Identity Illusion

Chapter 1

The smell of the coffee was all consuming to Ryan's nostrils. It wasn't that he loved the aroma, it was more that he had grown to depend on it, that and the taste of the ground beans. He had spent so much time on 24 hour interrogations trying to glean intelligence, that stimulants to prolong his energy were essential and coffee was one of the safest and most tasty. Now that his job was less field based and more working from his own Government equipped basement, the stimulant necessity was less but his need seemed just as great.

Ryan poured the coffee leaving it black, just as he liked it, and he made his way back to the desk. The light was unnatural in his working zone, his basement had no windows, but it was essential that he was able to keep his working area separate from his personal space, which was just up the staircase at the far end of the large basement. He touched the screen and the four-way page split burst back into life, each quartered screen segment representing a camera shot in Claire Jensen's apartment. He saw movement in the top right section and again he touched the screen enlarging it to full size. He leaned forward on his elbows keen to watch his nubile teenage subject strip off her clothes as she looked to be preparing for the shower.

A smile played across his lips. Although only Eighteen, Claire had many of her late mother's features and was a burgeoning replica of her curvaceous body. He moistened his lips as she pulled her tank top over her head, completely unaware that she was being watched, and dropped it on the floor. She kicked off her shorts and as she exited the bedroom Ryan clicked onto the bathroom to see her enter there. He chewed his lip as her underwear was discarded and she stepped naked into the shower. That was where he lost her as the rising steam and the closed glass door left him watching only a tantalisingly, provocative body shape.

He kicked back his chair and stood with his coffee mug in hand. With a sigh he looked around the basement and the image of Claire's mother, Agent Stephanie Jensen, materialised in his head. Stephanie Jensen. Her name made his stomach flutter. Stephanie Jensen. Had he meant to kill her? Had he wanted to kill her? He certainly had the 'no-questions-asked' remit to do so. She was a confirmed AUS, Agent Under Suspicion, and it was Ryan's job to find out what truth lie in those suspicions. He had spent 10 years doing that same job on the frontline, in Iraq and Afghanistan and in Eastern Europe which was probably the hardest place to interrogate suspects. There were some hard Mothers in the territories of Eastern Europe, and Ryan had met plenty of them.

Interrogating Stephanie Jensen had been easy, in fact ... Ryan paused, in fact it had been almost enjoyable ... Again he paused ... Admit it Ryan, it had definitely been enjoyable ... He smiled in remembrance of her writhing, squirming, begging body and how he made it perform. Mmmm, yep, definitely enjoyable.

He let his hand run lazily over a set of heavy chains hanging from the ceiling, recalling how Stephanie had been the last person to be held by them, then his gaze moved to the irons and the frame and the whips and the knives. Five days he had kept her down here in his 'work zone'. Five days for her to tell him more than he ever expected to find out. She had been rogue, though in many ways he kind of understood her motives, but rogue is rogue and he had a remit to torture her, and to ultimately kill her, should he choose. In return for this, instead of being hunted down for murder he was given more commendations, a large National pat on the back, and yet more payments into his already fairly full coffers.

He returned to the screen just as the very pretty Claire was getting out of the shower. Damn towel! As she dried herself he felt his groin beginning to swell, seeing her nakedness come into view. He had watched her shave herself a few days ago, would she do it again? He hoped so!

Ryan let the camera output screen slip into screen saver mode. He was hungry, time to eat. He made his way upstairs with images of Stephanie Jensen coming more and more into his head. The stairs were dark, despite the basement light and he had to walk carefully. The sound of the uncovered iron staircase, spiralling from floor to door, brought Stephanie's appearance in his work zone more and more to life. He recalled how she struggled, her wrists cuffed and her mouth gagged, when he pushed her ahead of him causing her to fall the last few stairs onto the hard concrete floor. She probably sprained an ankle at that point, it certainly swelled up, but over the following five days not once did Stephanie have the freedom to walk again.