Hostile Takeover

Patricia Beeman was smiling as she entered the Nanfinity Industries main offices. As well she might. Finally, after years of fighting, her goal was at last within reach.

Anyone watching her as she walked through the lobby would have seen an attractive woman in her mid-30’s. With her long blonde hair, blue eyes, and curves only hinted at beneath her smart business suit, Patricia would have seemed quite at home on any swimsuit or Playboy pictorial. Few would have guessed that she was actually head of the Beeman Corporation, a huge conglomerate specializing in cutting edge weapon design.

Among those who knew her, there were stories, many concerning the death of her husband. Gossips loved to point out that Henry Beeman had been over twice Patricia’s age. It was said that Patricia had married old Henry strictly for his money. They also said the heart attack that had killed him had been due to an overdose of sex.

Patricia, when she heard such stories, simply laughed and refused to comment. It was nobody’s business, she felt, that sex with Henry had ended the night of their marriage. True, Henry had died during sex, but Patricia wasn’t the one sharing his bed at the time.

Now, waiting for the elevator, she tapped her foot impatiently. This was something she’d been waiting for since the day she took over her husband’s business nearly two years ago. Stepping into the elevator when it arrived, she pressed the button for the executive floor, telling herself it had been worth the wait.

Jonah Miles frowned when he saw who his visitor was.

“What are you doing here? And why did Sandra let you in? She knows I have no interest in talking to you.”

“She had no choice,” Patricia said, smiling coldly as she tossed a sheaf of papers onto Jonah’s desk. “After all, I am her boss now.”

“Her what?” Jonah grabbed the papers, his eyes widening as he read the words printed there. “How did you wind up with controlling interest?”

Patricia’s smile widened. “Oh,” she replied casually, “let’s just say I was able to convince a few key people to sell me their shares.”

“No doubt you convinced them in bed,” Jonah said sharply, causing Patricia to laugh.

“Oh, certainly not! I can assure you that their minds were most definitely not on business at that time. Of course, afterwards, they were each quick to understand that seeing reason was better than having their wives see the video.”

Patricia’s smile vanished, leaving her face cold. “Now,” she said, “I want copies of all of your research files.”

“The same ones you were after last year, when you tried to get me to use my research in your weapon programs,” Jonah observed.

“Oh, now I want more than that. I want it all. I also know that some of the more classified information is protected by your personal voice print. I want that lock removed, and I want access to every bit of data.”

Jonah leaned back in his chair. “I can fight you on this, you know,” he said, sounding strangely relaxed.

“You would lose,” Patricia retorted. “I have a clear and legal right to access any and all information you may have here.”

“Still,” Jonah pointed out, “it could be a long and painful court battle. I don’t think either of us wants to go through that. So I’ll make you a deal. I won’t fight you.”

Patricia eyed him suspiciously. “If?”

Jonah smiled. “If,” he replied, “you help me test out the results of my latest research.”

Patricia frowned. “That’s your price? Fine. When do we start?”

“Actually, it’s not here. This project is my own personal work. As you know, I don’t allow private projects on company property, so I’ve been working on this at home. Drop by my house Friday evening. You can help me run some tests, and I’ll unlock the files first thing Monday morning.”

* * * *

“Ok, so where is this research you need help with?”

“Right here.” Jonah held up what looked like a full bodysuit made of a sheer material that looked so flimsy, Patricia thought she could tear it to shreds with no effort at all.

“That’s it?”

Jonah nodded proudly. “It’s called an exosuit. Once it’s perfected, it can help spinal victims regain the use of their legs, among other uses.”

Patricia frowned, but her mind was racing, calculating the profit potential of such an invention. “So what do you need me to do?”

“Put it on,” Jonah instructed her. “I need someone wearing it while I do some calibrations. There’s a room right over there you can use.”

Almost before the door clicked closed behind her, Patricia was sliding her jacket off and fumbling with the buttons of her blouse. “If this works,” she told herself, “it’ll be a gold mine.” Once down to bra and panties, she eyed the suit doubtfully. Then, with a shrug, she removed her remaining articles of clothing. Carefully, she slipped her foot into the suit and began drawing it up her legs.

Just as the suit reached her waist, she heard a knock on the door. “I almost forgot,” she heard Jonah say. “Once you have the suit on, say ‘activate’ in a normal voice.” Footsteps sounded, telling Patricia that he was no longer right outside. Shrugging, she resumed pulling on the suit.

The suit, she quickly discovered, was indeed full body. The feet were like toe socks, each toe in its own snug sheath. The hands were enclosed by attached gloves. The suit even had a hood. By the time she had everything in place, not an inch of her body was left uncovered. Finally satisfied with how the suit felt, she said, “Activate.”

As soon as she spoke, Patricia felt a strange tingling sensation all over her body. Slowly, the tingling faded, and, as it did, the suit vanished. Startled, Patricia simply stared at her body for a moment. Then, frowning, she drew her clothes back on and returned to Jonah’s lab.

“Did you put it on?”

“Of course I did,” Patricia snapped. “But as soon as I said ‘activate’, the damn thing vanished. What kind of trick is this?”

Jonah smiled. “No trick at all. You see, that outfit wasn’t made of any material. It was composed of a new type of nanotechnology I recently developed. When you activated it, the suit merged with your body. And since I can see no trace of it on the visible parts of your body, I would assume that part of the test was a success.”

“Then get it off of me,” Patricia demanded.

“Not quite yet. You see, the suit works by stimulating the body’s muscles. This stimulation is controlled by the wearer’s thought processes. Basically, it reads intent. If the wearer thinks of doing something, the suit reads those thoughts and stimulates the proper muscles, causing the body to move in the way the wearer intended.”

“This is amazing.” Glancing down, Patricia thought about raising her hand, but it remained at her side. Glancing back up, she frowned.

“What’s wrong? It doesn’t work.”

“Oh,” Jonah replied, “it’s not programmed to respond to your thoughts. If it were, we would never know if a given result were due to the suit or your own involuntary movements. With that in mind, I took the precaution of programming the suit to respond to my thoughts instead.” He smiled. “Strictly for the purposes of a more accurate test.”

“In other words,” Patricia said sarcastically, “you think my body is now under your control. I don’t think so.” Turning away, she strode toward the door, only to halt after just a few steps.

“What the…..?” Sternly, she commanded her body to resume walking, but it refused to obey. Instead, she found herself turning and walking back to stand in front of Jonah.

“Very nice,” he said, nodding. “You see, the suit also blocks impulses from the brain that conflict with its own orders. This would prevent stray impulses that might interfere with the proper function of the suit. A vital safety feature, I’m sure you’ll agree.”

“Agree? We’ll see who agrees with what once I’m through with you. When I get all your research files, I’m going to shut you dowmmmmmmmm! Mmmmmmm?”

Patricia struggled to speak, but her mouth refused to open. Even her lips, lightly pressed together, refused to part. Stunned, she stared at Jonah.

“Of course,” he told her, “the suit is also programmed to maintain a commanded status until it receives new commands. It wouldn’t do for a spinal victim to command his legs to stand, only to have them collapse again as soon as the command was carried out.”

“Mmmm! “Mmm mm mmm mm mmmm!”

Jonah grinned. “I have to say,” he told her, “you sound much better that way. Now, let’s see what else the suit can do.”

Suddenly, Patricia felt fingers touching her. Glancing down, she watched, stunned, as her hands began unbuttoning her jacket. Desperately, she tried to stop, but her hands no longer obeyed her. Raising her head, she hummed frantically at Jonah.

“Of course,” he said, “the suit only overrides your control when commanded to do so. Otherwise, your freedom of movement is totally unimpaired.” He smiled as her jacket slipped to the floor, her fingers immediately going to the buttons of her blouse. “Excellent fine motor skills, too. Undoing a button is actually a more complex operation than most people realize.”

Soon, Patricia stood naked in the center of the lab, her desperate pleas and threats still rendered into simple hums by her inability to open her mouth. Slowly, Jonah walked around her, occasionally stroking her skin. Despite her best efforts, Patricia could only stand helplessly as Jonah’s examination was conducted.

“Very nice,” he finally said, turning and walking toward his desk. Unbidden, at least by her own mind, Patricia’s body followed him, dropping into the chair he pulled out for her.

“Now for the next part.” Jonah’s smile was cold as he slid a pen and a pad of paper in front of her. “I think you’ll get a real kick out of this.”

As Patricia watched with widening eyes, her hand took up the pen and began to write a description of how she’d seduced the owner of another company, then blackmailed him into selling to her. Next, she described her efforts that resulted in the purchase of controlling interest in Nanfinity.

“Another nice aspect of the suit,” she heard Jonah say. “If the body is commanded to do something that requires memory, the suit stimulates that memory in the mind. The information is then relayed through your own neural net to the body part required to carry out the command. Fascinating concept, isn’t it?”

Patricia wrote for over an hour, listing, in great detail, every shady, immoral or illegal act she had ever committed. Included in that listing was a true account of her marriage, as well as one detailing Henry’s death. By the time she was done, there were several pages of information that, were it to become public, would destroy her. At the bottom of the last page, her hand signed and dated the paper with a flourish.

Once her “confession” was completed, Jonah slid a thick stack of documents in front of her. Immediately, Patricia’s hand began signing. Reading what she could of each page, Patricia quickly realized that she was signing everything she owned over to a special trust, to be administered by Jonah. She also found herself signing all of her shares in Nanfinity to him.

Once the last paper was signed, Jonah scooped them up and locked them in his safe. “I’ll get those recorded on Monday,” he told her. “Once everything is nice and legal, I’ll begin phasing out the weapons portion of Beeman. Instead of weapons, the company will work only on things that will help mankind. How does that sound?”

“I’m ruined,” Patricia whispered, only then realizing that she could talk once more. Slowly, she raised her head to stare at Jonah. “If those papers are recorded, I’ll be left with nothing.”

“You’ll have the pleasure of knowing you’re helping mankind,” Jonah pointed out. “And, in case you forgot, you still have the suit.”

“I’ll turn you in,” Patricia said. “You’ll spend years in jail for this.”

“For what?” Jonah grinned. “The suit is totally undetectable once activated. Are you prepared to tell everyone that I commanded you to sign everything over, and you had no choice but to obey?”

He was right, she realized. Everyone would think she’d lost her mind. Which could help in a suit to block the transfer of her assets, assuming a judge were willing to find her mental state at the time of the signing to be questionable. Of course, that wouldn’t help her any, since she’d be in an institute long before any such finding was reached. Silently, and with grudging respect, she stared at the man who had so thoroughly beaten her.

“But what will I do?”

“Not to worry. You may not control your company any more, but you do have, shall we say, assets that I’m sure can be of use.” Reaching down, he gently pinched one nipple. Patricia moaned at the rush of pure pleasure that coursed through her.

“Sensitivity enhancement?” she gasped.

“When I wish it,” Jonah said, then pinched a bit harder. Patricia’s whole body jumped as a near orgasmic wave of pleasure swept through her.

“I think you’ll make an excellent mistress,” Jonah told her. “Well,” he corrected himself, “mistress as far as the outside world knows. But you and I both know your real title will be slave, don’t we?”

Turning, Jonah strode from the room. Patricia Beeman, once among the wealthiest and most powerful women in the world, could only watch helplessly as her body obediently followed him. Her eyes, the only part of her body still under her own control, stared at the man who had beaten her, destroyed her empire, and given her a new life.

As a slave.

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15.08.13