Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3
Part 4
The next exhibit was clearly set up as an audience participation event and I found myself drawn to it. Three women were suspended from spreader bars in front of a large black wall about six foot long and tall enough to hide everything but the chains that held the victims off the ground. It was the wall itself that seemed to call to me though. Up close it wasn't solid but seemed to be made of hundreds of thousands of small, blunt pins. The side closest to the women seemed to be vibrating, each individual pinhead moving so fast it seemed to blur. The other side, where the audience crowded for their chance to torment the captives was still and looked slightly softer somehow.
As I watched the men and women gathered around the wall pressed their hands into it, pushing the pins out on the victims side in the shape of their palms and fingers, grinning as they felt resistance from the supple flesh and heard the frantic laughter as the vibrations shot through the helpless bodies. I reached forward, one finger touching the wall gently followed by my whole hand. Something shot through me, a feeling of immense pleasure passing over my body. No wonder this was such a popular pastime, this side of the wall was a nerve screen, tapping directly into the pleasure centres of the mind to reward those that tickled the captives. Fearing the effects of even a short exposure to such a feeling I started pulling my hand back, only for a burst of light to explode behind my eyes leaving a bright afterglow dancing in my vision, a vague shape outlined there that didn't seem to fit with what was in front of me.
I moved back quickly, shaking my head to try and clear it. Watching others move away from the wall no-one else seemed to have the same reaction and I fought to remember exactly what I'd seen. Suddenly the lights in the club went out and I spun around, looking for the trouble I was sure was heading for me. It took me a moment to realise that the reason for the sudden darkness was a previously unlit dark mass in the centre of the room was now glowing as a dull red light spread over it. A blood red cover was pulled aside, revealing a torture frame that seemed to have been designed for a giant.
It was a square frame, with a circular track inside the square on which was mounted a seemingly endless array of feathers, brushes, vibrators and anything else that could tickle a victim. I couldn't work out the scale of the thing though, the circle had to be at least eight foot across, far too large to reach out and touch a victim suspended in the centre, the instruments would snarl on themselves if they tried to do that anyway. Not that I could see any way for any of them to move inwards. A single spotlight stabbed down to illuminate the frame in a harsh white light, and with a slight shudder the it split in two and hinged outwards like the jaws of a giant beast waiting to devour a sacrifice.
The light dimmed and went out, replaced by a set of four dark blue spots from the floor that raced upwards and settled on the ceiling. A low rumble spread through the club as the ceiling split in two, leaving a hole about ten foot square above the frame. The rumble increased as the lights dimmed down towards blackness and a huge wheel slowly descended from its hiding place. Supported by a large strut on either side like a giant bicycle wheel, it moved slowly but smoothly downwards, the long trip to the floor seeming to take forever. Finally there was a click that echoed throughout the now silent club as the wheel locked into place. The lights went out, then that single white spot shot out, illuminating a woman strapped to the side of the wheel, stretched out, naked and helpless. My heart missed a beat as I recognised her as the missing cop!
Her eyes were wide and flicking around the club, looking for a way out, for some way to get away. Her hair was matted together and her body shock seemingly uncontrollably as she lay against the wheel, her eyes taking in the instruments hanging from the frame in front of her. A second spotlight shone down on the stage, and into it walked the lady I'd seen running things the previous night. As I watched she stepped up to the microphone and launched into a speech.
“Ladies and gentleman, can I assume that you are enjoying yourselves tonight?” The crowd roared its approval.
“While I know some of you may not want to believe it, the powers that be seem to be taking exception to our perfectly legal pastime.” A general round of boos and hisses rang out at that. “Why, just three days ago we caught two agents of the law in here, trying to plant evidence that would have got us shut down as some sort of drugs warehouse.” Anger now, clear and loud from the crowd.
“And so my friends I present to you the Law.” Here a gesture at the captive policewoman, clearly terrified at what was going on. “For the last two nights we have been confirming that what we have told you tonight is true, and now it is time to send a message to those responsible for this act of aggression, this act of war.” The crowd were really getting fired up now as the framework started to close over the wheel behind the speaker.
“Tonight, we present a very special attraction as this collaborator, this despicable creature receives her punishment. Some of you have seen the wheel before, but tonight we present a very different application. Tonight this woman will be tickled to the edge of madness....” the crowd were in a frenzy now, shouting encouragement to this mesmerizing woman as the frame locked into place “.....and then she will be pushed over that edge.” The crowd screamed their approval and the wheel started to turn.
It was a slow rotation, maybe a complete circle every minute but it meant that every single weapon mounted to that framework touched that exposed body as it was moved past them. The laugher that exploded from her body was like nothing I'd ever heard, shrill, high pitched and with desperation ripping through it like a knife blade. As the wheel turned and the tickling increased the laughter seemed to increase in volume until I was convinced it had to be a recording as no human body should be able to make that sort of sound. But, as the wheel completed it's first revolution I realised I was wrong, and one look at her eyes made up my mind.
I walked forward to the leading edge of the crowd and looked up at the spectacle in front of me, evaluating the frame and wheel. The wheel itself looked pretty damn strong, with girders reinforcing the arms that held it all the way up to the ceiling and an enormous metal plate welded over the connecting mechanism, but the frame looked like normal steel and not particularly sturdy. A glance at the control panel showed a simple enough arrangement, a green button to start the mechanism and a red button to stop it. I forced myself to wait until her body was back on top of the wheel again and dove forward, past the two guards to the controls and punched the red button. From behind me I heard the woman yell “Kill him!” and I spun, bringing my right foot up as I did so to catch the nearest guard square in the head with a picture perfect kick. Grabbing his gun from his hand I landed hard on my side, brought the gun up and dropped the other guard with a single shot to the head.
At the sound of the gunshot the confident attitude of the crowd dissolved and they started stampeding for the exits. Satisfied that I wouldn't catch an innocent in a crossfire, and that Tim would soon know there was trouble and to bring the cavalry I turned my attention back to the matter in hand. I climbed the frame to about the halfway point and then slipped between the steel girders. Putting my back up against one half of the frame, my feet against the other I pushed with everything I had. Gradually the frame split apart until there was a four foot gap at the top, more than enough to get the victim out. I clambered up and dropped down, quickly untying the rope that held her to the wheel. Whatever training the police had given her, it was obviously working, as she scrambled up to her knees, still trembling and gasping for breath as I pulled myself up to the top of the frame before reaching down and yanking her after me.
From behind me I heard the double doors slam open and a single pair of boots pound into the club. Not stopping to look I scooped her up in my arms and jumped down to the ground. As I landed, my right foot hit something wet and slippery and I felt my leg fold under me. I let her down as gently as I could and once again the training took over as she rolled under the bulk of the frame and wheel for cover. I went the other way, wanting to draw any potential fire away from her and testing the leg. It could support me, but I wasn't going to be doing anything too energetic for a while.
Looking round I saw one man, presumably the guard from the hidden post in the entrance corridor bringing his pistol up towards me. I moved right, then dove left, trying to protect my leg as best I could. His first and second shots went were he was expecting me to be, and I made damn sure he never got time for a third. I got back to my feet and looked around, only to see my mystery woman standing by a back door and grinning at me. She waved and slipped out of the club as the front doors burst open to cries of 'Police!'. I made my decision and ran as fast as I could towards the back of the club. As I reached the door I heard my backup enter the main room and took the time to point to where the victim was hiding before heading through the door.
I found myself in an alley and saw my target getting into a large black BMW at the far end. The car was facing me and I realised that the only way out of here was through me. The car jerked forward as the driver pushed the accelerator all the way to the floor, clearly intending to turn me into roadkill. I stood my ground and tried to concentrate on my timing. Just as I could see the whites of the drivers eyes through the windscreen I jumped upwards, twisting as I did so to land face down on the roof, hands scrabbling for some sort of purchase on the slick metal. Somehow I found a handhold and gripped as hard as I could as the car swung out onto the main road doing at least forty miles per hour.
Suddenly the metal underneath me seemed to explode upwards, something huge and hard hitting me in the chest and tearing me loose from my grip on the car. I flew off the roof and had barely a second to see the motorbike I was heading towards before I hit the rider.
I landed in a heap on the ground and stayed there for a second as I tried to catch my breath and checking nothing was broken. Groaning I got to my feet, a quick glance all I needed to know that the bike rider I'd hit was dead. I saw the BMW turning right at the end of the road and reached down for the still running bike. I'd managed to avoid the machine itself and it seemed to be in good condition. Yanking it upright I swung a leg over and headed off after the escaping BMW.
For the first few streets I was going on glances of the car, trusting to luck more than anything else as I dove in and out of traffic, gaining little by little on the speeding car. The problem was that while the bike was faster and could fit through gaps they couldn't the car could simply barge other road users out of the way. Still by the time we reached the river I was barely fifty yards behind and closing faster now. Suddenly the car swung hard right and tapped the rear of a Ford Transit van, slewing it round and into the line of cars alongside it. In less than a second there was a perfect roadblock ahead of me, and there was no way through.
Leaning the bike hard over to the right I ran alongside the impromptu roadblock and shot down one of the back roads that littered this part of London. A few more twists and turns had me in an alley so tight sparks were flying from both ends of the handlebars as I tried not to breathe so as not to move the bike. I came out the other end touching seventy and saw the BMW on the bridge, heading towards one of the dockside ports. Swearing under my breath I wound the throttle back to the stop as I tried to close the distance, but it was too late. By the time I got there the car had disappeared, lost in the maze of warehouses covering that area. The only saving grace was there was only one way in or out of there, and that was the road I was currently rolling down.
I pulled the bike up and slipped it into the shadows, pocketing the key in case I needed it later. As the adrenaline wore off I felt the faint buzz on the back of my neck that meant someone was using the implanted organic tracking beacon to zero in on me. A quick glance at the complex before me was all I needed to know that if I was ever going to find my target in that lot, I was going to need some help, and I settled back to wait for the cavalry.
Part 4
The next exhibit was clearly set up as an audience participation event and I found myself drawn to it. Three women were suspended from spreader bars in front of a large black wall about six foot long and tall enough to hide everything but the chains that held the victims off the ground. It was the wall itself that seemed to call to me though. Up close it wasn't solid but seemed to be made of hundreds of thousands of small, blunt pins. The side closest to the women seemed to be vibrating, each individual pinhead moving so fast it seemed to blur. The other side, where the audience crowded for their chance to torment the captives was still and looked slightly softer somehow.
As I watched the men and women gathered around the wall pressed their hands into it, pushing the pins out on the victims side in the shape of their palms and fingers, grinning as they felt resistance from the supple flesh and heard the frantic laughter as the vibrations shot through the helpless bodies. I reached forward, one finger touching the wall gently followed by my whole hand. Something shot through me, a feeling of immense pleasure passing over my body. No wonder this was such a popular pastime, this side of the wall was a nerve screen, tapping directly into the pleasure centres of the mind to reward those that tickled the captives. Fearing the effects of even a short exposure to such a feeling I started pulling my hand back, only for a burst of light to explode behind my eyes leaving a bright afterglow dancing in my vision, a vague shape outlined there that didn't seem to fit with what was in front of me.
I moved back quickly, shaking my head to try and clear it. Watching others move away from the wall no-one else seemed to have the same reaction and I fought to remember exactly what I'd seen. Suddenly the lights in the club went out and I spun around, looking for the trouble I was sure was heading for me. It took me a moment to realise that the reason for the sudden darkness was a previously unlit dark mass in the centre of the room was now glowing as a dull red light spread over it. A blood red cover was pulled aside, revealing a torture frame that seemed to have been designed for a giant.
It was a square frame, with a circular track inside the square on which was mounted a seemingly endless array of feathers, brushes, vibrators and anything else that could tickle a victim. I couldn't work out the scale of the thing though, the circle had to be at least eight foot across, far too large to reach out and touch a victim suspended in the centre, the instruments would snarl on themselves if they tried to do that anyway. Not that I could see any way for any of them to move inwards. A single spotlight stabbed down to illuminate the frame in a harsh white light, and with a slight shudder the it split in two and hinged outwards like the jaws of a giant beast waiting to devour a sacrifice.
The light dimmed and went out, replaced by a set of four dark blue spots from the floor that raced upwards and settled on the ceiling. A low rumble spread through the club as the ceiling split in two, leaving a hole about ten foot square above the frame. The rumble increased as the lights dimmed down towards blackness and a huge wheel slowly descended from its hiding place. Supported by a large strut on either side like a giant bicycle wheel, it moved slowly but smoothly downwards, the long trip to the floor seeming to take forever. Finally there was a click that echoed throughout the now silent club as the wheel locked into place. The lights went out, then that single white spot shot out, illuminating a woman strapped to the side of the wheel, stretched out, naked and helpless. My heart missed a beat as I recognised her as the missing cop!
Her eyes were wide and flicking around the club, looking for a way out, for some way to get away. Her hair was matted together and her body shock seemingly uncontrollably as she lay against the wheel, her eyes taking in the instruments hanging from the frame in front of her. A second spotlight shone down on the stage, and into it walked the lady I'd seen running things the previous night. As I watched she stepped up to the microphone and launched into a speech.
“Ladies and gentleman, can I assume that you are enjoying yourselves tonight?” The crowd roared its approval.
“While I know some of you may not want to believe it, the powers that be seem to be taking exception to our perfectly legal pastime.” A general round of boos and hisses rang out at that. “Why, just three days ago we caught two agents of the law in here, trying to plant evidence that would have got us shut down as some sort of drugs warehouse.” Anger now, clear and loud from the crowd.
“And so my friends I present to you the Law.” Here a gesture at the captive policewoman, clearly terrified at what was going on. “For the last two nights we have been confirming that what we have told you tonight is true, and now it is time to send a message to those responsible for this act of aggression, this act of war.” The crowd were really getting fired up now as the framework started to close over the wheel behind the speaker.
“Tonight, we present a very special attraction as this collaborator, this despicable creature receives her punishment. Some of you have seen the wheel before, but tonight we present a very different application. Tonight this woman will be tickled to the edge of madness....” the crowd were in a frenzy now, shouting encouragement to this mesmerizing woman as the frame locked into place “.....and then she will be pushed over that edge.” The crowd screamed their approval and the wheel started to turn.
It was a slow rotation, maybe a complete circle every minute but it meant that every single weapon mounted to that framework touched that exposed body as it was moved past them. The laugher that exploded from her body was like nothing I'd ever heard, shrill, high pitched and with desperation ripping through it like a knife blade. As the wheel turned and the tickling increased the laughter seemed to increase in volume until I was convinced it had to be a recording as no human body should be able to make that sort of sound. But, as the wheel completed it's first revolution I realised I was wrong, and one look at her eyes made up my mind.
I walked forward to the leading edge of the crowd and looked up at the spectacle in front of me, evaluating the frame and wheel. The wheel itself looked pretty damn strong, with girders reinforcing the arms that held it all the way up to the ceiling and an enormous metal plate welded over the connecting mechanism, but the frame looked like normal steel and not particularly sturdy. A glance at the control panel showed a simple enough arrangement, a green button to start the mechanism and a red button to stop it. I forced myself to wait until her body was back on top of the wheel again and dove forward, past the two guards to the controls and punched the red button. From behind me I heard the woman yell “Kill him!” and I spun, bringing my right foot up as I did so to catch the nearest guard square in the head with a picture perfect kick. Grabbing his gun from his hand I landed hard on my side, brought the gun up and dropped the other guard with a single shot to the head.
At the sound of the gunshot the confident attitude of the crowd dissolved and they started stampeding for the exits. Satisfied that I wouldn't catch an innocent in a crossfire, and that Tim would soon know there was trouble and to bring the cavalry I turned my attention back to the matter in hand. I climbed the frame to about the halfway point and then slipped between the steel girders. Putting my back up against one half of the frame, my feet against the other I pushed with everything I had. Gradually the frame split apart until there was a four foot gap at the top, more than enough to get the victim out. I clambered up and dropped down, quickly untying the rope that held her to the wheel. Whatever training the police had given her, it was obviously working, as she scrambled up to her knees, still trembling and gasping for breath as I pulled myself up to the top of the frame before reaching down and yanking her after me.
From behind me I heard the double doors slam open and a single pair of boots pound into the club. Not stopping to look I scooped her up in my arms and jumped down to the ground. As I landed, my right foot hit something wet and slippery and I felt my leg fold under me. I let her down as gently as I could and once again the training took over as she rolled under the bulk of the frame and wheel for cover. I went the other way, wanting to draw any potential fire away from her and testing the leg. It could support me, but I wasn't going to be doing anything too energetic for a while.
Looking round I saw one man, presumably the guard from the hidden post in the entrance corridor bringing his pistol up towards me. I moved right, then dove left, trying to protect my leg as best I could. His first and second shots went were he was expecting me to be, and I made damn sure he never got time for a third. I got back to my feet and looked around, only to see my mystery woman standing by a back door and grinning at me. She waved and slipped out of the club as the front doors burst open to cries of 'Police!'. I made my decision and ran as fast as I could towards the back of the club. As I reached the door I heard my backup enter the main room and took the time to point to where the victim was hiding before heading through the door.
I found myself in an alley and saw my target getting into a large black BMW at the far end. The car was facing me and I realised that the only way out of here was through me. The car jerked forward as the driver pushed the accelerator all the way to the floor, clearly intending to turn me into roadkill. I stood my ground and tried to concentrate on my timing. Just as I could see the whites of the drivers eyes through the windscreen I jumped upwards, twisting as I did so to land face down on the roof, hands scrabbling for some sort of purchase on the slick metal. Somehow I found a handhold and gripped as hard as I could as the car swung out onto the main road doing at least forty miles per hour.
Suddenly the metal underneath me seemed to explode upwards, something huge and hard hitting me in the chest and tearing me loose from my grip on the car. I flew off the roof and had barely a second to see the motorbike I was heading towards before I hit the rider.
I landed in a heap on the ground and stayed there for a second as I tried to catch my breath and checking nothing was broken. Groaning I got to my feet, a quick glance all I needed to know that the bike rider I'd hit was dead. I saw the BMW turning right at the end of the road and reached down for the still running bike. I'd managed to avoid the machine itself and it seemed to be in good condition. Yanking it upright I swung a leg over and headed off after the escaping BMW.
For the first few streets I was going on glances of the car, trusting to luck more than anything else as I dove in and out of traffic, gaining little by little on the speeding car. The problem was that while the bike was faster and could fit through gaps they couldn't the car could simply barge other road users out of the way. Still by the time we reached the river I was barely fifty yards behind and closing faster now. Suddenly the car swung hard right and tapped the rear of a Ford Transit van, slewing it round and into the line of cars alongside it. In less than a second there was a perfect roadblock ahead of me, and there was no way through.
Leaning the bike hard over to the right I ran alongside the impromptu roadblock and shot down one of the back roads that littered this part of London. A few more twists and turns had me in an alley so tight sparks were flying from both ends of the handlebars as I tried not to breathe so as not to move the bike. I came out the other end touching seventy and saw the BMW on the bridge, heading towards one of the dockside ports. Swearing under my breath I wound the throttle back to the stop as I tried to close the distance, but it was too late. By the time I got there the car had disappeared, lost in the maze of warehouses covering that area. The only saving grace was there was only one way in or out of there, and that was the road I was currently rolling down.
I pulled the bike up and slipped it into the shadows, pocketing the key in case I needed it later. As the adrenaline wore off I felt the faint buzz on the back of my neck that meant someone was using the implanted organic tracking beacon to zero in on me. A quick glance at the complex before me was all I needed to know that if I was ever going to find my target in that lot, I was going to need some help, and I settled back to wait for the cavalry.
