Madame Mayor - Chapter 2: The Meeting

[tirepanted3]

Mollie leaned back against the hood of her Porsche, casually smoking a cigarette.

The Smythes’ chauffeur had parked her car in a quiet corner of the vacant lot not far from the college, where it would remain while Dahlia attended her classes. Mollie had Dahlia’s schedule committed to memory, and knew she had about an hour before she would need to pick Dahlia up and drive her to her mansion home.

Mollie was a tall and svelte woman, with light skin and golden-brown hair that she typically tied back into a stately bun. She wore her usual chauffeur uniform of black double-breasted jacket with gold buttons over a pressed button-down white shirt, black trousers, finely polished low-heeled black leather driving boots, white satin gloves, and a peaked black cap.

Mollie checked her watch; there was still plenty of time for a stroll before she needed to pick up Dahlia. As a woman whose job involved driving, she always relished the opportunity to stretch her legs.

Mollie dropped the cigarette onto the pavement and ground it beneath the heel of her boot. Then she stood up straight, basking in the warmth of the mid-morning sun.

There was a low whistle of air, and Mollie felt something sharp sting the back of her upper left thigh.

“Ow!” She winced, and frowned. “Damn mosquitoes…”

She glanced around, but the bugs were nowhere to be seen.

“Hi there!”

Mollie turned to see a young woman approaching her, hands behind her back. She had dark hair that hung back in a loose ponytail, and a broad smile on her face.

“Lovely day, isn’t it?” the woman inquired, with the hint of a Russian accent.

Mollie nodded. “It would be, if not for all the bugs…”

Absent-mindedly, she reached for the spot where she had been stung – and was surprised to feel not a bug, but something else.

Mollie held up the object an gazed at it, curiously. A gleaming silver dart, cylindrical with a sharp point.

“Whatcha got there?” the woman inquired.

“I… don’t know,” Mollie replied. She had suddenly begun to feel woozy.

“Everything okay?” the Russian woman asked.

“I… My head …” Mollie rubbed her temples. The dart… Something in it had made her feel drowsy…

She tried to stay upright, but her knees wobbled. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she felt herself pitch forward.

Polina caught Mollie just as the young woman was slipping into unconsciousness. She hurriedly grabbed the ring of keys from the chauffeur’s belt, then dragged her around to the rear of the Porsche.

With a quick glance around to ensure that no one had seen her, Polina popped open the trunk of the vehicle, then climbed inside. She then turned and grabbed the chauffeur, pulling her up and into the trunk.

“Time for Phase Two,” she whispered with a grin, closing the trunk for some privacy.

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

The sleek black sedan pulled up to the gates of City Hall. Security waved it through.

The sedan stopped in from of the entrance. The rear door opened. Lucille stepped out, flanked by Cam and Gwyneth.

“I have an appointment,” Lucille told the tall security woman at the foot of the stairs. “To see the mayor.”

The guard nodded. “Right inside, ma’am. You can sign in at the front desk.”

Before entering, Lucille turned back to her driver. “Isabella, go park the car… The underground garage should have a space for us. Try to avoid tipping the attendant too much – this place doesn’t need more of our money.”

The driver nodded and pulled the car away as Lucille and her two bodyguards ascended the stairs. They entered the lobby of City Hall.

“Good morning,” Lucille smiled sweetly at the secretary minding the front desk. “Lucille Weldon-Grant. I have an appointment with the mayor.”

The secretary checked her computer. “Yes, ma’am. Please proceed to the waiting room. The mayor will see you soon.”

“Thank you, dear.” She stepped gingerly forward and motioned to her bodyguards to follow.

Although Cam and Gwyneth had only been working for Lucille a short time, they found it curious to see her so at ease.

For the last several weeks, Lucille had been uptight and irritated about her shattered prospects, constantly grumbling about how her time in jail had lost her everything – friends, contacts, power. Her recent anger at Chandra and Sonja for disrupting her planned interview was only the latest example of her short temper.

But now, Lucille strode into the waiting room with the confident attitude of a woman who had just been handed the opportunity of a lifetime.

The waiting room was empty, apart from a couple of posh long couches, a coffee table, and a few paintings and potted plants along the wall. A couple of old magazines lay on the table, worn and dog-eared.

“Er, boss?” Cam asked as the three women sat down. “If you don’t mind my asking, you’re in a very good mood all of the sudden. I was wondering… why?”

Lucille grinned. “Because, darling… I’ve finally found my pathway back to success and fortune.”

Noting Cam’s quizzical look, she continued. “Delilah Hargrove and I… we’ve known each other for a long time. Back since we were both roommates in college, in fact. We were friends… then rivals. But over that time, I’ve accumulated some… information about her. Intriguing information that could spell the end of her career as mayor.”

Gwyneth raised a curious eyebrow. “What sort of information, boss?”

“Delilah ran for mayor on the platform of being a tough-on-crime candidate,” Lucille explained. “She was elected with the promise to crack down on ‘uniform stealing’ women, to ensure they get brought to justice. I wonder what the public would think,” she continued with a sly smile, “if they knew Delilah deserved a little of this ‘justice’ herself?”

Cam and Gwyneth were now listening with rapt attention.

“It was a little over two decades ago,” Lucille continued. “Delilah and I were young women… Two aspiring college girls against the world. I was studious and scholarly, knowing that I had to work extra-hard to compete with the boys, despite their own obviously limited intelligence… Delilah, though, preferred to take shortcuts… Which culminated in some… interesting developments before the final exams of our senior year.”

Lucille’s eyes twinkled slightly as she recalled the story. “Delilah was worried about failing the physics exam… So worried, in fact, that she was willing to cheat. She planned to break into the dean’s office, where the exams and answers were kept, and memorize the answers before the exams.

“As it just so happened, there was a girls’ volleyball tournament to be held a few days before the exam… And our school team won. Such gorgeous girls, too… Long legs, perfect hair… Tall and athletic, dressed in bright red jerseys, black shorts, and white sneakers. The team was allowed special access to the dean’s office to be presented with trophies… They were thrilled.

“Delilah heard about this and got an idea… The day the trophies would be awarded, she followed the volleyball team on their way out of the locker room. One girl – a tall and leggy blonde – stopped to take a drink from the water fountain… Delilah waited till the rest of team was out of sight… Then she handgagged the girl and hit her with a judo chop. Dragged her into an empty study room and started stripping her…

“But she was careless, Delilah was… She forgot to lock the door. And I happened to walk in at that moment, looking for a place to study…”

Lucille paused and grinned. “You must understand,” she addressed her bodyguards. “Back in those days, uniform stealing wasn’t very common. I don’t think it had occurred at our college before. So when I saw my roommate bending over another girl, stripping her out of her clothes… Well, I briefly got the wrong idea.” She chuckled.

“Anyway, Delilah was startled, embarrassed… But she quickly explained to me what she was planning. She swore me to secrecy… and as her friend, I was willing to accommodate her. She stripped the volleyball player down to her underwear – pink sports bra and white boyshorts, as I recall, quite a lovely figure – then used grey duct tape to bind and gag her. It’s kind of funny to look back on…

“Anyway, she dressed in the volleyball girl’s uniform, hurried up to join the rest of the team… Somehow she finagled her way into the back of the dean’s office and found the answer key she was looking for. She aced the exam, and only had to knock out one dumb blonde athlete to do it.”

Cam and Gwyneth listened to all this in fascination.

“And… you’ve never told anyone about this?” Gwyneth asked.

“Not until you two, just now,” Lucille replied. “I admit I never thought much of it, particularly once uniform stealing became more mainstream… until a few months ago, when Delilah was elected mayor as an anti-uniform-stealing crusader.”

Lucille laughed. “What a scandal! Imagine the fury that would erupt if people learn the truth about their beloved new mayor… With this info, I can blackmail her… get all the money and power I want. I’ll rebuild my reputation, win back my fortune… I can control this city.”

Cam and Gwyneth exchanged a glance. Both bodyguards looked suitably impressed.

“I figured this incident would come in handy someday,” Lucille grinned. “And that day has arrived at last.”

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

Oksana tied the white apron smock around her waist and tucked her honey-brown hair beneath the hairnet.

She turned and glanced at the corner of the alley. “Thank you for cooperating, dear… Trust me when I say you’ve saved us both a lot of trouble.”

The real lunchlady sat in the corner of the alley, staring fearfully up at the woman who now wore her clothes. She had been reduced to a pink triangle bra and white cotton bikini panties. Oksana had used the remaining construction tape from her belt to bind and gag her.

Oksana gave her a curt nod. “Someone should find you around lunchtime, dear… Just sit tight until then.”

She turned her heel and walked off, stepping back through the double doors into the building.

Oksana made her way through the campus hallways, attentively scanning her surroundings.

Most students were in class now, and the few who passed her eyed her with a chuckle. Apparently they had never seen a lunchlady outside the lunchroom. She treated them to a cold look in response and continued walking.

Based on her research, Dahlia should be somewhere in this building… but where?

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

Isabella hummed to herself as she drove the car around to the rear of the building. A tall, tan-skinned woman with jet-black hair in an elegant bun, she wore a black uniform jacket and knee-length skirt, a crisp white shirt, black driving boots with sheer black tights, black patent leather gloves, and a peaked black cap.

There was indeed an entrance to an underground parking lot at the rear of the building. Isabella pulled the car inside and down the main ramp.

The parking attendant, a tall uniformed woman with dark skin and short black hair, smiled as she pulled up to the entrance booth.

Isabella rolled down the car window.

“Good morning, ma’am,” the attendant said. “Purpose of your visit?”

“I’m the chauffeur for Lucille Weldon-Grant,” Isabella replied. “She has an appointment with the mayor… There should be a parking space reserved for us.”

“Ah, of course,” the attendant replied. “One moment, please.”

She bent down and rummaged in the desk behind her booth. Then she stood up again, holding what appeared to be a small pink powder compact.

Isabella looked at her curiously.

“Free sample,” the attendant explained as she opened the compact. “Here, give it a look.”

Before Isabella could object, the attendant had blown some powder from the compact directly into her face.

“Oh!” Isabella jerked back instinctively as she breathed in the powder. It smelled strange… Very strange…

Suddenly, she felt unusually tired…

“I…” She tried to formulate words, but her brain seemed to be slowing down. She slumped back against her seat, eyes fluttering. Moments later, she was fast asleep.

The “parking attendant” quickly pocketed the compact, then pressed her palms down on the rim of the booth and hoisted herself through the window. She slid directly through the window of the sleek sedan, elbowing the sleeping Isabella over to the passenger seat.

Then she drove the sedan into the underground parking lot, past several rows of official-looking vehicles. She parked the car in a quiet corner of the lot with no one else around – perfect for the next phase of her plan.

Minutes later, the door to the sedan opened. The driver stepped out, no longer clad in the parking attendant uniform. Instead, she was now fully dressed in Isabella’s uniform, from boots to cap.

Isabella lay on the floor in the back of the sedan, stripped to a pink comfort bra and white briefs. She had been hogtied with white rope and gagged with a blue kerchief.

The woman who now wore her uniform gave her a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, doll… But I need some words with your boss.”

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

Chandra and Sonja trudged down the dirt road that led away from the Weldon-Grant estate.

Sonja wrinkled her nose. “Gah, I smell awful,” she grumbled. “Damn those bitches… throwing us into the trash. I’ve never felt so humiliated…”

Chandra nodded. Her mind was busy thinking, but the look on her face indicated she felt the same way.

“Remind me why we couldn’t go back to the news van?” Sonja asked.

“Knowing Lucille, she may call the cops on us… Describe the van we’ve stolen, and presumably give descriptions of us,” Chandra explained. “We need to get out of this area without drawing attention to that.”

“Then what?” Sonja pressed. “Do you want to come back here and egg her house? That seems like a decent punishment…”

Chandra shook her head. “Vandalism is for teenagers,” she said. “No, we need to ruin Lucille. Maybe to the extent that she’s sent back to jail… where she belongs.”

Sonja nodded. “I can’t believe we worked so hard to bust her out in the first place.”

“Just when you think you know someone…” Chandra’s brow furrowed. “We just need to figure out how to make her pay.”

Sonja sniffed her sweatshirt again. “Could we at least change out of these clothes first? I do a better job thinking when I don’t smell like a dumpster.”

Chandra nodded. “Good idea. It’s probably safer for us to change out of these disguises anyway… But we left our real clothes in the van.”

At that moment, there was a dinging sound. They had to step to the side of the dirt road, as a young cyclist raced past them on a mountain bike.

Another cyclist followed moments later. Chandra turned to Sonja. “Guess this is a popular bike path.”

They turned past some trees and saw a small clearing, in which a small rest stop – a restroom complete with water fountain – had been constructed. As they watched, two young female cyclists parked their bikes and approached the rest stop. They talked and laughed with one another as they began refilling their water bottles.

The cyclists wore similar outfits – skintight jerseys and thigh-length bike shorts, running shoes, plus helmets and black elbow and knee pads. The first cyclist, a tall and long-legged woman with light skin and short, matted straw-blonde hair, had chosen her outfit in green and black. The second cyclist, a woman with dark skin and chin-length frizzy black hair, had opted for pink and black.

Chandra grinned as she watched the two cyclists. Then she turned to Sonja. “How good are you at bike riding?”

Sonja smiled back. “It’s been a while, but I don’t think I’ve forgotten.”

“Great. Listen close.” Chandra began whispering her plan into Sonja’s ear.

The two cyclists had just finished refilling their water bottles. They were still chatting with one another as Sonja approached.

“Excuse me, ladies,” she said, holding up her video camera.

The two women turned to her curiously.

“I’m a documentary filmmaker,” Sonja said, patting her camera. “I’m currently making a movie about bicycling… It’s such a fascinating activity, isn’t it? And I’m trying to interview some professional bikers in the process.”

The two cyclists exchanged a glance. The dark-skinned biker spoke. “Well, I wouldn’t call us ‘professionals’…”

“You’re perfect for my purposes,” Sonja added, with a smile that obscured the true meaning of her words. “I just want to ask you a few questions about how you got into biking and why you love it. With any luck, you’ll see yourselves in a theater next year!”

At this, the two cyclists brightened.

“What do you want to ask us?” the blonde inquired.

“Let’s first step away from the road,” Sonja said. “Have a little more peace and quiet for the interview. There’s a nice comfy spot behind those bushes.” She pointed to the nearby underbrush.

“Follow me, girls.” She beckoned them as she walked to the bushes. “This should only take a few minutes.”

The two cyclists followed.

“How’s my hair look?” the blonde asked. “I kind of want to freshen up if I’m going to be on camera.”

“You look gorgeous,” Sonja assured her. “And don’t worry, I’m aiming for realism… I want to interview women when they’re in midst of their bike-riding workout. That’s what makes them so exciting to talk to.”

Encouraged, the two cyclists smiled and followed Sonja behind the bushes.

There was no one else around at the moment, save for a few birds sitting in the trees, tweeting a happy tune. It was a pleasant and tranquil sound, but it was shortly interrupted by the noticeably less pleasant sounds of punching and kicking that suddenly filled the air.

These sounds only lasted a few moments, though, and soon all was pleasant once again. For Chandra and Sonja, at least.

“Ah, new clothes!” Sonja smiled as she snugly fit her buttocks into a pink set of bike shorts. “Complete with a delightful non-trash smell!”

“Stretchable fabric, too,” Chandra commented as she shimmied into the green jersey. “I always appreciate when clothing companies opt for ‘one-size-fits-all’ attire. It’s not always easy to find women who are exactly our proportions.”

“Not that I would belittle their proportions,” Sonja smiled as she approvingly eyed the two unconscious cyclists.

Indeed, the women they had just mugged were certainly well-proportioned, though neither was awake to appreciate the compliment. And even had they been awake, in their current position – seated back-to-back against a large birch tree, bound-and-gagged with torn strips from Chandra and Sonja’s previous disguises – they wouldn’t exactly be primed for conversation. But no one could doubt that the blonde, in her pink sports bra and black boyshorts, and the brunette, in her green exercise bra and black hipsters, were athletically fit.

“Kind of a weird underwear coincidence, isn’t it?” Sonja asked.

Chandra raised an eyebrow. “A what?”

“Their underwear,” Sonja pointed. “The girl with the green uniform has pink underwear, and the one with a pink uniform has green underwear. You’d think it would be the opposite, wouldn’t you?”

Chandra strapped on the bike helmet. “You’re the only one who notices these things.”

Sonja shrugged. “I like to have an eye for detail.” She laced up her new biking sneakers. “So, what now?”

“Now we steal their bikes and get moving,” Chandra replied. “I’ll explain my plan on the road.”

Sonja stood up and smiled. “Lovely day for a bike ride,” she mused. “Lead the way.”

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

Lucille tapped the arm of her chair impatiently. She and her bodyguards had been in the mayor’s waiting room for nearly twenty minutes.

“She’d better not have canceled my appointment,” Lucille murmured. “Not if she knows what’s good for her…”

At that moment, the door to the waiting room opened. Two female security guards entered, glancing in Lucille’s direction.

“Ms. Weldon-Grant?” one of them, a platinum-blonde woman, asked.

Lucille nodded.

“The mayor will see you now,” the guard said. “We’ve been assigned to escort you to her office.”

Lucille smiled. “About time. Let’s go, girls.” She stood up; Cam and Gwyneth did likewise.

The guard held up a hand. “Sorry, Ms. Weldon-Grant… Only you have been authorized to enter the mayor’s office. Your associates will have to wait here.”

Lucille frowned. “They’re not my ‘associates,’ they’re my bodyguards,” she asserted. “And where I go, they go. I’m sure the mayor will understand.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but rules are rules. I promise you have nothing to worry about; my coworker and I been assigned by the mayor to take you to and from her office.”

Lucille was silent for a moment. Then she managed a polite smile.

“Of course, I understand. Would you just give me a minute to gather my things?”

“Certainly, ma’am. We’ll be waiting right outside.”

The guards exited, the door closing behind them.

Lucille quickly turned to Cam and Gwyneth. “This is bad,” she said in hushed tones. “Delilah obviously is on her guard. She wants me to enter her office, alone and unarmed… She knows she can threaten me if I don’t have backup.”

“But what can we do?” Gwyneth asked. “We’re not authorized to enter her office with you… Only the mayor’s security personnel are.”

Lucille glanced towards the door for a moment. Then a crafty smile spread across her lips, and she turned back to her bodyguards.

“I have an idea,” she whispered. “Listen close…”

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

“Ah, this is better.”

Atsuko smiled as she glanced around her office space. After spending some time relegated to minding the phone banks in the basements of Cerberus, she and her coworker Audrey had done well enough to earn an upgrade – a shared office on the second floor.

“It’s much better,” Audrey agreed from her own desk. “Now I can play music and no one will get annoyed when I sing along to the lyrics of ‘Barbie Girl’.”

Atsuko gave a wry grin. “I will definitely get annoyed by that.”

Audrey shrugged. “It was worth a shot.”

She popped in her earbuds and got to work at her computer.

Atsuko shook her head in amusement. She appreciated the lack of music, as well as the lack of incessant ringing of phones that typified her previous position.

Finally, a quiet day at the office.

Unfortunately for Atsuko, it would not be as quiet as she would think…

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

The frame of the Cerberus Chemicals factory loomed large as ever. And the sounds from within suggested a factory that was quite busy today.

Chandra and Sonja parked their bikes in some bushes, not far from the rear of the factory. They peeked through the underbrush.

“This is getting kind of old,” Sonja murmured.

Chandra turned to her. “Eh?”

“We’ve already infiltrated Cerberus twice before,” Sonja explained. “It’s getting a little repetitive, y’know?”

Chandra shrugged. “As long as they’ve got something we need, they’re worth infiltrating.” She squinted as she gazed at the building. “Now if my hunch is correct, Lucille’s former secretary – Audrey, I think her name was – should be working there today. And if we’re lucky, she hasn’t deleted all those incriminating files that her old boss stockpiled on her computer, those emails which detail all the illegal business deals that Lucille was involved in.”

She turned to Sonja. “All we need to do is sneak inside, find Audrey’s computer, download the files, and anonymously tip off the police… With any luck, Lucille will be in handcuffs again by nightfall.” She grinned. “If she doesn’t want to thank us for the time we broke her out of prison, we’re happy to send her back.”

Sonja nodded. “Good plan. Assuming Audrey still works here, and we can locate her office, and she hasn’t erased the files.”

Chandra shrugged. “I admit the plan is kind of speculative… but it’s the best idea we’ve got right now.”

She turned her gaze back to the rear of the factory. “Now, we just need an opportunity to slip inside the building…”

A smile spread across her lips as two Cerberus employees stepped out of the rear exit. “Ah, that’s what I’m talking about.”

The employees were both women, both tall and fit, as their physically demanding jobs typically required. They each wore a blue-green jumpsuit, knee-high black PVC boots, and green baseball cap. They were each lugging a pair of trash bags, carrying them to the nearby dumpster.

One of the Cerberus women had light skin and bright red hair tied back in a ponytail. The other had dark skin and black hair cut in a shoulder-length bob.

Chandra glanced at Sonja. “Their uniforms should fit us well, don’t you think?”

Sonja squinted. “They look familiar…”

Then she brightened. “Oh, wow. This is an interesting coincidence?”

Chandra raised an eyebrow. “What is?”

“Those are the same two Cerberus employees we mugged the first time we infiltrated the facility,” Sonja replied.

Chandra raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Don’t you remember? We ambushed them outside the building… beat them up and stole their uniforms. Their underwear was really boring.”

“But… how do you know they’re the same two women?” Chandra inquired.

“I never forget the face of any woman whom I mug for a disguise,” Sonja replied. “Uniform stealing is an art, and I regard all of my victims as women who help me advance that art.”

Chandra shook her head incredulously. “You’re just full of surprises, Sonja.”

She turned back and eyed the two targets, who had just dropped their trash bags into the dumpster. “Well, if we’ve mugged those two losers before, it should be easy to mug them again.”

“Would be more fun if we found some new employees to ambush,” Sonja replied. “It’s always more fun when the target has never had the privilege of being mugged for her clothes before.”

“We take what we get,” Chandra said curtly. “And right now, these two are our best bet to get inside.”

Sonja eyed the two employees, who were starting to head back to the building. “They’re too far away for us to just grab and yank into the bushes… We’ll need to lure them over here.”

“Leave that to me,” Chandra whispered. “I think I can put this cyclist outfit to good use… as long as they don’t recognize me.”

She stepped out of the bushes and approached the two factory workers.

“Hi,” she called out.

The two workers turned in surprise to see a woman clad in biking attire approaching them.

“Sorry to bother you,” Chandra said, looking a bit flustered. “I was out riding my bike through the woods, when I hit a bump in the road…” She rubbed her behind for emphasis.

The brunette looked at her with sympathy. “Ouch, that must hurt… Are you okay?”

“I’m all right,” Chandra replied, managing a small smile of appreciation. “But my front wheel dislodged… I may need some help straightening it back in place.”

The brunette nodded. “Sure thing.”

She took a step forward, but her redheaded friend put a hand on her shoulder.

“Keisha, what are you doing?” she said in a worried voice.

“This lady needs help, Cassidy.”

“Don’t you remember what happened last time someone needed ‘help’ from us outside Cerberus?” Cassidy pressed.

Keisha sighed. “Goodness, do you have to bring that up again?”

“I’m serious,” Cassidy said. She eyed Chandra strangely. “In fact… I think she might be one of the women who attacked us!”

“Oh, stop being ridiculous!” Keisha scoffed. She turned to Chandra. “Sorry, my friend is a little paranoid… We had an ‘incident’ last year…”

“An incident?” Chandra asked in what she hoped was a convincing tone of curiosity.

Keisha nodded. “We were taking out the trash one night, when one of the Cerberus executives… Ms. Weldon-Grant, I think it was… found us and said she needed our help… But it was a trap. Her goons jumped us… knocked us out. When we woke up, we were stripped of our uniforms and tied to a tree.”

“That’s awful,” Chandra said with a gasp. “That Weldon-Grant woman sounds like a real bitch.”

“Believe me, she is,” Keisha nodded.

Cassidy peered at Chandra more closely. “It was dark that night… but I could swear one of the attackers looked just like you. She was tall, had brown skin…”

“Cassidy, stop,” Keisha hissed. “You sound psycho.”

“I understand,” Chandra said tersely. “We brown-skinned women do kind of all look alike.”

Immediately, Cassidy’s cheeks turned red as she realized the implication of her words. “Oh no! That… That isn’t what I meant.”

“It’s fine… Forget I asked for help.” Chandra turned to go.

Keisha cast a disapproving glance at Cassidy, who bit her lip.

“Wait!” Cassidy called out.

Chandra hid a smile, and turned around.

“I… I’m sorry,” Cassidy stammered. “I didn’t mean to offend you… I just… I’m still a little on edge about what happened last year.”

Chandra nodded. “Totally understandable. You went through an awful experience.”

“We can help you fix your bike,” Cassidy continued.

Keisha nodded. “We certainly can.”

Chandra smiled. “Oh, I’m thrilled to hear that. It’s right past those bushes.”

Keisha and Cassidy followed Chandra as she led them away from the factory grounds.

“I was wrong about you,” Cassidy said to Chandra as they stepped into the bushes. “You don’t look like the woman who attacked me… I don’t know why I said something so awful.”

Chandra chuckled. “Well, in fairness, I did change my hairstyle since last time.”

Cassidy froze. “Huh?”

The next moment, Sonja sprang up from her hiding place behind one of the shrubs, wrapping an arm around Keisha’s neck. “Surprise!”

Cassidy whirled in shock, then turned back to Chandra. “You… you are…”

Chandra smiled sweetly. “Guess you should have stayed paranoid.”

She immediately hit Cassidy with a neck chop. The woman let out a soft moan and crumpled to the grass.

Nearby, Keisha went limp in Sonja’s grip. The blonde dropped her unconscious victim to the floor.

“That was really well done,” she told Chandra. “You just keep getting better at the art of uniform stealing.”

“Was no big deal,” Chandra shrugged. “Come on, let’s steal their clothes… again.”

As Chandra and Sonja were by now quite proficient at stripping Cerberus employees of their uniforms, the next phase of their plan took almost no time at all. Before long, Keisha and Cassidy were down to their white T-shirt bras and matching woolen panties.

“I didn’t think it was possible,” Sonja remarked.

“What was possible?”

“Their underwear is even more boring than it was the last time we mugged them!” Sonja sighed. “These two need to get with the program.”

Chandra rolled her eyes. “Maybe we should leave them a note, telling them to wear more colorful bras and panties for when we mug them a third time.”

Sonja nodded. “Good idea. Do you have a pen?”

Chandra laughed and chucked a boot at her. “No, dummy. Get dressed.”

The two women were soon once again disguised in Cerberus uniforms.

Chandra tore up the biking outfits into thin but strong elasticized strips. These she and Sonja used to bind and gag the real Cerberus employees, and secure them to a nearby tree.

“This all really feels too familiar,” Sonja remarked. “We need to start stealing some fresh uniforms.”

“I’ll make a note of it for our next adventure,” Chandra said dryly. “For now, let’s get inside Cerberus and get what we need.”

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

Lucille opened the door to the waiting room and peeked outside.

The two guards were still positioned there. They nodded at her.

“Ready to see the mayor, ma’am?” the first guard asked. She had light skin and her platinum-blonde hair hung loosely over her shoulders.

Lucille nodded. “Yes, but… could you both do me a quick favor first?”

“Of course, ma’am. What’s wrong?” the second guard asked. She was as tall and athletically built as her partner, with dark skin and black hair tied in a chignon.

Both guards were dressed in fairly standard security uniforms – light brown button-down shirts, slim black pants, black loafers, and peaked grey woolen caps.

“I have some heavy briefcases with me,” Lucille explained. “Filled with all the documents for my meeting with the mayor. My bodyguards have been carrying them into the building, but if they’re not allowed to go further, I need someone with proper strength to carry them to the mayor’s office… Perhaps two such strong, fine young women such as yourselves?”

The brunette officer nodded and smiled. “Of course, ma’am. We’re here to assist you wherever we can.”

“What wonderful girls you are,” Lucille smiled, stepping back and opening the door. “The suitcases are right by the couch.”

“No trouble at all, ma’am,” the blonde said as she and her partner stepped into the waiting room.

As soon as they were inside, Cam and Gwyneth pounced.

Lucille quickly stepped out of the waiting room and shut the door so the noises from within would not travel down the hall.

She stuck her ear to the door and was pleased to hear the punches, kicks, and groans of pain which emanated from within the waiting room.

Thirty seconds later, all grew quiet. Lucille waited with bated breath – had her assistants emerged triumphant, or…?

The door opened, and Cam poked her head out. She smiled and gave her boss a thumbs-up. “All clear, boss.”

Lucille nodded approvingly as she entered the room. The two City Hall security guards lay on the floor, unconscious.

“Excellent work, girls. Now get dressed, quickly.”

Cam and Gwyneth indeed moved quickly. In a matter of minutes, they had donned the shirts, pants, shoes, and caps of the City Hall security team.

The real guards, relieved of duty, still lay on the floor, though they looked less intimidating than ever. The blonde guard wore a chartreuse racerback bra and light blue French cut panties. The brunette wore a violet comfort bra and orange hipsters.

Cam and Gwyneth unplugged some black cables from the wall and used them to bind the real guards, hand and foot. Lucille provided a pair of neckerchiefs to use as gags. The real guards were then dragged behind one of the large couches, out of sight.

“Sorry, girls,” Lucille said with a grin as she gazed down at the two helpless guards. “I know you were just following the rules – but I never would have been as successful as I am if I didn’t break a few rules myself.”

Then she turned to Cam and Gwyneth, who were put the finishing touches on their disguises. “All right, let’s get going. Delilah won’t expect me to have replaced her security personnel with my own… As of now, I have the upper hand.”

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

On the second floor of the campus building, Oksana found her target.

Outside one of the classrooms stood a woman she recognized as Dahlia’s bodyguard. The woman stared straight ahead, arms folded.

Presumably, Dahlia was in the classroom. The hallway was empty, apart from the bodyguard. For Oksana, the conditions couldn’t be more perfect.

She sized the bodyguard up. The woman – named Athena, according to Oksana’s research – was tall and well-toned, with dark skin and black hair cut into a stern chin-length bob. She wore a black pantsuit over white shirt, shiny black loafers, and dark sunglasses.

Oksana also noticed the bulge in the woman’s jacket. The bodyguard had a gun. Clearly, Mrs. Smythe took her daughter’s safety seriously.

This would be complicated… but Oksana was up to the task.

She approached the bodyguard and gave her a polite smile.

“Miss… Dahlia?” she said, emphasizing her native Russian accent.

The bodyguard eyed her impatiently. “What?”

“I have message for Miss Dahlia Smythe,” Oksana said, playing the part of an innocent lunchlady to a tee.

“I’m her bodyguard,” Athena said tersely. “You can give the message to me.”

Oksana nodded. “There is… special food prepared for Miss Dahlia,” she continued. “Special lunch by request of Miss Dahlia’s mother.”

Athena raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t informed of any special lunches.”

“Special lunch for health reasons,” Oksana added. “Should I deliver?”

Athena shook her head. “Let me see this ‘special lunch’… I need to know what Dahlia is eating.”

Oksana nodded. “Of course, miss… The food is in the storeroom.” She pointed to a door down the hall ad beckoned for Athena to follow.

Athena hesitated for a moment, then followed Oksana to the storeroom.

Oksana held the door open and allowed Athena to enter. She smiled cunningly to herself as Athena stepped inside.

Athena glanced around. “There’s no lunch in here… It’s just a supply room. Why are you wasting my time?”

Oksana shut the door and struck fast, aiming a judo chop at Athena’s neck.

But she wasn’t fast enough. Athena dodged and grabbed her arm in a viselike grip, twisting it sharply.

Oksana let out a cry of pain and fell to her knees.

“A trap,” Athena said coldly. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

Oksana tried lashing out with her other arm, but Athena grabbed that one as well. She squeezed both of Oksana’s wrists. Oksana bit her lip, trying to maintain her composure.

“I could kill you,” Athena said. “I know seventeen different forms of martial arts, six of which are outlawed in this country. But I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll only paralyze you.”

She let go of Oksana’s wrists, then wrapped an arm around her neck. She squeezed tightly – a merciless sleeper hold.

Oksana could tell that she was physically outmatched, and that she had underestimated her opponent. She felt her strength ebbing… At once, she wished she carried around a tranquilizer gun like Polina did, instead of relying on brute strength.

But there was no time for such regrets now. She needed a plan, and fast.

Since her time as a soldier and assassin for the Russian Armed Forces, through her work as an officer and spy for the SVR, Oksana had always respected the rules of combat. She fought hard and well, and always stuck with regulations. But today, the situation required her to break those regulations.

She reached up and grabbed Athena’s hair, pulling as hard as she could.

Athena let out a cry of pain and loosened her grip on Oksana for a moment. That was all Oksana needed – she broke free and rolled away from the bodyguard, her strength flowing back into her as her fingers closed around the nearest object lying around – a fire extinguisher.

Athena shook her head, regaining her composure. She glanced around in fury.

“Hey,” Oksana called from behind her.

Athena turned around.

BAM!

Oksana swung the fire extinguisher with all her might, scoring a direct hit. Athena slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Oksana took a moment to catch her breath. She brushed a mess of hair out of her face and glanced down at Athena.

“Thanks for the workout,” she said. “Now, on to business.”

She felt her strength and confidence return to her as she stripped the bodyguard of her uniform and shoes. Thankfully Athena had not worked up much of a sweat during their fight – Oksana hated wearing sweaty disguises.

Beneath her clothes, Athena wore a purple exercise bra and white briefs covered in pink polka-dots. Oksana found some white zipties and black duct tape in one of the boxes on the storeroom shelves, and used them to gag and restrain her athletic victim.

A metal cabinet in the corner of the storeroom provided and adequate hiding place, though it was a bit difficult to cram the sleeping Athena inside. She eventually wound up hunched over, her chin on her knees, in an uncomfortable ball position that afforded her little slack. There was enough air in the crack in the door to breathe, but she would likely be very ached and cramped when she was eventually freed.

Still, Oksana didn’t much feel sorry for the woman. She began dressing herself in Athena’s clothes.

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

Lucille approached the large oaken doors to the mayor’s office, flanked by the disguised Cam and Gwyneth.

“Remember, girls,” she whispered. “As far as Hargrove knows, you work for her. Don’t do anything suspicious without my signal.”

Cam nodded. “Got it.”

Gwyneth knocked on the door. They heard a voice call from behind the thick oak. “Come in.”

Gwyneth opened the door, and the three women entered.

Mayor Hargrove’s office was elegant yet sparse. A shelf of books covered one wall, while two filing cabinets lined the other. There were a couple of pictures on the wall, that appeared to depict Delilah Hargrove standing with some prominent female icons.

Hargrove’s desk was in middle of the room, with a computer at one end and some neatly folded papers at the other. Hargrove herself smiled at Lucille. “Good morning, Ms. Weldon-Grant… It’s been a while. Please have a seat.”

Lucille sat down, while Cam and Gwyneth took positions by the door.

“Ms. Weldon-Grant?” Lucille remarked with a raised eyebrow. “I didn’t realize we were being so formal.”

Hargrove laughed. “Still as humorous as ever, I see… Well, I prefer to treat my guests with proper respect. Just because I’m the mayor doesn’t mean I have the right to be cruel.”

“Except to volleyball players,” Lucille murmured.

“What was that?” Hargrove raised an eyebrow.

Lucille smiled pleasantly and smoothed out the creases of her pantsuit. “Well, Ms. Hargrove… Should I call you Ms. Hargrove or Delilah?”

“Whatever you wish.”

“Well, Ms. Hargrove,” Lucille continued. “As you say, it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. Twenty years or so?”

“Or so,” Hargrove nodded. “I see you’ve had quite the exciting life since college.”

“As have you.” Lucille countered, trying to keep the conversation focused on her quarry. “Imagine, being elected mayor! And on such an unusual platform, too.”

“Unusual? Which one?”

“Oh, you know which one,” Lucille continued, a gleam in her eye. “Uniform stealing. You pledged to end it, didn’t you?”

Hargrove nodded, slowly. “Indeed I did. It’s gotten out of hand in this city… It’s time we started fighting back.”

“Interesting,” Lucille said slyly. “Is it not even more interesting, though… that the woman who leads the charge over uniform stealing does not practice what she preaches?”

Hargrove raised an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon?”

“Back in college,” Lucille continued. “Don’t you remember? That volleyball team… the girl you mugged and stripped of her uniform.”

Hargrove’s demeanor grew silent.

“The poor blonde was found tied up and gagged in a closet,” Lucille continued, a grin on her face. “She needed a week’s therapy, as I recall…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ms. Weldon-Grant,” Hargrove replied coldly.

“Oh, don’t you? Well, let me refresh your memory.”

From her suitcase, Lucille drew a small black tape recorder – one used for old cassette tapes.

“This was the recorder I used to study in college,” she explained. “I forgot it was on while I walked in on you stripping the volleyball girl. I found out later that I had recorded our whole conversation.”

She hit the “Play” button.

”But why are you doing this?”

It was a young woman’s voice, sounding not far from a young Lucille’s.

”Lucy, I know this sounds weird… But I need her clothes!”

The other voice bore a similarity to a younger Hargrove.

”I need a disguise… You know, like in the movies? And I can’t just audition for the volleyball team…”

“Lilah, this isn’t a movie… You just knocked a fellow student unconscious! She could have you arrested when she wakes up…”

“Don’t be ridiculous… She never saw my face. She’s gonna spend the next few hours tied up in a closet… but she’ll be fine. And you’re not going to tell anyone… right?”

Lucille hit “pause” on the recorder and turned to Hargrove. “Wouldn’t the press love to hear all this?”

Hargrove’s face bore an expression of shock and barely repressed anger. She kept her composure and spoke. “You… held onto that recording for over twenty years?”

“I’m not sure why,” Lucille admitted. “Something about it really struck me, and I guess I just kept it in a back closet for all these years… But now, it carries some interesting weight. The mayor of the city, a fierce opponent of uniform stealing… is a uniform thief herself!”

“Was,” Hargrove interjected. “I did it once in my life. I was young and foolish… I regretted it the next day, and never did it again.”

“I’m sure the media will understand,” Lucille grinned.

“Guards,” Hargrove addressed the two uniformed women positioned by the door. “Kindly restrain Ms. Weldon-Grant and remove that tape recorder from her possession.”

The two guards simply grinned, and shook their heads.

Hargrove’s face turned ashen. “What…?”

Lucille laughed. “I’m afraid your real guards are a little tied up,” she said. “And gagged… and stripped… And, well, you get the idea. My own girls are subbing in for them today.”

Hargrove stared at Lucille for a moment. Then she reached for the intercom on her desk.

Lucille snapped her fingers. Instantly, Cam and Gwyneth whipped the guns from their belts and pointed them at the mayor.

Hargrove froze.

“I wouldn’t call for backup if I were you, Ms. Mayor,” Lucille said with a grin. “Let’s keep this conversation private, shall we?”

Hargrove glared at her. “What do you want?”

“What does any girl with aspirations want?” Lucille responded. “Money. Power. Leverage. With you at my mercy, I can get all three. I can control this city!”

“So you’re blackmailing me?” Hargrove asked. “That’s pretty low.”

“I didn’t get where I am by taking the high road,” Lucille sneered. “So what’ll it be? Do you give me what I want? Or does this tape recording leak onto the evening news?”

Hargrove was silent for a moment.

Then she looked up at Cam and Gwyneth.

“What is she paying you for this?”

Cam and Gwyneth looked at Hargrove in surprise.

“Don’t speak to my bodyguards,” Lucille said in annoyance. “I’m the one you need to talk to.”

“How much are you earning?” Hargrove said to the two guards, ignoring Lucille. “Do you get health benefits? Family plans?”

Cam and Gwyneth looked at her in surprise.

“Knock it off,” Lucille said angrily. “Girls, don’t listen to—”

“Whatever she’s paying you, I will triple it,” Hargrove said. “You’ll get the most secure health and family insurance plans you can imagine. The women who work for me have the most profitable and beneficial jobs in the state.”

Cam and Gwyneth exchanged a glance. Then Cam spoke. “Work… for you?”

“Of course,” Hargrove said. “I’m the mayor, and I’m looking to recruit strong and capable women for my security team. You two are clearly up to the task, as evidenced by the way you dispatched and replaced my real security guards. I need women like you on my side.”

“Shut up!” Lucille growled. “They work for me! Right, girls?”

Cam and Gwyneth glanced at their boss, then back to the mayor.

“It’s a one-time offer, ladies,” Hargrove said. “You can work for me, get paid beyond your wildest dreams, and I will completely forget about this incident. Otherwise, you continue working for Lucille Weldon-Grant, a known backstabber, and risk a long prison sentence the moment she inevitably lets you go.”

Cam and Gwyneth exchanged another glance.

Then both women lowered their guns.

“What are you doing?!” Lucille cried. “Don’t listen to her, she—”

“Shut up,” Cam said to her. Then she turned to Hargrove. “All right, Ms. Mayor… you’ve got a deal.”

“Perfect,” Hargrove smiled. “Now kindly confiscate that tape recorder from Ms. Weldon-Grant and hand it to me.”

“What? No, you…” Lucille tried fighting back, but Cam grabbed her arm and Gwyneth wrested the recorder from her grip.

“Thank you,” Hargrove smiled as she took the recorder and tucked it into her jacket.

Lucille’s eyes blazed with fury as Cam and Gwyneth restrained her. “You’ll pay for this… You’ll all pay…”

“I’m afraid your leverage is gone,” Hargrove replied. “And in fact, I’ve got some leverage of my own.”

Lucille raised an eyebrow. “What…?”

“As mayor, I was able to access your state business records,” Hargrove continued. “Clearly, some of your criminal activity is known… You served some jail time for it, after all. But I was surprised to learn just how many shady dealings you’ve had with corrupt and even criminal organizations. And it appears that you should be back in prison… That perhaps someone may have… hacked your records to free you?”

Lucille said nothing.

“The point is,” Hargrove continued, “I can make your life very, very uncomfortable, Lucy. I can snap my fingers and send you back to jail. But because you’ve so generously allowed me to take possession of your tape recorder… and your bodyguards… I believe I can grant you one more chance.”

She leaned in close, a cold look on her face. “But don’t ever come back here again, or you will regret it.”

Then she sat back and smiled pleasantly. “Girls,” she addressed Cam and Gwyneth, “would you be so kind as to escort Ms. Weldon-Grant off the premises?”

Cam and Gwyneth nodded and each grabbed one of Lucille’s arms.

“You… you won’t get away with this!” Lucille cried as she was dragged from the room. “You won’t…”

The door shut behind her, drowning out the rest of her threat.

Hargrove leaned back in her chair and exhaled.

Then she pressed her intercom.

“Raisa,” she addressed her secretary. “Another cup of coffee, please.”

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

“Let go of me! Let go!”

Lucille struggled in the viselike grip of Cam and Gwyneth as the two women dragged her down the hallway to a side exit.

“Let go, I say!” she cried as Gwyneth opened a metal door. “Listen to me, I’m you boss!”

“Not anymore,” Cam grinned. “So long, Lucy.”

With that, she and Gwyneth chucked Lucille out the doorway and into the back alley. The irate women landed in a heap of trash bags.

“Toodles,” Gwyneth sang. “And thanks for the new job opportunity!”

She slammed the door.

Lucille sat there, dumbfounded. What had just happened? She had entered the City Hall building holding all the cards… She had been prepared to outsmart Hargrove at every turn… Yet Hargrove had turned the tables on her, and stolen her bodyguards in the bargain.

Lucille felt an anger, a fury bubbling within her. She wanted to get back inside, she wanted to find Hargrove and strangle her…

“Are you okay?”

Lucille looked up. A young woman was standing over her, looking concerned. She had tan skin and chin-length brown hair. She appeared to be a janitress – dressed in a light grey button-down short-sleeve blouse and matching thick-cuffed trousers, brown boots and a grey rimless cap.

The janitress held out a hand. “Here, let me help you up.”

Lucille looked at the woman’s outstretched hand, then glanced over the rest of her. Her eyes narrowed.

“Give me your uniform.”

The janitress raised an eyebrow. “Pardon?”

Lucille abruptly reached out and grasped the woman’s arm, then yanked her to the ground. She grabbed the startled woman by the lapels of her jacket and held her close, face to face.

“Give me your uniform,” Lucille repeated, with barely suppressed fury in every word. “Or I’ll beat you unconscious and take it myself.”

The janitress could see the fury blazing in Lucille’s eyes. She gulped.

“O… okay…”

She quickly began unbuttoning her uniform, her fingers trembling as she wrestled with each clasp. She struggled to unlace her boots, too.

“Hurry up,” Lucille growled.

The janitress finally worked her way free of her uniform and handed it to Lucille. She stood trembling now, in just her pink balconette bra and cheeky maroon panties.

“Please, ma’am,” she said shakily. “I don’t want to lose my job for this… I…”

Lucille slammed her fist into the woman’s chin. The janitress crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

“Stop talking,” Lucille said tersely. “If I cared about your job, I would say so.”

She hated the concept of stealing clothes herself, finding it lowly and distasteful – usually, she would let her lackeys do the job – but in this case, she had no lackeys. She wrinkled her nose as she stepped into the worn and faded janitress uniform.

Then she approached the door from which she had been unceremoniously thrown and tried to open it. It was locked.

There was a passkey strapped to the belt of the janitress uniform. Lucille tried to scan it over the key pad. It didn’t work.

“What the…?” She tried scanning again, with no response. “Are you kidding me?”

Furiously, she banged on the door, pounding her fists against the metal.

After a minute of banging with no response, she stepped back, her hands aching.

She yelled in frustration, then turned to the unconscious janitress.

“Your uniform doesn’t even fit properly!” she growled. “Why does everything bad happen to me?”

Giving up, she whirled and stomped angrily towards the front of the building. She pulled out her phone as she did so.

“Isabella, bring the damn car around. Take me home.”

“Right away, ma’am,” came the reply.

Lucille reached the front of the alley, still fuming. A minute later, her gleaming black sedan pulled up.

Lucille sat herself down in the rear of the vehicle, slamming the door behind her. The car drove off.

Lucille watched through the window as City Hall disappeared behind her. She let out a groan.

“This day cannot possibly get any worse.”

“Actually,” her driver responded, “you’d be surprised.”

Lucille raised an eyebrow as she glanced to the front of the vehicle.

“You… You’re not Isabella…”

The driver smiled and winked at her.

“Isabella’s out of commission for the moment, Ms. Weldon-Grant. My name is Adelaide, and I’ll be your driver today.”

Lucille froze. “…Adelaide?”

“Yep. The woman you hired to steal from those art museums… the woman you set up as a patsy.” Adelaide gave her a sly smile. “I think it’s time you learned a lesson.”

Before Lucille could react, Adelaide had pulled out a small compact and blown some powder in her face.

Lucille’s eyes widened, then fluttered. “What… wha…”

She could hear Adelaide’s soft laughter as she drifted into unconsciousness.

[rufusluciusivan]

Not much to say about the plot. It’s pretty clear the narration is setting up the pieces and storylines, but for now each group of character are having their arc in their own corner. I’m not even quite convinced all the main players have been introduced yet.

With so many returning characters, I’m curious to know if the Main Three (Bridget, Bobbie, Felicia) will also make a return...

I must say, I’m amused by the fact this story seems to be one long humiliation conga for Lucille. The way Hargrove completely turn the tables when she attempts to blackmail her... Right after her press interview was a failure… And then she fails to infiltrate the building. And then Adelaide steps in. Of course, Lucille fully deserves it, so it makes the thing all the more satisfying.

I’m not surprised to see familiar locations and returning victims. It’s after all a staple of this saga. At least Sonja and Chandra are self-aware enough to comment on the trend! Also, Keisha and Cassidy should indeed learn the most important rule of USB story: “When you see a woman in need, kick her in the face and run. She’s obviously luring you into a trap.” But outside of the joke it’s also a good way to characterize Sonja and Chandra – who are really of the unscrupulous kind.

“Ouch! Damn mosquitoes!” should be an outlawed sentence in a USB story. When will these women ever learn? In-between Mollie and Isabella, drivers sure were unlucky in this chapter.

The scene with the cyclists was very enjoyable. I have a soft spot for the moments like the: “Encouraged, the two cyclists smiled and followed Sonja behind the bushes. There was no one else around at the moment, save for a few birds sitting in the trees, tweeting a happy tune. It was a pleasant and tranquil sound, but it was shortly interrupted by the noticeably less pleasant sounds of punching and kicking that suddenly filled the air. These sounds only lasted a few moments, though, and soon all was pleasant once again.” (or the “She stuck her ear to the door and was pleased to hear the punches, kicks, and groans of pain which emanated from within the waiting room.” later). These moments always make me think of the anime and cartoon scenes in which the women are knocked out offscreen with only some sound effects of the punches and grunts – like in the Robocop cartoon or the Bleach anime.

Poor unnamed blonde though… She was afraid she’d look bad, but she was in fact the perfect woman for the task. Unlucky her. At least Chandra and Sonja complimented her and her friend! I hope they realize not all uniform stealers are as considerate.

Their underwear,” Sonja pointed. “The girl with the green uniform has pink underwear, and the one with a pink uniform has green underwear. You’d think it would be the opposite, wouldn’t you?”

No Sonja. It’s a hint they’re an item, and they mixed up underwear this morning after a *ahem* “busy” night. Learn to read the clues.

[esercito sconfitto]

Tirepanted I am sorry I tried , the scene with Sonja Chandra and the two cyclists was too interesting but the AI looks to be too stupid

[meditions142]

So many wonderful and fun scenes in this one.

Love the scene with Keisha and Cassidy. So perfect that Cassidy is suspicious but through persuasion and pretending to be offended Chandra then we get a perfect neck chop to knock Cassidy out.

I also actually really liked to janitress scene quite a lot. Shows how cold Lucille is. The woman strips for her but Lucille knocks her out anyway

I also enjoyed the use of sleeping powder on Isabella. Always a fun tool to use.

I also liked the scene where Lucille lured the two guards into a trap. Scenes like that are always fun. And loved Lucille's "sorry girls" to the two unconscious women.

Just a great story with so many fun scenes.

[tirepanted3]

Rufus: The tricky part of these multi-character stories is that the first few chapters involve a lot of setup (especially when they need to address threads from previous stories). I will say that most of the important characters in this story have been introduced in the first two chapters, although there are still a couple more elements to introduce.

I can't promise that Bridget, Bobbi, or Felicia will make a return in the near future... but certain characters may make surprise appearances ahead.

Lucille is certainly not someone to feel sorry for, even as she faces one humiliating defeat after another. She's one of my more villainous characters, though she's not as outright evil as someone like Dr. Chen. So it's amusing to put her through the wringer.

Sonja and Chandra are very fun to write, as they've transitioned from villainesses to anti-heroines. They pursue their own agenda, but they've helped the heroines out in the past. They're also quite adept at luring unwitting victims into being ambushed for their clothes, using tactics like vanity (for the bikers) and guilt (for the factory workers), which gives their USB scenes a nice edge.

Certainly a rough chapter for drivers - especially Isabella, who now gets her uniform stolen for the third time. I always have had a soft spot for chauffeur uniforms being stolen, and since this story will involve several wealthy women with fancy cars and personal drivers, it's worth taking advantage of that.

As I've mentioned a lot in the past, I love offscreen knockouts with cartoon sound effects, and it's cool to try incorporating that vibe into these stories. It helps keep the mugging scenes light and bouncy, and keeps the pace from slowing down too much, which is especially helpful during the early chapters of a story.

Chandra and especially Sonja are very considerate as far as uniform thieves go. Chandra has accepted that uniform stealing is a part of daily life in society, so she takes advantage of it often. Sonja fancies herself as a "uniform stealing artist" and always stops to compliment a victim with imaginative underwear choices. They steal a lot of clothes, but they're not needlessly cruel about it.

Good observation about those two bikers... Perhaps Sonja should rethink her underwear biases.


Esercito: No need to apologize. This is why I can't really get onboard the AI train - the programs understand basics but don't have three-dimensional understanding that comes with human-created stories or pictures.


Meditions: Thanks. I was actually worried this chapter was a little too focused on USB scenes, to the point that I actually ended up moving one of them to the third chapter. Need to save some for later when the plot really kicks in.

The Keisha and Cassidy scene was very fun to write, mostly thanks to Chandra's dialogue. It's always interesting to find ways for the characters to trick women into a clothes-stealing ambush.

Lucille's attitude to the janitress is a sign of not simply how cold she is, but how she's at her wits' end. She wants to take her anger out on someone at that moment, and the poor janitress just happened to be there.

Sleeping powder is a great knockout device, and it looks like it'll be part of Adelaide's regular lineup.

The scene with Lucille and the two City Hall guards was my favorite of the chapter, partly due to the sound effects of the waiting room fight (as Rufus mentioned above) and Lucille's generally cavalier attitude to the real guards after they've been mugged.

[rufusluciusivan]

I can't promise that Bridget, Bobbi, or Felicia will make a return in the near future... but certain characters may make surprise appearances ahead.

Oh, I'm not necessarily asking for their return. Just curious. This series has been here for quite some time, so characters returning and when and how they do it are an appeal of the saga. I guess I will wait and see...

In a weird way, Lucille's long string of failures is actually a refreshing change of pace. We're used to see infiltration-related shenanigans in always succeed flawlessly - even the ones hatched by the antagonists - at least during the early parts of the story. So the joke that one keeps failing spectacularly is even more noticeable. (Technically, Lucille isn't an infiltrator, but the joke is the same.)

In hindsight, after reading your answer, I find it a bit odd that I found so many things to say about Chandra and Sonja. I've never clicked with these characters. Guess the stars aligned for them to catch my attention this time. (shrug)

[tirepanted3]

Oh, I'm not necessarily asking for their return. Just curious. This series has been here for quite some time, so characters returning and when and how they do it are an appeal of the saga. I guess I will wait and see...

Certainly, part of the fun of continuing the series is bringing back old characters in fresh and unexpected ways. Helps emphasize continuity and give the series a three-dimensional feel.

In a weird way, Lucille's long string of failures is actually a refreshing change of pace. We're used to see infiltration-related shenanigans in always succeed flawlessly - even the ones hatched by the antagonists - at least during the early parts of the story. So the joke that one keeps failing spectacularly is even more noticeable. (Technically, Lucille isn't an infiltrator, but the joke is the same.)

No, Lucille is not an infiltrator by trade, which is partly what makes her failure here so funny, I believe. She usually delegates the physical mugging and infiltration work to her henchwomen, and generally considers the act of stealing clothes to be beneath her. But now she's lost her henchwomen and attempts to go it alone, with ineffective results. It's not even a spectacular failure, just the poor work of a diminished woman who tries to engage in the USB tactics she often sneers at, and winds up looking foolish in the process.

In hindsight, after reading your answer, I find it a bit odd that I found so many things to say about Chandra and Sonja. I've never clicked with these characters. Guess the stars aligned for them to catch my attention this time. (shrug)

Chandra and Sonja are much closer to being the "heroes" of this arc than any previous story. They're not truly good people, and may never be, but it's been liberating to develop them over the last few years, from their introduction as stoic henchwomen to a pair of independent fugitives who live by their own moral code. Plus, they routinely have some of my favorite lines of dialogue in the series. Glad they've resonated with you here.

[rufusluciusivan]

Glad they've resonated with you here.

Well, they DO have good lines.