Chapter Four

Cliff decided to surprise Kayla at work, and bring her some lunch. After going through the third security checkpoint, he started to wonder if it was a good idea. "I'm here to see Kayla Bennett." he explained to yet another security officer. He held up the large paper sack he was carrying. "This is her lunch."

"Yes sir, wait here please."

Cliff watched the guard walk over to the wall and pick up a phone. A few moments later, the officer hung up and returned. The stern look on his face didn't seem encouraging.

"Ms. Bennett will be here shortly."

"Uh, thanks." Cliff stood to the side of the security checkpoint, trying to seem as nonthreatening as possible. He could feel the security officer watching him. One of the cameras on the wall seemed to be pointed at him too.

"Cliff? What are you doing here?" Kayla asked as she walked up to him.

"I brought you some lunch. I thought we could eat together."

"This is really nice Cliff, but I wish you'd called first. I'm working right now."

"You get a lunch break or something, right? Let's eat!"

"Okay, I guess..." She took the paper sack Cliff was holding, and led him to a break area for the prison staff.

"Sorry if I'm not supposed to be here or something. Those security checkpoints were crazy. I thought that last guy was going to give me a cavity search. He looked like he wanted to."

"That's Serious Sam. We call him that, because you know, he's so serious all the time. He always looks like that. But you should've called first. I would've--"

"You don't have to do anything, except enjoy your lunch." Cliff interrupted her, sitting down beside her at a table. He glanced around the break room. The furnishings weren't bolted to the floor or walls. There were vending machines. The prisoners obviously didn't have access to this section of the prison.

Cliff noticed something else too. Kayla was wearing a pair of fuzzy slippers. The pink scuffs didn't match her black slacks or her white blouse. He didn't know much about her job, so maybe this was nothing out of the ordinary. For all he knew, she walked around the prison in her house shoes all the time.

"I wanted to apologize for the other night. I wasn't very supportive. I was just surprised, you know? I had no idea. I was still kind of secretly hoping you really were a porn star."

"Will you stop saying that!" Kayla laughed. "I'm not tall enough to be a porn star." She unpacked the paper sack, spreading the food out across the table. "This looks good."

"It may be a little cold. It took a while to get through all the security checkpoints." Kayla's foot brushed against his leg as she crossed her legs. He heard a tinkling sound while her foot bobbed up and down. "Are those bells?"

She pulled the cuff of her slacks up a bit, revealing her anklet. "It's cute, right? Do you like it?"

He glanced down at her anklet. Little decorative bells dangled from the thin silver band draped around her ankle. They made a pleasant tinkling sound whenever she moved her foot.

"Cliff, there's something I've been thinking about. It's been bothering me. I don't want you to watch. The executions, I mean. I don't want you to see me like that."

"Okay. I won't."

"Promise me, you have to promise. It's easier if I know the people I care about aren't watching me. I made Pam promise too."

"I promise Kayla. I won't watch. But if you need me, I'll be there for you." It wasn't a difficult promise to make. Cliff didn't really want to watch any more of her executions. 'Creepy Kayla,' as he'd come to think of her executioner persona, was someone he didn't want to get to know better.

He watched her eating, while he ate his own lunch. Cliff could tell she wanted to say something, but maybe she was nervous. "What is it? You can tell me."

"You came to see me at the prison. No one's ever done that before. This is kind of a big deal."

"I'm just spending time with my girlfriend." he smiled.

"Hold that thought. The natives are getting restless." Kayla reached down, pulling off her slippers. She set them on the table in front of her. "Is anyone ready to talk yet?"

Cliff nearly choked on his food. "There are people in there?" he asked, still coughing.

"Yes Cliff. I told you, I'm working."

"What are you doing to them?"

"There was a riot a few days ago, and I'm interrogating these prisoners. One of them started it. I'm going to find out which one. It's part of my job."

"Let us out of here you fucking bitch!" a squeaky voice called out from inside one of her slippers.

"Looks like they don't feel like talking yet. I guess they need some more time to think."

Cliff stared as Kayla slipped her bare feet back into the pink scuffs. "You've been walking on them all day? Won't that hurt them?"

"No, that's why I'm wearing these thick-soled slippers. They're very soft, so they absorb almost all of my weight. I'm not saying they're comfortable in there, because they probably aren't. But that's kind of the point. As soon as one of them talks, they'll be restored to their original size and returned to their cells. Cliff, you're staring."

"Oh sorry," he looked away from her feet. Part of him wished he hadn't seen the tiny prisoners in her slippers. Maybe they could just go back to eating lunch, and he would forget about it eventually. It's no big deal, he told himself, it's her job.

"That's what I meant, earlier, when I said you should've called first. I would have returned the prisoners to their cells while we had lunch. But I didn't know you were coming."

"It's cool. You're just doing your job. I understand."

Kayla put her hand on Cliff's leg, squeezing his thigh. "You're a bad liar. But thanks for trying." she laughed.

"I'll get used to all of this. I just need a little more time."

"I know you will." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thanks for bringing me lunch. It's yummy."

"We can do this more often if you want. The accounting firm isn't far from here."

"I'd like--"

Kayla suddenly burst into a fit of laughter. Cliff wasn't sure what was so funny, her outburst was strange. "Are you alright Kayla?"

"One of the little bastards is tickling my toes. Hold on a sec." She stood up, shifting all of her weight onto her right foot.

Cliff could see her toes wiggling around inside the slipper. He couldn't believe what he was watching. She was manhandling a tiny inmate with her foot, subduing him with nothing but her small toes. Although to the prisoner, he imagined Kayla's toes were quite massive.

"Someone always gets this bright idea. Like I'm going to pull my foot out just because I get a little tickle. And then they're going to try and escape or something. How stupid is that? Where would they go at that size?" She crouched down, locking her eyes on her slipper. "If you tickle me again, I'll stomp the shit out of you. And if I accidentally break your arms and legs, well, that's your problem buddy."

"Remind me never to tickle you." Cliff said seriously.

"Not you silly, I wasn't talking to you. But if you DO want to tickle my feet, you better get some liquor in me first. I'm really ticklish. I'd probably kick you."

"Thanks for the heads up."

"Do you want to see the prison? I could show you around." She watched him shovel several big bites of food into his mouth before getting up from the table.

"I haven't eaten all day. I was hungry." He took one last bite. "Okay, let's go."

"I'll show you the observation deck first. We can look down at the General Population area from there. Oh, and the security room, you've gotta see that. They have lots of fancy equipment in there. There are cameras everywhere in the prison, and you can see everything from that one room."

Cliff was interested in what Kayla was saying. But he still found himself looking down at her feet. It was unbelievable. There were prisoners in her slippers. She was actually walking on them, like it was no big deal. They were suffering under her soles with each and every step she took.

He tried his best not to stare. Kayla was excited he came to visit her at work. He needed to pay attention to HER, not her feet. Even when he wasn't looking, he could hear the little bells on Kayla's anklet. It seemed like everything was drawing his attention to her feet, which wasn't a difficult thing to do in the first place. He tried to distract himself, to think of something else. Kayla probably didn't want to deal with his stupid fetish at the moment. She was busy, doing her job.

Kayla noticed her boyfriend's wayward glances, noticed him looking down again and again. She stopped walking and grabbed his hand, turning him toward her. "It's not much of a punishment is it?"

"Hmm?" Cliff looked up from the floor. Kayla was looking right at him. He'd been caught staring, for sure this time. "What?"

"I said, it's not much of a punishment. Is it? Being trapped under my sexy feet? I bet you wish you were one of those inmates." She waited for Cliff to say something, but he just looked at her funny. She realized what was going on. He was thinking about it, actually considering what it would be like. "I was only joking Cliff!" she grinned.

"I know!" he said defensively. "I wasn't thinking about THAT. That would be crazy!"

Kayla pushed him up against the wall, cornering him. "You really were thinking about it! Weren't you? Admit it! I can see it in your eyes." She smiled up at him, waiting for an answer.

"Okay. Okay! Maybe I was thinking about it. Is that so wrong?"

"You would really want that?" she gasped. Her gasp quickly changed into a girlish laugh.

Cliff noticed a playful look on her face that he'd never seen before. It was sexy as hell.

She tugged his shirt, bringing his face down closer to hers. "There's another kind of tour I can give you, if you want." she whispered. "I think you would really enjoy it."

"You mean..."

"That's right," she nodded her head slowly up and down. "I could give my itty bitty boyfriend the grand tour."

Cliff struggled to swallow the lump forming in his throat. "Okay." he gulped.

"Come with me." She pulled his hand, leading him down a long corridor. "I'll drop off these inmates, and then it'll just be you and me. I'm sure they're ready to talk by now."

"Wh-What do I do?"

"See this door? You have to go in this room. Then I push a button out here. It's all automated. The radiation bath will take about 30 minutes. Just go inside, wait 30 minutes, and then I'll meet you on the other side."

"Radiation, what kind of radiation? Is it safe?"

"It'll be worth it Cliff. I promise."

"Are you gonna be gentle? I mean, you aren't going to hurt me?"

Kayla pushed him into the room with one finger, poking him in the chest gently, like she was knocking over a feather. He didn't resist at all. "See you soon." She pressed a button on the wall, sealing him in the small chamber. Kayla winked at him before the door slid all the way shut.

"What did I get myself into now?" Cliff wondered aloud.