Page 21 of Under Control

“Currently, the lock shows that you used a master key tied to the Lysander Corporation, and that the container was opened during our trip. We need to destroy the lock entirely. I would propose that we simply bash it in, and then claim that a fight broke out between a sailor and Alex during pre-docking preparations, and due to that negligence, a machine ended up crashing into the container.” That had been the core of the plan he’d hashed out with Alex. Alex was more than eager to let it play out, even offering to get into a fight with a sailor for real.

That really wasn’t necessary, but Tracht was torn between being amused by Alex’s desire to help via violence and frustrated by his blasé attitude towards violence on the ship. No matter how many times Tracht tried to drill it into Alex that violence was undesirable while on board, it never seemed to stick.

“How will we make the actual accident look believable?” Espinosa asked, still skeptical. “Wouldn’t they question the sailors involved?”

“It’s my ship, and it’s my responsibility. My bondservant has been punished, and the sailor was not at fault so I choose to keep them anonymous to protect them from further repercussion.”

It was only to be expected that Espinosa would think of everything. That was one of the many qualities that Tracht had hired her for, but in this one instance, it was very inconvenient. “You don’t need to worry about anything. I’ll arrange all the paperwork, and again, I’ll be handling all of this so you’ll be safe from Paris & Lyons. You’re far too valuable to me, and to the functioning of this ship, for me to risk you.”

To Tracht’s ears, the flattery was very transparent, but it had the desired effect. Espinosa averted her gaze and blushed. Alex seemed to think that Espinosa was in love with Tracht, although Tracht doubted it. Few people weren’t affected by professional praise, and Espinosa had been working on the Sigrun long enough to know that Tracht didn’t dispense praise lightly.

“Thank you, Captain,” Espinosa said. “I will… I will do my best to support you in this. Please let me know if there are any concrete measures I can take.”

“The best thing you can do is make sure the ship continues to run smoothly for the rest of the trip.” Tracht tilted the vid screen towards her, which was playing an Atalanta news station. “And maybe you can keep an eye on this entire situation with the overtime policy. I’ve had it up to here listening to the activists’ infernal screeching.”

She snorted at that. “I absolutely agree, sir. I’ll make sure to apprise you of any new developments. If there’s nothing else, perhaps I should get back to my job?”

“Yes, of course. Dismissed.”

Tracht watched her leave, this time looking far more confident than the previous few times they’d discussed the damned container.

He glanced at the time display on his tablet. Close enough to lunch that he could take a break. A shame that he’d sent Alex to do some busywork, but no matter. He locked his office and went to the cafeteria.

Unexpectedly, Singh and Strobel were both already there, and he groaned internally when he saw the look on Singh’s face. She was hiding it, but it was clear she was miserable. Strobel was leaning in close in an attempt to comfort her.

If Tracht had acted faster, he might have been able to leave again without being noticed, but they both looked up at him. He could still leave, but it would be clear that he was leaving simply to avoid the conversation. While Singh might forgive him, Strobel would get upset over it.

Tracht nodded at them and picked up a tray of food before sitting down at the table with them. They were in one of the far corners, on the opposite side of the room from the other crew members.

“Dr. Singh, Mr. Strobel. I would ask how things are going, but I suspect I know the answer to that.”

“Oh, it’s nothing, Captain,” Singh said, rubbing the heel of her hand against her eye. “Just a personal matter. Bernd was trying to give me advice.”

“I told her she’d be all right without their bondservant,” Strobel said. “Lina and Charles are a strong couple even on their own. You agree with me, right?”

What useless advice for Singh and Fontaine, who were both doms. Strobel didn’t quite understand that sort of dynamic, though, and he was perfectly content with a fully equal, completely vanilla relationship. Tracht had met Strobel’s husband exactly once, and had thought that the man was so boring that it wasn’t a surprise Strobel liked him.

“Yes, I’m absolutely certain that Dr. Singh and Dr. Fontaine would be perfectly happy on their own. And if they aren’t, there are sure to be many clubs that cater to their swinger nature. I’m sure I can find a few…”

Strobel glared at Tracht, which would have been more intimidating if not for the man’s fluffy beard and somewhat teddy-bearish demeanor. But Singh laughed and looked up at him. “No need, I bet Charles has a list. And I appreciate the sentiment, Bernd, but at this point Nadia is more than simply an interloper in our relationship. That’s what’s making this decision so hard.”

“Does she have money?” Tracht asked. “You can always offer to pay her for the same job she’s doing now. Her salary can be the same as whatever monthly installments you were paying for her debt. Or you could negotiate with her if you aren’t willing to go that high.”

“Her debt wasn’t as high as Alex’s,” Singh said. “Honestly, across seven years, it barely dented our finances. It’s just a matter of what her status would be if she stayed with us.”

Strobel shifted uncomfortably. “Better if she isn’t a bondservant, if you’re insisting on staying in a relationship with her. Not that I’m against bondservants, but it’s a little weird, isn’t it? It’s one thing if you’re just buying sex, like the captain is, but don’t you want to know that the relationship is genuine?”

Tracht took a bite of his food to keep himself from saying the wrong thing to Strobel. The assumption about Alex wasn’t an incorrect one. Or at least, it was the assumption that Tracht hoped to cultivate in people. He was still annoyed with himself for having become emotionally attached to Alex.

Lucky for him that Singh made no move to correct Strobel either, despite knowing more of the nature of Tracht and Alex’s relationship.

“Right. Anyway, it’s a complicated issue,” Singh said finally. “I appreciate you listening to me, Bernd. In the end, I simply need to—” she trailed off, looking at something behind Tracht.

When Tracht turned around, he saw Alex walking over, looking pretty content. “Hey, Tracht.” He was more wary when he addressed the other two. “Singh. Strobel.” He didn’t wait for permission to sit down, taking the seat opposite Tracht, next to Strobel. “Can I get lunch?”

Tracht considered it, but Alex had been behaving and anyway, it rarely did him any good to demonstrate his control over Alex’s diet in front of Strobel. He slid his tray across the table. “I’m not all that hungry. Go ahead.”

Alex didn’t hesitate at all, didn’t even care that Tracht had been using the same spoon just moments earlier. Granted, Tracht and Alex traded spit often enough that this extra instance wouldn’t make any difference. Still, it felt very domestic. It wasn’t really any different from when he hand-fed Alex, or when they went to restaurants and split a dessert. But maybe it was the fact that there was no agenda attached to this at all, that he had simply shared the food out of a desire to make Alex happy.

---