Night has very much fallen on Republic City, the cacophony of the evening rush hour fading into relative peace and quiet. That quiet is punctuated by the clip-clop of dress shoes.
The air is cool as, with a firm grip around her bicep, Mako escorts Lin into the emptied car-park. The tail of her overcoat floats in the wake of the pace Mako sets, marching the woman towards a plain black Satomobile.
He releases her arm once they stand beside it, digging into his dinner jacket for the keys. They rattle in the lock until the driver's side door clicks. It opens at his behest. Mako reaches in and around to the rear passenger door. He tugs at a small rubber nodule, then pulls his head back and straightens to face Lin.
"Get inside."
She glances across the roof of his car. Her own is parked next to it; its keys clink together in her pocket.
Lin, taking a steadying breath, extends her hand for the rear passenger's door handle. It clicks loudly when she pulls on it, the door swinging open. Mako's hand finds her wrist as she moves to step inside.
"Wait."
She looks at him. Mako is staring at her overcoat.
"Unbutton it."
Lin slowly raises her hands to large, brown buttons. Mako blinks only once in the time it takes for her to push each one free. As soon as she does, he grabs the overcoat's lapels and strips them aside like cheap curtains.
"Now your shirt."
Lin tenses. Her eyes flit around the silent car-park.
"I don't think this - "
Mako glares at her. "Your. Shirt."
Lin swallows hard. "Yes, sir."
The cool air would be a welcome kiss on a hot summer's night. Lin shivers as she undoes the top buttons of her shirt, her clavicle beaded with nervous sweat. Each subsequent button takes longer for her fingers to free, but Mako gives her nothing but his silence.
Her bra, like her panties, is plain. Dark eyes narrow at the sight.
Lin's arms are stiff by her side as a deliberate gaze sweeps down to the softness of her belly. Her breath, held tightly in her throat, hitches when Mako lays a cool palm to her stomach. Her fists curl like an armadillo as his thumb twists into her navel.
"Sir!" Lin gasps, crunching at the waist.
He meets her pleading eyes and pushes a little harder. Lin winces between clenched teeth.
"In," Mako says then, finally relenting.
Lin straightens, drawing in her breath. Surreptitiously, she tugs her overcoat around herself as she ducks her head under Mako's roof. The Satomobile rocks when he takes the driver's seat. Mako glances into his rear-view mirror.
"Sit where I can see you."
Lin shuffles over into the middle of the long back-seat. He watches as she draws her shoulders back, the lapels of her shirt slipping aside to make room for her breasts.
"I'm taking you home," he tells her. "We're going to make a short stop before we get there."
The Satomobile rumbles to life. Lin turns her head as they leave behind hers in the car-park. Then, her eyes are darting left and right. Her heart beats quicker with every pedestrian that takes a glance at them. She lowers her gaze, staring at her folded hands.
"Lift your head up," Mako tells her.
"Sir…"
"No talking."
Lin bites her tongue. She just wishes he would drive a little faster.
Within a few minutes, Mako slows the car down to a crawl and turns towards the curb. Lin feels her exposed skin prickle when the Satomobile is brought to a complete halt.
"Where are we, Lin?"
"Downtown, sir," the woman replies, studying the buildings overshadowing them.
"And what is that?" Mako asks, pointing.
Lin squints, this building further away. "...Kwong's Cuisine."
"Correct. The most prestigious restaurant in the city right now. It's near impossible to secure a reservation without knowing the right people."
Mako glares at her in the rear-view mirror.
"Fortunately, you and I share a mutual friend who was happy to make the arrangements. She got us a private booth. A table for two for the evening. That's where we should be, right now."
Lin squeezes her hands, pressing her lips together.
"How do you think it felt to turn up at Kwong's Cuisine – on my own – to cancel that reservation, Lin?"
"...I don't know, sir."
Mako throws the Satomobile into gear. "You're going to find out."
Lin is marched up to the apartment door with a hand curled around her nape.
"Open it," Mako says, holding out the keys.
He walks her inside afterwards, closing the door behind them. Lin has no time to cast her eye over the apartment – Mako turns her directly into a corner, facing the wall.
"Take the coat off."
Lin pales. "Sir -"
"Coat."
Slowly, she shrugs her shoulders out of it. Once off completely, Lin folds it over her arm and hands it to Mako. She shivers in the absence of its weight.
"Now your shirt."
Her fingers find the lapels and she peels them away from her chest. That too is folded and handed off. Mako deposits them over the back of a chair in the kitchenette, Lin watching him over her shoulder. Mako clicks his fingers together and jabs one at the wall.
"Face it."
When he returns to her, standing behind Lin, Mako clamps his hands around her wrists and drags them up to her head.
"Push your chest out," he tells her. "Make sure your elbows touch the walls."
Mako crouches down, hooking his fingers into the waistband of her trousers. He yanks them down, past her knees, all the way to her ankles. Her panties fall with them. Rising, Mako taps her heel with his foot.
"Spread them."
Lin starts to whine. "Mako, please -"
He lashes her bare bottom with an open hand. "Call my name again," Mako growls.
Lin yelps, her voice pitched high as he kicks at her instep to separate her feet. "Sir, I don't want to!"
"You don't want to do what?"
She sniffles. "Stand in the corner."
"Why not?"
He knows. He knows she hates it.
"My mother made me do this," Lin tells him. "She made me face the wall for hours."
"You won't be here that long. Now, spread your feet."
She sobs louder, shaking her head. Mako slaps her other cheek.
"Use your words."
"She trapped my feet in the floor!" Lin shouts, cowing away from his hand. "Before I could bend, to stop me running away."
Mako gives pause. "I trust her judgement," he says then. "Spread them."
Lin tearfully complies. Her trousers and underwear stretch until they become taut, digging into the skin above her ankles. It feels like the earthen bondage she could never escape from.
"Face the wall!" Mako scolds her, when Lin drops her chin to cry. "I'm going to get changed. I will find you standing exactly like this when I return, won't I?"
"Yes, sir," Lin sobs.
This is worse, so much worse than being spanked. Lin would rather walk naked through the streets than stand here, in this corner. And Mako knows it. He knows how this makes her feel.
Tears well in her eyes as Lin stares straight ahead at Mako's apartment wall, dripping down her cheeks onto the floor.
Pit-Pat...Pit-Pat…
He eventually emerges from the bedroom. She hears his footsteps, no longer the sophisticated clip-clop of polished dress shoes.
"Can I come out now?" Lin calls.
No response. She turns her head as he walks past her into the kitchenette, depositing a small holdall on the table.
"Sir?"
He meets her eyes, snaps his fingers and points to the wall. Lin begins sobbing all over again.
Mako puts the kettle on. Lin is tearful as it starts to whistle.
"Sir, please," she calls out to him again. "I want to come out."
Silence meets her plea.
Mako roots around in the cupboard; she hears coffee granules drizzle into a mug, followed by boiling water. The fridge is yanked open and the cap of a milk bottle rattles against the counter. Lin hears the tink-tink-tink of a teaspoon, which is then tossed into the sink.
"Sir?"
Mako picks up his coffee and leaves.
He makes her wait.