Loneliest Man Who Ever Lived Ch. 15

An adult stories – Loneliest Man Who Ever Lived Ch. 15 by GaryLMMartin,GaryLMMartin The Loneliest Man Who Ever Lived

by Gary L.M. Martin

[Note: This is a romance story with some erotic scenes. It is not a story with erotic scenes in every chapter. Some chapters have incredible sex scenes, but many others have none.]

Chapter 15: John Connor

“You always taken me to the most wonderful places,” Goldie beamed, as they got out of the airport in Maui, Hawaii. “Except the time we went to the ghetto in Philadelphia. We won’t talk about that.”

It was three days since she had rejoined forces with Harry. They had been on the run again, living in hotel rooms. Things were back the way they were with Harry, sort of. He was affectionate to her, kissing and hugging her, but he wouldn’t make love to her. She got the feeling that Harry inevitably felt that she was going to leave him again, either for another man, or as a result of being deprogrammed. She knew that Harry had been terribly hurt by women throughout his life, but she very much wanted to restore the bond they had between them.

He wanted her, she could see it in his eyes. They had camped out in Manhattan, in a luxury hotel, planning their next move. As they swam in the indoor hotel swimming pool, Goldie could see Harry’s eyes on her body, on her breasts, on her ass. And when she changed clothes in the hotel room, Harry’s eyes widened as he saw her naked breasts, and her furry bush, which she wasn’t shy about flaunting in front of him.

But so far he hadn’t taken her at night, and Goldie hadn’t pushed the point. The whole episode with Greg had been traumatic for him, but then Goldie had been traumatized by the episode with Jerri. After all, she had been forced to watch (and even participate!) as Harry fucked another woman. For all Goldie knew, Jerri could be walking around with Harry’s baby in her belly at this very moment. But Goldie didn’t dwell on it.

Harry had gotten a lead on one of the names from The Foundation’s “People of Interest” list. It was a man named Harry Daystrom. Another Harry! They made contact with him via text messaging, and found he was here, on Maui. They had made plans to meet.

Harry rightly feared it could be another trap, and wanted Goldie to stay behind. She refused, and so here they were. A private car picked them up at the airport.

“This Mr. Daystrom must be quite wealthy,” said Goldie.

“You are going to the estate of John Connor,” said the driver.

“John Connor?”

“I was instructed to tell you that Mr. Daystrom is residing there,” said the driver.

Harry and Goldie looked at each other. Could this be another trap?

*******

They drove for more than an hour to a remote estate in the jungles of Maui. As they passed through the entrance, they saw a tall fence surrounding the entire property.

“That’s a big fence,” said Harry nervously.

“Electrified,” said the driver. “We’re pretty far into the wilds here. We need to keep the predators out.”

They arrived at a large mansion. A butler escorted them to a drawing room. A brown haired man in his 40’s wearing elegant clothes greeted them.

“Mr. Daystrom?” Harry asked, as he shook his hand.

“Afraid not. I’m John Connor,” said the man, turning to Goldie. But instead of shaking her hand, he kissed it. Goldie was charmed, but Harry looked crossly at him.

“Where is Harry Daystrom?” Harry asked.

“I’m afraid Mr. Daystrom is no longer with us,” said John Connor.

“But he sent us several messages-”

“That was him, Harry,” said Goldie. “We’ve walked into another trap.”

Connor smiled. “You’re quite right, Miss MacPherson. I send the messages. But be assured, this is no trap.”

“What would you call it?”

Connor gestured to his sofa. It looked like a genuine imitation of a 19th century furniture piece for royalty.

“Please, sit. Let us talk over refreshments.”

Harry and Goldie slowly sat down.

“You are a Fourther, are you not, Mr. Crater?”

Harry nodded.

“Right now Fourthers are being hunted down. By The Foundation. By the Society. By other groups. This place around you is a sanctuary for Fourthers.”

“A Sanctuary? Is this Nanqu?” said Harry.

Connor squinted. “I do not know that word. No, it is merely a safe place for Fourthers, like you, and Mr. Daystrom.”

“Where is Mr. Daystrom?”

“He stayed with us for a while, and then decided to move on,” said Connor.

“So you would not mind if we decided to move on,” said Harry.

“Of course not,” said John Connor, as he poured tea for his guests. “Once you have rested.”

“I feel rested now. Goldie?”

“As rested as I’ll ever be!” said Goldie. They got up together.

John Connor made a motion with his hands, and two guards barred the door. “You cannot leave, not yet.”

“What do you want from us?” Goldie asked.

“From you, Miss MacPherson? Nothing, really. It’s Harry that I want.”

“Who do you want him to impregnate?” Goldie asked.

John Connor looked confused, and then he laughed. “I actually have a daughter, not much younger than the two of you, and the thought has occurred to me to find her a mate who–but we are not on good speaking terms.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” said Harry.

“I’m not,” said Goldie.

“I begin to like you, Miss MacPherson,” said John.

“The feeling isn’t mutual, Mr. Connor,” said Goldie.

“This compound is very expensive to maintain,” said John Connor. “It requires a constant infusion of funds. I make my living through investments in the stock market. I believe you have some expertise in the area, Harry?”

“Not really. I… dabble,” said Harry.

“My research indicates you do more than that. My sources at your brokerage house tell me that you have made more than a hundred million dollars in the past ten years.”

“Harry! You’re super wealthy?” Goldie was speechless.

“You seemed surprised, Miss. MacPherson.”

“It’s just… his apartment…”

“It’s a nice apartment,” said Harry.

“It’s a nice apartment, Harry,” She hesitated, “but not an apartment for a multi multi millionaire,” said Goldie.

“Can we have this discussion another time?” Harry asked.

“I think we will,” said Goldie.

“I want the same performance for me, Harry.”

“You want some stock tips?”

“Better than that. I want you to invest a portion of my portfolio,” said John Connor.

“I don’t have the time for that.”

“On the contrary. You have all the time in the world. Both you and Miss MacPherson,” said John Connor. “You will start immediately.”

“And what if I refuse? Or what if I lose money?”

“You cannot refuse. As for losing money, well, I realize I have to give you incentives. Every day you lose money, or fail to make money, I will remove a finger or a toe from Miss MacPherson,” said John Connor. He paused, thinking about it. “You might not notice a toe missing. We will start with the fingers, I think.”

Goldie’s jaw dropped open.

“But… even I can’t guarantee to make money every day.”

“You will have to, Mr. Crater.”

“Some days the market goes down.”

“You have heard of puts and calls, have you not, Mr. Crater?” He checked his chrono. “The markets are open for another four and a half hours. I suggest you begin. Mr. Fibulae!”

A short man with a brown afro came at a run. “Yes, Mr. Connor?”

“Mr. Crater will be joining you in portfolio management. Show him the controls, do everything he says, and watch the money roll in.”

“Yes, Mr. Connor. It will be my pleasure.” He turned to Harry. “Come with me, please.”

Harry stood still.

“Mr. Crater, you now have four hours and 28 minutes to begin earning money. I suggest you begin,” said Connor.

Harry gave Goldie a look of longing. Then he nodded and followed Fibulae.

Connor turned to Goldie and smiled. “And now that Mr. Crater is gone, whatever shall we do with all our free time, my dear?”

********

“Ernest Fibulae,” said Fibulae, extending a hand. Harry shook it.

“A pleasure,” said Harry.

“It won’t be a pleasure for long if we don’t start making money for Mr. Connor,” said Fibulae. He sat Harry down in front of screens showing the status of the various stock markets. “You can invest in the New York markets, or the Chicago Markets, or the Los Angeles Markets, or some of the European ones, though Mr. Connor prefers to remain invested in American ones. He likes to buy American.” Fibulae gave a small smile.

“I do too,” said Harry, sitting down. He started to study the markets. They were currently up, a small amount. But even as he looked at the indices, he said, “So what’s your story, Ernest?”

“I’m the gardener.”

“The gardener?”

“Well, I was,” said Fibulae. “Actually, I was the deputy gardener. Sabrina, my girlfriend, was the head gardener. She got me my job here.”

“Where is she?”

“She’s gone,” said Fibulae.

“Can I… can I ask what happened to her?”

“Mr. Connor. He… swept her off her feet,” said Fibulae. “She fell in love with him. They cohabited for a time.”

“What happened then?” Harry asked.

“He got bored of her, and sent her away.”

“But not you,” said Harry.

“No,” said Fibulae. “One day I made the misfortune of walking by Mr. Connor in the garden while he was monitoring the markets on the Pad. He was looking at a certain stock, and I remember saying that it looked like a good one. Mr. Connor laughed, but invested in it. And it went up.”

“Why did the stock look good to you?”

Fibulae shrugged. “I know flowers, not stocks, Mr. Crater. But try telling Mr. Connor that. Gradually my intuitions started making him money. I became a prisoner here, just like you.”

“Does he cut off your fingers if you lose money?”

“No… he just prevents me from going out into the garden.”

“What?”

“It costs me 50 million dollars to spend an hour in the garden. I get outside perhaps once or twice a week,” said Fibulae. “I’m only the deputy portfolio manager, by the way.

“The deputy?”

“We keep getting new portfolio managers, but they seldom live up to Mr. Connor’s expectations, for long,” said Fibulae.

“Was Harry Daystrom one such manager?”

Fibulae paused, and reluctantly nodded.

“And what happened to him?”

“He did fairly well, at first. Until the market took an unfortunate downturn, under his watch.”

“And then?”

“And then we had to find a new portfolio manager,” said Fibulae.

“Does he… does he really cut off fingers?”

“Sometimes,” said Fibulae. “If he’s in a relatively good mood, he may just cut off a toe.”

********

John Connor congratulated him at dinner. “You earned money on the first day, Harry. I’m impressed. But not surprised.”

“I had a strong incentive,” said Harry. He turned to Goldie. “What did you do while I was gone?”

“John showed me his library. He has an impressive collection of print books,” she said.

The words stung him. He remembered the time Goldie had spent in the bookstore with him. She shouldn’t be enjoying books with another man. She saw the hurt look on his face, and bit her lip.

“Yes, I’m making sure she’s well cared for, Harry. As long as you keep up your end of the bargain.”

********

John Connor had been thoroughly charming as he had showed Goldie his book collection. But also, more than a little sinister.

“Would you really cut off one of my fingers if Harry loses money?”

John Connor paused and looked into Goldie’s beautiful blue eyes. “Most sadly. And most regrettably. Because I can think of much, much better uses for your hand.” And he had picked up her hand and kissed it, causing Goldie to feel two kinds of shudders going through her body simultaneously.

********

That night, Harry and Goldie whispered softly to each other under the covers.

“We have to get out of here,” said Goldie.

“There’s an electric fence around the perimeter, and guards at the front gate,” said Harry.

“What does that mean?”

“It means it’s going to take some thought to figure a way out of here.”

“Do you think you’ll figure it out before I have to give up wearing gloves, permanently?” Goldie sighed. “I’m scared, Harry. What if you lose money one day? What if you lose money tomorrow? He’s going to cut off one of my fingers.”

“I’m doing the best I can.”

“The best you can is not good enough, Harry. If the entire market plunges, you’ll have no way to make money. I don’t want to lose my fingers. I’ve grown very fond of them, Harry.” She brushed his cheek. “You wouldn’t want me to do this with a stump of a hand, would you?”

“It won’t happen. I won’t let it happen,” said Harry.

“I’m glad, Harry. I’m glad you’re the smartest man on the planet. I feel so reassured. But I have to ask myself–if you’re the smartest man on the planet, how is it we’ve wound up as someone’s prisoners, again? This is the third time, Harry. I’m starting to keep a count.”

“I told you this was dangerous. I told you not to come.”

“Me being separated from you is no longer an option, Harry. Until we find the Chair and program me to hate you, I can’t bear being separated from you.”

“You’re not going to be programmed to hate me,” said Harry.

“Then what is it, Harry? What is the plan? To condition me not to love you? But what if my love for you is real, Harry? Then you’ll be brainwashing me not to love you. Is that your plan, Harry?”

“You can’t really love me. You just can’t,” said Harry.

“Who did this to you, Harry? What woman or women did this to you? Tell me their names, Harry. Tell me their names so I can go and find them and bitchslap some sense into them-”

“It’s not them, it’s me,” Harry hissed. “I… it’s hard to say this, but women are repelled by me.”

“But I wasn’t repelled by you, Harry. Quite the opposite. You’re the most charming man I’ve ever met. You’ve done things with me that I’ve never done with any other man. I’ve experienced things with you I’ve never experienced with any other man. Harry, I’ve felt things with you that I’ve never felt with anyone else.”

There was a long pause.

“Really?” Harry asked.

“Yes, you crazy fool! I love you!”

Harry kissed her for a long moment. “I love you too,” he whispered.

“Then find a way to get us the fuck out of here!”

**********

Goldie had the freedom to roam the compound. She saw not only the electrified fence, but the guards roaming on either side of the perimeter. The front gate seemed to be the only way in or out, and there were four guards there. Why did John Connor need such a small army to protect him?

“I have enemies, Goldie, as any man of wealth would,” said Connor, as they played croquet in the back yard together. Connor, seeing her roaming around, had invited her, and Goldie had agreed.

“Enemies who want to hurt you?”

“Enemies, Goldie, seldom want to help you,” said Connor. He smiled at her. There was something in the way he smiled… something in the way he looked at her.

“Have you ever been married, Mr. Connor?”

“Please… call me John.”

“John,” Goldie smiled.

“I had a wife, but then I lost her.”

“Did you try looking harder for her?” Goldie asked.

Connor laughed unexpectedly. “You’re quite amusing, Goldie. Has anyone ever told you that?”

“Actually, you’re not the first captor to say that,” said Goldie.

“Oh, please don’t think of me as a captor. Think of me as your host.”

“A host who’s going to snip off my fingers if Harry doesn’t make money in… two hours and twenty two minutes.”

“The markets are up today,” said Connor. “Even an idiot like Fibulae could make money in a market like this. I think your fingers are safe for today.” He stepped close to her.

“Would you really do it?” Goldie whispered. “Cut off one of my fingers?”

Connor’s expression darkened. He held one of her hands. With the other, he reached into his pocket, took out a penknife, and opened it. Goldie trembled as he put the blade close to one of her fingers. “I would,” he said. He stared at her trembling face for a moment. His penis, in his pants, started to get hard.

“But I would much prefer to do this instead,” he said, and he leaned over, and kissed her on the lips.

********

Harry made money for the next three days, and then, mercifully, he was given the weekend off, since the markets were closed.

“I notice you’ve become friendly with our host,” said Harry, as they sat in the garden.

“There aren’t a lot of people to talk to during the day. You’d be surprised how limited the vocabulary of the guards are,” said Goldie.

“I hope you’re not getting too friendly,” said Harry.

“You mean, friendly enough to sleep with him? You mean, like you’re not doing with me?”

“Our quarters are almost certainly monitored. I’m not putting on a show for them. I’m not a zoo animal, and neither are you.”

“Harry, you haven’t fucked me since I left Greg,” said Goldie.

“I… I… I just needed some time to adjust,” said Harry.

Goldie gave him a contemptuous look. “Fine. Take all the time you need, Harry. As long as I still have all my fingers and toes, we’re good.” She saw John Connor coming into the garden, and walked over to him, with a broad smile on her face. “John! These flowers are so beautiful! What kind are they?”

********

The next week Harry made money on Monday. But Tuesday was a close call. The market was down on Tuesday.

John Connor and Goldie were working out in the exercise room. John admired Goldie’s trim form. She looked very sexy in tight yoga pants, as her thighs and ass pumped up and down on an exercise bike. But at the same time he was also monitoring the market on his comm.

“Oh oh,” said John.

“What?” said Goldie. As she got off the bike, he saw the way her tight shirt hugged her breasts. He would love to sample them.

“The market is down today.”

“No… no….” Goldie hid her hands behind her back.

“The markets are closing in four minutes. Let’s see how Harry has done.” He calmly walked over to the workroom where Harry and Fibulae were watching the market from. Goldie, feeling she had no choice, followed him.

When they got there, Goldie could tell from Harry’s grim expression that it was bad news.

“Harry?” said John.

Harry bit his lip.

“Harry?” John asked again.

Goldie started to tremble in fear.

“You gained. You’re a quarter percent ahead,” said Harry. “There were some losses, but I compensated with puts. You’re fine.”

John leaned over and checked the displays to confirm it himself. Then he broke out in a smile. “Very good, Harry.”

Goldie collapsed against the wall behind her.

********

Harry made more money for Connor the next two days, but on Thursday, the market was down, three percent. John Connor marched to the workroom and the same encounter was played out.

But this time the result was different.

“I… I couldn’t do it,” said Harry. He was practically sobbing. “You’re down, less than half a percent. Please don’t do it! Please don’t cut my beautiful Goldie!”

“Guard!”

Two guards approached. One drew a compression gun. The other grabbed Goldie.

Connor drew his penknife out of his pocket. The blade gleamed as he opened it.

“Please! Please! Don’t do this! I beg you!” Goldie cried, in sheer terror.

“Hold her hand,” Connor said.

The guard held out Goldie’s hand.

Harry tensed to spring from his chair.

“Don’t move!” said Connor. He turned to the guard holding the pistol. “If Harry gets up from the chair, shoot him.”

Harry bit his lip as Connor took Goldie’s hand, which was being restrained at the wrist by the guard.

“Such a shame,” said Connor. “Such a pretty hand.” He held the blade and slowly moved it to the base of her pinky finger….

Her eyes were wide with fright. “Please, John. Don’t do this. Please, I’ll do anything…. anything….”

Connor raised the blade. But then he stopped. He looked in Goldie’s eyes. Then he slowly lowered the blade. He closed it, and held it in his hand.

“Let her go,” he said.

Goldie cried out as she was released.

“You have made money for me in nine out of the past ten days, Harry,” said Connor, as he put the blade back in his pocket. “I suppose we can tolerate an occasional slipup, if the aggregate is in the right direction.”

“Yes… yes…,” said Harry. “I can do better. I know I will.”

“Good…. good. The two of you should get ready for dinner. There’s going to be a wonderful roast.”

********

After that, things oddly became more relaxed. For several weeks Harry made money for Connor. He had occasional losses, but those were more than compensated for by his gains. Goldie spent more and more time with Connor, who stopped talking about cutting off her fingers. But then he started asking things of her. Little things.

Like one day, he gave her a gift. A beautiful low cut dress.

“Oh, John, thank you,” said Goldie, smiling as she draped it against her body. “But I can’t accept this!”

“Why not?” John asked.

“Because….” Goldie didn’t really know why. Or maybe she did.

“You did say you would do anything to please me, did you not? Is putting on a dress too much to ask?”

“I… I suppose not,” said Goldie. She remembered how, under the extreme duress of having a finger about to be cut off, she had promised to do anything John asked her to. She had hoped he wouldn’t remember that. Evidently he had.

“Then change into this beautiful dress, and share some wine with me. I have an excellent sparkling Chardonnay which will go simply splendidly with your new outfit.”

Goldie smiled and took the dress. In some ways he was so charming.

When she returned to the drawing room, John gave a low whistle.

Goldie blushed. The dress showed off the upper and inner sides of her breasts. It was an elegant white gown which went down to her ankles.

“Twirl for me.”

“What?”

“Twirl,” said John, rotating his fingers.

Goldie felt very much like she was under his control as she twirled around in a circle. For some reason she also felt that she had to have a smile on her face, to better please him.

John looked satisfied. Or something more than that. He had a look of hunger in his eyes. And if she wasn’t mistaken, she saw the indentation of something else beginning to stick out of his white pants.

He came over to her and kissed her hand. “You look divine,” he said, looking her in the eyes.

Goldie shivered and smiled more broadly.

They sipped wine and ate cheeses, and smiled at each other and talked about nothing and everything. And that was how Harry found them, after the markets had closed for the day.

He looked at Goldie, in her new, revealing dress, and then at John Connor, at his expression, at his body language, and hers, and he decided immediately he didn’t like what he saw.

“What’s going on here?” Harry asked.

Connor looked innocently at Harry. “Why, Goldie and I were just talking about stock index futures, Harry. How was the market today? We’re in the black, I trust?”

“Yes,” said Harry. He turned to Goldie. “Your dress.”

“Do you like it, Harry?” said Connor. “A small gift. A token of appreciation.”

“Appreciation?” said Harry.

“For all your hard work,” said Connor. “You have made me 94 million dollars since you have arrived here, Harry. I wanted to show my appreciation.”

Harry looked at Goldie’s semi-exposed breasts, and the embarrassed look on his face, and knew exactly what was going on here. He gave Goldie a hard stare. “I guess I’ll get ready for dinner. Coming?”

“In a moment.” It was John Connor who answered.

Harry turned to John Connor.

“Give the lady time to finish her wine.”

Harry and John stared at each other. The tension in the air felt thick.

Goldie quickly swallowed the remainder of her wine. “It’s all right, Harry. I’m done. Let’s go.”

********

“I don’t want you going near him,” said Harry.

“Is that jealousy I detect in your voice, Harry?” Goldie asked.

“Detect whatever you want.”

“And in the meantime, who will show me affection? Will it be you, Harry?” Goldie removed her dress. She stood there in her bra and panties. “You used to like this, Harry. You used to like my body. It used to be that you couldn’t get enough of it. You used to make love to me four or five times in one night. What happened, Harry?”

“I… I…” Harry choked up, and shook his head, and went into the other room.

********

That night at dinner, John Connor smiled at a sullen Harry. “Harry, I notice you’ve been admiring some of the flowers in my garden.”

“Yes, they’re quite nice,” said Harry, in a flat voice.

“Have you ever had a garden of your own, Harry?”

“No.”

“Do you know the secret for keeping a happy, vibrant garden, Harry?”

Harry dropped his soup spoon. “Why don’t you tell me, John?”

Goldie, now dressed in a white blouse and dark pants, watched this interplay anxiously, her eyes flitting back and forth between Harry and John.

“The secret to having a successful garden is simple, Harry,” said John. “All you need is good soil, water, a lot of sun, and dedication. A good garden requires maintenance, Harry. If you don’t take care of it, nothing will grow.”

Harry nodded slowly. “Thanks for the tip, John.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

Harry looked up in time to see John smiling at Goldie. Goldie smiled back nervously, until she noticed John’s stare, and she dropped her fork. It fell to the ground with a clatter.

********

The next day, Harry decided to take a break during midday. The truth is that he wanted to see what Goldie was up to. But when he walked through the house, and the garden, he saw no sign of them. He approached Schumer, the butler. “Where is he?” he asked bluntly.

“Mr. Connor is taking a ride on his yacht.”

“Then… where is Goldie?”

Schumer sucked in his lips. “I believe Miss MacPherson is with him, sir.”

Harry nodded slowly. He felt a terrible anger building up inside of him. More than that, a sense of betrayal. He ran out into the garden, looking futilely for a deep body of water.

Ernest Fibulae found him an hour later, trembling before a fountain.

“Harry… Harry, you’ve got to get back to the markets. I need you,” said Fibulae.

Harry, biting his lip, slowly nodded. He let himself be led back to the workroom.

********

“I hope Harry isn’t going to worry about us,” said Goldie, as she stared at the view off the side of the ship. By us, of course, she meant her.

“We’ll be back even before he notices we’re gone,” said John. He smiled at her as he handed her a drink. “You look radiant in that outfit.”

Another of John’s gifts. She wore a tight white beige, with plenty of cleavage (of course), and a matching short gold skirt meant to show off her legs. John had even given her a pushup bra which made her breasts look larger… which Goldie, after some hesitation, had strapped herself into.

“Thank you,” said Goldie. She took a sip. It was a good vintage.

“I know Harry is a man of some wealth. Has he ever taken you on a yacht, or bought you elegant clothes?”

“Harry… Harry isn’t like that,” said Goldie. Harry was brilliant, but he didn’t have a sense of style. Not like John. John was impeccably dressed, in a skintight white sailor’s outfit, from head to toe.

“I understand you two are having some difficulty,” said John.

“Spying on us, John?” Goldie asked, peering out at him from the top of her glass of wine.

“Merely being an attentive host. One doesn’t need to be a Fourther to realize that there’s some conflict between the two of you.”

“Harry is… troubled. He doesn’t feel he deserves me.”

“He’s right about that,” said John. He snaked an arm around her waist. “He doesn’t.”

Goldie felt the heat of his hand. She felt the pressure of his belly against his back. And… something else.

She looked out at the ocean, the clouds, and the island of Maui. “It’s so beautiful.”

“Do you want me to show you an even more beautiful sight?”

Goldie looked into his eyes, and nodded.

John led her inside, to the drawing room, where there was a giant mirror on one wall. He stood behind her and held her arms out. “This, Goldie. This is beautiful.” He curved his head around from behind her so his face was next to hers.

Trembling slightly, Goldie turned her head so it faced his. He moved his lips over her, and he kissed her. Goldie sighed as she felt his lips against hers.

After John pulled back, he looked at her with dark eyes. Then he stood back, and held out his hand.

Goldie hesitated for a long moment, and then she took it.

*********

Harry was absolutely silent at dinner.

“How were the markets today, Harry?” John asked.

“Fine,” said Harry.

Goldie saw from his face. He knew. “Harry. John took me on his boat today.”

“That’s nice,” said Harry.

“We saw the ocean, it was beautiful,” said Goldie. “John says we can go again this weekend. Together. If you like.”

“No thanks,” said Harry.

“You want to bone up on the stock market this weekend, Harry?”

“Yeah,” said Harry.

“All right,” said John. “I’ll try to find ways to keep Goldie entertained while you’re occupied.”

Goldie looked anxiously at Harry. But Harry’s head was down, spooning food. But he wasn’t putting it in his mouth. He was just moving it around.

********

That evening, when they returned to their room, Harry turned on Goldie as soon as the door was shut. “I have just one question,” he said. “Are you sleeping with him?”

“Harry!”

“Are you sleeping with him?”

Goldie stared at him angrily. Then, finally, she said, “No, Harry. I am not sleeping with him.”

Harry turned away, anger radiating from him in waves that Goldie could clearly feel.

********

John took Goldie out on the yacht again on Saturday. Harry didn’t go.

On Sunday, Goldie stayed in and read a book. Harry sat by the fountain in the garden, staring into the pool of water. She hadn’t seen him looking this bad, not since….

And then, that evening, John started drinking. Maybe that’s what triggered it. Because he made her do something, something Goldie should never have done.

After dinner, John turned on his stereo, and play some traditional Hawaiian music. “Goldie, would you like to dance?”

Goldie looked at Harry, who was sulking in a chair. “No, John.” She was puzzled by the request. This wasn’t exactly ballroom dancing music.

John saw her misunderstanding. “No, my dear. I want you to dance… for us.”

“I… I don’t think so, John.”

John turned up the volume of the music. “It wasn’t a request, my dear.”

She saw the hard expression on her face. She saw Harry watching her.

Slowly, Goldie got up. She started to wiggle to the music. She was wearing a white blouse, and a short skirt, and high heels. She didn’t have to look down to see her breasts starting to jiggle.

John waved his hand, ever so slightly. He wanted more. Goldie trembled, but nodded. She started rubbing her body with her hands. She touched her thighs, her rib cage, her belly, and… and her breasts. She started wiggling her hips more and more aggressively. The strong Hawaiian music seemed to carry her, to encourage her. She rotated her hips sinuously. She felt herself moving with the music. She tried not to look at John. She tried to look at Harry, to entice him. When she saw him look up, she looked at him with pleading eyes.

But it was too much for Harry. He knew exactly what was going on here. His woman was being made to do an erotic dance, made to do it by another man. He was being cuckolded, humiliated, right in front of his own eyes. He got up, and stomped off.

“How disappointing,” said John. “I always thought Harry was a music lover.”

*********

“Ah… ah… aahhhhhh….” John groaned, as he filled Goldie with his sperm. He collapsed on top of her gratefully. “That was so good, my dear.”

“For me too,” said Goldie, smiling.

“Just… one thing,” said John. “Are you… protected?”

Goldie smiled again. All men were alike. They always asked long after it mattered. “Quite well protected, John. You won’t be putting a baby into my belly accidently.”

“I might grow to like the idea of doing it on purpose, if we get to know each other a little better, my darling.”

Goldie bit her lip. She watched him get up, still nude, and slide a painting to the side of the bed. She watched his arm and hand move over a numerical keypad. John opened the safe. Inside she saw money, some white packets, some data crystals… and a compression gun. John took out a white packet.

“A little pick me up, dear?”

Goldie smiled, but shook her head.

********

Monday was a disaster. The United States government announced it was going to raise interest rates by a full percentage point. The move took the markets totally by surprise. The markets plunged nearly 17%.

Goldie watched it from the drawing room with John. His expression hardened each time the stock indexes dropped another point.

“John… he couldn’t have known about this. No one could have known about this,” said Goldie.

“He should have been properly hedged for such a circumstance,” said John grimly. He pressed his comm. “Mr. Fibulae? What is our market status?”

There was no answer.

“Mr. Fibulae, answer!”

“Sir…” came his distant voice. “Your holdings are down… nineteen percent.”

John’s eyes flared. He turned to look at Goldie. John took out his pocket knife, and took a step towards her.

Goldie instinctively took a step back. “Please, John. No. After what we’ve shared. Please, don’t.” She was babbling now.

John paused, and then stopped entirely. “You’re right, my dear.”

“I am? I mean, you’re going to give him another chance?”

“No,” said John. “Mutilating you would only be punishing me. I’m not going to cut off one of your fingers. It would diminish your beauty far too much.”

“Oh, thank you, John!”

“Instead, I’m going to cut off three of Harry’s.”

“Three?”

“A nineteen percent loss is totally unacceptable. I want to make that point quite clearly.”

Goldie started to quickly walk towards the exit.

“Where are you going, my dear?”

“To my room. I don’t want to see this. Unless you’re going to force me to watch?” She glared at him, for a moment.

John considered, and then nodded. “Very well. But I want you to know that I take no pleasure in what I have to do.”

“I… I know,” said Goldie.

“I’ll see you later, at dinner, then.”

“Yeah,” said Goldie.

********

The markets closed just as John entered the workroom. Harry was frantic. Once the markets started plunging, he tried to think of something, anything, to stem the losses. If he could keep it under two percent, maybe John would be forgiving. But the more he tried, the more money he ended up losing. By the close of business, John’s investments had lost 22% of their value.

And then John entered the room, flanked by two guards. Harry knew what was coming.

“Where’s Goldie?” he said immediately.

“Goldie is fine. I have decided not to punish her for this malfeasance.”

“Ohhhh… oh, thank you, John,” said Harry. He felt like crying for joy.

“Instead, I am going to punish you, Harry. Three fingers.”

“Three fingers?”

“For a 22% loss, I cannot take any less. Hold him.” Guards rushed forward to grab Harry.

“Please, sir, don’t do this,” said Fibulae.

“Do you want to lose some fingers too, Ernest? Or perhaps your tongue?”

Fibulae shook his head.

“Then stay silent.”

One guard held each of Harry’s arms. John drew his switchblade out of his pocket. He opened it. The blade gleamed in the light. He moved over to Harry’s right hand. He touched Harry’s trembling hand. And then he placed the blade over his middle finger.

“I want you to know, Harry, that this is not personal. Not at all.”

“Neither is this,” said Goldie, from behind him.

John felt something pressing into his back. He stiffened, but didn’t turn around. “Goldie, that feels suspiciously like the barrel of a compression pistol.”

“Yes, it does, doesn’t it?”

“But the only idle pistol is in my bedroom safe.”

At the mention of his bedroom, Harry’s eyes widened.

“You keep telling me how lovely my eyes are, John. They’re also pretty functional too. They can see when an arm moves up or down or left or right over a keypad.”

John’s eyebrows lifted. “I underestimated you, my darling.” He turned his head. “But do you have the will to use it?”

In one smooth motion, Goldie aimed at one of the monitors and fired. The monitor exploded in a burst or flame. The weapon was obviously set to the highest setting. Then she pressed the weapon to the back of his head. “Now tell them to let go of Harry, or I’ll blow your fucking head off.”

John paused, and wet his lips. “Do as the lady says.”

The guards released Harry.

“Now you are going to escort us out of here. You are even going to give us an air car. In fact, you’re coming with us, until we get back to Kahului.”

“Oh no, my dear, I’ll not let myself be used as a hostage.”

“Or you can be dead.” She jabbed him in the back with the gun. He felt the heat of the recently used barrel through his thin shirt. “What will it be, John?”

********

Two hours later, they were on a plane bound for San Francisco. Harry was silent the entire trip. So was Goldie.

When they landed, Harry booked them a suite at the Excelsior.

When they got to their hotel room, Harry closed the door behind them. He saw Goldie standing there, staring at him expectantly.

“Did you sleep with him?”

“Is that your first question, Harry? Your very first question after hours and hours of silence?”

“Did you sleep with him?”

Goldie paused. Then the dam burst. “Yes, I fucking slept with him, Harry!”

“You lied to me,” said Harry.

“Yes, Harry, I lied to you. I needed you to be focused on the stock market. If you weren’t, one of us was going to get mutilated.”

Harry stood face to face with her,. “What else did you lie about? Did you sleep with all those people you recruited for The Foundation?”

“No Harry. Everything else I told you was true. Everything from the day I met you!”

“How can I know that? How can I ever trust you again?”

“You are such a pussy, Harry. I’m sick of you!” Goldie declared. “You weren’t doing anything to try to help us escape, so it was up to me! Yes, Harry, I lied to you, and I slept with him, and it was great, Harry! The best sex I’ve ever had! That’s why I’m with you now, and not John! Can you figure it out, Harry? I can see the wheels spinning in your genius mind! Why am I here now with you, instead of him? Can your fucking Fourther super genius brain not figure that one out?”

For once, Harry was without words.

“You disgust me, Harry. You turn me over to Greg like some castrated pussy. You and your fucking almighty morality. ” She slapped him on the face. “I’ve been wanting to do that for days, Harry! I’ve been wanting to do that ever since you handed me over to Greg, like a used tissue!” She slapped him again. “And then you refused to fuck me, and sat there like a cuckold, smiling like an asshole while John took me!” She slapped him a third time. “What are you, a man, or a mouse? I made a mistake, I can see it now! I’m with the wrong man! I’m going to hop right back onto a plane to Maui, and beg John to take me back, and fuck me blind! And you can stay here and fuck Veronika until your balls turn blue!” She raised her hand to slap him again.

Harry grabbed her hand, roared, and slapped her with his free hand. She fell on her back on the bed, and in an instant Harry was on top of her. His mouth was on her, pressing. But it wasn’t just a kiss. It was a ferocious, savage taking. Goldie cried out as Harry bit her lower lip, kissing and mauling her lips strongly.

Goldie tried to cry out again as Harry savaged her lips, but all that came out was a moan. She felt her arms, her legs, her body, all pinned down by his weight. He was not asking, he was taking. And then she heard rather than felt her shirt being ripped open, and in seconds her bra was gone too.

“Oh Harry,” said Goldie, with a genuine smile.

Harry proceeded to pull off her skirt and panties. Goldie wouldn’t have stopped him even if she could. Harry rapidly pulled off his own clothes, and in seconds he was inside of her. There was no foreplay; there was just primal, aggressive intercourse.

Goldie’s entire body jolted violently upwards every time Harry thrust into her. She felt her head banging lightly against the backboard. She heard the groans of the bedsprings as Harry pounded into her. She felt him taking her with a passion, with an extreme need she never felt before. It excited her in a way she had never felt before.

Harry was so aggressive, so dominant, so alpha male. She saw the glazed look in his eyes as he worked her over. Harry wasn’t being concerned; Harry wasn’t being thoughtful. Harry had turned into a pure savage, a complete animal. And she had done that to him. She had turned the smartest male in the world into a savage animal. Goldie felt proud. And then Harry’s face, contorted like she had never seen it, gave a roar which shook her, and she felt him freeze inside of her tautly, as he exploded deep within her. Goldie’s orgasm came at that moment, triggered by the knowledge of her tremendous achievement, that she had turned a shy, procrastinating man into an aggressive, jealous lover. She found herself crying out his name, as he flooded into her, and smiled as she felt her orgasm, radiating out in waves from her vagina, which was a little sore… but didn’t prevent her from feeling very, very satisfied, and triumphant.

And then, only after he was done, she saw the light of civilization return to his eyes. Harry looked at himself as if he were a stranger. Then he looked at Goldie, as the bruise marks on her upper arm, where he had grabbed her tightly; the light bruises on her neck, where he had kissed her passionately; and the bite marks around her bright red areolas.

“Goldie…” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

Goldie slapped him in the face.

Harry looked startled.

“I don’t want to hear that word from you ever again, Harry Crater,” said Goldie. “I want to hear that you love me, and you’ll protect me, and you won’t give me to other men, and you won’t stand by and let other men fuck me.”

“Never,” said Harry. “Never again. But….”

“But what?”

“But what if we find the Chair, and we find out what was done to you? Won’t you want to reverse it?”

Goldie paused a moment. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. Not if it means losing you. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. If we come to it. For now, we’re together, and I don’t want anything to come between us. I love you, Harry Crater.”

“And I love you, Goldie MacPherson.”

The Second Rule of Alexandra was dead and buried.

***************

“They call it the Archive.”

“The what?” said Goldie.

“The Archive,” said Harry.

He and Goldie had rented an apartment in Orlando. It was early February and the rest of the nation was still in the grips of winter. Harry had spent the time trying to decipher more of the data he had downloaded from The Foundation.

At first, he had suggested to Goldie that they go after one of the other names on The Foundation’s “people of interest” list. But Goldie had put her hands on her hips and said, “Every time we’ve done that, we’ve been captured by some group of fanatics.”

Harry frowned. “I wouldn’t call John Connor a group of fanatics. He was simply an individual who was taking advantage-”

“Of your girlfriend,” said Goldie, smiling sweetly.

Harry winced. “Do you have to be like that?”

“Like what?” said Goldie, sitting down on Harry’s lap.

“Always so… rough around the edges,” said Harry.

“You’re right, Harry. You’re always right. Would you rather I be like this?” And suddenly her face was blank, and her voice a monotone. “Harry, are we going to investigate another name from the list? What a good idea! I will get my shoes. I cannot wait to start on another fun and exciting adven-”

Her words were abruptly cut off as Harry kissed her. “Mmmm,” said Goldie, squirming on his lap and wrapping her arms around him.

When he pulled back, he said, “You’re right. Don’t change. It’s one of the things I love about you.”

“You know, Harry, you’ve never told me exactly what it is you do love about me,” said Goldie. “We both know why I love you. It’s because I’ve been programmed to. You have absolutely no redeeming qualities any woman would find attractive.” She ticked them off on her fingers. “Handsome, no. Brilliant, never. Creative? Have yet to see it. Good in bed? Wouldn’t know.” She smiled at him. “But you’re not programmed to love me. So what’s your excuse?”

Harry felt a stirring in his groin as he felt the warm weight of the very attractive female in his lap. “Are you fishing for compliments, Goldie?”

“Always,” she said, kissing him again.

“All right,” he said, looking at her appraisingly. “You’re beautiful. You’re sexy-”

“It’s funny how those are always the first two things out of a man’s-”

“Are you going to let me finish?” Harry asked.

Goldie, uncharacteristically, fell silent. “As I was saying. You’re beautiful, and great in bed. But you’re also wild, usually in a good way-”

“Usually?”

He kissed her to silence her again.

“And you’re funny, and witty, and… lively. It really came to me, when we were on the island and they were trying to get me to….”

“Fuck all those women?”

“Yes, as you so delicately put it. They were wonderful girls, all of them. But they didn’t have your… vivaciousness,” said Harry.

Goldie looked at him judgmentally. “Just for that, you’ve earned another kiss.” And she pressed her lips against his straddling him so her legs were on the ground, and her groin was almost flush against his. She felt his burgeoning hardness, and smiled. “So, what have you come up with? Besides the other thing, I mean.”

She loved it when Harry reddened. She grinned as she climbed out of his lap.

“I have decoded another section of the database I downloaded from The Foundation. This one is full of information about genetics.”

“Genetics? What does that have to do with anything?”

“I don’t know,” said Harry. “But there are repeated references to a place called ‘The Archive’.”

“Do we have a location?”

“No, but one of the files has a photo.”

“Carl!” said Goldie.

“Yes, Goldie?” said Carl.

“Say, Carl, I just had a thought. Do you listen in when Harry makes love to me?” Goldie asked.

“Carl, don’t answer that,” said Harry. “I’m uploading a photo. I want you to check all planetary databases and find us a location.”

“Processing.”

Goldie wrapped her arms around Harry’s chest. “While Carl’s processing, why don’t we do the same?”

Harry smiled and got up.

“But first, turn off the link to Carl! I don’t want him listening in!”

“But what if he finds the location?”

“So? You can’t wait five minutes to find the location?”

“Five minutes?” said Harry.

“Or ten, if we do it twice,” said Goldie.

“Come here, woman,” he growled, as he pulled her towards the bedroom.

It was actually two hours before Harry reactivated the link to Carl. They didn’t actually have sex for all that time, of course. Harry just liked lying next to Goldie, and looking at her. Especially when her eyes were closed. She looked so angelic when she was sleeping.

Her breasts, so round and firm, were fun to look at too. Harry hated to admit it, but when he made little bite marks on them, it turned him on even more.

The dark triangle between her legs also filled him with lust. Somehow the idea of a blonde woman with dark pubic hair excited him beyond reason. He especially enjoyed seeing it after sex, when her pubic bush was wet and sweaty, and he could see their combined wetness oozing out of her slit.

Goldie, of course, noticed him staring at her body, but Harry think she liked it. At least, she smiled at him as he looked at her. Whenever Harry would get hard, just by looking at her, she would grin and look very pleased with herself.

Two hours later, feeling refreshed and relaxed, they found a location. It was in St. Louis, Missouri.

It was a non-descript office building on the seedier side of town. Harry and Goldie observed it for a while. It seemed empty.

“Do you think we should call in the FBI, Harry?” Goldie asked.

Harry shook his head. “They’ll just chase us away. There may be information in there that will lead us to Claire.” He paused. “Besides, I don’t want Greg muscling in on my woman.”

Goldie hugged him. “FINALLY! You’re starting to act like a man, Harry, and I like it!”

Harry grinned.

********

Harry and Goldie, with compression pistols drawn, snuck into the building under the cover of darkness.

The offices were abandoned. There was a lock on the door, but Harry overrode it. He had a number of handy tools he had developed for missions like these.

They crept inside. They used flashlights, since all the lights were off. They came across row after row of empty desks, and pulled out computer cores.

“Looks abandoned,” said Goldie.

“Let’s keep looking.”

They eventually went down into a basement, where they saw large drawers, rows and rows of them, as far as the eye can see.

Goldie moved to open one of them, and shined a light on the contents. She screamed, almost dropping her flashlight.

It was a human body.

“Is it…”

“Dead,” said Harry, feeling for a pulse.

“But… he looks so young?”

“We’d need an autopsy to find out more,” said Harry.

They quickly checked several more drawers.

They all contained human bodies.

The drawers were alphabetized. Harry started walking down the rows.

“Harry, where are you going?”

“To follow up a nasty hunch,” said Harry.

Goldie ran after him.

Harry went to the row of filing cabinets that said “C” over them. He opened up one after another after another… until one made Goldie scream again.

Inside the drawer was Harry. Harry opened up another drawer, and another, and another.

All in all he found four Harrys.

All dead.

“What… how?”

Harry didn’t answer. He started walking down the rows. He went to the letter M.

“No,” Goldie whispered, as he started opening drawers.

It took him seven tries before he found her.

The Archives contained four dead Harry Craters, and one dead Goldie MacPherson.

“What are they?”

“Clones,” said Harry.

“But… they’re fully grown. No one has the technology to do this.”

“Evidently The Foundation does.” Harry looked around. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Gladly.”

********

They made it back to their hotel without incident.

“This explains a lot of things,” said Harry.

“It does?” said Goldie. She shivered, and Harry wrapped his arms around her.

“That medical exam they wanted so badly. I thought they wanted my brainscan.”

“They didn’t?”

“Oh, they did. I saw Doctor Severin practically drooling over it. But that was only a secondary goal. I think primarily they wanted my blood.”

“For cloning?”

“Yes,” said Harry.

“But… why would they want to clone you? Four times? And me, one time?”

“Think of it. I’m the smartest man in the world, so they say. Imagine four Harry Craters, working for them.”

“But they weren’t working for them. They were dead.”

“Or were killed, when they failed to meet expectations. I’m no coroner, but my guess is that they were poisoned.”

“Poisoned?”

“We’ll need autopsies to be sure,” said Harry.

“Harry, I’m frightened,” said Goldie. “That other me… in that drawer… they remade me, and then they killed me.”

“It wasn’t you,” said Harry. “It was another you.”

“But why?”

“It’s all too clear now,” said Harry.

She hit his arm. “Well, tell the rest of us, who aren’t geniuses, Harry!”

“What do mind control and clones add up to?” Harry looked at Goldie. “An army, Goldie. They’re planning to take over the world. They fast grow clones of the most promising people, and then brainwash them to suit their purposes.”

“But an army, Harry? You’re no soldier. And I’m certainly not.”

“An army needs more than just soldiers,” said Harry. “These are just the ones we found. Who knows how many more Harry’s or Goldie’s there are running around, out there.”

“Well, if there are any more Goldie’s, they can’t have you. You’re taken,” said Goldie. She turned her head to face him, giving him the signal. He responded obediently, kissing her.

“Ummm,” said Goldie, her eyes closed.

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