

Natalie still had something on her mind, though. "I was looking at how harmoniously you live together here. Do you think it's possible for me to come back to you now and then, even for longer, maybe three or four weeks. Maybe during the semester break. And of course only as a slave. I will then also obey all orders of the respective mistress. And if you play tricks on me like you did with Trixie, that's OK too."

The five looked at each other without speaking a word. Each nodded barely noticeably, then Trixie announced, "Of course you are welcome to join us. That's no problem. After all, the guest room is usually free, otherwise we'll find another option. We can also put you up here in one of the cages. And maybe one of us will visit you in London. I would definitely like to see more of the city. Then you can show me the real London, not just the one for the tourists."

The rest of the day went by much too quickly for everyone. At some point Karin went to her room in between and came back after a few minutes. She had an iron collar with her, which she put around Natalie's neck. "This is supposed to be a sign to you that you are welcome here," she explained, securing the collar with a lock. She put the key in a padded envelope and had Antje write Natalie's address on it. She held up the envelope, "So, you'll get this by mail in the next few days. I don't know how long a letter takes to get from here to England, though."

Natalie looked at the envelope in amazement. "And how am I supposed to get through the checkpoint at the airport then?"

"I don't know," Karin said. And Trixie added, "If you want, I also have a spare plug in my room."

Beate said, "And Caesar said, let the games begin!"

Chapter 24 Sometimes you have to be lucky

The following work week brought new experiences for Trixie. But she also began to settle into her actual work. She had taken a closer look at the program the project department was working with and decided to use it at her place. In the afternoons, she worked for two hours at a time on planning the new program. The end wall where the new server was located was already half covered with printouts of a program schematic. In the coming weeks and months, she would continue to flesh out these plans.

Meanwhile, Siggi was the mistress for the week and she had come up with a little mean thing for Trixie to do. Every morning she would shove a small vibro-egg into Trixie's pussy and lock it at the piercings of her labia with small locks. The vibro-egg did not work continuously, but it was equipped with a random generator that freely chose the frequency, duration and intensity of the active phase. Trixie wore very dark jeans during the time, as she was afraid that otherwise a wet spot might be seen in her crotch.

On Thursday morning, she sat next to a milling machine and once again watched in fascination as the machine transformed a stainless steel blank into a fixture for a complicated mechanism. An older worker in a blue overalls was supervising the machine and had to stop himself from laughing out loud at Trixie's almost reverent attention.

"Haven't you tried machining something for yourself yet," he asked her.

"For myself? I don't understand that. The engineering department had a gear made for me that I designed with their help."

"Well, that's rather a simple part. But we have a somewhat older milling machine back there in the adjoining room for the apprentice workshop that is rarely used. Most of the time, the apprentices work with the latest equipment, too, so it makes more sense. But you can do a lot with the old machine. The director has allowed this and even provides the material for it. He says it trains and develops our skills. I have already built three metal car models on the old machine. I made them myself, right down to the working engine. I can bring you one tomorrow sometime if that interests you."

Trixie asked what the model was and the man explained. Suddenly, the phone at his work desk went off. He answered it, listened for a moment, then handed the receiver to Trixie.

"Hello Trixie, this is Hoffmeister from the project team. Could you come over here real quick, please? We really need your help." Trixie told him she wanted to come right away. She washed her hands briefly in the restroom, looked in the mirror, then went to the project department. When she entered the office, she immediately saw that everyone was sitting excitedly and frantically at their devices. All of the IT employees were also present.

Mr. Hoffmeister called her over. "Trixie, we are up to our necks in trouble. We have to submit a bid tonight for some equipment to go to Japan. It's a huge project and extremely important. Two plants, together over 60 million contract value. Actually, Mr. Nierlich is responsible for that, you met him the other day."

Trixie thought. She remembered him, a short, usually surly man in his late 40s. "What about him," she inquired.

"He called in sick yesterday. That sort of thing happens, it's quite normal. So Mr. Nolan was supposed to take a quick look over the files this morning and then send them out. But we can't open the files. We have tried everything. Even the IT guys are stumped. I tried calling Mr. Nierlich, but he's not picking up the phone. That's why I sent Mr. Vossen out. He came back with very disturbing news. A neighbor of Mr. Nierlich told him that he had moved out yesterday. A furniture truck picked up all the things and Mr. Nierlich left last with the movers. I don't understand that. But for now, it's about our project. Can you please see if you can get to the files or open them?"

Trixie sat down at one of the computers and tried. When it didn't work, she tried various alternatives, but to no avail. "What about the backup," she asked one of the IT staff. He showed her the backup files but again the files would not open. She tried opening some other projects. All but two of the files could be opened. Mr. Hoffmeister watched. For the other two files that would not open, he explained that Mr. Nierlich had worked on those as well. Trixie switched programs and took a closer look at the backups. Then she asked the head of IT to join her. She pointed to the files. "Look, the encrypted timestamp isn't right here. It's been tampered with."

She had to explain to Mr. Hoffmeister that the system not only backed up the actual date of the files, but also encrypted and saved another date when the backup had happened. In her head, she recalculated the new time stamps. She stood up and announced "I need to go to my office for a minute and check on something. I have an idea, but I'm not quite sure. I'm sure it won't take long." Mr. Hoffmeister looked frantically at his watch, which showed almost eleven o'clock in the morning.

Trixie went into her office and sat down at her notebook. With it, she called up the files from the complete copy she had pulled last week to test out the server that no one knew about. Sure enough, she was able to find the project files and open them without any problems. She copied the files of the three projects to a USB stick, still flipping through the current project to see if it was complete or if something was missing. Suddenly, she frowned. She had seen this part of the plan before, but it had looked a little different. Of course, she was no expert. She thought for a moment and decided that it could only have been one of the two files she had called when she had tried the emulator for the old operating system. She looked at the two files and quickly found what she was looking for. She printed that file as a PDF document onto a second USB flash drive and walked into the project department with the two sticks.

"I have a readable copy of the project here," she explained to Mr. Hoffmeister, handing him the first stick. "But I have one more question."

Mr. Hoffmeister nearly snatched the stick out of her hand and handed it to Mr. Nolan, who immediately got to work. "You saved our lives," Mr. Hoffmeister exaggerated. "If I'd had to report that to the boss, he would have freaked. And rightfully so. What do you want to know?"

"I saw something there that I had seen somewhere else, but where it looked different. In the other version, between components D47 and C13, there was another device labeled K14. According to the list, a "sub-transporter." What that is, however, I don't know."

Mr. Hoffmeister went to Mr. Nolan and had him show him the location. He and Mr. Nolan looked at everything carefully. "Trixie is right. It doesn't work that way. But we haven't built a sub-transporter like that in ages. We don't have that in our library," Mr. Hoffmeister judged. "Can you make it work, Nolan?"

He shook his head. "Not a chance. It'll take me two or three days."

Now Trixie pulled out the second USB flash drive. "Here I have a PDF copy of the old project. Could that help?"

Mr. Nolan took the flash drive and opened the file. "Great. There are a few designations that need to be changed, but it's easily done in two hours. Then we can still get the bid in on time."

Mr. Hoffmeister thanked Trixie several times. Since it was now lunchtime, she went to the cafeteria and then back to the shop floor after lunch.

At the department heads' meeting the next day, Mr. Hoffmeister praised Trixie highly in front of the other department heads. Mr. Bergmann was also very pleased. After the meeting, Trixie went to her office to continue working on the plans when Mr. Bergmann came to her. He looked at the plans and noticed with satisfaction that the project of a new software was slowly taking its first steps.

"You really delivered a masterpiece there yesterday," he commented. "Mr. Hoffmeister can hardly get his head around it."

Trixie insisted that it was just a fluke, but Mr. Bergmann explained that sometimes you just had to get lucky. "You'll have to see the personnel department in the next week. Tell them to put out an ad for a programmer to support them."

"Isn't that a little too soon?" Trixie objected.

"No. I'm sure it'll take quite a while to find someone. Just think, it took me years to find you."

"Director, I can think of someone," Trixie said hesitantly.

"And who?"

"Mr. Vossen from the project department. From what I've heard, his contract is not to be renewed and he'll be leaving. I once saw something he programmed for himself at home, and it was really good."

"Mr. Vossen? Are you serious? Nobody wanted him. He's a nice guy, but is he really any good? Or are you doing this out of pity?"

"No," Trixie now agreed. "It was really good. OK, he's going to need some more training, but then he'll be great. And he'll know the whole operation inside and out, too. We'll even save time there."

Mr. Bergmann reached for the phone and called Mr. Hoffmeister. When he told him Trixie's wish, he had absolutely nothing against it. After he had left, Trixie said, "But there is something else. Mr. Vossen is tariff G7. He would like to have his own apartment, but with G7 it is not possible. Could he maybe start with G8 with me?"

Mr. Bergmann laughed. "You seem to have a real crush on him. Is he really worth it?" Trixie nodded. Mr. Bergmann thought for a moment, then picked up the phone again and called Mr. Hoffmeister again. "Mr. Hoffmeister, could you please send Mr. Vossen over to Trixie's office?"

After a few minutes, there was a knock at the door and Mr. Vossen entered the office. Mr. Bergmann had sat down next to Trixie and pointed to a chair that was in front of the desk. Mr. Vossen sat down.

"Mr. Vossen, you know that your contract ends at the end of next month and we don't see any way to renew it," Mr. Bergmann began. Mr. Vossen nodded and looked sadly to the floor. "Our Mrs. Hansen, who everyone wants to call Trixie, has now told me that she really wants you to join her department as a programmer. Would that be in your interest?"

Mr. Vossen was totally surprised. He stammered that this was his dream. He could hardly contain himself and a few tears came to his eyes.

Finally, Mr. Bergmann interrupted his flow of words. "All right, then, this is official. You'll get a call from HR next week to sign the contract. But you can count on it." Trixie cleared her throat. "Yes, yes," Mr. Bergmann said, "Take it easy. Mr. Vossen, Trixie told me that you wanted your own apartment but couldn't afford it with G7. That's why she convinced me to upgrade you to G8 starting next month. I think that's in your best interest?"

Mr. Vossen looked incredulously at Trixie, who smiled at him. Mr. Bergmann rose and left the office. On his way out, he smiled again at Trixie and winked.

In the evening, as usual, Trixie told about her experiences. The others thought it was great that she had stood up for Mr. Vossen. Karin said, "Well, now our slave girl has a slave of her own. Not sexually but he will be eternally grateful to you, you can count on it."

On Saturday Siggi waited with the van in front of Antje's store until it was closed. Then she invited her friends. In the luggage compartment of the van, under a few blankets, were some bags and other parts that this week's slave girls had not yet been allowed to see. They drove the van to the gravel pit where they had been a few weeks ago. This time, however, Siggi drove to a more secluded part of the pit where there was a small grove.

Siggi took two bags out of the car while the slave girls undressed. In the bags they found iron hand and leg irons. They helped each other put them on. Meanwhile, Siggi got four spades from the van and distributed them among the trees. "So, my dears, Now you each dig a hole right where the spades are now. The holes must be deep enough for your heads to just peek out."

It took over an hour to finish the 4 holes. Except for Trixie, who still couldn't see through them, everyone had a queasy feeling. When they were done, Siggi tied the friends' feet together first on the leg irons and then their hands behind their backs. She then helped them climb into the holes. When finally each was in her hole, Siggi grabbed a spade and shoveled most of the previously dug earth back into the holes. Now the four were trapped and could not move. Only the heads looked out as requested. Siggi then took another bag out of the car. In it were ball gags and eye masks. Each got a gag shoved into her mouth and a mask over her eyes.

Siggi got another air mattress from the wagon and a portable TV set. For hours the slaves heard the sounds of the TV, but at least they could estimate the time. From time to time Siggi came to the prisoners, took the gag out of their mouths and gave them something to drink.

Later, Siggi turned off the TV, put the air mattress in the van, and lay down in it to sleep while her friends were trapped in the holes in the ground.

Trixie found this uncomfortable, but she suspected it would get worse. Gradually, she realized that she was squeezing the bladder. The desire grew stronger and stronger until she finally gave in. She felt her urine mixing with the soil and she was stuck in the damp earth.

Early in the morning, a short shower fell over them and all they wanted to do was get out of their holes. But Siggi knew no mercy. She kept on giving them something to drink and they all wet themselves. It wasn't until the afternoon that Siggi began to dig out her friends. She started with Karin, who immediately joined in the digging until finally everyone was freed.

Chapter 25 Dog Happiness

When they got back home, they all went to the shower first to wash off the dirt of the day. Trixie took a shower with Siggi, as she often did, and they took their time. Afterwards, Trixie went to her room and lay on the bed for a moment. She closed her eyes and thought about how her life had changed.

Suddenly the door to the hallway opened and Beate stuck her head through the door. "I wanted to see how you were doing," she explained. Without waiting for an answer, she tossed Trixie a long T-shirt and said, "Please put this on and come into the living room."

Trixie thought this was strange, but she complied with the request. When she got to the living room, the others were already there, all kneeling naked on the floor, torsos erect and hands clasped at the back of their necks.

"What are you doing," Trixie inquired.

"Trixie, sunshine," Beate began. "When you applied to join our WG, you yourself suggested that at first you should only play the role of slave and that you could become mistress for the first time after three months at the earliest. But in the meantime almost two months have passed and we all have observed your development. And we are of the opinion that you have long since matured enough to fill the role of mistress. Therefore, the four of us have decided that not Karin will be our mistress next week, as planned, but you. Karin will then be the mistress the week after. But now Siggi is passing the scepter on to you, so to speak. Please be gracious to your slave girls and surprise us next weekend with challenging tasks, whatever you can think of."

Trixie looked at her friends in amazement. She had not expected this. It was an important, responsible task and she wasn't sure she was up to it. She went to Beate first, hugged and kissed her, then the others took their turn. Then she sat down on the couch while the others remained in their positions.

"Okay, you don't have to kneel there like pillars of salt," Trixie said now. "Just make yourselves comfortable. But not on the furniture. Slave girls stay on the floor." They talked for a long time, then watched a movie on TV before going to bed. The slave girls stayed on the floor the whole time.

When Trixie came into the kitchen the next morning, Siggi had already prepared everything. However, there was only one place setting on the table, while the other place settings were on the floor.

"What's this all about?" Trixie inquired.

"Mistress, you said yesterday that the slave girls were to stay on the floor. And the order still stands."

"I thought that was just for the evening," Trixie opined.

"Oh, we didn't understand it that way. Why don't you go into the others' rooms and take a look?"

Trixie then immediately walked out of the kitchen to the rooms. When she opened Beate's room, she found her lying on the floor in front of her bed, covered up. Trixie quickly checked Antje's and Karin's rooms as well. They were also lying on the floor. Finally, she looked in Siggi's room and saw that the bedding was also on the floor. Trixie went back to the kitchen.

"That was a lesson to me," she explained, "Please come to the table. The others are still asleep, but when they wake up, they can move around here normally again. If we're gone by then, I'll put a note in for them." She resolved to be more careful in the future about how she worded her orders.

Later, in the office, she made a phone call to the manager of the sanctuary and asked if the agreement she had recently made with him was still valid and if she could bring everything forward a little. He confirmed everything to her.

She then went to Mr. Hoffmeister from the project department and agreed with him that Mr. Vossen should first finish his current tasks and then come to her from the following week.

In the afternoon there was a knock at the door and when Trixie called "Come in", Mr. Vossen entered the office. He had a slim folder with him. He told Trixie that he had just come from the personnel department, where he had signed a new, permanent employment contract, which also included the announced wage increase. He was on the verge of tears, thanking Trixie over and over again for going to such lengths for him. It was almost uncomfortable for Trixie to hear him shower her with gratitude and she made an effort to steer the conversation in a different direction. Finally she succeeded and was able to explain the rough scheme of the planned program to Mr. Vossen, who asked her to call him by his first name "Herbert" after all. She also showed him the previous drafts and they agreed that together they would only start working on the plan from the following week.

As the week progressed, her friends would occasionally ask Trixie if she already had plans for the weekend and if she needed help, if she didn't already. But Trixie acted secretive and said she was still thinking. On Saturday morning, after cleaning, she sent Antje and Karin to the store while Siggi and Beate did the shopping.

When she was alone, she retrieved from her friends' rooms their fitted hand and leg irons, as well as the chains and the neck irons. She packed everything into the trunk of the van. After Siggi and Beate were back from shopping, she sent them to the store as well and announced that she would pick them all up at closing time. Only then did she pack herself another cooler and a second basket of food and load everything into the van.

Then, just in time for closing time, she was in front of the store with the van. She shooed everyone into the passenger compartment and gave them dark blindfolds so they couldn't see where they were going. Half an hour later, they arrived at the mercy yard, where the manager was already waiting for them. Trixie asked him to get in, but put her index finger to her lips and then pointed to her passengers. He grinned and didn't say a word. Together they then drove to the area of the sanctuary that was designated for the dogs.

The area was already separated by a fence and there were some dog houses on the side. At the edge of this area but still inside the fence was a barn where straw and hay for the horses was stored. A few dogs were also already running around freely there, playing in a huge meadow. Next to the fence were a lot of tools and some wheelbarrows. In addition, a large, folded plastic tarp and a thick hose lay next to it. The manager of the grace yard said goodbye to Trixie. "Well, I hope you have a good time. You can be sure that you will be undisturbed here this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing how far you get," he said as a farewell.

Only now Trixie opened the door to the passenger compartment and had everyone remove their bandages. As they exited the car, they blinked and had to look around. But they then recognized where they were. "So what now," Karin inquired.

"Well, you know that the sanctuary is to be expanded to include a section for older dogs. The fencing is also already finished, which was done by some of our donations. As you can see, the first inmates have already moved in. The barn will be rebuilt later. This is still in the planning stage, but the financing is already partly in place. Here in the middle of the meadow a small pool is to be built, in which the dogs can also let off steam. But as you can see, there is a meadow and no hole. And that is our task for the weekend. We're going to dig the pool, the outside dimensions are already marked with stakes."

They walked together to some pegs that were on the meadow. Siggi looked around and started calculating in his head. "And how deep is this going to be?" she inquired.

"In the final state about one meter, in the middle a little more, because that's where the drain should go. In addition, we have to dig a little deeper because a layer of gravel is to be put over the plastic film first to protect it. There are shovels and wheelbarrows by the fence, the excavation comes to the right," she pointed there, "there is a small hill. That's going to be covered with the sod that we're going to lift off the lake first."

Everyone then went to the tools, but then Trixie called out, "Stop." She ordered them all to strip completely and got the chains and irons out of the van. The girlfriends laughed and after they undressed, they helped each other put everything on. Trixie also took off her clothes and would fully participate in the work.

Very soon they all noticed that this work was not a sweet job. By evening, they had piled up the sod from the lake and also from the area of the future mound off to the side and started digging the hole. The dogs watched them do this, but were not disturbed in their rest. Finally, Trixie finished the work for the day and led everyone into the barn.

She got the food supplies out of the van. The manager of the sanctuary had had everything prepared in one part of the barn and had an area of straw made into a sitting and sleeping area. Exhausted, they dropped onto the straw and rested for a while. After some time, they had their dinner, with the dogs joining them and taking part in the meal as well.

Later they lay down on the straw to spend the night. The straw was comfortable, but it stung their skin and the chains hindered them further. They would have liked to take a shower, but Trixie had not planned for that. So they lay dirty and sweaty in the straw, with which they also covered themselves. The dogs lay down all around the group and obviously enjoyed the company as well.

In the morning Trixie woke up very early. It was just before six in the morning. She got up and prepared breakfast. When she was done, she woke up her friends. Beate and Antje groaned because their muscles were sore, but they were happy to have something to eat. The manager of the grace yard also came by and brought a big pot of coffee. The sight of the naked women in chains worried him a bit, but it also excited him. Not wanting to show it, he quickly made landfall again.

Then Trixie announced that the work should continue. But since everyone was already a bit tired, she determined that first Siggi should drive them all with the whip for an hour. Then Karin would relieve her, followed by Beate, Antje and lastly Trixie. Everyone was soon covered in sweat again, but gradually the outline of the pool could be made out. Around noon, Trixie found that the hole was big enough. She had gotten a folding rule and was sighting the depth of the hole over the edge. She then got her cell phone out of the van and called the mercy yard manager to get his OK. While waiting for him, they also had their lunch, with the dogs happily keeping them company and dusting off a good portion of the rations.

Finally, the manager of the sanctuary arrived. He looked at the hole and was very pleased. Next to the plastic tarp there had been a very rigid hose, for which Siggi and Karin dug a trench. Then they connected the end of the hose with some angle pieces. Beate, Antje and Trixie meanwhile fetched the very heavy and stiff pond liner and spread it out halfway. Then they all pulled the multi-layered foil into position together. The foil already had a connection for the drain in the middle and Siggi connected it to the hose. Then they spread the foil out completely.

When that was done, the leader drove away but soon returned with a large truck filled with coarse gravel. He drove up to the edge of the pool and then operated the truck's dumping device. This caused several cubic meters of gravel to pour into the pool. Siggi and Karin then began to spread the gravel in a layer over the liner, while Beate and Antje covered the new mound with sod. Trixie started covering the edge of the liner with more sod at the same time. The leader left again to get a second load of gravel so that the whole bottom of the pool could be protected. It was quite late when all the work was finished. Now the leader went to get another fire hose and connected it to a water line nearby.

As the water poured into the pool, the five took the opportunity to wash off their sweat. Soon the bottom of the pool was covered and not only the five friends, but also the dogs were playing in the freezing water. Finally, they climbed out of the pool and sat on the edge. While they ate one last meal, they watched the dogs enjoying themselves in the pool.

Antje took Trixie aside and gave her a big hug. "You really are a great mistress. How did you arrange all this so quickly? But anyway. Now let's see the dogs and how they have fun."

Then Antje went to the manager of the grace yard. "I see you like what you see," she said, letting her eyes slide over the man's pants. He was a little embarrassed, but Antje continued with a laugh, "don't mind it. It excites us, too. It's natural, given the sight." Then she asked him how much more was needed for the expansion. He made an estimate. Antje thought about it for a moment, rounded up the amount and announced a transfer in the next few days.

Finally, everyone had recovered enough to take off their chains and put their clothes back on. The leader thanked them all and gave Trixie a special hug. The slave girls were also very pleased with Trixie's first mistress role and did not spare praise.

Then they set off on their return trip. But when they arrived home, everyone disappeared into their rooms and it was very quiet as they all soon fell asleep from exhaustion.

Chapter 26 Great Views

The following Monday Trixie spent mostly in her own office. She helped Mr. Vossen set up his workstation. She also asked Human Resources to pick out some programming courses for him. She would then work with him to decide on a course that was right for him.

She also worked with Mr. Vossen over the next few days, and she quickly realized that he actually knew every department in the company. In that respect, he was clearly superior even to Trixie, but she was not particularly surprised. After all, she had only been here for little more than a month, while he had been employed here for five years.

On Friday, she sat with the other department heads in the usual meeting room. Mr. Bergmann was a little late, which had never happened before. When he entered the room five minutes later, he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Dear employees," he began, "Please excuse my tardiness. I had to quickly take care of several things. But I bring pleasant news. Our offer for the facilities in Japan has been well received and we have been asked to come to Tokyo with a delegation to negotiate the final terms of the contract and to give a few more explanations about the machines. However, it will not be two machines as we offered."

There was silence for a moment, then Mr. Hoffmeister said, "Well, one machine will do. Doesn't make that much of a difference, but it's still a good start. Over thirty million is money, too."

Trixie looked over at her boss, who was still grinning. "True," he agreed. "A machine wouldn't be bad either" Then he paused. "But three is awesome!" With that, he stretched three fingers in the air.

Everyone looked at him dumbfounded, then they all talked in confusion. It took time for the mood to calm down. Everyone in the room could figure out the importance of the order for the company.

When calm finally returned, Mr. Bergmann continued, "So, we're flying out of Düsseldorf next Friday. 8 p.m. with All Nippon, non-stop to Tokyo. Arrival Saturday at half past two in the afternoon because of the time difference. A 12-hour flight, but you can survive it in business class. We will stay in the guest house of our Japanese business partner. Mr. Takamura is taking care of everything. We will use the rest of Saturday and Sunday to get used to the time difference. Monday to Wednesday are scheduled for negotiations, contract signing then on Thursday. After that probably every evening karaoke or dinner with geishas or something like that. Friday we will go back at 11 o'clock in the morning and be back in Düsseldorf in time for closing time on Friday at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Delegation members please prepare everything by Wednesday. I would like everyone not to come to the company on Friday, but to have some rest at home. And also, the participants in the trip should know two or three hit songs so that we don't embarrass ourselves in the evening. Folk songs would be good, too."

"And who is going to Japan? I suppose you are leading the delegation?" asked Mr. Hoffmeister.

"Of course I'm going," said Mr. Bergmann. "There's no way I'm going to miss this. We'll be joined by Hoffmeister and Nolan from Project, Schmidt and Steffen from Design, Driesch, Heinemann and Köhn from Production, and Hansen from IT Development."

Now Trixie's head snapped around. Had her name just come up? There had to be a mistake. She looked at her boss and raised her hand. Mr. Bergmann looked at her, then made a reassuring downward motion with his hand. "Trixie, please join me in my office immediately afterwards."

The meeting went on for over an hour, with countless questions to be answered. As always, all department heads had to report on the status of work in the departments, but that all happened somewhat abbreviated on this day.

When the meeting was over, Mr. Bergmann went to the door and asked Trixie to follow him. They went into his office, where he sat down at his desk and Trixie took a seat in a chair in front of it. "Herr Direktor," Trixie began, "I can't do anything..."

Herr Bergmann cut her off. "Trixie, I think you still don't know what you've done for the company. You didn't just save this one job. This is just the first order of a whole series. We will be selling dozens more of these machines throughout Southeast Asia in the months and years to come. This order is a signpost. It is all the more important for us. Just to give you an example: In the next few months, we will hire 100, maybe 120 additional people. You can take credit for that. Not all of it, of course, I know that. But you were lucky, and luck is sometimes worth its weight in gold. And if they come along now, that's more of a reward. You can't really do much in the negotiations. That's a man's domain, and especially in the evening, when the important decisions are made over sake or whiskey and karaoke, you as a woman have no part in it. It's a pity, maybe you would impress Mr. Takamura, but it's a different culture. He doesn't know what he's missing. He wants you to see Tokyo. Sightseeing. Mr. Takamura has promised me firmly, he will provide a first-class guide. Just enjoy it. And please don't take it amiss if Mr. Takamura or the guide think you're my mistress or something. It's just the way it is."

Trixie was totally taken aback. She made a few more objections, but in the end it was a wonderful offer. Looking at Tokyo was really no punishment after all.

That evening, she had to suppress the grin with difficulty when she got to the WG. She didn't want to come out with it until the weekly meeting. Steffi noticed that something was going on, but Trixie didn't reveal anything. Even at the evening meeting, Trixie waited until the most important points had been covered. Only then did she say in an emphatically calm tone, but it was only an act: "By the way, next weekend you'll have to do without me for a change."

"Why," asked Antje, "do you want to spend a weekend by yourself and go away?"

"Almost," said Trixie. Then she yelled, "I'm flying to Tokyo!"

The others looked at her in total surprise. Then it bubbled out of Trixie. She told everything, about the department head meeting and also about her conversation with Director Bergmann. The four of them could hardly believe it, but each of them begrudged Trixie.

Finally, Beate grabbed her head: "I can't believe it. First London, now Tokyo. Who knows which city will shake under you next!"

"Dubai," Antje said very quietly.

"What?" Karin said in response.

"Beate asked which city would be next to quake under Trixie, and I said Dubai."

"Are you saying we're going to Dubai for our annual vacation?" Siggi now inquired enthusiastically.

"Not only, but also. OK, I can let the cat out of the bag. After all, I won the organization of the trip," Antje reminded the friends. "And I've really gotten into it. We're flying from Düsseldorf to Dubai on Wednesdays at the end of November on the Emirates Airbus 380. I've always wanted to take a shower on the plane. You can do that in first class. We arrive in Dubai on Thursday. Then we go to the hotel "Fairmont The Palm" for 10 days. Saturday and Sunday, however, we're going to a sporting event in Abu Dhabi."

"Sports," Beate asked. "Camel racing?"

"Not quite, but close. More specifically, the Formula 1 finals on Yas Island. Beate, you need to get ear muffs for all of us. Because that's really loud. Otherwise, there are a few highlights interspersed throughout the week. Desert trip, helicopter tour, Burj Al Khalifa, the souqs, especially the Goldsouq, of course the Dubai Mall with its tiny twelve hundred stores. Well, you can imagine that for sure. Then we fly for 4 days further to Muscat in Oman and look around there. It should also be very interesting. But it has nothing to do with the nuts. Then back to Dubai, where unfortunately the hotel was full. We'll have to switch to another hotel."

"Surely that doesn't matter. There are supposed to be plenty of first-class hotels there," Karin said. "Where did you book us?"

"To the Burj al Arab."

"Is that the hotel with the sail?" asked Trixie, her eyes shining.

"That's right. The hotel with the seven stars. In a pinch, that'll work. There we have six two-bedroom apartments, each with a butler. That's about it. In the first 10 days in Dubai and then in Muscat we have a van, which Trixie should drive, in the Burj al Arab we get a limo with chauffeur from the hotel. Oh yes, by the way, I've arranged for your credit card limits to be raised and I demand that you use them to the last euro."

"What's the point," Beate objected. "As far as I know, all of us except you have a limit of ten thousand. And I don't think I've ever needed more than five or six thousand."

"True. But with 1200 stores in the mall, that's not enough. That still leaves 50,000 very close. But in a pinch, mine is almost unlimited. Pick out something nice. Especially Trixie needs more clothes. But that goes for the rest of you, too. And there are these souvenir stores near the Burj al Arab, I want to take a look."

What kind of souvenir stores," Siggi promptly fell for Antje's trap.

"Maserati, Bentley and such. Maybe I'll find something suitable for my turquoise scarf."

Siggi shook his head. That was typical Antje. Money meant nothing to her and she enjoyed spending it on her friends.

"Wait a minute," Trixie then objected. "You said, '"the six of us will have two apartments"'."

Now the others also looked questioningly at Antje.

"I thought Trixie got along very well with Natalie, so with Mortimer's agreement, I invited her over for a sleepover of sorts. I hope you don't mind."

"Now you just have to explain one thing to me," Beate agreed. "How is Trixie supposed to fall asleep tonight with news like this? She's going to need a sledgehammer anesthetic."

Chapter 27 Tokyo

The next morning Karin, who was currently mistress, sent Beate and Trixie to Roermond. She felt that Trixie could not possibly go on such a trip with only a chicken dress. Also Siggi and Antje were of the same opinion and said that this was true. Trixie protested, but finally Karin put it into an order. She explained to Trixie that she was obligated to carry out an order from her mistress on duty.

Beate and Trixie returned around three in the afternoon and presented the purchases. Trixie had also finally realized that she needed more choice in her clothing. They also took this opportunity to purchase a suitcase set that they would surely need for their trip to Dubai. Trixie wanted a black set, but Beate chose a set in a bright purple. Trixie didn't find it that appealing, but Beate explained to her why it was better.

"It doesn't really matter what it looks like. But with that color, it's much easier to spot at the airport on the baggage carousel than a black set. There are dozens of them."

Karin then led her friends to the playroom, where she pushed them pretty hard over the next few hours. By early evening, all of them had their backs and bottoms full of welts and needed to rest first. But Karin gave them little time. At nine o'clock they drove into town in their van and visited a disco there. Karin had made sure when choosing their clothes that they all wore something backless. In addition, they all had their collars and leg irons, but these without chains, on. They received a lot of astonished looks and also heard corresponding whispering behind their backs. Some of the other visitors would have liked to flirt with them, but that was out of the question for the five.

They stayed until half past two in the morning and were glad when they could finally fall into their beds. But Karin was not satisfied with that yet. Already at five she woke up her friends. The first thing on the agenda was a morning run. The weather was very bad and it was drizzling all the time. Therefore, they were soaking wet when they came back. They didn't have breakfast that day, so they had to work out in the gym for a couple of hours. But around noon the slaves went on strike. Karin had mercy and allowed them to rest for two hours first and then have lunch.

But she had one last challenge up her sleeve: after lunch they went to a public sauna. There, too, the oozing bodies caused quite a stir. Only after that was it enough for Karin also.

On the following Friday, Beate took Trixie to the Düsseldorf airport, where the delegation had arranged to meet for the flight to Tokyo. Mr. Bergmann greeted all the employees. When he saw Trixie, he noticed that, unlike usual, she was not wearing a choker.

"I figured it wasn't appropriate on a trip like this," Trixie explained. But she mentioned that she had her choker in her purse. However, she concealed the fact that there was also a plug in there.

Mr. Bergmann thought it was very considerate of Trixie. "But if you prefer to wear the choker while traveling as well, that's fine. You have your lifestyle and we all respect that. So if you change your mind, that's fine with me. And our Japanese business friends will get used to it. I'm sure they'll come to visit us sometime, and I'm sure you'll wear the hoop there."

Trixie thanked him for his understanding and took out her choker from her handbag. When she opened the lock that went with it, Mr. Bergmann took it from her and then helped her put it on. In this way, he showed her quite clearly how he felt about it.

Trixie was the only woman in the group and therefore had a free choice of seat next to Mr. Bergmann. She chose a window seat. The flight was taking off into the night, but she wanted to watch the sunrise later. The All Nippon Dreamliner had no first class but only business and economy, but the seats in business class were very spacious and Trixie could stretch out completely. She marveled at the extremely friendly in-flight service and the meal served was a revelation. There were comfortable blankets and even light slippers were thought of.

Trixie couldn't fall asleep from excitement, however, and watched quite a few movies about life and highlights in Tokyo. Eventually, though, she did fall asleep and when she woke up, she had promptly slept through the sunrise. Then about an hour before landing, she freshened up in the restroom and also took off the support stockings she had worn on the flight on Beate's orders.

At Narita Airport, you were met by a young man and a petite young Japanese woman. The man introduced himself as Seichi Takamura and was the technical director and eldest son of the client. Mr. Bergmann was pleasantly surprised by this high-level reception. Mr. Takamura introduced the young Japanese woman as Michiko and explained that she would act as a tour guide. He led the group to a bus, which took them all to the guesthouse. On the way, Michiko, who spoke very good German, explained that she had arranged a dinner for the early evening and that they were going to a sumo tournament afterwards. Since they would only be in Tokyo for such a short time, that would be the only opportunity for it. There would be a city tour the next day and negotiations would begin on Monday.

Michiko approached Trixie and told her that she was available to guide them for the remaining days as well. She inquired if Trixie had any special requests. "I've heard a lot about the fish market, I hear it's pretty great. And if there's any way I can, I'd also like to go to Fuji. Other than that, though, I don't have any specific plans. We will surely see most of the sights tomorrow during the city tour. So I'm relying on you there. Oh yes, I have a little shopping list, if that's feasible."

When they arrived at the guesthouse, Mr. Takamura showed them inside, but then said goodbye until the following Monday. Michiko went to the front desk and asked for the room keys. She turned around and came to Trixie, "Trixie-san, you Mistress of what Lord?"

Trixie was not too surprised because Mr. Bergmann had given her a heads up and explained to Michiko that she was not a Mistress of anyone. Michiko couldn't understand that. She pointed to Trixie's choker and told her that there was no shame in her being the Mistress of Bergmann-San or any of the others, after all.

Eventually it became apparent what the problem was: only eight rooms had been prepared, as her host had assumed that Trixie would be sleeping with one of the other delegation members, probably Mr. Bergmann. There was a brief confusion, but then Mr. Hoffmeister spoke up, "It's no problem. I've already discussed this with Mr. Nolan and the two of us can share a room. Trixie saved our necks with this offer, so we can return the favor a little."

After they all freshened up, they met a little later at the bar next to the reception, where Michiko was already waiting for them with welcome cocktails. They took the bus to an old restaurant located in a small park, where Michiko had reserved a room for them. As always, the service was very friendly. No sooner did someone ask for something than one of the waitresses stood behind them with what they wanted and handed it over with a polite bow. The food was prepared before her eyes by a cook in a kimono at the table and served sizzling hot. Michiko sat between Mr. Bergmann and Trixie and explained the individual courses. She also recommended the appropriate drinks, only with the hot sake Trixie did not follow the recommendation, because she drank alcohol rather rarely.

Afterwards, they continued by bus to a sports arena, where a sumo tournament was held that evening. Michiko explained to them that this was not a very significant tournament, but it was the only one taking place that weekend. She escorted the group to a box from where they could watch the matches. Again, Michiko explained the rules, but some of the fights were over in moments. When there was a break in between, three of the fighters appeared in the box and were introduced to the guests. Trixie was photographed next to the rather giant fighters and rightly felt very small.

The next morning, everyone gathered in the breakfast room of the company mansion. The night had done them good and so the effects of the time difference were kept within bounds. Nevertheless, they were glad that the negotiations had not yet started that day. Besides, they wanted to see as much of Tokyo as possible. After all, it would be the only visit to this metropolis for most of them.

Michiko arrived by bus around half past eight and they began an extensive tour of the city. Although it was Sunday, there was plenty of traffic and besides, the Japanese were driving on the wrong side. They stopped in front of the huge grounds of the Imperial Palace. Antje had given Trixie her camera and Trixie took one picture after another. They would have liked to visit the palace, but Michiko told them that only some of the gardens could be visited and that the actual palace was not part of it. They continued on to Ginza, the main shopping street, and then headed for the other destinations.

Michiko pointed out the red and white Tokyo Tower. "You see, perfectly fine again after being destroyed."

"What was it destroyed by," Mr. Hoffmeister asked. "An earthquake?"

Michiko looked at him with a deadpan face. "No. Godzilla. For the second time already. That villain!"

Silence remained on the bus for a moment, then thunderous laughter rang out.

At lunchtime, Michiko took them to a vending machine restaurant, where food passed diners on an assembly line. Everyone took what they wanted from the conveyor belt and the plates were collected. Mr. Nolan, who was an amateur photographer, asked Trixie to take a look at her camera. She handed it to him across the table. He looked it over thoroughly, also took a quick shot of Trixie with her stack of plates, and then handed the camera back.

"It's a beautiful piece," he commented.

My friend lent it to me. The camera is a little heavy, but it handles well. The zoom is great."

"Your girlfriend must have a lot of confidence in you. The camera costs more than a mid-range car."

Trixie stared at Mr. Nolan, then glanced at the camera. She had handled it carefully before, too, but after that statement she became even more careful.

Finally, with Trixie's help, Mr. Bergmann took the plates to the cashier and paid there. The payment was made according to the number and color of the plates.

The tour lasted the whole afternoon and ended with a robot cabaret. All participants thought it was a successful day and were eager to see how the negotiations would go the next day.

Trixie and Michiko had arranged to meet the next morning. After breakfast, Mr. Bergmann wished Trixie an interesting day and she went to the subway together with Michiko. They had agreed to ride it because the traffic was otherwise very extreme on weekdays. But the subway was also packed in parts. Trixie thought that was wonderful. They first went to the Tsukiji Fish Market, which Trixie had heard a lot about. Some of the stalls offered specialties, which Trixie tried. But Michiko also showed her various spices and other ingredients. She explained what they were for and Trixie was allowed to try some of those as well.

Trixie had been given a short shopping list by the WG. To her surprise, a set of knives had been at the top and when she showed Michiko the list, she explained that they would find what they were looking for here at the fish market. Beate had warned Trixie that a good set was very expensive, but Antje had waved that argument off the table in her usual manner. Therefore, Trixie had no qualms about spending the equivalent of over 2,000 euros for an excellent set.

Michiko also looked over the rest of the shopping list. In a department store, they found the pens they wanted, which could be erased, and in a small store nearby, Trixie ordered Hanko stamps for herself and her friends. The shopkeeper promised to deliver the stamps to the company mansion on Wednesday. Then the last item was kimonos. This time Michiko warned that this was quite an expensive treat if you bought real kimonos and not the tourist version. But again, Antje had given Trixie her instructions. Antje had insisted on real silk. Michiko led them to an appropriate store and when they left it two hours later, Michiko had been amazed to see that Trixie's credit card had been charged over 30,000 euros without any problem.

"How can you afford that," Michiko asked. Trixie then explained to her that she lived in a very special WG. Michiko had trouble understanding it all and she kept asking Trixie more and more questions. In between, Trixie bought another large cloth bag that she would need for her purchases for the day on the flight back.

In the late afternoon they drove back to the villa, where the other delegation members had arrived in the meantime. Mr. Bergmann explained to Trixie that the day was not yet over for the men and that there was still a karaoke evening on the agenda. Mr. Nolan told Trixie in between that their contractors had been heckling them especially regarding the sub-transporter, which had only been included in the bid at the last moment after Trixie had pointed it out. Michiko and Trixie took the subway to Ueno Park and walked along the lighted paths. Finally, Michiko showed Trixie a smaller shopping street away from the glamour of the Ginza, where ordinary Japanese shopped. They then had dinner there at one of the many street restaurants.

The next morning, Michiko told Trixie that the weather was unusually good and that they should take the opportunity to go to Mount Fuji. Trixie agreed and was amazed that Michiko had already arranged for a chauffeured car. The chauffeur bowed to the two women as they got in. Trixie noticed that he addressed Michiko extremely politely and bowed after every comment Michiko made.

On the ride, they had time to talk about anything and everything. Michiko asked Trixie about the WG in particular, which seemed to intrigue her. Trixie asked Michiko if she had heard how the negotiations were going. She didn't actually expect an answer, but to her amazement, Michiko knew very well. "Your Bergman-San is obviously trying very hard to adapt to our customs. He does make mistakes, but that's not bad. He shows respect and tries hard. In that way he is much better than the other man."

"What other man?" Trixie asked.

"Two weeks ago, there was another man here from Germany. From a place called Mun Chen. He was very arrogant. I took him out one night, but he wanted more from me than was proper. Not respectful. He urged Takamura-San to buy from his machines. Said design was from Germany but production from China. Therefore, cheaper than Bergmann-San's machines."

"Then why didn't Takamura-San buy from him?" Trixie inquired.

"Takamura-San says ‘Made in Germany’ is best quality. Better than China. Besides, he didn't like that the man doesn't show respect. Takamura-San wants to give him lesson. That's why not only two machines should be bought, but three."

"And where did this man come from? I didn't understand."

"From Mun Chen. Must be big city in Germany."

"You mean Munich," Trixie said now.

"Yes, that's right. Mun Chen."

"Tell me, did the man's name happen to be Nierlich?"

"Yes," Michiko replied in amazement. "You know the man?"

"I think so, yes. Do you happen to have a picture of him?"

"No," Michiko replied. "But there are pictures of all the visitors from other companies on the homepage of Takamura-San's company. I can tell you the address tomorrow."

Trixie was really curious now. "Tell me, Michiko, how do you know all this?"

Takamura-San told me at breakfast," Michiko replied.

"And why are you having breakfast with Takamura-san?"

"It's just normal. The whole family eats breakfast together every day," Michiko explained.

"Are you saying that you are related to Takamura-san?"

"I'm his youngest daughter. Takamura-san has three sons and two daughters. My brothers all in company. I study tourism and do tours and excursions for my father's guests on the side."

Trixie's jaw dropped. It took her a moment to digest that.

"And how do you know this man," Michiko now inquired in her turn.

"Actually, he's the reason I'm here now," Trixie explained. Then she told Michiko the whole story about the unreadable files and the sudden disappearance of Mr. Nierlich.

This time Michiko was also horrified. "Traitor. No honor," she groaned.

The drive to Mount Fuji was beautiful. The mountain shone in the sun. But the first snow had already fallen, so they couldn't go too far up. Then they continued on to Lake Hakone. But Trixie was a little distracted. She wondered what Mr. Bergmann would say when she told him about what she had heard.

Lastly, they drove to a train station, because Trixie wanted to ride the Shinkanzen sometime. She had read about the "bullet trains." As they stood on the platform waiting for the train, they talked. Suddenly there was a roar, almost a bang, and then one of the bullet trains sped through the station 10 yards away from Trixie at 300 speeds. Before Trixie could react properly, the white train had disappeared again.

The train that was supposed to take her back to Tokyo pulled into the station right on time. Michiko explained to Trixie that it was a shame for the train driver if there was a delay. The train was very comfortable, the seats reminiscent of an airplane. In just under half an hour, they were back in Tokyo.

When they got back to the company villa, Mr. Bergmann and his companion had not yet returned. Trixie was waiting for him near the reception desk, and when he arrived, she told Mr. Bergmann that she needed to talk to him for a moment. Mr. Bergmann freshened up first, however, and prepared for another evening with their host.

"What is it, Trixie," he said as he finished getting ready. Trixie told him what she had come across. When he heard that, he had to sit down first. When the others came in, Trixie had to repeat everything again. Everyone was equally shocked. But Mr. Bergmann explained that they should not let on. Everyone should save face.

On Wednesday, there were the final negotiations. Michiko and Trixie drove to the suburbs of Tokyo, where Michiko showed Trixie more of the normal Japanese daily life outside the big metropolis. They were again traveling by car and chauffeur. Suddenly Michiko started talking to the chauffeur in Japanese. It went on for over 10 minutes, finally the chauffeur apparently gave in. "What was it," Trixie inquired.

"A surprise," Michiko said. A little later they came to a small house where all three got out. The chauffeur opened the doors of the house and led them inside. "I wanted to show you once how a normal Japanese lives. Kenjazu, that's our chauffeur's name, lives here with his wife and son."

Trixie knew that being a foreigner in a Japanese household was a rarity. Kenjazu's wife was at home, just preparing lunch for herself and her son. Trixie looked at everything very carefully and tried not to appear intrusive in any way. She bowed to the woman and also paid her respects to the chauffeur. Soon the ice was broken. Kenjazu's wife, whose name Trixie never learned, showed Trixie how to prepare various Japanese dishes. In between, she went shopping with Trixie and Michiko, with Michiko paying for the groceries, then she showed Trixie how to make sushi and tempura. It was a wonderful day for Trixie that she would probably never forget.

At breakfast the next day, Mr. Bergmann asked her to join the delegation for the day. Trixie gladly did him this favor. In the late morning, the ceremonial signing of the contracts took place. This time, the company owner, Mr. Takamura Senior, was also present. Mr. Bergmann had already revealed to Trixie that the deal had gone much more favorably than he had expected.

In the afternoon, to Mr. Bergmann's astonishment, there was another meeting with some businessmen he had not known until then. It turned out after some time that about half of these businessmen were from all over Asia. Most of them were interested in machines similar to the ones Mr. Takamura had bought. But the Japanese businessmen were also interested in other products that Mr. Bergmann had on offer. In the course of three hours, Mr. Bergmann and Mr. Hoffmeister had noted down two dozen addresses and inquiries that they would respond to over the next few weeks.

Mr. Bergmann was aware that Mr. Takamura was advocating for him in an unusual way. He would have liked to inquire why, but he couldn't. But he suspected it was related to what Trixie had told Michiko. In the evening, there was another big dinner to be attended by the whole delegation and a number of high-ranking employees of Mr. Takamura. This time, Mr. Takamura Senior insisted that Trixie sit between him and Mr. Bergmann and that Michiko sit on Mr. Bergmann's other side. Seichi Takamura, who had been conducting the negotiations for the past three days, then sat next to her.

This dinner was again delicious and various toasts were made. Even Trixie, who usually hardly drank alcohol, couldn't get past the hot sake this time. Later, things got a little more relaxed. Mr. Takamura was very polite and explained to Trixie that his daughter had told him a lot of interesting things. Seichi Takamura then opened a series of karaoke performances, for which the members of the delegation reciprocated in kind. Even Mr. Bergmann performed a German folk song. Then Mr. Takamura asked Trixie if she too could perform something. Mr. Bergmann looked at Trixie. He guessed that she was reluctant to be in the spotlight and he sensed her embarrassment. But then Trixie nodded and spoke to the disc jockey. He nodded and Trixie went on stage. She gathered herself and when the music started, she performed a version of "One moment in time." Mr. Bergmann and the others were totally stunned, but the Japanese participants at the dinner drummed enthusiastically on the tables. When Trixie sat back down, Mr. Bergmann gave her a kiss on the cheek and Mr. Takamura bowed deeply to her.

In the morning, they drove to the airport, where Michiko and Seichi Takamura said goodbye. Michiko slipped Trixie two USB flash drives, winking her eye.

Trixie had a window seat on the return flight as well. But this time she got out her laptop first and looked to see what was on the first stick. The first file was a JPG file and when she opened it, she saw a picture of Mr. Nierlich. The second file was a PDF file. Trixie opened it and found a quote for the machines that the trip had been about. But when she looked closer, she realized it was the quote from her competitor company. She scrolled through it to where the sub-transporter was described, but there was nothing. Then she called up the website of Mr. Takamura's company, whose link was saved on the flash drive. After a brief search, she found the image she was looking for. Mr. Nierlich shook hands with Seichi Takamura.

Trixie asked Mr. Bergmann to take a look. "Where did you get this," he inquired. Trixie explained to him that Michiko had slipped her the files. "Delete everything," he ordered. Trixie looked at him in amazement, but he just nodded. Trixie formatted the flash drive.

"We now know what happened because of this," Mr. Bergmann explained. "But we don't stoop to that level. The trip was a complete success. And you played a decisive role in that. Besides, Takamura-San and I will publicly announce our contract on Wednesday. I would have to be very wrong if Mr. Nierlich still has a job the next day. And he won't get a job at another engineering company either, word gets around much too quickly about what he did with us. We don't need to say anything about it, it will happen all by itself. No, Mr. Nierlich's mechanical engineering future will probably not happen."

On the second flash drive, she found pictures of the trips she had taken with Michiko.

When they arrived in Düsseldorf, Trixie headed for customs. Antje had impressed upon her to declare everything properly. At last count, she had to pay over 6,000 euros in customs, but she had expected that and Antje had told her so. Mr. Bergmann wished all the delegation members a relaxing weekend and gave them all Monday off to rest as well.

Chapter 28 Good News

At the exit of the arrivals area, Karin was waiting for Trixie. Trixie had loaded her suitcase and bag onto a trolley and they drove it to the parking garage where Karin had parked.

At home, Beate was also already waiting for them. Trixie was completely psyched and she would have loved to tell all her experiences at once. But Beate slowed her down a bit and made her wait with her stories until the evening, when Antje and Siggi would also be home. Trixie placed a gift-wrapped kimono and a small jewelry box with the Hanko stamp on each of her friends' seats at the kitchen table. She also unwrapped the knife set and placed the knives in the appropriate drawer. For Antje, she put the bills for the kimonos and the knives in an envelope. Beate checked the knives and was highly satisfied with the quality.

The Friday meeting was a little late that evening, as everyone unpacked the kimonos first and then promptly put them on. For Trixie, it was the first time that everyone attended the meeting dressed. Antje took a quick look at the bills, "Say, where's the bill for the hankos?" she asked.

"There aren't any," Trixie replied. "They're a little present from me."

Antje hugged Trixie. "That's sweet of you, but I think you'd better spend your little money on yourself."

"Let me have the pleasure," Trixie begged. "You're always showering me, and I'm even happier when I can give you a treat once in a while."

Then the usual discussion began. On the weekend Antje would still be the mistress, then from the following Monday it would be Beate's turn. Antje announced that they would probably all spend a large part of the weekend in the playroom. Since the weather had gotten worse, that came in handy for the others.

"I have one more thing to announce," Beate said when all the evening's topics were through. "As you know, I was in Frankfurt yesterday. There is wonderful news: On the occasion of the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, there is a small amnesty, which also affects Gaby. Her remaining time will be suspended and she will be released early. I hope she will decide to move in here with us. She'll be released on Thursday and I'll drive down to pick her up."

Everyone was excited and rejoicing with Beate. Only Trixie was a little quiet.

"What do you have?" Karin asked.

"If Gaby is to move in here, there's still a room missing. The guest room is too small in the long run. That means I'll have to move out, since I was the last one to arrive. But I understand."

Now everyone was quiet. Then Beate jumped up. She propped her hands on the table and leaned toward Trixie. "Tell me, Fraulein, who shit in your brain to make you say such nonsense?" Beate had become quite loud, which almost never happened with her.

Trixie cringed at this violent reaction. "I'm just saying, I don't know ..."

"First of all, my dear, already when you moved in here I explained to you that we still have plenty of room on our floor. Siggi has had the plans in her drawer for a long time, and she can start remodeling at any time. Secondly, it's not at all certain that Gaby will even move into the WG. We don't even know if she's going to and we're going to. And third, I'd rather sleep on a mattress in the supply room than kick you out of here. In case you still don't get it, we all love you and don't want to do without you!" Now Beate plopped back down on her chair.

Trixie's tears came to her eyes. The others agreed with Beate and Siggi bent over to Trixie and hugged her fiercely. Slowly, Trixie calmed down. Antje went to the icebox and got Trixie an ice-cold vodka, which she drank in one go on her instructions. But then Trixie had to cough violently, because she was not used to such a thing.

"Well, now that Trixie has said this nonsense, we can talk seriously about what needs to be done," Antje said. "Siggi and I started thinking about this some time ago. We all knew that at some point more members would move into the WG. I would like to prepare three new rooms for the time being. And a few other changes as well."

"And what are you thinking about," Beate asked.

"Well, so far we've been using the room next to yours as a storage room. The passage from the bathroom is already there. I think we should build two smaller new rooms behind the playroom as a supply room. Siggi can set them up in a day or two, just pull the walls and then we can put them in. Not much needs to be done in the supply rooms. In the old supply room, the floor needs to be replaced. The old carpet out and a new one in. And then we can put up the usual furniture. Siggi has already built them in stock and stored them as individual parts in his workshop."

Now Siggi took over. "Our fitness area will then go into the free space behind the supply rooms. There is enough space and we can also build a few other things there to a real wellness area. I'm converting the old fitness area into two more rooms with the bathroom in between. Even though we don't know when we'll need the rooms yet, but once it's my turn, I can do it right."

"What do you mean by things going into the wellness area," Karin wanted to know.

Siggi grinned, "A sauna for starters. That would really appeal to me. Then a whirlpool and also two tanning beds."

"No swimming pool," Karin asked mockingly.

"No. We would have liked to have had one," Antje replied. "But it just doesn't fit in because of the height. The pool would have to be about 1.30 meters high, and then there's not enough room up to the ceiling."

"And if we…" Trixie began and immediately fell silent again.

"And if we what?" Antje probed. "Come on, spit it out, maybe you have a better idea about that than the one about moving out."

"I don't know," Trixie said, "But what if we rip out the ceiling over the pool? There's only the roof over there, and we don't need a floor there, do we? Then maybe the height thing would work out."

Siggi looked at Trixie thoughtfully. "Hmm, could work. Trixie is right about that. But I can't calculate that. Such a thing would have to be planned by a real architect. We might also need the appropriate building permit. And I can't build it either, we need a company to do it."

"I have a company on hand. They are also building in the chemical company. And the architect is also no problem. I'll have to sleep on it," Antje explained.

"And in the roof we could have a few large windows installed," Karin said. "A sliding roof would be better, of course." Everyone laughed at the idea.

"Won't that be way too expensive all together," Beate asked.

"Don't worry about that," replied Antje, "This year has been extremely successful so far. In fact, in all my businesses, even in the store. After the first 9 months, sales and profit targets have already been exceeded everywhere. Especially in the chemical plant. But also in the store, thanks to the help of a new attraction. At the moment, all employees will probably get the maximum bonus. That goes for you, too," turning to Karin.

"Twenty percent," Karin asked. Antje nodded. Karin beamed like a honey-cake horse.

They then finished the meeting and went into the living room. Trixie showed them the pictures she had taken.

Then on Saturday, after Antje and Karin got home from the store, they went to the playroom. Over the next few hours, Antje tied up her friends in a variety of positions. For Trixie, some of the positions were completely new. At first she thought some of them were actually rather good to take when she saw them on her friends. But when it was her own turn, her opinion changed. Antje pulled all the ropes very tight and when they could barely move, any posture quickly became uncomfortable. Antje applied alligator clips to Trixie's small breasts a few times, which Trixie soon learned to hate. Nevertheless, just like the others, Trixie persevered according to her motto, "I can do it."

After Antje had challenged her friends quite a bit on Sunday as well, Trixie could have spent a quiet Monday at home, since Mr. Bergmann had given them the day off. But Trixie went to the office anyway. Mr. Vossen had been working on the program structure and Trixie looked over his changes with him.

Around half past eleven, the door opened and Mr. Bergmann came in. "What are you doing here," he asked. "I gave you the day off after all."

"Well, you're here, and I'd like to take a day off on Thursday instead."

"You didn't have to come today for that," Mr. Bergmann explained. "But that's fine with this in any case." Mr. Bergmann looked at the sheets on the wall some more, then left the office satisfied.

Trixie had asked Beate to go with her to Frankfurt to pick up Gaby. Beate had agreed, suspecting that her conversation with Gaby would not be easy. They left around 6 a.m. because dismissals were always at 9.

As they pulled onto the highway, Trixie suddenly started laughing. Beate looked at her in amazement because she couldn't explain Trixie's outburst. "Remember when you picked me up that time? You told me you had a plug in your butt and your pussy was locked with locks. And now, a few months later, we come back here and this time we both have a plug in our butts and our pussies locked."

Beate laughed, then became more serious. "Gaby doesn't even suspect what the WG is all about yet. She knows that I live in a WG, but she thinks it's a normal WG. She doesn't know anything about our games and the other stuff. I've never had the heart to tell her about it."

"Oh, this is going to be interesting. Better get behind the wheel on the way back, then?"

"Might be better," Beate agreed.

"You, Beate, I've got an assassination plot against you."

"What is it," Beate wanted to know.

"I had my labia pierced in London, didn't I? But I feel like it's not complete yet."

"Not complete?"

"Well, for one thing, there's a ring missing through the clitoral hood, and for another, I'd like to have my breasts pierced. But I'm a little unsure about that. It's not like they're very big."

"It doesn't matter that much," Beate reassured her friend. "Do you want your piercing on your breasts further forward in the nipples?"

"No. I envision it more at the base. I want it to be sturdy and resilient."

"And do you want it to be a ring? Like, welded?"

"I was thinking of something interchangeable. In the office, I could wear more of a stick, that wouldn't be so provocative. And downstairs, I was going to ask Siggi if she could forge me a ring that's seamless."

"You mean permanently? Siggi would have to forge that together if you have it in. I wouldn't recommend that. Better if she welds it. Because of the heat."

Trixie thought for a moment, then agreed.

"Do you need an address where you can get your piercings done? I have someone."

"That's the thing: I want you to do it for me."

"Me?"

"Yes. You know about these things, don't you? And you know where nerves or veins run. And I have more confidence in you than in anyone else."

Beate hesitated, then exhaled slowly. She knew Trixie well enough that she knew there was no point in arguing.

"And when do you want this to take place?" Beate asked.

"My preference would be tomorrow, when I get off work. Then it has time over the weekend for the pain to subside. And I'd rather go through with it quickly, otherwise I'll just get more scared."

"Phew. Typical of you. Close your eyes and get through it."

"Yeah, just like driving a car."

They both laughed. Then Beate continued seriously, "Agreed. On one condition. On weekends, you opt out of our games. Maybe you can do something with Gaby. That will also distract you from the pain. And you take all the pills I give you. I'll make sure there aren't too many, but pain doesn't make any sense."

They were still talking about the contemplated conversions, but then Trixie got quieter and quieter.

"What do you have?" Beate asked.

"The prison," Trixie explained. "Actually, I never wanted to go there again."

"Calm down," said Beate, putting her hand on her thigh, "It's just to pick up Gaby. Then we'll be out of here in a minute."

"Still," Trixie agreed.

Shortly before nine, they arrived at the parking lot of the correctional facility. Beate got out and stretched her legs, but Trixie stayed in the car and slid into the driver's seat. "Don't you even want to get out of the car?" Beate asked.

Trixie shook her head and looked toward the road, away from the building. Beate considered, then stuck her head into the car. "Are you a coward? Face your past. You can do it!"

Trixie shook her head. Beate leaned her back against the car and looked toward the door of the correctional facility. After a few minutes, Beate heard the car door open. Then Trixie came to her and stood next to Beate. Beate reached for Trixie's hand and squeezed it tightly.

As Gaby stepped through the door, the sisters walked toward each other. For a moment they stood wordlessly facing each other, then they embraced. Trixie still held back to appreciate the moment. She saw that both sisters had tears in their eyes. After a small eternity, the two released their embrace and Gaby came to Trixie.

She hugged her friend. "My little fire alarm," Gaby said. "It was so lonely in there without you."

They packed Gaby's bag in the trunk and quickly got in. Gaby and Beate sat in the back. Trixie drove off quickly to get away from the correctional facility.

"How are you doing, Trixie," Gaby wanted to know.

"Believe it or not, Trixie is the new star at her employer. Last week, she even got to travel with a delegation and then went on to make Tokyo unsafe," Beate explained.

"Really, Tokyo? That's amazing!" Gaby was truly amazed. "And she's living in your WG now?"

"Yes. She's the star at our place, too. But about our WG, I have to give you some explanations." Then Beate began to tell her sister about the WG. Again and again Gaby looked incredulously at her sister and at Trixie.

"There's the parking lot coming up ahead," Trixie said suddenly.

"What parking lot," Beate asked.

"You know, where we stopped the first time."

"And you mean ....?"

Instead of an answer, Trixie pulled the car into the parking lot. She turned off the engine and got out. The two sisters followed her into the bushes. Gabby didn't understand what that was all about. But then Beate and Trixie stopped, looked around again, and pushed their pants down. In disbelief, Gaby stood in front of them and looked at them. She noticed the lack of underwear, saw the locks that locked the pussies and when the two turned and leaned forward she saw the plugs, one green, the other dark blue.

When they were back in the car, Gaby had to calm down first. Somehow she thought she was in the wrong movie. She hardly said a word the rest of the way. And when they finally arrived at the WG, things didn't get much better for her.

First, Beate showed her the guest room, where she was supposed to move in for the time being. But Beate explained to her that if she stayed, she would get a room like the others. It might take a little while, but for now it should go like this. Beate sat down with Gaby in the living room while Trixie went to change. Karin, who was currently mistress, had put out a chain set for her. Chains went from a heavy neck iron to equally heavy hand and ankle rings. Trixie could move relatively well in these chains, however, because it was not the first time she had worn the set. Otherwise, she was naked as usual.

She went to the kitchen and put champagne, orange juice and some glasses on a tray and brought everything into the living room as a welcome drink for Gaby. She poured and then they drank with Gaby to her release. As Trixie sat down in an armchair, Beate got up, excused herself and went into her room to change her outfit as well. She found a dark brown leather corset on her bed, which she put on. There were also leather cuffs for the hands and feet, all fastened to the leather corset with chains. The leather corset itself, not unexpectedly, had holes in the most important strategic places. Coming back into the living room like this, Gaby choked and had to cough violently.

Later, Antje, Karin and Siggi came home. They all greeted Gaby warmly and told her that they were glad she was there and that they hoped Gaby would join them. Siggi and Antje found themselves naked in the cages in the living room shortly after. Nevertheless, they celebrated Gaby's arrival. However, they all had to go back to work the next day except Beate, so the celebration didn't last too long. Karin also left Antje and Siggi locked in the cages overnight.

Chapter 29 Gaby

The following day, Trixie came home after work, as usual, around half past four in the afternoon. She found Beate in the kitchen.

"How are things going with Gaby?" Trixie asked.

"Not very well. Maybe what we put her through was a little too intense after all. I feel like she's withdrawing more and more."

"If it's too much for you, we can happily postpone my piercings," Trixie offered.

"Out of the question," Beate said. "Gaby is at Mona's right now getting her hair done. We still have a good hour. The best thing to do is this. This is the only high table we have. Go get undressed and I'll get the piercing paraphernalia from my room."

A few minutes later, Trixie was indeed on the kitchen table. She was nervous, of course, and the situation excited her. When she realized that her crotch was totally wet, she felt a little ashamed, but Beate didn't mind.

Beate first cleaned her clit foreskin and disinfected it. "I thought about cooling your skin with some ice cubes first, but I don't think that's necessary. You're tough, aren't you?"

She tightened the skin a bit with her left hand, then placed the piercing needle. When she found the right spot, she stabbed briefly. She immediately pierced through both sides. Trixie squeaked loudly, but then she caught herself again. Beate pulled the needle out again and pushed a short aseptic stick into the holes instead. "Siggi is welcome to put the ring in when this is all healed, but for now it's best this way."

"Whatever you say," Trixie pressed through her teeth.

"You'd best be wearing panties for the weekend. And probably a bra, too," Beate explained as she cleaned the area of blood. But the bleeding was only minor. Then Beate turned her attention to Trixie's nipples. They were rock hard by now. "Last chance," Beate warned as she disinfected them.

"Go ahead. I can do it," Trixie said defiantly.

Beate first gave her a light local anesthetic this time, then used a curved needle to poke the ducts through the base of her nipples. She kept looking at Trixie's face to see if it would be too hard. Trixie had gone pale, but she gritted her teeth and held her breath. When Beate pulled out the needles, Trixie let out her breath with a hiss. Again, Beate inserted aseptic rods into the ducts for now, then cleaned everything.

In the meantime, the bleeding at the clit had stopped. Beate cleaned the area again and then put a bandage on Trixie, which she tightened with adhesive tape. She also took care of the breasts afterwards.

"Go to your room for now. There is a pack of painkillers on the nightstand. You take two of them now and then one every four hours. Put on some light briefs and your sports bra and get into bed. I'll wake you when we start the meeting."

Trixie struggled to get up, then slowly walked to her room. The piercing had taken more out of her than she had thought. But she didn't want to show any weakness. Meanwhile, Beate cleaned up the kitchen and, most importantly, disinfected the table. She put the needles, syringes and bloody bandages in a small box that she would dispose of at the clinic next week.

Trixie lay down on her bed after taking the pills. She wondered what made Beate think she could fall asleep, the piercings hurt so much. She closed her eyes for a moment and thought about Gaby. What would she say about these piercings? She was sure that the others would approve of her decision.

Suddenly, Beate shook Trixie by the shoulder. "Hey, wake up," Beate said. Trixie looked at the clock and saw to her amazement that more than three hours had passed and that she was sound asleep. She felt a little winded, but overall she was fine.

When she entered the kitchen in her panties and bra, her friends were already sitting at the table. Siggi hugged her and Karin squeezed her hand. "Well, you Swiss cheese, how are you?" asked Antje.

"Why Swiss cheese?" Trixie was indignant.

"Well, because of all the holes." Antje grinned at her.

Gaby sat at the table with them and looked disapprovingly around.

Antje had various things to announce. "First of all, a few changes regarding our vacation. It starts in just under three weeks. I talked to Natalie because I couldn't get another seat on the plane from Düsseldorf. Natalie is therefore flying directly to Dubai with British Airways and we will meet her there at the airport. Her plane lands just twenty minutes later than ours, so it's no problem. For her, it's even better because she saves changing planes in Düsseldorf. I rebooked her seat in Gaby's name. In the Burj al Arab, I booked one triple and two double suites instead of two triple suites, in the other hotels I simply booked one room each. I hope that's okay with you, Gaby?"

"I'm not sure yet if I want to join you here," Gaby interjected.

"You should think about it very carefully, too," Antje replied. "But a two-week vacation in a warm place will certainly do you good. Especially after the long time in prison. And you should have enough time to think about what to do with yourself. Please don't rush it, I know our way of life is unusual. Maybe we shouldn't have ambushed you like that, but that's the way it went."

"You're not obligated to do anything here," Siggi interjected. "Of course we want to seduce you, so to speak, but in a friendly way."

"Exactly," Beate added. "We will of course accept your decision, whatever it may be. And you can count on our help either way."

"And the help is great," Trixie added. "The four of them have showered me. Not just financially, but mostly with love."

"Good," Antje continued. "First, on to the other issues. I have remodeling plans here. My architect has really worked miracles. I explained to him that the remodeling should take place while we are on vacation. It's going to be tight on time, but I promised him and the contractor a bonus if they get it done. I suggest we go over there so I can show you guys around."

"How are we going to get there," Trixie asked. Do we have to go down and then up through the other entrance? I've never seen a door to that back area."

Siggi laughed. "Sure you've never seen the door. In the playroom, there's that tall cabinet with the whips in front of it. We just need to move it to the side."

They went into the playroom together, where Siggi and Beate pushed a large cabinet a good three feet to the side. Behind it, a door actually appeared. There was even a key in the lock of the door. As they walked through, Trixie saw for the first time how much space was left.

"Let's see the plans, then," Beate demanded. Antje spread out a blueprint on the floor.

"So, thanks to Trixie's suggestion, we can actually fulfill Karin's dream. Moving our fitness area is no problem, we can do that ourselves in one morning after our vacation. After that, Siggi can convert the old area into two more rooms. Behind the game room on each side there will be two smaller, narrow rooms. On one side two storage rooms with shelves and so on. This is also where the washer and dryer go, they take up too much space for me here in the kitchen. So here we also get a little more space. I think it would be good to have a second stove here. On the other side, Beate gets her own little treatment room and storage for medical supplies. After all, I don't want such operations to be repeated on the kitchen table. Beate can order the necessary equipment in the next few weeks."

"A real treatment room is great, of course," Siggi thought. "We could really use that."

Antje stood with her back against the wall to the playroom and measured 8 paces from there. "That's about as far as we can go."

"So, then to the new wellness area. So, the highlight will be a swimming pool, 9 meters long, 3 meters wide and 1 meter 50 deep. The pool will have a counter-current system. Above the pool and a good 5 meters further on, at the request of a single lady, the roof can be pushed to the side. The previous roof will be replaced by large windows. Since some roof work is required on this occasion, we directly install a solar system on the roof. Then we have the sauna, the whirlpool, two sunbeds and right next to the pool there is still space for a few deck chairs.

"Can they really do this in two weeks," Siggi wondered.

"That's the deal," Antje agreed. "If they want the bonus, they'll have to work hard."

"And how do you pay for it," asked Gaby, who still had no idea about Antje's fortune.

"That's not a problem," Antje replied. "The whole thing doesn't cost much more than the vacation. And you can believe me, it's more for petty cash. I'm having more trouble finding new, good investments for this year's profit. I'll have Mortimer give me some suggestions."

"Don't you want to wait until you know if I'm going to move in here? Otherwise you might be doing all this work for nothing."

"No," Beate agreed. "You're right, though, that you haven't decided yet. And the renovations and the vacation shouldn't influence your decision either. But the remodeling would be due at some point either way. If the construction company can do it during our vacation, we'll be spared the noise and the mess. So, I'm all for it."

"And the rest of you," Antje wanted to know. Siggi, Karin and Trixie nodded.

"Good, then I'll put that in order."

They left the area and went back to the kitchen.

"After that's settled, we'll get to the weekend," said Karin, who was the mistress that weekend. "Trixie is out, after all, but I can promise her that we will make up for everything with her. The best thing is for Trixie to go into town with Gaby. Maybe they can do the shopping. And otherwise, I'm sure Trixie will think of something. Probably take Gaby to the mercy yard?"

"The Gnadenhof is Trixie's favorite project," Siggi explained for Gaby, who had once again looked questioningly.

"Probably," Trixie said. "Let's see what else we do. What do you guys have in mind?"

"I think we're going to hit the gravel pit," Karin explained.

As planned, Trixie went shopping with Gaby the next day. Gaby was amazed that Trixie already had a car, and such a stylish one at that. But Trixie then explained to her that the car belonged to Antje's car rental company. She also told Gaby that she could take one of the cars anytime she wanted. Gradually it dawned on Gaby that money was no object in this WG.

The two of them went to a large supermarket to buy the groceries that were on the list. Then they brought everything home first and then drove downtown. Trixie parked in the underground garage at the cathedral and they then walked from there to the old town. They strolled for hours through the shopping street and Trixie bought some jeans and blouse for Gaby as well as a warm jacket for the winter. In between, they stopped at a brewpub and had lunch.

"Didn't you have a hard time settling into the WG," Gaby asked. "After all, it's mainly about sex. And not exactly the usual kind. So I can't really imagine that."

"I felt the same way at first," Trixie replied. "Some of the practices really scared me. Especially the idea of being whipped sent shivers down my spine. But I ended up trying it out and then found that some things sound worse than they feel. Of course it hurts like crazy when you get whipped, but let's be honest: We were there once in a castle, they call it the dungeon, I was whipped and when I was hanging there and the whip landed on my back, a crazy feeling went through my whole body with every blow and I had the most violent orgasm of my life. I still can't imagine what that must have looked like today."

"And you willingly let that happen to you," Gaby wondered.

"I was unsure too, believe me. But I trusted that the others would never put me in a situation that would overwhelm me or where I would suffer serious harm."

"But you did suffer some harm. The welts and so on."

"They'll heal in a few days or weeks. I'm certainly not going to take it to the extreme that Karin did. If you look at her back, you'll find some scars where the skin had burst open. But Karin is really the only one of us who goes that far. The rest of us stop before that."

"And the piercings yesterday," Gaby wanted to know. "Did the others say you should get them done?"

"They never would. It would never be an option. I decided freely for all the piercings. Of course, the ones from yesterday still hurt, even now. But it's working. I guess on Monday I won't need the panties and bra either. I am now totally unaccustomed to wearing something like that. It will be a real challenge for our Dubai vacation to walk around with it for two weeks, but Antje told us that it will probably be necessary. Dubai is very tolerant, but then there are still limits."

"That's what I wanted to ask you anyway: Antje throws money around like that, is she really that rich or is she just pretending?"

"No, she is so rich. If you want to know exactly, you'll have to ask her yourself. But you saw this morning that she did her share of the cleaning just like the rest of us. She doesn't mind being treated like that. In fact, she probably enjoys being treated like everyone else and not as someone special."

On Sunday, Trixie drove to the sanctuary with Gaby. She had bought a big bag of dog treats from her own purse at the supermarket the day before. She showed Gaby around the whole facility and when they got to the new dog section, they greeted the dogs. Trixie gave Gaby some of the snacks and together they fed the dogs. Trixie also showed Gaby the pond she and her friends had dug and told her exactly how that had gone.

"It's wonderful here," Gaby said, looking around, "so peaceful and friendly. When I think of the prison there, .... And the vastness. No walls. I can see why you love being here."

The manager of the sanctuary came to them and handed Trixie an envelope. She opened it to find an invitation for the WG to attend the official opening of the dog section. Trixie looked at the date and realized it was the first Saturday after her Dubai vacation. So that should work out.

"Your friend here has really done a great job with this area," the man explained. "Without her, we wouldn't be able to celebrate an opening for a long time."

They stayed at the grace yard for quite a long time and didn't drive back until about three in the afternoon. On the way, at Gaby's request, they had to stop at a McDonalds, where she treated herself to a Big Mac and fries that she had missed for so long.