Rollabee's Herpes

                Sitting at the wooden table placed in the middle of the smoky basement, Mr. Rollabee glanced down at his watch as the dealer passed out cards to the other blackjack players. 2 A.M. and the game was barely starting; Rollabee picked up his two cards. A 4 and a 9. As the other players passed or hit and busted, he knew he’d have to take another card from the dealer; 13 just wasn’t enough to win, especially with the last of his money sitting on the table. As the dealer turned his stony gazed towards Rollabee, he confidently told the man “Hit me.” The card was slapped on the table, a 6. So close. To risk busting, or play it safe? flashed through his mind. Deciding on safe, he passed the dealer, telling him he stands.

                As the last few players stood, the winners were decided. Mr. Rollabee was confident in his cards. His heart raced as each member who hadn’t busted flipped their hands. Seventeen, eighteen, another eighteen.  As each players’ cards were revealed the nervous pit in his stomach shrank just a little bit as he continued to have the highest hand. The only person left to reveal his cards was the dealer. King, eight, and… Ace. FUCK. Dealer wins if matching hands, just FUCK. As the final card, an ace was revealed, Mr. Rollabee’s stomach sank quicker than a rock in the ocean. Out the window, lost to the dealer all of his savings; his college funds. He had nothing left to his name, not even a girlfriend to go home to.

                Defeated, Mr. Rollabee left the basement, walked up the stairs of the otherwise normal house. The climb up a flight of stairs had never felt so long as the reality continued to sink into him. Gone was everything; how could he possibly recover from this? Leaving the house and his self-earned savings behind him, Mr. Rollabee just walked. Time passed without seeming to, before he realized it, Rollabee found himself back in the city; just after 4 A.M. As he continued to drag down the street, a walk movie zombies would have been envious of, a voice called out to him, “Hey, you.” Unaware that he was the intended recipient, he ignored the voice. Again it called out “Heya, handsome. Stop for a minute?” questioned the voice. At the back of his mind, Rollabee considered this voice might be talking to him, but still didn’t stop. It was only when a slender hand gripped his arm, and pulled while saying “Are you just going to ignore a fine lady like myself?” did it click that he was being spoken to.

                Turning to see who was seeking his attention, Rollabee took in the gorgeous smile of an even more beautiful woman. Vibrant green eyes, shining in the dim city light sparkled at him in the dusk of city night life. The only thought that ran through Rollabee’s head is What could such a beautiful woman want with a man like me? Instead he said to her, “Yes? Is there something I can do for you?”

                “You were looking a bit under the weather there, handsome. I thought you might need some company…” she replied, in a seductive voice. A confused look passed over Rollabee’s face, before realization set in and he told her that he didn’t have any money, he’d lost everything he had gambling earlier that night. “You poor thing. No wonder you looked so miserable. I’ll tell you what. Come with me anyway, and we’ll see if we can work something out.” Taking his hand, the mysterious and alluring woman led Rollabee to a magnificent building just a few minutes walk away. It stood out from all the others, a grandiose building in the midst of a wealthy part of town. Despite all the other fancy neighboring businesses, this one stole the focus of passerby attention with its tall arching windows and 18^th century gothic design.  Leading him through the front door, the girl said to Rollabee “Welcome to Rosetopia; you may call me Lady Glumb.”

                As he looked around inside Rosetopia, shocked was the only word to describe Rollabee. The interior was something out of a storybook ballroom, complete with arching ceilings, chandelier-styled light fixtures, and decorative columns. A grand piano sat in the corner while the most regal looking staircase covered a wall in the back, leading up to the second floor. As he looked around, Rollabee noticed a fabulous mosaic of a single rose covered the floor. Transfixed with the view, Rollabee could only gaze around, with a look of pure stunned amazement on his face.

                “Oh, come now honey,” Lady Glumb said to him, once more taking is hand. She pulled Rollabee towards the staircase in the back, away from the entrance hall. “We need a little more privacy than this room offers, and I know just the place,” she told him. Leading him up the stairs to the second floor, Lady Glumb directed Rollabee down a hall and opened one of the doors. How she knew which door to open was beyond his comprehension.

                As Rollabee was dragged inside the room, still speechless, he could only watch as Lady Glumb danced in the dim lighting, using a lighter stick to bring the candles to life and some incense to set the mood. “I’ll be back in just a quick minute,” she murmured to him, before slipping into the bathroom. While she was doing her feminine thing, Rollabee took in more of his surroundings. The walls were painted a seductive red, though mirrors with equally seductive pink shades covered 3 of the walls.  A deep red bed with velvety sheets lay in the middle of the room, edged in by the mirrors. With little else to do while waiting for his crimson-haired escort to finish in the bathroom, Rollabee sat on the bed. Looking up, he noticed there was in fact a fourth mirror, on the ceiling for the ones who like to watch themselves. Just then, he heard the door opening, and there stood Lady Glumb, wearing only her lingerie, though it could barely be considered such. She was clad in a transparent purple bra, which did little to conceal her firm breasts or hard nipples poking through. Equally transparent was the matching thong, which showed just enough to tease.

                Lust tore through Rollabee in an instant. He’d never seen such a captivating sight before. As he stared, words wouldn’t form. “Well now, handsome, if you look at me with eyes like those, I might just blush a little.” As Lady Glumb danced across the room, swishing her hips seductively, her breasts swaying in the movement; Rollabee's eyes followed her every move, a pain growing in his pants as his arousal reached new heights. By the time Lady Glumb reached the bed where he was sitting, he was harder than he’d imagined possible. Giggling as she saw the bulge growing in his pants, Lady Glumb reached toward him and slowly unzipped his pants.

                As Rollabee’s cock was released, Lady Glumb’s eyes grew wide; she’d never seen such an impressive part on a man before.  Wetting her lips first, she moved her head towards the tip of his dick, and slowly took the head into her mouth. Groaning in immediate pleasure, Rollabee couldn’t help but grab her hair and rock his hips as she sucked on him with the force of a Hoover. Getting closer to his climax, he pulled porn maneuver and shoved his behemoth as far down her throat as he could, cumming as he did so; flooding her throat with his man milk. As she coughed, choking on his release, he apologized “I’m sorry for doing that so suddenly; it just felt incredible. I’ve never felt anything like your blowjob before.” Smiling, she asked if he was ready for round two; the main course. Looking down, he was still hard as a goddamn rock and replied “Of course”

                “Today is a safe day, so don’t bother wearing anything… inconvenient,” she told him after being questioned about the use of a condom.  Pushing him back on the bed, she straddled him. Gripping his cock in one hand, she eased it into her dripping pussy. Oh good gods below, he’d never felt anything this incredible. Her pussy was even better than the blowjob. As she rode him, she could feel his cock twitching inside her. With his hands on her hips, he thrusted in tune with her movements, forcing his cock deeper inside her soft, wet silky sheath of pleasure. He could feel the folds inside her, wrapping and enveloping him as he moved inside her. Within minutes he was ready to release another round of his thick underused cum.

                “Lady Glumb,” he moaned. “I’m already about to cum again. You just feel too good,” as he continued to thrust inside her.

                “Just let it out inside me; I told you today was a safe day, darling,” she replied between moans of pure pleasure.

                “Oh God,” he shouted as he reached the edge of his limits. One final thrust inside her and his cock erupted violently, spraying his seed inside her; smothering every bit of her insides. He continued thrusting even as he came and his cock twitched from his orgasm; and he could feel the tightening of her already tight pussy as she came from riding his orgasm.

                Stripping off the rest of her clothing, she laid her hands on his chest and stated “Now there’s just one last hole for you to fill, big boy. I think you can guess which one… Think you’ve got one last round in you? This time it’s dessert.”

                “I think I can manage one more round,” was his reply. Turning her around he gripped her ass cheeks in his hands, spreading them. “Your ass looks ready for a cock already. I don’t think we’ll even need lube,” he whispered in her ear as he positioned himself and plunged deep into her waiting asshole. Lady Glumb gave a small gasp of surprise as Rollabee shoved the entire length of himself inside her at once before her moans began. Reaching back between her legs, she started rubbing her clit as he continued ramming himself into her ass.

                As he buried himself deep in her ass, Rollabee could feel the tightness of her sphincter clutching his dick as the deep insides of her rectum almost burned him from their warmth. It was hard for him to believe that her ass could be any tighter than her pussy had been, but sure enough it was. Grunting, he continued to pull himself out and then force himself back inside her. Her moans were only succeeding in turning him on even more. “OH, YES,” she screamed right as he reached his own orgasm. Shuddering, the both of them came at the same time, his hot sticky cum flooding the inside of her ass.  He fell back as he pulled himself out of her, and she hit the bed next to him.

                Lightly laughing as she looked at him, with his cum dripping out of both of her holes, she confessed “That was the best fucking I’ve had in a long time.”

                Smiling, Rollabee informed her “I can quite honestly say that was the best fucking I’ve ever had. I’m glad to have been of service you to as well, Lady Glumb.”

                “So, now that we’ve got some of that tension out of you, why don’t you tell me a little more about what happened earlier?” she questioned him.  He agreed, and explained to Lady Glumb that he’d lost his job that week; his ex-girlfriend had stormed the place and created such a scene that his management decided to let him go for creating such a disturbance. He’d hoped to win some extra money to keep him going for a few weeks while he went job hunting, but ended up losing the last of his cash playing Blackjack. It left him with nothing; no money, no car. He’d be evicted from his apartment after not paying rent.  “You poor thing,” she crooned at him after hearing his story. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll talk to one of my bosses here, and see if he’ll give you a job cleaning up the rooms and helping take care of some of the other girls.”

                “That’s wonderful, but why?” he asked. “You only met me today; we hardly even know each other.”

                “Well, I know that, darling,” she answered. “But you impressed me tonight; not only did you make me cum, but you did it twice. I think that warrants an award of some kind. I’ll talk to Sir Marim later and see what he says about setting you up as one of our boys.”

                At that moment the door opened and a relatively handsome man, with long dark hair, pulled back in a ponytail walked in. The next thing Rollabee noticed about the man, other than his expensive-looking black suit was the rigid scar running down his face; stretching from the hairline and down through one eye to the corner of his mouth. It looked like it had been painful once, but healed well and now only complimented his mysterious look. “No need to find me, Mistress Glumb,” he announced. “Half of the house could hear your shrieks just now. But the better question, is why I should give this… plebian a job,” Sir Marim stated as he looked at Rollabee in disdain. “He hardly looks worthy enough to work for us. The House would have to invest money in him just to see him working.”

                “You should give him a job working as a helper boy because I’m asking you to, lover,” was her answer. “It’s not often your best girl asks for a favor, but this time I am. It’s hardly any trouble on your part. You won’t even need to train him; I’ll ask Mister Grin to look after the poor soul.”

                After rinsing the sweat from their bodies, Rollabee and Lady Glumb dressed; Lady Glumb in an elegant blue dress, showing just enough of her bust to draw attention and Rollabee in a worker boy’s dress uniform.  They found Mister Grin in his office, reviewing finances and placement of employees.  “Mister Grin,” Lady Glumb sang as she stepped through his door. “I need your help, dear.”

                “Ah, Lady Glumb; my favorite woman around. What can I do you for?”

                “This poor, unfortunate boy has just been given a job by Sir Marim,” she explained, indicating Rollabee. “Unfortunately, Sir Marim doesn’t want to show him the ropes, and I was really hoping you’d take him under your wing.”

                With a sigh, Mister Grin rose from behind his desk, before seeming to change his mind and sat back down. “Fine, I’ll show him around and teach him a few things, but not tonight. He looks like shit. Show him a room and he can start tomorrow,” he said in his gravelly voice with a smile that was all teeth. Glaring over his desk at Rollabee, Mister Grin’s eyes were terrifying. Peering through his glasses, his dark eyes seemed to tear right through Rollabee. A cold sweat broke out on Rollabee’s neck as he was dissected by Mister Grin’s gaze.

                With a shriek of delight serving to also break the thick tension in the room, Lady Glumb bounced across the room and pecked Mister Grin on the cheek. “Oh, thank you! I just knew you’d take care of him!”

                “Just this once, Mistress. And only because we both know you’re my favorite. I won’t take in every stray cat you find in the street.”

                “I know, I know! Thanks so much, Mister Grin.” Leading Rollabee away from Mister Grin’s office, Lady Glumb directed him back towards the main hall. Pointing down a semi-darkened hallway with light green paint on the walls, she warned him “Just whatever you do, stay away from this hallway. Or any light green hallway. There’s some weird shit that goes on in those rooms and you don’t want to be a part of it.”

                “What kind of weird shit are we talking about?” Rollabee asked, his curiosity starting to grow.

                “I’m not entirely sure myself. I stopped looking after I witnessed one of our girls sticking needles into a guy for his pleasure.”

                “That’s certainly unsettling,” was his meek response. “I’ll have to avoid this hallway then. Thanks for the warning.”

                After being led to the staff rooms, Rollabee promptly fell asleep and was woken far too soon by a sharp knock on the door. “Get your sleepy ass up,” barked a voice from the other side of his door.  “I’m sure you had a long night, but it’s time for you to earn your stay. Get up, shower, and dress. Meet me in my office; where you found me last night.” Mister Grin was the one looking for him then.

                Twenty minutes and a scalding shower later, Rollabee hesitantly approached Mister Grin’s door. Knocking on the frame, he announced “Excuse me, sir. It’s Mr. Rollabee. You told me to stop by once I was up and showered.” Without looking up from his paperwork, Mister Grin only held up a finger, telling Rollabee to wait. As he waited, the nervous pit in Rollabee’s stomach only grew heavier. The silence except the scratching of Mister Grin’s pen was heavy and suffocating.  After the longest minutes of Rollabee’s life passed, Mister Grin finally looked up from his paperwork. Again he looked at Rollabee with the same vicious eyes. He couldn’t help but compare the intimidating glare with that of a predator seeking its prey.

                “Come,” Mister Grin purred as he rose from his work. “You have lots to learn, and I’m doing Lady Glumb a favor teaching you. I’m the best at this, after all.” Without bothering to see if Rollabee was following, he strolled out the door.  It wasn’t until Mister Grim led the way into the main entrance hall that Rollabee realized how large a man Mister Grin was. As they entered the enormous entrance foyer, Mister Grin seemed to fill the room. It wasn’t that people noticed him, but they sensed his presence. Everyone took notice that something was in the room. They just didn’t know that something was Mister Grin. As the two toured the room, Rollabee could see that it wasn’t just Mister Grin’s eyes. The man’s very being was that of a predator; the fluidity of his walk; the way he blended into the background; even the way he scanned the people.

                As the day progressed, Rollabee couldn’t tell what it was that Mister Grin was hunting for as he prowled through the halls. Shadowing Mister Grin taught him the basics of what it meant to be one of the staff, however. Their role was to go in after the worker gals had finished; strip the sheets, change out the linen; replace the trash. Their jobs were similar to the custodial crew in hotels. Not a glorious job, but it was a job and several steps ahead of where he’d been just a few hours previously.

                His integration into Rosetopia continued this way for two weeks before he finally learned what it was that Mister Grin hunted. As they prowled the hallways, Mister Grin suddenly stopped dead; his demeanor changed. As quickly as he’d stopped, he moved with a new purpose and the air surrounding him was filled with bloodlust. Moving down the hallway, he listened carefully. Stopping at a door, he heard sounds of a struggle inside. Not waiting to confirm anything; he opened the door. Inside was a scene straight out of Dexter. Mickey, one of the “exotic” girls with beautiful bronzed skin lay dead on the floor. Her blood covered the bed, the walls, and the man standing over her.

                Mister Grin moved quicker than Rollabee thought possible; his incredible agility surprising the client. His fist connected square with the attacker’s nose with a sickening crunch. The man clutched his face as with a howl as his face started gushing blood. Mister Grin didn’t give him a chance to recover, quickly landing several more blows, breaking several ribs before the man collapsed. With the violent client’s threat removed, he bent to the ground and shut Mickey’s steel-grey eyes, as they stared unseeing at the ceiling. Ignoring Rollabee, he walked into the bathroom. Only a moment later, a grinding noise was heard from inside and Rollabee saw that a hole in the wall had opened in the shower. Returning to the room with Rollabee, he locked the door and bent to pick up the man by the arms.

                “Grab his feet, you worthless cunt,” Mister Grin grunted at Rollabee. “We need to move this miserable cockbag somewhere else.” Together they lifted the man’s body, and Mister Grin led them towards the hole in the bathroom wall. “This way,” he grunted and led them down the passage. After a few minutes, they came upon what appeared to be medieval torture chamber. Along the wall were a few pairs of iron manacles; a wooden table covered in what appeared to be bloodstains lay in the center of the room with iron cuffs at either end. In the corner sat what appeared a waterboarding station. Next to the table was a silver stainless steel tray filled with an assortment of tools; knives of varying length and shape, hooks and pliers, corkscrews and many more tools he couldn’t identify. “Drop him on the table,” Mister Grin instructed.

                Doing as he was told, they placed the man on the table, and strapped him into the cuffs. “He’ll be fine here,” Mister Grin told Rollabee. “This room is virtually soundproof, so no one will hear him if he wakes up. We’ve got to go cleanse that room, now.” Leading the way through a maze of turns through the hidden passages, they reached a room filled with everything needed to hide Mickey’s unfortunate demise.

                Upon returning to the room, the first thing they did was roll Mickey’s bloodied corpse onto a large sheet of plastic. Next, using a special soap, meant for use in morgues and designed to remove biological residue; they scrubbed the blood from the floor and walls to Mister Grin’s satisfaction. “Applying blue light to see bloodstains is a myth people believe from watching too much murder mystery on TV,” he explained as they worked. Everything was torn from the bed and placed in a plastic garbage bag for disposal. All new sheets, pillows, blankets were set in their place.  As they finished erasing the crime, Mister Grin stood and said to Rollabee “Let’s go. We’ve got to burn that bag of stuff, and dispose of Mickey’s body.”

                Again they went through the maze of turns to a different room; with a massive incinerator in the middle; the chute marginally larger than the size of an average person. “Set her down on the chute,” Rollabee was instructed. Doing as he was told, they both lifted her, one on other side and set her down on the declined chute. Standing at her feet, Mister Grin gave a slight push and both watched as she slid the few feet into the blazing inferno, erasing all evidence of her murder.  “This furnace burns hot enough to turn even her bones to ash,” Rollabee was told as Mister Grin casually tossed the bag of bloodied sheets in after Mickey.

                “So… is this what you really do? I mean, like, is this what you meant when you told me you were the best?”

                “Oh, this is only part of it. But to answer your question, yes. This is why I’m the best. You’ll get to witness the rest later. Just remember that if you ever try to tell anyone what you’ve seen here, you’ll be next, boy,” he responded with a wolfish grin, though it no longer seemed as malicious. With that said, they returned to the room; did one last sweep to make sure they didn’t miss anything and unlocked the door before leaving through the hidden bathroom wall. “We want to re-open that room, but exit somewhere else just to cover ourselves. If that room is ever investigated for any reason, we don’t want to be associated with it.”

                I never thought I’d learn to cover up a murder Rollabee thought to himself as they walked. Mister Grin took them to another hidden door through which they exited into a janitorial closet. Convenient, he thought. “Hurry up, boy,” he heard Mister Grin whisper in the darkened room. “We still need to let the owner, Rose, know what happened.”

                “Wait, we’re just going to tell someone that an employee was murdered here tonight?” Rollabee nearly shouted.

                “Shut your fucking mouth you cockeating shit-for-brains,” he hissed, voice smothered in venom, as his hand clamped down hard over Rollabee’s mouth. “Don’t say shit like that so fucking loud, you fucking idiot. Or do you want someone to hear? Jesus fuck.” Rollabee gasped a deep breath as the pressure eased off his face and he could suddenly breath again. He heard faint shuffling noises before a crack of light showed itself, where he supposed the door would be. Seeming satisfied with what he saw, Mister Grin swung the door open further and stepped out, indicating with a finger for Rollabee to follow him.

                Returning to the entrance hall, Mister Grin seemed to be searching for something. Dissatisfied, he grunted and took off down the hallway his office was in. Further down, a few doors past his own he entered Sir Marim’s own office. “Marim, where’s Rose? There’s something we need to discuss”

                “She’s in her usual place, on the top floor,” his silky voice replied.

                “Good, let’s go. You should hear about this too, since it’s going to be your problem after mine.” Together, Mister Grin and Sir Marim left towards an elevator in the back of their hallway, with Rollabee trailing behind looking lost.

                Stepping into the elevator, Sir Marim seemed to notice Rollabee for the first time. “What’s this maggot doing here?”

                “He was shadowing me when we ran into a problem. I had to show him what to do, so he should see the rest of it. Besides, Rose probably wants to meet her newest cleaner. I haven’t had a chance to introduce him yet.”

                With a sigh, Sir Marim keyed in the code required to visit Rosetopia’s top floor. “Fine, but he’s still your responsibility. I’m not dealing with this one.” The elevator hummed as it carried its passengers up to the restricted top floor. With a quiet beep, the elevator alerted its passengers they’d arrive and the doors opened with a soft hiss. Stepping into the hallway, the first thing Rollabee noticed was the wallpaper. All light pink with even lighter shading; roses hidden into the design. The floor was polished marble tiles, reflecting the walls. “This way, peasant,” Sir Marim stated as he started down the hall.

                “Is he always this way?” Rollabee whispered to Mister Grin as they followed Sir Marim.

                “No, it’s just you,” was the not-so-hushed reply followed by a laugh from up ahead. Sullied by the response, he followed them to the end of the hall and into a room the Opal Office would have envied. As they stepped through the doorway and into Rose’s utopia, Mister Grin announced “Welcome to Rosetopia’s throne room, with our concubine, Rose, at its head.”

                Rose’s back was to them as they made their entrance, but upon Mister Grin’s announcement turned. Rollabee was utterly speechless as she turned. Standing in front of him had to be a goddess. Her blonde hair was long and lay over her shoulders in mermaid style. She smiled a gorgeous blazing white grin at seeing Mister Grin and Sir Marim and her blue eyes lit up at their faces.

                “Marim, Grin!” she squealed and bounced across the room to embrace them both. “What brings you here today? And together, such a rare sight!” she asked as she stepped back from them. Rollabee couldn’t help but think she had a voice of a fallen angel.

                “Nothing good, I’m afraid, our queen,” Mister Grin answered. “Our newest employee, a man to put slowpoke to shame and I were doing our rounds earlier. We came across a client who’d gotten violent and murdered Mickey.”

                Rose gasped at the news, interrupting Mister Grin as she whispered “No, not Mickey… She was so sweet though…”

                Coughing at the interruption, Mister Grin continued, “We walked in and found the man standing over her corpse, covered in blood. We detained him, cleaned up the room, and disposed of Mickey. We haven’t had a chance to remove the attacker, however. I immediately went to find Sir Marim and came to see you. I wanted to let you know before I finished my business with him, as well as introduce you to Rollabee, here.” Turning to grab Rollabee’s arm, he dragged him forward, “Come here, boy. She’s not going to bite you or anything. Good gods, son, have half a ball at least,” he snapped as Rollabee stumbled forward.

                “And where did this one come from?” Rose asked as she took in Rollabee. Even as she surveyed him her eyes never hardened. She looked at him with the same soft eyes she saw Mister Grin and Sir Marim through.

                “Lady Glumb found this stray a couple of weeks ago and decided to bring it home,” Sir Marim started before Rollabee had a chance to open his mouth. “I told her I wasn’t going to housebreak it, so she passed it off on,”

                “Me,” finished Mister Grin. “I’m training the little shit to be a cleaner. He does show some promise, though. He didn’t even puke as we cleaned up the room with Mickey, or as we disposed of her. We’ll see how he holds up through questioning our violent clientele though[J1] .”  With that said, Mister Grin stepped back with a bow, “And now we’ll take our leave, Rose. There’s much I’d like to discuss with the lady-killer,” his face a mask of sadistic glee; his eyes blazing with delight. With a glance in his direction, “Come,” he commanded Rollabee. Leading the way back to where the man was strapped to the chamber, Mister Grin and Rollabee found him struggling against his restraints.

                Silent as a whisper, Mister Grin seemed to glide across the room. To the restrained assailant he appeared like a phantom. His voice, low and threatening came out in a whisper “Just what do you think you’re doing?” he asked the man. Wild eyes glared at him in response as a gag prevented a verbal retort. “You’re going to be my toy for the next,” he paused to glance at his watch, “well, however long you survive. We’ll see.”

                Mister Grin spoke aloud as he gathered his tools, “You see, I’m Rosetopia’s enforcer. I watch for fuckers like you. Normally I’m able to step in before you make a mistake, but sometimes you best me and hurt my girls. Unfortunately for you, that means I get to do this. You’ll regret ever stepping into Rosetopia for the rest of your short, miserable life.” As he talked, Mister Grin had pulled pliers and small, thin needles from his tool kit. Several blades were also extracted, followed by a cigar cutting tool and a butane lighter. From the corner of the room, he pulled an IV cart, which he hooked up to the man’s arm. “I learned this trick from a movie. If I hook you up to adrenaline, it’ll keep you from passing out. You’ll get to enjoy this as much as I do.”

                Rollabee’s stomach dropped as Mister Grin worked, but did not betray him with upheaval of its contents. Mister Grin began by shoving the small thin needles under the man’s nails. His howls of agony tore through even his gag. After several needles were embedded under each nail, Mister Grin took the pliers and carefully extracted the nail from each finger and each toe, and then carefully pushed more needles into the exposed flesh, normally protected.  With an oddly detached expression, Mister Grin examined the man. Finally he decided, and picked up the cigar tool. Fitting it around the first of the man’s digits, he squeezed it, until with a bit of effort it sliced clean through the joint and tore the first finger off. “Only nineteen more to go,” he taunted.

                As each digit was removed, the sounds produced by the bound captive reached inhuman levels Rollabee hadn’t known capable of being made. Again, Mister Grin looked at him with grim detachment, none of his former glee or excitement showing. He selected a box knife next, and gripped his subject’s manhood with one hand. With the other, he sawed through the base of his scrotum, removing the testicles. He picked up a sharp surgical scalpel next, and removed the man’s eyelids, careful  to keep the blood flowing away from his eyes themselves. After removing his hostage’s eyelids, he picked up the thin, sharp blades and slowly cut through the flesh at various parts of his body. Carefully slicing away flesh without digging deep enough to bleed the man dry.

                Grunting in satisfaction at his work, he lifted a buzz saw, and squeezed the trigger. Satisfied at its operation, Mister Grin leaned over the table and slowly lowered the spinning blade to the kneecap of his prisoner. Sawing through both kneecaps, then both elbows was short work. Rollabee was amazed that one person could still be alive after experiencing such pains. The limbs being separated would have been enough to bleed anyone out, had Mister Grin not taken precautions and cauterized each wound as he made it, searing the ends and stemming blood flow.

                “I grow tired of this,” Rollabee heard Mister Grin’s voice from a distant place followed by a sizzle and slight pop. A smack across the face brought Rollabee back to reality. Raising a hand to his stinging cheek, he heard Mister Grin ask him “Still think you’re cut out for this work, boy? It’s gruesome, but you managed to hold you stomach.”

                Still in a slight shock, Rollabee asked with surprising detachment, “What do we do with him, now?”