Jenny stayed in the police station overnight. A car was sent for her the next day. A security guard--big muscles, shades, no expression--sat in the back with her, while a uniformed chauffeur drove the car. There was obviously a lot of money in this Second Chance operation. The car wound through the streets of London and eventually pulled into the rear entrance of a large building, going down a ramp into an underground car park. The security guard led Jenny up to an office. The sour woman from the interview yesterday was sitting there. She looked up and gave a cold, brief imitation of a smile. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"Good morning, Jennifer. Sit down."

Jenny looked around. It was a plush office, with wood panelling and leather chairs.

"Sit down," the woman snapped. "Do as I tell you."

"Sorry," Jenny said, and hastened to her chair.

"Sorry, Miss Hawthorne. You will address me formally when you speak."

"Yes ... Miss, Miss Hawthorne."

"That is better. To begin with, I have decided that you will be known as Sapphire while you work here. I think it suits you. From now on, you will forget the name Jennifer Portman and you will call yourself Sapphire at all times."

"But--why?"

"Don't be impertinent! Do not speak out of turn to me! And address me properly!"

"Sorry--sorry, Miss--Miss--"

"Hawthorne."

"Miss Hawthorne." Jenny squirmed. This was like a boarding school in some old movie. They had never talked to her like this when she was at school. Weren't there laws against it or something?

"What is your name?"

"S-Sapphire, Miss Hawthorne."

"Good. You will not mention your old name to anyone. If you do, you will be caught and punished. Now, the nature of your employment here. This establishment is called Troublemakers Gentlemen's Club. Your post here is hostess. Your duties are entertaining gentlemen. Your purpose is to get them to pay for the privilege of your company. You will do everything and anything necessary to get money from clients. All this money will go to Troublemakers. You will not keep back any money for yourself. You will receive a twenty percent commission on everything you personally earn for Troublemakers, which includes tips. I repeat, tips do not go to you personally. They go to Troublemakers, and are included in your earnings."

Jenny listened with increasing disbelief. This was some kind of lap dancing club! And she was expected to--to perform for dirty old men! "But, but--but that means--if they want--"

"Enough of your impudence, Sapphire! You will speak when spoken to!"

Jenny said nothing, frightened to speak.

"Well? I'm waiting," said Miss Hawthorne.

"I--sorry, Miss Hawthorne--what?"

"I am waiting for an apology for your misbehaviour."

"Sorry, Miss Haughton!"

"Hawthorne!"

"Sorry, Miss Hawthorne!"

"To answer your rude interruption, yes, the clients will want to fuck you." She pronounced the profane word clearly and crisply. "And you will oblige them."

"But--but--you can't make me--make me--"

Miss Hawthorne jumped to her feet. "Stand up girl!" she roared. Jenny stood up, knocking her chair over. The older woman stepped out from behind her desk. "There!" she pointed to the ground at her feet. "There right now!" Jenny hurried over and stood where she was pointing. "Well?" roared Miss Hawthorne straight into her face.

"What--Miss?"

"Get down where I just told you! There!" She pointed at the floor again. Cringing in terror, Jenny fell to her knees, hugging herself with her arms.

"You will not interrupt! You will not speak out of turn! You will do as you are told! Is that clear?"

"Y-yes, M-Miss Haw, Miss H-Hawth, Haw--"

"Speak clearly, Sapphire! Will you do as you are told?"

"Ye-yes, Miss Hawthorne!"

"Better. Get back on your chair." Trembling, Jenny picked up her chair, put it back in place, and perched on its edge. She was fighting back tears. Miss Hawthorne took some papers from a pile and arranged them neatly in a line in front of Jenny. "Allow me to point out some legal facts. Firstly, we are within the Red Mile here. Do you know what that means?"

"Yes, M-Miss Hawthorne." The Red Mile was an area of London within which, under a recent law, prostitution had been legalised. The scheme had been piloted in several cities at the same time.

"So, it is perfectly legal for you to sell sexual services here." She picked up a pen and pointed to the first sheet of paper in the line. Parts of it were marked with highlighter pen. "This is the Redemption of Criminal Culpability Act. Here. Redemptees are required to perform such duties as the Company assigns to them. And here. Companies chartered to under the Act are allowed to use physical punishment on redemptees who fail to obey the rules of the Company." She shifted her pen to the second paper. "This is our charter. Again. The Commission agrees that redemptees will perform any duties assigned to them by Second Chance Industries, its subsidiaries and affiliates. And here. Redemptees who fail to abide by the Company's rules may be subjected to physical punishment." She moved to the third sheet of paper. "Finally, this is the contract you signed. Here. The Redemptee agrees to perform all such duties as the Company may assign. And here. The Redemptee agrees that the Company may apply physical punishments in case of the Redemptee breaking any rule of the Company. So there you see. It's all legal."

"But--but I didn't know that was in the contract!"

"Down on your face at once! Get down on the floor on your face! Now!" screamed Miss Hawthorne. Jenny jumped off her seat and sprawled on the floor, flat on her front with her nose touching the carpet.

"One more word--one more word out of you and I'll have you on Punishment Detail. And we'll see how you like that!"

After the interview with Miss Hawthorne was finally over, the security guard escorted Jenny to the medical room. He knocked, a single sharp rap of his knuckles.

"Come in!" said a loud woman's voice with a Scottish accent.

The guard nodded at the door. Jenny turned the handle and entered gingerly. A tall woman with violently red hair--obviously fake, showing dark at the roots--was standing wearing a white medical coat. "Sapphire," she said as Jenny entered.

"Yes." Jenny's own words sounded small and frightened, trembling.

"Yes, Dr Jameson." The Scots voice was severe severely.

"Yes Dr Jameson."

"Undress."

Jenny's hands moved to undo her blouse, then hesitated.

"Get on with it, Sapphire! I haven't got all bloody day you know!"

"Yes Dr Jameson." Miserably, Jenny started to peel off her clothes as fast as her trembling hands would allow. The medic kicked a plastic basket across the floor for her to put her clothes in.

When she had stripped completely nude, a thorough examination followed. Various medical things which Jenny didn't understand were measured. A needle was stuck in her arm and blood withdrawn. She was questioned on her lifestyle before her arrest: diet, exercise, consumption of alcohol and tobacco and narcotics. Jenny squirmed as questions on sexual behaviour followed: how many men had she had unprotected sex with, how many men had she had in her at the same time, how many women had she put her tongue into? Jenny realised that her answers to the questions about heterosexual stuff made her sound like a right slut. To her relief she could answer "none" to the lesbian questions with complete truth.

When the examination was done, Dr Jameson said, "Off you go, then. We're finished here."

"Yes Dr Jameson. Please, doctor--where do I go now?"

"Where do I go now Dr Jameson!"

"Sorry Dr Jameson--where do I go now Dr Jameson?"

"Out that door. There'll be someone waiting to take you to the dressing room."

"Yes Dr Jameson. Thank you Dr Jameson." Jenny stood and looked for the basket containing her clothes. It was nowhere in sight.

"Please Dr Jameson, I'm sorry Dr Jameson, but I can't see my clothes Dr Jameson."

"So what? You don't need them. Just go out that door."

"But, but Dr Jameson, I'm--I'm--I've got no, no clothes on Dr Jameson!"

"Are you deaf or just stupid, Sapphire? I told you to go out the door! Now get out of my bloody surgery before I have you on Punishment Detail for insolence!"

"Yes Dr Jameson! I'm sorry Dr Jameson!" Jenny scuttled out of the door into the corridor. The big muscular security guard was still there. Jenny squeaked with dismay and covered herself. His eyes flicked down over her and he gave a little grin, but there wasn't that much interest in them. He had seen plenty of girls like her before.

"Come on, girl. Time to get dressed for the show." He gestured the way she was to go. Too distressed and confused to say anything, she just followed meekly. The guard walked her along the corridor to a door. Inside was a dressing room full of girls in various states of dress. Some were fully nude, while others were dressed in a variety of provocative or outlandish costumes. In the middle of it all was a woman of about thirty-five, tall and powerfully built, wearing a policeman's uniform. It was a man's uniform, not a woman's--she wore trousers, not a skirt.

"You must be Sapphire," she said. "Welcome to the dressing room. I'm Officer Strict. You'll call me Officer."

"Yes, Officer."

"You're new here, so today you'll be auctioned. Now let's get you ready. First things first--have a shower. It's over there. Make sure you wash your hair." Officer Strict pointed to a shower at the side of the room. It was surrounded by completely clear glass--not the frosted kind--so that every inch of anyone inside would be visible while showering. When Sapphire had showered, her hair was brushed straight by one of the other girls and then blow-dried.

As she turned her head for the blow-dryer, Jenny noticed a girl staring at her hard. The girl was in her twenties, honey blonde, tall and imposing. The look on her face could have turned milk sour. Jenny knew that look well enough--she had seen it on the faces of many pretty women when she had entered rooms, especially other blondes. The queen had just been knocked off her perch. This blonde girl had been used to being the sexiest thing in the room, and suddenly a younger and better-looking blonde had come along. Sapphire couldn't help a smug little smile creeping onto her face as her eyes met the other girl's. The big blonde's face hardened even more. The challenger would have a fight on her hands before she could rule this roost.

When Jenny's hair was dry, Officer Strict decided that it would be left loose about her shoulders. She picked out clothes for the new girl. First there was a sort of bra with no front in a pale blue colour. It held her breasts up and pushed them together, but didn't cover her nipples. Next came a heart-shaped piece of card, with the word "Sapphire" across it in swirly gold letters against a pale pink background. It had two ribbons coming from it. A girl held the piece of card in front of Jenny's groin, while another drew the ribbons around her waist and tied them at the back. Next, Officer Strict attached a black leather collar around Sapphire's neck. It had lots of little metal loops on it. Meanwhile, the two girls who had fixed the name-plate round her waist took her arms. Jenny jumped as she felt cold metal around her wrists, and heard the clicks of locks closing. She gave a little yip of surprise and turned her head to look down at one arm. Her wrist had a metal band around it.

"What--what are you--"

"Quiet, you little bitch!" Officer Strict roared in her ear. "Don't you know the rules yet? You speak when you're spoken to!"

"Y-yes--s-sorry mi, miss," stammered Sapphire.

"Officer! You call me Officer!"

"Sorry Officer!"

Officer Strict took hold of the cuff around Sapphire's right wrist. There was a clip on it, the type used to attach handles to suitcases and leads to dogs' collars. Officer Strict lifted it up toward Sapphire's neck. For a moment she resisted instinctively. But fighting back would only make it worse, so she let it happen. Officer Strict clipped the handcuff to the side of Sapphire's neck, somewhat toward the back. A girl clipped the other one on the other side. Sapphire's fingers touched behind her head. A little whimper escaped her, but she said nothing.

After the restraints came something resembling a slip. It consisted of two sheets of lace-fringed silk, so thin they were almost completely transparent, pale blue to match her bra. The base and sides of each sheet were straight, but the top had the neckline of a woman's undergarment: low in the middle, rising up into two points which ended in ribbons. One sheet was held up in front of Sapphire and the other behind. Her hair was held up out of the way, and the ribbons were tied over her shoulders. The neckline came up quite high, up to her throat, like the respectable nightie of an older woman. Of course, any respectability was destroyed by the fact that this thing was completely see-through and open at the sides. Jenny felt more naked with it on.

Finally, something like a real garment was draped over her. It was a simple, almost shapeless shift of dark grey, with the broad arrow pattern of a prisoner's uniform in black. It came down a little lower than her naughty lace-edged slip, to about half way between groin and knee.

"Good," said Officer Strict, smiling, as she distributed Sapphire's long red-blonde hair over her shoulders, with a few strands down her front, to complete the ensemble. She drew a black leather strap from her belt and Sapphire cringed. Officer Strict chuckled, and held up one end of the strap. It had a clip on it, like the handcuffs had, and the other end was a loop. It was a dog lead. Officer Strict clipped it to the front of Sapphire's collar, and gave it a little tug. "Come along, Sapphire," she said. "Time for the auction soon."

Officer Strict kept tugging on Sapphire's lead, guiding the barefoot girl forward. She was led to a small booth, with white lace curtains on one side. Beyond those curtains were sounds of music, and ovals of light played across the curtain.

"Thank you, Orchid!" a voice boomed from beyond the curtain. "The lovely Orchid, ladies and gentlemen!" There was a round of applause. A girl half stepped through the curtain, the turned back and bowed to the outside. Then she turned back into the booth where Sapphire and Officer Strict were waiting and went through to the dressing room. She was oriental, naked except for little white pumps on her feet, clutching a handful of skimpy garments in her hands.

There was a drum roll outside. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment we've all been waiting for. We have a new troublemaker with us tonight!" The curtains opened. In front of Sapphire was a brightly lit stage, and beyond that a large darkened room. It was hard to see, but tables with people sitting at them were vaguely visible.

Officer Strict tugged on Sapphire's lead and strode purposefully forward. Sapphire stumbled after her, almost falling. Her restrained arms struggled uselessly behind her back. Then a scent caught in her nose: tobacco smoke. After she was arrested Sapphire had gone cold turkey, and she had been craving a smoke ever since. Now, despite her fear, she twitched with need.

"Our latest troublemaker is the delightful Sapphire, ladies and gentlemen. Now what has this delectable little flower been up to, you may ask? Let's hear what the judge had to say."

A bright light appeared to Sapphire's right. She turned her head to look. A spotlight had focused on a high bench, just like the one in court, with a man behind it in a judge's costume.

"Troublemaker Sapphire," the man's stern amplified voice rang out through the room, "yours has been a wanton and selfish life. You are only nineteen years old, and yet you have managed to amass debts totalling more than six hundred thousand pounds. Your life over the last three years has been a senseless orgy of spending, drunkenness and hedonism. You left school at the earliest age allowed under the law, and since that time you have shown absolutely no interest in working, studying, or contributing to society in any way. Instead you have tried to live by constantly spending other people's money, without the slightest regard to your ability to pay it back. People like you are parasites, a cancer eating away at our society. The young generation of today believes that it has no responsibilities. Instead you believe that you have the right to endless self-indulgence at the expense of others. This attitude cannot and will not be tolerated. It is the duty of this court to make an example of you, and of all others like you who come before this bench. You will go to prison for a term of five years." The spotlight on the judge faded and his bench disappeared from view.

"A damning verdict," the announcer's voice said. "It seems that this young lady--if we can call her that--thinks the world was arranged for her pleasure. Six hundred thousand pounds, ladies and gentlemen! Just nineteen, and she's ripped six--hundred--thousand--pounds on her credit cards. She knew there was no way to pay it back, but she didn't care! Little Sapphire thought it was just free money for her to spend! What kind of girl behaves like that, ladies and gentlemen? It's obvious this little miss has no idea of personal responsibility. No idea of how to behave. Have you ever heard of a girl, ladies and gentlemen, who was more in need of discipline? Sapphire thinks rules are for other people. I think she needs a lesson, don't you? A short sharp shock!" He paused, and there was a mutter of approval from the audience.

"Or perhaps we're being too harsh, ladies and gentlemen. Perhaps our little Sapphire's just a fun-loving girl who wanted to have a good time. Perhaps she's just a little irresponsible. Is that so unusual for a youngster? Should we judge her so severely? After all, we were all teenagers once. She owes six hundred thousand pounds, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Should we smile and say it doesn't matter, just wipe that debt off?" Officer Strict shook her head in an exaggerated manner. There was a dark rumble from the people at the tables.

"Or shall we make her work off what she owes? Make her live by the rules for a change, and do some work for once in her life?" Officer Strict nodded and the audience cried out with an edge of hunger, like wolves scenting prey.

"Shall we give this little girl the discipline she deserves?" The crowd went wild. "Let's see her then!" boomed the voice, volume turned up to be heard over the cries. "Officer Strict, bring the prisoner forward!" Officer Strict took hold of Sapphire's lead in her left hand, grasping it only inches from her chin, and yanked it sharply. Sapphire yelled in surprise and humiliation. Officer Strict dragged her toward the front of the stage. The captive felt tears welling in her eyes as she shuffled forward, bare feet cold on the stage. Near the font of the stage, Officer Strict suddenly jerked her arm upward, drawing Sapphire to a shuddering stop and tipping her head sharply back. Then the big uniformed woman let go of the lead and drew a heavy black truncheon from her belt. Sapphire cringed away from her as she saw it. Officer Strict grinned evilly and patted Sapphire on the bottom with it.

"Just nineteen years old, ladies and gentlemen, and a natural blonde. There's nothing fake about that hair. And the hair downstairs is just as blonde. And eyes as blue as sapphires. Isn't she a pretty little thing? What a shame that a beauty like this is so wayward. It breaks my heart to see a lovely girl like this go bad. But gone bad she has. Sapphire's been a very bad girl, and now she's here to work until she mends her ways and pays her debts. And how is she going to make the money to pay back what she owes, ladies and gentlemen?" The crowd muttered again in anticipation. "She'll have to work with what she's got! And what has she got? What assets has she got to make money with?" There was a chuckling from the crowd, but it dropped off to an attentive silence as Officer Strict ran her truncheon down the back of Sapphire's leg then up the front again, lifting the prison-patterned shift to give a glimpse of upper thigh.

"Shall we have a look?" boomed the announcer. Wild cries of approval rang from the audience. Officer Strict reached up behind Sapphire and deftly opened the clip that held the broad arrow shift together at her back. Released, it slipped down Sapphire's front and landed in a heap at her feet. Sapphire whined and tried to cover herself, but her arms were chained. Almost everything she had was on show now. The transparent open-sided nightie hid nothing at all, and she felt her nipples pressing out against the see-through silk.

The crowd was silent now. She could not see their faces in the dark, but she felt a hundred pairs of burning eyes exploring everything she had on show. Only her sex was covered by the pink heart-shaped card. She started to turn away, but she felt Officer Strict's big solid hand on the back of her neck and knew that trying to run would be useless. Instead she stood there, knees pressed together, shifting on her feet in fear and shame. Officer Strict seized Sapphire's shoulder and walked around her, turning her on the spot until her back was to the crowd. "Look at those beautiful curves!" Officer Strict's truncheon touched the backs of Sapphire's knees, ran up the backs of her legs. It went up under her slip and rubbed up and down over her luscious seat a couple of times before sliding down again. Sapphire's face was burning, and to her dismay hot tears escaped her eyes and ran down her burning cheeks. Officer Strict turned her to face the crowd again.

"Well look at that, ladies and gentlemen! I do believe this little girl's crying! She was happy enough to spend everybody else's money without a care in the world. But now she's faced with a little hard work and discipline, and what does she do? She's so scared it makes her cry! Scared of work! Scared of earning her keep! But she's going to have to earn her pay from now on.

"And how's she going to make money? What can she do, what has she got that anyone wants? I'll tell you. Her lovely blonde hair, her baby-blue eyes and that pretty little body are the only things she's got to make money with!" Officer Strict's truncheon came up under Sapphire's breasts and nudged them upward, making them jiggle.

"Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that sweet young body is going to have to earn its pay, and if she doesn't behave that sweet little body is going to be punished. And you know, I think one little girl not far from here is going to get a sharp lesson in discipline very soon. Now, who wants to be the first to see if little Sapphire can do as she's told? If she doesn't--well, I think you know what that means!

"Who will be the first to make her obey? Let's start at five thousand pounds. Who will open the bidding? Thank you sir! Five and a half thousand pounds. We have five and a half. Who will pay six? Six thousand! Now this little girl, ladies and gentlemen, has never known lady love. That's right. This delightful little blonde has never tasted another girl's flesh. Tonight you cold watch her learn that pleasure for the first time. Do I hear seven thousand? We have seven!"

The bidding went on for minutes that seemed like hours, until eventually the count reached a dizzying twenty-seven thousand pounds. "Sold! The bidding is closed! Mr Hollister, sir, you are the lucky gentleman this evening! Twenty-seven is a lot of money, sir, so make her work for it and get your money's worth, you lucky man!"