Volume 3: Ladies Night

[tirepanted3]

The jokes and quips are great fun to write, so I'm glad they're fun to read as well. Like I've said before, it's always important for the girls to have a sense of humor about their constant mugging and tying up of other women - otherwise it could get monotonous for them.

The whole "mistaken identity mugging" trope is one of my favorites, and I've used it a few times, dating back to "All Tied Up With No Place to Go". Great way to stir up conflicts of interest between the different characters and storylines.

There are (I think) three chapters left to this story, including an extended epilogue of sorts. Still a lot of threads to tie up (and outfits to steal) before we reach the end.

[tirepanted3]

Karima leaned in close - so close, in fact, that Lucille could feel the woman's hot breath on her neck.

"I'll ask only once," Karima said, calmly but coldly. "Where... is... our... money?"

Lucille swallowed. "You need to believe me - I'm not Valencia Steele. This is all a big misunderstandi - oouugghhff!"

She reeled as Karima punched her in the stomach. "Enough of your tricks, bitch."

From behind, Sabira and Yasmin watched their boss rough the woman up.

"Y'know," Sabira sugested, "maybe she's telling the truth."

Karima's jaw tightened. She turned to Lucille. "If you're not Valencia, why were you in her room?"

"I..." Lucille stammered. "It's a long story."

"And I've got a short attention span," Karima replied. She slugged Lucille, knocking her to the ground.

"Enough of this," she said to her cohorts. "Let's just get out of here before this whole place blows."

"What about Nadyne?" Sabira asked. "And where's Haleema?"

Karima sighed. "Let's just move. We'll figure out the roll call later."

The three women left the unconscious Lucille in the laundry room and headed for the elevator.

Just as the elevator doors hissed shut, four other women came thundering down the stairs. Wanda and Kimberly ran left, while Alex and Eliza headed right.

Lucille lay on the ground, head throbbing.

"Easy, miss," Wanda said as she entered the laundry room. "Are you okay?"

"Uuugghhhh..." Lucille tried to sit up.

"Stay calm," Kimberly said. "We'll have you out of here soon enough."

Meanwhile, Alex and Eliza made their way to the other end of the lower level.

"This house is huge," Alex muttered. "They could be hiding anywhere."

From behind one of the doors, Nadyne's ears perked. Voices! If she could only summon up a little more strength...

Eliza listened. "Do you hear something?"

Alex heard it, too. A steady clang-clang from behind one of the doors.

The boiler room was heavy and bolted, but that proved no problem to Alex. She forced it off its hinges and stepped inside.

The sight that greeted her... a bound-and-gagged underwear-clad woman tied to a pipe, sweating heavily... and a bomb mere minutes away from exploding...

******************

Natalie continued flipping through her fashion magazine, one leg crossed over the other.

"Are you going to let me go now?" Betty asked.

"Eventually, I guess," Natalie replied without looking up. "Be happy I at least removed your gag."

"Why'd you let that other girl free?" Betty asked. "What's she got that I haven't?"

"Better hair," Natalie said, still focused on her reading.

Betty sighed. She was beginning to loathe her job. She wondered if it was too late to try for Hollywood again...

Some flashing red and blue lights made Natalie glance out the window. "Oh, great... the police are here."

"The police?" Betty began to feel scared. "Please, you've got to let me go. The cops and I aren't exactly on the best terms."

Natalie pulled down the window shade. "A few of them are headed for this building," she said. "I would not be surprised if they're here to arrest Melissa. Which means they might arrest me..." She took out her compact mirror and fluffed up her hair. "Damn it. I am way too pretty to go to jail."

"How can you be so calm?" Betty asked. "The moment the police set foot in this office, they'll see me tied up in here and they'll toss you in the slammer for kidnapping!"

Natalie sighed "Okay, okay... No need to be such a drama queen. I'll cut you loose." She picked up a pair of scissors from the desk.

As she cut Betty's wrist-ropes, a knock came at the office door. "Police. We're looking for Melissa Marinos."

"That was fast." Melissa stood up. "Here, girl, free your own ankles. I'll be right back."

"What are you going to do?" Betty was visibly shaking. "There's nowhere to run."

Natalie smiled. "Who says we're running?"

She approached the door to the outer office and opened it a crack. "Evening, officers. What's new?"

Standing there were two policewomen - dressed in tan uniform shirts, black pants, sunglasses, and oxfords. The taller woman had long brown hair and looked to be in her mid-thirties, while her twenty-something partner had short black hair with silver highlights.

"Sorry to bug you, ma'am," the taller officer said. "But we're here to ask Ms. Marinos some questions. Is she in this office?"

"As a matter of fact, she is," Natalie replied. "Come on in."

The three women walked through Natalie's room to Melissa's office. Natalie, bringing up the rear, quietly swiped a heavy glass paperweight from her desk.

As the brunette officer entered Melissa's office, she stopped abruptly at the sight of the underwear-clad Betty - who had just finished freeing herself from her bonds.

"What on earth is..."

Before the policewoman could finish her thought, she heard a KLUNK behind her. Whirling, she saw her partner slump to the ground. Natalie stood over her, paperweight in hand.

"Useful little item, this," she grinned.

The brunette officer reached for her gun, but Natalie had already swiped the pistol from her unconscious partner. She pointed the weapon at the policewoman.

"No sudden moves, please. I'd rather this end peacefully, without gunfire."

The officer dropped her gun and put her hands behind her head. "What do you want?" she asked angrily.

"Your uniform, doll," Natalie replied curtly. "Start unbuttoning."

Glaring angrily at her captor, the officer set her jaw. "Go to hell."

Natalie adjusted the weapon. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, darling."

Sullenly, the officer reached for her shirt buttons and began undoing them.

Natalie turned to Betty: "Might want to drag her sleepy playmate into the corner and take her clothes as well. You'll be needing them if we're gonna get out of here."

Betty's face brightened. "Maybe I misjudged you."

"People often do."

Betty picked up the young officer by her underarms and dragged her off to be divested of her clothes.

By now the brown-haired policewoman had stripped off her shirt and unbuckled and stepped out of her pants. This left her resplendent in a pink demicup bra and high-cut white briefs. She glanced down at her oxfords hesitantly.

Natalie nodded. "Not many police officers running around in these puppies." She pointed at her own white sneakers.

Resigned to her predicament, the officer bent down and unlaced first her right shoe, then her left. She kicked off the footwear, then crossed her arms defiantly over her breasts.

"You're doing great," Natalie said in her most encouraging voice. "Now turn around, hands behind your back. I need to find something to tie you up with."

Sighing inwardly, the officer turned around and crossed her wrists over her buttocks.

"Hold that pose," Natalie smiled. "I'm sure Melissa won't mind if I borrow these extension cords from her desk..."

Betty, still in the process of stripping her own victim, paused to watch in amusement as Natalie began binding the helpless brunette.

"You will not get away with this," the policewoman said resentfully. "Assaulting a law officer is punishable by up to... oww... please, not so tight!"

"Sorry," Natalie grinned. "Just gotta make sure you stay put for a while."

The officer made a sour face but saw little purpose in objecting further as Natalie knotted her wrists, then wrapped more cords around her ankles.

By now, Betty was dressing in the uniform of the unconscious officer, who now lay in her rose-pink bra and blue panties. Natalie tossed her some spare cords.

"Be sure to tie her tightly," she instructed. "The longer these two are out of commission, the better."

"If you're so intent on silencing us, why not just pull the trigger," the brunette officer said acidly. "Save a lot of troub - mmmpppphhhh..."

"I'm not really a killer," Natalie said as she tied a thick cloth over the officer's mouth. "Just a girl who sometimes gets in over her head, and needs to resort to... unorthodox methods... to get out."

She dressed herself in the officer's uniform, pants, and shoes, while the bound and gagged policewoman simply glared at her.

"You all set?" Natalie asked.

"Just about." Betty had nearly finished binding her own uniform donor. The gag was a small hand towel from the adjacent bathroom.

The duo then dragged the two ex-policewomen into the closet, laying them side-by-side against the still-sleeping Molly.

"Thanks much, girls," Natalie smiled. "Enjoy your night off."

The conscious policewoman said nothing, but glared venomously at Natalie before the door was shut and the closet was plunged into darkness.

Natalie turned to Betty. "Shall we go?"

Betty grinned. "We shall."

******************

Toshiko reached her two teammates, who had by this point put substantial distance between themselves and the factory building.

"Where's Sloane?" Marina asked.

Toshiko paused, then sadly shook her head. "They... they got her."

Cassandra raised her eyebrows. "No way."

"Way," Toshiko replied. "We need to get out of here before they get us."

"Shouldn't we go back for her?" Marina asked.

"And risk getting caught?" Toshiko snapped. "Don't be an idiot. Let's move."

They reached the exit fairly quickly, but it was filled with police and SWAT officers combing the area.

"Sorry, ladies," one of the officers told them. "Hobson is locked down for the moment. No one gets out."

Marina tried her patented "helpless" look, but the men wouldn't budge. She and her two cohorts trudged back toward the factory.

"They're going to catch us, aren't they?" she asked glumly.

"No, they won't," Toshiko responded. "Not if we can grab some appropriate uniforms..."

****************

It had taken several long and agonizing hours, but Maxine was finally free.

She pushed against the roof of the limo trunk, popping it open. She pulled off her gag and breathed in the night air. Freedom never felt so good.

Her bliss was interrupted by a loud "mmmmpppphhh"ing sound behind her. Clearly, the chauffeur was hoping Maxine would free her as well.

Maxine simply glared at the poor woman. "Idiot. If you hadn't allowed yourself to be mugged for your uniform, none of this would've happened."

She grabbed a tarp from the trunk and wrapped it around her underwear-clad body. Then she took her phone and wallet and exited, shutting the chauffeur inside. "Enjoy... you're going to be in there a while."

She had more important things on her agenda than freeing some foolish chauffeur. She had to check in with her bosses at Vito... She had to find and deal with Adelaide... Try to retain ties with Lucille... And of course, she needed to find some clothes...

That last job seemed top priority at the moment. Fortunately, it also seemed fairly easy to accomplish. She crouched in the bushes near the nightclub exit. Every so often, one of the nightclub patrons would exit the club, sometimes on drunken, wobbly legs.

Maxine was antsy, but many years in the corporate world had taught her patience. She waited in silence, then jumped the first woman who looked about her size and dragged her into the bushes.

The girl wore a pale red short wrap dress and a pair of black cutout heels. It was a bit fancier than Maxine typically treated herself to, but she allowed herself to indulge the luxury. The dress was of comfortable satin and was warmer than it looked. The heels weren't particularly comfortable, but they were certainly stylish and helped Maxine regain some of her lost esteem.

The dress' original owner lay quietly in the dirt, wearing no more than a peach comfort bra and blue bikini panties. Searching the girl's purse, Maxine was delighted to find earphones and a wire charger. These she used to bind the woman hand and foot, finishing things off with a purple handkerchief gag.

"Pleasant dreams, dearest," Maxine chuckled as she exited the bushes.

hen she stopped cold. Leaving the nightclub now were two women garbed in waitress uniforms. But Maxine recognized one of them - the "driver" who had partaken in her ambush earlier than night!

Scowling, Maxine charged at the two unsuspecting women. "You bitches!"

Cora and Diane turned in surprise, just in time for Maxine to tackle them.

****************

"Those police officers sure came fast," Felicia commented.

"Glad I called them," Bridget smiled. "But I don't think any of them have found this Melissa."

"For all we know," Bobbi pointed out, "she might not even be here. She might have escaped, or she could be disguised, or..."

"Yes, thank you, Roberta," Felicia sighed. "We know this is a long shot."

Bridget just shook her head. It had been a wild night, and she still didn't have her story for the morning edition.

"Can I go home now?"

The sound interrupted Bridget's thoughts. She turned to see Prema, looking less nervous than glum.

"I've had enough adventures to last a lifetime," Prema said flatly. "I'm tired of being stripped and kidnapped, and I don't particularly care to steal clothes from other women to escape. I have a job at Dennison. I need to go."

Bridget managed a smile. "Just a few more minutes, 'kay?"

Prema sighed, but saw no purpose in arguing further. She watched the police mull about, and watched as a few workers tried to argue their way out of the facility.

Then she cocked an eyebrow. One of the workers seemed a little... strange somehow. The dark-haired woman wore a green worksuit that marked her as one of the company's forewomen, yet something about the way she was waving her hands...

Prema suddenly blinked. She grabbed Bridget and whispered something into her ear. Bridget looked surprised, then smiled.

She walked over to a pair of police officers at the exit and pointed to the worksuited woman. "There's Ms. Marinos," she declared. "Arrest her."

Hearing this, Melissa's eyes widened. She turned to run, but Felicia stuck her boot out. Melissa fell to the dirt, and the cops quickly nabbed her.

The officers brought her to her feet, and all could see who she was now. Melissa glared venomously at Bridget. "Who the hell are you?"

"Just a concerned citizen," Bridget smiled.

As Melissa was led away for questioning, Bobbi turned to Prema. "Okay. How'd you see through her disguise?"

"I looked at her hands," Prema explained. "A real forewoman would have rugged, calloused hands from all the physical work the job demands. But this woman's hands were clean and smooth, with perfect polished nails. She had to be an impostor."

Bridget padded her on the back. "Nice detective work, babe."

"Don't call me babe." Prema shuffled away from Bridget

Bridget sighed. "Sorry."

****************

"Easy, miss," Alex said. "I'll have this thing defused in a moment."

She had fortunately had some training in munitions during her military years, and her hands moved dexterously over the bomb.

Still, Nadyne continued to sweat profusely - both from the heat and the nervousness in knowing that she could die at any moment.

Fortunately, Alex was true to her word. The explosive froze before the countdown reached thirty seconds.

Nadyne breathed a sigh of relief and let her body sink back against the boiler. She jumped impulsively at the heat.

"Let's get you out of here," Alex said, cutting Nadyne's ropes. "Then we'll get all this sorted out."

"That was amazing, boss," Eliza smiled.

Alex smiled back. "Couldn't have done it without you, soldier."

They met Wanda and Kimberly, as well as a shaking Lucille, at the stairwell.

"Do you hear something?" Wanda asked. "It sounds like... sirens."

The women hurried upstairs, and out to the front yard. Three black vans were pulling up to the mansion, as well as a couple of ambulances.

"Did someone call the cops?" Kimberly inquired.

"I don't think those are the cops," Alex replied as several armor-clad women stepped out of the vans. "Looks more like... FBI."

Two of the armor-clad women headed for the front entrance. They approached the still-shaking, underwear-clad brunette.

"Are you Lucille Weldon-Grant?" one of them asked.

"Y... yes?"

"You're under arrest," the woman said, grabbing her shoulder. "For the assault of Valencia Steele."

"W-what?? But... but I didn't..."

"Give it up, dear," came a voice behind her. Valencia was descending the stairs, draped in a bedsheet to cover herself. "The game is up."

*******************

Two SWAT officers combed the area around one of the factory sheds.

Both women were dressed from head to toe in black tactical gear - face-covering helmet, thick sweater, combat pants, tall boots. They shined their flashlights around, looking for any holes in the fence.

"Area seems secure," the shorter woman said. "Find anything?"

"No," her taller partner replied. "Where's Becky? She was supposed to search this area with us."

"I'm right here, you guys." The officers turned to see a third woman in SWAT uniform, beckoning them inside the shed. "Come on, I think I found something."

Intrigued, the two agents followed their partner into the shed.

They gasped at the sight. Seated on the floor was a tall, broad-shouldered woman with long blonde hair, dressed only in a frilly pink comfort bra and white control top panties. She was gagged with blue duct tape and trussed up with thick black cord.

"Becky?" one of the SWAT women gasped. "But who..." she turned to the third uniformed woman.

With a laugh, Marina removed her helmet. "Evening, girls. I hope you'll share your uniforms as willingly as your friend did."

Angrily, the two women reached for their weapons. Marina sighed. "Guess not."

Abruptly, the two agents were roughly grabbed from behind by Toshiko and Cassandra. Marina shut the door, humming a tune to herself as the two SWAT women were convinced to take an early slumber.

Toshiko and Cassandra sat the SWAT girls up against the wall and stripped them, revealing the two women to be an oval-faced girl with alabaster skin and light brown hair and a dark-skinned girl with black hair and an aquiline nose. The former wore a light blue soft-cup bra covered in black dots and lime-green boyshorts, while the latter had on a black athletic bra and pink hipsters. Both women were gagged and bound just as their sister-in-arms was.

"Dress quickly," Toshiko ordered as she began changing clothes. "The faster we get our asses out of here, the better."

Cassandra nodded, pulling on the stolen sweater. "What about Whitney? Or Darla?"

"No time," Toshiko replied, pulling on her own SWAT uniform. "If they got out, they'll meet us back at the hideout. Hurry up."

[tirepanted3]

"Mmmmpphhh!"

"Hhhhrrmmpppphhhh! Rrrrmmmppphhh!"

Maxine grinned down at her two captives. "Sorry, dearies... but turnabout is fair play."

From their position behind the bushes, Cora and Diane could only glare at her in fury. Once again, they had been stripped to their underwear, their freshly acquired waitress uniforms torn up and used to bind and gag them.

"The question remains... what to do with you..." Maxine tapped her chin. Then a smile spread across her face. "Yes, I think I have it."

She pulled out her phone and dialed a long series of numbers, as her two unwilling "guests" continued to struggle painfully.

*****************

Bobbi started the engine of one of Hobson's old utility vehicles. She turned to Felicia. "Shall we go?"

Felicia nodded. "I'll go get our friends."

She found Bridget trying to convince Prema to accompany them.

"Come on," Bridget said with a smile. "We'll escort you back to Dennison. You've been through a lot tonight."

"I don't want to go with you," Prema responded coldly.

"Why not?"

Prema sighed. "Before I met you, my life was normal and boring. Since I crossed paths with you, it's been one mess after another. In the past few hours, I've been kidnapped, stripped, tied up, threatened, kidnapped again, threatened again..."

"And you've emerged just fine," Bridget responded. "You're one of the most capable women I've ever seen."

Felicia eyed Prema's janitor uniform. "Maybe a change of clothes will cheer you up. Want to head to the Hobson offices? There's a lot of businesswomen there. We can mug one for her outfit."

Prema glared at her. "No! No more attacking innocent women for their clothes. You girls should be ashamed for all the helpless women you've left tied up in their underwear."

Felicia thought for a moment. "How about this... If you let us escort you back to Dennison, I promise not to mug any women for their uniforms for the next... two weeks."

Bridget laughed. "I don't think you can last that long, Licia."

"Can, too!"

Prema sighed. "You're not going to just let me go, are you?" she said. "Fine... Just take me straight to Dennison. Then get out of my sight forever."

****************

"Who the hell called the FBI?" Sabira muttered.

"No idea," Karima replied. "But there's no question I'm on their most wanted list. And there's no way they'll just let us leave the mansion grounds."

The three women crouched near the eastern wall of the mansion. Yasmin peeked out at the crowded front yard. "Gotta be some way out..."

Her eye fell on one of the ambulances. Two nurses had just exited from it - dressed from head to toe in light blue scrubs and caps. One of the women was red-haired and fair-skinned; the other had a tan complexion and curly brown hair beneath her cap. They were headed towards the front door.

Yasmin's eyes lit up. "I'll be right back."

The nurses approached the door, where now stood Valencia, Alex, Kimberly, Wanda, Eliza, a semi-conscious Nadyne, and a shaking Lucille, who was now being cuffed by a pair of FBI agents.

"Excuse me," the redheaded nurse piped up. "We received a call that the owner of this mansion had been attacked. We'd like to check on her."

"I'm perfectly fine," Valencia retorted. "I was detained for a bit, but this imbecile..." She gestured at Lucille. "...hasn't the foggiest idea how to tie someone up. I cut myself free and called a source of mine at the FBI. I don't need a hospital."

At that moment, an Arab woman in chef's uniform raced up to the nurses. "I know of someone who can use your help," she said breathlessly. "Behind the mansion... one of the maids was hurt... She needs medical attention."

Nadyne's ears perked up. She recognized the voice... Yasmin!

She looked at the "chef" and tried to call out her name... but her mouth was still too dry to form words.

Yasmin caught her eye for but a moment, and looked a bit surprised.

Help me! Nadyne thought to herself. Please, please! Don't let the FBI take me away!

But Yasmin simply ignored her and beckoned to the nurses. "Come, quickly now!"

The two nurses hurried to follow Yasmin, as Nadyne felt her heart sink.

Still, all was not lost... Maybe the authorities would just let her go... As far as they knew, she was just some damsel trapped in a boiler room...

"Hey!" One of the FBI agents looked closely at Nadyne. "I... know you."

Nadyne looked up in surprise. Then she recognized the woman - Doreen!

Doreen pointed at her. "You... you're one of Karima's girls! You attacked me and my partners... tied us up... stole our clothes. You terrorist bitch..."

Nadyne could not believe her rotten luck as she, too, was cuffed.

Doreen turned to Alex and her team. "Well done. You've captured a dangerous criminal."

Alex seemed surprised, then nodded. "Of course. That was... yes, we knew she was a terrorist."

"We did?" Wanda whispered, earning her an elbow jab from Kimberly.

"There's another one tied up behind the mansion," Eliza piped up. "We caught her about twenty minutes ago."

"Good work, all of you," Doreen smiled. "It's good to see that Valencia Steele has hired such excellent security guards."

Valencia eyed the four women suspiciously. "I don't recognize any of you. When did you start working here?"

Alex looked at her watch. "Er... our shift's almost over. Better get moving."

Over on the shadowed side of the mansion, the two nurses following Yasmin looked around. "Where's the medical emergency?" the brunette asked.

"It's more of a wardrobe emergency," Karima chuckled as she and Sabira emerged from hiding.

While Karima and Sabira were busy knocking the hapless nurses into dreamland, Yasmin peeked around the corner once more and watched as Nadyne was led away in handcuffs. Minutes later, a well-secured Haleema was carried toward one of the FBI vans as well.

Yasmin blew them a quiet kiss. "So long, girls..." she whispered. "We'll be just fine without you."

Karima and Sabira were too busy stripping the nurses down to their hospital-issued white bras and panties to notice that two of their number were now being carted away. They secured and gagged the nurses with some spare duct tape and changed into the new uniforms.

"Guess you'll be the 'patient' we carry to one of the ambulances," Sabira told Yasmin. "Why are you smiling?"

"Oh... no reason," Yasmin replied. "Let's go, shall we?"

*******************

Maxine watched as a large laundry van pulled up to the curb.

The driver-side door opened, and a young woman stepped out. She was tall and wiry, with brown skin, dressed in the white uniform shirt and pants of a laundry attendant.A small but sharp knife was strapped to her belt. She approached Maxine and nodded.

"My name is Farah," she said with a hint of a British accent. "Do you have the merchandise?"

Maxine looked her over. "You... they sent you?"

Farah nodded again. "Is there a problem?"

"You're so young! A teenager!"

"I'm twenty," Farah responded with a flat tone. "And I've got experience far beyond my years. Where are the girls?"

Maxine hesitated, then pointed behind the bushes.

"Well, bring them out," Farah responded. "Take them to the rear of the truck."

Despite the girl's youth, something in her tone made Maxine fearful. She hurried to obey.

As she brought the two bound-and-gagged prisoners to the rear of the van, Farah flung the doors open. Maxine gasped.

On the floor of the van were six... seven... eight women, all stripped down to their bras and panties, all bound with clothesline and gagged with tape. The women shrank bank as Farah tossed their two new "roommates" into the back of the van.

"Who... who are they?" Maxine asked.

"My collection tonight," Farah replied. "I started by jumping Viola" - she pointed to a blonde woman in the rear in blue comfort bra and pink panties - "for her laundry truck and uniform, then headed around town finding other women to pick up." She shut the doors. "They'll sell for a hefty profit... as will your two contributions."

Maxine smiled. "Impressive," she said. "You're quite a professional."

"I suppose," Farah replied as she walked back to the front of the truck. "Though I'm still smarting from the shipment I lost last week."

"What do you mean?" Maxine asked curiously.

Farah sighed. "I kidnapped a team of handball girls a few nights ago. But some stupid woman stole them from me. I'd love to get my hands on her..."

"Handball..." Something clicked in Maxine's head. She pulled out her phone and found an online photo of Adelaide. "Is this the woman?"

Farah's eyebrows raised as she saw the photo. "That's her exactly. How did you know?"

"I had my own run-in with this bitch," Maxine replied. "Her name's Adelaide Sterling. I heard about her through some black-market reports about her kidnapping a handball team. Figured she was good for the job I had planned... but she betrayed me."

Maxine looked up at Farah. "Say... you wouldn't want to join me in getting a little... revenge... on deal Adelaide, would you?"

"Revenge is such a dirty word," Farah replied. "I prefer the term 'justice'." She smiled and patted the knife on her belt.

Maxine grinned. "Excellent. Now, she mentioned something about 'color guards'... I think I have some ideas about where she'll be..."

******************

Bridget pulled the van up to the entrance of Dennison.

"Your stop, madam," she smiled.

Prema simply huffed and exited the vehicle.

"Are you going to be okay?" Bridget called after her.

Prema turned. "I haven't been 'okay' since I met you," she said through gritted teeth. "This is your last warning. Stay out of my life, forever. The next time you cross my path, I will call the cops. That's a promise."

Bridget said nothing else. She simply watched as Prema disappeared into the Dennison facility.

Then she turned back to Bobbi and Felicia. "Is she being too harsh on me?"

"Not harsh enough," Bobbi said with a smile. "You did fuck her life up pretty bad."

"Watch that mouth, Bob!" Felicia chuckled. "Bridget's a good gal. Prema will figure that out eventually. Maybe."

"Thanks a lot." Bridget rolled her eyes as she steered the van away from the facility.

*******************

Three Palms one of the biggest marinas in Florida, with gleaming yachts moored to their docks, ready to transport their wealthy owners across the water. Most of these ocean-lovers waited until sunrise to set sail, though occasionally some would attempt a run while the sky was still dark.

Brooke and Georgina were two such people. Typically, the women would accompany their husbands on their weekly trips around the coastline, but the men had an unappealing tendency to yell and chug beers and ruin the otherwise serene mood. This time, the two decided they would sneak away during the night, to enjoy a more peaceful evening and perhaps sip a little champagne as they watched the sun rise.

The women met on the docks just after four AM.

"Darling, you look lovely!" Brooke gushed.

Georgina smiled. "Just trying to stick to the dress code."

The two women had decided beforehand to dress in identical clothes fit for an ocean voyage. They wore white button-down short-sleeve shirts, white capri pants, and polished black shoes. Both women also wore cloth neckerchiefs, though Brooke's was violet while Georgina's was a florally decorated blue. Brooke wore her dark hair in a tight bun, while Georgina let her blonde tresses flow free.

"Shall we take to the seas?" Brooke asked.

"Aye, matey," Georgina giggled.

The women linked arms and strode down the wooden dock towards their yacht.

"Not so fast, ladies."

The two friends turned to see a tall woman behind them, dressed in a Nomex flight suit. She approached in a calm, cool demeanor, but her smile was nothing if not sinister.

"I'm afraid there's been a change of itinerary," Lucinda said.

"Indeed." The girls whirled to see another woman step out of the shadows in front of them. "My wife and I will be borrowing your boat."

Brooke glanced nervously back and forth as the two smiling women closed in. "What... what are you talking about? You can't simply take what's ours!"

"But we can," Lucinda chuckled. "Hand over the keys at once."

Georgina could see the women meant business. "O... okay." She reached into her pocket and procured the keys, handing them to Meredith. "Please, we don't want any trouble."

"No trouble at all," Meredith grinned. "There's just one other thing we need from you."

Brooke gulped. "Wh... what's that?"

"Your outfits," Lucinda replied. "Hand over your clothing at once."

Brooke was taken aback. "You can't be serious!"

"Deadly serious," Lucinda said, eyes glinting. "Let's not dawdle, shall we? Unless you'd rather take a sudden swim."

"I hear the sharks are hungry this time of night," Meredith added.

"Brooke, honey, don't argue," Georgina replied. She had already begun unbuttoning her shirt. "We'll be okay... Just... Just give them your clothes."

"Good girl," Lucinda nodded. Then to Brooke: "I suggest you take your friend's advice."

Brooke's eyes darted around... but the four women were alone at the docks. With a sigh, she reached for her top button.

Sixteen minutes later, Brooke and Georgina were no longer thinking about yachts or champagne or ocean sunrises. Instead, their minds were more focused on the thick ropes that bound them, the colored neckerchiefs that gagged them, and the smelly fish barrels which imprisoned them.

Helplessly trapped, Brooke wore nothing more than a green seashell bra and azure panties. Georgina had opted for a plain white cotton set to match her now-stolen outfit, though the underwear had some light pink trimming.

"Darling, you look lovely!" Lucinda gushed.

Meredith smiled. "Damn right I do."

She chuckled and gave a mock twirl. The sailing outfit and shoes were a bit tight, but they did the job. On the off-chance that anyone encountered them at sea, they would simply look like a pair of women out for a cruise.

Lucinda draped her arms over Meredith's shoulders. "You know... crazy as it sounds, I like being a fugitive. I get to see you in all these beautiful new outfits... and we have plenty of time to spend together."

"Amen to that," Meredith chuckled. "Shall we be off?"

The women locked arms as they stepped onto the yacht... and set sail to new horizons.

******************

With Hobson's facility largely secured, and its villainous Vice President being escorted away by the police along with Darla and Whitney, things began to settle down for the late-night workers. It was only when one of the guards happened into the basement security room and glimpsed an unconscious woman on one of the screens that the factory got one last buzz for the night.

An ambulance was quickly called, and the uniformed woman was placed upon a stretcher.

"Who is she?" one of the guards asked as the doctors carted the woman into the back of the vehicle.

"Never seen her on our security detail," another guard replied. "But the doctors say she's lucky. She inhaled a lot of toxic gas... Must've been a leak in the basement. An ordinary woman would have been killed, but she's still alive... barely. Doctors say she could be comatose for months."

The ambulance blared its siren and drove off in the direction of Mercy Hospital.

Inside, Sloane lay motionless, her breathing barely noticeable. To the outside world, she was a goner.

Involuntarily, though, her finger twitched.

***************

"All right, everyone," Lorelei announced to her fellow FBI agents. "The criminals are secure. Let's get moving."

She watched as the armored FBI troops returned to the vans, mentally checking them off as they went. Then she looked around. "Where are Tessa and Mallory? Pretty sure they joined us on this run."

"I think they were searching the far side of the mansion," Verna offered.

Lorelei lifted her radio. "Tess, Mal, do you copy?"

From the far side of the mansion, Chandra lifted the radio to her lips. "Copy. We'll be there in sixty seconds."

She had just finished lacing up the knee-length black boots of her new FBI uniform.

Shutting off the radio, she turned the Sonja. "Hurry up, girl. They're getting suspicious."

"Almost done." Chandra finished strapping on her black vest and reached for her face-concealing helmet. "All things considered, this was one of our better takedowns tonight."

The women had awoken in a closet some ten minutes earlier, alerted by all the noises outside. Sneaking out of the house through the rear exit, they decided their best option was to blend in with the FBI women combing the premises. It had not been difficult finding two agents who were their size, or jumping and overpowering them when no one else was around.

Those two agents were now unconscious and concealed in a small tool shed behind the mansion. Tessa, of golden blond hair and soft features, was down to her navy-colored sports bra and orange floral bikini panties, while the dark-haired, angular-faced Mallory had been reduced to a teal underwire bra and blue boyshorts. Both women had been securely tied with ropes and gagged with tape from the supply shed.

"Don't they look adorable?" Sonja smiled. "I never figured FBI agents would have such good taste in underwear. Back in Russia, most women had the most boring white bras and panties..."

Chandra eyed her as she shut the door to the shed. "How do you know what kind of underwear the women of Russia wore?"

"Didn't I tell you?" Sonja smiled. "I worked for the SVR before coming to America. Had to disguise myself a lot in those days. It's where I learned the fine art of 'borrowing' clothes..."

The radios crackled. "Are you two coming, or are we leaving without you?"

"Time for stories later," Chandra said. "Let's move!"

As they headed to the mansion entrance, Sonja spotted Lucille handcuffed in the rear of one of the vans.

"We gonna break her out?" she asked.

"Of course," Chandra replied. "But for the moment, we need to lie low. Not raise the authorities' suspicions. Just try to blend in with the other federal agents."

They reached the van with little hassle and stepped inside, finding seats next to the other uniformed women.

"Joining the FBI," Sonja whispered. "This could be fun."

"Or it could be disastrous," Chandra replied. "Let's tread carefully from here."

As the vans exited the mansion, none of the FBI agents suspected that there were now two impostors in their midst.

[rufusluciusivan]

"I..." Lucille stammered. "It's a long story."

"And I've got a short attention span," Karima replied.

I chuckled, and the reading got off on the right foot. Though I won't list all the quips, I wasn't disappointed. Not much to say. Still a solid installment, I'm now waiting for the epilogue to try and make a global comment about the entire story. I think I'm getting some of the glimpses of the plot of the next story, and I just realized that we haven't seen Dr. Chen again. Though not uniform stealing-related, I liked how you took the time to develop Prema and her perspective on Bridget and the others.

I'll admit that I'm feeling conflicted about the fact that some of the most "evil" characters and the human traffickers are very likely to get away scot free (again in the case of Karima, that was already the case with Zuhal and the handball coach in the previous story), but I'll wait for the epilogue, and this is only my personal taste anyway. (In a way, it's a proof that they are well-written: I care enough about the story to not want to see them win and to want to see them punished. )

[tirepanted3]

I wasn't sure there were enough quips in the latest installment, since I was more concerned in wrapping up the story. Glad you're still enjoying the dialogue.

I like Prema quite a bit, so I'm glad she's proven popular in the comments. She's not a typical USB girl (rarely stealing uniforms, and not enjoying it on the occasions that she does), but she provides some balance to Bridget and her fellow action girls.

I hear what you're saying about so many villainous characters getting away (even though a few of them do get arrested at the end of this story). Rest assured, this is not the end of the series - and we haven't seen the last of some of these bad girls.

The final chapter should be posted soon, after which I will post the next "Sports Team" story and then start Volume 4. Expect some familiar faces to return there...

[tirepanted3]

Although Olive's military career had ended rather abruptly, she had picked up several skills along the way. Among these was the ability to untie knots, no matter how tight or intricate.

Unfortunately, the knots she was currently bound with were some of the tightest and most intricate she'd ever seen. What's more, she had been stuffed inside an old barrel by her assailant, making maneuvering rather difficult. It had thus taken her several hours to untangle the ropes from her wrists.

Still, she was almost done... Just a few more twists and turns, and...

"Hey, girl!"

Olive squinted as the lid of the barrel was pulled off. Standing there and shining a flashlight down at her was Wanda.

"Looks like you got a little..."

'Don't say it,' Olive thought to herself. 'Oh god, I spent all these hours trying to get free... Please don't say it...'

"TIED UP! Ha!" Wanda finished. "Sorry, sorry... it's been a long night."

"Hhhrrrmmmmppphhh!" Olive grunted into her gag, roughly translated as "You're telling me."

"Calm down, hon, I'll free you," Wanda sighed, reaching for her friend's gag. "You act like you're the only member of our team who was mugged and stripped of her uniform tonight."

At that moment, her radio crackled. "Kimberly here. I found three of our girls tied up and gagged in some crates."

"Damn it, I've only found two so far!" Wanda exclaimed. "Still a few left. Bet you a week's salary I can find more than you."

Kimberly laughed. "You're on."

*******************

Valencia chuckled to herself as she returned to her bedroom.

True, her plan had failed - but she had gotten away without any repercussions. Lucille was going to jail. Karima hadn't gotten any of her money, and was on the run from the law once again. And she was making plans to hire lawyers in case Karima's captured henchwomen tried to talk.

Moaning sounds came from her bed. She noticed the two guards, still clad in their underwear, bound and gagged on the bedspread. Their eyes begged for their boss to free them.

"Big help you two were," Valencia scoffed. "I had to deal with that idiot Lucille myself. You can stay tied up for a few more hours... Consider it punishment. Be glad I don't fire you."

She sat down at her desk and reopened her laptop. She would have to explain her absence to the other Cerberus boardmembers. Obviously, she would blame Lucille - and given the evidence, no one would argue with her.

Her plan had failed... but she was free. Free to try again. And she most certainly would.

For now, there were still some loose ends to tie up. Ginger would have to be silenced, on the off-chance that she might talk to the authorities. There was also the matter of bribing Audrey - perhaps she could convince the girl to supply some incriminating evidence against Lucille.

She picked up her phone and called her secretary. "Atsuko? Good, you're still awake. Let me ask... how friendly are you with Ms. Weldon-Grant's secretary? Audrey, the one with the brown hair... Good, good... Do you think you could set up a meeting between her and I? ... No, no, it's not about replacing you. Just... business things. Thanks, darling."

Valencia hung up the phone and grinned. All was well.

********************

"No... No, please, don't... Help! Help!"

THWACK

The blonde fell to the pavement. Yasmin grabbed her ankles and dragged her into the alley.

"Imagine," she laughed. "Calling for help at this time of night... in this crappy neighborhood. Can you say dumb?"

She sat the girl up against the wall and began unzipping her blouse. "Honey, if you're traipsing around by yourself at 4 AM, you deserve to get your clothes stolen."

Nearby, Karima and Sabira had changed out of their nurse uniforms and were dressing in some fresh new clothes. Karima was pulling on a dark shirt, gold jacket, and blue knee-length skirt, as well as some white tights and three-inch black heels, while Sabira was dressing in a sleeveless green blouse, blue jeans, and brown cowgirl boots.

The original owners of these clothes - a thick-thighed redhead and an almond-skinned brunette - lay off to one side, both bound and gagged with medical tape from the ambulance the women had just vacated. The redhead wore a green push-up bra and white speckled panties, while the brunette had an amusingly "patriotic" set of blue demicup bra and red-and-white striped panties.

"Not sure why we needed to change clothes again," Sabira stated as she squeezed her legs into the jeans.

"We've got to stay as below-the-radar as possible," Karima explained. "The FBI is after us, remember? Driving around in an ambulance without medical ID isn't exactly inconspicuous."

"I like it," Yasmin smiled as she unlaced the blonde's sneakers and lay them beside her white blouse and black skirt. This left the girl in her cream-colored balconette bra and matching high-top panties. "Keeps things exciting."

Sabira eyed Yasmin strangely. This girl seemed to be "excited" by everything, to an almost dangerous degree. For some reason, Yasmin was beginning to raise her suspicions... but about what?

Little could Sabira suspect that Yasmin had been the one to secretly defuse the bomb back at Cerberus. It had been risky - likely Karima would kill her if she knew - but Yasmin enjoyed taking these risks. She liked working for Karima, she liked the idea of explosive missions - and she liked screwing around once in a while, to keep things unpredictable.

Yasmin also didn't care for Karima's other henchwomen - she wanted to be the star pupil. So she was glad that Nadyne and Haleema were out of the picture. Perhaps Sabira would be next...

"Finish dressing," Karima piped up. "It's time to go."

Yasmin nodded. "Sure thing, boss." She had already taped up the blonde and was now buttoning up her new blouse.

Karima turned away and stepped out of the alley, looking up at the stars. A beautiful night. Presumably, the FBI had defused her bombs at the mansion - pity. There was a good chance they had captured Nadyne and Haleema - pity (about Haleema, anyway). Still, she had once again escaped their clutches, and was on the prowl.

Catching her reflection in a tinted shop window, Karima reflexively struck a pose. Much as she hated to admit it... she did look good in skirts.

"Think I'll keep this one," she smiled to herself.

********************

Natalie glanced in her rearview mirror. "Don't see anyone following. Looks like we're clear."

Betty sighed glumly. "That's cool."

The two women had stolen a police car - thanks to their disguises, no one had stopped them. They were now cruising along the A1A, with hardly another car in sight.

Natalie raised an eyebrow. "You don't sound thrilled."

"I screwed up," Betty replied. "Again. I was too confident. I thought Melissa could use my help, but..."

"Ignore Melissa," Natalie interrupted. "I worked for that woman for three years. Pays well, but her thirst for power has blinded her to reality."

Betty gazed out the window. "So where do I go now?"

Natalie considered. "You still interested in the color guard tournament?"

Betty looked surprised. "I guess... but isn't that Adelaide woman taking care of it?"

"Yeah... but there are multiple teams competing. She may need some extra help."

Betty brightened. "Sounds like fun."

Natalie nodded. "Kidnapping sporty college girls is a great way to improve one's mood."

Both women laughed as the car headed towards Tampa.

*******************

Toshiko was feeling quite content as she pulled the van into the Saboteuses' warehouse. It was nice to have a drive without being yelled at.

Cassandra was less thrilled. "This is awful," she said. "Our team's been cut in half. What are we going to do?"

"We will carry on," Toshiko replied tersely. "I was second-in-command before, which makes me team leader now. We'll take on more assignments without Sloane and the others."

Marina yawned. "For now, I'm just going to bed. It's been a rough night."

"Rough night." Cassandra rolled her eyes. "I was tied up and had my clothes stolen, but she's the one who had a rough night."

"That reminds me," Toshiko piped up. "We should check on our prisoners."

The three women made their way into the hideout. Toshiko headed for the closet and opened the door.

She blinked in surprise. There were still four underwear-clad women bound and gagged on the closet floor, but they were certainly not the same women whom they had tied up earlier.

"Who the hell...?" She impulsively reached for the tall brunette's gag and removed it.

"Thank goodness you're here," the woman gasped. "They attacked us... stripped us... we've been stuck here for hours. Please free us."

Toshiko's first thought, of course, was to kill the four women who had been unlucky enough to stumble into their hideout. But she quickly realized that these prisoners didn't know it was a hideout, nor that she was a wanted criminal.

"Er... yeah, I'll free you," she said "Let me go find something to cut the bonds..."

She retreated to the kitchenette, where Cassandra had just brewed up some coffee. "Well, the good news is, we're not going to have a murder rap on our heads. The bad news is... when this is over, we may need to find a new hideout."

Cassandra eyed her strangely. "What the hell are you talking about? If there are prisoners here, just kill them before they cause any trouble."

"Don't question me," Toshiko growled. "I'm the boss, remember?"

Cassandra paused, then nodded. "...Right."

Toshiko grabbed a knife from the counter and headed back to the closet.

Cassandra sipped her coffee as she watched her new employer go. Toshiko didn't seem to be taking Sloane's loss too hard; she wondered why.

*******************

Prema sighed as she scanned the spreadsheet on her office computer.

"It's gonna be impossible to calculate employee work hours," she murmured. "So many Dennison workers went 'on break' while impostors strolled around in their uniforms."

Standing before her desk, Alex nodded silently.

"We should fire you," Prema said. "You and your security team are supposed to protect this place. Instead, most of your girls got ambushed and had their uniforms stolen by wanted criminals. I was kidnapped and almost killed."

Alex nodded again. "Ma'am, I swear to you, this won't happen again. I promise you that the members of my force who allowed themselves to be stripped and tied up - once we find where they've all been hidden - will be severely reprimanded."

Prema sighed again. "The police surveyed the damage done to Warehouse 1. No one was seriously hurt. And according to news reports, it seems like a couple of the bombers were captured."

Alex smiled. "Yes, a pair of Arab girls. My team and I helped catch them."

"Arab?" Prema said. "No, they were white women."

Alex was puzzled by this, but decided not to press further.

"You and your team are on probation," Prema said. "You'll all work at reduced pay for the next month. If there are no more security breaches for that period, we'll return you to your full salaries. Otherwise, we'll have to terminate your contracts."

Alex reflexively clenched her fists... then relaxed them. "Yes, boss."

"Thank you for your time." Prema returned to her computer, though her eyes watched as the security chief left the room.

"How'd it go?" Eliza had been standing right outside.

"It could've gone worse," Alex replied. "Let's get back to our posts, shall we?"

She managed a small smile as she said it. Eliza beamed. It was nice to know that Alex could smile.

Back in her office, Prema sighed once more. She hated being such a harsh boss... but there needed to be leadership at Dennison.

And besides, throwing herself into her work was a good way to get her mind off that horrid Baxter woman...

****************

Bridget finished typing out her story and leaned back in her chair, hands behind her head.

"Don't your fingers ever ache from all that speed-typing?" Bobbi asked.

"She's doesn't feel that kind of pain," Felicia commented. She lay back in the couch and propped her legs up on Bridget's coffee table. "She's practically a robot. Beep boop... must get story..."

Bridget turned. "I can see you're real exhausted, Licia. Even your jokes are getting lazier."

"Beep boop... must disguise self to get story... must find woman my size..."

Bridget laughed, then thought for a moment. "Speaking of disguises... Felicia, didn't you make a little promise to Prema?"

"Hm?"

"What's she talking about?" Bobbi asked.

"Felicia told Prema that she wouldn't mug any women for their uniforms for the next... two weeks, wasn't it?" Bridget smiled.

Felicia sat up. "Yeah, I guess I said that. So what?"

Bobbi laughed. "Girl, you can't go two days without stealing another woman's clothes."

"Can too!" Felicia said indignantly. "You don't think I've got self-control?"

Bobbi and Bridget glanced at each other. Then they both started laughing again.

"Hmph." Felicia crossed her arms. "Well, you'll see. I always keep my promises."

She lay back down on the couch, trying to figure out good ways to get scoops without having to steal uniforms.

Eventually, the hour became too late for serious thought, and she was fast asleep. Bobbi, too, had by that time nodded off beside her.

Bridget watched her two friends sleep, the glanced out the window. It was almost sunrise.

"Been a busy night, girls," she mused. "And I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings."

***************





EPILOGUE


It was mid-morning by the time the yacht ran out of fuel.

"How could this happen?" Meredith asked. "Don't rich folks always keep their boats full and ready?"

"Guess they don't usually go this far out into the Atlantic," Lucinda replied glumly. "Looks like we're stuck."

Meredith squinted off to the horizon. "Wait... is that..."

She found a pair of binoculars in the yacht's tackle box and focused her vision. "Lucy, there's... there's land not far from here."

Lucinda held out her hand. "Let me see."

She gazed through the binoculars and smiled. "Well, I'll be. Good job, hon."

Meredith looked to the side of the yacht. "Shall we take the lifeboat?"

It took a while for the two women to paddle through the water in the flimsy wooden boat, using only a couple of oars and a shaky rudder as their guide. Still, they reached the palm-dotted shoreline soon enough.

"Looks like an island," Lucinda noted. "Too many rocks near the shore to paddle closer. We'll have to swim the rest of the way."

Dripping wet, the ladies set foot on the sandy beach. It seemed deserted... until Lucinda noticed some relatively fresh footprints in the wet sand.

"We're not alone," she smiled. "Let's head inland. Find some fresh food, maybe some dry clothes."

They stepped through the trees, eventually coming across a man-made pathway. Meredith was just about to inquire about the nature of their surroundings when they heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

Quickly hiding behind some tall ferns, Meredith and Lucinda watched as the newcomers came into view. Two women, both tall and well-toned - one a fair-skinned woman with long red curls, the other a black woman with yellow pixie-cut hair. They were dressed in tight white bodysuits with matching gloves and boots, and had M-16 rifles slung over their shoulders.

"Who the hell are they?" Meredith whispered.

Lucinda grinned. "They're our new wardrobe, of course."

As the two uniformed figures passed by the ferns, two hands reached out and grabbed Miss Pixie-Cut. The redhead whirled as her friend was pulled into the undergrowth. "What the..." Then two more hands grabbed her shoulders and yanked her into the bushes as well.

A few solid punches were all it took to end the rather one-sided fight. The trees around them shook, scaring away a few birds, as the two gunwomen were rather aggressively afforded the opportunity of a midday nap.

Meredith and Lucinda stripped the women down to their underwear - both wore identical white sports bras with blue trimming and cream-colored panties - and wriggled their bodies into the dry clothes.

"Damn, this uniform make my ass look big," Meredith noted as she zipped herself up.

Lucinda gazed admiringly as she pulled on the boots. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Meredith laughed and punched her wife's shoulder. "Shut up."

They bound and gagged the two women with strips of their own wet clothes, then dragged them further into the forest and secured them to a pair of tall trees.

"That should hold them," Lucinda smiled. "Let's grab their guns and see where they were headed."

Where they were headed, it turned out, was a large steel building, embedded into the side of a mountain. Or perhaps a long-dormant volcano... In any case, Meredith and Lucinda made their way to the gleaming metal doors.

They blended right in - dozens of other women strolled through the building in similar attire, and no one stopped to question them. Upon reaching the heart of the facility, they marveled at the advanced, futuristic weaponry housed therein.

"Wow," Lucinda breathed.

"I know, right?" Meredith chuckled. "Now aren't you glad we chose to escape instead of continuing our little revenge crusade?"

"I suppose," Lucinda admitted. "Though I still wish I could get my hands on Prema... or that obnoxious Bridget Baxter."

"Excuse me," came a voice from behind them.

Meredith and Lucinda turned to see a tall woman standing near one of the lab tables. She was dressed in a white uniform similar to theirs, and her dark hair was done up into a bun. Though she was quite attractive, Meredith could detect a sinister gleam in her eye.

The Asian woman approached them. "Did you say something about... revenge? Against someone named Bridget Baxter?"

Lucinda nodded. "Yes. Do you know her?"

"You might say that..." The woman's smile was like that of a python.

"Um..." Meredith paused. "Who are you?"

The woman stuck out her hand. "My name is Dr. Julia Chen," she said. "And I think we're about to have a very interesting conversation..."

END

[esercito sconfitto]

wonderful ending!


...and wonderful lines!

"Who the hell are they?" Meredith whispered.

Lucinda grinned. "They're our new wardrobe, of course."

by the way a real weakness of mine is the "casual" clothes ( not uniforms) mugging, that's why I loved the scene with Yasmin, Karima and Sabira and the "ordinary clothes" three girls met after leaving the ambulance. I assume they were clubbing young women, given the late hour
Once again, I was under the impression you were describing people seen in a picture

another point. I have to admit, I love immensely your characters...except the Arab girls. they spoil something , by inserting in the stories vicious features that conflicts with the tough but sporty winner/loser dialectic of almost all the women


many thanks for this story !

[tirepanted3]

Much appreciated, Esercito! So glad you enjoyed the story and dialogue.

Regarding the scene with Karima and her girls, yes, they were most likely "clubbing" girls (in both the sense that the three girls were going around to nightclubs and that Karima and her team were "clubbing" them into unconsciousness ). Their description is not based on a picture, but I'm glad to hear it's vivid enough to make you think it's based on one.

I understand what you mean about the Arab girls - they can be quite ruthless, Karima especially. However, you may start to see a slightly more sympathetic take on Karima in the next volume. (I even tried to develop her a little in this one.) She may be evil, but that doesn't mean she isn't human.

[rufusluciusivan]

Nothing much to say about the epilogue in itself, except that it's one of the best display of the "She's all tied up." joke I've ever seen. Most of it is in the direct continuity of the previous posts, and I've already shared my personal thoughts about the fact that most of the "evil" characters get away scot-free (for now). I would be interested to see Karima developed further. As of now, she grew up to become very unsympathetic to me and I admit that I don't enjoy her scenes as much as I used to (because of her personality).

So, as promised, I'll try to make a more general critique of the story.

- I'll start with the easiest to sum up: the lines. Jokes and one-liners abound, without becoming too intrusive. Clearly one of the stroy's strong point and, in my opinion, one of your trademarks. I really enjoy your characters' banter and it helps flesh them out.

- The rythm. Not gonna say too much about that, since it's the same remarks as in previous stories. Good rythm and it's always satisfying to see the different story arcs collide and connect with each other at key moments,especially during the climax: after an entire story spent building up several story arcs, they finally confront each other.

- The balance between story and uniform stealing scenes. About the rythm, another thing you do greatly is balance the time between plot-related scenes and uniform stealing scenes. There's rarely a moment where there's a long mountain of stories with no scenes in it. (I also find this quality in trackmann's works.) (Personally, I actually find it to be the hardest part of writing a Uniform Stealing story; I always feel like there's too much stories between the scenes.)

- The descriptions. I like them better than those of the previous installments (volumes) (on average). You added not much, but enough for them to become precise enough without breaking the rythm: for instance almost systematically giving at least a few details about the women's physical appearance and underwear, something that (if I remember correctly) wasn't systematic in Volumes 2 and 1. At least, that was my impression.

- The characters. You still take the time to fleshen the main characters to give them personality (the banters help a lot), and I think it's important if we want to care about them (or even if we end up disliking them and rooting for them to lose in some cases, as the biggest sin a character can commit is to leave the reader indifferent). Especially since it gives a wide variety of reactions and approaches to the whole uniform stealing business. Kudos for Prema, a favorite, probably the most relatable/sympathetic main character. Out of all the antagonists, I admit that I ended up getting attached to Meredith and Lucinda. Good way to make them three-dimentional by insisting on their relationship. Also, Dr. Chen's back. Didn't think I'd be happy, but somehow I am. I guess the To Steal a Spacesuit series isn't the same without her...

- The story. As I often said, I prefer when uniform stealing stories have a plot, so of course I appreciate that you still take the effort to construct a narrative. Though I prefered the general stories of Volumes 1 and 2, i'm a little more mitigated here, but I'll explain myself below.

- If I had a criticism, I'd say that the story ended up having to juggle with too many characters. First, I think it made the story sometimes hard to follow, as we were oscillating between many different teams - and each main storyline has on average between 4 and 6 named characters to remember. Even leaving out the one-shot victims of uniform stealings that were lucky enough to receive a name, it still leaves her with a core of around 20-30 "regular characters". In my opinion, it ended up being too much. There wasn't anymore a group that clearly was the red thread of the story (like Bridget's team in the first story). Or perhaps, if they are that numerous, the storylines should be a little less blended?
Second, it had the side-effect of muddling the character development and character moments: outside of a select few, a good chunk of the characters remained "out of the spotligh" and didn't have much time devoted to them.
(Though this is an on-the-spot reaction, I should try read it a second time in one go to be perfectly sure... when I have the time.) Was there really that much more characters compared to volume 2, or is it just me? Because I'm truly under the impression that there is.
Finally, there were a few developments that I found a little too quick near the end (I'm thinking for instance of Dr. Chen coming across Lucinda and Meredith just as they were vowing their revenge on Bridget, or Natalie trusting Adelaide and mugging her intern not caring of the consequences, but here I'm nitpicking.)

[tirepanted3]

Thanks for the detailed comment! I'll try to address your points in order:

- I hear the criticisms about Karima. I like her, but she can be a little overbearing. Hopefully this can be fixed in Volume 4.

- Glad you like the balance of jokes and of scenes. I do try to evenly distribute the uniform stealing scenes throughout the story; if the action goes too long without a USB scene, I try to find a way to edit one in (while still making it feel natural to the storyline).

- Yes, I took your advice (and was influenced by your stories) to provide more detailed descriptions of the victims and their underwear. I try to do just enough to give a clear picture, without the risk of slowing the story down.

- It's great that the characters are resonating with you, even the ones you dislike. Though I do try to make them more likable/relatable as the series go on. Meredith and Lucinda were generally cruel villains in Volume 2, so I tried to focus more on their relationship with each other to show their more human side. They're not good people, but they can be sympathetic (especially when placed next to Dr. Chen )!

- I agree that there were many - perhaps too many - characters in this story, and it was difficult to juggle them at times (and to form a single storyline, which is why this volume is more akin to two concurrent storylines). I don't know the exact number, but Volume 2 had about 20 main characters, whereas Volume 3 had close to 30.

On the other hand, I enjoy multi-thread stories (as you may notice) and trying to connect all the various storylines and characters. I loved "Rescue Operation," even though there were at least two dozen characters (and I would sometimes forget who a few of them were and had to go back and reread earlier chapters). I tried to give most of the characters at least one or two little "character moments," though it's true that some of them were a bit short-shrifted.

I've begun drafting the storyline for Volume 4, and it will also feature a lot of main characters. However, most of them will not be new characters, but rather women who were introduced in the first three volumes, so you won't have to memorize a lot of new names. And as always, I will try to flesh out these characters a bit more than they were previously.

Feel free to let me know which characters you'd like to see more of. I try to incorporate reader input whenever possible.

Thanks for your thoughts!