The Warren Files 02: Dan and Kate

This story is a spin-off of my "Revenge in Advance: A Sequel" series, made up of "Revenge in Advance, A Sequel," in which Oscar escapes his wife's plot and gets his own revenge, followed up by "Revenge in Advance, Derby's Dose," a tale of what happened when one wife's revenge went too far, "Revenge in Advance: Pat," in which Oscar arrests and confronts the woman who started his odyssey and continued with "Revenge in Advance: Mona," in which the Task Force finally takes down the top conspirators.

The final story in that series is "Revenge in Advance: The Briefing," in which Oscar and the Task Force stop a plot against the president.

The last two stories alluded to memoirs written by Oscar about his service in the Task Force. This is the second story in those memoirs, and is written from his perspective and in his voice. Chronologically, the events of this story take place somewhere between "Pat" and "Mona," however, the story (as presented by Oscar) was written after his retirement from the Force.

Each entry in this series can be read as a separate story, however, you may also want to read the previous entry in Oscar's memoirs.

Many thanks to edrider73 for giving me permission to write this sequel and any others that may come from his original story, "Revenge in Advance."

I would also suggest reading Colinthedog's story, "Retreat," in which Oscar plays a role.

And finally, many thanks to those who offered comments and constructive criticism on my previous stories. For those who want to say this or that would never happen, remember this is my universe, a place where nearly anything can, and often does, happen. At least on paper...

Please refer to my profile for more on my personal policy regarding comments, feedback, follows, etc. And please remember, this is a work of fiction, not a docu-drama...

Prologue:

My name is Oscar Warren. I served with the HomeFront Security Task Force for 35 years, and retired after serving as the organization's first Cabinet-level officer in the White House. My personal story has already been told by others so I won't rehash that here. Simply put, I was once a normal American husband who loved my wife and was targeted by a vicious organization that irrevocably changed my marriage and ultimately, my life.

Under the advise of my counselor, I decided to write my memoirs - my recollections, if you will - of just some of the many interventions where I have been personally involved. I have done my bit for humanity and now it is up to humanity to either get its act together or go into that quiet night.

The following story has been culled from my own recollection, case files and notes. Where applicable, the names of the innocent have been changed. All the information presented here has been cleared for release by appropriate authorities.

HFSTF Case File #A02756391, Shipman, Dan and Kate:

The day started out like most others. I got up, got the kids ready and escorted them to the front when the bus came to take them to school. I was getting ready for work when I saw a news story about a mysterious explosion at a house in suburban St. Louis over the previous weekend. I thought nothing more of it as I continued to get ready.

I went to my small office in the main building at the compound we called Fort Apache and looked through my stack of case files. The pile of cases grew considerably over the last four months since Pat Witherspoon, one of the most senior field operatives for the Mutual Marital Assurance Society, or MMAS, died while in our custody.

After her death, Bill Jackson, my friend, boss and mentor, suggested I take a month off with the children, which I did. After that, I spent three long, grueling months undergoing all kinds of specialized training. I had just returned from training and decided to take a day or so to get caught up on what had been going on.

MMAS was a secretive company set up by one Mona Larsen that manipulated gullible wives into spending $1,600 for "insurance" ostensibly designed to keep their marriages intact and their spouses faithful. But Mona's desire for revenge on cheating husbands morphed into a quest for political control. It was clear that she now wanted to remake society to fit her female-dominant worldview. For Mona, men were second-class beings to women, and existed only to serve the female of the species.

After Pat's death, the organization went "dark," but spouses who had purchased their services were still filing claims. That meant trouble, and it was our job to try and intercede before those claims could be fulfilled.

Although Pat was dead, the Task Force had a gold mine of information, thanks to the computers we confiscated. I started sorting through the case files on my desk, many of which had notes included with them. A number of them were now closed, so those got put in a stack to be filed. The remaining files were being worked by other officers, so I put those in another stack to get updated.

It was late in the afternoon and I had just wrapped things up when Bill tapped on my door and popped his head in. I waved him in and offered him a cup of coffee, which he readily accepted.

"Christ, what is this shit?" he hissed after taking a sip.

"I call it coffee," I said. He shook his head and set the cup down.

"Remind me to get a Starbucks outlet set up here," he said.

"So, did you just come by to insult my coffee-making skills or what?" I asked. He shook his head, smiling.

"Sorry," he said. "No, I actually have something I need you to look into." He pulled a folder from his briefcase and handed it over to me. "Did you hear about that explosion in St. Louis?"

"Yeah," I said. "Does that have anything to do with us?" He put a folded document on my desk. The document was inside a plastic protector. I recognized it immediately as a bill from MMAS.

"It does now," he said. "You recognize that, I'm sure." I did. I had seen this myself before my own interview with Pat - the interview that literally changed my entire life.

"That was found in the house," Bill said. "There's more. Check out these photos." He placed a series of crime scene photos on my desk. One photo showed what looked like a set of heavy-duty bolt cutters. I could see the blood on the cutters, which were in the open position. Another photo showed pieces of metal tubing that meant nothing to me.

A strange-looking remote control was the subject of another photo. I had never seen anything like it and looked at Bill.

"Our tech guys are going over that now," Bill said.

"Any idea what it controlled?" I asked. He shook his head.

"None," he said.

The most disturbing photos were those of the two victims. The woman's body looked as though it had been perforated with metal shrapnel. The man's body was unrecognizable, and appeared to have been blown into at least three large pieces. The top half of his body was thrown several feet and the legs were thrown across the room.

I was reminded of photos I had seen of bombings where terrorists used explosive vests, but this was different. It was clear to me the explosion originated with the man. But why?

"You think MMAS was behind this?" I asked. Bill shrugged his shoulders.

"It looks that way," he said. "But I've never known them to use explosives before. I had tech do an initial investigation, and the victims were listed in Pat's client spreadsheet. There was an entry in that sheet - PCX."

"PCX?" I asked. "What's that?"

"I believe it was an experimental project MMAS was working on," Bill said. "There's three other names with that annotation. Of those listed, only one is still listed as active."

"What happened to the other two?" I asked.

"One couple, John and Glenda Franks, died in a car accident a couple months ago. According to witnesses, the car went off the road and exploded," he said. "Both John and Glenda were killed and their bodies burned beyond recognition in the fire that ensued. Of course, whatever evidence that did exist is now long gone."

"And the other couple?" I asked.

"Ryan and Donna Gleeson," Bill said. "Ryan divorced his wife after meeting with the MMAS operative." He gave me a card with their contact information. "You may want to talk with them and get their story."

"I will," I said, slipping the contact card in the folder Bill gave me. "I'm sure there's more." Bill nodded his head.

"There is," he said. "The tech guys going through Pat's files found an encrypted folder labeled 'PCX.' They broke the encryption and they're going through the contents now. I strongly suggest you head over there and speak with them first thing in the morning before you start your investigation. Ryan and Donna are still in Springfield, so you can talk to them afterword." He put an airline ticket on my desk.

"Day after tomorrow, I'll need you and a tech guy to fly out to LAX," Bill said. "Someone from our field office will pick you up and work with you to resolve this." He stood up and prepared to leave. "And do me a favor."

"What's that?" I asked, standing up.

"Learn how to make a cup of coffee, willya?" he asked, smiling. I laughed and shook his hand.

"I'll put it on my calendar," I said. After Bill left, I sat back down and opened the case folder on my desk.

Husband: Shipman, Daniel (Dan), age 45, occupation: financial adviser, employer: Self-employed

Wife: Shipman, Katherine (Kate), age 44, occupation: homemaker

Children: Two, both attending college in southern California

According to the synopsis in the file, husband Dan responded to the MMAS "billing" statement and spoke to a representative in Los Angeles. According to Dan, his wife, Kate, along with the assistance of the local MMAS operative, placed a modified chastity device on him. The device, he says, is controlled with a remote used by Kate. In addition to the device, husband says they inserted a specialized anal device that is also controlled by the remote.

Husband states the wife uses the remote to control and humiliate him 24 hours a day. He also says Kate engages in sex with other men, often in his presence, while using the remote to further his humiliation. Additionally, husband says he was threatened with severe consequences if he attempts to take action against his wife and her MMAS operative.

After reviewing the information in the file, I headed home to my two young children, John and Christine. They met me at the door when I came in and proceeded to tell me about their day. Marie Bergman, the woman who doubled as their part-time nanny and their counselor, was preparing to leave. I stopped her before she left and told her I would be on the west coast for a couple days. She thanked me for the heads-up and made a note in her calendar.

"I hate it when you leave," John said, crestfallen. "When will you get all the bad guys?" I picked him up and held him to me tight.

"Someday soon, I hope," I said. Christine held her arms out, so I picked her up and held her for a while. I loved these dear children with all my heart and I hated to see them sad. They didn't know it at the time, but they were the only things that kept me sane in those days.

"When can we go see Mommy again?" she asked.

"Let me finish this case and we'll go see your mother," I said. My ex-wife, Renee, was serving a sentence in the women's prison for what she and Pat, her MMAS contact, had done to me. I made it a point to let the children see her as often as practicable.

As per the pre-sentencing agreement, she had provided valuable information on her experience with MMAS, and she hoped I would take her back when she was released. By this time, I learned that she had been subjected to a form of chemically-induced hypnosis and her attorney was using that information in her appeal. Nevertheless, I still had some reservations.

After dinner, I put the kids to bed and watched a little television before finally nodding off.

The next morning, I headed to the tech department and was met by a couple of very enthusiastic technicians.

"Morning, boss," they said, smiling.

"So, what do you have for me?" I asked. One tech, wearing a nameplate that read, "John," began the briefing with a detailed explanation of the encryption used by Pat. My eyes began to glaze with talk of file systems, bits, algorithms and the like, so I encouraged him to get to the bottom line.

"Bottom line, John," I said, "what did you find?"

"PCX refers to something called Project CX," he said. "According to the documents we found, it was an experimental project and was only tried with four of their clients."

"So, what was the purpose of this experiment?" I asked.

"According to the project documents we uncovered, it was designed to find ways for women to maintain control of their husbands," John said.

"For what purpose?" I asked. "Punishment for an affair?"

"No," John said. "In each case, the MMAS operative admitted that none of the husbands involved ever engaged in extramarital sex. However, we were able to determine that the wives involved wanted to cuckold their husbands and enslave them. This wasn't about punishment or revenge. It was all about pushing a femdom ideology. In each case, the husbands were to be fitted with a specially-designed male chastity device, like this one."

John pulled up a picture of a cock cage with a box at the base. The contraption was connected to a waistband with another small box on the back. Another wire led from that box to an anal plug. Next to the contraption was a remote control that looked just like the one found in St. Louis.

"What the hell is all this?" I asked.

"The chastity device is designed to be controlled over the Internet with the remote," John said. "It has position sensors and electrodes that produces an electric shock to the genitals and anus. The woman controlling the remote can force the victim into any position she wants. There's more." John pointed to the box at the base of the tube on the front of the device.

"That box contains what appears to be, for lack of a better description, a penile guillotine," he said. "At any time she chooses, the woman can activate that and cut the man's penis off."

"You gotta be shittin' me," I said. John shook his head.

"Oh, it gets even better," John said. "There's also a small explosive placed at the base, just under the scrotum." He pointed to the waistband, which looked like a bicycle chain wrapped in plastic. "According to the specs, there's three strands of primer cord in that waistband." He pointed to the plug. "And this plug also includes a shaped charge."

"What happens if someone were to cut the waistband?" I asked.

"From what we can determine, if that were to happen, the system would take over, slice the man's penis, and detonate the charges a few seconds later," John said. "The primer cord would cut the man in two, while the shaped charges in the anus and behind the scrotum would tear the man apart even further. Let me show you." His fingers moved across his keyboard and a video file, showing the device attached to a mannequin, began to play.

"This was what we found on Pat's computer," John said. As I watched, two small but sharp blades came together at the base of the fake "penis." A few seconds later, the charges detonated, separating the mannequin into three main pieces. The top half flew up and away while the legs went flying in different directions.

"Holy crap," I said. Now I knew what had happened in St. Louis. Apparently the poor man was tired of what his wife had done and tried cutting the device off with a pair of bolt cutters. Before his wife could override the system, however, it detonated, killing both of them. I looked at John.

"So, what happened to the experiment?" I asked.

"From what we gathered, the experiment was considered a failure due to the instability of the devices," John said.

"And what happened to the operative?" I asked.

"Pat's document said the operative's services were no longer required," John said. I knew what that meant. For Mona, failure was not an option, and those whose services were deemed unnecessary were usually eliminated. That's what happened to Pat, who died after receiving a message that her services were no longer required.

I shuddered to think of what Mona had done to the woman, but I also understood that she didn't want any loose ends, which meant no witnesses.

"Anything else?" I asked. John pulled up another video. "What's this?" I asked.

"This is a video of the interview MMAS held with Ryan Gleeson," John said. As I watched, a large, very muscular man wearing jeans and a work shirt entered an office and was directed to sit in a chair by a petite blonde woman who introduced herself as "April." She described the corporate workings of MMAS as Pat had done to me so long ago before launching into the meat of the interview. In the video, April placed a bottle of water on the table for Ryan after she finished. He looked at it then apparently decided not to drink from it.

"Aren't you thirsty?" she asked. "It's quite warm out." He shook his head.

"No," he said. "Besides, I work outside all day long."

"Suit yourself," she said.

"So, why am I here?" he asked. "What's this all about?"

"Your wife has enlisted our services to help find fulfillment in her marriage," April said.

"What do you mean, 'fulfillment?'" he asked. "If she's not happy, she can talk to me about it."

"I don't think you understand the nature of the problem," April said. "She seeks something you cannot give her, namely, control."

"Control?" Ryan asked, agitated. "What the hell are you talking about? She's an equal partner in our marriage. She knows that. That's the way things have always been."

"Ryan, you need to join the 21st century," April said. "More and more women are seeking to take control of their marriages now. And that means controlling their spouses."

"What do you mean, controlling their spouses?" Ryan asked.

"Ryan, tell me the truth, wouldn't you like to see your wife happy and satisfied?" April asked.

"Of course," he said. "I'd do just about anything to keep her happy."

"Good answer," she said. "What if that meant letting her, er, experiment, if you will, with other men. Perhaps while you watch. A lot of men are into that these days, you know."

"Not me," he said, agitated. "There's no fucking way I'd allow that. I'd divorce her ass if she ever did something like that."

"So you're saying fidelity is important to your marriage?" she asked.

"Hell yes," he said. "Look, I get hit on all the time, but there's no way I'd ever cheat on her and she knows I'd never tolerate it from her."

"I know," April said. "Your wife tells me that you're a good husband, attentive and loyal."

"So why are we going through this if she's happy with our marriage?" Ryan asked.

"As I said in the beginning, this is about control," April said. "Your wife feels that she would be even happier if she were in control of your relationship. I agree with her and I'm here to help her fulfill that desire."

"And how would you suggest she get control?" Ryan asked.

"Take a drink and I'll show you," she said. Ryan shook his head.

"I already told you I'm not thirsty," he said. "Why do you want me to drink this water so bad? Did you put something in it?"

"I only intend to make you comfortable," she said. "Here, watch this video. It will explain everything." She started a video on her computer and Ryan's eyes grew wide as he watched. It appeared to be a video explaining the chastity device. After the video ended, she reached under her desk and placed one of the devices on the table. Ryan stood, visibly angry.

"What the fuck is this?" he asked.

"Ryan, please sit back down," she said. "This is just the physical means of maintaining control. How your wife chooses to use it is up to her. I can tell you she was adamant that you not leave without this firmly in place. In addition, you'll be required to sign over everything to her - your bank account, house, vehicles, everything. You will truly belong to your wife. What's the matter? Don't you trust her?"