What If Mike Had Lived?

Chapter 2 Interrogation And Rescue

S.M. Wolf

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Marla and Kayla are copyrighted by Kittiara and used with her permission. Master David Wolf, Valentia, Todd, Mike, Sensei Tenchi. Zubin, Martin, Sheila, other miscellaneous characters and this story are copyright 2009, 2010 by S.M. Wolf. This story may not be reproduced by any means in part or completely without prior written permission of the author. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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Cold water splashed over Marla. She spluttered and opened her eyes.

In front of Marla, the lynx that had shot her with the taser was confronting a male mountain lion. A small male civet stood behind them. All three were dressed in black uniforms. Marla actually was not sure to which branch they belonged, but their uniforms and stance practically screamed Government black operative.

The lynx yelled at the mountain lion, "What are you doing, idiot?"

"You said you wanted her wake. I woke her up," the mountain lion replied in a slow, dull voice.

"I didn't mean to do it like that!" the lynx fumed.

The lynx berated the mountain lion for several seconds. While he did so Marla took stock of her situation as the water dripped form her pelt.

They appeared to be in a very large, open building. It might have been a warehouse before. Now it appeared to be largely empty. Marla could hear the distant echo of the lynx's voice from the darkness beyond the large pool of light surrounding them.

Bright overhead lighting illuminated an area about forty feet in diameter. Marla was near the center of the lighted area. To her left near the edge of the light was a small office or something similar. It appeared to have been used by a floor supervisor at some point. The rest of the area revealed the true, grim purpose of the facility.

Scattered about the wolfess were various devices of interrogation and torture. She recognized most of them from her days at the Academy and later at the bordello, but some were beyond even her knowledge. There were the standard devices like a line of five whipping posts as well as chains and other restraints hanging from above or bolted to the floor. There were freestanding cells and small cages scattered about the area. Many other restraint devices such as crosses were present. She could see several mats with rings set in or beside them. Judging from the arrangements, the sex slave deduced that captives were often forced to watch each other be tortured and raped. It was a common practice at the Academy, and she knew enough form her recent training to know it was effective for other extracting information from unwilling furs. What male wanted to watch his mate or children be abused in this matter? What female would not give information to the inquisitor to stop her cub's cries of pain and fear? It was a cruel but highly effective means of breaking the will of a cur.

Delicately, she sniffed the air. The scent was a bit old, but she could smell the blood and fear of those who had been brought here before her. There was also just the hint of the smell of death beneath the antiseptic used to clean the room and its implements of torture.

Marla glanced down at herself. She was naked. She was not surprised that they had taken her clothes and weapons while she was unconscious. She had received enough training to know it would be standard procedure. She rippled her inner vaginal muscles and felt nothing. They had found the small packet of explosive she kept hidden there for an emergency like this.

Marla's left leg was encased in a very heavy stainless steel cuff that chafed her ankle. The cuff was locked shut with a fingerprint-keyed padlock. It was attached to a large steel ring set in the floor. She was not surprised that the ring did not budge the slightest when she surreptitiously pulled on it. It looked strong enough to hold an enraged bull with ease.

There was no way Marla was going to get out of her bonds short of biting off her leg,

The lynx turned his attention back to Marla.

"My apologies, but my... coworker sometimes takes things I say too literally. I had planned a gentler awakening for you," the lynx said sweetly. Marla was certain that his sincerity and concern were totally fake.

Marla was not going to get away by brute strength, but perhaps she could still gain an advantage by tricking these three. She bowed her head and replied subserviently, "Master, you are too kind."

"Now, now! There is no reason to be so formal here. We can all just be friends," the lynx replied insincerely.

"Yes, Master," Marla replied as if she was too well trained to not use the honorific.

The lynx sighed. Marla's sharp ear and training caught the deception behind it.

"Well, if you cannot stop saying 'Master', you cannot. It can hardly be expected that a slave of what - over six years now? - can just stop because someone tells her to do so.

"It really does not matter for the moment. What is said here remains here."

Marla was secretly certain that was because the three males said nothing and the captives that were here before her were all killed when they could no longer give useful information to their torturers.

Like her entire pack would be if they were captured.

Sudden fear washed over Marla like a tsunami as she thought about her loved ones. Adrenaline and the danger she was in had pushed the memory of the seriousness of their situation from her consciousness. The threat from these and other Government operative that they faced now came crashing down on her. She realized that she had to stop them or at least delay them as long as possible while not giving the Government anything that it could use against Master David and the others. She was confident that, if she could buy them time or at least stop these agents from getting information from her, Master David would get the rest of the pack to safety. It would cost Marla her life, but she would do it for her lover and pack mates!

The lynx had been droning on about all the good things that she would soon get if she helped him, but Marla had ignored him. Her attention returned to him as he concluded, "And in your case, I am prepared to offer you your freedom and reparations for your time spent as a slave."

Marla had an idea. It would likely result in her death, but perhaps she could take this feline with her. She hung her head and started sobbing. False tears erupted from her eyes and dripped down her muzzle. She did her best to act as if she was overwhelmed by the lynx's offer.

The lynx saw Marla's tears and heard her sobs. He completely misunderstood them. As Marla desired, he thought she was crying from happiness at the thought of gaining her freedom.

The lynx enthusiastically said, "Yes! You can be a free fur again! We can even make you quite rich between the reparations and the reward money that you will get for bringing a dangerous terrorist to justice!

"All you have to do is give me a little bit of information."

Marla realized that giving this male any information whatsoever would likely result in an unmarked grave somewhere far from here rather than a new life as a freefur. Her passing might be quick if she succumbed to his entreaty, but that was all she could hope to buy. She wanted more.

Still, his offer did give the wolfess a small opening to play even if she had absolutely no intention of telling him anything. His desires could be used against him to trick him into coming closer to her. She asked around her sobs, "What- What do you want? Master?"

"Your current owner, David Wolf, has attracted our attention. He is involved with certain... disreputable... furs. For example, there are the Canaria Pack members like that young wolf he forced you to service. Hardly a befitting pairing for such an accomplished and talented Academy sex slave as you."

It took all of Marla's willpower not to lunge at the lynx. Had he been a foot closer and in her reach, she would have just to rip his throat out for his insult of Mike, his pack and her relationship with him. Somehow, she managed to force the deadly growl back down her throat.

The lynx explained, "We know that he passes information through them to others, but we have never been able to discover how. We had hoped to liberate the otteress from him to ask her. She has been with him longer and likely knows how it is done. She certainly is around him and the others we suspect enough."

Privately Marla suspected the lynx was right. Kayla likely knew enough to tell the lynx how Master David dispersed information to his covert operatives. Her friend would have likely taken her poison if she thought she was going to be captured.

A new fear clutched Marla's heart. If Kayla had thought she was about to be captured, would she have taken her poison or otherwise killed herself? Marla was coldly certain that the answer was yes. Mike would have almost certainly done the same as well. His sense of honor would have required it, and she knew that he could provide quite a bit of damaging information on Master David. She may have lost her alpha female and lover as well as Valentia and Todd!

Marla's head dropped, and she cried harder. Were all of her pack mates besides Master David dead now? Was he soon to follow them? Would Marla follow or precede her pack into death?

Taking her response to mean she was overcome with very different emotions, the lynx crouched down and said, "Yes! You can have your freedom. We can have the papers drawn up and registered from here in a few minutes. Furthermore, we have witness relocation plans, so we can get you a new identity as well. We'll set you up in an entirely new life. If you think Wolf or his associates would try to harm you, we can protect you."

Marla knew that the only one Master David would kill was the lynx even if she betrayed him completely to save herself. Sensei Tenchi, Zubin and even Kayla would do the same.

"All we need to know is the answer to a few simple questions," the lynx told the wolfess.

"Yes, Master?" Marla asked in a trembling voice. She tried to put as much hope and naiveté in it as she could. It took everything she could muster, but the lynx getting steadily closer to the edge of her reach helped.

The lynx replied almost gleefully, "Yes! It will be easy. We do not need much. Just enough to issue a warrant for his arrest. Once we get that, we can question him and find out what we need to know."

No doubt, the questioning would be in a secret bunker even better equipped than this place. Her alpha would be tortured until he gave up every secret or died, and she had little doubt that they would be very careful to keep him alive for weeks if not months to drain him of all his secrets.

Not that Marla thought they would ever capture him alive. He no doubt had means to end his own life and had ordered Sensei Tenchi and Zubin to kill him if there was any doubt about his ability to suicide.

"What do you want to know, Master?" Marla said in a soft voice barely above a whisper. The lynx flicked his ears back and forth to catch her words. As she had hoped, the lynx inched just a bit closer when he had trouble hearing her.

The lynx pressed Marla with rapid-fire questions.

"Where has he taken you? Whom has he met? Who did he give you to besides the pup?"

Marla's hackles bristled at the lynx's aspersion towards Mike. If she could just get him to come six inches closer, she had a chance to grab him. She would make sure he never got out of her grasp alive.

The lynx continued, "Just tell us a few things, and we can find out the rest."

Marla tensed. The lynx was nearly close enough now.

"Stop," the civet said in an emotionless voice.

The lynx leaned back and snapped at the civet, "How dare you interrupt me!"

The civet calmly replied, "She was about to attack you.

"You've been misreading her badly. She wants to kill us or die herself. You were making yourself an easy kill for her."

Damn! Marla thought. The civet must have had training to read furs' emotions similar to Marla's at the Academy. No doubt, his was much deeper and broader.

The lynx looked back at Marla. Anger crossed his face.

"Is that true?" he asked angrily.

Marla spat in his face.

"I will _ never _ betray my Master!" Marla screamed at the lynx. She had nearly said "alpha" but managed to change her word at the last moment. These three and the Government had to never know what the true arrangements were within the pack. It would place Kayla in particular in even greater danger if she was still alive as Marla prayed.

"Bitch!" the lynx said as he wiped her spit from his face. He stood and waved the other two males towards Marla.

"Okay, we tried the 'kind' approach," the lynx said. "Now let's try the 'unkind' approach."

Marla was distracted as the civet and the mountain lion closed with her. She had her paws free, but she was not going to be able to use her legs well with the shackle on her ankle. She glared at them and prepared to fight as best she could when they got close enough.

The wolfess never got the chance. The civet pulled out a small taser and shot her. As Marla jerked around on the ground, she could not help but think how much she hated those damn things.

Weakened, Marla had no opportunity to fight the two males as they grabbed her and unceremoniously dragged her across to where the lynx waited.

Two chains hung from the ceiling. She gathered from the control in his right paw that they were attached to electric winches. Each chain had a heavy steel cuff at the end. Two more chains were bolted into the floor on either side of a large grate. Marla caught a glimpse of a sluiceway beneath the grate before the mountain lion lifted her to a standing position.

The mountain lion held Marla's limp body upright while the civet attached the steel cuffs to her ankles. She tried to kick him, but her actions only served to make it easier for him to grab her legs. Next, they attached her wrists to the cuffs above her head. Her attempts to hit them were still ineffective, but at least she was feeling stronger. If she could just have a minute more...

Marla never got the chance. The lynx hit a button and the winches in the darkness near the ceiling pulled the chains attached to her arms upward. She was lifted completely off the floor. The winches continued to lift her until she was a good two feet off the floor. Her arms and legs were pulled wide by the chains that bound her. She was in a full spread-eagled suspension. She could feel her weight pulling on her shoulders and arms. Soon it would become uncomfortable. A little later, it would start to hurt. It would continue to get progressively worse over the course of the next several hours as her own weight served as an instrument of her torment. Eventually her arms would pop out of their sockets, and the real torture would begin.

That assumed that these three did not have other plans for Marla.

The lynx swaggered up to Marla. He stood six inches from her stomach. She glared down at him.

In a tight voice, the lynx said, "I am going to say this once and only once.

"We have the authority to do with you whatever we want. If you cooperate and tell us what we want to know, we will send you back to the Academy for retraining and then have you sold to a Government official of suitable stature after we arrest Wolf. You will very happily be their sex toy.

"Fail to tell us what we want, and we will make your days at the Academy seem like n extended stay at a pleasure spa."

Marla wondered if this lynx really knew much about her. His comments seemed to suggest not. She did not love pain, but the Academy had certainly taught her how to endure it without showing how badly she was hurting. If the lynx did not know about her tolerance for pain and punishment, perhaps she could use that to her advantage now. First, she had to get him angry.

"What is your answer?" the lynx demanded.

Marla peed on the lynx.

"Damn you, Bitch!" the lynx screamed as he jumped out of her stream of urine. He backhanded her muzzle so hard she was certain several teeth came loose. Her vision swam a bit from the pain and the impact. Idly, she wondered if she had a concussion from the forceful blow.

"I'll teach you to do shit like that!" the lynx screamed at Marla.

The lynx stormed to a nearby table. He picked up a six-foot long braided leather bullwhip and stomped back to Marla. He grabbed her ear and pulled her head around and down roughly.

"Now you pay!" he told her through gritted teeth.

"Go to hell!" she screamed at him. Regardless of the personal cost, she would protect her alphas and loved ones. Right now, she wanted the lynx enraged beyond reason. She tried to spit on him again, but he jerked on her ear to deflect her spit.

"Why do all of his people have to be so damn loyal?!" the lynx screamed as he raised the whip and brought it crashing down on Marla's back. He stood to her left and beat her mercilessly.

Marla bit her lower lip hard enough to draw blood but refused to scream or otherwise acknowledge the pain. It took every bit of self-control she had learned as a slave. Her pain tolerance was high, but the lynx was not fooling around. He was in a homicidal rage, and her silence only served to enrage him more, just as Marla had hoped it would.

The lynx continued to thrash her back. She could feel her fur being ripped off her backside and the warm, wet flow of her blood down her back. Soon she heard it dripping into the sluiceway beneath the grate. She lost track after the thirtieth lash of how many times the lynx struck her. She remained as still and as silent as possible even as her entire world was reduced to the whistle of the whip through the air, the crack of it striking her, and the pain erupting from her back.

The lynx continued to grow steadily more frustrated and angry at Marla's silence. He was used to females collapsing into screams and breaking quickly under the lash. She seemed to simply ignore the beating and the pain. He hit her steadily harder and harder in an effort to break her. Throughout it all, he screamed obscenities at her and demanded that she tell him everything she knew about her Master's treason.

Marla was quickly losing consciousness from a combination of pain and blood loss. She was starting to think her strategy would work and the lynx would lose control and kill her when the civet walked over to the lynx and grabbed his arm. The lynx turned on the civet with murder in his eyes, but the civet remained calm and collected.

"She is of no use to us dead. What's more, I think she is trying to goad you into killing her."

The lynx tried to pull his arm free to continue his torture of Marla.

"And what do you think the Chief is going to do to you when he gets here if you kill her before she talks?"

The threat of the agent's mysterious Chief seemed to have a distinct chilling effect upon the lynx. Even in the bloody red hell of her pain, she could see the lynx half recoil in fear. Marla took perverse delight in the near certainty that the unknown fur had tortured this lynx. She just hoped he did so on a regular basis and would continue their session when he arrived here. She would like to see the lynx in pain right now.

The civet pulled an aerosol can from his belt pouch and sprayed something cold onto Marla's back. It was like an arctic glacier hitting her. Instantly her back went numb and the pain disappeared. She nearly passed out from the sudden change. She felt something else kick in and keep her conscience and alert.

The civet casually remarked to Marla, "It is a new restorative spray developed for battlefield flesh wounds. It is also very effective with other, similar wounds as well. In our case we use it to keep the furs we are interrogating alive and interested in the proceedings during floggings and other similar interrogation techniques."

The smile the civet gave her was truly sinister.

"It can extend the time we can torture a victim from minutes or hours to weeks or even months. A strong specimen with a high pain tolerance like you should be able to endure several months of 'fun' with us if we need it."

The civet grinned even more broadly.

"You might be interested in knowing that it was developed and is currently manufactured by Wolf Medical, one of your Master's many companies."

Marla wondered if any of her three captors were sane.

The lynx threw the whip down on to the ground. He yelled at the mountain lion, "Get her down!"

The mountain lion hit a button. Winches activated and lowered Marla to the floor. The lynx grabbed her and roughly handcuffed her paws behind her before releasing her from the metal cuffs.

"Okay, we work on her later as planned. Until then, she goes in the cage."

The mountain lion looked over at Marla and casually asked, "Does she have to go into the cage right now? I kinda want to find out how good she is. After all, she does the richest fur on Elysium every night. She's got to have somethin' special in that cunt."

The lynx smiled cruelly at Marla and roughly dragged her over to a table. He cleared the tabletop with a single sweep of his arm that sent whips and crops flying to the floor.

"Good idea! Let's find out just how good a fuck this bitch cunt is!" he practically screamed.

The lynx threw Marla face down on the table. Her torso lay on the table with her legs hanging over the side and her feet on the floor. She tried to get up, but the civet and the mountain lion grabbed her upper arms and held her down. Behind her, Marla heard the lynx unzip his pants. He grabbed her tail and yanked it hard to her right just before he thrust his erect cock deep into Marla's dry pussy.

The lynx thrust repeatedly. Marla could feel the spines on his cock painfully grabbing at her inner flesh, but she remained absolutely still. She called upon every bit of training she had received and all of her willpower to stop her body from responding in the slightest as the lynx brutally raped her.

The lynx came hard but swiftly. He hopped off Marla and kicked her in her right calf.

"She might as well be dead meat for all the reaction I got from her.

"Not that it matters. I got off, and that's all that counts!" the lynx exclaimed.

The lynx gave her another kick before walking around and taking the civet's position. The civet removed all of his clothes while standing in front of her. She could see the unusually large spines on his seven-inch cock and knew this was going to hurt her still unlubricated pussy.

The civet proved her prediction correct. He thrust into her slowly and waited for her cunny to contract back around his shaft. He then pulled out hard. The backward facing spines dug hard into her inner flesh. Several times, he almost got her to cry out in pain, but she remained silent and still throughout the entire rape. The civet sexually tortured her for almost ten minutes before finally cumming. Marla suspected that at least some of the fluid seeping down her inner thighs was her blood. Her vaginal walls certainly felt raw and scratched enough.

"Your turn," the civet casually told the mountain lion as they exchanged places.

"Okay," the mountain lion replied a bit dully.

Marla realized that the mountain lion had been acting a bit slow intellectually since she had awakened. He appeared to be the group's musclefur. She suspected he was a killer without conscience, but he might not fully understand what was happening about him. Perhaps Marla could use that to her advantage.

The civet appeared to be some sort of observer and recorder. He was almost clinically detached from what was happening though he obviously derived personal pleasure from some parts of the torture such as her rape. His coolness and ability to see through her subterfuges would be a large challenge. He had already effectively thwarted her first attempt to kill the lynx.

The lynx was their leader and presumably brains though Marla had no idea why. She suspected it was due to raw ability to get information from uncooperative furs and blind obedience of orders. Neither were traits Marla found desirable or useful in a leader, but there were those who put a high premium upon them. His inability to control himself would be a great benefit to her. If she could get him mad enough, he might not listen to reason or even turn on one of the others.

Marla quickly formulated the start of a plan. It was really more of a notion than a plan. She would work to stroke the ego of the mountain lion and the anger of the lynx. If she could get them to fight, it would reduce their effectiveness and perhaps buy her time. The less they were torturing her the more she was likely to find a way to suicide or to die from her wounds. It also hopefully meant that she would be less likely to reveal a secret. The conflict might well give Master David and the rest of her pack time to escape Elysium as well.

Briefly, Marla thought about rescue, but she realized how unlikely that was. If the Government was staging ambushes on the streets using overkill like RPGs and anti-tank rockets, then her Master had likely gone underground and would not be able to help her. All she could do was to try to give him and Kayla as long a head start as possible.

The mountain lion undid his belt buckle and dropped his pants. He grasped Marla's hips and slid his erect shaft deep into her with a long, fluid motion. Marla called upon every bit of acting skill she had learned at the Academy and with unsavory clients of both the bordello and the coffle as she started to put her plans into action.

At first, Marla lay as still as she had under the other two males, but as the mountain lion thrust repeatedly into her, she began to make small sounds - a stifled moan and a cut-off gasp of pleasure. As the mountain lion picked up the tempo, she made more frequent and louder pleasurable noises and began to thrust back to meet him as if she were succumbing to his larger shaft and vigor. She grabbed his penis with her vaginal muscles as he thrust to heighten the mountain lion's pleasure. She yipped when she felt his seed splash the interior of her cunt.

Her actions had the desired effect with at least the lynx. He was furious again.

"Why did the pricey bitch go off for you and not us?!" he demanded of the mountain lion.

"Maybe I'm just better?" he answered slowly as he pulled his pants back on.

The lynx was ready to fly off into a rage when the civet spoke.

"I would say it is far more likely she is trying to cause dissent among us," the civet commented in a dry tone.

Inwardly Marla cursed the civet as he undid her attempt to bring about discord.

The lynx grabbed Marla's muzzle and raised her head. He leaned in close enough that she could smell his tuna-laced breath.

"Think you're pretty smart, don't you, cunt?" he snarled in Marla's face.

He struck the right side of Marla's head with his left paw. Her ears rang and her vision dimmed from the blow.

"Well, I've got a few things for smart bitches!" he screamed at her.

Marla's teeth were rattled again as he threw her head back down on the table hard. Her attempts to sow discord might have been temporarily thwarted, but the lynx's anger seemed to be rising almost uncontrollably again. Perhaps she would get her desire of a quick if painful death. It would at least ensure that she would not betray her pack mates.

The lynx selected a four-foot long spreader bar and attached it to Marla's ankles. He used two lengths of rope to tie it to the legs of the table and prevent her from kicking backwards. He searched around until he found a riding crop. He glowered at her and furiously told her, "This will teach you to try to mess with us, bitch!"

The lynx motioned for the mountain lion and civet to press Marla down on the table harder. The mountain lion grabbed her tail and pulled it forward so her flanks and thighs were totally exposed.

The lynx brought the tip of the riding crop crashing down hard on Marla's anus. It took every ounce of her self-control not to scream in pain. The lynx continued to strike her tail hole repeatedly. She felt pain mount from the abuse.

After a dozen blows the lynx tossed the crop away and mounted Marla again. He thrust his cock into her already painfully sore asshole to the hilt. Marla was ashamed when a small whimper escaped her muzzle.

The lynx grabbed her hair and yanked back to raise her head.

"That got your attention, didn't it, bitch?" he screamed in a voice full of both almost insane anger and triumph.

Without waiting, he threw her head back down to the table and roughly anally raped her. Marla redoubled her resolve and did not make another sound throughout her ordeal at his paws.

After he came, the lynx slid off Marla and pointed at her ass.

"Want some?" he asked the other two males.

"Sure!" both responded.

The mountain lion took her second this time. The civet had revealed her plans, but she wondered if the mountain lion and lynx could still be used against each other. She responded to his hard thrusts by wriggling her hips and enhancing his pleasure using some small, subtle tricks taught to her at the Academy. It seemed to have some effect. He ran a paw over her right flank as he dismounted. The caress was not much, but it was a caress.

The lynx caught the mountain lion's action and berated him. The mountain lion largely ignored him as he took up a position holding Marla's right arm.

The civet took her last. He forced his way past her distended anus. His spines could not lodge in the walls of her rectum, but they were painful when they caught the inside of her anus as he withdrew. He seemed to be fully aware of this. He would enter her slowly to maximize the anticipation of the pain. When he pulled out it was hard and fast to hurt her as much as possible.

Marla had been through enough rapes by felines to know what to expect, but it did not lessen her pain. It did allow her to endure the rape, though. She was still glad when she felt the civet's sperm splash the inside of her rectum. He withdrew, and she was left lying helpless on the table.

She was not overly surprised when the lynx mounted her for a third time. He started this time by stretching her tail hole far enough to slightly tear it with a monster butt plug. It was covered in spines as well that pressed painfully into the wall of her rectum. She was sure it was causing internal damage, but she just gritted her teeth and tried her best to show no reaction. It would infuriate the lynx if she could deny him the pleasure of causing her to acknowledge the pain he was causing with a cry or tears.

The lynx took her again with a series of fast, deep thrusts into her pussy. The sound of his hips striking her flanks echoed in the largely empty building. He had to be close to cumming when she felt him withdraw.

To add further insult to her rape, the lynx walked around in front of Marla. As she had to watch, he jacked off inches from her muzzle until he came. His hot jism covered her muzzle and face. She was just sorry he was too far away to make a lunge for his balls. She would not mind dying with the taste of his blood and testicles in her mouth. She would have even made the try if all she could get was the knob of his shaft.

The three felines untied Marla and half dragged, half carried a limp Marla over to a small cage. They opened the top and forced her body into the cage. There was just enough room for her to crouch inside the metal bars. Her head came out an opening in one end. They used a rope to tie her tail to the bars on the other end. A large horse bit went into her mouth and was secured tightly with a leather strap. When the top was closed and locked, she was secured in an uncomfortable crouching position between the bars.

The three felines disappeared from Marla's view. She heard them walking away behind her, but their footfalls soon faded to silence.

Marla was not sure how much time passed. The light remained on, so she could not tell if it was night or day. She counted her heartbeats, but the pain of her back kept intruding into her numeration and distracting her. She lost count several times before giving up. She was certain that she would never leave this place alive, but she had to hold out as long as possible to allow her pack mates the best chance possible to escape.

Marla's thoughts kept returning to Mike. She thought about their brief time together, the happiness he had brought her, and their unfulfilled plans for the future. She wished that she had the opportunity to bear his pups. She wanted so much to be the mother of his progeny. Now that dream would never become a reality. She just hoped that he was safe somewhere in hiding by now. If he and Kayla had made it out of the ambush, Marla was certain that they were as safe as possible in these dangerous times. She would trust in her alphas to keep Mike safe now.

Marla also thought of her other pack mates. She wondered if Valentia and Todd had escaped. She thought she remembered the lynx saying that they had missed them. Perhaps they were alive and free somewhere. At least they were not here with Marla.

The wolfess had great confidence in Master David. She was certain that while he had been as surprised by the ambush as she was, he would have recovered quickly. Most likely, he was in hiding now that the Government was acting openly against him. She would help her alpha male as much as she could by refusing to give in to these furs for as long as possible.

Kayla's fate kept haunting Marla. She had been alive when Marla closed the limo and sent it away. Rationally she thought that the otteress would not kill herself unless the limo was breached, and that had not happened in Marla's sight. She still could have been taken captive, but the homing signal Marla's command had activated would have been bringing heavily armed Wolf Security forces to it. If the limo had been able to avoid capture for even two minutes Kayla was likely alive and well.

Or so Marla kept telling herself. It was one of the few ways she could keep her spirits from collapsing in despair. If Kayla and Mike were alive then Marla's life had meaning, and her torture and eventual death would buy much for her pack mates.

It had to have been at least several hours before the three felines returned. They seemed rather happy for some reason. Marla darkly guessed it was because they were about to torture her. The three impressed her as absolute sadists. They unlocked her cage. Marla tried to fight them, but the pain from her back and cramps from spending so much time bent into a tight ball made her efforts weak and ineffective. The mountain lion easily subdued her and frog walked her back over to the grate.

"Now we will begin your interrogation in earnest," the lynx informed her coolly. He seemed to have regained his composure during his time away from her and was all business now.

"You will tell us what we want to know beginning with how David Wolf's other slave transfers information among the rebels. You will then tell us how David Wolf is associated with the Reds. We will continue torturing you until you give us all the information you have.

"If we are feeling charitable, and you cooperate, we may stop torturing you then."

"Go to hell!" Marla spat back. She knew that the only ending to this was her extermination. She just hoped she could avoid telling these Government agents anything useful before she succumbed to death.

"That is not an acceptable answer," the lynx said. He actually smiled in anticipation of what was to come.

"Put her back up!" the lynx ordered the two feline males.

The mountain lion and civet attached chains to Marla's wrists and ankles. She was raised back up into a fully suspended spread-eagled position again. They grabbed her tail and secured it raised behind her back. Grimly she stared down at the lynx who watched her with feral eyes. Marla knew that this was not going to be pleasant.

The lynx selected a heavy leather quirt from a selection of whips. Its tail was a good inch wide and was split into three smaller tails at the end. He cracked it several times while he sauntered over to Marla. Along the way, he also picked up two heavy weights with large, pointed hooks.

"You made me lose control last time," the lynx said in a silky soft voice. "That will not happen again."

The quirt flicked out. The three tails landed on her clit and labia. The pain was excruciating, especially in her clit where the bar piercing in her hood exposed her clitoris directly to the lash. Marla could swear that the lynx drew blood.

The lynx attached the weights to her nipple rings. Her breasts were pulled downward. It was small comfort that he used her nipple rings rather than piercing her breasts with the points of the hooks as she had expected.

"These will dance around very nicely," the lynx commented as he stood back and surveyed his work for a moment.

"I intend to make this last a long, long time," the lynx purred as he moved around Marla.

The lynx was a consummate artist with the quirt. He played it across Marla's legs, buttocks, pussy and lower abdomen. Each stroke left three thin lines of pure pain. The weights on her breasts compounded her problems as they jiggled around with each blow and painfully tugged on her nipples.

Marla doubted she had ever been beaten so painfully in her life. Grimly she tried to hold back the cries and tears, but after at least a half hour of flogging, she could not control herself any more. She was ashamed as she felt the tears start to drizzle down her muzzle and fall to the pit below. Her cries, while soft, were audible to the ears of her captors. They smiled as if they had found a stash of candy.

Throughout the beating, the civet stood nearby asking her questions.

"Why does David Wolf support the Reds and their goals?"

"How does David Wolf finance the Reds?"

"Have you seen David Wolf give funds to abolitionists?"

"What is the relationship between David Wolf and the Canaria Pack?"

"For what were you given to one of the Canaria Pack members as payment?"

The civet had a long list of questions, and he kept repeating them endlessly. Marla drew some comfort and strength from them. These furs were not asking the real questions she feared such as why her Master had attacked his own plants and destroyed them. At least some of his stratagems had fooled the Government.

The lynx continued to beat Marla mercilessly. She drifted in and out of the fog of pain. Occasionally she would lose consciousness, and the torture would cease just long enough for the mountain lion to break an ampoule filled with smelling salts to revive her so that the beating could continue.

The weight of Marla's body did its terrible work on her arms and shoulders as well. She could feel her sinews and joints stretching. Her shoulders ached from the unnatural stresses working upon them. Slowly her arms were being pulled from their sockets. Her jerks only heightened her pain and suffering.

The time came when Marla could no longer be revived despite the felines' best efforts. The lynx had the other two furs drop her back to the floor. They pulled her to one side and lay her on her back. The pair secured her appendages to four rings set in the floor using more chains and left her to recover.

"Damn! She's good," the lynx said as he lay the quirt back down. "I thought my arm was going to fall off whipping her.

"We'll leave her for now and start in again in a few hours. I have something special planned for her next session. Before that, I've got a little something else I want to do."

The civet dropped his pants. He had a huge erection. He knelt and drove it into Marla's pussy. The wolfess whimpered even in her unconscious state.

"Ha! Take this, bitch!" the lynx said just before he let loose his load in Marla's cunt.

The lynx stood and pulled up his pants.

"If you want her, take her. I'm not sure if there is going to be enough left of this high priced piece of pussy meat to screw much longer."

Both the mountain lion and the civet mounted Marla. They were not about to miss the opportunity to fuck a captive even if she had passed out and could not respond as they raped her.

Several hours later Marla gradually swam back to consciousness through the pain that racked her body. Her back, lower abdomen and legs cried out with pain from their abuse. Her shoulders screamed in pain though her arms seemed to be in their sockets with no permanent damage. She kept her eyes closed and listened. She could hear nothing, so she chanced cracking her right eye open just a hair.

The civet sat nearby on a chair watching her. He stood up and said, "Ah, you are back with us. The others will be pleased that we can continue our fun with you."

Marla groaned inwardly. She had lost whatever element of surprise she might have had. She also was no doubt going to be tortured severely again.

The civet left for a minute. When he returned, the three feline males surrounded Marla. The Government agents undid her chains and roughly pulled her up from the floor. Marla screamed at the unexpected pain from her back. During the time she had been unconscious, her back had started bleeding again. The dried blood had glued her to the concrete floor. Through the red haze of her pain, she could see parts of her pelt and flesh still lying on the floor as they dragged her weakened body back to the grate.

Marla was lain face down over the grate. Her nostrils were assaulted with the smell of her own blood and other things coming from beneath her. The lynx secured her wrists with a pair of leather cuffs joined by a single small link of chain. He twisted her paws around until her palms faced each other and then twined a small rope through her fingers and tied it off.

While the lynx bound Marla's paws, the civet attached leather cuffs to her ankles. A single large ring bound the two cuffs together and effectively hobbled Marla.

The mountain lion grabbed Marla under the arms and lifted her to a standing position. The civet activated an electric winch. A chain dropped down from the darkness near the ceiling. The lynx took the end and wrapped it around her arms just above her elbows. With each coil, he pulled it more and more painfully tight. He finished by securing the end to a link approximately halfway between her arms with a karabiner.

"Lift her," the lynx ordered the civet.

Marla heard the electric motor start. She was slowly pulled upwards until her feet left the floor again. Her shoulders screamed in pain as her arms were pulled backwards and upwards.

"Stop," the lynx ordered the civet.

The winch stopped. Marla had to watch as the mountain lion brought over a metal weight the size of a bowling ball. It had to be heavy because he grunted when he lifted it.

Using a hook and a short chain, the mountain lion attached the weight to the ring between Marla's legs. When he was done, he stood and gave a thumbs-up sign to the lynx.

"Continue," the lynx ordered the civet.

The winch motor came to life again. Marla's body was lifted. The slack came out of the chain attaching the weight to her ankle cuffs. The weight was dragged across the floor as Marla's body continued its journey upwards. She nearly passed out as the weight came free of the floor. It had to weigh at least forty pounds. It pulled painfully on her arms and body.

Several seconds must have passed with Marla not being aware of it. She came to some semblance of her senses to see the lynx walking back towards her. The last thing she remembered, he had been behind her. Now he carried a bamboo cane easily an inch in diameter and six feet long.

The lynx tapped the end of the cane on the concrete floor. It made a chilling sound.

"Wolf or you? Which is it going to be?" the lynx pressed her.

Marla remained silent. She refused to give this creature an answer.

After a few moments of silence, the lynx smiled. It was a cruel smile.

"Since you are not talking, it seems it will be you," he said.

The lynx reversed the cane and handed it to the mountain lion.

"Her ribs," was all the lynx said.

The mountain lion took up a stance in front of Marla. At first, she was uncertain what he would do to her, but she quickly learned. The mountain lion drew back the cane and brought it forward in a forehand motion that brought the end of the cane crashing down on her left uppermost rib. Even more pain coursed through her body. Her arms alternately screamed as she swung back and forth slightly from the blow.

The civet began asking questions again.

"Why did David Wolf pay the Praetorian Guard commanders to come to the party the night of the attack on his facilities?"

"Where are the missing furs from the dressmakers' shop?"

"What role does V&T Boutiques play in David Wolf's plans?"

The furs interrogating Marla were still asking questions that made her think they did not know the truth. They were getting closer to it, though. Any information she gave them could send them off in the right direction. If she could just hold out until she died, she might still be able to help her Master and alpha male against this tyrannical Government!

The mountain lion was not idle while the civet asked his questions. He waited thirty seconds after the first blow and then delivered a second blow. It landed one rib down. He continued to methodically work his way down her left side and back up her right. Each blow landed hard on a rib and brought more and more pain. She tried to deny these three the pleasure of her screams, but there was no way she could stop them this time. The torment was just too great. She was ashamed, but she cried out in pain nonetheless. Desperately, she thought of her pack mates and remembered why she was doing this. Mostly, she thought of Mike and how much she loved him. She would not let these evil monsters get their paws on him!

Twenty-four blows landed on Marla's sides. At some point, both her arms popped out of their sockets, which only added to Marla's anguish. The mountain lion cracked several of Marla's ribs, and she was certain that at least three of her right ribs were completely broken. She tried to jerk around to drive the ends of the broken ribs into her lung and kill herself, but she could not succeed. Each ragged breath was now pure hell. She was not sure how she managed not to pass out from the pain.

The lynx strode back over to Marla. Despite his earlier words, he was visibly angered.

"Why won't you talk!" he screamed just before he buried his right fist into her gut.

"Tell us what we want to know, and we will let you go!" he said, but Marla knew he lied.

Marla could only think of her pack mates. So long as she was keeping these three busy, they could not do anything to them. They would be spared the brutality to which she was being subjected. She was going to die, and this was a noble sacrifice to prevent their torture and deaths.

"Never!" Marla defiantly whispered. It was all she could do to draw breath to speak that small word.

"Damn you, bitch!" the lynx screamed. He raised his fist to strike again, but the civet grabbed his arm.

"Killing her serves no purpose," the civet reminded his leader. "Besides, we are far from done with her pain and may yet break her."

The cool, emotionless tone of the civet sent chills up and down Marla's spine. This one had no conscience or morals. She was certain he would torture and rape her just as an experiment to see what would make her hurt the most so he could use it on others.

The lynx was breathing hard, but he was also settling down quickly.

"You're right," the lynx said. "Take her down."

Marla was dropped to the floor. Her arms audibly popped back into her sockets from the blow of her body hitting the floor. She screamed and swooned on the verge of passing out.

"Not so tough after all, are you, bitch?" the lynx sneered. "That was the first little crack in your armor. Now we have even more things to open up that little chink and make you talk!"

Marla quailed. Could the lynx be right? Would she give up and talk? She steeled herself for more abuse and silently prayed that she would die soon to end her suffering. She wanted so badly to join her parents in death now.

Marla's wish was not granted. Instead, she was taken to a large table and secured face up on the top. Her arms and legs were tied to the heavy legs of the table. The mountain lion held her tail against her left leg as the civet tightly wrapped a rope around her leg and tail to secure it out of the way.

Marla was left on the table for some time while the three felines ate lunch. The smell of food and drink reminded her how long it had been since she had last eaten. She suspected it was an interrogation tactic as well to remind her of her need for food and water. At least between blood loss and lack of fluids, she had a chance of dying from dehydration soon.

After they ate, Marla's three feline torturers returned their attention to her.

The lynx said, "Since you did not tell us what we wanted to know yet, we will continue our questioning. A pity you are a Lupine rather than a Bovine. I particularly enjoy using the next little bit on them or lactating females."

Marla wrinkled her brow in confusion and tried to figure out what he meant.

The mountain lion disappeared into the shadows and returned a few moments later pushing a large wheeled contraption. The base consisted of a four-foot long stainless steel cart on large casters. The frame was almost three feet wide.

On the handle was an elaborate control panel with several buttons, switches and dials. At the handle end were two large orange mechanical vacuum pumps. Each pump was attached by a clear, thick-walled tube to the top of a large, clear collection bottle. Each jar was over a foot in diameter and nearly two feet tall.

The collection bottles each had a second clear hose coming out of the sealed top. The hoses were about ten feet long and ended at a set of quick disconnects.

Along the side of the cart and on the end was a variety of clear implements. Most appeared to be some sort of cup with a soft plastic seal at the large open end and a quick disconnect in the closed end.

Marla had a bad feeling about this device.

The lynx told Marla, "I will give you another chance. If you tell us what we want to know, we will release you and send you back to the Academy for retraining following medical attention.

"If you continue to defy us, we will continue your interrogation until you break. We have left your breasts largely untouched until now, but we have plans for them.

"Painful plans!

"Talk now or we will continue your questioning under far more unpleasant circumstances."

Marla just glared at the lynx. The look of pure hatred was unmistakable.

The lynx turned to the civet and ordered him, "Prepare her."

The civet grabbed Marla's left breast by her nipple ring and turned it back and forth. Marla shivered as he clinically examined it. He disappeared behind Marla. He returned with an aerosol can. He sprayed the contents of the can on her breasts. It proved to be some sort of gel. Marla tensed as she expected the gel to sting or burn, but it did not. The civet worked the gel into her fur and vigorously massaged her breasts until the gel turned into a foam. Had it been Master David or Mike doing it, Marla might have enjoyed the experience, which made Marla all the more suspicious of his actions.

The civet selected a black pouch from the cart. He opened it and removed a straight edge razor. He grabbed her right tit ring and used it to lift her breast up. He carefully ran the razor along the underside of her breast. Her pelt fell away as the sharp steel ran over her flesh.

The civet continued around her right breast until all of her breast fur was gone. He moved the razor to her chest and carefully removed a ring of fur two fingerbreadths in width from around her right breast.

The civet repeated his work on her left breast.

The civet cleaned his razor and set it aside. He took a simple plastic bottle filled with a clear fluid from the cart. He applied a generous amount to his paws. Just before he wiped the fluid onto her bare breasts, Marla smelled the unmistakable scent of alcohol. She wanted to scream but managed to remained quiet as the alcohol found every small nick, scrape and scratch on her freshly shaven breasts.

"Her cunt and ass hole too," the lynx ordered the civet.

The civet nodded and picked up his tools again. He applied a generous amount of gel to her pussy. He worked it up the length of the crack of her ass as well. Marla held absolutely still as the civet used the razor to remove all the fur from her labia. He continued upwards to remove much of the fur on her lower abdomen as well. When he was done, all of her pubic hair was gone leaving behind only pink flesh.

The mountain lion and lynx released her legs. They bent her legs upwards until she was almost folded double and then spread them to fully expose her ass hole. She tried to fight but she was too weak. The pain from her cracked ribs also prevented her from doing much besides wriggle in their holds.

The civet applied another large dab of gel to her anal rose and surrounding fur. He worked it in and then removed the fur surrounding her pink orifice. While he worked, Marla wondered if Titania had felt as humiliated and degraded as Marla did right now when the tigress was shaven. It was so demeaning to feel her fur fall away and the flow of air over areas of her body that should be well furred.

The civet finished up with another generous application of raw alcohol to her shaved pussy and tail hole. Marla did not cry out, but her breathing quickened noticeably.

Marla's legs were tied back down with the ropes pulled painfully taut. The skin over her chest pressed against her sore ribs and inflamed that pain.

The civet selected two very large cylindrical cups joined by a Y-tube and attached them to a vacuum line. He opened a tube and applied a thin layer of vacuum grease to the edges of the soft plastic seal on the open end. When he was satisfied with his work, the civet handed the cups to the lynx.

"This," the lynx said as he pointed to the machine, "is an automated milking machine. Normally, it is used by bovines and others with large milk production capability to quickly and efficiently remove their milk from their mammary glands for storage and later use or just to relieve their discomfort when they are overproducing.

"When used like that, the machine is safe and harmless. It has been a major boon to working bovine mothers who can now get relief during the lunch hour and provide a snack for their newborn calves later in the day."

The lynx's muzzle curved into a cruel smile.

"Before the milkers were perfected, we found that there were a few users that experienced some discomfort, even outright pain while using them. We did some research and found out the reasons why.

"Then we modified a milker to deliberately inflict pain."

The lynx laughed cruelly.

"I still remember the first bovine we used it on. She thought it was nothing that could hurt her. Ten minutes later she was screaming in pain at the top of her lungs and answering every question we asked."

The lynx placed the large cups over Marla's breasts and pressed the open ends against the bare flesh of her chest.

"Turn on the machine, minimal power," the lynx ordered the mountain lion.

The mountain lion flipped a switch and one pump came to life. He adjusted a dial on the control panel. Marla felt a gentle pull on her breasts. The lynx let go of the cups, and they remained secured to her chest by the light vacuum within.

"Muzzle her!" the lynx commanded.

The mountain lion picked up a muzzle from a nearby table and placed it on Marla's face. Marla tried to bite his paws, but he was too fast and agile. She missed him, and he had little trouble getting the muzzle onto her. He secured it with a wide leather strap that wrapped behind her head. The muzzle had rings on either side and at the tip.

Marla tested the muzzle. She could still open her mouth about half an inch. It would be enough to talk or scream. It was not enough to bite one of her captors, though.

Next, the mountain lion placed a leather belt with several rings around her waist. He cinched it painfully tight before buckling it in place. He tied a short length of rope to the ring on the tip of the muzzle. He ran the other end of the rope through the front ring in the belt and pulled on it until Marla was compelled to bend her head down against her chest. Two more ropes were run from the rings on either side of her muzzle to rings on the side of the belt.

Tentatively, Marla tried to shift her head. The ropes prevented her from moving more than a fraction of an inch. She would be forced to look down at her breasts throughout the entire torture. No doubt, that was meant to be part of her torment as well.

"We are not in a hurry," the lynx commented idly. "Set the unit to ramp up to full power over three hours and then remain on for an additional hour with an increasing portion of the cycles at full vacuum. If we don't get milk out of her we should at least get a good amount of blood."

The mountain lion adjusted the controls. He flipped a switch, and the control program took over.

Marla felt a gentle increase in the tug on her breast. It ramped up slowly and then released quickly back to just a light grasp on her bare flesh.

Marla waited.

The cycle repeated with just a hint stronger pull on her flesh during the second cycle.

"Add some random spikes to the suction program so she knows what is to come," the lynx ordered the mountain lion. The mountain lion made some adjustments, but nothing happened immediately. The gentle sucking on her breasts followed by a near total release continued unabated, but each cycle was growing slightly stronger. With her abused ribs, Marla was certain it would only be a matter of time before it started to hurt.

It must have been almost an hour before the first spike occurred. Suddenly the vacuum pump kicked on full. Marla's breasts were sucked halfway up into the cups. She could feel the flesh of her chest being stretched. Her cracked and broken ribs screamed in agony. She gritted her teeth and nearly passed out. The suction continued for many seconds before it was released, and her breasts slid backwards as the vacuum decreased. She lay on the table panting from the sudden pain.

"Ah, I see we got a bit of a rise out of you that time!" the lynx said in a cheerful voice. It was obvious that the sadistic feline enjoyed watching her physical distress.

The suction continued to grow during the next hour, and her torment began in earnest. Each time the cycle began, she gritted her teeth as the air was pulled out of the cups around her breasts. Her fleshy mounds would flow up into the cup after the departing air. She could see her skin turn first pink and then a persistent shade of light red. Worse, the suction would pull on her skin and tighten it around her battered ribs. After each cycle, her chest skin was just a little bit tighter.

The questions began again somewhere around the end of the second hour. The civet spoke in a calm, unhurried voice, but the questions became much more direct.

"What illegal activities are David Wolf engaged in?"

"Why is David Wolf committing treason against the Government of Elysium?"

"Where did the wolf Valencia and the fox Todd flee?"

"How does Kayla move information around for the abolitionists?"

"Why is David Wolf suddenly selling so many companies?"

"What is your Master doing with all the money he is raising?"

"Why is most of the money going off planet?"

"Who are the real leaders of the Reds?"

"What is the relationship between David Wolf and the space pirates?"

"What you heard of The Black Fleet, The Brethren or the Blues from your Master?"

Marla was secretly glad she knew virtually none of the answers. Still, in the current circumstances, she had little doubt even her small amount of knowledge would result in dire consequences for Master David as well as many others. Worse, these questions were getting closer to what Marla knew was the truth of her Master's involvement in certain affairs. If she told these furs about those things, they would be able to arrest Master David and bring him to one of their interrogation chambers. She steeled herself against the steadily increasing pain and hoped that she would be able to hold out until death finally took her.

At the end of the third hour, the torture machine was at full power. Every two minutes it would slowly pull a strong vacuum on her tits. She watched as her breasts were pulled deep into the cups. Her nipples would extend as if someone had hooked them with fishhooks and pulled until they struck the far end of the cup.

If Marla had the misfortune of having the tip of her nipple block the hole, just the tip would receive the final bit of suction. The tips were drawn up into the tube until the nipple rings struck the hard plastic. The vacuum continued to pull, and the flesh of her nipples was slowly cut by the metal of her nipple rings.

Marla's breasts were an angry dark red now. The capillaries underneath must be bursting one by one as the milker pulled hard on her flesh. Areas were turning splotchy blue. Her breasts were never fully released, so her ribs hurt even more as her skin was pulled tauter and tauter over them. Marla was having trouble catching her breath from the pain and inability to draw a deep breath.

And still the questions continued.

"Why were the electronics factories destroyed?"

"Where are the Wolf Enterprise employees that spaced but never reached their destinations?"

"When will the next attack occur?"

"Will the Academy be attacked to free the slaves and kill the instructors?"

Marla's ears perked up at the last question, and she smiled. She knew from Kayla that Master David hated the Academy. He might just take revenge against them for what they did to Marla and particularly Kayla.

Her brief thought of revenge passed quickly. Master David would not have risked a direct assault on the Government at this point and would be unable to do anything now that he was on the run.

Marla's reaction was noted by the civet, though.

"She had a positive reaction to the last question," he stated flatly.

"Call the Academy and warn them to go on a heightened security state!" the lynx screamed at the mountain lion. "They could be attacked at any time!"

Marla pretended to be crestfallen as the mountain lion ran away. With any luck, she had at least gained the unwilling students a day or two of reprieve as the guards and instructors prepared for an assault that was never coming.

Marla was not sure how long it took her to begin to bleed in earnest. The tips of her nipples had been repeatedly trapped and sucked upon harshly. Finally, the abused skin could not stand it anymore and let loose with a thin drizzle of blood. Marla watched as the red fluid moved down the clear tubes and into the collection jar. The lynx just laughed. Even the civet seemed pleased.

The questions continued, but Marla barely paid attention to them any longer. Each cycle was getting longer, and the time it took to reach full vacuum was shorter. Her breasts were being pulled deeper and deeper into the cups. More and more of her veins just below her skin ruptured and oozed blood out into her dermis. Marla's breath was reduced to painful gasps as the iron grip on her chest and ribs inexorably tightened.

The clinic nanobots had done an excellent job repairing Marla's body, but there were still subtle flaws remaining that could give way under extreme duress. One was the remnant of a scar bestowed to the wolfess by a patron of the bordello who enjoyed whipping femfur's breasts with a steel tipped cat-of-nine-tails. Unable to sustain the suction and buildup of blood, the skin tore open. Blood spurted forth and flowed down the tubes.

Her torturers watched her bleeding with feral grins. They were enjoying the sight of the bright red blood dripping into the jar.

"No milk, but plenty of blood, just as I predicted!" crowed the lynx.

"What do you say to that, bitch?" the lynx sneered.

Even if she wanted to reply, Marla could not have said anything. Her world was rapidly turning black. She wondered if it was the lack of air, pain or blood loss. Regardless, she could feel consciousness rapidly slipping away. The civet saw her problem and broke an ampoule of smelling salts under her nose. That caused her to sneeze, but had little other effect. Marla just hoped as she fell into the blackness that she her time had finally arrived. Her last conscious thought was that she had at least managed not to betray her pack mates.

"She is not responding," the civet said. Fir the first time there was a hint of concern in his voice. He knew what would happen to the three of them if Marla died without telling them everything that she knew.

"Damn! Turn off that thing," the lynx ordered the mountain lion.

The milker was turned off, and Marla's abused tits released. The civet removed the cups and sprayed her profusely bleeding flesh with the first aid spray. Even passed out Marla sighed with the cessation of pain it brought.

"Is she going to live?" the mountain lion asked worriedly. He still had nightmares from their last punishment for losing a prisoner before getting everything from them. This wolfess was much more valuable than the echidna.

The civet examined Marla.

"If we give her an IV to rehydrate and fix her wounds so she does not lose more blood, she should be okay after some rest. I recommend we put some sedatives in the drip to keep her under for about twelve hours."

"I want her back faster!" the lynx demanded.

"She is not going to live if we continue sooner. Do you want to explain that to the Chief? He told us to just hold her until he got here. You overstepped your authority when you decided to start the interrogation."

The lynx recoiled at the mention of their commander, but he was not going to back down.

"If we have the information we need before the Chief shows up it will not matter what our orders were! We'll move up the ladder, and the Chief won't be able to stop us."

"Yes, and that is why we agreed to this," the civet replied.

"However, this wolfess is proving much tougher than you anticipated. I warned you that an Academy trained sex slave would be no pushover. We also know the extreme loyalty of Wolf's furs. Combined, they make her a tough nut to crack.

"We will have to step back, allow her to recover partially, and pursue less destructive means for the short term if we are to succeed.

"The Chief is not likely to be here for another day. A twelve-hour delay to prevent her from dying before we can resume questioning is not going to prevent us from learning the information in time. Waking her immediately and killing her with more torture will."

The lynx was visibly angry, but he said through gritted teeth, "Begin treating her."

Marla was placed on a thin, hard mat on the floor. The civet inserted a needle into her left arm and began an IV drip from two large bags. The IV drip contained not only saline solution and sedatives but also glucose, minerals and other badly needed substances for Marla's ravaged body. Her biological systems put every bit to work as they sought to repair her badly broken body. It was insufficient for recovery, but her body did manage to keep her alive.

Twelve hours later, the civet removed the IV needle from Marla. He administered a shot to her left arm that counteracted the sedatives. She did not wake up fast enough for the lynx. He stomped her right paw with the heel of his right boot. Marla woke to the pain of several of the bones in her paw breaking.

"Time for some more fun!" the lynx told Marla with a large smile as she tried to deal with the new pain. She was certain that he had something particularly cruel planned for her.

Marla was surprised when the trio allowed her use of a toilet. They even sprayed her hurting flesh with more of the strange aerosol. There was no breakfast for her. Instead, they led her back to the main torture area and a waiting slant rack.

The rack was tilted at about a ten-degree angle. They tightly secured her wrists to the top of the rack with ropes. Leather bands were wrapped around her forearms and biceps to imprison her. A large strap was secured just beneath her breasts. Her legs were pulled open and cuffs attached to her ankles. Unlike those around her wrists, these cuffs each had a cable that disappeared into holes in the rack. The length was far too short for her to deliver an effective kick to her captors, but that did not stop Marla from trying.

The lynx appeared beside her head. He seemed to be in a much better mood. Marla suspected that boded ill for her.

"One of the advantages of working for the Government is we have access to information from other Government agencies. We went back to your Academy training records and found so many interesting things there. I must say, the instructors are expert at inflicting punishment while still producing a salable product. We also retrieved all the records of your friend Kayla.

"I noticed that both of you attempted to escape along with two other slaves. You both received two weeks of punishment for that. The otteress seemed to get the worse of the deal since she was already showing abhorrent behavior in leading the attempt instead of accepting her fate to be a sex slave. You had a very interesting punishment, though."

A chill ran through Marla. She remembered the two weeks vividly.

The lynx leaned in and said, "We have no restraints placed upon us to produce a viable trained sex slave that can be sold to some rich fur at a profit, so we can 'improve' on the punishment they chose for you."

The lynx turned away and yelled at his companions, "Prepare her!"

The civet moved in. With clinical detachment, he inserted a catheter into Marla's urethra. She could feel is slide up into her bladder. He secured the catheter in place using its large bulge and two pieces of surgical tape. Her shaved labia ensured a secure fastening to her body.

Next, he brought out something that looked like a balloon on the end of a long flexible steel straw. He spread Marla's labia and inserted it into her vagina. He kept pushing it deeper and deeper into Marla. Marla could feel the cold steel slide deep in her womb. The civet only stopped when he felt the tip push against the top of her womb. He withdrew the contraption about four inches and secured it in place with more surgical tape.

Finally, the civet inserted a large inflatable butt plug into Marla's ass. He gave it a few quick pumps to ensure it was well lodged in her rectum. Going through the center of the plug was a plastic tube. Marla had seen a hole in the tip. It was not hard to guess that they planned to pass something through the plug into her rectum and colon.

The mountain lion appeared with a cart. On the cart sides were a gas cylinder and two medical hanger stands as well as two small pumps, an electronic regulator and monitoring equipment. The hanger stands had three large bags. Marla estimated the small one was two liters and the two large ones four liters each. The mountain lion placed the cart and the hanger stands at the foot of the slant rack where Marla could see it easily.

The civet ran tubing from the outlet of one of the pumps to her catheter. He attached the inlet of the pump to the small bag. The two large bags were joined together with a Y-fitting. From there a large tube was run to the second pump. The outlet of the second pump was attached to the enema butt plug in Marla's ass.

Finally, the civet attached the end of the steel straw in Marla's pussy to a tube running back to a complex pressure regulator. He attached the inlet to the regulator to the gas cylinder.

During her punishment for attempting to escape the Academy, the instructors had used a catheter and an enema to fill her insides slowly throughout each day with a variety of solutions that caused her insides varying degrees of distress. The mild ones had made her innards itch. The worst ones had her doubled over in pain as cramps and worst racked her body. They had used only half of the volume of fluid now hung above her. She had no idea what these sadist had in the bags or what the strange object was that they had inserted into her womb.

The lynx reappeared in Marla's sight.

"I am sure," he began, "that you remember the fourteen fun days you spent at the Punishment Wall. Well, we have added a few 'improvements' to what they did to you then for your... 'pleasure'."

The lynx tapped the bags.

"As you can see, we have doubled the fluid we will force into your bladder and large intestine. What you cannot see is what is inside here. Instead of just soap and such, we have added very powerful pepper oils, ginger extract and other strong irritants to the saline solution. It is a highly irritating mixture that will cause severe reactions when it reaches your innermost flesh."

The lynx pointed at the pressure regulator.

"This was my idea, and one that I am quite proud of. I was so happy when our machine shop could get this ready in time for us. Inside your hot little cunt is a surgical balloon. It can be inflated and deflated by this regulator. I imagine it will be most uncomfortable when fully inflated even without anything else inside of you. However, when your innards are filled with this irritating solution, the effect should be positively painful.

"Of course, it would be unfair to not let you have a chance to seek relief, so we have setup a simple device to measure how far your feet are above the rack. If you lift your feet about one foot off the rack, you can keep the balloon deflated. The closer your legs to the table, the more it inflates until it becomes fully inflated when your feet touch the rack. The cables will ensure you do not have the opportunity to kick about wildly as I am sure you will soon wish to do.

"We will continue this torture until you tell us everything we want to know about David Wolf and his illegal activity."

The lynx paused a moment and looked down at Marla.

"If you tell us what we want to know now, we will be merciful."

The lynx paused dramatically before adding, "We may even still give you your freedom if you tell us what we need to know."

"Go to Hell!" Marla spat back at the cat.

"I was so hoping you would say that," the lynx purred. He flipped switches on the pumps and regulator. The mountain lion opened the valves on the bags.

The balloon in Marla's womb instantly inflated. She could see her lower stomach expand as if she was six months pregnant, and her entire lower abdomen hurt. She quickly lifted her legs off the table. The balloon deflated quickly.

Marla could hear the gentle gurgle of fluid flowing down through the tubes. Seconds passed like hours as the tubes from the bags were filled. Once the fluid made it down to the pumps, the pumps began to slowly inject it into the tubes leading to Marla. She tried to remain calm and concentrate on her need to protect her pack mates, but the slow torture of waiting for the physical torment to begin was nerve wracking.

When the first spurt of fluid entered Marla's rectum she screamed and arched her back in pain. It felt as if acid had been injected into her bottom. The pepper oil and other irritants ripped into the sensitive inner lining of her intestine and instantly inflamed it. To compound her problem, the balloon in her womb inflated and pressed hard against her bladder and intestines.

Her three tormentors just laughed at her pain.

Marla quickly regained her wits. She was panting to help cope with the pain. She raised her legs back up and relieved what discomfort she could. Tears were welling up in her eyes from the pain in her rectum, but she could do nothing but endure it as more of the fluid was pumped into her anal cavity in small spurts.

In her pain, Marla had temporarily forgotten about the catheter in her urethra. She was rudely reminded of its presence as the first bits of pepper oil solution entered her bladder and mixed with the urine within. The irritants were diluted, but they were also dispersed throughout her entire bladder. The pain was not as intense as in her ass, but it grew slowly worse as more and more solution was pumped into her bladder and the concentration of the pepper oil and other irritants increased.

Marla gritted her teeth and bore the increasing pain in her lower regions as best she could. Her three tormentors dimmed the rest of the lights until only a single spotlight shown down on her from above.

The upside-down silhouette of the civet appeared above her head.

"The pain will only grow worse as the torture progresses. Soon you will start to experience cramps on top of the other pain. Your bladder will become increasingly inflamed and painful. The pepper oil will move up your rectum and into your colon. It will take a couple of hours to fill you completely, but we have time to wait for that. When that happens, your entire large intestine and even the lower portion of your small intestine will be screaming in pain.

"It is best to simply tell us what we want to know. When you do, the pain will stop. If you do not, the pain will continue indefinitely. At some point, the damage to your insides will become severe, and you will begin to experience internal bleeding and other problems. The problems will continue to mount until they become life threatening."

Marla was actually glad to hear the last. It meant two things. The trio was getting desperate and needed her to talk for some reason, and her ordeal was almost over. All she had to do was hold out for a few more hours, and she would find the solace of death.

"What is the relationship between David Wolf and the Reds?"

Between gritted teeth, she told the civet, "Fuck you!"

"Actually," the civet informed Marla in an n emotionless voice, "I plan to do that to you a bit later before we pack you off to the Academy.

"If there is anything left of you when we are done."

The civet continued in a detached voice, "During the next hour or so the liquids will fill you and the pressure will build. Soon you will also begin to experience cramps in your legs from keeping them elevated. That will force you to drop them. As you do the balloon within your womb will inflate and press against both your bowels and your bladder. There will also be cramps in your innards as the fluid and pepper oil do their work.

"Initially this will just be uncomfortable, but later as a few liters of solution are pumped into you it will take on a much more serious consequence. You see, it will start to build pressure within you to the point where one or more of your internal organs may rupture.

"My guess is the pressure on your bladder combined with the destruction of your bladder's inner lining will cause it to rupture. That will result in the interior of your body cavity being sprayed with a combination of urine and pepper oil. The pepper oil should have a most interesting immediate effect, but the infection caused by your own urine over the next few days will be what ultimately kills you.

"That is, if you survive that long."

The lynx grabbed Marla's muzzle and pulled her head around so she had to face him.

"So tell us what involvement David Wolf has with these abolitionists!"

"Never!" Marla yelled back in his face.

The lynx turned to the mountain lion and told him, "Increase the flow rate ten percent."

Marla lay trapped on the slant rack as her bladder and bowels slowly filled with the irritating fluid. She would glance down every so often at her belly. Each time she could see it growing just a little more as milliliter after milliliter of fluid was pumped into her. She tried unsuccessfully to use her vaginal and anal muscles to dislodge the tubes inserted into her, but they were too large and her inner skin was too irritated to allow her to succeed.

As her innards were filled Marla's three torturers took turns asking her questions and berating her for her silence. The civet was almost emotionless as he asked her for facts about Valentia and Todd, the raids on the electronics plants and other activities.

The lynx was surly and emotional, almost scaring her with the intensity of his hatred for abolitionists in general and her Master in particular. He took to striking her breasts when she failed to respond to his questions. What treatment she had received was soon undone, and both breasts started bleeding again.

The mountain lion just asked her the same question over and over in a dull voice.

"Why won't you tell us what we want to know?"

Marla fought against the pain in her legs. Keeping them raised was hard even if she had been through similar tortures before. Her recent training with Sensei Tenchi unexpectedly came in useful. He had given her exercises that strengthened the muscle groups she was using now. Still, the pain was growing, and it was only a matter of a time before the rising tide of general pain in her abdomen was joined by muscle cramps.

The bags were half-empty when the internal cramps started. There had been a few random shots of pain as her colon was filled, but these were different. Marla's insides contracted uncontrollably and racked her body with pain. Her stomach muscles rippled as the first real cramps struck and her legs fell. The balloon instantly inflated fully. It felt as if someone had punched her stomach but from within rather than without. Involuntarily she cried out in pain and quickly lifted her legs back up.

Her tormentors just laughed. They could see her pain. Her cries told them that she was weakening. They began to anticipate success. Grimly Marla redoubled her efforts. She only had a couple of more hours of life. She was not going to give into these thugs!

Marla's legs began to cramp a short time later. Her legs dropped, and the balloon inside of her womb expanded. She fought to get her legs back up, but each time she held them just a bit lower, and the balloon stayed a little bit more inflated. It started to press against the walls of her womb and added to her discomfort.

Sometime later the lynx became impatient. He took a small squirt bottle from the cart.

"Hold her eyes open," he ordered the civet.

Marla felt her right eyelids pulled apart. She tried to close them, but his grip was too good. She saw the end of the bottle come near and squirt something into her right eye.

Marla screamed as the pepper solution struck her eye. The pain grew as the solution worked its way all the way into the back of her eye socket. Her vision blurred.

"Now the other eye."

The procedure was repeated. Marla screamed again despite her best efforts not to do so. This time the lynx used the opportunity to squirt a large dose of pepper oil into her mouth. Her mouth and a few seconds later her throat felt as if they were on fire.

Finally, the lynx placed the end of the squirt bottle into her nostrils and sprayed oil into her nose. Her sinus membranes were instantly inflamed. She gasped for breath. Her lungs were on fire, and she could not seem to draw enough air into them.

"That should make things more interesting!" the lynx said smugly. Marla was just glad to see him replace the bottle on the cart. She was not sure she could take more of the spray.

The questioning took on an even harder tone. She tried to block out the pain and the strange fullness she felt within her body as the pumps continued to fill her even more. She balled her paws into fists and hoped that she would pass out from the pain soon. She did not, though. Instead, the interrogation just continued on and on endlessly.

On the physical level, Marla fought hard to maintain her legs up, but she was losing. Her legs fell more and more frequently. Her legs were strong, but they were cramping along their entire length now. When they did the only way to relieve the pain was to drop her legs, but even a slight drop brought about a painful reminder of the intruder lodged deep in her uterus. All she could do was hang on and hope for an end. As the torture wore on, she lost control and cried out several times despite her resolve to remain silent at any cost.

On the emotional and mental level, Marla remained determined to keep her silence regardless of the cost to her. She had to believe in her heart that Master David, Kayla and the rest of her loved ones and friends were safely away by now. If she could just hold out there was a good chance that their trails would be so well covered that there would be no chance for the Government to find them.

Marla also did not want to return to the Academy and slavery after tasting the sweetness of freedom and love again. That alone was ample reason for her to seek death over the alternatives. It hardened her resolve even as she felt her entire large intestine catch fire from within as the pepper oil moved inexorably upwards.

Marla was not sure how long the interrogation lasted, but at some point, the bags were totally emptied within her. Her stomach was grossly distended as if she were ready to whelp a litter of a dozen pups. She tried valiantly to raise her legs, but she was barely able to lift them an inch let alone a full foot. She lay on the rack quivering from the pain that ran through her entire body. Her vision was blurred, and her ears were filled with the sound of her rapidly pounding heart. She could barely draw breath into her broken and battered chest.

It would not be much longer before Marla died.

She was panting hard and barely conscious, but two thoughts kept running through her mind. She had won the battle, and her pack mates and others were closer to freedom and safety. It made it all worthwhile to her. Soon she would find out if there was a Heaven or not. If there was, she would soon be seeing her parents.

"Release her!" a new voice said somewhere beyond the light.

Marla thought she had imagined the voice, but the three males whirled to stare at someone. Weakly Marla turned her head to the right to see who had joined them.

A large Kodiak bear strode into the light. He wore a business suit, but his attitude and carriage screamed Government policefur.

"Chief!" the lynx said. "We didn't expect you-"

The bear brought the backhanded slap up from somewhere near his feet. It caught the lynx on the left side of his face and lifted him two feet in the air before sending him flying several feet.

"Do you have any idea what you have done?!" the bear screamed at the lynx.

"Wolf has spent the last two days filling the media with allegations of another terrorist attack aimed directly at him. He claims that the Government is unable to protect him and his property from attack.

"What is more, the populace believes him!

"All because you had to disobey my direct orders and first attack the designers and then the slaves."

There was a moment of shocked silence as the three felines stared at the bear.

"What is happening outside, Chief?" the civet asked.

"You three have caused a great deal of trouble for the Government. You were just supposed to arrest the dressmaker. We had enough evidence to justify her detention. After we got her into our paws, we could have easily secured a 'confession'.

"After you botched that job you went on to kill several furs unnecessarily. The media has been harping on the 'criminals', 'terrorists' and 'murderers' that were trying to kidnap or kill Wolf. If someone of his stature is not safe, how can anyone else be? The Blues and Reds are playing it up on both sides - fear of mindless killing sprees to inflame passion against terrorists and lack of Government protection to vilify us.

"Wolf is helping them as well. He has been on the Net and media constantly."

Marla's ears perked up at the mention of her alpha male's name. Apparently, he had not gone to ground after all. She was not sure if she was glad or angry. If he was still in public when she broke, he would be an easy target for the Government to reach.

"He has been decrying the attack and demanding to know why the Government cannot find the murderers of four innocent furs. Publicly he has offered one million credits to anyone who gives him information on who did the killing.

"Privately he is said to be offering ten million credits for the heads of any fur involved in the attack and a bonus of one hundred million credits if they bring his slave back alive."

Marla's jaw dropped.

One hundred million credits for my return? Marla thought in astonishment. Her eyes misted over in tears as she realized how much she had to mean to her pack mate. She knew he could afford it, but still it was a strong statement of her worth to him and likely Kayla.

"Over the past two days the Government has been furiously defending itself and seeking to find the 'terrorists' while doing our damndest to find and protect you.

"So right now you are very, very valuable to everyone out looking for you and a total embarrassment to the Government. I had to do a lot of fast talking to convince the Cabinet not to have you summarily executed or placed into the worst possible slavery they could find. I told them that your stroke of genius in grabbing the wolf bitch would give us the information we need to bring our mysterious Mr. Wolf to justice or at least an interrogation chamber."

The mountain lion and civet shot vengeful looks at the lynx as he lay recovering from the bear's blow. His eyes were a bit glazed, but the gist of the bear's words seemed to have gotten through to him. He looked extremely afraid.

The bear strode over to where the lynx still lay in a heap.

"I am damned tempted to turn you over to Wolf myself for this fiasco!" he screamed down at the lynx.

With visible difficulty, the bear collected himself. He turned to the civet and asked, "Has she talked yet?"

"No, Chief."

The bear walked over to Marla and looked her over carefully.

"She looks like fresh ground hamburger. I'm surprised she is still alive."

"She is a trained sex slave and quite tough," the civet replied defensively.

The bear put his fingers on Marla's jugular vein. He felt her rapid, thready pulse and skipped beats of her heart.

"Maybe, but she is almost dead too. I'm sure shock has started to set in while you were not monitoring her vital signs.

"I figured you would be too stupid to wait for me, so I took the precaution of bringing along the best medical treatment I could. Be glad I did. If she had died you would have followed her shortly thereafter, and your death would not have been nearly as pleasant or easy as hers."

The bear turned to the civet and mountain lion and said, "Drain her and bring her back here. There are several items in the shipping crates I brought with me. I'll conduct her interrogation from now on.

"While you are doing that, I want to talk to your 'commander' in private."

The bear grabbed the lynx by the scruff of his neck and led him off to the office. The door closed behind the pair with a click. Moment later the sound of the lock being thrown could be heard.

"Damn, we are in some really deep shit now!" the civet exclaimed.

"What should we do," the mountain lion asked.

"The smart thing would probably be suicide or running off-planet as fast as possible.

"Short of that, we do what the Chief ordered."

Marla was disconnected from the tubes. The balloon was deflated which brought the wolfess immense relief. The catheter and butt plug remained in her, though. The mountain lion undid her bonds and picked her up. He carried her over to the grate again and held her standing above it.

The civet adjusted something on the butt plug and suddenly Marla felt a gush of fluid exiting her tail hole. She could hear and feel several liters draining rapidly from her abused rear. A moment later, the catheter was yanked out of her urethra. Marla let loose with a long, hard stream of urine. She yelped as it burned like acid as she pissed it out, but she kept urinating until all of the fluid was gone. Her insides still burned from the residual fluid, but that pain was slowly lessening.

The mountain lion took Marla back to the slant rack. They tied her back down. The bear and lynx took several minutes to return. When they did, the bear was considerably more collected. The lynx, though, had two black eyes and a broken lip. His clothes were disorganized, and he walked with the hip roll that Marla had come to associate with a male being butt fucked hard. Apparently, the bear had expressed his dissatisfaction with the lynx in a very personal, direct manner. Vindictively Marla hoped he had a really, really large cock. From the cowed and scared look on the lynx's face, she suspected more would come later, probably for all three males.

The mountain lion had brought four large reusable shipping containers to the slant rack while the bear and lynx were away and the civet guarded Marla. The large black plastic cases boded ill for Marla.

The bear pointed to two of the boxes.

"Open those two and get out the contents."

The bear glared at the lynx.

"Fortunately I figured out what you would be doing while we searched for you and came prepared."

The first case contained a large syringe and two bags of brown fluid. The second contained two more bags of brown fluid and a compact medical stand for hanging the bags.

"Get the bags started. Put one in each of her arms and legs. Use a push to get them started."

The other furs obeyed the bear. The bear took out the syringe and held it up to Marla.

"You should be happy to know that this comes from Wolf Medical Laboratories. It is the newest military medical technology. This contains billions of nanobots geared to fixing severe battlefield injuries. The brown stuff is an organic goo filled with everything they need to do their work. They can repair virtually anything short of a dead body when they work right.

"It is highly experimental, and many patients have had... 'problems', but nearly half have been saved in our extensive testing in our interrogation facilities."

Marla shivered. The nanobots she had been given at the clinic had fixed her well. If these were as effective as the bear was saying she suspected that the poor prisoners' bodies were horribly broken and then repaired repeatedly until even the nanobots could no longer fix them. It must have been horrible.

Now Marla was about to experience the same.

The wolfess wondered if there was any way to avoid breaking. She could not see any. If there were no limits to what the bear and others could do to her, then they would eventually crack her will. She would likely lose her sanity from the cycles of extreme abuse and curing.

It was not a pleasant prospect at all.

The bear injected the contents of the syringe into Marla's right inner thigh. He emptied the contents into the major vein running up her trunk. She could swear she felt the swarm of microscopic robots fan out into her body. The other three furs pumped the contents of the bags into her arms and legs by squeezing the bags. The organic syrup flowed into her blood and dispersed throughout her body. The nanobots grabbed onto it and used it to quickly and efficiently repair the worst of her wounds. Marla could actually feel them working as the pain passed into a dull throbbing.

When the bags were emptied the bear had them removed. He inspected Marla's bonds carefully.

"Good," he pronounced.

"Now open the other two cases."

The civet and mountain lion opened the cases. Inside one was a control panel with a silhouette of the naked body of a fur and a touch screen. It was not turned on, so she was not sure what it did.

The other case revealed a large collection of wires and harnesses. Each wire ended in a small pad. The civet carefully unpacked it. He appeared to know what it was. His gleeful grin caused Marla to quake.

"This," the bear said with a wave in the general direction of the new instrument of torture, "is a mobile pain inducer."

Marla visibly recoiled.

Trouble had made the mistake of breaking free of her bonds by accident one night during training at the Academy. They had taken her away and used a pain inducer on her. The devious device activated the nerves that registered pain. It caused no physical damage, but the unfortunate fur felt anything from a dull ache to the extreme pain associated with bodily dismemberment. The cheetah femfur had returned nearly broken from the pain, and she had told the Academy interrogators nothing but the full truth while trying to hide nothing. They had eventually believed her and sent her back for more training.

Marla vividly remembered Trouble whimpering at night for weeks after her single session. Her nights were filled with nightmares of reliving the half-hour she spent gripped in the artificial pain of the hellish device. She had no illusions about what was to come or that she would soon crack under this torture. She would not even have much chance for death to protect her pack mates.

"Setup the equipment," the bear ordered.

The civet assembled the control panel and stand beside the slant rack. The mountain lion and lynx laid out the wires on the rack beside Marla. They plugged the harnesses into cables leading to the controls as well.

Marla sucked up her courage and resolve. She pursed her lips and waited. She would be broken, but she would not make their job easy.

As they worked, the bear asked, "Why the hell did you turn off your alarms? I walked right in here without encountering one single operating alarm system. It was foolish of you to only rely on the secrecy of this place."

The other three furs stopped their work and looked at each other in obvious confusion.

"We didn't turn off the alarms," the lynx replied in a puzzled voice.

"Well, then who did?" the bear asked with some heat.

"That would be me," a voce Marla had never expected to hear again said from the shadows.

Master David strode into the light.

Marla knew she was hallucinating. The pain and abuse had just been too much. Perhaps this was the last gasp of her dying body as oxygen deprivation took hold. Surely, her Master and alpha male could not be here to save her, alone and unarmed?

Master David strode to the foot of the slant rack. He faced down the four Government furs. His eyes flashed in anger, but his stance was easy as he stared down the four males gathered near the head of the slant rack.

"Well, well, well!" the bear said as he moved to the right side of the slant rack. "It is the Great Mysterious Mister David Wolf."

The bear's tone was sarcastic, but Marla could hear just a hint of doubt and fear underneath the bear's bravado. She also saw his eyes darting about.

"I had not thought to see you for a few more days at least.

"To what do we owe this unexpected visit? Have you decided to turn yourself in and confess to all of your crimes? It would be convenient since we have everything we need here to help you remember all your misdeeds.

"In excruciating detail."

The threat was clear.

"You will not be torturing Marla or anyone else again," Master David calmly informed the four furs in a soft, steely voice.

"Ever."

There was a note of finality in Master David's voice that chilled even Marla. She had no idea what her Master was capable of doing when provoked, but one did not become the richest fur on a planet where murder and slavery were accepted business practices without a certain amount of ruthlessness when needed.

"Oh, really?" the bear asked. "Will you, perhaps, stop us?"

The bear started to reach into his suit.

"Master David, run!" Marla screamed as she valiantly tried to break free. She could tell the bear was going for a weapon.

A dozen small red dots appeared over the head and chest of the bear and other Government furs. Seeing them, the bear froze.

"Do you really think I would come alone?" Master David asked contemptuously.

A dozen furs in stealth suits appeared behind the four male furs. The quickly wrestled the four to the ground. They stripped and bound them. Several times the lynx cried out in pain as his captors tightened his bonds tight enough to dig into his flesh and draw blood. The rest fared little better. Apparently, all four furs were well known to Marla's rescuers, and they were exacting a bit of vengeance even from the simple act of binding them.

Marla barely got a chance to see what was happening before Master David was tearing at her bonds to free her. More gentle paws appeared to help. Soon she was free.

Master David took Marla into his arms. She looked up at him. She could not help but smile at him uncontrollably. Her vision blurred as she felt tears of joy burst from her eyes. Her pain disappeared for the moment as she felt her Master hold her. Wet drops fell on her chest as Master David openly cried in joy at finding her alive.

"You came for me," Marla said with a note of wonder in her voice.

"Of course we did, Marla. What did you think we would do?" Master David asked.

"I thought you would do the smart thing and leave the planet as fast as possible and leave me behind," she replied. "That's why I was so determined not to break even if it meant my death. I wanted to give you and Kayla as much time as possible."

"Never!" Master David insisted. "We would have been here sooner, but we could not find you until the Director of Homeplanet Intelligence came here. We followed him."

Master David hugged Marla fiercely. It was a testament to the nanobots that his hug only hurt rather than sent her into unconsciousness.

"It was our only lead to where you were. We were searching everywhere, but we couldn't find you anywhere."

"Master David, Kayla...?" Marla asked. She had to know if it had all been worth it.

"She made it out safely. She was not happy about it because she felt she should have stayed with you, but she is safe and sound."

"It was my job to save her," Marla explained. She was still gladdened to hear that Kayla had wanted to stay with her even knowing the likely consequences.

"I know. Tenchi spent a very long time explaining it to her. It did not make her happy, but she does understand even if she does not like it."

One of the black clad furs accompanying Master David appeared on his right and said, "You have to go, Sir. Take her and leave."

"Yes, you are right," Master David replied. He turned his head and looked at the four now naked and bound furs. "First though..."

Master David placed Marla back on the rack and half turned. He had pure murder in his eyes. It was a side of him Marla had not seen before.

The black clad fur grabbed Master David in a tight bear hug to stop him.

"No, sir! Leave them to us."

"I have nothing against dirtying my paws with their blood," Master David said angrily. "They deserve it after all they have done to me and mine!"

The unknown fur released Master David and removed his helmet. Marla found herself looking up into the face of an elderly buck deer.

"We know, Sir. That's why we volunteered to come. But it is more important for you to get out of here now."

Marla could see the taut muscles throughout Master David's body. He was obviously extremely upset. Fortunately, he was not irrational.

"You are right," the black wolf replied with a sigh. Marla saw the tension leave his body.

Master David picked up Marla. He turned and walked past the buck. He began to examine Marla's wounds.

"Kill them, destroy the facility, and get out as quickly as you can. We will meet you at the assembly point."

In a quiet voice the buck replied, "No, Sir."

Master David was so intent on Marla that he took three steps before the buck's words registered. He stopped suddenly and turned.

"What?!"

Marla could hear the total shock in his voice. She was surprised as well that the buck would disobey a direct order like this.

"No, Sir. We are not leaving."

"I gave you an order..." Master David said with some heat.

"Yes, Sir, and it is perhaps the hardest thing we have ever had to do to disobey you. But we must.

"We have the Director of Homeplanet Intelligence in our grasp. He should know where most of the missing furs are. If not, he knows who the secret agents who work for him are. If you can know who they are, you can find the missing furs through them. These lackeys helped him throughout his career. They know a lot as well.

"We have everything we need to extract the information we want from them. We cannot allow this golden opportunity to slip through our paws!

"You were too preoccupied with Marla's fate to realize who came with you. We are all older furs near the ends of our lives or those who have given up on life and only live for revenge. We will stay here and extract what information these furs have."

Master David stared at the buck. It was obvious that he was upset.

"And after you have the information?" he asked in a tight voice. "You could leave here and escape through the sewers or by other means."

"The Elysium Government will no doubt send agents to find out what has happened here when they become aware of the breach in their secrecy. It will be an excellent opportunity to kill many of them.

"We have made a pact. We are not leaving here. We are staying to get the information you and the others need to find their loved ones. Then we are staying to kill as many Homeplanet Intelligence and Security furs as we can before we blow this place sky high.

"It is suicide," Master David told the buck.

"Yes, but our deaths will serve the greater good and hopefully lead to a free Elysium where our grandfawns do not have to fear for their lives and freedom because of a corrupt a Government.

"We know that our loved ones are long since dead and cannot be brought back. We might be able to bring them some small comfort by avenging their deaths, but we mostly want to do this for those whose loved ones may still be alive and savable. If we can get the information on where they are and what happened to them, you and the others may be able to save them."

"We made our peace with the knowledge of our impending deaths before we volunteered.

"It is not as terrible a thing as you might think. We have little if anything to live for beyond our cause and revenge. This will benefit both.

"Go now. Your other mate is waiting. She needs you as well as this mate."

Master David stared at the buck. Marla was certain that he was going to fight. She knew how much he valued the lives of those he led.

Instead, Master David sighed and turned away. In a small voice he said, "Good luck. Get out if you can. We will be waiting for you at the emergency rendezvous' points."

Master David walked away from the buck and other furs. Marla was shocked.

"Master...?"

"It is, in the end, their choice," Master David replied in a strained voice. Marla could tell that he was not happy with his decision to leave, but he felt it was the right choice. The impending deaths of his furs did not sit well with him, though.

"I should have realized what was happening," he mused in a regretful tone, "when so many of the older furs volunteered for the mission. All of them have lost entire families to the Government. I was too concerned about you to think about them. I just let Tenchi pick who came."

Marla said nothing more. The nanobots were good, but the agony in her severely tortured body was still great. Each step sent a jolt of pain through her body despite Master David's best efforts to be gentle. She gritted her teeth and did her best to endure it without passing out. It was certainly far better than what she had expected up to a few minutes ago.

On the outside, the interrogation center appeared to be just another ordinary, nondescript warehouse. Parked beside it in the alley was a very modern, deadly looking armored military transport. Master David walked up the open back ramp and into the main cabin.

"Close up!" he ordered somefur.

The back ramp quickly lifted and closed with a very solid thunk. Lights came on. Marla blinked several times in the sudden brightness.

"Marla!" Kayla yelled.

Kayla grabbed Marla in a bear hug. Kisses mixed with tears of joy and sorrow rained down on the wolfess' face. Master David took her to the front of the cabin and deposited Marla on a waiting medical table.

"Oh, gods!" Marla heard Mike say. She turned her head to see her lover slouching against the wall of the transport. His face had a decidedly greenish tinge to it. As Marla watched, his paw came up to his muzzle. It looked like he was about to hurl at the sight of her abused body. Marla could empathize with him. She was not too happy about her current condition either.

"Mike!" Master David said sharply. "If you are going to barf, grab a bag and do it! Then get over here and help us. Marla needs you!"

Master David's words seemed to steady Mike. He did not take his eyes off Marla or advance, but he did stand up straight.

"Take care of her as best you can," Master David told Kayla. Marla noted that his voice was still tight with pent up emotions.

Kayla went to work. Through her tears, she quickly and efficiently noted the many injuries Marla had suffered. She pumped the wolfess full of more nanobots. She added fluids and nutrients to combat dehydration and other problems. Marla was particularly appreciative of the strong painkiller that the otteress injected. Marla could barely feel her body, but the pain was at least gone for the moment.

While Kayla worked on Marla, Master David turned to Zubin who stood in the door to the cockpit of the transport.

"Get us out of here," he ordered the wolverine. The wolf's tone conveyed his inner rage.

Zubin licked his lips nervously several times, but he did as ordered. He closed the door to the cockpit and secured it. A moment later, the transport gave a small shudder and took off.

Master David turned to look at the liger standing in the corner of the main cabin.

"You knew!" Master David screamed at Tenchi. It was probably the most anger that Marla had ever seen the black wolf display.

Without a word, Sensei Tenchi drew his sword. He went down on his knees before the enraged wolf and lifted it up on upraised palms.

"Yes, I knew. I also know the consequences of my actions. A large number of furs will die tonight because I did not say no when they asked me to allow this.

"If you wish my life, you have it. You have always been a friend to my family, even when we had no others. You are my lord, and I mean that in the old manner. I have deceived you, and for that, I am dishonored.

"But know that I believe in what is being done, and I had planned to stay as well. I was dissuaded only by the strong arguments that you will need me in the times to come, my sacrifice here would be of only marginal value and my parents may still live. That is no excuse for my actions, though.

"I offer up my life in sacrifice for my dishonor."

Through the haze of the drugs, Marla could see Sensei Tenchi crying. It was obvious that the deceit of Master David had hurt him greatly. She watched the furious wolf standing above the kneeling liger and glaring down at him.

Master David turned away. His face softened. In a hushed voice, he said, "Put that sword away. I may be angry because of the impending deaths of our people, but I am not an idiot. Had they asked, I might well have approved their actions and yours with the exception of the mass suicide."

"I tried to arrange an escape for them, but they refused. They have taken a suicide pact. None of them will leave there alive. Untilt he last one dies, they will fight and kill the Government agents that come to take them."

Master David's eyes were closed, but Marla could see the tears flowing down around his muzzle and dripping on the floor. He stood there for several seconds.

"Then I guess there is nothing more we can do for them," Master David said in a choked voice.

"Which means we must see to the living who still need us," Master David finished.

While Master David wrestled with his inner demons, Marla looked back at Mike. He had not moved from his spot nor taken his eyes off her. It was obvious that he was shaken and scared to see her like this. He still looked close to vomiting.

Marla raised her right paw and crooked a finger at Mike. A look of astonishment came to his face. For some reason he did not seem to believe that she would want him beside her. She repeated the motion with her index finger. Reluctantly, Mike slowly walked the short distance to the medical table. He stood beside her right shoulder, staring down at her. His mouth moved several times as he tried to form words, but nothing came out.

Marla reached up and grabbed his collar in her right paw. With strength that surprised even her, she pulled his head down to hers. He half opened his muzzle in surprise. Whatever he might have said was silenced by Marla locking her muzzle onto his and kissing him long and deep. Whatever the nanobots and painkillers were doing must have been working exceptionally well, because Marla's impish nature reasserted itself. She drove her tongue into Mike's mouth and played with his for several seconds.

After s short time, Marla released Mike. He propped himself up on the table edge and stared down at her in amazement. She grinned up at the young male wolf and asked, "You didn't think you were going to get rid of me that easily, did you?"

Mike broke down crying. Sobs wracked his body. Marla managed to work her arm abound his shoulders and pull him down to her bosom to comfort him. Kayla continued to work on Marla around Mike.

"Oh, Marla!" Mike got out around his crying. "We thought we were never going to see you alive again! When the limo took off, we tried to turn it around and go back for you. Neither of us wanted to leave you!"

"Shhh," Marla said gently into Mike's left ear. "I know."

Mike lifted his head and looked at Marla. He asked, "Why did you do it? Why did you send us away?"

"Because I had to. It was the only way for you to escape." Marla replied as she stroked the back of his head and thought how good he looked even when he was distraught. She had given up hope of ever seeing him again, but now he was here with her. A strange happiness that had nothing to do with the drugs suffused her being. She knew that she would not be leaving Mike again.

"But we didn't want to escape! Not without you!" Mike protested.

Marla was a bit surprised to hear Kayla make a very affirmative noise. She looked up at the otteress and saw that she was not happy about escaping while leaving Marla behind to this fate. Marla knew her well enough to know that Kayla would have preferred to stay and share her fate than abandon the wolfess. It was one og the reasons that the wolfess loved the otteress so much.

Marla said to both of her pack mates, "It was my choice. One life lost for two saved. If you had stayed, we all would have been captured or killed. I love both of you too much to have you die with me when I could prevent it.

"Don't blame yourselves. Blame me."

"I'll never blame you for anything!" Mike said before he collapsed onto Marla. She could feel his entire body shaking as he broke down crying.

"I second that," Kayla added as she finished her work. Marla looked up at her. The otteress was not crying, but Marla could clearly see her anger at escaping and leaving Marla to a terrible fate.

Kayla saw Marla looking at her and added almost fiercely, "We are in this together. Next time, we all get out together, or we all stay together."

"You came for me and rescued me," Marla pointed out. "If you had been captured, that would not have happened, and all three of us would have been tortured with Mike and probably me killed."

"Irrelevant!" Kayla replied irrationally. Marla could tell that her friend and pack mate was not going to listen to logic. It warmed Marla's heart to know that she would have gladly stayed and been subjected to the torture that Marla had endured rather than abandon the wolfess. She had never doubted Kayla's love, but there had been some lingering abandonment issues hiding in the darkest recesses of her mind. They were destroyed once and for all by the angry look on Kayla's face.

Master David and Sensei Tenchi joined the three furs. They gathered around Marla and looked her over. She smiled up at them wanly. She still hurt too much to do much more for them. Mike lying on her broken ribs did not help a lot either. As much as she loved him, she had to shift him more to her right shoulder to ease the pain and make it easier to breathe.

Master David looked at Kayla and asked in a very concerned voice, "How is she doing?"

"Badly, but not as bad as I feared.

"She has broken ribs, multiple lacerations, severe interior inflammations, internal bleeding, organ damage and a lot of other lesser problems. She is in shock though not as badly as I would have expected given the severity of the injuries. I think the nanobots are preventing her body from shutting down. It helps that she has experience with this type of abuse."

Kayla paused a moment. Marla guessed she was thinking about all the times they had both been tortured at the Academy. For Marla, the abuse had continued, and she had grown tolerant of pain though she never enjoyed it. Perversely, her prior abuse had probably saved Marla's life.

"I cannot help much beyond what I am doing now. I only have emergency med-tech training. Marla needs serious help in a full-fledged Level I trauma center, and she needs it now. We cannot wait to sneak her in."

"In that case," the wolf replied, "we will have to knock in the front door rather than creep in the back door."

Master David thought for a moment before punching in a com unit code in a nearby secure communicator. A few seconds later the head of a bear appeared in the view screen. Marla recognized him as the doctor who examined her at the clinic just after Master David had bought her.

Without preamble, Master David told the bear, "We have Lady Marla. She has been tortured and needs immediate trauma care."

"We will prepare for your arrival," the bear doctor replied. "Can you transmit her scans to us?"

"On it!" Kayla chirped.

Master David continued, "We cannot bring her directly to you. There are other things happening that make it imperative that I not be seen with Marla right now.

"I will arrange for her to be dropped off at your main entrance. She will need a team to transport her into the clinic to be standing by but not appear unreasonably soon. Otherwise, we will raise suspicions when the authorities review the security tapes."

"We will be waiting for her," the bear said before terminating the call.

"Now to arrange Marla's delivery to the clinic," Master David said.

"I'll do it," Mike said unexpectedly. "I want to take her, to do something for her."

Master David looked down at the younger wolf. The conflict was clearly visible in his eyes,

"No," Master David told Mike gently. "You cannot take her."

"Why?" Mike asked angrily. He stood and for the first time that Marla had ever seen confronted Master David muzzle to muzzle.

"She's hurt and needs immediate treatment. I can get her there quickly-" Mike yelled.

"And be arrested in less than an hour after you are identified," Master David interrupted. "At that point, all of us will be implicated in what is happening at the interrogation facility. That will be enough to get us arrested and sent to even more secure facilities for interrogation. All of us will be tortured like Marla and worse.

"Is that what you want, Mike?" Master David asked in a gentle but cutting voice.

Mike stood with his paws balled into fists. Marla almost expected him to take a swing at Master David. She and the others waited as the angry young wolf stared down the calm older wolf.

Mike broke eye contact and turned his head away. Marla saw his tail curl downward thoudf it did not slip between his legs. He looked at the floor and muttered, "No."

Master David put a paw on Mike's shoulder and said mildly, "I want to take her myself, but I know that, as much as it hurts, I cannot. We have to get her there by other means. We cannot be linked to her rescue yet. The Government is just waiting for us to make the slightest mistake. We cannot hand them our heads on a silver platter. Too many furs are depending upon us.

"I know two furs in desperate need of getting off=planet quickly. They are only staying here because I helped them. They will take Marla, deliver her safely, and then disappear. Their known association with terrorists will focus the investigation on the Blues and Reds, not us."

Marla interrupted Master David and said, "They know that you have something to do with those groups. They asked me about them and how you were connected to them. They also seemed to think you had something to do with the attack on your factories."

"I am not surprised," Master David said. "These things can only be hidden so long. Still, we will keep up the charade a bit longer to try to confuse the issue and keep us alive and free above ground a bit longer. I still have some things that I want to accomplish before we go into hiding."

Master David turned back to Mike and asked, "Are we agreed? Do we send Marla to the clinic by other means and join her there later tonight?"

Mike could not meet anyone's eyes. Dejectedly, he mumbled, "Yeah."

Master David gave the younger wolf a quick hug that surprised Mike.

"This revolution is not going to be easy. We are going to have to do a lot of things that are hard for us. We will surely see more things like tonight - tortured and perhaps killed friends, desperate suicide stands and more.

"You are growing up and learning the hard way the price of rebellion against a corrupt and cruel government, but you are also learning to make the hard decisions and make the right choices. I think Canaria Pack will be very proud of you."

Mike straightened at the name of his pack. He seemed to draw some inner strength from Master David's praise as well. He said, "I still don't like it!"

Mike turned away from Master David and took Marla's right paw in his. He looked down at her. She could see a strength and resolve behind his eyes that had not been there before. He clearly loved her and wanted to protect her, regardless of the cost to him. Marla smiled up at him. They locked eyes. Neither said another word, but there was no need to speak.

Master David punched in another com unit code. This time a young male otter appeared on the view screen.

"It's time," Master David told the otter.

The otter's face grew blanched, but he replied, "Where do you want us to meet you?"

"Assembly point Able Baker Tango. Bring your minivan and nothing else except what you are wearing. Blow up the house to confuse the police and divert attention,"

Master David turned off the communicator. For the rest of the trip, he and the others hovered over Marla. Marla could tell that all were distraught over her condition and what she had been forced to endure. She wanted to thank them for coming for her when the smart thing to do was to leave her and go into hiding. She wanted to comfort them and tell them that she was feeling better, but the nanobots and drugs were pushing her closer and closer to unconsciousness. It was all she could do to keep awake and bask in the love of her mates and Sensei.

Sometime later, the transport stopped. The ramp went down. From what Marla could see through the open door, the transport was inside of a small, dark garage. Outside, Zubin was standing with a rather large laser rifle. He looked at Tenchi in surprise.

"I didn't know if you were going to make it or not," Zubin commented. For one of the few times since she had met the wolverine his carefree, almost disrespectful attitude was gone. He was obviously concerned for his friend.

"Lord David has forgiven me for my deception," Sensei Tenchi replied as he exited the transport.

Zubin looked at Master David. He wet his lips again.

"And me?" the wolverine asked nervously. Marla was surprised to hear fear lurking in his tone.

"I'm not happy about what happened," Master David growled as a hint of his prior anger returned briefly, "but I am willing to forgive you. Just tell me before the next time a group of our furs decides to commit suicidal acts in our name so that I can try to stop them."

Zubin nodded affirmatively once. Even in her drug-induced stupor, Marla realized that Zubin and her Master were both expecting more such actions in the future. It brought home the high stakes of the game that they were playing every bit as much as the attack at Valentia's studio had.

Briefly, Marla wondered how the third pair of her pack mates was doing. She at least had good reason to believe that they had escaped. She just hoped that they would be able to remain free and leave Elysium or go into hiding.

The garage door opened and a small, rusted, older minivan appeared. Inside was a pair of young otters, probably in their late teens. Marla had the impression that they were mated from the way they acted as they walked into the transport holding paws. There was also fear that went well beyond the present situation in their eyes and in their body language. At the same time, there was a strong resolve in their steps. They were committed to what they were doing.

Master David greeted the pair with a hug and then introduced them to Marla.

"These are Martin and Sheila. They will be taking you to the clinic. We will see you there later. It is not what any of us want to do, but it is necessary, Marla. Please forgive us for abandoning you again so soon after your rescue, but it is the only way to get you the treatment you need."

Marla could hear the anguish in her pack mate's voice. It was obvious he did not want to send her away again, but Marla realized the need.

"It's okay," Marla said quietly. "I know what you are doing and why."

Marla let go of Mike's paw and stroked his forearm.

"I know that you want to come with me," Marla said to Mike, "but Master David is right. You need to let me go for now."

With a smile, Marla added, "Don't worry. You'll be seeing me again soon.

"I'm not letting you get away from me that easily!"

Mike looked shocked for a moment, but then his face broke out into a huge grin. He leaned in and kissed Marla tenderly.

"I'll be with you as soon as I can," Mike told Marla. "And you won't have to hunt me down to find me."

"Good!' Marla replied jovially. 'Because if I do, you are going to find out just how much I bite when I'm tied to you the next time I seduce and rape you!"

With the exception of Martin and Sheila, the assembled furs laughed. Mike blushed a bit, but Marla also saw a slightly speculative look in his eyes. She gave him a jaunty wink before turning to the young otters.

"I'm all yours. Let's get moving before the pain killers wear off and I can feel things again," Marla told the youngsters.

"We'll be with you as soon as we can," Kayla assured Marla as they moved the wolfess to the minivan.

"I know," Marla replied. The effort pretty much used up the last of her energy.

Master David instructed Martin and Sheila, "Take her to the clinic. When you get there, roll her out the side door and leave her on the sidewalk outside the main entrance. Don't stop so that it will be harder to ID you.

"Then get out of there as fast as you can. Go to the spaceport and take the first ship out regardless of where it is going so long as it is out of the Elysium system. Don't look back."

Master David took Martin and Sheila in his arms and hugged them again. Marla realized that, whatever their relationship was to Master David, these two were very special to him.

"The Government will be going after all of my former slaves soon. You will be some of the first they try to catch if they identify you tonight. We'll give you as long a headstart as we can, but it might be close."

"It's okay, Master David," Sheila said. "We want to do this."

Marla caught the young otteress' quick look at Martin. It was obvious that they were in love and that, so long as she was with her mate, she would be happy.

"You gave me back my mate and our lives. Taking a small chance like this is the least we can do to repay you."

Zubin appeared beside Master David and said, "The minivan ID systems and plates are taken care of."

"Go in peace, then," Master David said quietly. Marla noted that he handed Martin a credit stick. They would likely have enough funds for a good start off world if they made it that far.

Sensei Tenchi and Zubin loaded Marla into the minivan through the side door. She lay on her side just inside the door, ready to be pushed out of the vehicle as it sped by the clinic.

Zubin reiterated Master David's orders to the pair of otters.

"When you get to the clinic, don't stop. Just open the door and push her out when you slow down. The doctors and nurses can take care of her. She won't feel any pain with all the drugs in her," the wolverine said gruffly.

Marla had to agree with Zubin. She felt like she was falling into a huge ball of cotton.

"Okay," Sheila said uncertainly.

"Now go!" Zubin ordered as he slammed the side door closed.

The minivan departed the garage. Marla could not see much from her position on the floor, but she could tell that it was night. The darkness enveloped the minivan and hopefully gave them some protection.

Sheila knelt beside Marla. She looked down at the wolfess in horror. Even in the darkness, she could see many of the signs of abuse. She could smell Marla's fresh blood seeping form her wounds as well.

"Oh, my god! Oh, my god!" the otteress said repeatedly under her breath.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Marla tried to reassure the young otteress. "I've been through worse."

That seemed to shock Sheila even more. Apparently, she was not used to the extreme abuses through which some owners put their slaves.

"Did- Did the government do this to you? Did they... torture you?" Sheila asked in a horrified voice.

Marla could not lie. She replied, "Yes."

The young otteress closed her eyes and cried.

"I can't let them do this to Martin!" Sheila said under her breath. Marla was not sure if Sheila meant for Marla to hear her or not. The wolfess did, and she raised a paw to comfort the youngster.

"Nothing is going to happen," Marla assured Sheila. "Master David will see to that. All you have to do is follow his orders, and everything will work out."

"Do you believe that? After all that you went through?" Sheila asked. Marla could hear the doubt in her voice and understood it.

"Yes, I do," the wolfess replied fervently. "We were caught by surprise. This time, Master David is in control. Do what he says, and you will be fine."

Several seconds passed before Sheila spoke again.

"Are you in much pain?" the otteress asked.

"No," Marla replied. She smiled and added, "I am on so many good drugs right now, and I can barely feel my body."

"You are bleeding, and I can see all sorts of... bad things," Sheila said.

"I know. The clinic doctors will take care of them," Marla replied.

"How bad are they? Your wounds?" Sheila asked.

"I'm not sure," Marla replied, "but the guys who did this were experts, and my pack mates were scared. My guess is that they are life threatening."

Several seconds of silence passed before Sheila turned to Martin and implored him, "Martin, step on it!"

"I can't," Martin replied in a strained voice. He could not see Marla, but he could smell her fresh blood. He had also overheard much of their conversation. "I have to remain inconspicuous until the last minute. That means obeying every traffic law and keeping to the speed limit."

"Martin, she's dying!" Sheila told him.

"No, she isn't, or Mister Wolf would have done something different like take her to the clinic directly. Instead he gave her to us to get to the clinic safely, and, damn it, that's what we are going to do!"

The ride continued for many more minutes. Sheila could do little more than hold Marla's paw and try to lessen the bumps and jostles. Marla for her part was so well drugged she felt little if anything now.

"Get ready!" Martin said from the front seat.

"Martin, when we get there, stop completely," Sheila ordered her mate.

"Sheila, we were told-," Martin started to argue.

"Do it!" Sheila screamed back at him. In a gentler voice, she added, "Please! Just do it. I don't know if she can survive being thrown from a moving vehicle."

"Alright," Martin agreed reluctantly. "But make sure you push her out hard. Part of our job is to make it look like her captors don't care about her anymore and are just dumping her to get rid of her before someone finds and kills them for the bounty."

"I will," Sheila assured him.

"Okay, get ready..." Martin said as he turned off the headlights.

"Get ready...

"Get ready...

"Open the door!" Martin yelled.

Sheila grabbed the door and yanked it open. The minivan's brakes slammed on. Marla felt webbed paws pressed against her back.

"I'm sorry," Sheila whispered into Marla's right ear just before she pushed her out the door.

Marla landed with a solid thud. As she rolled over, she got a brief look at the minivan before it roared off into the night. In the darkness, she could not see Sheila hidden in the shadows or Martin at the driver's wheel. She hoped that they would not be identified when the Elysium Government reviewed the clinic's security tapes, as they were certain to do.

Marla lay motionless on the hard concrete. Several seconds passed, but no fur appeared. Had something gone wrong? Her thoughts were answered a moment later when she heard the clang of a door being thrown open violently. A security fur appeared beside her. He started to yell for emergency help into him com unit. A few seconds later, more furs appeared. They were doctors and nurses called to attend to her. They lifted her up onto a gurney and took her inside. She felt the prick of needles as they gave her even more drugs to help her.

The clinic staff rushed Marla to an operating room. They quickly prepared her for surgery. While she waited, Marla could not help but think about what had happened.

Somehow, Marla had survived. Her pack mates had come to rescue her from the Government instead of deserting her as she had expected. She would recover and rejoin them. The fate of Valentia and Todd was still unknown, but she thought it was likely from the Government agent's conversation and questions that they had so far managed to evade capture.

As the doctors put her under, Marla's last conscious thoughts were of Mike. He was alive and would soon be joining her. The thought of him being with her again sent small shivers of anticipation up and down her spine that was only partially sexual. Despite all that had happened, she was happy to know that he was near. She concentrated upon the image of his face that she held so close to her as she lost consciousness.

The anesthesiologist dismissed the tears running down the wolfess' face as tears of pain. He was only partially right.