"My guests this morning are Eda Chang, screenwriter of the film being released just six days from now, on Friday, in the United States and here in Japan called PLAYING THE GAME. It is her first screen credit. And April Donahue, the film's director, who has directed many films, but none as controversial as this one. Miss Chang, you haven't given any interviews before this one. Why not and why this interview?"

"I'm a private person, Mr. Katoshi. I don't like being interviewed. But my contract says that I have to promote the film, so I am here in Tokyo, on the radio, which seemed the kind of interview that would least invade my privacy."

"An honest answer. Very refreshing. So how is it that a young woman -- you can't be past your late 20s ..."

"I'm 32, Mr. Katoshi."

"How did you come to write what the film industry is calling, to quote one of the reviewers, '90-minutes of brutal violence against women masquerading as a film?"

"The film is 135 minutes, so perhaps the critic liked the other 45 minutes. But, actually, the violence is just part of the film. The film is fiction. It's fantasy, which is what most movie goers want or there would be more documentaries. Viewers want escapism. They want to feel excitement and fear, but as voyeurs, not participants. They let the actors suffer their fates while they sit safely in their theater seats eating their popcorn. Viewers want sex and violence in their films. But the sex and violence in PLAYING THE GAME isn't gratuitous. Everything that happens advances the plot, or twists it, and gives insight into the characters. Which I don't think most films can say about the sex and violence that they include. PLAYING THE GAME isn't about sex or violence. It's about life and death."

"You say it's not about violence, but a lot of it is set in a dungeon where several woman are stripped, raped and tortured mercilessly in lengthy scenes and in graphic detail. Some are killed. Miss Donahue, you told the trade papers that you were barely able to make the cuts necessary to get the film an R rating in the United States in time for its upcoming release."

April looked at him. "The uncut version is being released here in Japan. The United States claims to believe in free speech, but it only allows it to go so far."

"You have to admit, Miss Donahue, that much of the controversy arises from the fact that the film was written and directed by women."

"And it is a shame that the focus is on the fact that women created a violent film," April responded. "The scenes on which everyone focuses are an integral part of the film, which is a thriller. Its plot takes several unusual and interesting turns that should keep the viewer guessing exactly what is going on, which we think they will find satisfying. The scenes on which everyone is focusing help give the film a greater sense of reality, and we weren't going to sacrifice that."

Katoshi looked back to Eda. "Miss Chang, apart from the controversy over this first film for you, and your apparent fear about a loss of privacy, you must be pleased with what has happened to your career in the last few months. You appear to be an overnight success."

Eda laughed. "Only if the night has lasted more than 10 years, which is how long I've been writing."

"This is just the first of three projects in which you are now involved, is that correct?"

"Yes. A second film I've written, called THE PYRAMID, comes out in the summer, and a third, called GETTING WHAT YOU WISH FOR, is presently in pre-production. It should be ready for release in about a year."

"Will those be as controversial?

"I hope not. But they too will contain violence that is integral to the story."

April interrupted. "One problem is that, because Miss Chang's stories are mysteries and thrillers, we can't reveal too much in interviews. Which leaves everyone talking just about the violence. That's not really fair to the film."

Chapter 2

April and Eda walked to their car with their Japanese driver, Mari, a woman in her mid-20s. Mari had volunteered to take the women to their interviews, which had been arranged by her boss. She wore a black business jacket with a white blouse and short black pencil skirt, black fish-net stockings and black heels. It was not clear whether she really needed her black-rimmed glasses or whether she just wore them to present an air of intelligence to go with her natural beauty and sleek body.

In the back of the limo, April put a hand on Eda's knee. "You did well. And it will get easier." Eda offered only a sigh and shake of her head. She too was dressed in a dark business suit and white blouse, though her skirt was to her knee and she wore neither stockings nor glasses. But the obvious comparison between how Eda wore her suit and how Mari wore hers, which definitely favored Mari, only added to Eda's unease, particularly when April had dressed so casually in jeans, sandals and a loose-fitting top that did nothing to constrain her breasts, which would have required a C-cup, maybe even a D, to do the job, though Eda doubted that the free-spirited April even owned a bra. April saw Eda staring at her and could read her mind. "Eda, the interviews are all on radio. You look lovely, but there was no need to dress up. So don't be angry with me."

"The next station is in the basement of an office skyscraper that is owned by my boss, Kasomi Yama, who operates a successful import-export business. The station's audience is much smaller than the last one, so there is no need for you to be too nervous, Miss Chang," Mari offered from the driver's seat without turning her head to look through the open slot that neither Eda nor April bothered to close between the driver's compartment and the back of the limo. "We're already almost there," she added.

"Just sit me down where I need to be, ask me the questions and get this over with," Eda begged. "Next time I'm going to take less money and insist that I not be required to promote the film. I hate this."

April leaned over to hug Eda, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "The film turned out the way you wanted, didn't it? You were happy with my work?"

Eda hesitated for a second, causing April to frown. As soon as Eda saw this she sputtered, "Yes. Yes. I was very happy. I only paused because I didn't expect the controversy. I was very naive." Eda noticed that the limo had entered an underground parking structure and was circling down to a lower level.

"You'd probably have a much bigger box office film if I'd toned it down. I mean, the story works very well without all the violence. Just not as realistically. So I think that I cost you -- and me -- a lot of money. But you didn't strike me as someone who cared about mass audience appeal."

Before Eda could respond, the car stopped at the very bottom of the structure. Two men were waiting to open the doors and help April and Eda out. "I'll meet you back here. You shouldn't be more than 30 or 40 minutes," Mari told them.

The two men and two women walked toward the elevator, leaving Mari standing by the side of the car. Eda was surprised when, after entering the elevator, one of the men pushed the button not for one of the building's 45 floors, but for the only level below them. What a claustrophobic place from which to run a radio station, she thought.

When the door opened, the place was buzzing. Immediately, Eda and April were welcomed by four people. The only introduction that Eda heard clearly was from an older man who gave his name as Kasomi Yama, whom she remembered was Mari's boss, the wealthy businessman who owned the building and the station and had arranged the interviews for them.

"Here's what we are going to do," a man who must have been the producer told them. "We are going to conduct your interviews separately. First, Miss Director's. Then Miss Writer's." He looked at them and bowed ever so slightly as he addressed them. Eda's heart immediately sank.

"Wait, no," she began to protest. "That's not what we agreed." By that time, however, the producer had already taken April's arm and marched her toward the studio, his entourage following. All except Kasomi, who sensed Eda's growing panic. "I need to think," she told him. "How much time before it's my turn?"

"Fifteen minutes, but I'll tell him to give you more time," Kasomi responded. "Thank you," Eda replied and walked away from the studio, her mind deep in thought.

Chapter 3

When Eda came out of her near trance, she realized that she had wandered to the end of a long hallway, then left down another hallway until she reached a series of closed doors. The floor and walls down this second hallway were made of stone and the area was only dimly lit. She could see or hear no one else, only the clank of her heels on the hard floor. She had no idea how much time had passed.

As she turned to walk back, she noticed that the door to one of the rooms was partially open. She pushed it fully open, found a light switch on the wall, and flicked it. Four torch-shaped bulbs along its far wall lit the room enough for Eda to see that it was large and rectangular. But it was what was inside the room that caused Eda's mouth to open. A dungeon? Underneath a Tokyo high rise office building? Next to a radio station? Impossible. But there it was. A strange sensation overcame her. Chains hanging from hooks in the ceiling. Chains and cuffs hanging from the walls. An x-frame. A rack. A metal chair. Eda took a step inside to survey the room better. Tables with metal instruments on them that she couldn't quite make out from a distance. Was this a kinky playroom or was it a real dungeon, she wondered.

"Does it scare you or excite you, Miss Chang?"

Eda jumped and let out a short scream, startled by Kasomi's voice. Lost in thought, first about her interview and then about the dungeon, she had not heard him approach.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to alarm you," he apologized. "I just wanted to tell you that I've arranged for the station to separate your two interviews. Miss Donahue has just finished hers, and is taking questions from listeners for a few minutes, which is something that you do not have to do if you do not want to. After the questions, we are going to run a 30-minute news break before your interview begins. So you still have at least half an hour before you need to head back. I hope I did well in getting you the extra time that you wanted."

Eda was still trying to catch her breath from the fright. "Yes. Yes. Thank you. I .... I wasn't really snooping. The door was left open, so I looked inside," she explained without being asked what she was doing in the room.

"So, as I asked before, does what you see scare you or excite you?" Kasomi walked past Eda, into the room, then held out his hand to her. She paused, considering, then took it, and he led her toward its center, her eyes fixed on the chains.

"I've read some of your stories, Miss Chang," Kasomi told her, "and it seems that you like to include settings not too different from this room in your stories. And, since you give some of your less fortunates in your stories your own name, might I assume that you either have played the captive in rooms like this ... or wish to play her?"

Eda moved toward the head of the rack, and ran her fingers along the chains circling its roller, before looking up at Kasomi. He was at least 25 years older than she, she thought, but that didn't matter much to her. What mattered was that he was a wealthy successful man. A powerful man. And a man with a dungeon playroom. "We'd both know I was lying if I said you were wrong."

"Is 30 minutes enough time for you?" Kasomi asked directly. A powerful man used to telling people what he wanted. And used to getting it much more often than not. Eda liked that.

"Hardly," Eda responded, walking toward him. She reached her arms around his neck. "But it could be a start." She kissed his mouth, her tongue probing for his. He complied. When she finally broke off the kiss, she added, her face close to his, "And it would relax me for my interview." Clearly she was a woman with compartmentalized emotions, terrified in a nonthreatening setting, such as a simple radio interview, yet perfectly at ease in the present room that would terrify most.

"All right, Miss Chang," Kasomi's voice was soothing, "let's give it a start." Then, suddenly, he spun her around and pulled her jacket down her arms, removed it and tossed it onto the rack, gripping her wrists tightly and holding them behind her back. She made no effort to resist as he pushed her to the wall, turned her around again to face him, and locked her wrists into two cuffs chained behind her to the middle of the wall. He unfastened the belt of her skirt, unzipped its side and pulled it down to the floor, tossing it, too, on the rack after she stepped out it. He kicked her ankles about two feet apart and secured them to cuffs chained to the floor. Eda could feel her nipples harden under her shirt and bra. Kasomi reached around her neck and grabbed a chain from the wall that he pulled around her throat until she could not move her head away from the wall. Stepping back to survey his work, Kasomi nodded. "Very nice. Very nice, indeed." He stepped toward her and slowly began unbuttoning her shirt, then pulled it open to reveal her thin white bra. He pulled the bra up over her head, then down behind her neck. His hands moved to her small breasts and dark nipples and began to massage them, next moving his head down to suck her left breast deep into his mouth, his tongue circling her nipple. Eda shuddered involuntarily. After a few seconds, he released it and took a step back to look at her.

"You do like this, don't you?" Kasomi's question required no answer. He reached down between her legs, pushed the small strap of her panties aside, and probed her with two fingers. "So moist so fast. How nice for you. But we haven't time for a complete scene, do we? What is your preference?"

Eda licked her lips with her tongue. "Do me now. Now," she responded, with urgency in her voice. Then, after the interview, we can come back for more."

"What about your director friend? Is she into this, too?"

"I'm sure that you can have her, too. I know you can. You can even bring three friends if you want."

Kasomi took another second to admire his work. There was Eda, naked from the waist up except for her shirt pulled wide open, hanging from her shoulders, and her bra pulled around her neck, arms chained behind her back. Naked from the waist down except for her sheer white panties with the strap between her legs pulled to the side. Begging a man she had met not 15 minutes earlier to take her, her body shaking in anticipation.

"Isn't this where the sadist tells the masochist 'no'?" He teased her.

"If you want me to do that interview ...."

Kasomi stood in front of Eda and unzipped his pants, then pulled his penis out and walked up to her. Eda closed her eyes, and pulled at her bonds as he easily entered her and thrust upward. "Oh, God yes," she screamed as he pushed up and back again. And again. And again. As the chains from her ankles limited how far she could move her body upward, his thrusts pushed deeper and deeper into her, until the increased frequency of her pleas of "yes ... yes" left her no time to continue to thank God for her pleasure. She held her last scream of "yes" for as long as Kasomi held his final thrust before releasing himself into her. He tried to hold himself inside her even after that, but, once he was spent, he was no longer of much use to her there, and he finally withdrew.

Eda was breathing heavily, her body bathed in a light sweat. If she got this excited over a quick one like this, Kasomi thought, he could only image what she would be like when they had the proper amount of time.

She stared at him as he moved his penis back in his pants and re-zipped them. Her chest continued to heave, as she felt him release her ankles from their cuffs, and then her wrists. Slowly she pulled her bra back over her head and breasts, and re-buttoned her shirt, as he zipped her into her skirt and secured her belt.

She moved up to him and again threw her arms around his neck. "That was wonderful. Can't wait for after the interview."

He handed her jacket to her, and they headed out of the room back toward the station.

Chapter 4

"You're on, you're late. We've been looking for you," the station's producer started to berate Eda when he saw her down the hallway, then stopped as soon as he saw Kasomi behind her. "We've been playing filler music for five minutes. We'll have to shorten the interview." Eda certainly didn't mind that. Fewer questions and the faster she'd be back in the room with Kasomi and, likely, three other men. And April.

"Where's April? How did she do?"

"She did great. I think she went to the cafeteria." The producer hustled Eda into the studio and helped her put on a pair of headphones. She gave her interviewer a sheepish grin.

"And we're back with the final hour of Today in Film. I'm Kami Tori and, now that you've heard from April Donahue, the director of the film PLAYING THE GAME, I'm here with the film's writer, Eda Chang. Eda nodded. Kami signaled her to speak into the microphone. "Nice to be here," she managed.

"So, Miss Chang, I'm sure that you've already been asked a lot of questions about the violence against women in your film -- and in your upcoming films, as well -- and you're probably tired of those questions, aren't you?"

"Yes. I am. Yes." Was he not going to condemn her the same way the first interviewer had, she wondered.

"So let me ask you something different," Kami continued. Eda started to feel a sense of relief. Maybe this would be easier. "A lot of your stories, and I read several to prepare for this interview, take place in very specific settings. You set most of the second half of PLAYING THE GAME in Paracas, Peru, and describe and name one of the residential streets in that city. I can't say that I know of any other film set in that city. How accurate are you descriptions? How much research do you do before writing your stories?"

Now this was a much better topic for discussion, Eda thought. "Enough to make sure that the story will be as realistic as possible, but, if I need to make a change for purposes of the story, I will do that, although only to the extent necessary. So I am not a slave to complete accuracy, but I do try to get my facts right and use the facts as much as possible."

"And is the same true of your characters. For example, you describe drug lords and drug families and military personnel. What research do you do to make those characters accurate? As much as you do on your settings"

Eda was now totally relaxed, even, dare say, beginning to enjoy herself. They were talking about the more important aspects of her work now, not its violence. "I try, but, since I've written about 30 stories on spec, without any compensation for my time, there was only so much that I could do. I did my best. But now that I'm actually going to start earning something from my stories, I should be able to spend a lot more time making them even more accurate."

"Many of the characters in your stories are terrifying characters, including some of your female characters. You don't seem to hesitate to use female villains as well as male villains."

"No, I don't. And that is why it is very frustrating for me to read that my writing is supposedly anti-feminist, since I believe that my stories contain many strong women characters."

Kami pondered for a second. "Well, I don't think that I can end this interview without at least noting that your critics focus negatively on the degree of violence in your work. Miss Donahue claimed, and I imagine you agree with her, that the violence is an integral part of your stories. What do you think are your biggest strengths as a writer. And your biggest weakness?"

Eda was relieved at the twist that the question took, referencing the violence, but then not asking directly about it. "I think that my biggest strength is in setting the proper psychological tone for the situations created in my stories, for bringing my readers ... and now viewers ... into the scenes psychologically, to allow them to understand what the characters are thinking that drives their actions. And that makes the violence in them necessary."

"And your biggest weakness as a writer?"

Eda laughed. "I was hoping that you had forgotten that part of the question. I would say that I still have a lot of trouble writing my plots from two ongoing perspectives at the same time, and then integrating them. I still write too one-dimensionally for my satisfaction."

"Well, Miss Chang, it appears that some in the industry don't agree with your criticism, because you have three new films coming out this year, as I understand it. Congratulations to you, and thanks for being on Today in Film, with me, Kami Tori. We'll be back after this message."

Chapter 5

"I haven't seen April to invite her to our little party," Eda joined Kasomi outside the studio.

"I saw her and invited her while you were in your interview," Kasomi assured Eda, as he took her hand and started to walk with her down the hall. "I think she said she had to run to the bathroom first. But I didn't tell her the exact nature of what we had in mind. As you suggested, I also invited several others." Eda saw that Kami and the producer were now approaching them quickly from behind. "And I have two more who will help set the atmosphere already there. A total of eight players. Any objection?"

"Not at all. But shouldn't April have had a chance to catch up with us by now?"

"At this point," they had reached the end of the first hallway, and turned down the section with the stone walls and floor, "to set the right mood, I don't think that you should get to ask any more questions, only to answer ours. Is that acceptable to you?"

"So the play has started?"

"It has started." The words were barely out of Eda's mouth when she felt the two men behind her grab her upper arms and pull them back, and turned to see Kasomi pull out a revolver and point it in her face. "We have finally caught you, you little traitor. Now you will come with us." [See Eda Pic] A dark hood was placed over her head and secured at her neck. Her wrists pulled behind her back and cuffed, as were her ankles, with a short chain between them that permitted only small shuffling steps. The men then pushed her down the center of the hall, taking care to keep her from banging into the walls.

Eda remembered roughly how far down the hallway the room to which she was being pushed was. Before she was close to it, she could hear what sounded like screams coming from behind the walls. If this was part of the "atmosphere" that Kasomi was creating, then he was doing an excellent job, as the sounds sent chills down Eda's spine. Could one of these unfortunates be April?

Finally, Eda felt the men grip her elbows tight and she knew that she was to stop walking. They had reached the room. She could hear the door creak open, and then, after she was pushed into it, close and lock. Suddenly, everything around her was quiet. She was marched toward the room's center, then turned toward the short side of the rectangle. The hood was pulled off her head and she blinked to adjust her eyes to the light, dim as it was. In front of her stood five men. Kasomi, Kami, the Producer, and two large well-built men, each wearing only black pants, his bulky arms folded in front of his massive shirtless chest. They looked like they came from central casting for a medieval torture film. Eda knew that a few of her stories contained characters like this, but the only one that she could remember now was the Hunk in GETTING WHAT YOU ASK FOR. Maybe that role hadn't yet been cast in pre-production. If not, she had two good candidates.

"Miss Eda Chang," Kasomi spoke, "let me first introduce you to the two men here you have not yet met. This is Cain and that is Abel. We call them that because this one "can" and that one is "able" to do whatever I ask of them. You have been charged with treason against the state. Now that you know who your accusers are and what the charges are, we will proceed."

"Treason?" Eda responded automatically.

"Silence!!" Kasomi ordered. "You will speak only when spoken to, and then only to answer fully and truthfully the question that you are asked. Do you understand?" Eda hesitated. "Do you understand ??!!"

"Yes. Yes." Eda realized that a response was required of her.

"Accused criminals must be completely naked during questioning. You may remove your clothes yourself or my men will remove them for you. What is your choice?"

Eda looked at the two men, who remained motionless, arms folded. "Myself," she answered, trying to ensure that her clothes were ruined as little as possible in the process.

"Very well." Cain approached and removed the cuffs holding Eda's wrists and ankles, then returned to his spot at one end of the line of five men. Eda wondered whether she would be required to service them all. When she spoke with Kasomi originally, she had said four men for two women. Then he told her six men for the two woman. But now there were five men and just she.

"Stand straight with your hands clasped behind your neck," Kasomi instructed. Eda obeyed.

"Remove your jacket. Then resume this same position."

Eda pulled her jacket off, and tossed it toward Kasomi, who let it fall to the floor. Then she clasped her hands behind her neck, as before.

"Your skirt next."

Eda obeyed, unfastening her belt, unzipping the side of her skirt, letting it fall to the ground and stepping out of it. She reached down, and tossed it on top of her jacket on the floor, stood up and clasped her hands behind her neck, just as she had been ordered.

Kasomi waited for a minute, and Eda began to shake, knowing that, between her heels and her waist she wore only a thin pair of white panties at which five lustful men were now staring.

"Your shirt."

A bit more deliberately now, Eda unbuttoned her shirt, pulled it off her shoulders, and held it in her hands at her waist. She took a deep breath, knowing the men were now all staring at her breasts, covered only by her thin white bra, and tossed the shirt into her pile of clothes.

She saw the men look at each other, then back to her, and again at each other. Cain approached her, his eyes staring at her body, and began to walk around her. She started to shiver uncontrollably, her stomach muscles twitching noticeably. When he finished his circle, he moved directly in front of her, lifted her chin, and looked into her eyes. After a few long seconds, he removed his hand from her chin and returned to the line of men. Eda continued to shake, waiting for Kasomi's next instruction. It seemed quite obvious to her what it would be.

But he surprised her. "Raise your hands over your head,. Kasomi ordered. She obeyed. When she heard a noise above her and started to look up, though, Kasomi immediately ordered her to look forward. From the sound, she figured he was lowering some kind of chains from the ceiling. A second later, Abel approached, reached above, and confirmed the accuracy of her guess as he secured her right wrist, then her left, in metal cuffs, shoulder-width apart, after which the chains were pulled upward until her feet were off the ground. Eda's body began to sway, and she could feel the pain in her shoulders, which were forced to bear her entire weight.

Now Abel reached down and grabbed Eda's left ankle, securing it to a cuff attached to a chain in the floor, like the one that Kasomi had used on her the last time they had been in the room. After he did the same to her right ankle, Eda found that her ankles too were shoulder-width apart, her body suspended in the air, wearing only her bra, panties and heels, her feet unable to reach the floor.

"We are almost ready to begin your questioning and trial," Kasomi announced. "But first ...."

Abel pulled a knife out from his belt. He held it up in front of Eda's eyes, then moved it between her breasts. She held her breath. With a flick, he cut the middle of her bra, freeing her breasts from its hold, exposing them to the eager eyes of the men. One more flick would soon come, Eda knew, and she soon would be hanging, suspended, in front of these men completely naked and completely helpless, with her entire body accessible to whatever evil doing they had in mind for her. She had played these kind of scenes in real life quite a number of times with some trusted friends, and her underwear usually did not survive intact. She assumed that Kasomi would provide her with new underwear once the game was over. But, for now, the game was just beginning, and Eda felt her body begin to glaze in sweat in anticipation of what was to come.

Her eyes followed Abel's knifed hand down to the side of her panties. With one flick, her panties wrapped around her leg, and, with a second, he cut them off her body and held them in his hands. He reached down and rubbed his hand between her legs, as if she needed any reminder that, except for her heels, she was naked. For a second she regretted having shaved herself completely that morning, something that she didn't normally do. But then the thought excited her. Not even her normal thin line of hair now protected her. She was utterly helpless, actually and symbolically. Her heart was racing.

Chapter 6

Abel moved back to the line of men standing and admiring Eda's petite body. She looked from one to the other, trying to get some idea of what they next planned for her. She did not have long to wait.

"Miss Eda Chang, your trial and questioning will now begin. How plead you to the charge of treason? And beware, a false plea is itself a crime."

"Not ... not guilty. Not guilty of treason. Or any other crime," Eda shouted defiantly, her chains rattling. Her shoulders were now really starting to ache from the burden of her weight. 5' 5", 115 pounds was small, but shoulders were not made to bear even that weight for any length of time.

"Foolish, but it is your right. Very well, I will proceed with your questioning," Kasomi took a step forward. His hand reached out to rub between her legs, continuing until he received the moan of pleasure that he sought, then moving it across her stomach and back, feeling her sweat, as he slowly circled her. "Miss Chang, from whom did you learn about our organization?" He moved his shoe to the back of her left heel and kicked it down and off.

From ... from no one," Eda managed her response, her body trembling from Kasomi's touch. "I ... I don't know anything about your organization." Kasomi waited for her to finish his answer before kicking off her other heel, completing, at least psychologically, her total nakedness.

"Really?" Kasomi moved back in front of her and looked into her eyes. "Then how did you learn that our operation out of this building was a front for our sales of ... let's call it ... more controversial products."

"I have no idea what goes on in this building or any other building that your company may own."

Admit that you research your stories before you write them?"

"Yes, of course," Eda's shoulders were blazing in pain. "My shoulders. Could you please at least lower my feet to the floor? Please. This is very painful."

Her plea was met with a hard slap across her face from the back of Kasomi's hand, which sent her head reeling to the side . His ring made a small cut on her lip, which began to bleed slowly. Eda blinked hard and tasted the blood in her mouth. This was already more real than any scene she had ever played.

"And that, I trust, dear Miss Chang, was even more painful," Kasomi's voice was cold. "Now, again, my question, and this time remember that it is I who asks the questions and you who answers them."

Eda didn't wait for him to repeat it. "Yes. I research my stories. Most writers do."

"And you make your stories as accurate as you can, based on your research?"

"Of course. That's the point of the research. Unless the truth would not be interesting or dramatic. Then I may modify it to the extent necessary."

"But all of your stories are interesting and dramatic, aren't they?"

"Yes," Eda's eyes were fixed on Kasomi, "at least I think so."

"And you have people who help you in your research?"

"Sometimes I ask people more knowledgeable about a subject than I. Yes." Eda was exhausted from the pressure and pain in her shoulders as she hung in her chains, her toes unable to reach the floor. Kasomi could see her struggling.

"So who did you ask about my organization and about this building? And about me?"

Eda stared at him, finally realizing what he was suggesting. "You can't really believe that, can you? I just made up some names and background for the story. I didn't have any help. I didn't do any research."

"You just happened to set the story in a high rise office building in Tokyo?"

"Yes. It just fit well with the story."

"And you just happened to put a dungeon in the basement of this high rise building?" Kasomi's voice had started to rise, his anger intensifying. He didn't wait for Eda to answer. "And you just happened to name the head of Tokyo's vice empire Makoto Sama? An obvious reference to me. A play on my name !! Tell me that Makoto Sama wasn't supposed to be me, Kasomi Yama !!" Deny it !!"

Eda could not believe what she was hearing. "Of course I deny it. I just made up the name. You think that because you're rich everything must always be about you?"

"And the building. And the dungeon. And the location. And the vice. And the leadership. And the control. No, Miss Chang, you had help. You must have had help. You could not have learned all that we have kept secret on your own. You had an insider in my organization. Who was it? What else did you learn about my operations? And who else did you tell?"

Eda pulled helplessly at her bonds. Unless Kasomi was the greatest role player she had ever known, she now realized that she was the only one in the room who had been playing a game.

"I have it all right here." The Producer handed Kasomi several sheets of paper. "Do you want me to go through it?" Kasomi asked. "You called your story PRICE OF BETRAYAL, and, let me tell you something, you will wind up like the characters in your story unless you start to give me some truthful answers !!" Eda heard a noise coming from her left and realized that Kami had walked to the far wall and was now wheeling back a table on which appeared to be ... she couldn't make out anything specific, but she knew what had to be on that table. Her eyes followed him as he walked back to the wall, and then returned wheeling a metal brazier. He moved the brazier next to the table, took a matchbook out of his pocket, and dropped a lighted match into it. Instantly flames shot up from it.

"It will take a few minutes to heat appropriately, Miss Chang," Kasomi told her. "In the meantime, you haven't asked about your friend, Miss Donahue."

Chapter 7

Absorbed in her own situation, Eda had forgotten that she hadn't seen April since they exited the elevator upon their arrival in the building.

"Miss Donahue is being questioned in another room." Kasomi informed her.

"But why?" Eda pleaded. "Why would you want to question her? She didn't write the story. I don't know that she has even read that story. She's the director of a film based on an entirely different story."

"Yes, Miss Chang, we know that," Kasomi agreed. "But our purpose is two-fold actually. First, just because she's not yet directing your PRICE OF BETRAYAL ..."

"Not yet directing !! PRICE OF BETRAYAL isn't even one of my stories that's been sold. No one's making it into a film."

"As I was saying, Miss Donahue appears to be someone you trust with your work, and someone who appears to have the same kind of interest in your kind of deviant writing as you do. We need to know if you shared with her how you came to write that story, what research you did for her, and who helped you with that research. But that is only one of our two reasons for interrogating Miss Donahue."

Eda stared at him, but said nothing.

"Either she knows or she doesn't. If she knows, then reason one is justification enough for questioning her. But even if she doesn't know -- and we concede that there is a possibility that you are telling us the truth when you say that she does not -- then it is your own failure to tell us the truth that is causing Miss Donahue such pain, and we think that you might like to stop her suffering." Kasomi walked over to the table and pushed a button at its corner. "Tojo, we're in room 5 with Miss Chang. She wants to hear from her friend, Miss Donahue. The walls are thick so Miss Donahue is going to have to speak loudly."

"Yes, Sir," the male voice replied, and a few seconds later Miss Chang distinctly heard a female scream. A long and hideous female scream.

"What are you doing to her?" Eda demanded.

"Once again, Miss Chang, you have violated our rule," Kasomi's voice was suddenly calm. "But this time I will answer your question. Next time, you may wish to be careful what you ask to know." Kasomi pushed a second button on the table, and he and the others stepped to the side of the room. The wall that Eda faced lit up like a movie screen, revealing a room not unlike the one that she now occupied. A man built and dressed like Cain and Abel -- massive and shirtless -- stared into the camera lens, filling up most of the screen. He seemed to be checking that the camera was on. Finally, he decided that it was.

"Mr. Yama, sir. At your instructions I have been interrogating the director woman. I apologize to you, but so far, even as my methods have grown harsher, she had continued to deny receiving any information from the writer woman. I am now about to move to stage three.

"Very well, Tojo. Proceed," Kasomi spoke into a small device that he held in his hand.

Tojo turned and walked back toward the center of the room, revealing its other occupant. Eda's scream of "Nooooooo" filled her own room.

April had been placed in the center of the other room.her wrists chained overhead to cuffs dropped from a chain in the ceiling. There was no sign of her top, jeans or shoes. Across her chest was what Eda recognized, from time spent on the internet as a breast press, although she had never seen one in real life. The press now held the targets for which it was designed -- the bases of April's breasts -- and the screws on its sides had been tightened until her engorged breasts bulged out of them. Tojo had also added nipple clamps from which dangled a small chain that joined them. April's knees had started to buckle, forcing her to lean forward slightly. A small patch of dark hair was visible between her legs, which she held tightly together. April still held her head up, but her eyes were clenched shut. [See April Pic] Worse, Eda could see, by the dark red stripes across April's stomach, thighs and back, that she had been whipped, apparently while in this same position. The lines were thickest and darkest where the whip had cut deepest and the blood had begun to clot in clumps.

Eda started to sob. "She's innocent. You know she's innocent. She doesn't deserve this.

"So tell me the truth and we will stop."

Eda shook her head. "I am telling you the truth. I just made up the name. It sounded right. I just put the dungeon in the office. It made it hidden and private. It was all just fiction."

"Tojo," Kasomi again spoke into the device in his hand, "it seems that the woman writer wants to see how you made the woman director heard all the way in our room when I asked you before."

Eda's face wrinkled and she continued to sob, as Tojo walked over to a brazier that looked similar to the one in Eda's room but was already hot, and pulled out a glowing torch burning with a blue-yellow flame. Without a word, he walked back to the center of the room, and moved the flame below the press, just under April's breasts. April's eyes immediately opened. Her scream matched the one that Eda had heard before, but was much louder coming through the camera's sound system. April instinctively tried to pull herself back from the flame, but her buckled knees made it impossible. Even if she had been able, of course, she could not have moved out of the reach of Tojo's arm. April continued to scream after Tojo removed the flame and returned the torch to the brazier. Eda could see urine leak between April's legs.

Chapter 8

"Now it will get worse for your friend April unless you tell us the truth," Kasomi warned.

"But I am telling you the truth," Eda tugged at her bonds until her wrists and ankles began to chafe from the rub of the metal against her skin. "I can confess nothing because I have nothing to confess. And she certainly knows nothing. This is barbaric !!"

"Your choice, Miss Chang." Kasomi spoke into the device in his hand. "Tojo, Proceed with step three. Or four. Whatever you are up to. You know what is next."

"Are you sure, Mr. Yama?" Tojo asked matter-of-factly.

Kasomi looked at Eda. "Have you anything to tell us?"

"I can't tell you what I don't know," Eda responded slowly.

"I am sure," Kasomi answered Tojo.

On the large wall screen directly in front of her, Eda saw Tojo walk to the table and pick up two metal spikes, each about six inches long and 1/2 inch in diameter, tapered into a point at the end. He moved back to stand in front of the hanging April and turned her so that her body faced directly into the camera. He put the spikes into his belt and moved his hand along the press until one hand found a small hole in the press directly above her left breast at the same time that his other hand found the hole directly below it. He pushed his forefingers into the holes, pressing April's breast from both sides, indicating to Kasomi, and the others watching, exactly where the spikes would enter and exit. Then he did the same for her right breast.

Without another word, having already been given his instruction to proceed, he took one of the spikes out of his belt, held it directly over the top hole in the press above April's left breast, paused for a second, and, hearing no instruction to do otherwise, jammed the point and the rest of the spike down and through her breast tissue until it exited the hole below. April body jolted and she screamed, blood oozing from the two newly formed holes. Eda felt that she owed it to April to watch what these madmen were doing to her, and was surprised that there was not even more blood. Then Tojo took out the other spike. April's screams grew louder as he pushed the second spike through her right breast, from top to bottom.

As April continued to scream, her body shaking the entire press, Eda realized that Kasomi had not asked her a single question and, apart from her screams, April had not uttered a single word. Now Tojo stepped away, leaving the camera focused entirely on the hanging body of April. Slowly, April's body began to rise and turn, as Tojo, off-screen, pulled the chains holding her wrists higher, lifting her off the floor. Staring at April, whose screams had now died, Eda could see no voluntary movement, her head tilted to one side, and wondered if she was still alive. She hoped that she was not, that the tremendous pain that Kasomi had forced her to endure was over. When Tojo finally returned to the screen, April's body was two feet off the ground, and loomed above him as he spoke into the camera. "I await your further instructions."

"Step five, Tojo," Kasomi responded. "Then join the others in Room 7." Tojo nodded, and walked up to April, whose head remained tilted, her eyes closed. He pulled out a roll of masking tape, ripping off about six inches, and put it across April's mouth, sealing her lips closed. She did not stir. After watching her for a few seconds, Tojo ripped off a small length of tape, reached up put it under April's nostrils, then squeezed and stepped back. Instantly April's head turned and her eyes opened. A panicked look filled her face as it took her several seconds to realize what was happening. She tried to shake the tape off her nose with no result. Struggling for air, her body started to lurch and twist, trying to find some position in which she could some air into her lungs. After a few more seconds, she started to scream for help through her taped mouth, her face turning red.

Eda looked away and started to sob. She tried to play sounds in her head to drown out April's screams. A long minute later, realizing that the screams had died, Eda looked back at the screen and saw April's body dangling as before, her head tilted to one side. But this time she didn't have to wonder if she was still alive.

Kasomi switched off the wall screen and turned to Eda. "Must there be more?"

"I am not responsible for the heinous crimes of a madman who thinks that he is the center of the universe," Eda spat the words out. "Everything is not always about you. And my story wasn't. You have innocent blood on your hands."

"Well that's a first, isn't it?" Kasomi said icily. "How did you know how the vice trade was divided among five of us? From whom in my organization did you get that information?"

"Is there any point in telling you, once more, that I didn't get the information from anyone. I just made it up. It seemed like a logical division." Having seen what Kasomi had done to April, Eda -- chained and naked -- felt even more vulnerable and helpless. Then she realized that she and Kasomi were the only two in the room. She looked to her right and left, then behind her as best she could.

"They've gone to room 7, Miss Chang," Kasomi told her. "I gave each a choice whether they wanted to stay and have their fun with you. I told them that you really weren't a bad lay. But they all decided that they preferred room 7. So you were rejected by all of them. I hope your have a strong ego."

Eda glared at him, leaning forward in her bonds as far as she could, her breathing heavy.

"I suppose you want to see what's going on in room 7, don't you?" Eda continued to stare, but refused to answer his question, remembering what she had been forced to witness when she asked about April. "All right. Since you must know, I'll show you." Kasomi moved to the table and pushed a button at its other end. Once again, the wall screen illuminated.

Chapter 9

All that Eda could see on the screen was the backside of a naked man, who was obviously in the midst of thrusting himself into and out of an unseen woman. Standing to each side of him were three men, among them the Producer, Kami, Tojo, Abel and Cain. All of them were naked. Eda also thought she could see an eighth man standing more toward the back of the room.

A minute later, the man with the naked backside toward the camera moved to the right, and Eda could see clearly that the eight men surrounded a single woman. A woman chained to a horizontal x-frame. Her spread legs faced the camera, revealing her shaved pussy, from which a white liquid dripped. Eda could not see her head, which slumped down behind the center of the X, so it looked as if her body ended at her shoulders. And, when the one man moved away, Eda could see that the man at the far end in the center was also pumping, no doubt into the mouth of the woman's face that she could not see. A few seconds later, another naked male backside took the place of the previous one, blocking Eda's view of the woman and the frame on which she was chained, so that Eda could not see exactly what was happening to her, as if she needed to see to know. During the few seconds that she had been able to see the woman's body, she had noticed that she was naked except for her black heels and a pair of fish-net stockings. There was no doubt. Eda now knew that Mari was no longer waiting for her by the car.

"Its called a Round Robin, Miss Chang, and it works very simply. There are 12 men in the room, although you can't see them all. Each gets five minutes with her, first on one side, then on the other. Since it takes each about 30 minutes to recover sufficiently after his session, he's ready again just in time for his next turn on the other side. So this can go on indefinitely, at least until the men tire of her. As you can imagine, though, men don't tire of naked women very quickly. And certainly not such attractive naked women as dear Mari. Well, attractive, at least, when the Robin started. We'll see how she looks when they finish." Eda stared at the screen as the man at the far end moved to his right.

"This particular Robin," Kasomi continued, "has been going on now for two hours. You see, we didn't leave Mari all by herself in that parking lot for long. Why, that wouldn't be safe for a young woman, now would it? No, I summoned her to my office on the top floor. I told her the charges against her, and demanded her confession. She foolishly refused. So, at gunpoint, just to add to her fear -- my mens' guns, I don't dirty myself with that -- I ordered her to take off her glasses, and then to strip to her panties, heels and stockings. I just love her stockings, don't you? Not that her legs aren't beautiful without them. [See Mari Pic] It was a nice touch, too, I thought, forcing her to put on her own wrist and ankle cuffs before we marched her down to room 7, attached those cuffs to the frame that you see, and began our Robin on her. In fact, I had more volunteers than I needed, she's such a nice looking woman. So, even after a few of the men tire, I'll easily find replacements to keep this going. I wonder what the record is for the longest Round Robin."

Two hours already? That meant, Eda realized, that Mari had already serviced each man four times. Forty-eight violations. Two dozen vaginally and two dozen orally. And continuing with two more every five minutes.

Kasomi could see Eda staring at the screen, as another man finished in front of the camera, which quickly replaced his naked backside by the next. "In a few minutes the men will stop this Round Robin and start another, where they take her anally. It wouldn't be right to ignore a part of her body that can provide pleasure, would it? Then we'll begin her questioning, figuring she won't want us to start a third Robin with 12 new men, so she'll want to tell us the truth." Kasomi flicked off the camera to room 7.

"But now I'm ignoring you, aren't I? I apologize, Miss Chang." Kasomi walked over to the brazier and pulled out a torch, which now had had enough time to glow with a blue-yellow flame. "These are ready, I see." He held the torch toward her to make certain that she could see it, then put it down and picked up a red-glowing hot iron from the brazier, ending in a large X within a larger O. He put it back, too, and picked up a tapered spike, like the ones used on April, but this one was longer and glowed yellow all the way to the handle. "Particularly nasty one, don't you think?" Kasomi walked up to Eda and held it close to her face, then lowered it between her legs. "I'm sure you know what this one can do."

Eda's body trembled uncontrollably, and, as Kasomi walked away to return the spike to the brazier, she lost control of her bladder, which pushed a large stream of urine down below her with enough force that it splashed back up and around her, covering her entire lower body.

"Oh, my, Miss Chang, it appears that you've had an accident, haven't you?" Kasomi chastised her. "Now why would that have happened?" He walked up to her, grabbed her hair and forced her head back so that she was staring up at him. "Is it because you are frightened because you have not told me all you know?" He threw her head back and turned away, moved to the table and flipped the camera back on, then walked to the door. "Watch the fate of the second woman you have condemned," he screamed at her and left the room.

Eda could see that the men were raising the x-frame to a 45 degree angle. They unchained Mari's limbs, turned her over and re-chained her, face down. Eda still had not had a chance to see her face. After some pushing for first in line, Abel took his position between her legs. Such a massive man, Eda thought, and turned her head away. She had never allowed any man to do this to her. Of course, if Kasomi learned that, he would remedy that fact, probably beginning with her own Round Robin. When she looked up again, Abel had forced himself into Mari, and reached around and grabbed her breasts for leverage to help him thrust into her even more deeply. The men standing around him were cheering. Mari's face remained slumped above the center of the X. Eda saw that Kasomi had entered the room and stood at the top of the frame, his hand lifting Mari's chin just enough so that he could see what certainly must have been the pained look in her eyes. Finally, the pain in her own shoulders was just too great for her, and Eda's head slumped into unconsciousness, the events from room 7 still loudly filling the room that she now alone occupied.

When Eda revived, how much later she did not know, the scene before her from room 7 had not changed. Mari's anal Round Robin continued. Eda closed her eyes and allowed her head to slump, but this time she remained conscious, unable to remove the sounds of Mari's plight from her head.

Chapter 10

A bit later Eda realized that the sounds from room 7 had changed. She looked up. Only Kasomi and Mari were on the screen. Mari remained on the X-frame, but had been turned over again so that her back was against it. Finally, Eda could see her tear-stained face. Her stockings were now the only clothing that she wore. In addition, though, she wore tape in the form of two red Xs across her nipples that held in place, no doubt wrapped around her nipples hidden under the tape, two wires that lead to a small generator on the table. Kasomi was just finishing taping a third red X, also securing a wire, between her legs. "How unoriginal," Eda thought, but she knew that, original or not, Mari was in for tremendous pain. In fact, from the sweat on Mari's body, and her heavy breathing, it appeared that, before Eda revived, Mari may have already failed to answer at least one of Kasomi's questions to his satisfaction.

"When did you arrange to act as Miss Chang's driver?" Kasomi's voice was impatient.

"The day I went to your office to volunteer. You asked for volunteers !! I was trying to do you a favor !!" Mari pleaded.

"How much before then had you first given Miss Chang information about our organization?"

"I never did. Never !! You must know that. I've worked for you for ...."

Kasomi had nodded to the side after Mari's first "never." Before she could finish her denial, the current surged through her body, which ended her words in a loud open-mouthed gurgle, raising her body up off the frame until her bonds would give no more, her body shaking first up and down, then side to side, as she desperately tried to end the pain. Eda could hear lewd comments from other men in the room unseen on the camera. They obviously approved of the way Mari's well-shaped breasts jiggled when her body shook. "I'll bet that's not as hot for you as I was," another shouted.

Kasomi nodded again and Mari's body fell back to the X-frame, gasping for air. "I want to know all contact between you and Miss Chang before her arrival in Tokyo."

"I had no contact with Miss Chang, I ..." but Kasomi had already nodded and the current resumed, again lifting Mari's body off the frame, her twitching thighs now joining her jiggling breasts, for a full twenty seconds before Kasomi signaled an end.

There was definite panic now in Mari's eyes, as she faced his next question. Before he even could ask it, she screamed at him, "Just tell me what you want me to say !!. Whatever you want me to say, I'll say it !! Whatever you want me to say is the truth is the truth !! Just tell me and stop this !!"

"I want to know when you first provided Miss Chang with information about our organization."

Mari looked at him. "A ... A year ago," she offered hesitatingly, having no idea how long ago the story had been written, but hoping that it was within the last year.

"And what did you tell her?"

"I told her .... about .... the organization ... and ..." Mari's eyes stared at Kasomi to see his reaction, "who was in charge and how it operated." Mari held her breath, waiting to see if her answer would delay the electric current. Apparently Kasomi approved. "And why did you betray the organization?"

Mari did not have a ready answer for this question. Kasomi raised his eyebrows as he waited. "Because, in a moment of weakness, when you did not reciprocate my love for you, I became jealous and foolish."

It was obvious to Eda, and must have been obvious to Kasomi and everyone in the room, that Mari was just trying to find an answer that would save her from more electricity, and that her answers bore not the slightest truth.

"So you confess to treason, then?" Kasomi asked.

Mari realized that she had. "Yes, she said slowly," knowing that, at most, she might have saved herself a more painful death, but it was pain from which she might have saved herself, not from death. And maybe not even from the pain.

"The punishment for treason," Kasomi paused for effect, " ... is death." Kasomi looked off the screen. "Remove the wires and tape," Kasomi again paused to make sure that his instructions were clear, "in the most efficient manner. And then prepare her to meet her sentence."

Cain approached the chained Mari, and pulled out a long knife from his belt. With her eyes following him in horror, he grasped her left nipple through the tape and pulled it up, then slashed across her breast to remove the tape, instantly removing the nipple at the same time. It took Mari a few seconds to realize what had happened. She stared at Cain, holding the tape in his hands, as the pain reached her brain and she screamed. By this time Cain had moved to the other side of the frame and slashed free the tape holding her right nipple in the same manner. Blood oozed from Mari's nipple-less breasts down her stomach. She continued to scream, her eyes closed tight praying that, when she opened them, she would awake from a horrible nightmare. It was a horrible nightmare. But she was already awake. And, before she opened her eyes, Cain dispelled the myth that men cannot find a woman's clitoris. He found it, rubbed it to engorge it sufficiently, and then slashed it off and pulled the tape from between her legs.

Three small pieces of flesh, hardly weighing anything at all. Cain had understood Kasomi's order to remove the tape in the most efficient manner. With her blood dripping down her body from her chest and between her legs, Mari, eyes and mouth open, stared straight ahead, consumed in the shock of the alternative that she had chosen by her false confession.

Chapter 11

Watching on the camera from the other room, Eda was still pulling on her own bonds and screaming at the wall screen when Kasomi re-entered her room. She immediately turned her anger on him. "Barbaric !! Totally barbaric and inhumane !! Two innocent women. You are a murderer, a torturer, a sadist. May you rot in hell for all eternity !!"

He was followed into the room by Abel, Cain and Tojo. Apparently, hers was the only room left where these horrid men could find a live woman whose body still retained all its parts. For how long she could not say.

"You heard her confession, Miss Chang," Kasomi noted. "Do you still deny your betrayal of my organization in your story?"

Eda just shook her head. "Just do what you're going to do. You don't care about the truth."

"You can still save your co-conspirator's life," Kasomi nodded at the screen, where Mari now stood on a wooden platform on the floor of the room, a noose around her neck, blood still dripping down her body and legs, her knees shaking from the effort to hold herself up.

Tojo approached Eda and unchained her ankles, so that she could now touch the floor. The relief to her shoulders was tremendous. He lowered the chains holding her wrists so that her arms were not stretched taut, but remained with her elbows bent 90 degrees at her sides. He pushed a long hollow bar under her feet, directly inside her arches. When he moved away, she could see that a wire ran through the inside of the bar to the nearby table.

"As long as you stand on your tiptoes, so that your heels do not touch the bar, your friend Mari will live," Kasomi explained to her. "But, as soon as your heels hit the bar, the pressure will complete a current that will send a signal to the button on the table that will release the latch that holds up the wooden platform on which Mari stands. When it drops, well, you can figure that out. So her life is in your hands. Or, rather, in your feet. Do you wish her to live ... or die? It is all up to you."

Eda realized that the device was, at least in concept, not different than one she had used in her story GETTING WHAT YOU ASK FOR, although, there, the victim controlled her own fate, not that of another. She had to hold on to a bar that was pulling away from her, and, when she finally tired and could hold it no longer, her release of it set off the machinery that impaled and killed her. Here, as soon as her legs tired and her heels slipped down on the bar, she would set off the machinery that would send Mari to the gallows. Kasomi, Eda realized, must have read quite a few of her stories.

For the first 10 minutes Eda had no difficulty, and it seemed to her that she could remain on her toes almost indefinitely. But after 10 more minutes, she could feel her calves start to tire, and she pulled on her bound wrists to try to relieve the pressure on her toes. But now the chains were too slack to provide much assistance that way. Eda looked at Mari, shaking on the camera, waiting, but not knowing for what. Or who controlled her fate. Or how. Or what it depended on. For Mari, the platform would just drop at some point, and she along with it.

After another 10 minutes, Eda could feel her calves begin to shake, and she knew that she could not hold herself up on her toes for much longer. She looked at Kasomi, her knees starting to knock. "Please, Mr. Yama. Please. Just kill me. But spare Mari. She is innocent. You have already punished her enough."

"So the criminal now dictates the punishments. I think not." He stared at her legs, trembling from side to side, struggling to hold her weight up off the bar. But she could already feel her heel start to lower to the bar as she fought not to press down on it. Finally, she knew she could hold herself up no longer. "Mari, forgive me, I beg you. At least your pain will end quickly." Her heels crashed down on the bar, and her body lowered until she was hanging by her wrists, no longer able to hold itself up at all.

Instantly, on the screen, Eda saw the platform spring open below Mari and her body fall downward until the rope around her neck broke her fall. And, with a loud snap, her neck twisted unnaturally. Mari's body swayed limply, half under and half over the floor of room 7. After a minute, Tojo walked up to Mari's body, slashed the rope holding her, and her body fell under the room, her burial place, as the platform was again raised and latched closed.

Chapter 12

"So now the only person you have to save is yourself," Kasomi noted, "but, to have any chance of that, you must tell me the truth. Confirm for me that it was Mari in my organization who betrayed me. You would hate for me to have to question any others, wouldn't you?"

Eda did not even bother to respond. Kasomi's world was pure fantasy. She knew that. She suspected that most of the others knew it. She was not sure whether he knew it, that is, whether he was delusional as well as barbaric. But she also knew that it likely did not matter to her fate.

With no one to play with in any other room, Tojo, Cain and Abel now returned, and, to Eda's surprise, Tojo untied her wrists completely, and pulled her off the bar. Abel then assisted him in raising her to her feet. Holding her elbows, they dragged her out of the room, the others following.

In the hallway, Kasomi signaled them to enter the next room on the opposite side of the hall. Inside it were no instruments of torture, no hanging chains, no x-frames or racks. Inside it was a square metal cage, 20 feet on each side, eight feet high. Vertical and horizontal metal bars formed one foot squares all around it. Tojo and Abel opened the small narrow door to it, tossed Eda inside and locked it. Cain tossed into it a pair of black panties and a black bra. "They're your size, Miss Chang," Kasomi assured her. "You may put them on." Eda did not hesitate.

"Miss Chang, I am going to give you a chance that I have never given to anyone else in your position. I am going to give you a chance to earn your freedom. But, of course, I can't make it easy for you," Kasomi explained. "I understand from my reading about you and your movie that you hold a black belt in hapkido karate. Which means, I realize, that, had you not voluntarily permitted me to bind you the first time, when only the two of us were down here, you could have successfully resisted me had you wished, since I am much older and not skilled in the martial arts. But my men here are more worthy opponents for you." He nodded toward Abel, Cain and Tojo.

"All you have to do to gain your freedom," Kasomi continued, "is to defeat two of them inside the cage. Each round will be three minutes. For the first two rounds you will fight one man at a time. If you win both rounds, you will be set free immediately. If you win one round and draw one, then, in the third round, you will face one man. If both rounds are draws, then you will face two men in the third round. The third round will continue until there is a winner. Oh, yes, I should add -- to win a round, one of the contestants must kill the other. A cage match to the death basically. I will give you 30 minutes to regain your strength before the first round begins."

Kasomi was correct that Eda was trained in hapkido. But these men were huge and the fighting area was restricted. The first rule of hapkido, she knew, was to walk away from a fight whenever you could. That option now, however, was not available to her. She would have no choice but to fight, and the small size of the fighting area largely offset the speed advantage that she was sure that she would have over these large lumbering men. She didn't know what martial arts training they might have. If they had any, there was very little chance that she could win, given their size advantage. But, if they did not, then she thought that she might at least have a chance. For now, though, she could not worry about any of this. She needed to rest. She lay down in the center of the cage and closed her eyes.

Whether she had actually napped she was not sure when she heard Kasomi ring a loud bell. "It is time," he said. "You may choose your first opponent." Eda shook her head. No reason to upset any of them by suggesting that he was the weakest of the three. Kasomi signaled Eda to stand in the far corner of the cage. Cain squeezed his large body through the narrow door near the opposite corner. Kasomi closed and latched it.

"Miss Chang, there is one more thing that you should know about this cage." Kasomi pushed a button on the door, and, instantly, Eda heard the click of metal and saw slender metal spikes jut out at the 16 corners of the nine middle squares on that side of the cage. Three feet across. From knee to shoulder height. Each spike was six inches long. "It would be wise to avoid being thrown against the middle of that side of the cage."

Without another word, Kasomi rang the bell. Cain, still dressed only in long black pants, moved slowly toward Eda, trying to keep her in her corner. Eda immediately circled to her left, forcing Cain to turn toward her, then circled back to her right, staying on her toes. When Cain moved too quickly toward her, she moved all the way to another corner. She continued this for the first minute of the round, but realized that she was the only one expending a lot of energy. It would be difficult for her to keep this up for the six minutes of the first two rounds, but, even if she could, she would not win either round this way, and, in the third round, she would have to face two of them at one time. In that case, she could not run from them, and, besides, that round would last until there was a winner. No, if she were to have a chance, she had to pick a moment to attack Cain. She kept circling, trying to get him off balance. It was already apparent to her that he was not trained in martial arts, which was at least one small plus that she had.

Halfway through the round, she took her chance. As Cain circled toward her, trying to anticipate in which direction she would move, she feinted to her right, then moved to her left and gave him a hard side kick with her right foot to his right knee. Cain wince in pain as his knee buckled. As his head lowered with the rest of his body, Eda landed a jump roundhouse kick to his jaw and Cain crumpled to the ground in the center of the cage. Now Eda went in for the kill, leaping up to jam her left elbow into his throat. But, just as she came down, Cain raised his hand and deflected her elbow away, so it and the rest of her body landed harmlessly next to him. He then rolled over, grabbed and twisted her ankle before she could pull it away. Eda rose, and, with Cain now facing her, kicked him under the chin with her left foot, sending him sprawling on his back in the direction of the spiked side. Eda would not make the same mistake a second time. This time she would kick him in the groin to disable him before going for his throat. But, as she took a step toward him, the bell sounded. Eda thought about continuing her attack anyway, but knew that, if she won the round this way, she would be labeled a rule violator and declared the round's loser. Eda slowly walked back to her corner, as Tojo and Abel entered the cage to help Cain out.

Chapter 13

She had come close to winning that round, Eda knew. She just had needed a few more seconds. But now, unless she won this round, she would have to face two of these huge men at same time in the third round. She needed to win this round. She hoped that whoever her opponent was -- Abel or Tojo -- was not trained, as Cain had not been, in any of the martial arts.

Abel entered the cage and Kasomi sounded the bell before Eda had fully regained her breath after the previous round. This was unfair, she thought. She had a new, fresh opponent. She should have been given more time between rounds. But, with Abel moving to the center of the cage, she had no time to complain, not that complaining would have done her any good.

Unlike Cain, who had simply walked up to her, trying to force her into a corner, Abel moved to the center of the ring and assumed a boxing stance. He refused to chase her around the cage, seeing how such strategy had failed Cain and nearly cost him his life. Eda had to come to him to fight, he figured, or she would be fighting two of them in the next round, and one of those would be Tojo, who would not have yet even broken a sweat, while the other would again be Abel, who would also be fresh unless Eda forced the fight this round. Cain was not going back in the ring for a third round in any event, not after what Eda had done to him, to his knee and to his psyche.

Eda too realized her situation. She assumed her martial arts stance, and the two slowly circled around each other, looking for an opening. Eda jabbed a few punches, but, with her much shorter arms, all she hit were Abel's forearms. She wanted him to punch at her, so that she could counterattack.

When he finally threw a left jab, she was ready. She ducked to the outside to avoid it, grabbed his still extended arm at the wrist, intending to bend it back toward his shoulder to break the wrist and, at the same time, force him off balance so that he would fall on his back. To her astonishment, however, in the split second that it took for her to begin to force his wrist back, she felt his right fist hit her squarely in her side, causing her to release his wrist before she could break it. Her body spun across the cage and landed with her back against the side of the cage to the right of her corner, missing the spikes by inches. He moves faster than he looks, she realized, as Abel shook off the pain in his wrist and resumed his boxing stance in the center of the ring, unaware how much he had hurt her with his one blow, and so not moving in on her. Slowly, Eda moved off the side of the cage. The remaining time in the round was growing shorter, she realized, so she had no choice but to take the offensive, as dangerous as that might be.

Eda ran at Abel, leaped, turned her body, and kicked him hard with both of her feet against his chest. The force of her blows barely moved him backward, as she fell to the ground and scrambled to pick herself up. Trying to hide her frustration, she again leaped at him, and again struck him hard in his chest with both of her feet. Again, the force of her kicks barely moved him backward. This time, though, he reached her before she could again scramble up from the floor, and lifted her off the ground with a single hand under her chin. As he turned to see which side held the spikes, the bell rang. Disgusted, he dropped her in a heap and walked back to his corner. Gasping for breath, Eda rose and walked back to her corner, then turned to see that Tojo had entered the cage next to Abel.

"It's not fair," Eda screamed at Kasomi. "I need more time to rest. That one hasn't even fought yet. You hardly gave me any time between the last two rounds."

"I don't make the rules, Miss Chang, Rounds are three minutes. There is a one-minute rest between rounds. And I gave you more than that last time, as I will this time. But, really, we must get on with this. You have survived two rounds. Can you survive a third?"

"You don't make the rules?!!" Eda screamed in astonishment. "Who makes them? Do I make the rules?"

"Miss Chang, you are not using your time wisely. You need to rest. And, remember, I didn't have to give you a chance to gain your freedom, something, as I said, I've never done before. Your ingratitude, therefore, is quite unbecoming." Eda realized that she could not win this argument and did not have time even to have it. She tried to control her breathing, to regain her composure.

Kasomi rang the bell. The final round. For as long as was needed to determine a winner. Eda waited in her corner to see what Tojo and Abel would do. Abel moved slowly toward her left, Tojo slowly toward her right. Figuring that Abel was the more tired of the two from his last round with her, Eda moved to face him first. She knew that she had to act immediately or the two of them would trap her in a corner. She hoped to move so that Abel was between her and Tojo so that she could keep Tojo away from her a bit longer.

She spun to land a side kick against Abel's ribs, sending him lurching to the side, then turned to face Tojo. But he was already too close for her to get any leverage into any kick or punch. He pushed her back toward Abel, who was just rising from his knees. Abel grabbed Eda's upper arms firmly, and turned her to face Tojo, who threw a strong right upper cut into her ribs. Eda bent forward, but was held upright by Abel, who rose from his knees to stand directly behind her. Tojo punched her again, this time with his left hand, screaming "you nearly killed my friend Cain, you bitch!" Again, Abel's grip prevented her from falling over. Abel now wrapped his legs around Eda's calves, and then moved his feet apart, immobilizing and opening Eda's legs. He reached his hands around her chest and tore open her bra, then moved his hands behind her neck and clasped his fingers together, holding her in a full nelson position, her upper arms extended straight in the air. She tried to bend her elbows to reach to grab his hair, but he simply pushed her farther in front of him and she could not reach him.

Tojo paused for a second to admire his partner's work, then slammed the back of his closed left fist across Eda's mouth, immediately following that with his right fist in the opposite direction. Eda's head snapped to the right, then to the left, and her body started to sag. Abel continued to hold her, as Tojo looked quickly at Kasomi and smiled, then kicked up hard between Eda's legs. Unable to lean forward to ease the pain, Eda started to cough and gag, Her knees went limp.

Abel dropped her to the ground. "It's my turn now," he stepped over her. Tojo took a step backward. Abel grabbed Eda by the hair and raised her to a standing position. Still holding her by her hair, he punched her in the stomach with his other hand and let her fall to the floor. But only for a second. He picked her up again by the hair, and punched her again in the stomach, then allowed her slowly to fall to her knees in front of him. He raised his right foot against her chest and pushed her down to the floor on her back, her limbs splayed. He leaned down and pulled her torn bra up over her arms and off, putting it into a pocket of his pants. He then lifted her again by her hair to a standing position, and put her back into the full nelson hold that he had used on her just moments before, forcing her arms straight up, and wrapping his legs around her calves to restrain and open her legs. "Be my guest, partner," he nodded to Tojo.

Tojo reached down and pulled Eda's panties off in his hands, and, following Abel's example, put them into the pocket of his pants. As she had been for most of the past several hours, Eda was once again totally naked. Tojo unfastened his belt, pulled his pants down to his ankles, and then stepped out of them. "Won't you join me, partner?"

Abel immediately unfastened his own belt, pulled down his pants and stepped out of them. All three in the cage were completely naked. "On three," Tojo suggested. "On three," Abel responded, and they counted in unison. When they reached three, Tojo, facing Eda, found his target, and Abel, standing behind her, found his. Eda immediately raised her head and screamed from the double violation. Abel's hands moved from behind Eda's neck around her body to her breasts, which were mashed against Tojo's chest.

Abel and Tojo began a silent competition as to who could last longer inside her. Abel could feel how tight Eda's ass was, but did not realize that he was the first to enjoy it in this manner. Still, he knew that he was at a disadvantage to Tojo, and soon heard his own grunts join Eda's screams. Abel was long spent when Tojo finally increased the speed of his thrusts, pushed himself up at the same time that he pushed down on her shoulders, and released everything that he had into her. A moment later he withdrew, and Eda fell in a heap to the floor. Tojo looked at her for a second, kicked her over onto her back, kicked her legs open, and kicked her hard between her legs to let her know, actually and symbolically, that he had complete power over that part of her body.

As Eda remained sprawled on the ground, coughing and gagging from Tojo's kick, her hands rubbing between her legs to try to ease the pain, Abel looked at Kasomi, who nodded. Abel looked at Tojo, and the two walked over to Eda. Abel grabbed her left wrist and ankle, Tojo her right wrist and ankle. They picked her up, her body facing down, and began to swing her back and forth, again counting their "one," "two" and "three." This time, though, on three, they released their grips on her wrists and ankles, and sent her body flying, face first, into the center of the spiked side of the cage. Eda's body hit the metal with a sickening thud, 10 of the spikes finding targets. Two in her breasts. Two in her stomach. Two at her hips. Two just above her knees. And two pinning her arms horizontally. Her head slumped to the side. Her body sagged, but remained pinned to the side of the cage.

"I'm sure you will all agree that I gave her a fair chance," Kasomi told the others. "She just failed the test."

Epilogue

By Friday, the day of the film's opening, the entertainment tabloids throughout the United States and Japan were filled with speculation on the disappearance of its writer and director. A few facts all accepted. They had given two radio interviews in Tokyo, after which they had been seen, the next day, by numerous witnesses on a flight to Surabaya in East Java, Indonesia's second largest city, chatting happily about the release of their film. Witnesses in Surabaya had seen them that same evening at a club in town leaving with four men. After that, no one had seen them. There was no flight record that they had returned to the United States. They had not shown up for any other scheduled interviews. And they did not attend the premier night for the opening of the film.

Several competing theories as to what happened to them circulated. According to one, they had gone to Indonesia because that country was a hot bed for the kind of fantasy play depicted in their film, and, according to this theory, both women were seriously into that type of play, had played similar scenes many times with friends in the United States, and the club at which they were seen was a notorious meeting place for persons with such desires. According to this theory, the women had simply chosen the wrong play partners for their kicks, and had either been murdered at the end of their play or, since they would soon be wealthy from their participations in the film, greatly enhanced by the controversy surrounding their disappearance, were being held for ransom, although no ransom demand had yet surfaced.

According to another theory, the two women had simply staged their own disappearance to gain added publicity and box office for their film, and, after leaving the club, had simply gone to some resort in Indonesia or elsewhere, perhaps Tahiti or Bali, to give the story time to build. Maybe they had even gone with the four men with whom they were seen, and were now screwing themselves silly, enjoying all of the attention and concern that the world now had for them. In a a few weeks they would suddenly re-appear with some kind of wondrous story of how they had been captured and escaped. Perhaps they would refuse to say what happened to them during their captivity, at least until they had sold film rights to it.

If this was their scheme, it had worked. The film opened to blockbuster numbers. Its producer was eager to sign a five-picture deal with Eda, and, each day that she remained missing, he seemed willing to give her a higher guarantee. Finally, Eda's attorney announced that Eda had granted him power of attorney for her before she flew to Japan, waved a sheet of paper before the cameras, and began making deals on her behalf. One that he made was with an attorney working for an anonymous buyer interested in buying worldwide rights to Eda's story PRICE OF BETRAYAL, for which he paid a very handsome price.

A week after the film's release -- 12 days after Eda and April were last seen -- the public learned the true story. Well, not the real true story, but the story that all would accept as true. Police in Surabaya received an anonymous tip that the bodies of two women were in a basement in an abandoned home at the outskirts of the city. When the police arrived, they found Eda's corpse, not yet decaying, stretched naked on a rack with a dozen metal spikes jammed into her torso. Nearby, April's body, also not yet decaying, was hanging by its breasts from two chains attached to the ceiling. Police forensics determined that each had died just two days earlier. And it did not take police forensics to conclude that they had died slowly and brutally. Very slowly and very brutally. The debate was over. Those who had theorized that the women had died playing the kind of scene depicted in Eda's stories had been right. Those who claimed that the women had staged their disappearance had been proven horribly and tragically wrong.

In Tokyo, Kasomi Yama read the news of the two women's deaths. How perfect his plan had worked, he thought ... and at such a small expense. The day of their murders he had his men store the two women's bodies in one of the large freezers in one of his restaurants. The next day he had two of his female employees made up to look as much like Miss Chang and Miss Donahue as he could. It hadn't been hard to fool those they encountered. Miss Chang was camera shy, so not many knew what she looked like, certainly not when she and his new Miss Donahue boarded a commercial plane to Indonesia. They weren't yet "missing." Their photos weren't yet plastered in every newspaper and magazine in the world, as they would be in a few days. And, while it sounded stereotypical, most passengers on the plane were Asian, and Asians thought that all Western women looked alike. So he hadn't needed to use an exact duplicate for Miss Donahue, just an attractive Western woman. Oh, and one with big tits, so that would be all the men would look at. He instructed them to talk about the film on the plane, and to act conspicuously at the club in Surabaya. The four men that they left the club with also worked for Kasomi.

When the two women were finally discovered missing and their photos published, the people who had seen them on the plane and in the club looked at the photos, and immediately remembered them as the same two women whom they had seen. Since they knew they were the same women, from their talk about the film, they didn't think hard about any small differences in appearance. So, through their testimony, Miss Chang and Miss Donahue had both been reborn and left the country by plane the day after their interview ... and death ... to engage in some of their kinky play in a country known to cater to that type of interest. Kasomi was completely absolved as a suspect in their deaths.

But just in case, and perhaps for his own sense of depraved satisfaction, a kind of final vengeance against them even in death, when the various theories spread to try to explain the women's disappearance, Kasomi had their bodies flown to Surabaya on his private jet, where they were positioned as found in the basement after one of his men placed the call to the police. Now the police report itself confirmed that Miss Chang and Miss Donahue had met their doom in a different country at a much later date in a fantasy play gone wrong -- after being held captive and tortured mercilessly for 10 days before being killed.

Kasomi smiled. A perfect crime. One that no one would investigate, since no one really cared about finding who had done to two women for real what they apparently dreamed in their fantasies might be done to them. Most, in fact, figured that they got what they deserved. Look at the violence that they wreaked on other women in their film. What could they expect imagining such scenes and associating with such people?

True, the price of purchasing worldwide rights to PRICE OF BETRAYAL had been higher than Kasomi expected, and he knew that he was largely responsible for that, his scheme having increased the interest in Miss Chang's stories. But he could easily afford the higher price. And now those poorly disguised accusations against him and his organization that the story contained would never be published, but would be forgotten as soon as interest in Miss Chang's name ... and her fate ... cooled and the public moved on to the next sensational story.

Forgotten. Interesting. The news of Miss Chang's and Miss Donahue's murders -- very inaccurate in its details, yet perversely accurate in its conclusions -- was everywhere. But Kasomi remembered that he had ordered the murders of three women that day, and he had not read a single word about the third. No, while Miss Chang and Miss Donahue had became celebrities in death, Mari's name was nowhere. She seemed never to have even existed. Strange world, he thought, as he pushed the pages of PRICE OF BETRAYAL one by one, into the paper shredder outside his office.