And I wish I could read stories and comment as quickly as you!
The part with Lizéa's team was indeed my favorite part to write, and I kept adding little details every time I reread it. I'm trying to be as careful as I can while reintroducing Emery, given how controversial she is. Balancing her out with Julie's character and the banters between the two are in my opinion a good way to do it, so I'm glad that it seems to be working. Kjelle and Karin are indeed nowhere near as competent as they think they are. Reka is a little too sentimental as far as her henchwomen are concerned: she doesn't want to fire them, even if she may be better off with other people.
I see your point with Presa's scene. Honestly, I knew from the beginning that it could make some people uncomfortable. Hence why I mostly kept it off-screen. The idea was to maintain the suspense; to show that even though they're not in the hands of Reka, Mikani and Klenia are still in danger. And the idea was also to show that while Yuna and her team are not completely antagonists as far as Klenia and Mikani are concerned, they are not good guys either. In a way, the scene is there to illustrate Presa's "malevolence" (though the word might be too strong), to show that she's not someone to root for. She's another kind of antagonist: Reka's a criminal holding a grudge. Emery is cold and merciless. Presa is a hedonist motivated first-and-foremost by her own pleasure, who (outside of a few exceptions) sees other women as pretty things there for her entertainement. (She said it as far as Rescue Operation: "I just like beautiful things.") And Yuna isn't a very good person either: she knew perfectly well what was likely to happen by leaving Presa to guard the captives, she simply didn't care.
Okay here we go. I'm playing catch up here, but I'll review it piece by piece.
First chapter form Aug 2nd.
See I think this is a strong start for Mikani, this shows more of her as a sympathetic character who has maternal instincts but's almost afraid to let her guard down to them. I may of read that wrong but I liked it.
So Selina is getting cold feet about all of this is she? Plus seeing Reka just accept this and not do anything, hhmm I think I sense what's going to happen. Damn I can't wait.
..........Wow........These policewomen know the signs of a USB enthusiast, it's actually quite refreshing to see this, I wonder what else these policewomen know?
Then just as I say that I read a little more and find out this whole place knows of there antics, well I guess there's only so many times you can fool people I suppose, wow Lucina and Selina are in USB muggers hell right now.
I see you included another extremely rare scene involving a magician and her assistant (Megan and Amelie), a very welcome addition.
A very enjoyable and amazing first part, let's keep this going, onwards to the next chapter.
Second chapter from Aug 3rd
Another strong opening, always love the scenes featuring Mikani and Klenia.
I like the scene afterwards featuring Clair, Jasmine and Whitney, leaves us in suspense for a little bit before we discover their fates. Nice touch. At first I naturally assumed it was Mikani and Klenia just with one of them using both their hands
To be fair to be locked in a closet rather a fishy dumpster, I can see why the janitress agreed to being knocked out, nice little scene.
I had a feeling it would be the trio of Yuna, Cynthia and Presa, but you never know, you've pulled out quite a few surprises in this story already, so at this point I think I'm expecting anything.
Well done with the following scene with Mikani, the off screen steal you wrote here was done exceptionally well, it was a true delight and left quite a bit to the imagination. Which is perfectly fine by me.
Yuna is once again showing off the veteran she is, I must say it takes absolute perfected skills to realize what sort of infiltrator you're dealing with, just by looking at the rope knots they used on their victims, great use of her character.
This second chapter definitely didn't disappoint at all, it was incredibly character driven which was great, we learned a few of them have a couple of talents they've only now just decided to share. This has been fantastic second part, roll on part three.
third chapter from Aug fifth.
I got shades of that robocop episode with Kjelle punching out that security guard in the toilets for her uniform. Nicely done, I apologize immediately if this was not the intention, it's just how what I purely envisioned.
Aaahhh young love with Tiffany and Lizea, well couples who USB together, stay together.
Emery was by far the stand out character in this chapter, the way she was so calm and collective, the way she planned and the way she managed to semi recruit a new USB woman was phenomenal, this was my favourite part of this chapter by far.
Ah the hunter becomes the hunted with Kjelle eh? well it is as I have said before, in the world of USB it really is take or be taken, they should be careful of seemingly empty rooms.
Well now that I'm all caught up, allow me to say that as you probably gathered by now, I absolutely love this story ARC your doing, it has so much character development, loads of great muggings and even a couple of rare uniforms make a appearance, the setting is great, the pace is just right, not to slow and not to fast, it's the perfect balance. I know you take pride with your work and it shows through greatly, these are the types of stories that I love to get lost in. Fantastic work.
The advantage is that I can react to everything in one go.
Aug 2nd. Good analysis of Mikani there. There's also the fear of the responsability of raising a child, something for which she thinks she's not fit given her peculiar lifestyle. If you were expecting Reka to try to get rid of her henchwomen getting cold feet, I hope that I managed to surprise you. I know bad bosses are something of a staple of USB stories (Jewel, Chen, Karima, Glitch...), but Reka is more among the exceptions. Lucina and Selena were indeed in USB muggers hell for a brief period of time, though I reassure them, only the time needed to make that joke. Yes, I made the designated victims of this part a magician and an assistant precisely because these outfits are rarely. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but at my knowledge, it has never been seen in a story; only in some fanarts.)
Aug 3rd. Mikani's and Klenia's opening was the occasion to write a good old traditional infiltration, complete with black bodysuits and mugging the cleaning ladies first. The joke with the janitress was maybe my favorite detail of this part. Glad you liked the scene with Jasmine, Clair, and Whitney. Chloro scenes aren't that numerous in my stories and when they happen, they tend to be told in an ellipsis, so I tried to make a bigger description this time. Yep, ever since Loyalties, Yuna's team was supposed to be the wild card of this last part; a group that's on nobody's side and can be a nuisance to my heroines just as much as they can be allies of circumstance. Off screen steals are also a great tool to make the story move quicker. Yuna is indeed a veteran; after all she's supposed to have been part of the elite of the government black ops.
Aug 5th. Didn't think of the episode when writing the scene, but now that you mention it... No need to apologize for making an assumption though. Between Klenia/Shayna, Lizéa/Tiffany and Presa/Alexie, uniform stealing seems to be a good way to bring couples together. (And I'm not even counting the friendships that were created as well.) Emery's return was indeed the main event of this part in my opinion. I'm trying a different angle with this character, hence the banters between her and Julie. She's supposed to have changed a little, now that she has no choice but to rely on others' help to do certain things.
And there! All done! Now, to try to finish the next part before the end of the week...
Last edited by rufusluciusivan on Sat Sep 12, 2020 9:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
See that's why I love Yuna's team, neutral parties are the wild cards, mostly unpredictable and could swing either way with moral choices. It's great and there's always this small thought of uncertainty as to what they'll do next. I love that kind of stuff.
That's great with Reka because she broke out of traditional villainess behaviour which added another layer of personality, it definitely was a nice touch.
If you do manage to finish your next part before the end of the week. I really won't be so long to read it this time. I really want to start being a bit more faster at reading and responding both yours and tirepanted3 chapters. Good stories deserve the views
Yes, I neglected to mention it earlier, but I was also surprised by Reka's willingness to let Lucina and Selena go. Good way to show that she's more sympathetic than some of the other boss characters. (As is her continued references to Sao.)
I want to finish my next chapter by the weekend, though it probably won't appear until early next week. But I appreciate feedback whenever you can give it.
Audrey's scene was indeed a ton of fun to write, to the point that I kept adding little details in the descriptions. In the first draft, she and her daughters didn't even have a name. Zoé is kind of tricky to incorporate to the story, given the fact that she can't be involved in USB scenarios, so I'm trying to give her a funny personality. I just like the contrast of a ten-year-old who's already trying to ask for part of the profits, goads people into buying the most expensive items, and remains unfazed when USB antics happen in front of her eyes. Tells a lot about her upbringing.
Yes indeed, Reka at least isn't a bad boss. I like to add more depth to the villains and I've always been a little bothered by the 'James Bond villains'-type bad guys who kill their underlings and their allies at the drop of a hat. I mean, who would want to work for them? As for Yuna's team, only time will tell if they will come back and which role they will have.
Cérès was the most hard-working member of the new government, outside of maybe Morgan. She was the first to come to work in the early morning and usually the last to leave long after nightfall. There was always another crisis to defuse... The Federation was a young country, born from the ashes of a civil war. Therefore, it had to remain united, fight against internal threats, and be wary of foreign powers that might try to turn it into a puppet state.
As always when roaming the Government Palace's corridors, Cérès avoided looking at the mirrors. This was actually her biggest psychological weakness. Cérès hated her physical appearance. She wasn't a pretty woman. By far. She was tall and skinny, with the dark skin typical of the people of Korê and Lakeland. Her face was covered with acne scars, she had a crooked nose, and her upper lip was severed by a harelip.
Cérès was walking between her two bodyguards.
Rue and Lily were supposed to be special combattants. However, after their spectacular failure during the mission of Matilda's Bane, Emery fired them. Cérès decided to save their career by taking them under her employ, officially as part of her security team. Because of that, the two agents were extremely loyal to her, and eagerly carried out the missions Cérès gave them, even the black ops missions. They weren't the best, but now that all of Emery's best students had either gone rogue or proven themselves to be loyal to Hieron first-and-foremost, Rue and Lily were Cérès' best option.
Rue was a tall athletic brunette in her late thirties, with shoulder-long hair tied up into a ponytail, chestnut brown eyes, a tanned skin, and a statuesque figure.
Lily was a dark-skinned woman with coarse braided armpit-long black hair and dark brown eyes.
When Cérès entered her office, she immediately had a bad feeling. “Someone touched my folders...” she said.
Rue and Lily immediately deployed, and the three women searched the room.
When Cérès saw the underwear-clad secretary bound and gagged behind her desk, she understood that something terrible had happened.
Once she was released, the hysterical woman ranted during several minutes before she could calm down enough for Cérès to ask her some questions.
“Who did that to you?”
“It was two women!”
Cérès' eyes widened. Two women. Stealing the clothes of another woman. She was starting to understand.
“Describe them to me.”
“One had braided dark brown hair. And a tanned skin. She was rather... curvaceous. The other was shorter. Black hair. A little pale.”
Klenia and Mikani! They were here to search my office!
**************
“I hope you two incompetents realize that I seriously contemplated leaving you to your fate, and only rescued you because Reka would have been disappointed in me if I didn't.” Amara told Kjelle and Karin.
In the examination room of the hospital, the two henchwomen were looking down. There was nothing they could say in their defense anyway. They were neutralized by an intern with no training combat and a woman in a wheelchair.
Helen and Coral gave them a few casual clothes: white sneakers and jeans, a brown belt, and a grey cardigan for Karin; dark blue running shoes, black trackpants, and a red t-shirt for Kjelle.
“Wear these.” Amara instructed them.
“Where did you find the clothes?” Karin asked.
“We conked a few bimbos there to visit relatives, obviously. They're locked trussed up and gagged in the restrooms, in the same stall as the security guard.”
“One of them just had the cutest underwear. Rainbow-coloured bra and panties with little ponies on them. It was hilarious.” Helen commented with a smile.
**************
With her bound wrists, it took Klenia a good chunk of time to cut the ropes tying Mikani's wrists. However, once the latter's hands were free, she didn't waste any more time and hurriedly cut her remaining bonds, then Klenia's.
The two friends didn't want to waste any more time here. They had to warn the others.
“We need to find you some clothes if we want to leave the house.” Mikani said. “Can you take back the diplomat clothes they forced you to wear?”
Klenia shook her head. “Presa cut the clothes I was wearing because she didn't want to untie me to remove them.”
“This woman's a pervert...”
“And more importantly, it means that I don't have any clothes now.”
“Let's look into the house. There's bound to be something.”
They searched the main house of the cottage.
The two friends quickly found out that, outside of a few rooms such as the kitchen, the building was mostly empty. Almost no pieces of furniture.
They didn't find any article of clothes.
The only things they found were some of Presa's discarded bondage tools. Sadly, there was currently no woman to mug for clothes...
“What do we do?” Klenia asked.
“I don't know... We haven't found a phone either...” Mikani said.
**************
It didn't take long to Cérès to see the extent of the damage.
Two janitresses divested of their clothes were found in a maintenance closet, two guards in another. And apparently a diplomat called Jasmine and her crew were found stripped and trussed up in a van. All seven women, eight counting the secretary, were unanimous: they were all explaining that they had been mugged by women who wanted to steal their clothes and identities.
Mugged for Disguise.
I should probably admire the irony of the situation. One of my favored strategies back when I was still a rebel leader is now used against me.
A quick check of the folders allowed Cérès to know that the intruders had seen the secret documents talking about Reka's escape. And about how she was covering it up.
Cérès couldn't know for sure how many groups had broken into her office, although the witnesses' descriptions made her think that at least two different groups were involved, and probably didn't work together.
The group that used Jasmine's and her crew's identities was harder to identify. Though the fact that a busty blonde was among them made Cérès think that it was probably Emery's former-students-gone-rogue.
Mikani and Klenia were clearly a part of the second group. And they knew about Reka's escape...
I should have known that it was a bad idea.
But Cérès bore Aster and her team a grudge. A grudge so big that she lost all common sense when an occasion arised. We could have done so much together, had these idiots agreed to obey me... she thought to herself. After the civil war, Cérès' plan for them was simple. She wanted to turn Aster and her friends into national symbols, rallying points for the new country. But these fools refused. Even now, Cérès couldn't understand why. They could have had power, money, influence and fame. Instead, they chose to return to anonymity. For Cérès, who fought all her life to have more and more influence and power, this attitude was simply incomprehensible. Though, that, she could have fogiven. What she didn't forgive them was the fact that they defied her orders.
First, they released Macha and Hana before the end of the war against her explicit orders. Then, they refused to play along in front of the media. And finally, most importantly, they defied her orders again when they went to Frontier and created an international incident there. One that took her months to quell.
I let my emotions cloud my judgement.
The idea was to convince the other members of the government in the know that covering up the mass escape was the best course of action to avoid a scandal, and to make sure that Hieron, Morgan or Thalès didn't hear about it. Then, Cérès was secretly planning to let Reka have her way with Aster and her friends, then capture her again. A way to punish her foes without being directly linked to the crime. A stupid plan, but Cérès was too blinded by her grudge to realize it in time. Once everything was put into motion, Cérès couldn't back-pedal. She had to go through with it. And now, predictably, her plan had just turned against her. She was the one who made the proposition. If things went public, she would be the first to fall.
However, Cérès wasn't the kind of woman who whould give up easily. She was born and grew up in a world where you had to be both clever and merciless, in a world where one wrong word to the wrong person could get you a trip to the prison at best and a bullet to the neck at worst. She had become a leader of the Rebellion. She was a fighter.
Cérès decided that Aster and her friends were her priority.
They were still considered war heroines, even though the government couldn't milk their status. (Cérès was even the one who gave them this status in front of the media at the end of the war, a cruel irony of which she was aware.) If they talked... Cérès' career was over.
We have to strike tonight. Storm Aster's shop in the greatest secrecy, capture everyone here, and use them as leverage.
“Rue, Lily, gather a team of Special Ops. I want them to be ready to strike this night.”
**************
“This is your allies' hideout? I admit that I'm surprised they have such good taste...” Julie commented while dragging Emery's wheelchair out of the car. She was gazing at the cozy cottage and the fields surrounding it, especially the corn fields.
“I'll ignore the indirect insult to my own taste in architecture, and get to the point.” Emery dryly retorted. She looked at the surroundings. “There doesn't seem to be a car... They're probably out somewhere. Check the main house, I will check the barn and its surroundings.” the black-haired woman said. Then she added: “I will take the keys of the car. Wouldn't want you to leave me stranded here to go fetch the police...”
Julie was about to protest, but then realized that she might find a phone in the house. Hiding her sentiment, she nodded.
“Okay.”
**************
Mikani and Klenia heard the sound of a car parking in the courtyard of the cottage.
“Did they come back? Already?” Mikani commented.
Silently, they moved to the living house's ground floor.
“Hello! Is anyone there?” a voice suddenly asked from the nearby room.
Mikani and Klenia quickly put a hand on each other's mouth to prevent the other from screaming. Someone was in the living room. They didn't recognize that voice. At least, it wasn't Yuna or one of her accomplices...
The two friends shared a glance, nodded, then removed their hand. They discreetly looked through the door.
A lone woman was searching the house. She had light brown hair tied into a loose midback-long ponytail, a white skin, an oval-shaped face, and chestnut eyes. She was slightly taller than average. She was wearing casual clothes: brown ankle boots, blue jeans, a black shirt, a dark blue denim jacket, and was holding a black cap in her hand. Klenia and Mikani didn't recognize her, and she wasn't wearing anything that could allow them to guess her job.
Perhaps Yuna and her team didn't truly rent this cottage... Perhaps the ponytailed woman was the real owner...
Klenia didn't know who this woman was or why she was here. All she knew was that she was bringing a set of clothes with her, probably a car as well, perhaps even a phone. The size wasn't perfect, but it was close enough.
More importantly, she knew that Mikani and she couldn't afford wasting time if they wanted to warn Aster and Shayna.
She shared a glance with her friend. With only her eyes, she made her intent clear.
Mikani briefly hesitated, but then nodded.
On the same page... Klenia thought.
They grabbed a few of Presa's discarded bondage tools, including three coils of pink rope and a few clean rags.
**************
Julie froze in surprise when two women suddenly appeared in her field of vision, including one who was only wearing her underwear. She recognized Klenia and Mikani from the pictures she saw in the newspapers when the civil war ended.
“Wait! You are...” Julie tried to exclaim.
Klenia clamped a hand over her mouth.
“Yes, yes, I'm mugging you... Sorry about that.”
Julie shook her head to free her mouth.
“No! It's not that! You have to listen to m...mmfff!”
Klenia shoved a clean piece of thick cloth into Julie's mouth, then clamped (again) a hand over her mouth.
“Don't worry, I'll call the police to tell them about you once my friend and I are out of reach. Do you have a cellphone on you, perchance?”
“Mikani! Can you give me a hand? She's not making things easier...”
Julie was struggling, to try to spit the gag and be able to talk. No! No! No! That's too stupid! the intern thought. She could ask for their help! She could join forces with them to keep Emery in check!
The shorter woman blocked Julie's arms, allowing Klenia to tie a strip of white cloth over the intern's mouth to prevent her from spitting her stuff gag. She knotted the cloth behind the woman's neck, tight enough to prevent her from loosening the cloth gag.
The two friends then divested Julie of her clothes. The latter struggled during the entire process, not to try to break free but to try to catch their attention. However, unfortunately, Klenia and Mikani were mistaking her efforts as mere attempts to escape.
“We won't leave you naked, so please stop making this difficult. I don't want to have to hurt you.” Klenia said.
Once Julie was down to her plain green t-shirt bra, white hiphugging panties and black socks, they pinned her to the floor as gently as they could, and tied her hands and her arms behind her back with pink ropes. Where did they find those ropes anyway? They used a pentagram bondage. Then, they bound the intern's ankles and her knees with other shorter coils of rope.
Powerless, Julie watched Klenia put on her clothes. She wiggled on the floor, mewling in her gag, trying one last time to catch their attention.
However, the two women mistook her intent.
“I know, I know. Nobody wants to be found that way.” Klenia looked at Mikani. “Perhaps we should take her with us...?”
The other woman pondered about the idea. But then shook her head. “No.” She looked at Julie. “Sorry.” And she seemed genuine. “We're in a hurry. We need to warn our friends about a threat. So we can't burden ourselves with a bound woman”
“I'll ask them to send a policewoman to help you the second I grab a phone, I promise.” Klenia said.
Goodness, this is so frustrating! Julie thought.
**************
Klenia and Mikani exited the house and looked through the window of the light-brown-haired woman's car.
“The keys aren't in the ignition.” Klenia commented. “And she didn't have them on herself either. Should I go back to ask her where she put them?”
“Wait a second.” Mikani looked at the back of the car. “That's one of these special cars made to carry a person in a wheelchair.”
“So?” Klenia asked.
However, both women were beginning to understand.
“Who is currently in a wheelchair and would be likely to show up in a hideout belonging to Yuna?” Mikani slowly asked.
It was a rhetorical question.
“Emery.” Klenia said, suddenly a little paler.
**************
Emery was searching the barn as best as she could, considering the fact that she was in a wheelchair. There was no vehicle inside, and no clues either. Perhaps I should have told them to leave a hidden cellphone in every hideout... the black-haired woman thought to herself.
She raised her head when she heard a faint noise coming from the courtyard. (She had asked Julie to leave the door of the barn open.) Someone had just exited the living house of the cottage. Emery then discerned voices.
“Julie?” she asked out loud.
The whispers ended. No, it wasn't Julie.
Emery grabbed Karin's handgun and rolled to the exit of the barn.
There were two women trying to steal the car. They weren't Yuna, Cynthia or Presa.
When confronted with people she didn't know and who weren't her allies, Emery decided that the best course of action was to shoot first and ask questions later.
She raised her gun.
**************
“Cheerleaders, really? Couldn't you find something even more degrading?” Kjelle complained.
“I kinda like these clothes.” Helen intervened.
“Of course you would! You're from Hera, where this kind of decadence is seen as 'beautiful'.” Kjelle retorted. “In Ares, we are...”
“Shut your trap.” Amara interrupted her. “It's because you and Karin were stupidly captured that we lost too much time and had to improvise our getaway. Reka wants us to regoup as quickly as we could, and there weren't many ways to get our hands on a minibus to drive all of us at the same time.”
Amara, Helen, Coral, and Kjelle were wearing the same cheerleading outfits: deep blue sleeveless tops with white stripes, skirts of a matching deep blue colour with white trimmings, a white glove covering the right hand and a blue glove covering the left hand, white socks, and white cheer shoes. The white-and-blue pom poms were lying discarded in a corner of the minibus. Karin, on the other hand, was wearing a classic brown chauffeur uniform, with a matching cap. She was currently driving the minibus.
"She has already regrouped with Lizéa's team. We can't waste any more time. She wants to come up with a new strategy." Amara added.
**************
The real cheerleaders and their driver woke up in the bushes in which they were hidden.
The cheerleaders were seven, but only four had been stripped. These four unlucky young women were left only wearing their undergarments: dark blue boyshorts and matching sports bra. (They were following a dress code even with their underwear.) Two of the stripped girls had black hair and brown eyes. The first had short pigtails tied by blue little bows.The second had shoulder-long loose hair, with segmented bangs that were framing her face. Her bangs and the tips of her fringe were dyed red. The third stripped girl was a blue-eyed blond-haired beauty with a soft round face, a petite nose, a statuesque figure and hair tied up into two buns. The fourth had cinnamon brown hair, a heart-shaped face, and hazel eyes. Her hair were tied up into a high shoulder-long ponytail.
All the cheerleaders were bound and gagged in the same way. Zip-ties were binding their arms behind their back: one zip-tie wrapped around the wrists, another around the elbows. A third zip-tie was binding their ankles, and a fourth was binding their knees. All seven girls were hog-tied by a final zip-tie connecting the bound wrists and the bound ankles, a feat made possible by their young flexible bodies. They were gagged with several layers of tape that were preventing them from spitting the strips of clothes filling their mouths.
The driver divested of her uniform was zip-tied and gagged in the same way, though since she was older and less flexible, her captors didn't bother to hog-tie her. Her underwear were different: a peach comfort bra and candy pink granny panties.
The cheerleaders exchanged frightful looks and scared mewls muffled by their gags. They were supposed to go to a rehearsal and have a good day... Not to have their minibus stopped by armed women and their clothes stolen...
They started to struggle against their bonds, groaning due to the efforts, though they all knew deep inside that it would take hours for someone to find them. Hours for them to be free.
**************
The two women noticed Emery (and her raised handgun) just in time. They quickly jumped out of the way.
The black-haired woman opened fire.
However, shooting while seated on a wheelchair wasn't exactly easy, and the former special combattant had trouble adjusting to the recoil of the weapon. She missed, though luckily she didn't damage the car either.
The two women were professional, or at least they had some experience being shot at. Instead of remaining still, frozen because of the shock, they quickly ran away from the car, and from the courtyard. They sped up to escape another fire, and disappeared in the corn fields near the cottage.
Was that Mikani and Klenia? Emery thought to herself. Too bad.
She then shrugged. She couldn't see them anymore, and she couldn't chase after them in a wheelchair. She had other priorities.
She had noticed that the woman looking like Klenia was wearing Julie's clothes.
**************
“It really was Emery!” Klenia exclaimed while they were running among the corn plants.
“I noticed!” Mikani retorted. “Just keep quiet and run!”
**************
Luckily, the entrance door of the cottage was at ground level. Emery could therefore enter with her wheelchair. She found the bound-and-gagged underwear-clad Julie in the living room of the ground floor of the house.
“So, they got the drop you, didn't they?”
The intern glared at her. “Whht dh yhh thmnk?” she grumbled in her gag.
“And they stole your clothes.” she said while pointing at Julie's green t-shirt bra, white hiphuggers, and black socks.
“WHHT DH YHH THMNK?!” the trussed up woman tried to retort. She was losing her patience.
“I also see that they found Presa's stash.” the black-haired woman added, looking at the pink ropes.
“Uhmmm? Crrr thh frmm mh?” Julie insisted.
Emery sighed.
“You're lucky I still need your help.”
The black-haired woman rolled her wheelchair next to Julie, and checked if there was no one who could see her.
“But you better not tell to anyone what you're about to witness...”
Julie frowned. She didn't understand what Emery meant by that.
The black-haired woman suddenly dropped to the floor, and started to use her arms to crawl towards the bound-and-gagged Julie.
Now, the intern understood. For someone as prideful as her, grovelling on the floor like a worm must be the ultimate humiliation. she thought to herself.
“Curse this useless shell of a body...” Emery muttered to herself.
The black-haired woman couldn't use her legs, therefore she only used her arms to drag herself on the floor. She reached her destination, and grabbed the knots binding Julie's wrists. She untied them, then untied the ropes binding her upper-body.
Julie wasted no time. She removed her gag, spitting the cloth filling her mouth with a sigh of relief, and untied her legs.
“Thanks.” she said to the black-haired woman.
Still lying on the floor, Emery gave her a mean stare.
“I mean... You could have done it faster!” Julie barked.
The black-haired woman seemed satisfied.
Julie grabbed her and helped her sit on her wheelchair again.
“Now what?”
“Now you have to find some clothes.”
“They said they were going to ask the police station to send a policewoman.” Julie said.
“Since I've tried to shoot them, I don't think they will call for just one policewoman.”
“I heard it.” Julie gave her a look that was both annoyed and angry. “Do you solve all your problems by shooting at them?”
“No. Some of them, I require their assistance to leave a hospital.”
“Oh, that's a low blow! Well, maybe you should try to drive by yourself next time you want to go somewhere!” the intern retorted.
“Anyway, we can't stay here.” Emery interrupted her. “I refuse to be found by the police.”
“Why?”
“Because one of the persons who wants my head is part of the government.”
“You said that Cérès was probably not the person who sent assassins after you.”
“Yes. But she's probably the one who asked to tamper with my treatment.”
“You're just finding an excuse to not be arrested.”
“Of course.” Emery admitted without any shame. She then added: “By the way. If we're arrested, I will say to the police that you were my accomplice and helped me escape. So it looks like you will have to drive me somewhere else...”
“What?! But... Are you threatening me again?”
“Yes. Thanks for noticing. Since I can't threaten you with my gun, I had to find another way.”
“And how am I supposed to drive? You want me to take the wheel in my underwear?”
“I can lend you my hospital blouse, and shoes, if you want. At least it will protect the upper-part of your body, and your feet.”
“That doesn't make it better!” Julie exclaimed. She then muttered to herself: “I can't believe that I'm being bullied by a woman in a wheelchair...”
“Don't fret. I have a plan to get you new clothes, and to get me a phone. With it, I will call my allies.”
“Joy.”
**************
At first, Klenia and Mikani chose to run into the fields to lose Emery, who couldn't follow them with her wheelchair. However, they realized that they maybe had an occasion to aquire a vehicle and/or a phone when they briefly exited the corn field to watch the surroundings.
Indeed, they noticed that, in the huge orchard not too far away, a lot of farmworkers were bustling about. And several vans of the local agricultural company were parked in the area.
The two friends shared a glance, then ran in that direction.
**************
Reka chose to not question things when Amara's team came back dressed as cheerleaders.
Instead, she gathered everyone to come up with a plan.
Lizéa and her team were already here, as well as Max and Amy (the latter was still looking as sullen as ever).
“One of my contacts called me.” Max told her. “The government is taking action. Or, more precisely, Cérès is taking action. She's gathering a team of Special Ops. Apparently, she intends to raid Aster's shop tonight in the greatest secrecy.”
“Maxie... That's classified top secret operation." Reka said. "Only a handful of people must be in the knowing. Most of the members of the government probably don't even know about that! How many contacts do you have?”
“Among them, there's one higher-up of the Special Ops.”
“You know what? Nevermind the 'how'. I have a plan. We wait until the Special Ops team arrive. We take their place. We eliminate everyone in the flowershop.”
“Save for the kid!” Lizéa intervened.
“Fine, save for the kid.” Reka agreed. “And then we let everyone think that it was a police blunder. Cérès will even take the fall for us. What do you think?”
“It's either complicatedly brilliant, or brilliantly complicated.” Max answered.
“Then it's settled. Everyone, gather around! I'll explain to you the patterns of the Special Ops. We have to be ready for tonight.”
**************
Mikani and Klenia, hidden behind the corn plants, observed the two women.
They were either farmers or farmworkers. Their grey van was parked on the dirt track separating the orchard from the corn field. Mikani and Klenia were not interested in finding their true status in the agricultural company. On the other hand, they were very interested in their van. And their cellphones.
The first worker had honey blond closely-cropped hair, a white skin, faded blue eyes. She was tall and lanky, with an oval-shaped face. The second woman was slightly shorter, with a more angular face. She had shoulder-long loose black hair and light brown eyes. Her skin was slightly tanned. She was wearing oval glasses with a black frame.
Both women were wearing blue denim overalls, matching denim caps, grey work gloves and brown boots. The one with the honey blond hair was wearing a burgundy-and-black plaid shirt, while her black-haired colleague was wearing a white-and-blue plaid shirt. Both had rolled up their sleeves.
Currently, the two women were busy fixing the fence surrounding the orchard. They were outside the orchard, on the dirt track, their backs turned on the corn field.
“Do you think we can... ask them to lend us the van? Or at least a phone?” Mikani whispered.
“And what are we going to say to them?” Klenia whispered back. “Something like: 'Help us, we've been chased by an armed woman in a wheelchair and we need to call our friends to warn them that one of our former enemies has escaped from prison!' I don't think they would believe us...”
There was a short moment of silence.
“You're right.” Mikani said.
“Of course, since you don't agree with me, we can still... Wait?! Did you agree with me?”
“We need to protect Aster and Shayna. And Zoé. We can't afford wasting time in pointless discussions. Hesitating now is pointless, we've already mugged this innocent woman at the cottage..."
"Well, she was driving Emery." Klenia intervened.
"This place is supposed to be a private property anyway, so they are just as likely to try to chase us or call the cops on us than to try to help us.” Mikani looked at the two farmworkers. “Let's just try to not hurt them too much. And make sure they don't see your face. We already have enough problems as it is.” She sighed. "At least they are working for one of Thorn's competitors..."
“We will need their clothes as well. People will ask too many questions if they see people not dressed as farmworkers driving a van owned by an agricultural company.” Klenia said.
“Agreed.” Mikani answered.
Really on the same page... Klenia thought.
**************
“Jennifer! How long are you still gonna take to fix this fence?” the farmworker with black hair said. “Margaret's gonna kill us!”
“Don't stress me out, Janna, please!” the honey-blond-haired worker retorted while fidgeting with the wires of the fence. “You're only making things worst...”
Janna, the first worker, nervously checked her wristwatch. “Our time is almost up! Margaret will have our heads this time!”
“Margaret's a slaver... I bet she even sleeps in the equipment shack...” Jennifer grumbled, still working on the fence.
“Stop worrying! ... ... ... Just one more sec... ... ... ... ...There! It's done! Just in time!” Jennifer finally exclaimed.
The two farmworkers let out a sigh of relief, and high-fived each other.
“Call Margaret.” Jennifer told her colleague. “Tell her it's done.”
She took a step back, to look at the repaired fence, while Janna grabbed her cellphone.
Jennifer's smile disappeared when a hand was clamped over her mouth from behind. Next to her, Janna was hand-gagged before she could dial the number on her phone.
Their caps fell on the ground.
The two women flailed their arms, but to no avail. Their attackers were dragging them towards the field behind. They disappeared between the corn plants, as if they were swallowed by them.
**************
Klenia and Mikani chose to knock out the two farmworkers with a sleeper-hold compressing the carotid arteries. While it wasn't the gentlest way of rendering someone unconscious, it was at least one of the quickest. The two women barely had the time to panic or to understand what was about to happen.
“Search their van.” Mikani said to Klenia. “With some luck, there will be things we can use to truss them up.”
Her friend quickly hurried to the vehicle. While she was busy searching it, Mikani started to strip the honey-blond-haired farmworker. She took off the boots first, then removed the straps of the overalls before pulling them down. Finally, she unbuttoned the plaid shirt and removed it.
Klenia came back after Mikani was finished with the first woman. She was carrying coils of strong white strings, a few rags and a few bandanas with a huge grin. “I love agriculture!” she commented.
Mikani immediately blindfolded the two women, who were already beginning to stir, with the bandanas. While the sleeper-hold targeting the carotid arteries was quick to render someone unconscious, its effects were also quick to wear off. They couldn't waste any time. Mikani then trussed up the honey-blond-haired worker while Klenia was stripping the other woman of her boots, denim overalls, and plaid shirt. Jennifer was wearing a red-and-black plaid push-up bra and plaid black-and-white panties.
Mikani used the same coil of string to bind the farmworker's hands behind her back, then to tie her ankles, though she didn't hog-tie her as she didn't want to put her into a position that was too uncomfortable. She cleave-gagged her with a rag.
Klenia had finished stripping the black-haired worker. Janna was left wearing a grey tank top with a few grease stains, a white support bra, and beige boyshorts. She was starting to wake up.
They quickly gagged her with another rag, then bound her wrists and her legs with another coil of string.
“That should do it...” Klenia commented. “Strong enough to hold them for quite some time, but they will be able to free themselves if they struggle long enough.” Her friend nodded, satisfied.
Mikani and Klenia grabbed the two women's clothes, and more importantly their precious cellphones. While the startled farmworkers were waking up, discovering that they couldn't see, move or talk freely anymore, the two friends quickly changed clothes. While Janna and Jennifer were trying to make themselves heard in spite of their gags, their two muggers hurried to the van.
"We're sorry!" Klenia exclaimed to them. "Just try to struggle and it should take you roughly one hour to free yourselves!"
They grabbed the caps, that were still lying on the ground, on their way to the vehicle.
Then they quickly drove off, leaving the trussed up Jennifer and Janna hidden in the corn field.
“I'm calling Shayna.” Klenia said.
**************
“You better work faster! Or I'll have you all fired!” Margaret shouted at all the farmworkers currently harvesting the fruits. “And where are Jennifer and Janna?! They were supposed to be done with this fence half-an-hour ago! Damn good-for-nothing slackers can't even answer on the phone!”
The forewoman was wearing brown sneakers, black overalls and a red-and-white plaid shirt. She had green-hazel eyes, a dark skin, short deepest brown hair, sharp cheekbones, a tall lanky body, and a pointy chin.
The other workers all lowered their eyes, something that pleased Margaret a lot.
“If anyone needs me, I'll be near the equipment shack. But you better not bother me without a good reason! Michelle, you're in charge. When I'm back, I hope for you that the work is all done!”
**************
The equipment shack was a shed at the other side of the orchard, in which were parked several agricultural machines.
Once there, Margaret pulled out a cigarette. It was time for a break. Nobody would have to know...
“I'm tired of having to deal with these lazy bums...” she muttered to herself while lighting it up.
“Hello.”
A startled Margaret dropped her cigarette and her lighter.
“What the?! Who are you?”
In front of Margaret, there was a black-haired woman in a wheelchair. She wasn't wearing a shirt, or shoes.
The forewoman didn't know how to respond to the sight of a half-naked woman in a wheelchair, who was barefoot and clad in white hospital pants and a white t-shirt bra.
“Is this a prank? 'Cause I don't do pranks.”
Emery pointed her handgun at her. “More like a mugging. Give me your phone.”
The woman's bossy demeanour melted like snow in the sun at the sight of the weapon.
She complied.
“Now, take off your clothes.” Emery said after grabbing the phone.
“Please don't hurt me...” the forewoman whimpered.
Emery rolled her eyes.
“Less talking and more stripping.”
Margaret didn't have the choice.
She dropped her clothes on the floor one after the other. Sneakers, overalls, shirt... When she grabbed the strap of her black lacy bra with a diamond pattern and red trimmings to unhook it, Emery ordered her to stop.
“I'm an assassin, not a pervert.” the black-haired woman dryly commented. “And right now, I'm short on time. You can keep your underwear. Save for the socks. My friend will need them too.”
Margaret removed her burgundy socks, only keeping her bra and her red tanga panties.
“And now?” she asked.
“Now, you lie on the ground.”
**************
Emery gestured Julie to come. Carrying some of Presa's bondage tools from the cottage, the intern came out of hiding.
Emery gave her instructions.
“Okay, first, blindfold her with the scarf. … Tighter, the knot. … Like that. Now, gag her.”
“Did we have to take the ball gag?”
“It's quicker that way. Now, tie her hands behind her back. Use the rope handcuffs I knotted for you. … No, not like that. … Like that, yes. Tighten them. Do the same thing with the ankles.”
“... ... ... Done.” Julie finally said.
The forewoman was now lying on her stomach with her hands tied behind her back and her ankles tied with pink rope handcuffs. She was gagged with a bright red rubber ball gag strapped behind her neck and blindfolded with a black scarf. Margaret wasn't even trying to squirm or let out muffled protests. She was too scared.
“Perfect. Now, drag her inside the shed and hide her there.” Emery said.
Julie followed the instructions.
Once Margaret was out of sight, the intern came back to retrive her new clothes. She sighed.
“What? You should be satisfied. We didn't inflict her any permanent physical damage. And thanks to my plan, she didn't see your face.”
The intern removed the white hospital blouse Emery lent her and threw it at the woman. "Just put back your clothes. "Then, she started to put on the forewoman's shirt and overalls. “And call your friends."
**************
Shayna was in one of the guest rooms of Aster's flower shop, that also doubled as her living house. The blonde was worried.
She thought from the beginning that this infiltration of the Government Palace was a bad idea... But then Klenia made sheep's eyes at her, and her heart couldn't help but melt. Her grilfriend was going with Mikani anyway. The two of them were professionals.
But still... She didn't hear from them since the previous night, just before they started their infiltration. Did something happen to them? Or were they just keeping a low profile?
Shayna couldn't tell the others. Klenia used her charming smile, and bought her silence with plenty of kisses and carresses. She made her promise to not tell anything to Aster or Zoé. Keeping that promise was hard, now that she wasn't hearing anything from her anymore.
However, Shayna wasn't the kind of woman who would let her girlfriend and one of her friends in a dire situation without rushing to their help.
It's settled! I will go and look for them!
Shayna opened the door, but was suddenly forced to stop. Two figures were blocking her path.
Aster and Zoé were standing in front of her.
They were both crossing their arms. There was the same inquisitive look in their eyes, and the same severe expression on their faces.
Aster's position reminded Shayna that, before settling down as a florist, she was the leader of a resistance network. A chief who had dozens of tough people under her command. Zoé was mimicking her perfectly. The blonde wouldn't have been surprised to learn that the kid was drawing inspiration from the portraits of Constantin Basileus, that probably surrounded her during all her childhood, for her bossy expression.
“Alright, Shayna, it's time to fess up.” Aster said.
“F... Fess up?”
“Where are Klenia and Mikani? They disappeared yesterday, and haven't shown up since.”
Shayna nervously gulped. “Why... Why do you think I know?”
“Because you do. What are they up to?”
“Well, you see...”
Shayna's cellphone suddenly rang.
“It's them!” she exclaimed.
“Perfect.” Aster said. “Put it on speaker. I will hear what they have to say for their defense.”
“Listen Shayna. We are in big trouble! You're in danger!” Klenia immediately said as soon as Shayna picked up the phone. “Reka has escaped and Cérès is covering it up!”
**************
Amara waited until Reka was alone to come see her, and tell her what was on her mind.
“Reka. A lot of the girls are nervous. They dread the idea of taking on a full Special Ops team.”
“These people are only human. They are maybe better trained and better armed than most, but take them by surprise and they are knocked out as easily.”
Amara bit her lip. She was a former soldier and an Olympian from the Basileus Faction. She knew what being a soldier meant. She knew that she had to be stern, efficient, professional, and to not question the orders of her commander. Like a good soldier. However, she couldn't help but add:
“You know... As much as it pains me to admit it, I'm starting to wonder if Selena was right. Maybe this revenge isn't a great idea. Maybe this path is...” Amara hesitated. “... self-destructive.”
“Self-destructive?”
“I mean... Last time we tried, we failed and it sent us to prison. In a sense, we were lucky that they took us with them to be brought to prison. They could have left us under the hands of the Solomons... And in the hospital, we were almost captured again.”
“I won't give up. Not now.” Reka retorted. "I'll never give up."
**************
When talking with Amara, Reka realized that it wasn't even anger that was fueling her grudge anymore. It was a different, and strange, feeling. Some mixture of sense of duty and detached fatalism.
Everybody was telling her it wasn't a good idea, but she was going to do it nevertheless. They just didn't realize that... it was the way it had to be.
In Ares, you simply didn't give up on a grudge without being given satisfaction. Plain and simple.
While the people of Ares were known for their vendettas, that coud easily become feuds opposing two families across several generations, their friendships were actually just as strong as their grudges. Reka's family, the BlackHills, and Sao's family, the IronHills, were closely allied.
Reka and Sao basically grew up together, as part of their little band of rowdy youths. They joined the army at the same time, they were sent to Naïad in the same squad, and they were recruited by Calypso together. Sao had always been cold and distant with others, including her friends, even as a child. But Reka still considered her her friend. The killer was maybe Emery but, in her eyes, Aster and her team still took a part in it. For her, they were all equally guilty. Reka couldn't quit trying to avenge her friend.
No, she certainly wasn't going to let go of her grudge.
"If you want to leave, you're free to go. I won't take it bad. I won't try to stop you or to punish you." she finally said to Amara.
"No way. I'm loyal! The other girls too!"
Loyalty. That was a word she could understand.
Reka remained thoughtful for a moment. Then she asked:
"I'm wondering why you're all staying, even though I'm allowing you to leave..."
"Except Amy."
"Amy's a backstabber. I'm contemplating shanking her and be done with it. I don't want to be the farmer of this viper's tale... However, you didn't answer my question. Why are you staying even though I told you you were free to leave?"
Amara shrugged. "I guess we're staying because you told us that we could leave..."
"Well that settles it." Reka concluded. "We are terrible persons: former criminals, former human traffickers, former killers... But at least we are being bad together."
And now the Klenia/Mikani thread intersects with Emery/Julie, in a most amusing way. I love the little "domino effect" of these muggings - Klenia loses her clothes and has to steal new ones from Julie (who had already stolen the clothes from Karin, who then has to wear clothes stolen from a hospital visitor), and Julie now has to steal new clothes from Margaret. At a certain point, we'll need a map to keep track of who's been mugged by whom.
Interesting that this chapter features two instances where clothes stealing is ancillary to vehicle stealing - Reka's team and the cheerleaders, and then Klenia and Mikani and the farmworkers. In both these cases, the clothes are only needed so the muggers won't look suspicious driving around in the transport they've chosen. You'd think that these ladies would make more of an effort to find inconspicuous vehicles so that they wouldn't have to spend precious time divesting the owners of their clothes, but it seems like clothes-stealing is second nature at this point.
I also believe this is the first time that cheerleaders have been mugged in one of your stories. (Not counting Macha's dream.) I'm not sure if stealing their clothes was logically justified, but I did chuckle at the idea of Reka's tough, imposing henchwomen dressed in colorful cheerleading outfits. Too bad it went by so quick - I was hoping there would be more comedic banter around the women choosing such uncharacteristic disguises.
Nice continuity by having Rue and Lily return. I love having characters, even minor ones, reappear from previous adventures. Gives the stories an added sense of community. Though judging by Reka's plans, it sounds like these two are in for another rough time.
This story should just be called: 'Everyone's having a bad USB-day.' Though to their defense, finding inconspicuous vehicles wasn't that easy in their situation (at least for Klenia and Mikani). There aren't many 'normal' cars in the middle of the fields...
First time with cheerleaders indeed, since I don't think that Macha actually stole a cheerleader outfit in her dream. In hindsight, the scene indeed was maybe a little short and there was a missed opportunity for good banters. This was a last-minute addition. Though I could still one day take the time to edit it to add a few lines...
Indeed, Cérès' plan risks being ruined, but not by the people she could have been expecting to ruin it...
Yuna is indeed a veteran; after all she's supposed to have been part of the elite of the government black ops.