The constant buzz of the diesel engine saturates the already humid ocean air with an added layer of claustrophobia. Extreme heat and noise add to each other to produce a suffocating atmosphere on the fishing boat's deck.
The three nude boys sit crestfallen around the folding table eating prepackaged sandwiches and drinking from disposable water bottles in mortuary silence. Now and then they throw glances at their peer still hanging under the gantry with his arms held high and legs spread while the three masked women tease and play with his tanned body amidst loud laughs and chatter. The boys can only watch the grotesque spectacle for a moment before they're forced to look elsewhere, ashamed by their inability to help him.
"You sure you don't want to cooperate now!?" one of the women yells above the engine's noise while kneading his buttocks "Maybe share more of your 'ideas' with us rather than with the Boss?"
She tickles him with a finger and the boy jumps, standing on his tiptoes trying to get away from her. The women laugh and let him calm down for a minute during which one of them finishes a long-winded war anecdote.
After another round of laughs, they return their attention to the boy standing spread and exposed at their mercy. They continue poking and teasing him, stroking his penis in brief bursts while rubbing his erogenous zones until he's on the edge of orgasm, stopping mere seconds before he can cum. They laugh as he grunts and twitches in frustration.
"Aw! Come on now, no need to be so dramatic! Here, this may help!" says one of the women taking off his mouth gag. She raises her mask a little, takes a big gulp of water from a water bottle, and tries to pass the liquid to him via an open-mouth kiss.
The Indian boy turns his head sideways trying to refuse but ends up spilling the warm liquid all over himself, triggering a coughing fit. The women laugh and press the ball gag back on his mouth.
"There! Much better now!" yells one patting his head "Hey guys, think he'll be able to cum now?" more laughs in response.
Inside the boat's cabin, the Boss watches the scene outside with a bored expression. On the phone in her hands, a flurry of heart emojis and other cartoon images scroll fast by. She waits until the woman with the buzz cut glances in her direction and waves her to come. The thin woman nods and exchanges a quick look with the woman with braids whose demeanor changes almost instantly. They exchange worried looks.
The woman with the buzz cut steps inside the cabing and closes the door behind her. The engine noise diminishes to the point she can talk without yelling.
"You wanted to see me Boss?" she says coughing on her fist, trying to hide her nervousness.
"Yes Corporal, just a quick query." says the Boss typing on the phone "Tell me more about the group home you got these last two drones."
The skinny woman hesitates. She glances outside at the woman with braids who stares intently in her direction.
"P-pretty standard location Boss..." she begins, her voice struggling to remain professional "Rural location, two-story cottage, concrete perimeter. As for the inner defenses: A couple of dogs, a couple of bots —second-gen—, guardians with small firearms... Overall, nothing we haven't seen before..." she stops to gulp "Is this related to the drone outside? Because the only reason he managed to kick me in the face was..."
"Yes, this is about him." the Boss interrupts. She pockets the phone and steps closer to the window, studying the tied twelve-year-old sandwiched between the two women "What can you tell me about his room?"
"His... Room?"
The Boss sighs and closes her eyes "Make me repeat myself Corporal and we'll be forced to change the topic of conversation. We could talk for instance about the motile sperm you stole from the containment area."
The woman tenses up. She shuffles in place and talks in a flurry of words.
"W-we broke into his room last, so we were already in a hurry to leave. On top of that, there was the darkness, the frenzy of battle, and..." the Boss glances at her, the woman speaks faster "Which is all to say I don't recall all the details Boss! B-but I DO remember some things about his room. Like how... empty it was."
One of the Boss's eyebrows raises, the slightest hint of genuine interest in her face. The woman with the buzz cut relaxes a little.
"Y-you know how drones love to hoard all sorts of garbge in their rooms or decorate them in excess? Well, the room of the tall one was... the complete opposite. Bare walls and ceiling, almost no personal items in sight. Just a couple of books, some photos, some old toys from when he was smaller. Even his clothes were all neatly folded on a corner." she shrugs "It looked as if he had just arrived."
"Or just getting ready to leave..." muses the Boss staring at the floor.
"Boss…?"
The old woman shakes her head, extracts the phone out of her pocket.
"That would be all, thank you Corporal..." she says typing again. But before the skinny woman can open the cabin's door she adds "As for the motile sperm you stole..."
The woman freezes. Her hand clenching the handle.
"It will be discounted from your next paycheck at current market value," says the Boss without taking her eyes off the phone "Plus a penalty for the time the accountant wasted trying to figure out why the numbers on the latest shipment didn't add up. Understood?"
The woman with the buzz cut looks like a spring under pressure, ready to burst at a moment's notice. She manages to nod.
The Boss clicks her tongue "Good." and a second later "Oh, and Corporal…?"
"Y-yes... B-boss...?" the woman says with clenched teeth.
"What gender did you and your wife chose for the baby?"
The woman drops her shoulders and sighs in relief.
"A girl, Boss..."
The elder woman nods, her attention squared on the flurry of cute emojis scrolling across the phone's screen.
"Good."
***