Not Just A Friendly Encounter Part 5

Not Just A Friendly Encounter Part 5Chapter 1 — After the CycleThe second exhibition had closed without incident. The wall texts still carried both our names. The climate system kept its steady hum through the emptied rooms. I had sent the last of the temporary staff home and kept only the standing arrangement in place.John remained exactly as I required. The cage locked. The deeper device still seated. I did not need to test either one. The evidence lived in the careful way he moved when he thought no one was measuring him, the half-second delay before he answered an ordinary question about the next cycle’s logistics.I watched him from the doorway of the small office while he checked the condition reports. Nothing in his posture asked for release. Nothing in mine offered it. The simplicity of that exchange had become the most reliable part of the day.A low, steady warmth sat beneath my ribs, familiar now rather than urgent. I no longer searched for reasons to keep the terms active. They simply continued. What occupied me instead was the quieter knowledge that every device I currently used