Traditional Values
By: Randall Austin
(© 2012 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 14

The following morning as Martin unchained Bradley from his bed, he told him of the seriousness of the situation as it was outlined to him by his Social Services' contact person, Damian Appomattox. He told him he had to reveal the name of the person who unlocked his infibulation ring, and that there was no way out of it since such an act was a felony under the law. And since the name of the person who unlocked him would be whipped out of him eventually, it would be better for Bradley to reveal everything immediately.

He also let Bradley know that he was to receive a Level Four punishment for allowing his ring to be unlocked. Bradley, having read his social servant's manual, knew what a Level Four punishment meant. He cried as his dad released him. "Dad, I want to call this whole thing off. I'm not going to go through with this."

"No way son, you are still in training and pulling out during training was never an option. This is not the time for you to be talking like that. Not while a felony is being investigated. And not while you are due for a Level Four. Just because the going is getting rough, you are not hopping out now. No way, young man! After you take your bath, you are to put your bar and ring back on and lock it. Hal is coming over to spend another day with you today, and he will make sure your bar is locked on properly. He will also do whatever it takes to help you reveal the name of the person who unlocked you. Now get in there and take your shower, and be ready to serve us breakfast by eight o'clock! And if you come into the kitchen with that frown on your face and this attitude on display, I'll paddle your ass right in front of your mother and Flora!"

Martin was about to rush off in anger, but paused and recalled what Damian Appomattox counseled; never take a familiar slave's offense personally. "Bradley, there is no reason for me to be so angry with you. You made a big mistake. Mistakes are common to social servants. And that's what you are now. You need to know that everything can be okay and back on track if you simply do as you're told in the way a social servant is to behave; with enthusiasm, politeness, and honesty in all things." He walked up to Bradley, gave him a pat on the shoulder and half a smile. "I still love you more than anything in my life. Please don't make it necessary for Hal to whip you! I couldn't bear that."

At the breakfast table that morning, Barbara, unaware that anything of important had transpired, was in an especially bubbly mood. "Bradley, honey dear, how do you like Mr. Franklin? He seems like a very nice man."

Bradley tried to smile as he served his seated parents and Flora. "I like him okay, Mom." Bradley was unable to look anyone in the face, especially Flora. Barbara was concerned. "Why are you so serious today, Bradley? Didn't you sleep well, honey?"

The silence was too much for little Flora. "Because daddy is very unhappy with Bradley after what we caught him doing..."

Martin interrupted Flora. "Now Flora, everything is fine now! You don't have to think about that anymore!"

Barbara was curious and pressed for an answer, but Martin stopped her. "I'll speak with you about it later, Barbara, when we're alone." Even Flora was not aware of the seriousness of the matter at hand. Both had no idea that the reason Martin had given them a big list of shopping errands to go on after breakfast was so that they would not be around when Hal Franklin arrived with his whip set. And neither one knew that Martin spent an hour before bedtime last evening prepping a work room in the basement with a makeshift whipping frame and soundproofing, so the neighbors couldn't hear Hal doing his work of extracting information out of Bradley.

Martin thought it best to show that everything was business as usual, so he proceeded to gave out his usual chore list to Bradley over the breakfast table. "Bradley, we need to start getting the house ready for when your brothers join us after their training. All three of you will be living here with us for two weeks before you go into service, and..." Barbara interrupted with a big smile on her face. "Won't that be a wonderful time dear, having our family all together again after all of this training stuff is over?"

Martin was annoyed with her interruption, but did not show it. After he gave Barbara and Flora a nod and a smile, he continued. "Since I just won't have the time to go running from room to room securing each one of you down at night, and doing morning unlocking and inspections, I want all three beds brought into your bedroom here on the main floor. It will save your mother and me time in monitoring and securing you boys if we confine you all to the same room. The only way the three beds will fit in there is if everything in your room is removed. The bookshelves, desk, chairs, clothes, stereo, television, computer station; it all needs to be packed away and put into storage."

"Then to save time once your brothers are back here living with us, we'll have a system whereby Quince will chain you down at night, Alban will chain Quince down, and either your mom, Flora, or I can chain Alban down." Little Flora silently gulped. "And it will be the same procedure in reverse in the morning. Then, after your morning baths you can all gather in your room and I will do the daily inspection."

Barbara was uncertain about Flora's participation, but Martin argued for it. "Times are changing, dear. They're social servants, and their right to privacy is in the hands of whoever ends up buying them. The fact is plenty of strangers are going to be seeing our sons nude in the years ahead. So why should it be forbidden to their own family members? Flora and Alban always got a long well, so I don't think Alban will mind if Flora assists in his care. And thanks to you, Flora has already seen everything there is to see of our boys on the Social Service's website."

Barbara smiled an embarrassed smile at her own little past misstep, and silently nodded in agreement. Wonderful fireworks were going off in Flora's head. Her prayer for a lollipop of her own to hold and care for had already come true after only twelve hours!

Barbara and Flora were gone on their shopping trip no more than ten minutes when Hal Franklin arrived with four whips of varying sizes in hand. Martin and Hal had already discussed over the phone the 'get down to business immediately' approach they would employ. They both walked into the kitchen where Bradley was doing the dishes. He was about to say 'good morning' to Hal when he saw the whips, and stopped and stared.

Martin told Bradley to reveal the name of the person who unlocked him. Bradley said nothing, but he broke into a cold sweat. Martin then ordered him to unbutton and remove his service fatigues. Bradley trembled, and his teeth chattered as he undressed. When he was naked and still placing his fatigues over the back of a kitchen chair, Martin went up to him, and grabbed him by the arm, and led him to the door leading to the basement. They went down the stairs, Bradley trembling, and Hal following with his four whips.

Martin led Bradley and Hal into the basement workroom, turned on the light, and shut the door. Bradley was shocked at what he saw. He had not realized that his dad had spent time placing pillows and blankets over the two basement windows in the room in an attempt to soundproof them. He also saw that his father had turned the workbench into a whipping table. It was cleared of tools and wood scraps, covered in a leather training mat, and straps were fixed to the base for securing Bradley's legs.

Bradley was led to the table, his legs strapped in place, and his father bent him over the table just enough so he could pull out each arm and they could reach and be attached to two straps that were attached to hooks in the floor joists overhead.

Hal spoke in a serious tone. "Bradley, we are not playing games here. We will not stop whipping you until you give us the name of the person who unlocked your infibulation bar." Bradley was crying, "Please Dad. Don't!"

Hal was not interested in pleas. He picked up his seven-foot stock whip, pulled on it, and decided against it. He took instead his six-foot snake whip, flexed his arms, and flailed it without warning across Bradley's back. The scream that Bradley gave out made Martin glad that he had soundproofed the windows. Martin was pleased with that first stroke; he was angry with Bradley for making things come to this, and he was thoroughly annoyed with his stubbornness, and felt a momentary bit of satisfaction, of the 'that'll show you!' variety.

But with the second stroke of the whip and the following scream, Martin knew he could not take much more. Fortunately for him, Bradley had planned in advance what his strategy would be. If his father had done the whipping, he knew he might have been able to win. But his father had wisely decided to let Hal do the whipping, and Bradley immediately realized that Hal did not intend to stop whipping him until he revealed his secret, so there was no gain in holding out any longer. Even though he knew he could withstand a few more blows of the whip, there was no good reason to bear one more blow, so he screamed out. "Please stop. I'll tell you who unlocked me."

His father fairly rushed to release Bradley from the whipping table. Once released, Martin hugged Bradley, and through his sobbing Bradley revealed that it was Jason who had unlocked him. Martin was incredulous. "Why on earth would he do that? He's a professional trainer with the state?" When Bradley replied that he released him because he was in love with him, his father was certain that Bradley was lying, and had Hal come over and assist him in strapping Bradley back down to the whipping table. Bradley shouted that he had a letter to prove it.

Both men then released their grip on Bradley and accompanied him up the stairs and into his room where he found Jason's letter, and gave it to them. Martin read it in silence, and a stunned look came across his face. "You mean Jason's a homo?" Bradley, surprised by the question, just said. "I don't know Dad." Martin asked how he fell in love with him. When Bradley replied again, that he did not know, Martin asked what Jason had done to him. "Did he do anything inappropriate to you, son?" Bradley looked down in embarrassment, but Martin, mistaking Bradley's embarrassment for shame at something awful Jason had done to him, went up and hugged his son. He then started to sob. Bradley did not understand why his father was weeping, until he spoke. "Oh my dear, dear, Bradley. What have I subjected you to? Why didn't you tell me Jason was doing stuff to you?" Bradley tried to explain that he didn't really do anything bad; he just fell in love with him from being in close contact with him. But his father heard none of it. He only knew that he had put his son under the total control of a boy-fucking homo.

Suddenly the tables were turned on Martin as he now thought of himself as the one guilty of wrongdoing for putting such a monster in charge of Bradley, and of Bradley as nothing but an innocent and silent victim. Bradley knew what was going on, but realized it would have been futile to try and explain reality to his father. Bradley was happy that his father was no longer angry with him, but unhappy that it was for such a twisted reason. Suddenly Bradley was very worried for Jason.

Martin wanted to speak alone with Hal for a bit, and being overly solicitous of Bradley told him he could get dressed as they were about to leave the room. But Hal countered him. "Now hold on, Martin. Things may have been a little rough on Bradley, but remember, he is still a servant in training and he really should stay unclothed. This is not some horrible act of cruelty!" He smiled at Martin, Martin realized he was making a big deal out of nothing, and told his son to take it easy while he and Hal talked, but to stay naked.

When Hal and Martin came out of their conference half an hour later, Bradley was working on the dessert for the evening meal. Both Martin and Hal smiled proudly at Bradley. Martin told Bradley that Damian Appomattox had just told him over the phone that a Level Four punishment was no longer due, but did recommend, eventually, a Level One punishment (basically an old-fashioned spanking) for failing to come forward with information on Jason's offer of seditious behavior.

As Martin was leaving the house to go to work, he reminded Hal to prepare Bradley for Inventory Day, which was coming up at Social Services. Hal said he would as he led Bradley to the big living room couch. Hal sat down on the couch and he had Bradley get on the couch and recline with his chest directly over his lap. That way he had direct access to Bradley's back. He opened a bottle of antiseptic and soothing lotion, and squirted it into Bradley's back. As he rubbed it in, he heard Bradley moan. "Does it sting?" Bradley replied. "No, it feels good."

Now that the unpleasant matter of Bradley allowing his infibulation bar and ring to be unlocked was over, Bradley could enjoy things again. Hal's big hands felt wonderful to Bradley. Bradley relaxed as he tried to sort out his thoughts. He thought of the sting in his back as he received his two strokes, and the man who had delivered them to him was now trying to soothe him. Bradley could smell Mr. Franklin. He could feel his hands on his back. Mr. Franklin was his trainer. He was going to be spending more time training him today. Mr. Franklin was going to help Bradley become all that he could be. Bradley knew that if he did anything wrong the man who was now doing nice stuff to him, would just as soon do stuff to him that was not so nice in order to help him learn to obey. Bradley was naked on his lap. Trainers have that kind of control over social servants. And that's what Bradley was. A social servant. He got whipped for withholding information, but now he was being rewarded for cooperating. Maybe the system was fair, after all.

Hal was a man, rubbing his back. And suddenly that was what Bradley wanted very much right now, a man to be close to him. So great was his need that Bradley felt no need to discriminate. He was happy with Hal. He wondered about Hal, if he had a wife or girl friend. Bradley almost fell asleep as Hal rubbed and soothed his back. When it was over Hal told Bradley to turn around and scoot himself more forward so Hal had access to his groin.

With Bradley's sexual organs now propped up on Hal's lap, Hal gently grabbed his balls and lifted them up. He examined the underside of Bradley's cock and balls. He then took the penis and carefully examined the infibulation bar and ring, to see if Bradley had locked it as his father had requested, and to see if there was any irritation from the piercing. Hal complimented Bradley. "Good, I see you went and put this trouble maker away where it can't get you into any more nasty situations!" Bradley looked into Hal's big green/blue eyes and wanted to reach up and pull his face into his and kiss him. Instead, he just allowed himself to smile at Hal's silly comment about his 'trouble maker'.

The assumption that free men know how to use their dicks more responsibly than social servants was part of the culture, meant to provide a psychological justification for the disenfranchisement of social servants. It was one of many cultural attitudes that underpinned society's treatment of social servants. Such an attitude has its payoff in Vermont for social servants, where social servants are tended to be patronized and found amusing, slow, lovable, always horny, and endearing. At least such an attitude is preferable for a social servant than the one found in states such as Kentucky, where slaves are regarded as being on the same level as farm animals.

Bradley looked into strong freeman Hal as he handled his dick. The fact that in some slight way he considered Hal to be smart, serious, not always horny, and as one who probably used his dick responsibly, meant that the attitude that underpinned society in general had been inculcated, as well, into Bradley.

Jason had a busy day lined up on his schedule at the Addison County Social Services Training Center. His first morning responsibility was to tally up the demerit points of all the social servants, and then deliver punishment to the those servants who had accumulated totals which warranted discipline.

The first person he sent for was Peter Abelson, a 34 year old carpenter who was in his third week of training. Indentured for life because of a serious accident he caused while driving while drunk, Peter was a guy everyone liked. Cute, affable, and buff. While Jason certainly was enjoying watching the handsome, bulky, carpenter strip for punishment, he wasn't enjoying it as much as he would have in the past because he was obsessed now with Bradley. And to Jason's eyes, no one could compare with Bradley.

He had Peter grab on to the punishment table, bend over slightly, and stick out his butt. "I've got 15 strokes of the paddle the State of Vermont wants me to deliver to you. So stick it out as far as it will go, and we can get this over with real quickly. Don't be afraid to cry, it helps, and no one but I can hear you!"

Jason whacked away, and after the seventh blow Peter started crying. Jason found that telling guys they could cry if they wanted to always had the effect of making them cry, even if the punishment wasn't one that would necessarily make a grown man cry. Seeing a chunky cutey get a paddling can get the most jaded overseer to stiffen, and Jason did. His stiffy made Jason think of Bradley. He resolved himself to finally call Bradley on his lunch break, and try to get him to express his honest feelings about him.

As Peter was getting dressed in his fatigues after his punishment, Jason's supervisor entered his office and told him that he would take over the morning punishments, since the Director of Addison County Social Services wanted to see him. Jason gave a 'what gives?' look to his supervisor, and exited his office.

To be continued...

Posted: 03/30/12