Part 1

Freddie got his car under control and pulled over to the sidewalk. This was his fourth flat tire in three weeks. Things just weren't going right lately. They hadn't been ever since his mom and dad had gotten picked up last year. Marines had come to the apartment to pick up the younger kids, but they hadn't taken him or Harriet. He didn't mind so much being left behind, but Harriet had just turned fourteen.

This last month had been the worst. He'd missed an exam because of the first flat. Due to the makeup exam and another flat, he'd missed out on a good job, a real good job with an engineering company helping build submarines to fight the Swarm. Instead he'd had to take this pizza delivery job. He'd had to do something, the settlement from the Confederacy for taking their parents wouldn't last long enough to get him through college. Harriet had a stipend until she turned eighteen, but that wouldn't even cover the rent on their apartment. He'd hoped to improve his CAP score so he could take her away from Earth. The third flat had killed that idea. He'd been too late for the test, and although they'd rescheduled it for him, the first slot that fit with his schedule was three months away. He was so close too, he had a 6.4, and was certain to improve with all the studying he'd done. He only needed to gain a lousy tenth of a point.

Even if he hadn't been able to get them off planet, because he couldn't be sure to get picked up, employers were desperate too. A score of 6.5 would have opened a lot of doors. Six or seven of his interviews had ended when he showed his CAP card. It was fairly obvious that those companies were just looking to pad their payrolls with high CAP employees, hoping to arrange a pickup for the whole company.

He and Harriet needed every bit of money he could bring in to get by and this flat tire was going to ruin his bonus. The company's motto was '30 minutes or less'. There was a bonus each pay period if he made all his deliveries on time, it should work out to just over a hundred dollars. They needed that bonus if he was going to pay tuition this semester. Without it, he'd have to take the semester off.

He checked the timestamp on the ticket. He had fifteen minutes left. A quick look at his map showed it was doable. Freddie grabbed the pizza bag and his cell phone, and headed for the park. If he cut across he should be able to reach the apartment building. He took one last look at the map and took off at a jog. It only took eight minutes to cut across the park, but it took another five to find the right apartment. Freddie knocked on the door, trying to catch his breath.

The woman who answered the door was naked except for a studded black leather collar. She was in her late twenties or early thirties, with short blond hair. She was kind of chunky, and her big tits swayed as she took the pizza from him and sat it on a table next to the door. The woman dropped to her knees and started to undo his fly. "You don't really want money do you?'

Freddie backed up, out of her reach. "I need it. No money, no pizza."

"Ray never wants money."

Ray, the other delivery driver, was a big fat guy. Freddie hadn't believed his stories, but he did now. "Ray doesn't have to pay for school." He didn't have a little sister to take care of either.

The blonde looked over her shoulder, a little fearfully. "Are you sure? I'll make it real good for you."

"I'm sure." It wasn't that he didn't want to, He was hard all right, but they needed money more than he needed a blowjob.

"You some kind of faggot?" she asked. Freddie just told her how much, and then watched her sway down the hall to a back bedroom. She hesitated at the door, then straightened her shoulders and went in. She said something too quiet for him to make out. It was followed by a smack and a yelp. A little later, she came back out on her hands and knees. She crawled back to him and knelt up. There was a fast reddening hand print on her face, and a trickle of blood flowed from one nostril. "My Master says if you give him the pizza, you can use any hole you want." She looked down at the floor while she spoke.

Freddie squatted so he could see her face. "Hey, you want me to call the police?"

"No, please don't." She held out her hands to him pleading. "He's my brother-in-law. He got a six point five, and he's taking me with him. I've got three kids, I've gotta save them and if you call the cops on him he won't take us."

The young man shook his head in disgust. "I understand. I really do need the money though." The woman sobbed quietly, but she got the money from a drawer in the table. He took it from her, not caring that she didn't tip him. "I hope it works out for you." he said as she closed the door.

His path back to the street took him past the complex's pool. It was cold outside, but there were half a dozen girls in bikini bottoms hanging out next to it. Their nipples were all perky from the cold and they turned to show them off as he walked past. "Hey pizza man!" one of them, a girl with skin just a little darker than his own, yelled out. "What's your CAP score?"

He made his tones match hers; a little protective coloration never hurt. Nobody at this complex went to the private school he had. "Not high enough baby," he answered, "not high enough."

On the way through the park he called the store on his cell phone. One of the waitresses, the one whose cute little sister worked in the kitchen, answered. "Hey, Gina. Yeah this is Fred. I got another flat tire, can you believe it? I made the delivery, but I still have to change the tire. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Changing the tire in the dark was a pain in the ass, and by the time he was done, his hands were filthy. Grabbing a rag from the back seat, he used it to hold the steering wheel while he drove back to the store. He used the back entrance so the customers wouldn't see him come in dirty.

Chrissy was the one who let him in. She looked at him shyly from behind her glasses, and gave him a little smile. "You better get cleaned up, the boss lady isn't too happy about you taking so long."

He took the bar of soap she offered him, thanking her and wondering if she'd go out with him if he asked. Most white girls wouldn't and his luck with women had gotten worse since CAP scoring became universal. Well it wasn't like he really had time to go out with anyone anyway, what with working full time and going to school. She was really cute though and her quiet shyness just made her more appealing. There were too many girls who flaunted everything they had, but she didn't. Her more modest clothes made his imagination work overtime.

He used the sink in the kitchen to clean up, and then went into the bathroom to use the mirror. He could have sworn he was alone in the room, but he as he scrubbed his face, he heard a splashing noise, a bump against the stall wall and a curse. Then a big guy came out of the handicapped stall. Seconds later, another splash, another bump and another curse before a second guy came out. He blinked at the mirror and realized that their funny looking clothes were uniforms. Both of then had one soaking wet pants leg.

The first one said, "Perkins is getting some wall-to-wall counseling when we get back." Freddie started to say something, but the guy gave him a look. "You don't want to cause any trouble do you?"

Freddie shook his head. "No trouble."

"It's like this, you're going to wait in here with us, real quiet like, and in about a minute and a half, you can follow us out and see the show." He turned to the other marine. "Move that to the floor." Freddie finished up while the marine moved something from the toilet to the floor, then studied them in the mirror. The one who'd spoken to him was a sergeant, and the other was a corporal. The marine sergeant looked back at him calmly, looking like he was listening to a voice only he could hear. Finally, he nodded "It's showtime."

Freddie followed them into the strangely quiet restaurant.