I don’t know that I would have liked it, at the time, but we could have discussed it.”I nodded. I knew Larry was right.“Who knows?” he said, c...uckling softly, “I might have been open to experimenting with you.”I grinned at him. “That would have saved us a lot of trouble,” I admitted.“Under the circumstances,” he began, “I hope you understand that I had to tell Josh that his sculptures, well, what’s left of them after you got through with them, were not welcome in your gallery and that he would. Ally cracked a slight smile. "I'm the Protector." Ally also recognized the voice; it was the same as the phone message.The woman stared back and scrutinized Ally."I picked up the name when I was working as a detective in California," continued Ally."Bullshit. I was told that the Protector was a man." I was," replied Ally. Her transgendered status wasn't exactly a secret in the law enforcement community.There was a long pause. "Really?" asked the surprised woman.Ally nodded and noticed a smile. “So my dirty little sub” he began with a wicked grin. “come to the chair” he said taking her hand like a gentleman but the way he spoke and the grin and glint in his eye said he was planning on something a little darker. She sat on the chair. “No, no sub” he says pulling her to her feet. He turns around so she’s facing the chair. “Bend over” he mutters stroking her hair. She does as she’s told. “now arms on the arms of the chair” again she obeys. Quick as a flash he ties her wrists to the. However, in time he came to see his powers as much as a curse as a gift. He could hear people whispering about him, that he was a freak, a monster, some kind of sorceror with dark powers. He could have silenced them or even punished them for such talk of course, but wouldn't that just be proving them right? It became much easier for the young Dr Darke just to hide his ability to control people and, in time, use it only where it would not seem out of place and even be welcomed.And so it was that.