✅ A Dose of Humiliation

63. Double or Nothing

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"Are you okay?" I asked. For the first time since we had met, Serena actually looked nervous, and I wondered if she was having second thoughts about this plan. I was sure that she didn't actually need to go through with it if she didn't want to; she could just say she was withdrawing consent, and it would surely take him at least a couple of days to follow through on his blackmail; by which time Mr Tong would surely be back. I didn't think Becker would actually know much about Serena's daddy, except that the man was almost impossible to reach when it came to complaints about his daughter. The pharmacist would probably assume that meant he wasn't interested.

"Come on, we don't have all day. Your friend can wait out here if you really need sympathy after you get the shot."

"Can she come in with me?" Serena asked, wondering whether Becker would object. "I'm pretty nervous, and it would be good to have a friend there."

"You should have the consequences of your actions sooner," Becker said, gloating like some comic book villain. But then he glanced up at the man beside him, who had started to make more notes on his clipboard, and quickly changed his tune: "Of course, it's your right to have an impartial observer attend your appointment with you, to ensure that nothing inappropriate happens. But it will be pretty crowded in the back room, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to–"

He stopped when he saw that Serena had grabbed my hand. I was sure that he didn't want me to be there; but I wasn't about to cause any new problems for him. When I'd been thinking about how this would go, I had been worried that he might add some options to the shot without discussing it with Pine. Serena was happy to be punished, but she in no way wanted the ordeal that I had to endure. We'd actually been planning that I would protest that it was inappropriate for her to get the shot from Todd's father, when he was the one making the complaint against her. Mr Pine wouldn't want to go through with something that he knew to be illegal; and would probably insist on getting an opinion from one of the mall's lawyers. And then he could take the syringes from Becker – paying the usual fee, of course – and hire another pharmacist to actually deliver the shot. But all of that should be unnecessary now, because I didn't think that even Becker was willing to test his luck in front of an inspector.

We all filed into the back room. Three men and two teenage girls; and as promised, the place was pretty crowded.

"I'm sorry that it's a little tight in here," Becker said. "We've got an auditor today, making sure that I'm up to date on all the procedures. Nothing to worry about, of course."

"Of course," Mr Pine mumbled. "So, do I need to... uhh..."

"You're the responsible adult?" the inspector asked. "I'm Mr Wallis, legislative compliance. Could I ask you to go over the reasons for this dose with me before we continue? Just a confirmation that all the paperwork is in order."

Pine nodded; of course he did. He would have done whatever he was told by any kind of authority figure. And as Wallis led him out into the corridor for a little privacy, I quickly followed. It was a silly impulse, and I didn't even think about why I was going, but I darted through before Becker could stop me.

"Ah, I thought you would be staying with your friend," Wallis said, looking at me with a little confusion. And then he noticed Becker's attempts to grab my arm, and politely but firmly closed the door in the pharmacist's face. "But I would rather like to know what Mr Becker doesn't want you to say to me."

"I did want to stay with Serena," I said. "But I doubt he'll have the chance to molest her in like two minutes. And I wanted to be sure that he's not pulling any tricks like he did with me. That the drugs in those syringes are actually what her... designated adult selected."