Trackman: I'll admit that this isn't the chapter I made the most efforts for, so I'm happy that you found it very enjoyable anyway. The entire point about Jewel is that, for all her bragging, she is an amateur when it comes to true infiltration and guerilla warfare, and she's definitively a lot less smart than she thinks she is.
Indeed, the classic 'I pretend to be tied up to surprise attack the guard coming to check me'-trick. I can't belive it took me so long to finally feature it...
I'm glad you liked the set up, I hope you won't feel it was too underused once the story is finished, since it won't be the focus for very long... I'll be curious to hear your general thoughts on that.
Esercito sconfitto: Though it's not Uniform Stealing-related, I really enjoyed this twist / cliffhanger around the identity of Jewel's supposed ally, so I'm glad you liked it as well. Maybe Suspiciously Specific Denial? Though it's not cultist-specific...
Well that's fair enough but it just goes to show that even if you didnt put that much effort into it. It still came out as one hell of a read.
Oh yeah esercito just made a good point. I completely forgot to mention about the ending. Hhmm so the cult have stolen a child have they. Ooorrrr is it one of theirs, or am I just flat out over thinking it. Either way I reckon it will be interesting to find out just what exactly this cults endgame plans are.
Well, given the fact that this new character (for obvious reasons) can't bring Uniform Stealing-related scenes by herself, I'm glad to see that this reveal was well received.
Also, since I have no idea when I'll be able to post the next part given the fact that things at work are evolving very fast (it can be tomorrow just like it can be in one week), I wanted to answer a few of your questions with a little preview.
“Who are you?” the little girl asked. “I don't know you. Are you new?”
Apparently, Mikani's disguise was still working.
“Uh... Yes!” she answered to play along. “I'm new! I... I'm still making a lot of mistakes. Please don't say anything to Lady Zeno.”
The child looked at her with a serious expression and nodded. “I promise I won't tell.” she said while turning her attention on her doll again.
Mikani smiled. “Thank you.”
Her mind was racing. Something wasn't adding up. Where was the descendant of Constantin? Was this girl their child? She was dressed in a proper Olympian schoolgirl uniform, and her hair was properly braided.
Then Mikani saw the red dye in the girl's black hair. No... Jewel wouldn't have dared...
“Can you tell me your name?”
“Why do you ask? Don't you know already? Everybody knows here.”
“But if we want to be properly presented, we have to tell each other our names. In good and due form.”
“That's true...” the little girl agreed, again with a serious expression. She put her doll on the rug and stood up. “I am Zoé Basileus of the Basileus Faction, pleased to meet you.” She gave a small curtsy, as any polite child of a Major Olympian House should.
Got to love a sneak peek preview before it's ultimate release
It seems like the mystery is getting a little deeper for Mikani and I can't wait to see what happens. Thanks for the quick look at what's to come Rufusluciousvan, you've certainly created a great new story arc here, which I'm hooked on.
“Who are you?” the little girl asked. “I don't know you. Are you new?”
Apparently, Mikani's disguise was still working.
“Uh... Yes!” she answered to play along. “I'm new! I... I'm still making a lot of mistakes. Please don't say anything to Lady Zeno.”
The child looked at her with a serious expression and nodded. “I promise I won't tell.” she said while turning her attention on her doll again.
Mikani smiled. “Thank you.”
Her mind was racing. Something wasn't adding up. Where was the descendant of Constantin? Was this girl their child? She was dressed in a proper Olympian schoolgirl uniform, and her hair was properly braided.
Then Mikani saw the red dye in the girl's black hair. No... Jewel wouldn't have dared...
“Can you tell me your name?”
“Why do you ask? Don't you know already? Everybody knows here.”
“But if we want to be properly presented, we have to tell each other our names. In good and due form.”
“That's true...” the little girl agreed, again with a serious expression. She put her doll on the rug and stood up. “I am Zoé Basileus of the Basileus Faction, pleased to meet you.” She gave a small curtsy, as any polite child of a Major Olympian House should.
Mikani's eyes widened. Basileus. As in Constantin Basileus! Goodness! That girl was a direct descendant of the founder of Olympus, a man still considered a national hero, almost a god among men, by his people.
“I'm Mikani Noyokaze, pleased to meet you as well.” she finally said. That witch... She involved a child in her fanatical projects... This is how she managed to gather her cult.
Zoé's question interrupted her thoughts. “You're not from Olympus?”
Shit She forgot this crucial detail: someone from Olympus would never forget to use their Faction name during formal presentations. Think fast!
“I was naturalized recently.”
The child frowned. She was young, but she wasn't stupid or naive. She was finding Mikani's excuse ludicrous, it was obvious.
“So tell me, Zoé, why are you here?” the short woman asked to change the subject.
“Miss Zeno took me with her when the barbarians assaulted the capital city. She said we needed to hide to escape them. So now we hide. Miss Zeno says that we will soon return to Olympus, kill all the provincials, and take back the power.”
She's using the kid as a symbol of rallying for partisans of the old Olympian government... Mikani thought. I can perfectly picture that bitch say: 'Hey, come with me, we have to protect this innocent child from the barbarians. If they knew that one of Constantin's descendants was still alive, they would kill her.' Disgusting. If I get my hands on Jewel, I'll break her legs...
She noticed that Zoé didn't look very happy when mentioning Jewel's master plan. She decided to try to worm informations out.
“That's a really big project! And you, do you want to take part in it?” Mikani asked the child.
Zoé looked at her with suspicion. “Are you sure you're from the Eye?” she asked.
Pretty clever, for her age...
Zoé didn't wait for her anwwer and shook her head. “I won't tell anyone, I promise. I don't really like Miss Zeno's plan anyway.”
“That confirms the fact that you're a smart child.”
Zoé smiled lightly. “If you say that, you must really not like her... Miss Zeno says that I'm dumb and young, and that I should just keep silent and listen to what she says. Everyone who likes her thinks the same thing...”
“And so you don't like her plan?”
“Mother and Father told me that it was better to make an honorable peace rather than fight for nothing.”
“And that explains why you're clever. They were smart people too.”
“Miss Zeno said that they were stupid and too soft.”
“I wouldn't dare think that you're stupid.”
Put at ease, the child added: “I don't like this place. I don't like Miss Zeno either. She keeps talking about war, and conquest, and killing provincials. But I just want to go home! I didn't want to come here! And... And...”
She hesitated. Her eyes became moist.
“And Miss Zeno is mean with me! The last time I told her about my parents' wishes, she slapped me! Called me a brat! And she told me that I shouldn't question her! That she knew best! And that if I question her again, she would... She would give me the belt!”
The child sniffed.
“I'm sorry...” Mikani said.
Zoé wiped her eyes. “I'm not crying! The Basileus are a dynasty of warriors. We never cry!”
Internally, Mikani was in turmoil. I can't leave her here... Now she knew how Aster felt when she had to decide wether or not she should help Salomé Solomon.
She tried to remain calm. “Can I tell you a secret?” She took a knee in front of her, reasoning that it would help ease the girl if she wasn't towering over her. “I also didn't want to come here. I'm going to leave this place.” Still probably a good idea to not immediately tell her that I used to be part of the Rebellion.
The child looked at her with big round eyes, looking both terrified and admiring.
“Do you want to go with me?” Mikani added.
Zoé lobserved with an intense serious expression. She's so serious. Way more mature than most children of her age... Mikani thought. Though, in a way, it wasn't surprising. Zoé was the child of a Major Olympian House. Before the fall of Olympus, she was supposed to one day be part of the ruling class, and therefore she received an education in adequacy with the goals her parents set for her.
“Would you truly get me out?” the child asked.
“Yes.”
“But don't you know I can't...” The child interrupted herself and bit her lip.
“You can't... what?”
Zoé shook her head very fast. “Nothing!”
Mikani raised an eyebrow. Something seemed to bother the child...
However, Zoé was a lot better than the average child at hiding her emotions. Mikani couldn't read her face.
Finally, the girl nodded to show that she agreed to Mikani's proposition.
“I will come with you.”
**************
Mikani asked Posy and Clover to regroup with her in the bedroom, and to brief them about the little... complication they had to face.
The short woman explained her plan. “Our clothes make us look like high-ranked member of the Eye, so I don't think we will encounter much problems, as long as we avoid Jewel and Amy. However, I don't think it would look natural for high-ranked members to leave the bunker with Zoé without an escort. One or two of us will need to look like guards.”
Posy groaned in annoyance. “Had I known that earlier, I would have taken the time to strip that guard earlier...”
“Uh?” Zoé asked.
“Nothing.” Mikani said, not wanting to share the details with a child. “It's not really a problem anyway, just a minor inconvenience. We just have to grab one or two other guards. And for that...”
Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door.
Then, a woman entered. She was one of the guards of the bunker, wearing the mandatory black boots, grey camouflage uniform pants and shirts, and red beret. A handgun was attached to her belt, but she wasn't carrying a machine gun. She had green eyes. Her light brown hair were tied into a small ponytail, and some locks were dyed orange.
Really? Just like that? Mikani thought to herself. However, she wasn't the kind of people to renounce a present when it was pretty much gift-wrapped for her.
The guard looked a little surprised to see Mikani, Clover and Posy. However, their disguises did wonders once again. At heart, this guard was an obedient little soldier. Her first instinct was never going to be to question her superiors, even if they were in a place where they weren't supposed to be.
“Jewel sent me to check on Zoé.” the guard explained. “It's time for her to go to bed.”
“Better late than never...” Mikani commented.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing. In fact, it's a good thing you came when you did. Please, proceed.”
The guard didn't understand.
And when three women jumped them from behind, it was already too late.
After a bunch of 'Ouch!', 'Ah!' and various 'Ow!', she was out cold.
**************
Zoé didn't seem very fazed by the fact that a woman had just been switfly beaten up to unconsciousness right before her eyes. She also didn't seem very fazed by the fact that this guard was currently being divested of her uniform by three women.
The child simply observed them with perplexed curiosity.
Mikani thought that she could probably thank Olympian education for that. For all their flaws, if there was one thing that no one could deny about Olympus, it's that they were way ahead of most other places when it came to gender equality. Instead of tea parties or baby dolls, their little girls were given toy guns or action figures to play war just like their brothers. Of course, Mikani and her friends never complained about that. Indeed, it meant that women were plentiful in police forces and the army, meaning that they had a near-endless supply of potential disguises when they had to tussle with the authorities.
And currently, she wasn't complaining either, since it meant that Zoé wouldn't lose her calm when she had to witness a fight.
“Posy, can you lead another guard in this room?” she asked the brunette. “Tell her that Zoé is acting cranky.” She ignored the child's indignant look.
Posy smiled, eager at the idea of beating up a third guard this night.
Clover finished stripping the guard.
The light-brown-haired woman was wearing sky blue panties adorned with little white clouds and a yellow sun on the front, and a rainbow on the back. Her bra was sunset yellow.
“And the lame silly underwear return... I think I'm gonna hurl...” Mikani said.
“What?”
“Nothing. Just a flashback of earlier today.”
The short woman trussed up the underwear-clad guard while Clover was changing herself. Mikani used the red sheets of Zoé's bed as makeshift ropes, cutting, coiling, and twisting them to have decent bonds. She had the foresight of keeping half of the bonds in reserve for the second guard that was going to be delivered to them. She bound the woman's hands behind her back, tied her ankles, stuffed her mouth with part of the pillowcase, and cloth-gagged her with a bigger piece of the blanket.
“Zoé. Do you have some hair paint?” Mikani asked.
The kid went to search one of her drawers.
“Clever.” Clover commented.
The door of the bedroom opened again. A tall busty guard with blue eyes and braided strawberry blond hair entered.
“I heard that you needed my help...” she said while adjusting her red beret.
“More like your clothes, actually.” Mikani answered
**************
“I'm noticing a pattern with these guards and their tendency to fall into traps...” Posy commented while slipping into their latest victim's pants.
“Well, if they're too dumb to see the trick, they deserve to be stripped.” Clover answered.
Mikani smiled a little awkwardly and chose to not tell that she was herself stripped a little while ago. Instead, she said: “Of course they're dumb. Smart people usually don't become fanatics.”
Zoé was observing them in silence.
The blond guard was wearing water green cheeky panties and candy pink padded bra. Mikani was thinking that it was a weird combination of colours but, at least, there were no stupid patterns. The blonde was nicely trussed up next to her unlucky colleague, mouth gagged, wrists and ankles tied with the strips cut from the sheets. Clover was rough with the guard when she bound her, but Mikani wasn't going to blame the librarian for it.
“So, where do we hide these two?” Posy asked, pointing at the two bound-and-gagged guards.
“How about under the bed?” Clover proposed.
Mikani nodded. “Good idea.”
Clover smiled at her. “I think I'm getting the hang of this...”
“You're learning fast indeed.”
“Two more dusters then!” Posy chuckled.
They dragged the guards under the bed.
“And now, we can leave...” Mikani said with a smile. She put back on her mask. “Stay next to me, Zoé, and everything will be fine.”
Stangely, the kid wasn't looking excited or hopeful now that they were about to flee this place. On the contrary, she was looking scared and apprehensive.
Mikani grabbed the door's knob.
“Wait!” someone exclaimed.
It was Zoé.
**************
Zoé nervously shifted on her feet. She was avoiding their eyes.
“I didn't tell you something...” she said.
“What?”
“I'm not allowed to leave the bunker under any circumstances unless Miss Zeno is accompanying me.”
“Why didn't you tell us that sooner?!” Mikani exclaimed. “We mugged these guards for nothing!”
The child lowered her head.
“I thought that you would leave me behind in my room if I told you...”
The short woman forced herself to remain calm. She couldn't blame the kid for panicking and making a wrong decision. She heard Posy whisper: “I don't think mugging these two bimbos was a mistake...” and silenced her with one stern stare.
Then she softened her face when she asked Zoé: “So, why did you tell us now? We still haven't left the room...”
Zoé was looking at her feet. “Because they will hurt you if they catch you trying to sneak me out... You were nice to me and I don't want something bad to happen to you...”
Mikani sighed.
She couldn't leave this girl behind...
Think... Think... Think...
If disguising herself as a high-ranking member of the organization to be 'hidden in plain sight' couldn't work, she needed to look beyond notice...
A community that big needed to regularly bring supplies in... but also to take things out. Such as...
“Tell me Zoé, how is the garbage removed from the bunker?”
“The workers take the wheelie bins in the farm and...” Zoé stopped talking. She understood.
“To the workers quarters then…” Mikani said. “I think it's time for me to give myself a demotion and to grab an empty bin...”
The short woman looked at Posy and Clover.
“We don't leave the kid behind.”
The two women nodded.
“Let's be quick. I don't think it will take them long to figure out that Zoé's missing...”
**************
With blaring music coming from her computer's speakers, Amy was checking her personal bank acount. The money Jewel had given her to kidnap Mikani had just been deposited in the acount.
Amy smiled. Between her asking more money than needed for the operation from the start and cutting as much spending as possible, she had lined her pockets with plenty of money. Again. Funny how Jewel never realized, or even suspected, that her second-in-command was diverting part of the organization's money...
Thanks to the mirror hung above her desk, Amy noticed that someone was opening the door of her bedroom. She immediately closed the window displaying her bank account.
The newcomer was Jewel.
“Amarante! Are you still listening to this vulgar racket?”
With a sigh, Amy cut the music. She forced herself to take a respectful tone and asked: “Is there a problem, Jewel? I don't think you came here to discuss my musical tastes...”
“Lysandra still hasn't come back from Zoé's bedroom. Come with me, I want to check what's taking this idiot so long.”
Since her leader could only see her back, Amy rolled her eyes in annoyance. Then, with a fake smile, she turned and adjusted her wig.
“I'll follow you.”
“I swear that if the brat is being difficult again, she will truly get it this time...” Jewel mumbled to herself.
**************
Reflexively, Zoé had grabbed Mikani's hand and was holding it while they were walking in the corridors. Pretending to be their escort, Clover and Posy were walking behind them and using their figures to hide the child from the few people that might see her.
The workers quarters were located in the deepest part of the bunker. And the room where the garbage bins were stored was isolated from the rest of the compound. The place probably used to be some hidden base of operation for the army before the civil war, and the Eye took possession of the place after Olympus' defeat.
Currently, luck was on Mikani's and her companions' side. The garbage room wasn't empty. There were four women in it. Apparently, thanks to its isolation, the garbage room was an ideal place to laze around and chitchat...
The workers were all wearing the same plain brown shoes, grey pants and beige jackets. Their jackets had a hood, that they were supposed to put on when walking in the corridors as a token of humility. The first worker was a short woman with hazel eyes and shoulder-long auburn hair. The second was a petite brunette with chestnut brown eyes. She had a shoulder-long square cut. The third had short curly black hair, dark brown eyes and a darker skin. She was of average size and build. The fourth was blond and tall, with her hair tied into two mid-back long ponytails.
They froze when they noticed Mikani who, with her hooded black robe, was still looking like a high-ranked member of the Eye.
“Superior! We were only having a little break...” the aurburn-haired worker said.
Superior, uh? Well, they don't joke around with the respect of the hierarchy here...
Mikani really, really wanted to try something. She closed the door.
The workers exchanged perplexed and slightly worried looks. They noticed Zoé.
“Superior? Why is Lady Basileus with you?” the auburn-haired worker asked.
“I will explain everything. But for now, come closer.”
The auburn-haired woman complied. While she was looking uneasy, she didn't dare disobey a superior.
“Now turn around.”
She complied again. The entire situation was looking so surreal to she and her companions. “Superior, I don't understand the purpose of your orders...”
Mikani answered with a nerve-pinch. The auburn-haired worker crumbled on the floor. The other three opened big round eyes.
“Wow, I can't believe it worked... You people really don't joke around with the respect of the hierarchy!”
“Superior... Why did you...?”
Mikani charged the worker in the middle of the trio, the one who had black hair. Sorry about that... She punched her in the stomach, then hit her in the back of the neck with the edge of the hand. She fell forward on the floor, knocked out.
The last two remaining workers tried to flee the room, but Posy and Clover intercepted them and grasped them round the waist. "Don't leave us so soon!"
Mikani quickly walked and knocked out each remaining worker with a neck chop.
**************
In the garbage room, on some shelves, there were also plenty of potential tools to bind an unconscious woman: old rags, dirty laundry, rolls of tape, ropes, and string.
Mikani grabbed the auburn-haired woman and started to strip her. “Tie and gag the others, please. They're of no use to us.” Klenia would probably have been outraged to witness her friend waste an opportunity to steal other women's clothes, but Mikani preferred to be quick and efficient.
Zoé was observing her.
Mikani opened the auburn-haired woman's jacket. The worker was wearing a light brown cotton shirt underneath. She took off the jacket, then pulled the shirt over and removed it, revealing a plain peach t-shirt bra. Next she took off the shoes, unbuttoned the pants, and took them off as well. The auburn-haired woman was wearing matching peach-coloured panties. Why do their fighters and bombers have the lame silly kiddie underwear while the workers have the decency of having normal-looking underclothes?
Well, it wasn't time for existential questions...
The tape wasn't of good quality. While it could still be used as a gag, it wasn't robust enough to be used as bondage material. Mikani therefore used strings, rags and ropes to bind the woman's hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders, thighs, legs, ankles, and feet. The result was looking ragtag: each part of the body was secured by a heterogeneous set of bonds: strings for the hands and feet; rags for the ankles, thighs and elbows; ropes for the legs, the wrists and the shoulders. But in spite of their appearance, these bonds were also solid and would require hours of struggle to loosen. Mikani wasn't mean enough to use the dirty rags of the garbage room as a gag, therefore she only used the tape, but wrapped several layers around the woman's mouth and lower face.
Posy and Clover finished binding the blonde. The first was tying her ankles behind her back with strings, while the second was securing her legs with rags turned into makeshift ropes. They were more gentle than with the guards. The other two workers were already tied up and tape-gagged, with the same ragtag bonds.
“You seem not as keen to bind these ones compared to the guards...” Mikani commented.
“Well, we don't have anything against the low-ranked workers who take out the trash.” Clover explained.
**************
Jewel entered Zoé's bedroom angrily, with Amy in toe.
“Lysandra! What is taking you so long? You should have come back ten minutes ago to make your report! Is Zoé in her bed already?!”
Jewel stopped talking (Thank Goodness for that! Amy thought.) when she noticed that the room looked empty.
“Where are they?”
She scanned her surroundings.
“Zoé! You better show yourself right now, or else I'll get really angry!”
Amy checked under the bed, reasoning that it would be the first place where a kid would hide.
She was greeted by the face of a light-brown-haired woman. Gagged and tied up. Behind her, the back turned, there was a trussed up strawberry blonde. Lysandra mewled in her gag, looking at Amy pleadingly.
“Uh... Jewel, you might wanna look under the bed...”
“Is it Zoé?”
“No. It's Lysandra. And I think Phoibe is with her.”
“Why are they under that bed? We don't have the time to play hide-and-seek!”
“They're not playing. They've been stripped to their underwear. Also, they're bound and gagged.”
Jewel's brain put 2 and 2 together and found 4.
“Someone came here and took Zoé with them!” She ran to the door. “Come, we have to find her!”
“What about Lysandra and Phoibe?”
“I don't care, leave them to their fate.”
Amy smiled at the two unlucky women. “Sorry. Nothing personal.” She ignored Lysandra's pleading look and followed Jewel.
They left the bedroom.
“Call the guards! Have as much of them as possible search the corridors! We can't allow the intruder to harm Zoé!”
Amy rolled her eyes.
“Jewel, please, don't give me that speech. We both know that you're the one who had all the surviving members of House Basileus murdered save for her after the Government fell, and you only spared her because it suited your needs...”
“I did it because they wanted to negociate peace! I had to!”
Amy resisted the urge to groan in annoyance. How many times had she heard that justification already?
“I'll call the guards.” she said to avoid having to listen to Jewel's hypocritical ramblings.
“I need the child to maintain the cohesion of the Eye! She's our rallying symbol!” Jewel put on her white mask, ready to take command of her guards. “I don't know who dared defy us, but they will be sorry...” she said, her voice altered by the mask.
**************
“I think I heard whistle sounds coming from the other side of the bunker, and I don't like that...” Posy commented.
“They must have figured out that something was wrong...” Clover added.
The two librarians were staying calm, even though their lives were in danger. Mikani was a little impressed. Apparently, rightful anger against your tormentors is a great way to boost your courage...
Even Zoé wasn't panicking. She was simply watching the short woman with her intense and serious expression. Mikani grabbed her hand to reassure her.
Right now, the priority was to find a contingency plan.
Mikani looked at the black-haired and the blond-haired workers.
“Untie these two...”
“What?” Posy exclaimed.
“... to take their clothes.” the short woman completed to ease her worries. “Then, we'll bind them again. Our enemies will be looking for people dressed as guards...”
“... but they won't care about three workers carrying some trash bins...” Clover added.
“Exactly.”
Posy and Clover were efficient. They untied their victims' legs, took off the shoes and slid the pants, then they re-tied the legs. Next, they untied the upper-part of the bodies without touching the gags, took off the jackets and shirts, then re-tied the two workers. The black-haired worker was wearing a black bra with red trimmings and a little red bow between the two cups and a red thong. The blond-haired worker was wearing more conventional white sneakers and an electric blue balcony bra.
"Keep the guards' guns however." Mikani told them.
“Where do we hide them?” Posy asked while changing clothes.
Mikani eyed the wheelie-bins. They looked large enough, if barely. “If we fold them a little, we can stash them in the bins...” she answered. Her two companions liked the idea. “Try to find empty bins that aren't too dirty.” Mikani concluded.
Most of the bins were actually empty. For each worker, it took the combined efforts of Mikani, Clover and Posy to lift and to cram the unconscious woman inside the bin.
Soon, four bins weren't empty anymore. Each was now containing an unconscious bound-and-gagged woman. When closing the lids, the three escapees stuck something between the bin and the lid, to keep the latter slightly open and allow some air to enter. Finally, they dragged the wheelie-bins in a corner of the room, as far away from the door as possible.
They threw their discarded disguises into one of the other bins, only keeping the guns they stole to the guards. Mikani then grabbed and dragged the cleanest wheelie-bin she could find.
“Now Zoé, I'm sorry, but we'll have to put you inside this one... Don't worry. It's empty.”
The child grimaced and wrinkled her nose in disgust.
Mikani teased her: “Didn't you say that you came from a dynasty of warriors? I'm sure that Constantin Basileus would have hidden in a garbage bin without complaining...”
Zoé scoffed and looked at her with an indignant expression that the short woman couldn't help but find comical. “I'll do it!”
**************
Jewel's first instinct was to go to the cells, to check if the prisoners were still inside.
They weren't.
Instead, she found three naked bound-and-gagged members of the Eye. Jewel didn't bother freeing them from their bonds.
“Keeping the infiltrator from the Rebellion alive was a mistake... I realize it now.” Amy commented. “We shouldn't have let her live...”
“Shut up! Don't criticize my decision! She still hasn't won yet! I will show her! I will break her! I will kill her!”
Amy squinched her eyes. How long was Jewel going to throw her temper tantrum? Maybe... Maybe I have enough money now...
**************
Guards were running in the corridors of the bunker, all converging on the quarters around Zoé's bedroom. Nobody was paying attention to the three workers walking with their heads down and their hoods on, dragging wheelie-bins behind them.
“Jewel has indeed noticed that Zoé is missing...” Mikani simply commented. “In a way, she is making it easier for us. Most of the guards are leaving their posts to search the corridors where we aren't anymore. Still, the entrance will be guarded. The guards won't probably want to let us pass now that the alarm has been raised. We'll probably have to get rid of them.”
Her two companions nodded.
Safely hidden in her bin, Zoé was keeping still and silent.
They arrived near the entrance, confident and full of hope.
Now, thanks to Jewel, there are only a few guards watching it. A few neck chops, and we're out of this place.
However...
Mikani froze when she heard a vague noise of sirens and someone talking in a megaphone coming from the surface.
“Could it be... Already...?”
**************
“The police?!” Jewel exclaimed.
“The watchers in the farm just called me.” Amy confirmed.
“Send back all the guards to protect the entrance of the bunker!” Jewel screamed, completely forgetting about Zoé or the evasion. Amy quickly relayed her orders.
All the guards ran to get to their posts, leaving the two women alone.
A few moments passed in silence.
Amy was thinking.
“They won't be able to win.” she finally commented. “Now that the police knows about the bunker, this place is of no use to us anymore.” She paused. “And the people in it are also of no use anymore.”
Jewel didn't even hesitate.
“Let's leave the bunker!”
She walked fast in the opposite direction of her soldiers, not bothering to take off her mask. Just like Amy with her wigs, Jewel was so used to wearing a mask that she was more comfortable with than without...
“Just the two of us then?” Amy smiled. “Perfect!” She followed her leader.
“You will escort me to the secret passage, then you will try to find and catch Zoé.” Jewel instructed her without looking at her.
Amy's smile widened. “Of course...”
**************
“What? They are already here? I didn't think they would be so quick!” Mikani exclaimed.
A part of her was glad that reinforcements came so quickly... After all, she was the one who called them... However, another part couldn't help but think that it would have been way more convenient if police had arrived ten minutes later... Now, every guard of the bunker was going to converge on the surface.
In what kind of world does the police's arrival actually means more trouble for the good guys?
Well, it was too late for having regrets.
“Change of plans. We get away from the entrance of the bunker.”
“You sure?” Clover said.
“Jewel is going to send all her guards at the surface to protect the main entrance. We can't leave through there in time. We'll hide in a storage room until the police storms the place.”
“I feel like we spend all our time going up and down in this dumb bunker...” Posy complained.
**************
Once they were safely hidden in the storage room, they pulled Zoé out of her hideout. As they took the garbage bins inside to hide them too, they were therefore feeling crowded. Especially since it was the same storage room in which they had stashed the first guard they mugged, the only guard lucky enough to keep her clothes.
“Mhhhh! Mhhhh!”
“Shut up or I throw you in one of the garbage bins.” Posy warned her.
“Mmm...” The black-haired guard wisely complied.
“I don't think it's a good idea to stay here. This room is a dead-end. If we're found, we're screwed. We won't be able to escape.” Clover said.
Mikani nodded. She looked at Zoé. The child had once again grabbed her hand and was holding it to reassure herself. This time, she was looking scared.
“Zoé... Do you know about a secret passage?”
The child shook her head. “No...”
Mikani cursed under her breath.
Posy was watching the corridor through the slightly open door. Suddenly, she whispered: “People are coming!” Mikani went to look too, which proved to be a little difficult since Zoé wasn't letting go of her hand. Still, she managed to be at the door in time and without making noise.
She held her breath when she noticed two figures walking fast in the corridor. Contrary to everyone else, they were getting away from the entrance of the bunker.
She recognized Amy and Jewel.
“Remember what I said about knowing a secret passage?” Mikani said.
“Yes?”
“Well, I know about some people who will give me the information...”
She put Zoé's hand in Clover's.
“Keep the kid with you in that room. I will come back for you when I know about the secret passages. If I don't come back, wait here until the police find you...”
She exited the storage room, closed the door behind her, and ran in pursuit of Jewel and Amy without giving her companions the time to answer. She knew that going after them alone was risky, but she refused to put Zoé's, Clover's or Posy's lives in danger.
**************
Jewel and Amy were alone. There were no workers with them, no guards either, not even a robed acolyte.
Looks like the rats are leaving the sinking ship...
Apparently, Jewel didn't believe in her cause enough to die for it, or even to be arrested for it.
Mikani would have liked to be able to attack the two women from behind, but by the time she managed to catch up with them, Jewel and Amy were already at the top of a concrete staircase. Amy was busy probing the wall. About to grab the switch of the secret passage...
“Hurry up!” Jewel was saying. “You still have to get me Zoé!”
Maybe I can climb the stairs before they can see me...
However, luck wasn't on her side this time. Jewel noticed her just when she was about to climb.
“Well, well, well...” She positioned herself at the top of the stairs. She hadn't bothered to take off her mask, even now when there were no followers to impress. “It looks like we now know the reason why the pigs learned about our hideout... Though I suggest that you shouldn't rejoice too much. I can raise an army twice as big as this one any time. And with ease!”
“I'm not in the mood for another monologue, pal!” Mikani retorted, starting to climb the stairs.
She stopped when she noticed that Amy was holding a handgun.
“I will admit that I am thankful that you were kind enough to come to us.” Jewel said. “It will allow me to have the pleasure of watching you die.”
She snapped her finger to catch Amy's attention. The other woman froze and squinted her eyes at her. However, since she was in her back, the leader of the Eye couldn't see her.
“Amarante, please proceed.” Jewel said.
There was a short moment of silence.
“With pleasure.”
Jewel didn't see her second-in-command's sly smile.
Had she seen it, she might have been able to anticipate the traitorous blow...
But, unfortunately for Jewel, the only one who noticed was Mikani.
Amy kicked Jewel in the back to make her fall down the stairs. The leader of the Eye screamed. Mikani didn't have the time to dodge the falling woman. She fell on the ground at the bottom of the stairs along with Jewel.
The leader of the Eye tried to get back on her feet and failed. “Amarante! How dare you strike me?!” she shouted. Her mask had fallen off, revealing her face contorted with anger.
Amy raised her handgun and shot the floor a few centimeters next to the woman. Jewel screamed in terror and curled up when she heard the ricochet.
“For the last time, you brain-dead pathetic bitch, my name is Amy! AMY!” she screamed. “And as for 'daring' betray you...”
She shot a second time the floor near Jewel, then a third time, to try to make the woman wet herself in fear. Jewel whimpered and cowered.
Amy smiled. “Jewel, Jewel, my dear Jewel... You have no idea how long I was dreaming to do that...”
“So much for the cause.” Mikani commented, pushing Jewel away to get back on her feet.
Amy rolled her eyes.
“The cause? Olympus? Please! The only cause I believe in is Amy Phocas, soon to be renamed 'Amy Brown', international refugee. Disgustingly rich international refugee. Thanks to your money Jewel by the way, the money you kept giving me to finance my missions. I'm surprised you never realized that I was asking a lot more than needed for what I was doing...”
Jewel was remaining silent, flabbergasted.
“So it was only for the money all along?” Mikani asked. “The bombings, the lives you endangered... You only did it for the money?”
“What better cause could there be? A new life is awaiting for me! There are places in this world where people don't care about your past... as long as you wave a little green under their nose...”
“Your father would be ashamed, you pig!” Jewel finally barked.
“My father?! He couldn't care less about his family tree going back to Nicephore Phocas. He couldn't care less about Olympus, or the Factions, or the cause! In fact, he taught me the precept I'm still following... 'Nothing's a hitch, if it makes you filthy rich!'” She stared down on Jewel. "You've left the pampered life of a spoiled child, Jewel. You've never hurt yourself, you've never faced any hardship. I almost died from sickness. I saw my body decay. It made me realize what was really important. Money. Enough money to do whatever you want and have no regret when your time has come..."
Amy raised her gun and aimed at Mikani and Jewel.
“I should leave right now, I really should. But before that, there's something I want to do...”
**************
“Leave her alone!”
Mikani, Jewel, and Amy froze.
The voice was too high-pitched for an adult.
“Zoé?”
Also Clover and Posy who were surrounding her.
And who were pointing guns at Amy, the guns they took to the guards they mugged, and that they kept even after disguising themselves as workers.
“You should better drop your gun. We may not be real soldiers... But between the two of us, I'm sure we will hit you before you can hit us.” Clover commented, looking confident.
Amy apparently didn't want to take the risk. She fled. Since their opponent wasn't a threat to their lives, the two librarians didn't dare open fire in an enclosed space with weapons they barely knew how to use.
Jewel was trying to discreetly crawl away from them. Mikani pinned her to the ground. Capturing this one was more important...
“Unhand me, you brute!” the leader of the Eye barked.
Mikani ignored her. “You didn't stay hidden like I told you...” she said to Posy and Clover.
“Sorry. We tried, but the kid refused to stay without you.” Clover explained.
Zoé was looking at her feet, like a child caught red-handed while doing something forbidden. “Sorry to have disobeyed you...”
“Zoé! How dare you help these...?” Jewel started to scream, looking daggers at the child. Mikani hit the top of her head. Hard. “Ow!”
“Shut your trap. We're having a moment here.”
Mikani looked at Clover, Posy and Zoé.
“Thank you...” she said. "It was stupid from me to rush blindly towards danger alone."
After all her adventures with Aster, Aaria, Klenia and Shayna, she should have known that people were better when working as a team.
“Police has surrounded the bunker, but the members of the Eye refused to surrender. The assault is imminent. What do we do?” Posy asked.
“I don't particularly care about these wackos, but a good chunk of them have hidden their families in the bunker with them, children included. I would like to avoid a bloodbath if we can...”
Mikani looked at Jewel's black robe, then at the leader's discarded white mask a few feet in front of them.
“And I just had an idea that's so stupid, it might actually work...”
**************
The members of the Eye defending the bunker's only access were surprised to see their leader arrive.
With her black hooded robe and white mask adorned with the golden eye, she was looking as impressive as ever.
“Lady Zeno?” one guard asked. “What is your command?”
Her face hidden under the mask, Clover raised her arms, perfectly imitating Jewel's demeanour. She had taken acting lessons in the past, and was decent at imitating voices – a talent useful for the activities with the children at the library.
“I have come to give you new instructions, my proud soldiers.”
She caught everyone's attention. Thankfully, with the mask slightly altering her voice, her imitation of Jewel (coupled with her clothes and her confident posture) was convincing enough to fool them.
“The blood of a warrior race flows through our veins. However, Constantin Basileus was also an honorable man, one who knew that there was no shame in surrendering honorably to a stronger opponent. Which is why I will ask you to lay down your arms. I weighed my decision carefully, and I don't want to see men and women of value such as you sacrifice their lives. Even for me. Because you have the duty to stay alive, for your families. Each of you is dear to my heart, and I want you all to live and fight another day. Prison will mean nothing to us. Our message has already spread and, soon, our brothers and sisters will release us!”
The moment of truth. If only one person tried to contest her orders...
However, the mask was giving her the authority she needed. Jewel hadn't gathered the most intelligent persons for her army, and the smart ones weren't here – as, like Amy, they were currently hightailing out of the bunker. Only the most fanatical members were still here. The ones who would obey blindly to Jewel's every orders.
Or the orders of someone pretending to be her...
**************
Jewel was struggling against her bonds. To no avail. Tears of anger and humiliation were rolling down her cheeks, and she was regarding the pain of the crotch-rope (as well as the physical reactions it was beginning to elicit from her body) as true humiliations.
She had been stripped naked: her silk expensive white panties had been used to fill her mouth, along with her socks, while her matching bra was lying discarded on the floor. She was tied with ropes that Posy and Clover took with them when they left the storage room, just in case. Coarse ropes, so the crotch-rope was especially painful. Her wrists were cross-tied behind her back. Her upper-arms, her thighs and her legs were tughtly secured and the ropes were digging into her skin. A rope was connecting her bound wrists to the crotch-rope. Therefore, every time she tried moving her arms, she was making the crotch-rope move. Her captors had also tightly tied a rope around her lower face to prevent her from spitting her gag.
“It's no use.” Mikani commented. “An amateur like you can't break out of these bonds. We've only kept you conscious so you can get a taste of your own medicine and appraciate how uncomfortable being tied up can be...”
She brought her face closer to Jewel's, looking at her in the eyes.
“'Amateur'. That's in fact a word that describes you perfectly. Only an amateur would take someone like me prisoner, leave me alone unsupervised, and then send a woman alone to try to rough me up a little... In fact, only an amateur would try to capture me alive to begin with... You thought that you were pretty clever, but you only made it so far because you weren't important enough to be noticed by the Federation, and because your second-in-command was more competent than you. And ultimately, what was your endgame anyway? You gathered a cult, and for what? To vent your frustration by bombing places at random just because you lost your status? You make me think of an overgrown spoiled child throwing a temper tantrum...”
She stopped when she heard footsteps.
**************
Mikani and Posy immediately went on alert.
They spotted a lone woman, short and skinny with coal black hair and dark eyes. She was wearing casual clothes: light blue socks, dark blue jeans, and a thin grey cardigan sweater over a white t-shirt.
Mikani recognized Marge. She was apparently trying to flee the bunker alone. Also, she was still wearing the clothes she stole from her...
“Well, well, well... Look who decided to drop by.” Mikani commented. “Oh, when the stars align...”
Marge froze.
Mikani smiled.
“Hello again. You have something that belongs to me.”
Posy made Zoé turn her head to spare her the spectacle of the following beating.
**************
“It's good to have my clothes back...”
Mikani chose to be a good sport and to allow Marge to keep her underwear: taupe triangle bra and burgundy boyshorts. She didn't want to be a sore loser. Sure, the woman only got the drop on her because there were two other people with her... But at the same time, how many times did I gang with Aster and Klenia on one woman too?
Although her sportmanship didn't prevent her from binding and gagging her victim. And while she didn't use a crotch-rope, she chose to hog-tie her victim. Because sometimes it feels good to be petty...
Which was making her realize that she didn't hog-tie Jewel. Well, time to fix that mistake.
From the entrance of the bunker, she could hear that the police was getting into the compound. There weren't gunshots. Clover had arrived in time. The guards at the entrance had surrendered.
“Well, let's celebrate with a little hog-tie...” she said to Jewel with a smile that made her try to crawl away. In vain.
“Mikani!” Zoé suddenly asked. “Where did you learn all that things with the ropes?”
Mikani's smile disappeared. She was feeling like a parent whose child just asked where do babies come from...
For all their flaws, if there was one thing that no one could deny about Olympus, it's that they were way ahead of most other places when it came to gender equality. Instead of tea parties or baby dolls, their little girls were given toy guns or action figures to play war just like their brothers. Of course, Mikani and her friends never complained about that. Indeed, it meant that women were plentiful in police forces and the army, meaning that they had a near-endless supply of potential disguises when they had to tussle with the authorities.
still again I have to regret that you Rufusluciusivan don't open the war archives of the Resistance...
Thanks! I might one day, but honestly police and army uniforms are far from my favorite type of uniforms, so not in the near future... But maybe I'll have the motivation again one day.
sorry, I didn't mean to pressure you in any way...it was just that the scene you created with the conscripts in the "to overthrow the Utopia" is always in my mind ...along with the regret of the missing debooting
But trust me when I say that I enjoy all the stories of yours, regardless your preferences.
This chapter is just as fantastic as the last, I did enjoy the scene with the gullible guards and the fact that we didn't really know how the second guard got knocked out was a nice little touch.
Posy is right as well, watching these ladies mug women for their clothes is never a mistake haha.
I really enjoy your description of all the female guards and the other workers, you have such a wide variety of skin tones, hair style and other features, you do know how to add variety and I greatly appreciate you including all of them, amazing work.
It was interesting to see a bit of an attitude change with clover, being a bit ore lenient of the workers she's tying up rather than the guards, which was understandable given their positions.
I still enjoy the stupidity of Jewel, that whole bit with her slowly piecing together that her guards had been waylaid for their uniforms was great. She's new to the game, she'll learn in time.....Maybe.
It was great to see Amy getting some well earned payback and it was pretty cool to see Jewel reduced down in that state, a rare thing as well to have one of the main heroines impersonating the main villain, very nice.
Overall I really did enjoy this chapter, I enjoyed all of the characters, the scene's were presented phenomenally and they were very well described, this whole chapter was great from start to finish, you further proved again as to why you are still one of my most favourite story writers. Amazing work.
Agreed with Esercito and Trackman, this is another strong chapter. Mikani has definitely proven her ability to carry a story of her own.
I love the "quick cut" after the strawberry blonde guard enters the room. Her subduing happens entirely off-screen, but that's what makes it so entertaining. It just cuts to Posy gossiping as she dresses in the guard's pants. Great stuff.
Amy continues to be a great character - I have a soft spot for villainous henchwomen with their own agendas, and her betrayal was handled marvelously. Great use of Clover disguising herself as Jewel - one of the most seamless examples of a uniform steal I've seen in a story. And it's great to see Jewel get her comeuppance. (Ditto for Marge, later in the chapter.)
I guess my only issue is Zoe, in that I'm not really a fan of putting kids in these stories. She fits well within the plot, but it's kind of awkward to see her involved (even indirectly) with the muggings and uniform steals. Other than that, the story continues to move at a brisk and entertaining pace.
The entire point about Jewel is that, for all her bragging, she is an amateur when it comes to true infiltration and guerilla warfare, and she's definitively a lot less smart than she thinks she is. 
