Volume 2: A Woman's Work
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 5:59 am
Note: This story, as the title indicates, is a follow-up to my earlier story, "To Steal a Spacesuit". If you haven't read that one, it may be helpful to do so before starting the sequel.
It was a dark evening, near the end a cold winter. Windows were drawn. Heaters were turned up. Everywhere in the apartment building, the thump-thump sound of rusty old radiators could be heard.
In one case, however, the thump-thump had a different source. In this instance, the noise came from the building's basement, where low temperatures had delayed the mechanisms of main boiler, from a closet in which no radiator was installed. Instead, the thump-thump noise came from Laurel, who was trying desperately to kick against the inside of the locked door. This task she found rather difficult, as her feet were bound tightly together. She could not remove the white ropes which secured her ankles, as similar ropes bound her wrists, and she could not vocally protest her predicament, as a strip of tape tightly covered her mouth.
After several minutes of exhausted and futile kicking, Laurel stopped to catch her breath. Sweat glistened across her body, which was clad in nothing more than a blue bra and white panties. The rest of her uniform was gone, presumably taken by the same mysterious person who had knocked her out earlier and left her in this closet.
Laurel had no idea why her outfit had been stolen, but she could only assume the thief was up to no good. To that end, she had to free herself and warn the authorities. Gathering her strength, she prepared for another round of door-kicking.
At that moment, however, the heater in the adjoining boiler room finally kicked in, its heavy thump-thump immediately drowning out any sounds nearby. Desperately, Laurel tried to outdo it, but her efforts were useless. Resigned to her predicament, she lay back and began to sob quietly to herself.
**************
Danni adjusted her paint-stained overalls, wrinkling her petite nose at the smell.
"I swear," she murmured. "This is the worst job yet."
Izzy rolled her eyes and smiled. "That's what you said about the construction site. And the seafood restaurant. And the - "
"Well, I mean it this time," Danni retorted. "This paint smells awful. Whose idea was this?"
"Yours," Anna said from across the room, where she was rolling blue paint onto one of the walls. "You're always talking about how you majored in art back in college. Well, now you've finally got the chance to paint like a professional!"
"I majored in art history," Danni retorted. "You'd know the difference, if you'd actually stayed in college, instead of dropping out first year."
Anna turned. "Sounds like someone's itching for a paint fight," she said with a malicious grin. She reached for an open bucket.
Izzy sighed. "Do you guys need to fight on every job?"
"Yes, I agree," said Emma, strolling through the door. "Come on, girls, quit bickering. Everything's taken care of. Let's get out of here."
"Aww," Anna responded. "Things were just getting good."
Danni glared at her, but said nothing.
The four women exited the mansion and headed for the full-size white company van parked outside.
"You sure no one else is in the building?" Izzy asked.
"Positive," Emma said. "Mr. and Mrs. Davis are out of town, and gave all their employees the night off. Probably so they wouldn't have to smell all that paint."
Danni mumbled something.
"The only other people here tonight are the guards who let us through the gate," Emma continued. "Speaking of which, we've got about ten minutes to exit."
She climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine. Danni, Izzy, and Anna all clambered into the back. They made themselves comfortable between the metal cans and rolls of painter's tape.
"What'll we do with them?" Izzy asked.
She pointed to the four women sitting back-to-back on the floor of the van, all bound and gagged and stripped down to their underwear.
Emma began to drive. "We'll just park the van somewhere in the woods and leave them. Someone'll find them eventually."
Danni sniffed her sleeve, and wrinkled her nose again. "Ugh... I for one can't wait to be out of this stupid uniform."
She glanced at one of the bound-and-gagged women, who was looking at her fearfully. "Mmmmpphhh! Hllllmmmppphhhh!"
Danni sighed. "No offense, girlfriend," she said, "but I think I've had the crappier night."
Half a mile out, the van hit a bump in the road. Anna, seated by the rear wheel, cursed as she was jarred from her position. A small electronic device slipped out of her pocket and fell in the space behind two paint cans... but no one noticed.
*************
Vivian glanced at her watch as she stood by the side of the dirt road. She and Simone had been waiting for nearly fifteen minutes.
"Better get here soon," Simone muttered. "I'm freezing my ass off."
Despite the two tall, muscular women being heavily clad in black body armor, including helmets, visors, vests, gloves, and boots, their outfits were not insulated enough to protect them from the weather. The wind bit at their uncovered lower faces.
"I'm up for a smoke," Vivian said. "That oughta keep things warm. Want one?"
Simone shook her head. "I quit two years ago. If you're gonna light up, do it where I won't inhale that crap." Her thumb gestured to the bushes and clearing behind them.
Vivian nodded and stepped past Simone into the clearing, her heavy boots crunching on the occasional stray twig. Simone remained focused on the road.
Her back turned to the trees, Vivian removed a cigarette from the pack on her belt.
She never had a chance to light it. At that moment, a black-gloved hand pressed a white pad over her face. Vivian's eyes widened as she was pulled backwards into the woods behind her.
"Breathe, officer," a woman's voice whispered, as Vivian attempted to struggle. "Everything will be okay... Just breathe it in..."
Vivian could feel her strength ebbing away, but still she tried to fight back. Within twenty seconds, however, her muscles had lost mobility, and she sagged back into her assailant's waiting arms.
Tamara lowered her victim to the grass, onto her back. She frowned - the woman she'd just chloroformed had rather dark skin, as opposed to Tamara's white and blonde complexion. Still, she reasoned, it was a rather dim night; hopefully, the change would go unnoticed.
Tamara quickly stripped the law officer of her boots, gloves, helmet, and uniform, laying each item on the grass. She found some thin but firm wires in the woman's belt and used these to tie her up. The gag was one of Tamara's own socks, which was kind of old and moldy, anyhow.
Tamara quickly changed into the woman's uniform, which fit reasonably well. Blowing the unconscious woman a kiss, she headed back to the roadside. The whole endeavor had taken about ten minutes.
Luck was with her, as the armored police van was just pulling up now. The other officer nodded at her as the two of them stepped into the back.
Tamara smiled to herself as the van pulled back onto the road. Thus far, her ruse was working perfectly. This other officer - Simone, according to the badge on her vest - had not even noticed the difference!
What Tamara did not realize was the the woman who sat across from her now was not Simone. Nor did she realize that the real Simone had been jumped nine minutes earlier and was still back at the pickup location, having been stripped, bound, gagged, and hidden in some bushes.
It was a dark evening, near the end a cold winter. Windows were drawn. Heaters were turned up. Everywhere in the apartment building, the thump-thump sound of rusty old radiators could be heard.
In one case, however, the thump-thump had a different source. In this instance, the noise came from the building's basement, where low temperatures had delayed the mechanisms of main boiler, from a closet in which no radiator was installed. Instead, the thump-thump noise came from Laurel, who was trying desperately to kick against the inside of the locked door. This task she found rather difficult, as her feet were bound tightly together. She could not remove the white ropes which secured her ankles, as similar ropes bound her wrists, and she could not vocally protest her predicament, as a strip of tape tightly covered her mouth.
After several minutes of exhausted and futile kicking, Laurel stopped to catch her breath. Sweat glistened across her body, which was clad in nothing more than a blue bra and white panties. The rest of her uniform was gone, presumably taken by the same mysterious person who had knocked her out earlier and left her in this closet.
Laurel had no idea why her outfit had been stolen, but she could only assume the thief was up to no good. To that end, she had to free herself and warn the authorities. Gathering her strength, she prepared for another round of door-kicking.
At that moment, however, the heater in the adjoining boiler room finally kicked in, its heavy thump-thump immediately drowning out any sounds nearby. Desperately, Laurel tried to outdo it, but her efforts were useless. Resigned to her predicament, she lay back and began to sob quietly to herself.
**************
Danni adjusted her paint-stained overalls, wrinkling her petite nose at the smell.
"I swear," she murmured. "This is the worst job yet."
Izzy rolled her eyes and smiled. "That's what you said about the construction site. And the seafood restaurant. And the - "
"Well, I mean it this time," Danni retorted. "This paint smells awful. Whose idea was this?"
"Yours," Anna said from across the room, where she was rolling blue paint onto one of the walls. "You're always talking about how you majored in art back in college. Well, now you've finally got the chance to paint like a professional!"
"I majored in art history," Danni retorted. "You'd know the difference, if you'd actually stayed in college, instead of dropping out first year."
Anna turned. "Sounds like someone's itching for a paint fight," she said with a malicious grin. She reached for an open bucket.
Izzy sighed. "Do you guys need to fight on every job?"
"Yes, I agree," said Emma, strolling through the door. "Come on, girls, quit bickering. Everything's taken care of. Let's get out of here."
"Aww," Anna responded. "Things were just getting good."
Danni glared at her, but said nothing.
The four women exited the mansion and headed for the full-size white company van parked outside.
"You sure no one else is in the building?" Izzy asked.
"Positive," Emma said. "Mr. and Mrs. Davis are out of town, and gave all their employees the night off. Probably so they wouldn't have to smell all that paint."
Danni mumbled something.
"The only other people here tonight are the guards who let us through the gate," Emma continued. "Speaking of which, we've got about ten minutes to exit."
She climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine. Danni, Izzy, and Anna all clambered into the back. They made themselves comfortable between the metal cans and rolls of painter's tape.
"What'll we do with them?" Izzy asked.
She pointed to the four women sitting back-to-back on the floor of the van, all bound and gagged and stripped down to their underwear.
Emma began to drive. "We'll just park the van somewhere in the woods and leave them. Someone'll find them eventually."
Danni sniffed her sleeve, and wrinkled her nose again. "Ugh... I for one can't wait to be out of this stupid uniform."
She glanced at one of the bound-and-gagged women, who was looking at her fearfully. "Mmmmpphhh! Hllllmmmppphhhh!"
Danni sighed. "No offense, girlfriend," she said, "but I think I've had the crappier night."
Half a mile out, the van hit a bump in the road. Anna, seated by the rear wheel, cursed as she was jarred from her position. A small electronic device slipped out of her pocket and fell in the space behind two paint cans... but no one noticed.
*************
Vivian glanced at her watch as she stood by the side of the dirt road. She and Simone had been waiting for nearly fifteen minutes.
"Better get here soon," Simone muttered. "I'm freezing my ass off."
Despite the two tall, muscular women being heavily clad in black body armor, including helmets, visors, vests, gloves, and boots, their outfits were not insulated enough to protect them from the weather. The wind bit at their uncovered lower faces.
"I'm up for a smoke," Vivian said. "That oughta keep things warm. Want one?"
Simone shook her head. "I quit two years ago. If you're gonna light up, do it where I won't inhale that crap." Her thumb gestured to the bushes and clearing behind them.
Vivian nodded and stepped past Simone into the clearing, her heavy boots crunching on the occasional stray twig. Simone remained focused on the road.
Her back turned to the trees, Vivian removed a cigarette from the pack on her belt.
She never had a chance to light it. At that moment, a black-gloved hand pressed a white pad over her face. Vivian's eyes widened as she was pulled backwards into the woods behind her.
"Breathe, officer," a woman's voice whispered, as Vivian attempted to struggle. "Everything will be okay... Just breathe it in..."
Vivian could feel her strength ebbing away, but still she tried to fight back. Within twenty seconds, however, her muscles had lost mobility, and she sagged back into her assailant's waiting arms.
Tamara lowered her victim to the grass, onto her back. She frowned - the woman she'd just chloroformed had rather dark skin, as opposed to Tamara's white and blonde complexion. Still, she reasoned, it was a rather dim night; hopefully, the change would go unnoticed.
Tamara quickly stripped the law officer of her boots, gloves, helmet, and uniform, laying each item on the grass. She found some thin but firm wires in the woman's belt and used these to tie her up. The gag was one of Tamara's own socks, which was kind of old and moldy, anyhow.
Tamara quickly changed into the woman's uniform, which fit reasonably well. Blowing the unconscious woman a kiss, she headed back to the roadside. The whole endeavor had taken about ten minutes.
Luck was with her, as the armored police van was just pulling up now. The other officer nodded at her as the two of them stepped into the back.
Tamara smiled to herself as the van pulled back onto the road. Thus far, her ruse was working perfectly. This other officer - Simone, according to the badge on her vest - had not even noticed the difference!
What Tamara did not realize was the the woman who sat across from her now was not Simone. Nor did she realize that the real Simone had been jumped nine minutes earlier and was still back at the pickup location, having been stripped, bound, gagged, and hidden in some bushes.