The Auction

The Auction - A Hannah Todd Story

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental. This work is copyrighted by the author. All characters involved in sexual activity are eighteen years of age or older at the time of portrayal.

This is the continuing adventures of Hannah Todd. I would strongly recommend you read at least some of "The Bridge" and "Badass," which provide the backstory for most of the characters in this story. And if you've been reading me, thank you for your continued support. Your comments are priceless, so please leave your wisdom so I might improve my product.

The Auction - Part One

Holly wanted to speak with me, so we decided to take a walk around the property for privacy, such as it is, and to get some air. Domingo and another guard followed us the usual fifty feet behind. Being mid-May, it was hot. But we walked anyway. From the house to the Greenhouse and back.

"Please, Hannah," Holly asked me vehemently. "Why are you shutting me out again? I've seen what's happening on the news and I just know there is a connection to you."

"The less you know, the less you will be held accountable, Holly. Plausible deniability is a powerful thing."

"I'm your wife, Hannah. I don't need plausible deniability. Talk to me. Please."

"Tell me, Holl, what is it you think you know? Let's start there, soon to be ex-wife."

"Is that the way it's gonna be? Shutting me out of everything?"

"Not even close. You're still running ninety percent of our companies. You know more about Todd-Bernstein Enterprises than anybody, including me. What is it you think you need to know?"

"The other ten percent. The three companies you are holding so close to the breast. I know nothing about RFS, Recovery and Acquisitions."

"We protect people and defend their property. What else do you need to know?"

"Yeah, right. Secret meetings, properties I can not inquire about, money spent that I can't have a say in. RFS, Todd Acquisitions and Todd Recovery are part of the Todd-Bernstein umbrella. I know nothing..."

"You know the bottom line, Holly. That's all that matters. What do you need to know that you don't? Two of the three are profitable, and the third is not a drain. What is it you think you need to know?"

"Barry Finkel won't tell me anything about five properties we hold. Whenever I inquire, he tells me to talk to you. I'm talking to you now. What's the word? Five properties sitting vacant, making no money. I'm accountable for those too. These are primo properties, Hannah, worth millions of dollars. What gives?"

"Fine. I'll transfer them out of the portfolio and sell them to Duane at a great price. Then you can focus on the rest of the properties and companies, with almost a billion dollars in assets. Don't push me, Holly."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll take them from you in the divorce settlement."

"I won't let you. I thought we were past that."

"Then we will be married for a good long time, Miss Bernstein. How does that fit into your plan?"

"You wouldn't. You..."

"Try me. You are in no position to dictate terms. You will be substantially poorer and less well protected if you walk away from the deal that is on the table. All I have to do is call Linnie, and we go back to square one."

"You wouldn't."

"Just watch me."

The tears welled up in Holly's eyes. My kryptonite. She knows all too well how to get to me. But I have developed over the past couple of years a thick skin and a lead coating, impervious to those tears. "Cry all you want, Holly, I will not cave. And stop asking about RFS activity. That is Duane's business, and you have no right to the goings-on at Royce Field Services."

"We still own fifty-one percent of that business under the Todd-Bernstein umbrella. That gives me a say."

"Not according to the divorce agreement. Duane gets to keep his forty-nine percent, and the majority shares go to me individually, along with Recovery and Acquisitions. They will be mine alone. You had better get used to that right now."

"You don't love me anymore," she said as she broke down sobbing.

"Bullshit. You know I still love you and always will. You are just putting on a show to get what you want. And I'm your only audience, and I just don't buy it. I have no problem being your wife for the rest of my life."

"You wouldn't! After all we've been through and the promises you've made. What would Duane say? He wants you a hell of a lot more than I do."

"Duane ain't going anywhere. Regardless ofourmarital status, he'll hang in as long as he has to. And remember, he and I share the twins, and that bond is unbreakable. That is truly to the death. The kids will be home soon, so you better go clean yourself up. Celeste will know you've been crying, and you know her. She'll give you the third degree until you tell her everything. That's one reason you are out of the loop with my three little companies."

"Your companies? But..."

"Fuckin' right. My companies. You don't want me calling Linnie. Kwame Jones won't be able to help you if I back out."

"You wouldn't!"

"Watch me." I brought my arm up to my mouth and said, "Call Linnie Lawrence at work."

"No, Hannah, don't. You play dirty. You are not fighting fair."

"I can't afford to fight fair, Holly. I have too much to lose."

"The Lawrence Firm," came out of the supercell, strapped to my wrist. "How may I help you?"

I gave Holly a stern look and she just walked away from me and toward the house.

"Never mind, Mitzi. It's Hannah Todd and I just mis-dialed. Please forgive me."

"Nothing to forgive, ma'am. Can I pass on a message to Mrs. Lawrence?"

"No. Don't even tell her I called. You take care."

"Have a pleasant day, Miss Todd."

"I'm trying, Mitzi, I'm trying."

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It was a hot day, so when the kids got home from school, after homework we promised them pool time after homework. Our new indoor pool would not be finished until at least November, but we had the smaller outdoor pool for the kids to use. Big enough, at ten by fifteen meters, for both Celeste to get her laps in and the little ones to splash and have fun without disturbing her flow.

We slathered the kids and ourselves with sunscreen, and everyone went out to the pool to enjoy the cool wetness. Holly and I did our best to be civil with each other. But that was as good as it got.

Celeste, being the perceptive one, came to me when she couldn't get anything from her mother. I told her that we were just having a business disagreement and she was smart enough to leave it alone. She warned the little ones to stay out of her way and started doing her laps. First, the crawl and then her well-practiced breaststroke. She was an adorable almost ten-year-old, but she was magnificent in the pool. Especially when she was breaststroking.

Holly and I splashed in the pool with the little ones, but said nothing to one another. The distance between us was becoming a chasm, as opposed to the crack it had been. Dom, who was watching over us, picked up on it and gave me a knowing look. I smiled back at him, and he smiled at me.

After the pool, we all took showers and got ready for dinner. Bertha was making Chicken ala King over rice. We didn't often have meat with dinner, so this was like a special treat for the kids. And for me. Mushroomsandmeat was extra special.

After dinner, it was tablet time for Georgia and Georgie and reading time for Celeste. She was reading on her tablet. An autobiographical work by an Olympic swimmer about winning. Something Celeste knew plenty about. The certificates, medals and trophies adorning her room bespoke her experience with winning.

Duane got home around six-thirty, with Lizzie and Avi in tow. Alec was working at the house tonight, and he would be part of tonight's activities. And tomorrow's. So, we all gathered for a dinner of Chicken ala King. Only Bertha could make it like that. Holly joined us and the conversation was kept light. Mostly about the men or women in our lives and, of course, about Celeste's swimming and that big brain of hers. She'd be ten next month, and we talked about how we would celebrate for her.

Once dinner was done, Holly helped Bertha and Aggie clean up the kitchen, and the rest of us adjourned to my office to discuss the matter at hand. The forthcoming auction. The one scheduled for later this month.

Avi led off. He had a very specific concern. "Do you really think after what we just did to them and the resulting exodus of Peacock's people, that they will be holding an auction this soon?"

"I wonder if they even have any girls left to auction." Alec said. "More of them are coming out of the woodwork every day. All from houses we never hit and in states we never stepped into."

"Maryland is out of Peacock's jurisdiction," Duane said, "so I think that whoever maintains control of the Mid-Atlantic is maintaining a tight fist over their troops there and the girls they are holding. No news is coming out of Maryland, Delaware or Virginia. Or the Carolinas or West Virginia. We've got our work cut out for us, and it starts with Peacock."

"I totally agree," I said, looking around at the troops. "It's time to really work Peacock and Gacey twice as hard. I want into that auction, and they are the keys."

"You mean you wantusinto the auction," Duane said. "You are not going anywhere near that place, badass though you may be. Why don't you just run the show from here?"

"We'll see. I'm thinking if I can send Romy disguised as Francois Peintre, and a couple of guys posing as proxies to Peacock, we just might get away with it."

"The operative word being 'might'," Duane said. "But you are not going. Right?"

"Let's just see how things wash out." I said.

"Are we gonna fight, Hannah?"

"No, Duane. We're gonna make love, and you're gonna do what I want. You always do."

If you could see a black man blush, we'd have seen it from Duane.

"Tomorrow morning, after I get the kids off to school and pull myself together, some of us are going to the safe house and having a conversation with Mr. Peacock and Mr. Gacey. I think Deacon may just be going to the party this time."

"Are you crazy, Hannah," Duane said. "That's a guarantee that this whole thing will blow up in your face."

"I don't know. If my SEALs wrap a couple of ounces of C-4 around his balls, I think we can garner hisfullcooperation. Especially when he knows that the place will be surrounded by my people ready to pounce. What do you think, Alec?"

"I love working with C-4. Let me do it. It would be my pleasure."

"Hoorah, Alec," I said. "That's the spirit."

I looked around at the team and stopped at Duane, who was giving Alec a dirty look.

"Alright, people, Lizzie and Avi are staying over. Everyone meets here for breakfast at nine, and then we'll eat, then head out to the safe house. Once we've garnered Peacock and Gacey's cooperation, we'll pull the team together and talk about a plan."

After Lizzie showed Avi to his room and went to her favorite bedroom; the one she always stayed in when she slept over, Duane and I checked in on the kids and adjourned to our room, where we made a quiet kind of love. Pillow talk, though, was tough.

"I love you, Hannah Todd, and if you think I'm going to let you go on this mission, you are sadly mistaken. I'll have Domingo take you over his knee and spank you for even thinking it."

"Hah. If you think Dom is going to strike me in any way for any reason, you are sadly mistaken, my man."

"Then I'll do it myself."

"Ha. That's when you'll see what my Domingo can do."

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Breakfast was great. Of course it was; Bertha cooked it, and it was everything. Homemade bagels, pancakes, eggs and omelets to order and home fries piled high. And real bacon and Bertha's homemade scrapple for Holly. All real. Breakfast was Bertha's masterpiece. Nobody did it better.

When Holly asked where we were all going, everyone gave the same answer. RFS business. Hush, hush. She got the message and backed off. She had a meeting at the house with Jake Johnson, our finance guy. Holly wanted to get things in order for the divorce. I think Mr. Miller was pressing her, and she was on a mission of her own.

Dom, Caroline and Alec were the security detail that escorted us to the safe house. I had some special business today and wanted to get the response I was looking for before lunchtime. Dom was no Bertha, but his beautiful wife made sure he knew his way around a kitchen. Breakfast would not be a given, but a promise. For cooperation, of course. Dom would do the cooking.

We'd also be talking to Goldheimer and Peintre today. They hadn't bathed since arriving at the safe house and were quite ripe. They had also been sleep deprived due to the time they had spent with Raven, Peacock's parrot. It seemed he didn't particularly like the smell of ripe pussy, and he let the two women, who were shacked up together, know it.

But my mission today was threefold. First, I would convince Peacock and Gacey to assist me in gaining admission to the next auction. Then I'd have one of them make the connection for me so that I'd be ready to go when the auction was scheduled. I also wanted to convince Deacon Peacock that it was in his best interest to accompany us to the auction. Under duress, of course. We had some C-4 and we knew how to use it.

"Deacon," I said. "How would you like breakfast today? I brought one of my cooks and a half dozen eggs. A couple of them could be yours if you follow my lead. I understand my guy makes a decent mushroom omelet."

"No cheese?" Peacock asked.

"Let's not get greedy, Deacon. Be happy I brought eggs. And there's lots to do before you have a chance at them."

"Haven't you taken enough from me?"

"Oh, we've only begun to take what you have to offer. You and your lieutenants. I'm going to get what I want, Deacon. If it's not from you, it will be from one of them. And the best cooperator gets the best treatment."

"My people will give you nothing. They are more afraid of me and others than they are of you."

"I don't know. They're looking pretty frightened of me. And they are damned uncomfortable. Gacey is already prepared to give it up. He's more frightened than the women who are ripe and ready. I'm surprised you can't smell them from here."

"They are tougher than they look."

"And a lot hungrier. Raven has been letting them know how disturbed he is at how badly they smell. It's amazing the assistance a shower, a change of clothes and a hot meal will get me. Especially when I let them know you have abandoned them."

"It's not abandonment. They owe me their allegiance, and they would be foolish to let me down. They know the price for disloyalty."

"Foolish, huh? Your power is gone, like your property and your riches and all those dedicated mercenaries who have abandoned you."

"Says you."

"Says the news."

I played him clips on my tablet from news channels in the five states where his troops had fled and the girls had been released and fled their imprisonment and bondage. His jaw dropped and never closed shut during the entire presentation.

"This is not AI replication, Deacon. This is real. Dozens of your people have been arrested or killed, and I expect hundreds just fled when they were informed that they would not be paid."

"You are full of it, Miss Todd. Who would tell them that? Who would know who to contact?"

"Tom Gacey. He knows how and when to cooperate. He's having an omelet for breakfast as we speak. And coffee too. I'll bet you could use some caffeine right about now."

"Gacey would never..."

"Would and did. He started with people in New York and New Jersey, and they whispered down the lane until your entire army went AWOL. The girls just came crawling out of the woodwork when they left. It was ugly, but it was effective. Watch. Look at these clips from the news. This is where you stand, Deacon. If you think you're uncomfortable now, it gets much worse if you don't help me with my pursuit."

"And that is?"

"I'd like to attend the next auction. And I'd like you to attend with me."

"Are you crazy? Do you have a death wish?"

"Do you? There are things I can do to ensure your cooperation in what would otherwise be a compromising situation. You're my ticket, Deacon. I can assure you that you will die before exposing me. But first, we have a call to make."

"A call? What makes you think I'll make a call? And to whom?"

"I don't know yet, but I will. If you don't tell me, someone in this house will."

"This house?"

"Yes, this house. It's filled with very hungry and frightened people, each waiting to sell you down the river to save themselves. Can't you smell it, Deacon? It's kind of like the ripe smell down the hall. I understand Raven has been complaining about it. I'm sure he's let you know."

"As a matter of fact, he has. Not that you've let me have him for any length of time."

"I can change that in a heartbeat. I want the name, number and location of the man or woman who runs the auctions. Then, we will contact that person together. Think about it. We make a call, and you can have a beautifully cooked two-egg mushroom omelet. I had one similar this morning, and it was just great. But I had bacon and hash browns with mine. You're gonna have to do a whole lot more to get a taste of that."

"You are a cruel bitch, Hannah Todd. I'm getting used to being hungry. I..."

"Your call, Peacock. You're not the only game in town. But you are the one I wish to play."

"What makes you think I won't just rat you out to whoever I'm speaking to?"

"Easy fix. We put the call on a time delay, and if you try we just drop the call. After that there will be hell to pay. And then I just work on one of your minions. I have assurances that at least two of them will work with me." I lied, but he didn't know that. Not about the time delay, but about the assurances. The time delay is a given.

"The more resistance you pose, the less I wish to work with you. That makes you disposable, and you don't want that. We have many creative ways to ensure your acquiescence."

"Such as?"

"How about a C-4 butt plug? My people are great with that kind of stuff."

"You think you're pretty badass, don't you?"

"So I've been told. By tougher men than you. I have others to speak with, Peacock. Or should I say, Dove? I'll be back soon, if I need to be. In the meantime, enjoy your hunger."

I turned and left the room with Dom, before he could say another word.

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I stuck my head into the room shared by Greta Goldheimer and her friend, Frankie. Boy, it stunk in there. Even the bird couldn't stand it. And he let me know it.

"Lute Steep, Lute Steep. Smells like pussy. Lute Steep." I've never seen two more worn-down women in all my life. Even some of the gals Todd Recovery had rescued appeared in better shape, although they weren't. I felt the need to talk to them, so I asked Dom if he could come up with a couple of gas masks for us to wear as we questioned them. Being bisexual, I liked the smell of pussy as much as the next lesbian, but this was overwhelming. This was stench times two.

So I decided to work on Tom Gacey. He smelled bad as well, but nothing like the women.

"Tell me about the auctions, Tom. I have a vested interest in what is going on. At least one is upcoming, and I would like us to attend. I'd really like to go with Peacock, but I'm finding you may be a better choice. I feel that you and I have a better chance of striking a mutually beneficial arrangement."

The Auction Ch. 01

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