Jim Nell sat in the chair where Master Liam had bound him. Bare chested, in cream colored athletic tights, and sneakers, he was gagged, with his legs spread and tied to the back of the chair, his wrists tied behind his back, and his torso roped to the chair with three strong coils of rope. He knew better than to try to get out of the ropes: Liam was too good at tying him up, and if he tied jim this way, it was because he wasn't going to be gone long. If he planned a longer time away from the house, he would have chained jim's ankle to the very heavy bed, and cuffed his hands in front of him. The house was far enough out of town that even if jim screamed, the only chance anyone MIGHT have heard him is if a stray motorist had stopped to pee in the woods, or to check his phone for directions, or something like that. He sighed, thinking of how different things had been two years ago, when he had been a successful attorney with a rather large bank account. Now, he was relieved when Liam had told him before he left that he had decided NOT to shave the rich mane of hair that covered jim's chest. On the other hand, Liam had smiled and said "I'll do something else to make sure you understand who's in charge." Two years ago, Jim had felt burned out from law practice. He had consulted with his financial adviser, to see if he could "bail out" and do what he had wanted to do for a long time: open up a fencing school. Jim had missed the Olympics as a younger man, but he was still a serious, skilled fencer, and had won several medals as a "senior" or "veteran" fencer. "There's always a risk, Jim " Sam Fisher told him "the money is there, and you should do fine, but you know, we can't guarantee the market, and a new business is always risky. It's up to you." And then he laughed. "of course, if by some chance you went belly up, there's always the indentureship market."
Yes, the indentureship market. That's what had gotten him here. When the government decided that debtors could either take prison terms, or indenture themselves for a period of time, it had changed the economy in ways no one could have predicted. Now, there was a popular television show that ran three nights a week for 90 minutes, during which the latest group of people needing financial "bail out" would explain their abilities, and then wait to see if there were any bidding for their services. If they didn't receive any, prison awaited. If the "auctioner" could "drop the hammer," the individual would be taken backstage while the winner's payment were processed. When that was completed, the debtor would be fitted with what was referred to as "the collar of shame." It indicated that the wearer WAS indentured, and could not make decisions for himself or herself (the "owner" did that), and it also carried a miniaturized homing device to find the debtor if he or she ever tried to escape. A failed escape attempt (most did fail) would then lead to the "owner" deciding if s/he would take the matter into his or her own hands, or if the debtor would be sent to prison.
Jim knew all of this when he retired and went into business. He just never thought he'd be wearing the collar.
The fencing studio started off well. Jim had a well deserved reputation as a good administrator and a good teacher. At first, he taught all the students himself, and as the business expanded, he hired more instructors. Sam Fisher had been one of his first clients - or more correctly, his youngest son, Marty, had been one of Jim's first clients. Marty was only 10 when he started: the minimum age at which Jim took clients. Jim enjoyed working with Marty, and Marty loved his lessons. He went from twice a week, to three times a week, and he progressed. He became very fond of Jim. That's why Jim got a call from Sam one day, just before Halloween.
"Hey Jim, Sam Fisher here. Listen, we're having a Halloween party at the house and Marty would really like it if you came. It IS costume, but it doesn't have to be anything elaborate. Anyhow, hope you can make it. Lemme know." The night of the party, Jim showed up as a "corporate pirate." He was dressed all in black, with an eyepatch, and a big pirate hat that did not conceal his slightly long, wavy salt and pepper hair. Nothing could hide his bright blue eyes.
"COACH JIM. YOU CAME. " "ARGGGH ME HEARTY" Jim responded to the waist high hug he got from Marty. "HO HO HO. HOW'S ABOUT SHOWING YER COACH WHERE THE GRUB IS?" "SURE COACH." Marty looked at Jim as if he saw a deity. He grabbed Jim's hand and dragged him to the buffet.
Over in the corner, Liam, Marty's older brother and Sam's other son, was hanging out with some of his other gay friends. Liam was 25. His sport was tennis. He had decided to grow a beard, and it was beginning to show. He had cut his black hair short, and his own costume, which was as Tarzan, showed off his young muscles. "Who's the FOX who just came in?" he asked no one in particular. His friends laughed. Liam's preference for older men was well known amongst them. "He IS cute," one of them said. "CUTE? He's fucking HOT." "I saw him come in with your brother. I guess they know each other. " "OH. He must be the fencing coach. Makes sense. Nice bod for a guy his age. " Liam decided to introduce himself, but he didn't have to. Sam called his other son over to where he and Jim were talking. "Liam, meet Marty's fencing teacher, Jim Nell." Liam smiled. There was a cockiness about him that some liked and some didn't. Jim caught it right away, and he wasn't sure how he felt. "Nice to meet you Liam" Liam's handshake was very firm. He looked Jim right in his eye and began thinking "He's dreamy. GOD I wish I were fucking him right now." "Back at ya, Jim. Marty thinks you're the world." "Ha ha. He's a good student. I enjoy teaching him. " Marty came up and threw his arms around Jim's middle. "OOF . Hey. You ARE working out. Good boy." "Liam. Mr. Nell is MINE. Go back to your friends." "Now, Marty, we have plenty of time during the week. I'm just talking to your brother a little, ok?" "Ok Coach," Marty pouted and went off. "Your dad's mentioned you to me, Liam. He told me you're a computer expert." "Expert? I don't think so. I know something about them though." Sam was smiling. "Liam's being too modest. He's been asked to help the government with some very serious anti-hacking software issues." "No kidding? " Jim laughed. "Now I'm embarrassed to ask what I was gonna ask you." "Don't be. Ask. I can't say yes if you don't" Liam responded. "Well, as the business has been growing, I haven't kept up with automation. Now, I think I'm SO far behind, I may need to trash the whole system and start again. I'd rather not do that of course." "Well, you're right Jim. Maybe I can help. How about we set up a time, and I'll come by to look at the system. Maybe after you close for the night. Would that work?" "Sure would. Pick a night. We close at 7 during the week, 6 on Saturday and 4 on Sunday. I'll stay as long as you need me to." Liam smiled. "No time like the present. I'll be there tomorrow. I can pick up Marty. Dad, you can tell Joan (their housekeeper), she can take that off her list." Liam jerked off thinking about Jim that night. Twice.
"HEY JIM" Liam walked in the studio just as the last student was leaving. "Marty, I brought you a snack so you don't have to wait to eat. " "Can't I watch?" Liam laughed. "Sure you can, but there won't be much of interest, I'm afraid. No computer games or anything like that." "Ok. I wanna watch anyway. " Jim smiled at him. "Fine with me." "Ok by me too." Liam pulled up a chair in front of the computer. "Now, it would be better if you gave me your passwords so I can get into the guts, but if you'd rather not, I'll ask you to input them for me." "Nah, an expert like you is gonna be able to get them anyway." (Liam thought: 'you're right about that, and I planned to get them anyway'. He had developed a plan. His mind was bigger than just computers, and he had plans for making Jim his). Liam got to work. In fact, fixing Jim's system was very routine and very easy. His software was sort of like the software every 60 something had until a guy like Liam got to work on it. The fix took very little time. Putting the "trojan horse" into the system was a little more time consuming. "Ok Jim, I think we've got it, so if you wanna sit down and try, I'll lead you through it." "SO FAST? Geez, am I an idiot or..." Liam laughed. "Nah, just old fashioned. A few tweaks, and you're fine." (He was thinking ' and SHIT, you ARE fine. Jim was still in his fencing uniform and white suited him). Jim took a seat in front of the machine, and Liam started leading him through it. During the tutorial, Jim felt Liam's hands on his shoulders. It didn't feel "right," especially with Marty right there, but he let it slide. He didn't want to piss off Liam, and possibly his father. "Now, my Dad said you run your finances through this system, so maybe you want to take a look at them, maybe make a sham transaction, see if you can manage with what I've changed. I'll turn my back. Your finances are YOUR business, not mine. "Good idea. Now let me see... would transferring 100.00 from one account to another be a good test?" "A perfect test." Liam was quite gleeful. If Jim moved the money himself, that would move the "horse" from account to account, and that would make everything happen MUCH quicker: overnight. "BINGO. DONE. Now that was easy. Let me see if I can do it across all my accounts." "Yeah, do that. Good test." Liam added "Jim your shoulders are very tense. You should get a massage or something." Jim laughed. "Well, your fingers seem to be doing a good job. Maybe I should hire you. NOT full release though." "OH, I apologize. I didn't mean it THAT way Jim," Liam dropped his hands. "Just joshing you Liam. I do that sometimes. " "Yeah, my Dad does too. " Jim finished moving that hundred dollars from account to account. "GREAT. " Liam smiled. "You happy Jim?" "DELIGHTED. Thank you." Marty smiled, but piped up. "YOU LIKE MY BROTHER MORE THAN ME. " "ha ha. No squeaker, that's not true. I'm just happy that he fixed something I couldn't." "Marty, we should head home. Jim, do you want us to wait until you change and we can leave together?" "Nah, thanks. I'll be here a little while catching up with paperwork." "Ok." He held out his hand to Jim. "Hope to see you again." He looked down at his brother. "COME ON SQUIRT. I already got ya fries and Dad's gonna fry my ass for that. I'll get ya home before I head home myself."
"Mr. Nell, this is Intercontinental bank. I'm afraid that something very odd has happened. Three of your checks have been returned for insufficient funds." The call came in about ten days after the computer "repair." "HUH? There should have been high six figures in that account." "Yes, I realize that Mr. Nell, but when I checked the account this morning, it's zeroed out. " "WHAT? There's NO money? " "Not a cent Sir. It might be worth calling your financial adviser. " "DAMN RIGHT" Jim put down the phone and called Sam's office. "Please tell him it's URGENT." While Jim waited for Sam to return his call, four more vendors called about checks they couldn't cash. "WHAT THE FUCK?" Jim was thinking. "Jim, Sam here. What's up?" "Sam, my fucking accounts are empty. Every last one of them." "Oh, that can't be. Let me check. " Jim heard Sam talking to himself... "Hmmm. Ok. but what about... that one too... GEEZ. What the...." He came back on the phone. "Jim, did you DO anything to the accounts?" "Not a thing. I left them alone, didn't take anything out of anything but my personal account" "And that's zeroed out too?" "It's got 25.00 in it." "Jim, I don't understand this. Any ideas as to what could have happened.?" Jim DID have an idea: Liam had modified the computer. Was this some kind of joke." He sighed. "Sam, don't take this the wrong way. I'm just asking for help. Liam came and fixed my computer and I wonder if..." "Jim, Liam doesn't do things like that, but when he gets back from Asia we can check with him." "ASIA? He's in ASIA?" "For two more weeks." "SHIT. What can I do between now and then?" Sam sighed. "Well, I can have the Investment house float you a loan, but that's about all I can do. " He paused. "I hope you don't think Liam stole from you." "NO NO. I just wonder if there's something that makes the money inaccessible." "That's good to hear Jim. I can't imagine Liam doing something that evil."
Two weeks later, Liam was in front of the computer again. He had to hide his glee at the success. Jim was sweating. It matted his hair and made him look even sexier. "Well, this fix is gonna take some doing. How much money did my Dad's firm advance you?" "50k". "How much of it did you spend?" "About 4, to pay bills." "Well, there's exactly 500.00 in that account." "WHAT?" "Look, this is what I found. I'm gonna have to check with some experts, but watch." Liam went into the accounts and made a transaction amounting to fifty cents. They both watched as the 500.00 dwindled to 450.00" "Jim, do you have any enemies from your law practice? This is something I don't know how to fix." "No idea, Liam. No idea." "Well, let me get on the phone, make some calls, and let's see what I can learn."
That was the last Jim heard from Liam until that day. He had no money. The bills piled up. He heard the door of the school open one day, and a bearded man and a blond woman came in. "Mr. Nell? We're from the debtor control squad. Your creditors have reported that..." "I know, I know. There's something wrong with my accounts, and I can't access my money." "Mr. Nell, we don't know anything about that. We're just enforcement. I'm afraid you'll have to come with us and discuss your situation." That afternoon, he was sitting in the office of "Ms. McIntyre, debtor counselor." "Well, Mr. Nell, I'm sure that others will be able to rectify the situation, but for the short term, you are going to need cash because, well... your creditors don't want to wait. " "I understand ma'am." She sat back. "Your file suggests that you were a damn good lawyer for a long time." He smiled. "Well, I was a LAWYER for a long time. Whether I was good, or damn good..." She sighed. "It's a rough situation, but you may want to close the studio for a while, and go into indentureship until your funds are available again." "Is there anything else I could do? " "Prison?
"Jim, it will be alright, and working as a lawyer isn't the worst thing that could happen to you. Liam is working on the problem, as are the people at the Investment House. Believe me. They want THEIR money back too, and my ass is on the line for it, so, I'd rather see it fixed." "I just can't believe this. I can't." "It'll be ok. " A week later, Jim was on the midweek segment of the program which matched bidders to the indentured. He had dressed as he did as a lawyer: gray pinstriped pants, a white shirt, sleeves rolled, red rep tie, loosened. He sat on a stool and explained his situation, and what he could do. "Ok, thank you Mr. Nell," the host spoke. "Viewers, the bidding line is now open. If you believe Jim can help you, so that you can help him, please put in your bid." Jim went back to the waiting room until the end of the show. Bids could come in for an hour after the end of the program. He was in the room with the 8 other people who had been on the program that night. "Jim, I believe I have some good news for you. There WAS indeed heavy bidding for your services, and you've been matched. " The host handed him a debtor's collar. "I hate humiliating people by putting it on them, so if you would take the steps of doing it yourself." Trembling, Jim did. He snapped the lock shut. Now, the only person who could take that off was the person to whom he was indentured. "Your bidder is waiting in the next room. We'll introduce him. " Jim nearly fainted when he saw Liam. "Hey sexy. Guess we're gonna be spending a fair amount of time together. " "WHAT THE..." "Jim, would you put your wrists out? I'd rather you were cuffed until we got to my home." Jim looked around. He saw the guards, and he saw the look in Liam's eye. Now, he understood everything. And he could do nothing. He put out his wrists.