Glimpse of the Future

[rufusluciusivan]

Part 2

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

Zoé wasn’t the sort of woman who got scared easily, even in intense situations. Quite the contrary, actually. She had spent her early childhood in the cutthroat world of Olympus’ Major Houses, and then she had been raised by four uniform stealers.

Even though she was bound, gagged, and half-naked in the dark, the young woman didn’t panic. Her mind was racing. She had only been kidnapped, so it meant they wanted her alive. She could feel she was only clad in her underwear, so it meant they had stolen her clothes. She didn’t know why they wanted to do that though.

In truth, Zoé was mostly angry. Though not at her captors. Indeed, she couldn’t blame her enemies for being willing to ambush and capture her. No. She was angry at herself. In hindsight, the fake lifeguard’s trick was obvious. She couldn’t believe she had fallen for it so easily.

Still, Zoé preferred her anger to be productive. So she used it to fuel her struggles against the ropes binding her. The young woman squirmed and wriggled to try and loosen her bonds.

It’s a lot less pleasant than what Aunt Klenia hinted in her stories… Zoé thought to herself.

Though to be fair, in her stories, Klenia was usually trussed up with Shayna, so it was most likely a matter of context.

During her struggles, Zoé quickly realized she wouldn’t be able to break free easily – and even if she did, she suspected her captors wouldn’t be dumb enough to open her bag in a small committee.

At the same time, to keep herself from feeling worried, she focused on answering the most important question. Who were her kidnappers?

Zoé quickly ruled out a few suspects. Reka or someone of her entourage was very unlikely. They were all still in jail, and according to the news Aster got from time to time, the wheelchaired criminal had completely lost her will to fight – or to get a revenge. Jewel was also still in jail – thank Goodness, and so was Roxane Barca. The members of Lizéa’s team had each received a remission of sentence for good behavior – they were all free. However, nothing indicated they were up to their old tricks again – Yuki had a steady job, Aeris was busy trying to reconnect with her daughter, and Lizéa and Tiffany were living quietly in a small cottage somewhere in Okéanis.

All in all, there were two potential candidates. The Supremacists or the current government. The first pick was the most probable. Admittedly, after Hieron’s resignation, the country’s new big shots didn’t like Zoé very much. Aster and Mikani were convinced that some of them suspected her true lineage. And, obviously, they didn’t appreciate the idea of a descendant of Constantin Basileus at large. Even two decades after the end of the civil war, there were still people unhappy with the political changes. And the name Basileus was a big rallying call for them. However, the young woman didn’t think the government would go that far. As long as Zoé was living her life quietly, they were content with leaving her alone.

No. It was probably the Supremacists. Which would explain why they had actually put pillows for her in the duffel bag.

It was giving her an opportunity. The Supremacists needed her alive and in good shape. Plus, their goons weren’t very smart, and they were seeing Zoé as someone special.

She had a chance to trick and escape them…

Zoé thought of her mother and aunts. They were probably worried sick for her. The mental picture actually fueled her anger against her kidnappers.

I hope they realize… this means war.

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

Mikani was furious. She slammed her hands onto the counter in front of her.

“I DEMAND to see someone! This is my daughter we’re talking about!”

The receptionist of the police station looked sorry for her. “I told you already. They can’t see you right now.” He shook his head to highlight his powerlessness. “The lead inspector has left to ask questions to the women who were mugged. We’ll call you as soon as we have more information.”

“If that’s how you take it...” the black-haired woman exclaimed loudly. She made a show of sitting in one of the chairs at the disposal of the visitors who were waiting to see the receptionist. “Then I’ll stay here, right in your field of vision, until you let me see someone. Just watch.”

The receptionist of the police station sighed. “Suit yourself, ma’am. But I don’t think it’ll make a difference.”

Mikani scoffed, but didn’t add anything.

There was actually an other reason for her decision. Unbeknownst to the police officers, there actually was a hidden microphone in the black-haired woman’s collar, and a hidden miniature earpiece inside her right ear – marvels of technology normally only given to special combatants. Hieron had offered them to Aster a few years ago. Just in case. Thanks to them, Aster, Klenia, and Shayna had heard everything.

And the four friends already had a contingency plan if the legal way of asking the police didn’t work… A plan which involved a good old-fashioned infiltration.

Since she’d be the prime suspect afterwards, Mikani was supposed to stay in the public part of the police station. There would be dozens of witnesses, and security footage, to prove she wasn’t responsible of the muggings who were inevitably going to happen.

Her friends had also prepared cover stories for themselves. Aster had asked Thorn, her friend and Dimitri’s old partner, to come up with an alibi for her, Klenia, and Shayna. Thorn was still the owner of the agriculture company Demeter & Sillo Associates. Officially, Aster’s flower shop was a business associate of his. He was going to pretend they were with him on a business trip.

“Well. We tried to do things legally...” Shayna commented in Mikani’s hidden earpiece. “Now, we’ll do things our way...”

Mikani of course didn’t answer anything, to not appear suspicious. But inside, she was feeling some relief. She trusted her three friends. She left everything in their capable hands.

Don’t worry Zoé… Your family’s coming for you...

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

Shayna tightened the belt in an attempt to prevent her pants from falling. She was wearing the inimitable bright orange trousers with silver grey reflective bands of the city workers, as well as the matching orange-and-silver reflective sleeveless vest, black work shoes, an orange cap, and grey gloves. Under the vest, she was wearing a plain white t-shirt.

However, the clothes were too big for her. Which was logical, since they weren’t hers to begin with.

The real owner of the clothes was a tall but chubby woman with a light skin, a round-shaped face, neck-long medium blond hair, and blue eyes. Currently, she was taking a nap in the back of her work van, stripped down to her plain grey control briefs, blue full-cup bra, and white work socks. The sleeping dart which had been used on her contained enough drug to make her sleep during the next couple of hours. Shayna had restrained her with the striped black-and-yellow construction tape used to show the edges of a building site. These things proved to be surprisingly sturdy and durable! The chubby blond worker’s wrists were taped behind her back. Her upper-arms were mummified with construction tape and pinned against her sides. Her thighs and her calves were also mummified. She was wrapped-gagged with construction tape.

Shayna hoped her disguise would be enough. In such a short amount of time, she hadn’t had the time to find a better fit. Mikani wouldn’t be able to distract the police officers indefinitely, and the worker’s outfit wasn’t her goal – only a means to acquire the clothes which really interested her.

Shayna took a deep breath, and approached the policewoman she had noticed earlier – who was patrolling the streets and looking at the parked cars, giving fines to those who hadn’t paid the parking meters. Of course, Shayna could have tried to ambush someone inside the police station. Her blond hair were dyed brown, and her skin had been lightened with some make-up. She was even wearing brown contact lenses. She wasn’t afraid of being seen by security cameras. Nobody could recognize her.

However, stealing outfits inside or even around an official building or a police station had by now become almost impossible, because of years of laws being passed to counter the tactics of infiltrators. There were more security cameras in official buildings and around them. There were always some of them in front of the door of the restrooms, in the parking lot, and watching every back entrance or dumpster area. Thanks to better urban planning, there were now no misplaced green areas around official buildings. Campaigns of information, with fliers and conferences, were giving information to the workers.

However, the tactic of stealing clothes had proven to be more resilient than expected. A good disguise (with wigs and make-up) was still effective to fool cameras and enter the places in plain sight. You simply had to grab the woman in advance, away from the building... Workers were better informed about infiltration tactics, but even with all that most people still didn’t expect to encounter uniform stealers in their everyday life. There had been talks of giving each employee unique tailored uniforms – which had promptly been given up because it was too expansive and too hard to actually organize.

Uniform stealing would never die.

Shayna approached her target.

The policewoman was wearing a traditional police uniform: a dark blue cap, a dark blue uniform jacket over a white shirt, a black weapon belt, dark blue uniform trousers, black shoes, and a shoulder radio.

She had black hair, deep brown eyes and a dark skin. Her hairdo was a pixie cut. Her body was of average size, with a small chest.

“Excuse me, officer. Somebody parked their car in front of the recycling dumpsters. They’re blocking the access.” Shayna told her.

It was an unimaginative lie – but often the simplest most unimaginative ones were the best.

The policewoman seemed to be an unimaginative person. Or perhaps her senses had been dulled by hours of doing the same boring task. She glanced at Shayna’s uniform, and didn’t question her story.

“I’ll deal with it. Lead the way.”

Shayna was happy to oblige.

It was a good old alleyway, in-between two plain residential buildings. No security cameras: There was no official building in the area. A couple of years ago, the government’s consultant on uniform stealings (for two decades it had been the same guy, Klenia had dubbed him her ‘sworn enemy’) had proposed installing surveillance cameras in every alleyway of every city. Obviously, the project had been vetoed – both because it was obscenely expensive, and a potential violation of individual freedom.

“Alright! Where is it?” the police officer asked.

Shayna hit a precise spot between the woman’s neck and right shoulder with the edge of her hand.

“Urk!” the police officer grunted.

The neckchop was flawless. The woman hadn’t even had the time to process what had hit her. She was knocked out instantly. The police officer’s limp body remained standing during one second, then she fell forward.

Shayna grabbed her by the waist before she hit the ground, and dragged her out of sight behind a recycling dumpster. There were some discarded pieces of cardboard next to the dumpster. Shayna laid the unconscious police officer on one of them.

“Looks like I didn’t lose my touch…” the blonde commented to herself.

She had been worried she physically wouldn’t have been able to keep up the pace – she was close to 50 after all. However, her muggings had been done through deceit, and she was still capable of dragging motionless bodies.

Concealed by the metallic frame, Shayna swiftly relieved the policewoman of her uniform. The reflexes were quickly coming back. Admittedly, the blonde had never been a uniform stealing enthusiast like her wife – she had always seen it as a means to an end – but one couldn’t forget decades of training easily.

Still, while the gestures were coming back to her naturally, Shayna wasn’t feeling excited either. When she was young, the blonde couldn’t deny she had felt a rush of adrenaline when she was doing it with Klenia – but the key words were: ‘when she was young with Klenia’. As she grew older, Shayna had started to long for a more peaceful and less hectic way of life.

She didn’t miss running around and mugging women for their clothes, even though she had some fond nostalgic memories. Uniform stealing was linked to some of her best memories: Finding a group of friends. Her first kiss with Klenia. Rescuing her sister. Klenia’s proposal. However, she considered it a part of her past.

Shayna shook her head. She was now starting to have mental images of Klenia entering the bedroom for their wedding night, clad in the sexiest lingerie she had ever seen. She needed to remain focused.

Speaking of lingerie, stripped of her uniform, the policewoman was left clad in a bright purple lacy thong, a bordeaux demi-bra with frilly lace on the cup’s tops, and hot pink short socks. Shayna doubted tonight was the woman’s wedding night, but she also seriously suspected the officer had planned a date night.

She bound the police officer’s wrists behind the back with the woman’s own handcuffs. Then she grabbed two pairs of zip-ties, and restrained the woman’s ankles and knees. Shayna didn’t want to waste time with tape or pieces of cloth. She had also brought a black ball-gag. She shoved the rubber ball into the woman’s mouth, and fastened the strap behind the police officer’s neck. She also blindfolded her with a sleeping mask.

Shayna checked her wristwatch. Time was of the essence, and she didn’t want to take the risk of being seen dragging her underwear-clad victim. Therefore, she chose to not stash the policewoman inside the van with the worker. She left her lying on the piece of cardboard.

“Nothing personal…”

She grabbed a few other discarded cardboards, and used them to cover the underwear-clad woman – both as a way to offer her some modesty and to conceal her frame. Then, she moved other trash cans to better hide the police officer.

Shayna quickly checked the alleyway. There was nobody in sight. Satisfied, she left her hiding spot. The fake policewoman adjusted her police cap, and walked out of the alleyway.

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

The disguised Shayna entered the police station. She was walking confidently, with the attitude of someone who had something important to do. She was carrying a bunch of papers, to make herself look more official. The building was busy. People were constantly running around, doing various errands. Plus, Shayna could hear Mikani making a ruckus near the reception desk.

Thanks to a bit of hacking from Aster, Shayna had had access to the building’s map. She knew its layout.

Shayna also knew she was watched by security cameras – she had been ever since she had set a foot inside the building. Therefore, she acted accordingly. The secret was to make sure to never face directly a camera, so that they wouldn’t get a good look at her face, without looking suspicious.

Shayna was a pro at this. She had been a uniform stealer, and a thief before that, for a good part of her life.

Her knowledge of the building allowed her to not look hesitant, which would have tipped someone off.

Shayna reached the office of the inspector in charge of Zoé’s kidnapping, a woman called Robyn Rasmus – an other information she had acquired thanks to some of Aster’s hacking.

Too bad Robyn wasn’t keeping notes on the station’s computer… Had she done that, maybe the entire infiltration could have been avoided...

With her papers under the arms, Shayna acted like she had been sent to check something in the inspector’s files. She read them, while pretending to take notes on her own sheets, as if she was doing an errand for the inspectors.

Of course, the notes she was taking were in truth meant to be given to Aster and Mikani...

A quick search among Inspector Robyn’s papers allowed Shayna to find the information she was looking for. Apparently, the police already suspected who the kidnappers were. A group of Supremacists. The New Eye of Olympus.

In fact, police had been aware that said people had plans to kidnap Zoé for several months.

And they also had received specific instructions from their higher-ups to not share these information with Mikani or Aster.

It proved Mikani’s suspicions correct. In this case, the government wasn’t an ally but a rival.

Shayna was feeling a little disgusted, but not that much surprised. What else could she expect from politicians?

Of course, the fake policewoman kept playing her part. After finishing to ‘take notes’, Shayna put the files back, and exited the room. Internally, she was feeling tensed. If her charade had been exposed, or if they were suspicious, someone would be waiting for her at the other side of the door.

Shayna took a quick breath, grabbed the doorknob, and opened the door.

There was nobody waiting for her.

Shayna hid a sigh of relief. She was careful to not break character when she left the police station, although she walked as fast as she could without looking suspicious.

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

Inspector Robyn Rasmus parked her car in the hospital’s parking. She grabbed her side bag, and checked if her pen and her notebook were inside.

The woman checked her curtain bangs and her clothes in the rearview mirror, to make sure her hair and outfit weren’t messy. Robyn prided herself with being a professional and competent police officer. Among many things, it meant LOOKING the part in front of the witnesses. Mentally, the woman was doing a recap of what she already knew about Zoé Noyokaze’s kidnapping case.

Robyn had been tasked with asking complementary questions to some of the victims, who were currently under observation in the hospital. The inspector knew the case was deemed important by her superiors – apparently the big shots of the government themselves were breathing down the commissioner’s neck. Robyn didn’t know exactly why they were so interested in that case, or why they wanted the greatest secrecy to be kept about the investigation – to the point that even the woman’s family had to be kept in the dark.

Zoé looked like a plain unremarkable person. She was a social worker with no police record. Her adoptive mother had a steady job at a flower shop. Sure, Mikani was a former guerrilla fighter of the resistance, but there were plenty of them in the country. According to the police files, her rehabilitation after the civil war had been flawless. Same with the owner of her flower shop, Aster Demeter. Robyn had a hard time believing anyone would still want to have some revenge after all this time. The civil war had ended two decades ago...

Robyn was feeling a little ill-at-ease. She could feel information were withheld from her. However, the police inspector also knew that not asking questions and solving this case would be good for her advancement.

Robyn Rasmus was a woman with a fair white skin, light blue eyes, and long blond hair that were styled in one thick braid with red hair ties. She also had curtain bangs. The blonde was tall and slender, with an oval-shaped face and a pointy chin.

Robyn was wearing anthracite grey shoes, black tight-fitting business trousers, a beige blouse shirt, and a light brown thigh-long trench coat. Some people thought her coat made her look too much like a ‘cliché inspector’, but she didn’t care. She found the garment practical and comfortable, so she kept wearing it. Plus, most people were put at ease by her coat. They wanted a police inspector who looked the part, and she was happy to oblige.

Once Robyn was satisfied with her hair and clothes, she took her side bag, and exited her car.

She didn’t notice the van with tainted windows slowly approaching her.

The blond inspector closed her car’s door and locked her vehicle. She checked her wristwatch, then started to walk away.

The van suddenly sped up, and stopped right in front of the police officer – concealing her from anyone driving by.

Robyn frowned. “Uh?”

The van’s side door was opened from the inside. The blond inspector saw a grinning woman.

Before Robyn could register what was happening, she was sprayed in the face with a hefty dose of knock-out gas.

The blonde coughed and gasped, her eyes teary because of the gas.

“Who?! What?!” she hacked.

Everything had happened too fast.

She heard the woman exclaim: “Come here, sweetie!”

Then a pair of hands grabbed Robyn by the shoulders, and she felt she was whisked away.

“Whoa?!”

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

Klenia grabbed the blond inspector by the shoulders, and pulled her inside the vehicle. Robyn didn’t fight back. Her eyes were too teary, she was too busy coughing and drawing breath. Her mind was already starting to be fuzzy. The gas used against her was a very subtle mix of tear gas, paralyzing gas, and a powerful sleeping gas. At first, it neutralized someone like a tear gas or a paralyzing gas, preventing the people from screaming or fighting back because of that, the time for the sleeping gas to actually knock out the person. Klenia closed the side door. Seated behind the wheel, Aster drove off.

Robyn’s kidnapping had only lasted a couple of seconds.

The inspector was in no capacity to fight back, so Klenia simply grabbed and immobilized her with a wrestling hold, the time for the gas to take effect.

Robyn wriggled, coughed, and moaned some more, but her struggles became slower and slower. Klenia mentally counted the seconds. The inspector’s body finally relaxed. Her head lolled to the side, and her eyelids closed. Klenia checked her breathing. It was slow and regular. The woman was in a deep sleep.

“Nothing personal, honey.” Klenia commented. “But we desperately need first-hand information.”

She laid Robyn on her back, and unbuttoned the inspector’s trench coat. Then she did the same with the woman’s button up blouse shirt, revealing a plain but comfortable beige full-cup bra with white borders and shoulder straps. Klenia lifted the inspector’s upper-body to take off the coat and the shirt one after the other. She pulled off the woman’s shoes, but didn’t touch the blue socks, then she loosened her belt and pulled off the trousers. Since they were tight, she had a bit of a hard time, and had to shimmy them down. The removed pants revealed white bikini briefs with a pink waistband strap and a pink little ribbon on the top middle.

Stripping the woman gave Klenia a big rush of adrenaline. She could feel her cheeks heat up. How much time had passed since the last time? However, the uniform stealing enthusiast kept her impulses in check. Zoé’s safety was at stake. Klenia was maybe carefree and hedonistic, but she had her priorities straight.

Klenia grabbed a few coils of rope. With one, she tied Robyn’s ankles. With an other one, she bound the inspector’s wrists behind her back. She wrapped a third one around the blonde’s waist and arms to secure the arms to her sides. She gagged the blond inspector with a balled-up piece of cloth and a white scarf securely tied around the lower face and knotted behind the neck. Finally, Klenia dragged Robyn onto a blanket, and rolled said blanket around the blonde – which would both offer her some comfort and restrain her some more.

Once the real inspector was out of the way, Klenia removed her own casual clothes. She slipped into the blonde’s trousers, shoes, blouse shirt, and trench coat.

Then she used a pocket mirror to check her hair and clothes. She had to make sure she looked the part!

“Maybe we should have called Clover and Posy…” the busty woman commented as she was looking at herself.

“We wouldn’t have the time to wait for them.” Aster objected. “Plus, you know they wouldn’t have been comfortable with the prospect of mugging innocent people, even if it’s to save Zoé.”

“True.”

Klenia closed her pocket mirror, satisfied with her disguise. She had already used many tricks to alter her physical appearance, in order to fool the potential witnesses. Her dark brown hair were dyed pitch black, and tied into a neck bun instead of her usual braid. She was wearing fake glasses, and green contact lenses. A thick piece of cloth was wrapped around her chest to compress her breasts, making them appear smaller. With Robyn’s clothes, not even her friends could recognize her.

Klenia removed Robyn’s picture in the inspector badge, and slipped one of her in its stead. She snatched the woman’s side bag, put it around her shoulder, and pulled out the notebook and pen.

“I’m ready.” she said to Aster through the inner-window. “Drive me back.”

“Good luck.”

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

Like all the other women who had been mugged during what the journalists were already calling the ‘pool heist’, Flavie and Millie had been driven to the nearest hospital. Outside of Flavie’s bruises, they weren’t hurt – at least physically. However, the medics wanted to have them under observation.

A nurse entered the room.

“You have a visitor. It’s the police.” she announced.

The two lifeguards looked at the newcomer.

The police inspector was very professional-looking, with her notebook, her pen, her glasses and her tight bun. (Although her trench coat was maybe a little too cliché. Still, it was putting the two women at ease. After their ordeal, a police officer was a reassuring sight. And this one looked and acted the part.)

The woman smiled warmly to put them at ease.

“Hello. I’m inspector Robyn Rasmus. I need to ask you a few questions for the investigation. It’s about the women who attacked you. With your descriptions, maybe we can identify them.”

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

Klenia’s mission in the hospital was a rousing success.

Once she was done there, Aster and she left the van in which Robyn was locked somewhere it’d be found by the police. Then they regrouped with their friends.

Shayna was the first to sum up what she had discovered: “Turns out the authorities already know which group targeted Zoé. A bunch of Supremacists called the New Eye. In fact, police has known they were a potential threat for months. But they have received orders from above to not share any information with us.”

The blonde paused briefly, the time for all her friends to process the last part. Then she added:

“You were right, Mikani. The new government is trying to take advantage of the situation. I don’t know what they’ve planned, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to let them rescue Zoé first.”

The black-haired woman nodded. Her fists were clenched because of her anger. “What about you, Klenia?” Mikani then asked.

“I have the description of the infiltrators who mugged the delivery women. They’re not known to the police.” She shared a glance with Aster. “But we have other sources…”

“I called one of Thalès’ old contacts on my way here.” Aster added. “Thanks to Klenia’s information, he recognized them. They’re called Maribel Adrigal and Talia Agathoklès. These two are part of the new generation of mercenary infiltrators. They’ve made a name for themselves during the past couple of years. In the underworld, a rumor goes around they’re onto something big. Something related to the Supremacists. My contact didn’t know more. However, he gave me the identity of someone who does…”

On Mikani’s face, there was a look of grim satisfaction.

“There’s one bad news though.” Aster added.

“What?”

“The guy works for the mob. It’s not someone who’ll give the information willingly to us. We’ll have to slip past his security detail to steal the intel.”

Mikani wasn’t deterred. On the contrary. She smiled harshly. It was a predatory grin. “And when has that ever stopped us before?”

She shared a knowing glance with her friends. They didn’t need words. Their infiltration days weren’t over yet…

“We have one advantage. We know for sure Zoé’s kidnappers are Supremacists.” Aster concluded. “It means they won’t want to hurt her. It gives us some time.”

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

Zoé’s cell was actually quite comfortable, all things considered. It looked more like a hotel suite. A low-tier hotel suite, but a hotel suite nonetheless. She had a bedroom and a small bathroom.

They even had left a few books for her. Biographies of Constantin Basileus, of course. Somehow that detail annoyed Zoé the most. Did they think she didn’t know about the doings of her ancestor?

The young woman was sitting on the bed. She was clad in comfortable but dull-looking white clothes. The garments had been left for her after she was released from the duffel bag.

The first thing Zoé had done once alone (after getting dressed) was to inspect her cell. There actually were no security cameras. So considerate. They kidnapped me, but at least they want to respect my privacy... she ironically thought to herself. She could maybe use it to her advantage...

The sheets were low quality. They weren’t sturdy enough to be used as makeshift ropes. There were sturdy towels in the bathroom, but not enough of them to bind and gag someone. One of the books was thick and heavy. She could use it as an improvised weapon to knock out an unsuspecting guard.

Zoé heard a noise, which interrupted her reflections. Someone was unlocking the door.

A woman opened. “Greetings lady Basileus. I hope the room is to your liking.” she said.

She entered alone, but Zoé briefly saw a guard in the corridor.

The young woman knew the newcomer’s face. Aurelia Erikell. CEO of EarthSee Corp, and suspected Supremacist. A former associate of Roxane Barca, and a suspected former associate of Jewel Zeno.

Of course, Zoé’s facial expression didn’t betray the fact she had recognized her kidnapper. She pretended to be frightened. “Who are you? Why am I here?”

“Don’t worry. We won’t harm you. You’re among friends here. You’re among your people, lady Basileus.”

Zoé remained quiet, in order to appear confused, and therefore harmless. Internally, she was thinking fast. The businesswoman’s comment allowed her to confirm her suspicions. She had been kidnapped by Supremacists.

“I apologize for our cavalier way of inviting you.” Aurelia added.

Zoé blinked. “Inviting?” she repeated.

Aurelia ignored her comment. “But we had to shield you from the influence of these inferior women.”

As Aurelia was talking, Zoé discreetly observed her. The woman looked confident. Too confident. Wasn’t she a little wary to be left alone in a room with a woman raised by infiltrators?

“Why did you wait so many years?” Zoé asked.

“We needed to wait for the best opportunity.”

Zoé realized Aurelia didn’t suspect her prisoner had the training necessary to escape. She thought her captive was a banal young woman with no experience. And indeed, Zoé had never taken part in any infiltration – or in any of Klenia’s shenanigans. Her adoptive mothers had trained her in combat, and her adoptive aunts had taught her about uniform stealing, but always in secret. To the world, Zoé was an ordinary social worker.

The young woman realized she had a huge advantage over her kidnappers. They were underestimating her.

“You want something out of me.” Zoé said.

It was probably a risky move. Zoé knew she had to look dumb and harmless. She couldn’t show too much intelligence. But at the same time, she needed information.

“We only require your cooperation in a few…” Aurelia briefly hesitated. “… operations we have currently underway.”

The woman was hiding something. However, Zoé didn’t take the risk of trying to dig deeper. If she wanted to have a chance to escape, she couldn’t look too smart.

“Said operations will take some time. We wish for your stay with us to be as agreeable as possible. If you need something, you can ask us.” Aurelia added.

Zoé’s interest was peaked. She pretended to hesitate. She was starting to imagine a plan.

“More towels would be nice.” she finally said, with the ‘innocent-looking face’ she had learned to master when she was a child.

“Of course.”

Gotcha!

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

The man whom Aster wanted to target was a knowledge-broker and accountant working for the mob, a man called Benedict Bernard BennField – Benny for short; Triple B or BBB if you wanted to get on his bad side. In his spare time, he worked as an informant, selling information and brokering deals with freelance mercenaries. Basically, the guy was some sort of ‘Maximilian Shroud 2.0’.

However, Benedict Bernard BennField – Benny for short – was also known for being a little… eccentric. Bottom line, he had specific fetishes. First, he wanted his security detail to consist only in women. Second, said women had to follow a peculiar dress code, inspired by some comicbooks aesthetic. The result was making his guards look like some sort of goth girls armed to the teeth. Strangely enough, the women who agreed to play along were very proud of their specificity. It was giving them an identity, setting them apart from the other criminal syndicates. As a consequence, Benny was at the head of a small but particularly well-known gang.

Aster suspected the man used to be a huge fan of comicbooks when he was young, and was now trying to live his fantasy of being a comicbook-style villain, complete with his own team of henchwomen.

A bit like what Katherine ‘Catalina’ GreenHills – aka ‘Blender’ aka ‘the Show(w)oman’ – had attempted to do, back in the days. The difference was that Benny was a competent boss, so he didn’t risk being outvoted by his own henchwomen.

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

It was the night. Benny’s workplace, and home, was a small cosy manor. The mansion was build on a hill, and surrounded by a park.

The members of Benny’s gang were following the same dress code. The sentries were each clad in a black leather studded jacket, a black t-shirt adorned at the front with a stylized bat sewn with white threads, a black belt with silver spikes, black trousers adorned with belts around the legs, black fingerless gloves, and black leather boots. The gang members were also dyeing their bangs, were using black lipstick, and lightened their skin with make-up. Technically speaking, the clothes weren’t a uniform, so they weren’t identical per say. Some jackets had more studs than others. Some trousers had more belts. The bat wasn’t the same on all t-shirts. Still, they were very similar-looking.

The goonettes were very proud of their appearance, but Mikani thought they looked like cheap second-grade comicbook henchwomen. The ones working for the lame villains.

Still, she admitted these clothes had one quality. Since all the members of the gang were wearing similar-looking garments, it made her and her friends’ job easier…

Mikani had her eyes set on a gang member who shared her black hair colour and small frame. The sentry’s white skin was less pale than Mikani’s and her eyes were blue, but in the dark of the night nobody would notice it. She had an odango hairstyle. The bangs around her forehead were dyed red.

Stroke of luck, the henchwoman was smoking alone. Apparently, Benny was in cahoots with mercenary infiltrators, but he hadn’t learned from them…

Mikani used the cover of the night to approach the unsuspecting woman from behind.

The sentry finished her cigarette and, to prove she was a certified ‘bad girl’, threw the stub on the ground. Very proud of herself, she turned to resume her patrol.

She was greeted by Mikani’s fist.

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

At the other side of the property, a pair of sentries were watching the area.

The first henchwoman was a light-skinned busty woman with brown hair, a low ponytail, and dark blue eyes. The bangs around her forehead were dyed bright purple. Her partner had a black skin, deep brown eyes, curly black hair, and a puffy afro haircut. The bangs around her forehead were dyed orange.

Both sentries were bored and tired. They weren’t very professional in their patrol. While they appreciated the decorum of working for Benny (as not everyone could live the fantasy of being comicbook-style henchpeople) they also admitted the night patrols were the worst part of the job. Benny was considered untouchable by both the mob and the police. These patrols were just for show.

“Hey, Janice. I’m going to get a drink. Do you want something?” the light-skinned sentry asked her partner.

“Nah, I’m fine.” the other one answered.

“Suit yourself.”

The light-skinned sentry left her post. Janice watched her turn around the corner.

Suddenly, she heard a strange sound. Some sort of ‘Woop?!’, followed by a dull noise, and a faint ‘Ooof!’ and a thud.

Janice frowned. “What’s the matter? You tripped or something?”

She followed the trail of her partner.

“Mara? You alright?”

However, as Janice was turning around the corner, a hand suddenly grabbed her by the collar of her t-shirt and pulled her forward. She disappeared behind the corner.

There was the dull sound of a stomach punch, a muffled gasp, an other dull noise – one of a neck-chop – and a faint grunt, then finally the thud of a limp body falling onto the ground.

Klenia briefly checked around the corner, and was satisfied to see nobody else in sight.

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

Mikani dragged the unconscious sentry out of sight by the undershoulders. Clad in black clothes, the infiltrator was hard to spot. However, she didn’t want to waste time. In plain sight, even the dumbest sentry could spot her.

“Goodness… You’re heavy…” she complained to her unconscious victim.

Or maybe it was her who was out of shape...

There were bushes nearby, on the hill’s slope. Mikani intended to hide there in order to strip the gang member in peace.

However, her heartrate skyrocketed when she heard noises.

Two patrolling sentries were approaching her location. She could hear them chatting with each other. She needed to make sure they wouldn’t see their colleague.

When it came to strength, the small black-haired woman was the frailest of her team. However, she was still fitter than the average woman – and a lot stronger than her appearance could suggest.

“Come on… Work with me…” Mikani muttered through gritted teeth. The unconscious body was feeling heavy. The infiltrator walked behind the bushes. However, the legs of her victim were still in plain sight.

Just a few more steps...

The chit-chats became closer. The sentries were almost there.

Mikani redoubled her efforts, and pulled the limp body further into the foliage. The motionless gang member’s boots disappeared behind the bushes just in time.

The two henchwoman walked next to Mikani’s hiding spot without suspecting one of their comrades was lying a few feet from them.

Mikani waited until they were out of earsight. She took deep breaths to calm her heartbeats, and wiped a few drops of sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand.

Close call… Aster’s right... My appearance hadn’t changed yet, but I am still getting older...

Under any other circumstance, Mikani wouldn’t have cared much. She had never had a personal fondness for infiltration and clothes stealing. However, right now, she needed to rescue Zoé. Her physical limitations could become a problem...

Once she had caught her breath, the black-haired woman bent forward to strip the gang member.

The sentry started to stir.

Mikani absentmindedly put her back to sleep with a punch to the temple. The gang member grunted, and went still again.

The black-haired woman removed the sentry’s outer clothes one after the other. First, the black leather studded jacket, and black t-shirt adorned at the front with a stylized bat. Then she removed the black leather boots, unclipped the black belt with silver spikes, and shimmied down the black trousers adorned with belts. Finally, she stole the black fingerless gloves. The gang member was left wearing an electric blue bandeau bra, black cheeky panties with deep blue borders, and light blue socks.

Mikani was carrying zip-ties and a few ball-gags on her, precisely to not waste time when she’d have to restrain a sentry.

She bound the woman’s wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles, then ball-gagged her with a big red ball-gag. She used more zip-ties to hog-tie the henchwoman, and concealed her under the bushes. The sentry wasn’t left in a comfortable position, but Mikani couldn’t care less.

Then, the black-haired woman took off her own clothes, and slipped into her disguise. Since she knew in advance about this gang’s little specificity, she was also carrying on her a small bottle of red hair dye – which she used on her bangs. She checked the result in a pocket mirror, then grabbed a small microphone and pinned it on the collar of her t-shirt.

“Aster… I’m in disguise…” Mikani whispered in the device.

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

“Mikani’s ready. What about you?” Aster asked Klenia in her earpiece.

“We’re ready to go on stage.” the busty woman answered in her hidden microphone. She was beaming with excitement.

“I think you’re having a little too much fun.”

“It’s been years, Aster. Just let me have it. You know I want Zoé rescued as much as you. It’s simply how I do things.”

“I know. But be careful. Remember you’re not 30 anymore.”

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry, MOM.”

Klenia stopped the communication before Aster could retort something. She snickered, very proud of herself and her quip.

“You’ll never change…” Shayna commented.

“I’m too old and too immature for that now.” Klenia joked.

The blonde shrugged. “I didn’t fall in love with you for your maturity anyway.” she played along.

Klenia smiled, kissed her wife on the cheek, then became serious again. “Let’s go. Mikani’s counting on us.” The busty woman glanced at the two unconscious sentries. “We’re sure these two won’t be going anywhere for a while…” she added.

Janice and Mara were lying on the ground, hidden under bushes. Both sentries were hog-tied with ropes. A pentagram bondage was immobilizing their upper-bodies. Their forearms and wrists were bound behind their back. A rope was wrapped around their thighs, an other was binding their ankles. Finally, one rope was connecting the bound wrists with the bound ankles. Thick cloth cleave gags were silencing the sentries, who were also blindfolded.

The black-skinned henchwoman was clad in a silk white demi-bra with adorned frilly lace and a silk white thong. The white-skinned one was wearing grey granny panties and a plain beige full-coverage bra.

Klenia grabbed the hidden microphone in her collar again. “By the way, Aster. You can come pick the two sentries. We’ll regroup with Mikani.”

“Yes. And when this is all over, we’ll just have a talk about what you said, my DAUGHTER.”

Klenia grimaced.

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

The three disguised infiltrators regrouped in front of the manor’s back door. They exchanged thumbs up, a nod, a few coded hand gestures, and then entered.

The inside of the manor was cosy and luxurious. However, Mikani, Klenia, and Shayna didn’t waste time gawking at it. They knew Benny’s office was on the first floor, so they went there straight away.

They crossed the main corridor.

Klenia was walking front. At one moment, she put a finger on her lips to advise her friends to keep quiet, and pointed at a nearby ajar door. They could hear a man’s voice coming from the other room. It was Benny himself. He was on the phone.

“… - police is about to raid your house. They found your involvement in the kidnapping. … … … … No, I don’t know how they learned it! … … … ... Of course I didn’t snitch! It’s not my policy! Plus, I literally got the information just now… … … … … Talia, they are receiving instructions from the government itself. These guys have a network of informants just as good as mine. We shouldn’t be surprised they were able to find clues of your involvement.”

The man paused for a moment, the time to listen to the woman talking to him. The three intruders then heard him groan in annoyance. He was clearly exasperated.

“Listen, Talia, we’re wasting time. Stop complaining you were planning a heist, and it ruins your schedule. You’re actually lucky I learned they were after you. Apparently, the inspector leading your case got mugged on her way to the hospital. It made them waste precious hours. … … … … Yes, I know this means there are rogue infiltrators after you besides the police. One problem at a time. For now, you two need to- Hold on. I have another call. … … … No I can’t put him on hold. The guy controls half of the southern coast’s underworld!”

Mikani was tempted to burst into the room, and to squeeze information out of Benny. However, she knew they had to remain discreet. Plus, he probably wasn’t alone.

“He’s in a lounge, not his office…” Shayna whispered to her friends after a brief glance inside.

“Looks like he’ll be busy for a while. Let’s check his desk and computer.” Mikani decided.

The office room was lit, but there was nobody inside. Apparently, Benny had been working when Talia called him.

Shayna quickly sat behind the computer, which was still on, while Klenia and Mikani looked at the papers on the desk.

“Would you look at that…” the blonde commented. “Apparently, Benny was studying Zoé’s case before he was interrupted... There’s a lot of things in his Internet history.”

“There are also files of interest on his desk. Take pictures of everything. We’ll sort them out at Aster’s shop…” Mikani answered. She grabbed a sheet of paper. “The ‘New Eye of Olympus’.” the black-haired woman read. “A Supremacist Movement… … … … It matches the intel we found on the police files… … … … And would you look at that. Benny knows where they hide Zoé!”

“Where?”

“Some farm complex. Clever choice. It’s isolated. Apparently, their leader is Aurelia Erikell. She owns an agricultural company.”

“Check these pictures. Talia Agathoklès. Maribel Adrigal.” Klenia intervened. “And there’s the address of their house...”

“We’ve hit the jackpot.” Mikani concluded. “Let’s hurry up.”

They took pictures of all the useful information with small cameras, then left the office as quickly as possible.

When they passed near the lounge room, they heard Benny who was once again arguing with Talia on the phone.

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

Aster was waiting for them in a van at some distance.

“Successful trip?” she asked when her friends entered the vehicle.

“Even more than we hoped. We have everything we need.” Mikani answered.

Aster nodded, then turned on the engine and drove away.

Mikani glanced inside the back of the van through a window. The three stripped henchwomen were lying on the floor. Still bound-and-gagged. Still half-naked. “I appreciate the idea of delivering the trash to the police…” the black-haired woman commented with a harsh smile.

“I got the idea thanks to the news.” Aster explained. “There’s this group of uniform stealers who go around capturing criminals and delivering them to the police. Apparently, they’ve been inspired by the tales of some vigilantes who were active in the past, fifteen years ago. The ‘Angels of the Night’, or a similar name. It’s best Benny and the others think we’re copycats of these women.”

For obvious reasons, the four friends didn’t want Benny to suspect they had stolen datas about Zoé’s kidnapping. The man was in contact with both the mercenaries and the Supremacists who had kidnapped her. It was best to make him believe he had been the victim of a raid of do-gooders looking to put his gang behind bars. Plus they liked the idea of killing two birds with one stone…

“Next step, we infiltrate the New Eye’s hideout.” Mikani concluded.

“It couldn’t hurt to pay a little visit to Talia Agathoklès and Maribel Adrigal first. Before the police raids their house.” Aster intervened. “Squeezing intel on the New Eye out of them may prove useful.”

“It’ll be a pleasure…” Mikani said with a sinister smile.

“Then let’s drive there quickly.” Klenia concluded. “With some luck, we may be able to grab them before the police raids their house – or before they have finished packing up their things to flee.”

[simon4242]

hi do we get an aftermath of the 2 police officers inc robyn and worker being found lol

[rufusluciusivan]

simon4242: The heroines sent an anonymous text to the police a few hours later so that they could be found. Sadly, writing an epilogue/aftermath for each minor character is not possible in a story which spans over five chapters. It would break the pace. (Not to mention more work for my lazy self. )

[simon4242]

lol thanks

[meditions142]

Love it.

Two of the classic sentry take outs!

We get the sentry on smoke break and then the one who goes off to get a drink, we hear her get taken out and then the next guard goes to investigate and gets taken out too.

Wonderful "dumb guard" scenes!

[esercito sconfitto]

in the interest of the USB members that aren't familiar with this long running saga, this is the very first appearance of Zoé, still a child, and the first encounter between her and Mikani (her future adoptive mother )

I knew she would return

https://www.uniformstealingboard.com/vi ... 4&start=10
https://www.uniformstealingboard.com/vi ... 4&start=20


we can feel the pain suffered by Mikani and her tension

PS just a question, about Tania and Maribel... it seems to me that you have been inspired by someone, but by who? they remind me something

[tirepanted3]

And the original team is back in action. I have to say, much as it's been fun watching various new teams assemble for all sorts of infiltrative schemes, there's something refreshing about seeing the ladies who started it all return to action, a bit older but nearly as adept and resourceful as they were in their heyday.

Fittingly, it's a very action-heavy chapter, with some memorable uniform thefts and infiltrations. Once again, Aster and her team are forced to operate outside the law, and it leads to some fun scenarios. Klenia ambushing the inspector - Robyn Rasmus, a rare USB victim to get both a first and last name - and explaining that they need "first-hand information” is great, as is the ladies attacking the henchwomen near the chapter's end.

And as usual, the touches of humor add welcome flavor to the story. The description of the guards as "second-grade comicbook henchwomen" is nicely padded by the guard who throws her cigarette stub on the ground, to prove herself a "bad girl." At some point, security guards need to learn to stop smoking on the job... It never ends well.

And I love the development of Zoe, now a grown woman with aspirations of her own. Perhaps growing up around a team of professional infiltrators has rubbed off on her - we can only hope.

Perhaps the highlight of this chapter, though, is the development of Mikani - a mild surprise, as I never saw her as one of the most complicated characters in the original saga. But she's clearly the one with the closest relationship to Zoe, and her attitude about mugging women for their clothes has grown colder and less sympathetic following the kidnapping. I loved her blithe takedown of the sentry near the chapter's end...

Mikani absentmindedly put her back to sleep with a punch to the temple. The gang member grunted, and went still again.

...and her lack of sympathy about the poor woman's aftermath:

The sentry wasn’t left in a comfortable position, but Mikani couldn’t care less.

She's more ruthless than previous stories, and it's completely understandable. Very cool.

All in all, a very good chapter. My only complaint is the lack of Talia and Maribel, who were quite a bit of fun in the last two chapters. But I expect we'll be seeing them again before long.

[rufusluciusivan]

simon4242: You're welcome.

meditions142: Benny's sentries aren't exactly the brightest bulbs of the bunch...

esercito sconfitto: From the moment Zoé was introduced, I thought to myself: If my saga needed an epilogue story, one taking place in the future, then it needed to feature Zoé as a young adult.

It's possible Maribel reminds you of a character, but it has nothing to do with USB actually. Long story short, I have a younger sibling who's into Disney animated films. And did I already mention I sometimes take inspiration from animated (or videogame) characters for my characters? So, a while ago, I watched Encanto with my sibling.

Now, just look at the picture.



Now check the names. Mirabel Madrigal -> Maribel Adrigal.

I just loved her design. (And the movie was nice.)

There is no source of inspiration for Talia. Though her character archetype is very classic on this Board: the serious one who has to mind the antics of a wacky partner.

tirepanted: Writing the original team back in action was indeed a delight. The power of nostalgia... The saga is now old enough to wield it.

Robyn having a last name was not a coincidence. We may not have seen the last of her...

I regretted not being able to include Maribel and Talia in this chapter: Given how prominent they were in the previous parts, it felt weird to have them disappear like that. However, they didn't do anything of interest in this window of time - only plan their heist, which would result in a needless exposition scene (contrary to the heroines, they don't need to steal information to discover Aurelia's wherabouts). Therefore, I thought it'd be more interesting for the pace to have their plot happen off-screen, and to sum it up with Benny's phone conversation. This part was first and firemost a way to show the old team is back in action - a way to set up pieces for the climax. Talia and Maribel were superfluous in this chapter.

Though as you easily guessed, Talia and Maribel will return with a vengeance...

In my opinion, Mikani has a lot of potential - in terms of personality and character development, she's very interesting. Since the very first story, she's been the coldest of Aster's team - because she has the heaviest backstory. If we compare, it's self-apparent: Klenia used to be a thief and joined the rebellion because she's a thrill-seeker. Aster grew up in a relatively wealthy family, went to university, and came into contact with the rebellion there. Mikani... grew up in a polluted industrial town in a working-class family, and lost her parents and older sister during a strike in which police shot at the crowd.

Mikani's character development in the original saga was centered around her warming up, but old habits die hard as they say, it felt obvious she wouldn't play around in such a dire situation. She had always remained a no-nonsense person. Plus, in this specific case, she feels she doesn't have to go easy on the sentries, since they're criminals and gang members - albeit rather lame ones.

Yes indeed, it was funny to give a bit of personality to Benny's security detail. Outside of Robyn, the victims of this chapter are rather generic, so it was fun to write the gang-members as comicbook villains wannabes, trying WAY TOO HARD to look evil. Plus, their goth/comicbook-inspired aesthetic is a little reference/homage to the gangs in trackman's stories.

It was funny to imagine what would Zoé look like as an adult. As a child, she was already shown to be particularly clever, shrewd, and with nerves of steel - completely unfazed by uniform stealing antics. As an adult, she has retained all her qualities, hence why I enjoyed writing her parts a lot.

Perhaps growing up around a team of professional infiltrators has rubbed off on her - we can only hope.

Now, we know Zoé isn't interested in uniform stealings... However, there's a difference between 'not having an appetence' for something... and 'not knowing how to do' something...

[tirepanted3]

Ah, I feel a bit silly for not getting the "Maribel Adrigal" reference in name or description. I've seen and enjoyed Encanto, but the heroine of that movie did not strike me as the USB type. Then again, perhaps uniform stealing turned out to be her "special gift".

I like how you incorporate those sorts of designs and references into your stories though, even if I don't always get them right away. I recall it took some time for me to figure out that Lizéa's teammates were inspired by the characters from Final Fantasy VII, but that was a nice detail.

[rufusluciusivan]

Ah, I feel a bit silly for not getting the "Maribel Adrigal" reference in name or description. I've seen and enjoyed Encanto, but the heroine of that movie did not strike me as the USB type. Then again, perhaps uniform stealing turned out to be her "special gift".

I like how you incorporate those sorts of designs and references into your stories though, even if I don't always get them right away. I recall it took some time for me to figure out that Lizéa's teammates were inspired by the characters from Final Fantasy VII, but that was a nice detail.

Technically, she isn't exactly the same person... Maribel doesn't wear glasses.

Or... maybe she wears contact lenses now... Such mystery!

I'm glad you like this habit of mine. I find it the perfect way to satisfy both my laziness and my love for these works of fiction...