Ha! Ha! Things are rather slow from my part once more. I wanted to be sure to have a little gift ready before the end of the month: two updates, but they proved to be more time-consuming than expected, especially with real life occupations and fatigue. This post was supposed to actually be the surprise posted second, as I think you can all easily guess which story currently going is also supposed to be updated
, but ultimately this post was a lot easier to write (and to reread) so what the heck... Hopefully another post should follow in the following days, when I'll have the courage to reread it
... And I'll also have to get up to date next week with an other posted story recently. WINK WINK
Not a great variety of uniforms in this part, but I had a lot of fun writing this introduction. Anyway, enjoy the beginning of the (possibly) final installment of the
Vigilante storyline.
Vigilante: Part 4
**************
During most of its history, the island of Artemise was nothing but a footnote in the history of the continent. Isolated, away from the centres of power, its only noteworthy feature was its shape that was vaguely reminding of a crescent moon. The island was even named after an obscure goddess of the moon that was worshipped in ancient times.
During most of its history, Artemise was a vassal state of Okéanis – though outside of some fish and salt as well as a few sailors, they didn't have much to bring to their suzerain state.
Everything changed however when Olympus took control of Okéanis and Artemise. The island suddenly became a strategic position for the newly-founded country of Utopia. Indeed, the new rulers didn't want foreign countries to stick their noses in their internal affairs. They decided to forbid foreign boats to lie at anchor in any port of the country.
Any port of the country except a gigantic port town that they built from nothing in Artemise, and to which they gave a name indicative of their lack of imagination.
Crescent.
During the entirety of Olympus' rule, outside of some exceptions, foreign ships were only allowed to dock at Crescent in the Province of Artemise. Any vessel entering the territorial waters of the other Provinces without the proper accreditations was taking the risk of being sunk on sight. From Crescent, the goods were then transported to the main land with other ships, and were unloaded in the port cities of Okéanis and Naïad, before finally being transported with trains everywhere in the country.
Economical success had a cost however. The building of Crescent, then the sea traffic, destroyed the salt ponds and caused a pollution that killed all the fishes around the island and bankrupted the local companies.
Nowadays, Crescent was in crisis. The fall of Olympus meant that the town lost its only source of income: international trade. Indeed, the Free Nation of Okéanis (of which the island was now part) didn't see the point of maintaining the old system. The international trade routes had been redirected to the ports of the mainland, leaving the island in disarray.
However, it also meant that people with money to invest were welcomed with open arms in Crescent. No matter how shady their past was.
People like Roxane Barca.
**************
Roxane's residence in Crescent was built out of town, near the rocky coastline.
The businesswoman didn't joke with security. While the house itself looked like any opulent-looking villa, the building was surrounded by a fence and four watchtowers. Patrols of armed guards were watching the estate, which therefore looked more like a military base than a residential house. There even was a small contingent of elite mercenaries guarding the inside of the main house.
A guard-house was built in the eastern side of the estate, the side on the opposite side from the coast. It was a small building designed to allow the sentries of the outside who weren't on duty to relax. There were seats, a small kitchen, a toilet room, and even a few one-place beds.
Two women entered the guard-house.
The first one, called Luna, had hazel eyes and thick short brown hair styled into a pixie cut. She was a sporty woman with a fit slender body. Her right ear was pierced with a small ring. The second one, called Margo, had midback-long dark blond hair tied in a ponytail and blue eyes, with a red ribbon tied around it and a black hair clip. She was tall, but lanky, and didn't look as athletic as most of the other guards. There was a gab between her front teeth, she had a prominent chin and her nose was crooked.
Both sentries were wearing the same outfit – which was the regular uniform of all the guards watching the outside of the estate. Black thick combat shoes, dark grey army-like pants with front pockets on the calves and thighs, a black utility belt onto which weapons and a walkie talkie were strapped, a light grey shirt, black fingerless gloves, and a dark grey army-like zipped jacket with front pockets. To cover their heads outside, they were using a black beret. They were armed with machine guns, though the two sentries had put theirs in a corner of the room since they didn't need them for what they had in mind.
Margo looked around her. “Are you sure that nobody will walk on us while we're-”
Luna grabbed her girlfriend's butt with her two hands and pulled her closer, interrupting Margo's question.
“Don't worry. I've made sure that the guard-house was reserved for us during the next few hours. I had to break a few teeth, but nobody will disturb us.”
Margo smiled coyly. “That's against the rules...” she remarked.
Luna answered by squeezing her hands to grope Margo and pulling her girlfriend even closer, until their bodies and chests were pressed against each other. She knew that Margo liked it more when she was being forward and a little rough. “I intend to break a lot more rules...” she whispered, with her lips only a few millimeters from Margo's.
The blonde's cheeks were now flushed red due to excitement and anticipation. “Then I'll have to use my handcuffs on you criminal...” she purred.
Margo opened her lips, ready to give Luna a long passionate kiss.
The two lovebirds were interrupted by the noise of someone entering the guard-house.
“Who dares?!” Luna exclaimed.
Two women entered the small building.
The first was a tall black woman with puffy black hair and dark eyes. The second was a busty brunette with blue eyes and a light skin. One thing was certain, they weren't guards.
Posy closed the door and smiled.
“Hello ladies. Sorry to ruin the mood, but there's going to be a change of plans.” she said.
**************
Outside of the guard-house, only a few muffled grunts, noises and thuds could be heard.
“They sure are rough today.” a patrolling woman with black hair and skin commented.
“Indeed. If I didn't know any better, I'd even say say that they're actually fighting!” her brown-haired colleague answered with a snicker.
They both burst out laughing.
**************
The fight was short, but intense. Clover and Posy came out on top.
Luna and Margo were lying on each other, with the brunette's face nested in her girlfriend's chest.
“Too bad they're unconscious. I bet she would have enjoyed it a lot.”
“Posy! Keep it clean, please.” Clover joked.
They swiftly removed the uniforms of the two unconscious women. They started by unlacing and taking off the shoes, unbuckling the belts, then sliding down the pants while raising their legs one after the other. Next, they unzipped and pulled off the jackets, before pulling off the shirts, each time lifting the women's motionless upper bodies.
As undergarments, Luna was clad in a scarlet red balcony bra with a floral pattern made of black trimmings, and matching scarlet red tight cheeky panties, with a red garter belt and translucent red stockings. Posy could only imagine how uncomfortable wearing them under a uniform had been.
The things you can do to please your loved one... Margo was wearing a black lace g-string with embroidered flowers, a black lacy plunge bra, and (strangely) black socks with little red hearts on them.
The two sentries had indeed been planning to go all out in the guard-house...
Clover checked her wristwatch. “We're on time. Let's tuck these two in.” she said.
Ultimately, Posy didn't have the heart to separate the two lovebirds. She made sure to bind them with ropes in a way that was making the two women face each other.
First, she individually tied Margo's and Luna's legs and upper-arms. Then, she pushed each guard's limp unconscious body until their waists, thighs and breasts were pressed against each other. She wrapped more ropes around their upper-bodies, waists, thighs, and calves to pin them against each other. She bound each sentry's wrists behind her partner's back. Therefore, each woman's tied hands were therefore resting on the other's backside.
The brunette would have loved to be able to do a true 'kiss gag': wrapping bits of cloth around their heads until the sentries were locked into a deep, intimate tongue-kiss that neither one could break. However, such a method would be too unreliable to silence them properly. Therefore, she settled with a tape-gag, and wrapped one bit of cloth to press the two women's taped lips against each other.
She was using a new sort of tape, specifically designed by the government's weapons development department to be more durable and impossible to loosen with saliva.
Of course, it was probably a little cruelly ironic to bind Margo and Luna like that. But hey, Posy chose to stop mugging innocent women – and she was intending to keep her promise. However, she never swore to go easy on the criminals.
These two lovebirds were maybe madly in love with each other, but they were also wanted criminals in the Federation. Therefore, she felt no remorse about abandoning them while tightly trussed up, knowing that it would take them hours to escape their predicament or to be rescued.
The two Vigilantes donned the discarded dark grey uniforms, as well as the black combat shoes, belts, fingerless gloves, and berets. The berets in particular were going to be especially importat: they would be useful to hide their appearances.
Posy grabbed the two machine guns and gave one to her friend.
Nearby, Margo and Luna started to stir and to moan. They were waking up.
The two lovebirds were about to discover that they were going to spend their raunchy date differently than what they expected... Posy was hoping for them that they were fans of bondage. Though she didn't share her thought with her friend. She knew it wasn't the time to joke, but the time to act.
“Hopefully, everyone else is doing as great as us.” Clover commented.
**************
“So... How did you end up working here?” Osana asked her colleague.
She was asking a plain question, but it was a way as any to strike up a conversation with a fellow sentry. Osana was actually the latest recruit hired by Roxane Barca to watch her residence. She was hoping to learn the ropes by talking with a more experienced sentry.
Besides, guard duty was so boring... Sure, they were patrolling the western side of the estate – the one near the coastline. However, after an hour, watching the same rocky shore, the same rock formations, and the same spot of the ocean just didn't have the same magic. Even the sound of the waves was becoming monotonous after a while.
Also, the fingerless gloves weren't very comfortable and the machine guns were starting to feel heavy after a while, even though they were using a strap to buckle them around one shoulder while holding them horizontally
Osana had orange brown eyes and ginger red hair, which were tied into waist-long twin-tails with two salmon-pink hair elastics. Her skin was light, though she didn't have freckles. She had a body slightly taller and more slender than average, though she didn't look muscular. Her face was somewhere between round-shaped and square-shaped.
The woman with whom she was patrolling today was called Ayano. She had a light skin, grey eyes, and straight, shoulder-long black hair. Her hair were tied into a high ponytail with a bang swept to the right, and two strands of hair were reaching to her shoulders. She was of average height and size, which made her look slightly smaller compared to Osana.
Both women were wearing the same uniforms as Margo and Luna.
“I'm actually wanted for murder in the Federation.” Ayano bragged.
She smiled when she noticed the expression on her fellow sentry's face. Osana was both impressed and scared.
“Yep!” the black-haired sentry added. “My bastard of a boyfriend thought he could cheat on me... So I bashed his head with a hammer, then did the same to his little whore!”
Slightly nervous, Osana gulped.
“Riiiiight...” she answered.
“What about you?”
“Oh, nothing spectacular... I was working as hired muscles for a gang of South Window, and when things got a little too heated I took a ferry for Crescent. And now I'm here.”
“A riveting story.”
Ayano smiled. Slightly mockingly.
“By the way, what's with these twin-tails anyway?” the black-haired woman added. “It's a silly hairstyle if you ask me!”
“That's the fashion in my home Province.” Osana justified herself, on the defensive.
“Oh yes, the boonies...” Ayano chuckled.
The redhead's cheeks reddened slightly. She was from the Province of Shield, a region that had the reputation of being particularly backwards.
“Anyway, I'll grab myself something to drink inside.” Ayano concluded. “I trust you to fill in for me during my absence. I know you're a new recruit, but I'm sure that I can count on you...”
The black-haired woman walked towards the service entrance of the residence.
Once she was inside, Osana spat on the ground. “Creeps me the fuck out...” she commented.
The redhead was wondering if she hadn't been tricked by her colleague, so that she would stay here while Ayano would take a little un-authorized break during their shift...
Still, the black-haired woman looked scary.
Like all criminals, Osana liked to brag about her toughness and to make herself look intimidating. But to tell the truth, the worst thing she ever did was beating up a few punks. And vandalism. Lots and lots of vandalism. However, the idea of killing someone with a hammer... She was finding it disgusting.
I mean, shooting at an intruder who refuses to surrender is one thing, but bashing someone's brains out... That's just sick!
Osana shrugged and adjusted her black beret, then the shoulder strap of her machine gun.
When in doubt, act dumb and play it safe. This was something akin to a saying in her home Province.
The ginger-red-haired sentry was still waiting for her colleague to return when, suddenly, an arm was wrapped around her throat.
“Gak!”
Reflexively, she tried to grab the arm, but the shoulder strap of her machine gun was actually hampering her movements, preventing her from getting a good grip.
The arm squashing her throat was leaving just enough slack to allow her to breath, but she could hardly make a sound. Well, outside of a weird gurgle.
“We will take a few steps...” a voice suddenly whispered in the redhead's ear. “Until we are hidden by this nice little blindspot behind the rock formation over there. Unless you prefer that I snap your neck and drag your body.”
How is it possible? Osana thought.
Midori is supposed to see me from the watchtower! Why isn't she raising the alarm?
**************
Midori was a green-haired woman. Well... Technically her hair were light chestnut brown, but since she was from the Seleucos Faction – and because she thought it was giving her an edge – she had chosed to have them dyed entirely green. Her hair were loose and waist-long. On her left and right side, she had some hair that went to her shoulders. Her bangs were cut short and met in the middle. She had green-brown eyes and a white skin, a round face, and a hook nose.
Also, Midori currently had other problems to deal with than trying to help her fellow sentry Osana who was being mugged.
Problems taking the form of a woman clamping a pad soaked with chloroform over her mouth and nose.
And yet, everything began quite well for Midori. She had always enjoyed the shifts in the watchtower, as they allowed her to be alone... And being alone allowed her to discreetly smoke a little joint or two.
Roxane apparently never considered the downside of hiring people with less-than-stellar morals: they tended to ignore the rules. Such as taking advantage of a shift in the watchtower to smoke a joint. Or going to fetch a drink while on duty. Or neglecting their patrol to share a tender passionate moment in the guard-house.
Anyway, while the green-haired guard was busy rolling her 'improved cigarette', as she called them, Cleo had managed to silently climb the watchtower and to assault the sentry from behind.
The blond-haired special combattant had kicked Midori in the back of her right knee to make her lose balance; then had plumped down on the ground, pulling her victim along and making her fall on her, with Midori's body resting on Cleo's. Therefore, they were out of sight: the frame of the watchtower was concealing their figures and their fight.
Hours of observation allowed the blond-haired special combattant to notice a huge flaw in the residence's security perimeter. Between each passage of the patrol, there was a huge window of time during which the ladder leading to the watchtower wasn't watched by anyone. After cutting with a wire cutter a passage in the fence, and as long as she stayed in the watcher's blind spot, she could infiltrate the watchtower with ease.
Midori was wriggling, struggling, and groaning, but there wasn't much she could do. An arm was wrapped around her torso to immobilize her own arms, and two legs were wrapped around her knees to block her lower limbs.
Cleo tightened her grip.
The guard should have been grateful that Clover and Posy insisted to not use lethal means. This technique was supposed to be used to strangle an opponent from behind. Chloroforming her was actually making things more difficult.
“Uuuuuffff... Uuuuffff... Uuu... fff… Uh... … ...” Midori finally went limp and slumped onto Cleo.
About time!
Cleo had to give it to the sentry: she proved to be more resilient than most of the people she neutralized.
The special combattant didn't waste any more time, and stripped the sentry of her black beret, combat shoes, fingerless gloves and belt, dark grey uniform jacket and pants, and light grey shirt. Once Midori was down to her underwear, Cleo grabbed a couple of restraints attached to her belt. The blonde was a trained professional, therefore she didn't bat an eye at her victim's rather odd choice of undergarments.
Midori was apparently very comfortable with her pot-related guilty pleasure, as her white cheeky panties were adorned with little green cannabis leaves. She was also wearing a white t-shirt bra. And each cup of the bra was adorned with one big green cannabis leaf.
Cleo tied the sentry's wrists and ankles with plastic handcuffs. She used to woman's grey socks as a gag, shoving them into her mouth. Then, she wrapped a few layers of government-approved silvery tape around the snetry's lower face to complete the gag. The special combattant knew that the effects of the sleeping drug she used to knock her out would take a long time to wear off anyway.
Once her prisoner was secured, Cleo slipped into the uniform.
She briefly waved in the direction of a woman hidden behind a rock formation in the distance.
**************
Another woman was waiting behind the rock formation. She was happy to see her accomplice arrive with the captive Osana.
The ginger-red-haired guard had chosen to apply her saying of playing safe, and obeyed her captor. After all, it was better to be prisoner but alive than dead. While her captor was still in her back, the sentry could see the other woman. The latter had a curvy body with a well-endowed chest, dark brown braided hair, a tanned skin, and hazel eyes.
Osana recognized her. She was Klenia. One of the insufferable do-gooders who worked for the Rebellion during the civil war. Also, a legend among infiltrators... and, as a consequence, among sentries as well. Though not for the same reasons.
“Good work, Shayna.” Klenia said.
“Thank you, love. Now, let's interrogate our prisoner, shall we?”
The sentry had a hard time processing what was happening.
While she knew that Roxane had a shady past, she also believed that nobody would be able to reach her in Crescent. She never expected to actually have to confront real intruders. She thought that her job would be easy money: just stand around and look mean, just like when she was working for her gang.
“So, I've seen your file.” Klenia said. “Osana Aijini. Born in the district of Crossroads situated in the Province of Shield. Petty criminal and thug for hire. We will ask you a few questions about the patrols and the layout of the estate. I advise you to answer them honestly.”
While she wasn't the toughest criminal out there, Osana still had enough self-respect to not spill the beans after one meagre threat.
“Oh yeah? And what will you do if I refuse?” the red-haired guard defiantly exclaimed.
Klenia rolled her eyes, then she grabbed Osana's left twin-tail and pulled it.
“Hey!” the sentry complained.
However, Shayna was still immobilizing her, therefore she couldn't do anything else.
Klenia then pulled the right twin-tail.
“Ow! Stop it, you big bully!” Osana exclaimed.
“It's not my fault if you're making things too easy with your dumb twin-tails...”
“What's with everyone and mocking my twin-tails?! They're the fashion where I come from!”
“They're just reminding me of someone I don't appreciate much.” Klenia said.
Her girlfriend made her stop with a glare.
“All right, I'll respect the cultural differences and simply tell you what's going to happen if you don't cooperate. First, I'll cut off your twin-tails. Then, I'll become really mean, and I'll break a few bones.”
“What?! Don't touch my twin-tails! That's just cruel!”
“Says the one working for the mob boss.”
“Ugh! Fine! I'll talk! Just leave my hair (and my bones) alone...”
Klenia patted the ginger-red-haired guard patronizingly on the cheek. “I knew you were a reasonable woman. Keep up like this, and I'll make sure to be gentle when I take off your uniform.”
Osana's eyes widened.
“You... You're going to strip me?”
“Of course. Though only to steal your uniform. I'm a married woman now. The time when I was flirting with sentries is long over.”
The red-haired guard stared at her in dumbfounded silence.
“Honey, I'm an intruder infiltrating this estate, and you're a guard.” Klenia added. “You do the maths. Me NOT taking your uniform would actually be the illogical thing.”
“I guess it makes sense...” Osana admitted. “Can I get to keep my tank top? I like it a lot. It's a gift.”
“Then we have a deal!” Klenia said with a smile.
**************
The eastern half of the estate was being patrolled by two duos of guards and watched by two watchtowers. (The unfortunate Margo and Luna were supposed to patrol the western half of the estate, alongside with Ayano and Osana.)
It meant that there were six women to neutralize in this part of the estate.
From afar, on a hill, Primrose was watching the guards with binoculars. Katniss, Madge, and Yusufa were with her. They were using camouflage blankets to conceal themselves.
“Aim at the sentries in the two watchtowers first.” Primrose instructed to Katniss and Madge, who were holding sniper rifles.
She and Yusufa were assisting them with binoculars, helping them adjust their shot and calculate the angle.
Katniss' and Madge's sniper rifles were designed to shoot narcotic darts injecting a fast-acting sleeping drug. As former members of special forces, Katniss and Madge were trained to use sniper rifles.
The two agents aimed at their targets, a task which was made easier since the sentries on the watchtowers were static.
“Now!”
The rifles made a soft 'THUMP!' each when firing their projectiles.
In their binoculars, Primrose and Yusufa saw the sentries of the northeast and southeast watchtowers freeze at the same time. Both were women: the first was an auburn-haired ponytailed petite girl with hazel green eyes, the second a brunette with chestnut eyes and a tanned skin whose hair were tied in a tight bun. The two sentries staggered. Then, they fell. Their figures disappeared from the watchers' field of vision, concealed by the frame of the watchtower.
“Perfect shots.” Primrose congratulated her agents.
The sedative would ensure four-to-six hours of sleep. For all intent and purpose, these two guards were neutralized.
“Reload your weapons. The first patrol is about to pass by.”
Unaware of the fact that their watchers had just been put to sleep, two sentries walked near the northeast watchtower. The first had a black skin, frizzy braided black hair, dark brown eyes, a square jaw and a muscular body. The second was thinner, with a dark skin, brown hair, amber eyes, and a cute heart-shaped face.
Primrose saw them stop and point at the guard-house. For a brief moment, she feared that Posy and Clover had been discovered, which would jeopardize the entire operation. However, through her binoculars, she could see that they weren't on alert. On the contrary, they were laughing and joking. Primrose didn't know what the guards usually did in this guard-house, but apparently hearing weird noses wasn't putting the other sentries on alert...
With Primrose's and Yusufa's help, Katniss and Madge calculated the angle of their next shot.
“Fire.” Primrose instructed.
Two more 'THUMPs!'
The sentries stopped talking mid-laugh, and put a hand on their necks. Four heartbeats later, they crumbled onto the ground.
“Last patrol is coming from the south.” Yusufa warned them, using her binoculars to watch their final targets. “Only a few minutes before they see the drugged sentries on the north.”
“Katniss, Madge, reload.” Primrose instructed.
The two women were quick and efficient.
“Three minutes left.” Yusufa said.
They aimed.
The first sentry had short blond hair, a tanned soft flawless skin, and sky blue eyes. She was slender and athletic-looking, with the body of someone who swam a lot. The second had light brown hair tied up in a ponytail and brown eyes.
“Two minutes.”
Preparing a proper sniper shot was actually a lot harder than it seemed. One had to calculate the angle while taking into account the distance, the weight of the projectile, the wind that would disrupt the trajectory…
“One minute.”
However, Katniss and Madge were good shots – not the best, but good enough. Besides, they took the time to train a lot and to study the weather forecast beforehand.
THUMP! THUMP!
Two shots.
Two darted unconscious women fell face first on the ground.
Primrose let out a small sigh of relief and briefly squeezed Katniss' and Madge's shoulders.
“Good job. You two were perfect.”
The two young women smiled proudly.
Primrose gave Yusufa a quick peck on the lips, then grabbed a walkie-talkie.
“Targets all neutralized.” she said. “Piper, it's time for your team to jump into the fray. Take their uniforms and conceal them out of sight.”
“This feels so weird...”
“I know. Bear it with me. Remind yourself that these mercenaries are all wanted criminals in the Federation.”
“Roger.”
The leader of Primrose Security sighed.
Well, Primrose, you wanted to net a juicy contract with the government, you got your wish... the former policewoman thought to herself.
Sure, she would never have thought that she would one day work with infiltrators. Let alone with vigilantes who were actually responsible of the mugging for disguise of two of her agents.
However, Hieron was offering her company a big sum of money in exchange of their help in this top secret mission.
Roxane Barca was the man's target for a long time now, as she used to be the main financer of the now-dismantled terrorist organization called 'The Eye'. He had finally managed to convince his colleagues at the government to mount a secret operation to capture the corrupt businesswoman, and to forcibly extradite her from Okéanis, the nation in which she took shelter.
The government of the Federation wasn't very keen on sending official agents however. They feared a potential scandal with the Okéani government.
Hence why Hieron once again helped the Vigilantes mount an operation against their sworn enemy Roxane Barca. To help them, he called for help a few former friends that used to work with him in the Rebellion. And since they needed a small task force to even the numbers against Roxane's own private militia of mercenaries, he hired Primrose Security.
Besides, outside of the money, Primrose had a personal reason to agree working with them. She wanted to nail Roxane ever since she found out that the criminal used her and her company as pawns, hiring them to protect places containing secrets about her dirty deeds without them knowing. Twice.
And she wanted to make Barca fall even more after she had Piper kidnapped.
Sure, it meant working with vigilantes, but between them and Roxane, she knew which one was the worst. Piper told her that they could trust Clover and Posy. She trusted her agent's judgement.
With her binoculars, she watched Piper and her team deploy, cutting through the fence with wire cutters.
**************
“Well, I'm not gonna lie. If our mission has to involve uniform stealings, I prefer it when we're the ones doing the stealing.” Hazel commented.
“You're still thinking about the time this crazy so-called supervillainess impersonated you, uh?” Annabeth answered while dragging the blond-haired tanned-skinned sentry by the shoulders. Her prisoner was weakly moaning and groaning in her sleep, but the drug flowing through her veins was ensuring that she would stay out of commission for several hours.
“Of course.” the sort woman said.
“I thought you appreciated the fact that Leo was the one who found you.” Annabeth remarked with a little teasing smile. “I'm sure he certainly did!”
“I was bound on my toilet seat.” Hazel protested. “Not a very good turn-on in my opinion. If I want Leo to find me in that state, I'd prefer to lay on my bed.”
“Goodness!” Piper intervened. “Keep your minds out of the gutter while we're on mission and stay focused!”
“Yes, we got it. We're all relieved that, for once, we won't be the victims of the crazy uniform stealing shaenigans.” Reyna added. “But remain professional. I know that, for now, things have been easy. But that's because we started with the small fries. You can bet that the real dangerous mercenaries are inside the house, close to Roxane herself. They will shoot to kill. And this time we won't have snipers to cover us. No easy mode.” She was dragging by the shoulders the other sentry, the woman with light brown hair.
Annabeth and Hazel instantly regained their seriousness.
“You're right.” they said. “Sorry.”
The four agents finally arrived at the spot where the first patrol was darted by Katniss and Madge.
The black-skinned black-haired woman and her colleague with brown hair were snoring.
Reyna and Annabeth dropped their burdens next to them.
The four security guards exchanged a look.
“Piper. Can you... uh... lead the way?” Annabeth asked.
The brown-haired security guard felt a little embarassed. However, since she was the only one of her team who had already mugged women for disguise before, her three colleagues chose her to be their leader.
Of course, Piper only temporarily became a uniform stealer because the events forced her hand, but in this current situation her experience ultimately proved to be useful.
Piper sighed. “Follow my example.”
She grabbed the blond-haired tanned-skinned sentry, and started to remove her clothes. She began with the machine gun, the black beret, the weapon belt and the black combat shoes. Then, she slided down the dark grey uniform trousers. Finally, she took off the dark grey uniform jacket and the light grey shirts underneath.
Reyna, Hazel, and Annabeth followed her lead step by step.
A few minutes later, the four sentries were down to their underwear. The black-haired black-skinned woman was wearing dark blue sports bra with matching boyshorts and socks. The woman with brown hair was dressed in plaid grey, light blue and dark blue hip-hugging panties, a matching triangle bra, and grey socks. The one with light brown hair was clad in a beige tanga with a peach-coloured push-up bra and white socks. Finally, the sentry with blond hair and a tanned skin was actually wearing a swimsuit as undergarments: a two-piece navy blue bikini set with a crossover top and triangle bikini bottoms. Apparently, she was planning to go to the pool after the end of her shift. Her sport socks where dark blue.
Piper and her friends grabbed plastic zip-ties strapped onto their belts. They restrained each woman's limbs, then gagged them with the rolls of silvery tape that Hieron's agents gave to them.
At first, Piper had been surprised that the government's weapons development department actually took the time to invent a new kind of tape, reserved for their agents. A tape designed to be sturdier and harder to remove, even with water. A perfect tool to gag someone, as it was making using saliva to loosen the tape a lot harder. However, after some reflection and given how some missions required non-lethal neutralizations, she realized that it wasn't that surprising.
Piper, Annabeth, Hazel, and Reyna slipped into the stolen uniforms. For the three latter, it was a new experience; though not necessary an unpleasant one.
They left the bound-and-gagged mercenaries lying lined up in a blind spot of the building, between the main house and the northwest watchtower. While these women were criminals, Piper and her team couldn't bring themselves to leave them piled up.
As guards by training themselves, they couldn't help but sympathize slightly with their prisoners and uniform donors.
“Alright. We now simply have to quickly restrain the two watchers, and we can regroup with the others.” Piper said.
**************
When Ayano returned with her can of soda, she was surprised to see that her partner was nowhere in sight.
She better not have snitched on me! If she did, there will be a knuckle sandwich on her menu!
Ayano scanned the surroundings. Nothing. She briefly thought of calling Midori on her watchtower, but the moron was probably busy smoking a joint again.
Then, things happened too quickly for her to react.
The black-haired sentry heard a slight movement behind her. She turned.
A tall athtletic-looking woman dressed in black, with a dark skin, hazel eyes, and short brown hair had approached her from behind.
And was now on her.
Ayano found herself with a knife under her throat. The black-haired sentry froze and dropped her can of soda because of the shock.
“Drop the machine gun.”
Ayano complied.
“Who... Who are you?” she stammered. “Where's Osana?”
With some luck, her partner was going to arrive and save her.
“Your friend has been taken care of.” the black-clothed woman coldly said.
Ayano paled.
“Midori on the watchtower will-”
“She's also been taken care of.” the woman interrupted her. “And before you ask, I personally took care of the short brunette who was stuffing herself with pastries in the northwest watchtower. Unfortunately for you, she wasn't my size. So it means that you'll have to give me your clothes, and I'd prefer to not get blood on them. Therefore, you can choose. You can either strip like a woman, or I can slit your throat like a pig going to the slaughterhouse.”
This time, Ayano started to shiver.
She thought that she was a tough criminal. A tough woman whom nobody would want to cross.
But in the eyes of the black-clothed woman, she saw the steely stare of a cold-blooded killer.
Ayano understood that she was nothing compared to that woman. She maybe killed two people in a moment of hot-blooded anger, but the brown-haired woman was a trained professional assassin. Ayano could see it in her eyes, in her posture, in the way she was holding her combat knife. She could hear it in her voice.
“You'll spare me if I comply, right?” she whimpered.
**************
When she heard the pathetic whimpers of the black-haired sentry, Agria knew that she had won. The guard was so scared for her life that she would obey her every instructions without even thinking of trying to fight back, to flee, or to call for help.
“If you comply, yes. But there won't be any second chance.”
In truth, Agria didn't even kill the light-brown-haired woman in the northwest watchtower. Anyway, the sentry – with her shoulder-long wavy hair pulled back by an orange kerchief, her soft round face with chubby cheeks, and her short plump body – looked more like a clerk in a bakery than like a mercenary for hire. Especially when she was munching on pastries and sweets with obvious delight, completely unaware of her surroundings.
For a criminal, the sentry was in fact looking so non-threatening that even the quick nerve-pinch that Agria used to knock her out felt like overkill.
Unfortunately for Agria however, the plump woman was too short for her. Though in a way, it was a stroke of luck for the guard. Indeed, since the special combattant was in a hurry, she didn't see the point in stripping her victim. (The woman was too short for any of her partner anyway, outside of Cleo maybe, and Cleo didn't need her clothes.) Therefore, the light-brown-haired sentry was allowed to remain fully-clothed. And she'd probably be one of the few lucky women still fully-clothed in the area once everything would be over, perhaps even the only one.
Agria simply restrained the chubby woman's arms and legs with plastic handcuffs, and gagged her with a sponge and silvery tape.
Of course, Ayano didn't have to know that Agria had received instructions to keep the bodycount to a minimum. It would make things easier for everyone involved, especially her. Agria wasn't afraid to draw blood; and, if Ayano didn't behave, she was going to be the only sentry of the outside of the estate left behind as a corpse.
“I'll... I'll cooperate...” Ayano meekly said.
Agria knew that all the other patrols and sentries had been neutralized. She didn't need to bother hiding.
“Take off your clothes.”
“H... Here and now?”
“Here and now. None of your colleagues will disturb us. You're actually the last one.”
Ayano was already pale, but she now became ghostly white.
Hurriedly, she dropped her clothes on the ground. She stopped once she was down to her undergarments. Ayano was wearing a black t-shirt bra and black boyshorts. Both were adorned with blood red little skulls. Her grey socks were also adorned with a pattern of black skulls.
Agria scoffed mockingly. “You're a real tough girl, aren't you?” she ironically commented. “They look like the kiddie underwear of a little girl pretending to be a pirate!”
Ayano's cheeks became bright red, but she submissively kept quiet.
Agria made her walk to Midori's watchtower and forced her to sit with her back resting agaisnt one of the pillars of the tower.
Then, the special combattant tied Ayano to the pillar. She cuffed her wrists behind her back, and behind the pillar, with plastic handcuffs. She then restrained her ankles, her calves, her knees and her thighs with zip-ties. Finally, she wrapped a few layers of tape around the black-haired sentry's waist and the pillar, to pin her back against the pillar. Ayano's own socks and several layers of tape made for a find gag.
Once Agria was done, the wannabe tough criminal was left silently whimpering while restrained to her pillar. While Ayano was relieved to be alive, one thing was certain: she now knew that she wasn't the strong woman she thought she was.
Cleo went down the ladder of Midori's watchtower while Agria was putting on the sentry dark grey uniform.
“Everything good?” the short blonde asked her partner.
“Went like clockwork.” Agria answered.
“I've called the other teams to tell them that we captured the last sentry outside.” Cleo said.
Agria casted a brief scornful look towards Ayano, who was holding back some tears of fear.
“It's time to start phase 2 of the mission.” the blonde concluded.
“Well, I guess that the real challenge will now begin.” Agria commented, just loud enough for Ayano to be able to hear the jab.
Cleo nodded. “Indeed. The elite guards are inside, around Roxane herself. I heard that even the staff, including the maids, were trained mercenaries-for-hire.”
“We'll remain careful and professional then.” Agria concluded as she picked up Ayano's discarded machine gun. “Let's go!”
**************
Shayna was talking in a walkie talkie. She had strayed a little from Klenia and Osana, while the former was busy divesting the latter of her uniform. The blonde wanted to make sure that the captured sentry wouldn't be able to hear her conversation.
“Sis', do you hear me?”
“Loud and clear.” Venia's voice answered in the device.
“All is quiet on our side.”
Shayna's sister insisted to help them when they announced their intent to take part in Clover's, Posy's and Hieron's latest mission. Since she had threatened to snitch them to Aster and Mikani, they had no choice but to agree.
Venia and Amber had been left behind. They were watching the boat that they used to approach the estate from the west – and that they would use to flee if things went downhill. It was thanks to that boat that they had been able to assault the sentries simultaneously from both sides: while Clover, Posy, Agria, Cleo, Klenia, and Shayna were disembarking, Primrose's team arrived by land. While Clover and Posy were successfully able to go to the easter side of the estate, the four other women neutralized the remaining sentries of the western side.
“Everything is going smoothly.” Shayna said. “We've successfully neutralized all the guards watching the outside of the building. We're now going to enter the main house.”
“Be careful. The true tough mercenaries are inside.”
“I will.” Shayna paused, then quickly added: “By the way. Thank you again, Mary. Your boat proved to be an invaluable asset and helped greatly in our mission.”
“I'm supposed to be a simple fisherwoman now...” the former infiltrator's voice sheepishly commented in the device.
Indeed, after getting a remission of sentence, Mary (former agent working for the Callianass Cartel) had retired from her infiltrator job to work as a humble fisherwoman.
“And you'll remain one.” Shayna promised her. “Be assured that the Government will compensate you handsomely for your services.”
While Mary had sincerely reformed, Shayna thought it was still a good thing to remind her that she had a lot to win if she played her part as agreed, and a lot to lose if she backstabbed them. One was never too cautious with someone from Okéanis. Of course Mary would never sell them out. However, Shayna knew that she was the kind of woman who would flee at the first sight of danger, even if it meant abandoning everyone else behind.
Still, Shayna trusted her sister to keep the former infiltrator in line. While Mary wasn't a parangon of altruism and self-sacrifice, she had a special connection with Venia. After all, the two were slaves together on the Solomon estate. This kind of things tended to create bonds.
“We're going to move. We'll have to be even more discreet from now. Don't call me unless there's an emergency.”
**************
Klenia laced the black combat shoes, buckled the belt, then adjusted the waist of her stolen dark grey uniform trousers and the sleeves of her stolen dark grey uniform jacket. She put on the black beret and the black fingerless gloves.
“I thank you for your cooperation.” Klenia said to her unwilling outfit donor. “But now, if you excuse me, we have to get our hands on another set of clothes for my wife. I'm sure that we will find what we are looking for among the poor shmucks my friends are sniping with sleeping darts.”
The ginger-red-haired sentry didn't answer. She was gagged anyway, so it wasn't like she could have a lot of conversation. However, she didn't even groan. She still had a hard time accepting what just happened to her.
Klenia went to regroup with Shayna.
She was feeling ecstatic. It had been a long time since their last infiltration together.
Sure, they had to use trickery to prevent Aster and Mikani from learning about their plan. (Zoé proved to be an invaluable ally, as she agreed to distract their two friends.) And sure, Aster and Mikani were going to be furious.
But it was SO worth it...
Osana was left hidden behind the rocks, lying on her stomach... And clad in nothing but her light violet boxer briefs with white dots, a salmon pink tank top over a plain white full-cup bra, and matching salmon pink socks. A few thick strips of beige tape were sticked over her lips, sealing them to prevent her from spitting the sponge shoved into her mouth as a gag. Her limbs, arms and legs, were tightly restrained with a dozen of sturdy black zip-ties.
The guard was staring wide-eyed in front of her. Her long twin-tails were lying on the ground.
She still had a hard time accepting what just happened to her...
Well, at least the weather was warm in Artemise.
I seriously can not wait to see how Roxane takes to this news. 
the issue there is that I am still trying to picture the "Seraglio" in my mind