The Prop Master: Cindy's Student: Her Desire To Learn Was Insatiable

  The Propmaster: Cindy's Student

  Book 2 of the PropMaster Series

  Chapter 1: An A Ticket Ride

  Copyright 2014 by Pat Powers

  There was nothing quite like the opening day of shooting on a new production, whether it was a series or a movie. Weeks, months, perhaps years of effort had gone into planning for this moment. Millions in cash, personal reputations and huge egos were riding on the outcome of what was about to happen. The energy, mana, karma, call it what you will, was pumped up to gigantic proportions.

  And yet, the work itself was as mundane as could be -- hammering sets together, laying the miles of wire needed for the cameras and lights, fitting costumes, and of course, printing out and painting the props.

  Jack looked critically at the ornate Chinese dragon kitchen alarm clock he'd found schematics for in a Hong Kong website. Sometimes even the most beautiful, apt props didn't work with the decor when they were finally on set. But this was perfect.

  "Hi, master!" Cindy called, sashaying by in a skimpy thong bikini as she headed for one of the endless, mysterious conversations that actresses filled their days on set with. Lord, those women could talk. He supposed that's why, while most of them were comfortable with bondage, most of them disliked being gagged.

  "Hey, slavegirl!" Jack responded, watching her walk by. He never got tired of the sassy way she waggled her butt when she walked. It was somehow both sexy and cheerful, which was a pretty good description of Cindy's personality.

  She glanced back and caught him looking, winked and put a little extra wiggle in it for him. He winked back. Life was good.

  "You know, I've never been professionally tied by anyone who knew what he was doing before," a soft, husky voice said behind him.

  He turned. It was Bunny, back from wardrobe. She was wearing an incredibly torn shirt that somehow, just barely, managed to keep her breasts from falling out, but didn't do a thing to conceal their bounteous goodness, and a pair of equally ripped-up hip huggers that did a really exceptional job of hugging her butt.

  Jack looked at her and grinned. "I've never tied anybody up professionally who knew I knew what I was doing, except for Cindy, and I've never tied HER up professionally," he said. "I guess that makes us almost even."

  "I bet you never got to tie anybody up for movies like you're going to tie us up," said Bunny.

  "You're probably right, but I've had a couple of jobs that come close," said Jack. "Mostly in the last few years since the morality crew got tossed out of Washington and the studios stopped jumping every time a prude said “Boo!” There was a scene in "Rancid Justice" where the bad guys have captured the good guy's girlfriend and they're using her as bait to set the good guy up to be killed."

  "Oh, you mean the scene where she's just in her panties and bra and she's hung from the ceiling or something by her wrists and ankles and she's wiggling like mad 'cause they're fighting right under her?"

  "That's the one," Jack said, grinning. "The director was going to go for having her just tied to a chair in her T-shirt and jeans. But I said, if you're gonna use her as bait, why not let her do a little wiggling? And it went on from there."

  "That scene was in every trailer I ever saw for that movie," said Bunny.

  "Yeah, it sure was," said Jack. "It was also on every review of the show that I saw. I've got a framed note from Bannerman thanking me for my help on that scene. Great guy."

  "What other wild scenes have you done?" Bunny asked.

  "I did the "witch-burning" commercial for Jump Cola," Jack said.

  "The one where the witch is tied to the stake with the flames and calls on her spirit guides for help and they send down Generi-Cola and she sends it back?" Bunny said.

  "That one," Jack said.

  "Well, what was so wild about that one?" said Bunny. "She was tied to a stake and wiggling around."

  "Exactly, she was wiggling around," said Jack. "That wiggling was what made the commercial, and my job was to tie her so that she would appear to be securely tied to the stake, but could still wiggle around. So I took some bungee cord and wrapped the exterior with twine. It looked like it was solid rope but had a huge amount of give, because the twine was loosely wrapped around the bungee. Then I did some bondage that stopped just short of being a rope bra, and the rest is television history."

  "Yeah, my boyfriend used to love that commercial," Bunny said. "He thought it was so funny. And the part where she gets the Jump Cola and then magically transforms all the peasants' drinks into Jump Colas, too, was great."

  "Yeah," Jack agreed. "That sure was a funny commercial. Made 'em a ton of bucks, too."

  "God, it is so great having top people like you on a project for once," Bunny said thoughtfully. "So many of the people I've been working with have been total losers. I remember, the prop master on "Virgin Blood Orgy" tied a gag so badly I had to keep it clenched in place with my teeth -- you can actually see it dangling off my neck in the final print."

  "Oh, yeah," said Jack. "The bondage nitpickers call 'em loosies."

  "They have bondage nitpickers?" Bunny asked, a little incredulously. "With NAMES for this stuff?"

  "Yeah, of course," said Jack. "It's just like Trekkie nitpickers. They're so enamored of their particular art form that what they're really looking for is just excuses to watch it again. Nit-picking is a great excuse, if you're a certain kind of obsessive-compulsive person."

  "Did you ever do a loosie?" Bunny asked.

  "Not really," responded Jack. "My instincts in such matters have always been to tie 'em up tight."

  "I guess they would be that way," Bunny grinned.

  ""All right, everybody, gather round!" an amplified voice suddenly shouted. ""All cast and crew report to the set, please."

  Bunny and Jack looked over at the source of the noise. The director was standing on a raised dolly with a megaphone raised to his mouth. People were hurrying to the stage. That would be the noobs. More experienced cast and crew took their time. There would be plenty of standing around in any shoot no matter how soon or late you arrived. Even the top-dollar stars had to put up with a certain amount of it.

  "All right, I'd like to officially welcome you all to the start of shooting of "Damsels: The Arrival," James Gussett said. "We're very glad to have assembled a topnotch cast and crew for this film, and we anticipate great things from all of you," said Gussett. "Our script is brilliant, our actresses and actresses are marvels of talent, our stuntmen brave and true, and our backers' only concern is that we have enough money to do everything in a topnotch manner!"

  This brought a laugh out of the crowd. The penny-pinching ways and general unreliability of backers on indie productions was legendary. The fact that Gussett could even afford to joke about it was a good sign, to those who didn't know the full story of the financing. But the caliber and quantity of talent here was the real sign that mattered. You didn't get a crowd this sharp on an indie production without really deep pockets.

  "I am personally thrilled to be working on this project," said Gussett. "It's going to break new ground in the entertainment industry..."

  "HOLD IT!" a shrill voice cried. "HOLD IT!"

  A small, officious-looking woman made her way through the cast and crew. She was flanked by a phalanx of grim-looking suits. In just a few seconds she was standing underneath the dolly that Gussett stood on.

  "My name is Mindy Sorokin, and I am a lawyer for the Council on Decency and Equality, and I have a few words to say to you," she shrilled, her piercing voice echoing to the very rafters.

  "MADAM!" Gussett's voic
e boomed through the PA. "We are in the middle of production! I will have to ask you to leave!"

  "No, you are NOT in the middle of production," Sorokin shrilled. "I have here an injunction ordering Desert Industry Dreams to cease and desist in the production of the project entitled "Damsels: The Arrival". This movie you are making objectifies and degrades women! It is an evil work and I call on all women who seek liberation to strike work on it, and join us in our goal to end all such works."

  "What about ME?" came a voice from the crowd. It was Julia Strange, a B-movie starlet who'd been cast in a recurring role as a villainess in the series. She stepped forward. She was in costume for her role, as most were -- a lot of publicity stills were being taken today. She was wearing a black leather bustier that blatantly displayed her ample cleavage, a black leather collar with brass spikes, a black leather thong, chaps, and high-heeled boots. She also had studded black leather bracers on her forearms. A coil of black rope hung at one hip. She looked like a dominatrix from head to toe. And the combination of thong and chaps left mounds of Julia's bronze skin exposed in her crotch and rear end areas, to a decidedly sexy effect.

  "What about you?" asked Sorokin. "Would you care to join us on our quest for liberation?"

  Julia walked over to Sorokin slowly, as if she were thinking about Sorokin's question. When she was within about arm's length from Sorokin, she stopped and said, "I agree -- I need to be liberated -- from ASSHOLES like you!"

  And with these words, Strange launched herself at Sorokin, grabbing her around the neck so that the studs in her leather bracer pressed into Sorokin 's skin. Sorokin's entourage of suits immediately grabbed Strange. Various crew and cast members rushed in to grab the guys who were grabbing Strange. And Jack, the stuntmen, and a few others who had experience in stunt work, rushed in to break things up.

  Because Jack and the stuntmen had a lot of practical experience in melees, fake though they were (and some of the stuntmen had done their share of time in real melees) and the combatants were for the most part wimps who had never raised a fist to anyone in their lives, things were sorted out quickly.

  Gussett watched it all from on high, bemused.

  "Thank you, gentlemen, for getting things calmed down," Gussett said. "I suggest we proceed in a calmer mode now."

  "I will have you all jailed!" Sorokin screeched. She was being restrained by one of the stuntmen. "This is assault! Assault and battery! You can't do this!"

  "We're very sorry you have such a different perception of Julia's sisterly hug than we do," Gussett said unctuously. "Now, I assume if you're pressing a lawsuit you have papers of some sort or other to serve to us. I suggest you serve them to Jack on my behalf. He's an officer of this production company."

  "Rest assured, this is only the beginning, we'll do a lot more," said Sorokin. "This production is going to be shut down."

  Hearing his name, Jack let go of the suit he was restraining and stepped over toward Sorokin.

  "You'll forgive us if we find ourselves unenthused by your attempt to put us all out of work," said Gussett, "and I assure you, we have lawyers, too."

  "I'm Jack," Jack said. "I'll accept those papers on Mr. Gussett's behalf."

  Sorokin looked angrily at Jack.

  "I'll need your full name and title," said Sorokin.

  "Jack Davis, bondage wrangler," Jack responded.

  "What do you mean, 'bondage wrangler?'" Sorokin asked coldly.

  "Oh, I'm the guy who ties the gals up," Jack said politely. "I see that it's done in a safe and professional manner.”

  Sorokin glared at Jack as if he'd just confessed to being a professional ax murderer.

  "Take these papers, then, Mr. Bondage Wrangler," said Sorokin, handing Jack the papers. "It will be my pleasure to put you out of work forever."

  "You really should try decaffeinated," said Jack helpfully. "It's just as tasty as the real thing and doesn't have all those nasty side effects."

  "You've served your papers, you may leave now," said Gussett.

  "And don't you worry about putting Jack out of a job," said Strange. "He does MASTERFUL work. He'll always be in demand!"

  "You are in violation of the law if you don't shut this production down immediately," Sorokin snarled.

  "We will comply with the law, of course," said Gussett calmly. "We are in process of contacting out counsel now and will proceed on their advice. Everyone, please remain on break until we hear from counsel. Jack, would you give those papers to Miss Frankel, my production assistant?"

  Miss Frankel, a production assistant in their uniform of jeans and a T-short stepped forward and Jack handed her the papers. She headed for Gussett, who was on his cell phone.

  Jack and the stuntmen escorted Sorokin and her party off the set and into the parking lot. From the look of things, there were quite a few others in the cast and crew who wanted to choke Sorokin a little, too.

  When they got back in, Gussett was addressing the set.

  "All right, I've talked with counsel and this is what we need to do, and what will happen," Gussett said. "This is a restraining order, but based on what we've heard from Ms. Sorokin and what we've been able to glean from these papers very quickly, it has no basis in fact and we can get it thrown out by a judge just by showing the papers to him. The judge who signed these papers is known to be an activist for the kind of people Ms. Sorokin represents, so that's how they were able to get the order. They're probably just doing this for publicity.

  "Now, I know that as soon as I leave most of you will be on your cell phones to friends and the media, and you're fully authorized to tell them what I have told you. However. I do ask that all of you be consistent about the basis of the disagreement between Ms. Sorokin and Ms. Strange: Ms. Strange attempted to give Ms. Sorokin a sisterly hug as a way to amend their differences, which Ms. Sorokin Ms-interpreted as a chokehold. Are we all clear on this?"

  Nods and grins from the staff indicated that he was.

  "OK, then, we have to shut down production for today, to comply with the letter of the law," said Gussett. "But I want you all to plan to report to the set tomorrow, unless otherwise notified. We should have the restraining order declared invalid by then, and then it will be a matter for appellate court, who will surely refuse to even consider it. So, we'll see you tomorrow."

  Cindy made her way over to Jack through the crowd.

  "What did you tell that evil woman, Jack?" Cindy asked. "I saw that look she gave you."

  "I told her I was the bondage wrangler for this picture," Jack responded grinning.

  "Oh, I'm not sure that was a good idea," Cindy said worriedly, "that woman looks as mean as a snake."

  "You're right," said Jack. "And I learned a long time ago that there's only one way to deal with mean-ass people like her, and that's treat 'em mean. They see friendliness or kindness as weakness and go for your throat, every time. They get cautious if they get the idea you might be able to hurt them."

  "She may not have that idea," said Cindy.

  "Yeah, she seems like one of those who gets a few ideas in her head in her sophomore year in college then seals off her brain forever after," Jack said with a wry grin.

  "I don't know why she finds it so important to rain on our parade, anyway," said Cindy. "Let her work out her sexual problems with her shrink, not in some courtroom."

  "Yeah, but if you're a lawyer, it's a lot cheaper to work out your problems in a courtroom than in a shrink's office," said Jack. "In fact, there are a lot of lawsuits that work that way. We'll know more about it tomorrow, anyway."

  Chapter 2

  Cindy's Student

  Cindy lay naked and snuggled up to Jack. Her ball gag was unfastened, dangling by its strap from her head harness. Jack had been feeding her grapes, as her hands were tied behind her back. Her ankles were tied to her upper thighs, so she was lying with her legs spread wide, the very picture of sexual abandon.

  Physically helpless as she was, she also knew she had Jack at his most pliable
at such times.

  "Jack," Cindy purred, transforming it into a three-syllable name.

  "Mmm-hmmm," said Jack, very comfortably.

  "I need a favor," Cindy said.

  "You're my favorite slavegirl," Jack responded, "so I guess you can request a favor."

  "I have a friend on the set, Julia, who needs your help," Cindy said.

  "Well, if it's acting lessons she needs, I can't help her," said Jack.

  "No, it's not that, you big tease," Cindy responded. "It's bondage lessons. She's worried about being tied up. She thinks maybe a little practice with me and you would help her deal with it."

  "Hmmm," said Jack thoughtfully. "If this Julia you are referring to is Julia Strange, she's probably been tied up a lot onscreen."

  "She has," Cindy said. "the problem she has is that she likes it, a lot. But the roles she gets are more dominatrix kinda roles. Like the role she has with it. Except that she'll get tied up a LOT in her present role, and in some pretty extreme bondage, to judge by the scripts. And she's afraid that if she liked the mild stuff she was exposed to so much, she'll like the wild stuff you'll be doing so much that it'll affect her ability to act."

  Jack grunted in disbelief. "I had the idea that this was kinda the idea behind most of the bondage scenes in this series," he said.

  "Yea, I know, but it's bothering her, so I think we ought to help her," Cindy said.

  "Well, I don't really mind," said Jack. "Does she have anything particular in mind? Counseling? Rehearsals? Play sessions?

  "Kind of a mixture of all three," Cindy replied. "She wants to come over and watch you tie me up, then maybe get tied up herself."

  "Well, you know, Cindy, I'm a not a guy to object to that," Jack said. "But I'm also your master, in the same sense that you're my slavegirl. So the question is, do you have any objection to that? Really, I mean."

  "No, not really,' said Cindy. "I'm not worried that she's after any of my boyfriend turf with you. She's seeking knowledge, something I was lucky enough to get when I needed it. So I'm glad to give it to her."