Madame Mayor - Chapter 5: The Socialite

[tirepanted3]

Heather Smythe let the weight of her words sink in with her captive audience.

“You…” Polina paused. “You want us to kill the mayor?”

“Correct,” Heather nodded. “You’re both highly skilled operatives, aren’t you? And you’re obviously quite good at infiltration. This task should be child’s play.”

“Why do you want Mayor Hargrove dead?” Oksana asked.

“So many reasons,” Heather replied. “She’s cut my funding, even as I’ve been in office far longer than she’s been mayor. She’s pushed my priorities to the back burner, instead focusing on her own ‘tough-on-crime’ policies. She’s pouring millions of taxpayer dollars into ridiculous vanity projects like FEMME.” She rolled her eyes. “Hargrove is a threat to my prospects and long-term goals. I need her out of office, and I can’t wait for the next election. She needs to be dealt with, immediately and permanently.”

Oksana fixed her with a cold gaze. “We’re not part of the SVR anymore. We don’t kill.”

“You do now. Either Hargrove dies tonight… or dear, sweet Lupe does.”

Elena choked back a sob. “Please… do not hurt Lupe. She’s the only family I have in this country… Please…”

Polina hugged her tight. “It’s okay, Elena… We won’t let anything happen to Lupe.”

She glared at Heather. “How can you be so cruel?”

“You brought this on yourselves, dear. No one asked you to break into my building, tie up my employees, and steal their clothes. If you had followed the law, you wouldn’t be in this position.” Heather smiled and took a sip of water. “Besides, I should think you’d immediately jump at the prospect of ridding the world of Delilah Hargrove. Doesn’t she threaten to lock up women like you? Clothing thieves?”

Polina said nothing. Oksana didn’t either, though her eyes never wavered from Heather.

“So… do we have a deal?” Heather asked. “Lupe seems like a nice girl. I’d rather not have to kill her… but the choice is up to you.”

Oksana spoke. “How are we even supposed to find the mayor by tonight? We don’t even know where she’ll be.”

Heather grinned. “I can help you with that.” She strode over to her computer. “I received an email the other day. Hargrove is hosting a meeting tonight for the city’s wealthiest donors and investors, at her private mayoral mansion. She’ll be there all evening.”

“Security will be armed to the teeth,” Oksana observed.

“You almost sound nervous,” Heather observed. “Ironic, since you’re currently wearing a stolen security uniform. But… I think I know how you can get in.”

She typed something into her computer, then showed the screen to the women in the room. On it was the face of a beautiful young woman with light skin and dark hair.

“Malina LeRose,” Heather explained. “One of the wealthy socialites invited to Hargrove’s mansion tonight. She lives about a dozen blocks from here… and as you may notice, she looks a bit like you.” She nodded at Polina.

Polina understood.

Heather glanced at her watch. “Well, you’d better get going. The day’s not going to last forever.”

Polina turned to Elena. “Don’t worry… Oksana and I will get Lupe back. Everything will be okay. You’ll just need to find someplace safe to stay until…”

“I want to stay with Lupe,” Elena interrupted.

“…What?”

“It’s my fault that Lupe is in danger,” Elena said. “I should have been with her. I want to be with her now. Besides,” she glanced at Heather, “two hostages are better than one, right?”

Heather looked surprised. But then she nodded. “It’s your funeral, dear… perhaps literally.”

“Elena, please, you can’t do this to yourself,” Polina begged.

“It’s okay, Polina… I have faith in you.” Elena smiled at her.

“But…”

Elena walked over to Heather, holding out her hands as if to be cuffed. “I am your prisoner now.”

Heather looked vaguely amused by this turn of events. She glanced over at Polina, who was too aghast to speak.

Oksana, however, remained stone-faced. She gave a curt nod.

“All right, then,” Heather declared. “I think we have a deal.”

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

Atsuko scrolled through the search results on her phone, her brow furrowed in thought.

“So… ‘FEMME’… ‘Female-Exclusive Military Muscled Enforcement.’ Here’s an article about them last year from some reporter named Baxter.”

Seated on a bench not far from the Cerberus facility, Carolyn absent-mindedly fiddled with the emergency call button in her pocket, the one Carmen and Ronda had given her not long before. She watched as her wife, seated beside her, scanned the article.

“Former private security firm, comprised mostly of ex-Army and Navy recruits. They made a name for themselves hiring women in peak physical condition… Sounds like even their weakest agent could defeat most men in combat.”

Carolyn nodded. “They’re really good at what they do.”

Atsuko clicked on a more recent article. “And now they work for the city… They’re bankrolled by the mayor and committed to cleaning up crime on the streets… especially female criminals who mug other women for their clothes.”

“I know all that,” Carolyn said. “So what’s bugging you? Those FEMME women are heroes. They caught the women who attacked you, didn’t they?”

Atsuko nodded. “But… the way those two FEMME agents talked about Sonja and Chandra, it sounded like they weren’t law enforcement officials so much as… bounty huntresses. Tracking down uniform thieves and earning a reward from the mayor.”

“But who cares?” Carolyn pressed. “As long as those uniform thieves are behind bars…”

“That’s just it,” Atsuko replied. “Didn’t you notice the direction they drove off towards? The jail is to the east… but they were driving due west! They’re driving their prisoners to the upscale, wealthy district of the city… the area where the mayor’s mansion is located!”

Carolyn tilted her head. “I don’t follow.”

Atsuko did another search on her phone. “Looks like the mayor is holding a special event tonight for the richest people in town,” she murmured. “She’ll probably try to convince them to invest in FEMME. I guess she sees this all-female task force as key to the city’s future.”

She shut her phone and stood up. “Come on. We’re going to pay a visit to the mayor’s house. Figure out exactly what the plan with FEMME is.”

“But…” Carolyn started to protest, but Atsuko was already walking toward her car.

“Wait!” Carolyn grabbed her wife’s shoulder.

Atsuko turned. “What is it?”

“Every time we go off on one of these adventures,” Carolyn stated, “we always wind up attacking innocent women and stealing their clothes. That needs to change.”

“Carolyn…”

“I’m being serious.” Carolyn looked her wife in the eye. “I want you to promise me that no matter what happens today, you won’t mug any innocent women for their clothes.”

Atsuko paused for a moment. Then she nodded.

“Okay. I promise.”

Carolyn smiled and gave her wife a hug. “You’re amazing. Thank you.”

Atsuko brushed Carolyn’s hair with her thumb and smiled. “So… shall we be off?”

“Sure. Let’s go see the mayor.”

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

Twigs crunched beneath Kalinda’s boots as she stepped through the underbrush, surveying the sector of the park she had been assigned to patrol.

A brief movement caught her eye, and she impulsively reached for the gun strapped to her thigh holster. But it was just a frightened squirrel, scampering up a tree. With a smirk on her face, the FEMME agent continued her surveillance.

Kalinda had been an early recruit to FEMME once Mayor Hargrove had taken office, and her background in the Navy made her a valuable asset. Skilled in both advanced weaponry and hand-to-hand combat, she was an eager participant in FEMME’s mission to rid the city of uniform-stealing scum.

Kalinda was a tall woman with a well-toned physique. She had tanned skin and dark hair in a braided ponytail. Like all FEMME agents at her level, she wore a black Kevlar vest over black bodysuit with elbow and kneepads, thick black boots, dark sunglasses, and a black baseball cap with the signature acronym of her organization in white lettering.

Though she’d gotten a call from her team leader mentioning that Sonja and Chandra, the two criminals they’d been assigned to hunt down, had been apprehended, Kalinda had done enough reconnaissance in the field to know that a last sweep of her designated area was always a smart idea.

Hearing another noise behind her, Kalinda instinctively reached for the gun again.

She turned to see a woman strolling down the pathway, dressed in a green uniform that denoted her as a park ranger. The woman had alabaster skin and shoulder-length red hair.

“Hi,” the red-haired woman smiled politely. “You need some help?”

Kalinda relaxed her position, calmed by the woman’s forest-green uniform, and straightened up. “No need, ma’am. We FEMME agents can take care of things ourselves. You can go back to hugging the trees.”

The condescension in the woman’s comment was unmistakable, but the redhead suppressed her reaction. “Of course… I wouldn’t want to disturb your work. May I ask what it is you’re doing?”

“I’m searching for criminals,” Kalinda said dismissively, turning away from the redhead. “Uniform thieves, to be specific.”

“Oh? Then you’re in luck.”

Kalinda glanced back at her. “What do you mean?”

The redhead grinned. “You just found one.”

Olga moved with eye-blurring speed, grabbing the FEMME agent’s shoulders and slamming a knee into her gut. The Kevlar absorbed most of the blow, but Kalinda still grunted in pain.

“You’re… one of them!” Kalinda blocked Olga’s attempted judo blow and crashed a fist into her temple. Olga staggered backwards, momentarily dizzy.

Kalinda’s hand immediately went for the holster strapped to her thigh. Her fingers grasped empty air where the gun should have been.

Olga grinned and held up the woman’s SIG Sauer. “Looking for this?”

She tossed it into the nearby bushes. “Guns make this too easy. It’s more fun without weapons.”

Kalinda pulled a sharp steel knife from her boot.

Olga frowned. “Hey, that counts as a weapon.”

“This is your only warning,” Kalinda said coldly. “I’m authorized to use all manner of physical force to subdue you. Surrender now and you won’t get hurt.”

Olga cracked her knuckles. “I never back down from a fight, sister.”

With blinding speed, Kalinda threw the knife at Olga, who immediately ducked out of the way. It was only a moment later, though, that Olga realized that in doing so, she had just done exactly what the FEMME agent wanted.

Before Olga could get back onto her feet, Kalinda barreled into her with the weight of her padded shoulder. Olga fell flat on her back. Before she could get up, Kalinda had pressed a steel-toed boot to her neck.

“You’re under arrest,” Kalinda said angrily.

Olga raised her hands meekly. “Okay… okay, I give up.”

“Of course you do,” Kalinda said with a triumphant look on her face. “You uniform thieves always act so confident, but you’re really spineless cowards who could never – hey!”

Olga had abruptly grabbed her boot and twisted it. Kalinda lost her balance and felt to the ground.

She tried to get up – but, encumbered by her heavy body armor, she could not do so as fast as Olga.

The Russian woman smiled devilishly as she pounced on the FEMME agent. “Now who’s the overconfident one?”

The tide of the fight quickly turned, with the rejuvenated Olga taking full advantage of her adrenaline rush. A few punches and kicks later, it was over.

Olga dragged the unconscious Kalinda into some nearby bushes, mopping the sweat from her brow. “Whew! Haven’t had a fight like that in a while. You almost beat me!” She took another deep breath, “Thanks for the workout. Now, let’s see about your uniform…”

It took a matter of minutes to relieve the slumbering FEMME agent of her uniform, boots, and accoutrements. These Olga donned, admiring the fit. She snapped the weapons belt around her waist and retrieved the woman’s gun, strapping it in the holster on her thigh.

Kalinda was left in a plain white sports bra and matching boyshorts. Olga dragged her over to a nearby thick-trunked tree, then pulled her arms and legs around the trunk, binding them in place with the FEMME agent’s own handcuffs.

“Now who’s the ‘tree-hugger,’ babe?” Olga chuckled as she tied the red park ranger kerchief over the woman’s mouth.

With her disguise all set, Olga returned to the pathway, slipping the sunglasses over her eyes. It wasn’t particularly sunny out, but she figured they made her look pretty badass.

She had walked about fifty yards when a sound in the distance made her jump. The sound was coming from another bush nearby… Was it a wounded animal, or…?

No, of course not. Olga was a professional, and quite familiar with the noise.

She peeked over the bushes, and saw her associate Marta currently engaged in a tete-a-tete with another woman in FEMME uniform. Marta had her back turned to Olga and the pathway, and was currently in the process of applying a chokehold to the struggling FEMME agent.

“Goddamn, just pass out already,” Marta grumbled through gritted teeth. “My arm’s getting sore.”

The woman whose neck she currently held in a viselike grip, a tall light-skinned FEMME agent with short sandy blonde hair, kicked out in desperation, her boots digging rivulets into the earth. Still, it was obviously a losing battle.

Finally, the last of the FEMME agent’s energy drained from her body, and she fell unconscious.

Marta exhaled. “Finally.”

Olga couldn’t resist. She stepped through the bushes and spoke in a deep, authoritative voice. “Ma’am, what do you think you’re doing to my partner?”

Marta whirled, eyes wide in shock. “Crap! I mean… no, I wasn’t… I didn’t…”

She stopped upon recognizing Olga. “Oh. It’s you.”

“The one and only,” Olga chuckled. “You shoulda seen the look on your face…”

“Will you knock it off?” Marta scowled. “Stop clowning around. We need to focus on stealing FEMME uniforms.”

“Already got mine.” Olga gestured at her disguise. “Looks pretty cool, right?”

“Whatever. As long as you’re here, you might as well strip this bitch while I change out of this sweaty ranger uniform.”

Olga grinned. “My pleasure.”

She knelt down and began unlacing the FEMME agent’s boots, while Marta pulled off her ranger disguise.

Olga let out a wolf-whistle as she eyed Marta’s lacy red underwear. “Wow! Got a hot date planned tonight?”

“Shut up, or my fist will have a date with your teeth.”

Olga rolled her eyes, and was about to make a comment criticizing Marta’s weak one-liner, but the look on Marta’s face convinced her to hold her tongue.

Pretty soon, the FEMME agent had been reduced to her underwear – plain white sports bra and boyshorts, just like Kalinda. Olga found some zipties in her belt and used them to bind the woman. Marta’s ranger kerchief made a decent gag.

“Sleep tight, darling,” Olga remarked, using her boot to casually roll the unconscious woman beneath the bushes.

Marta finished donning the woman’s uniform, pulling the cap down low over her hair. “Finally, a disguise I’m not embarrassed to wear.” She checked her watch. “Let’s get moving. The FEMME squad will be leaving soon.”

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

Finally… a light at the end of the tunnel!

Adelaide braced herself, crawling just a bit farther. Even with her seasoned experience as a contortionist, the garbage chute was a tight fit. However, she hadn’t had any other options.

Once Claudia and Zephyr had spotted her fleeing the mayor’s office, Adelaide knew she couldn’t risk using any of the main exits to escape the building – security would have been alerted. She also didn’t have enough time to locate another woman her size for a change of clothes. So she improvised, using the closest garbage chute as a means of exit.

It had been an uncomfortable journey, but at last, Adelaide spotted the exit. She pushed at the metal door and slid out… right into a dumpster.

“Ugh!” Adelaide wrinkled her nose. Still, at least she was outside and free.

She clambered out of the dump and glanced around. She was in a back alley behind the building, the area where all the trash was unceremoniously dumped.

“Not exactly the most graceful destination for a classy cat burglar,” she murmured.

She was frustrated with herself, having failed to obtain the tape recording from Mayor Hargrove. And she couldn’t risk infiltrating the building again – the risk of being recognized and caught was simply too high.

She had accomplished nothing… or hadn’t she?

She recalled the conversation she had overheard of Claudia and Zephyr. A conversation about the mayor.

“The mayor asked us to attend the meeting at her mansion tonight… She’s meeting with the city’s top donors and investors.”

Adelaide tapped her chin in thought.

This thought was interrupted as she heard a groaning sound behind some nearby trash bags.

A young woman was lying on the ground. She had tan skin and chin-length brown hair, and was dressed in nothing but a pink balconette bra and cheeky maroon panties.

Interestingly, this woman was not bound and gagged – very unusual, considering the state Adelaide usually found women who had been mugged for their clothes.

The woman was slowly regaining consciousness, and rubbed her head groggily. “Ow… what?”

Adelaide knelt down beside her. “Honey, you okay?”

The woman blinked. “I… I don’t know. That woman forced me to strip… Then she punched me. Why would she do that?”

Adelaide quickly realized who this woman was – the janitress that Lucille had mugged earlier that day. The poor girl had been lying in that alley for the last few hours.

“Look on the bright side,” Adelaide smiled. “At least she didn’t tie up and gag you.”

The janitress looked at her strangely. “Who… who are you?”

Adelaide quickly changed the subject. “Look… you spend a lot of time working around the mayor, don’t you? You probably know her work schedule. Do you know about this meeting she has in her home tonight?”

The janitress blinked. “Er… yes, I’ve heard about it. She’s inviting many of the wealthiest people in the city to her mansion… She’s also bringing a bunch of FEMME agents there so she can outline her vision for the city… specifically, her plan for combating uniform thieves.”

The janitress sighed. “I wish those FEMME agents were here now. They could track down the woman who stole my uniform.”

Adelaide’s mind was racing. A plan was forming in her mind – a plan that could get her everything she needed.

“That’s perfect,” she grinned.

“Excuse me,” the janitress said. “Could you please get me something to cover myself? I want to file a police report. I can identify the woman who attacked me, send FEMME after her…”

Adelaide smiled at the janitress. “I’m sorry, honey, but I can’t have you doing that. That woman is important to me… for the moment. And you need to stay asleep a while longer.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t need– urgh!”

The woman grunted as Adelaide’s neck chop hit its target. She fell to the ground, unconscious.

Adelaide dragged the janitress deeper into the alley, then used black duct tape to bind and gag her.

“Look on the bright side,” she told the slumbering woman. “When Hargrove finds you, she’ll probably triple your salary. She loves victims of uniform stealing, after all.”

Adelaide then got to her feet, and quickly exited the alley. She dialed the number Lucille had given her.

Lucille answered on the first ring.

“Well? Did you get the tape recording?”

“Not yet,” Adelaide responded. “I ran into a little… complication.”

“A complication? Don’t play games with me, Ms. Finn! If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me!”

“Calm down, Lucy,” Adelaide replied, trying to hide the annoyance in her voice. This woman was starting to grate on her. “I have another way to get close to Mayor Hargrove. But I need some info from you… You used to be rich, right?”

Lucille growled in response.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Do you know the addresses of any other rich folks who live in the area I currently am? Say, anyone the mayor might consider a wealthy donor to invite to a fundraising event?”

There was silence at the other end of the line as Lucille thought for a bit.

“I may know someone.”

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

Malina LeRose’s home was not especially extravagant-looking, but it showed signs of its owner’s wealth and prestige. A brown-brick two-story apartment with a private garage and a small garden out front, as well as a pool and tennis court in the back. Clearly, this was a woman with money.

From across the street, Polina poked her head through the bushes and eyed the house intently.

Then she smiled. “How about her?”

The “her” in question was a tall and athletic woman who was currently standing at the side of the house, near the hedges, leaning against the frame and staring at her phone. The woman had light skin and blonde hair tied back in a short ponytail. She was dressed in a white T-shirt, grey slacks, and black sneakers. A pair of sunglasses adorned her eyes, and a gun was strapped to her hip.

“Looks like the rich woman’s bodyguard,” Polina observed. “What do you think?”

Oksana eyed the woman for a few moments and nodded. “She’ll do.”

“Need any help taking her down?”

“Of course not. Stay here.”

She got up and circled around the bushes, heading across the street and for the side of the house.

The bodyguard, at this moment, had her back turned to the front yard. She was currently trying to play a word game on her phone, determining the five-letter word of the day.

“Let’s see… ‘Style’? ‘Storm’? … ‘Stout’?” she murmured.

Oksana approached her from behind. “Strip.”

The bodyguard shook her head. “No, that can’t be it… There’s no letter P today…”

“Strip,” Oksana repeated.

“I told you, that won’t work, it…” The bodyguard glanced up at her. “Who are you?”

“Take your clothes off,” Oksana said stoically. “This is the last time I’ll ask.”

The bodyguard’s hand went for her gun. Oksana was faster, grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her back.

“I’ve got serious work to do,” Oksana said in annoyance. “Now are you going to hand over your clothes or make me work up a sweat?”

The bodyguard growled. “I’ll break you in half…”

“Your choice.” Oksana looped an arm around her neck and pulled her into the hedges.

Polina watched from afar as the hedges rustled, the struggles within soon fading.

Finally, Oksana stepped out of the hedge, brushing the leaves from her shoulder. She was now dressed in the bodyguard’s shirt, shoes, and slacks.

She turned and gave Polina the all-clear signal. Polina nodded and hurried to join her.

“You look great, Oksy,” she commented. “These clothes fit all right?”

“They’ll do,” Oksana replied. “Shall we get moving?”

Polina gave a quick glance within the hedges to ensure that the real bodyguard was safe and secure. Sure enough, the blonde woman was sleeping peacefully in just her blue bandeau bra and grey bikini panties, bound with gardening hose and gagged with a white washcloth.

“So,” she wondered, “where in this house do you suppose Ms. LeRose is?”

At that moment, the bodyguard’s phone, lying on the ground where she had dropped it in the struggle, began to ring. Oksana scooped it up.

“Yes?” she said in a close approximation of the bodyguard’s voice.

“Anita, come to my dressing room at once,” an aristocratic female voice responded. “I’m having trouble zipping up my dress.”

“Right away, ma’am,” Oksana replied. She hung up.

Then she turned to Polina. “This is almost too easy.”

“I just hope Heather Smythe wasn’t lying – that this woman looks pretty similar to me.”

Oksana opened the side door leading into the house. “We’re about to find out.”

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

Claudia handed Jenna a glass of water, but Jenna simply waved it away.

“I’m fine, really. Not the first time I’ve been tied up by someone.”

She was seated in a chair in the mayor’s office, trying to recollect her bearings.

Zephyr reentered the room. “No sign of the woman who attacked you… I contacted security, but she somehow slipped through.”

“It’s what she does,” Jenna murmured. “She’s a master of escape.”

Claudia gave her a look. “So you know her?”

Jenna nodded. “Adelaide Finn. Master thief and infiltrator. Our paths have crossed before. She… once saved my life.”

Claudia gave her a strange look. “You have an interesting past, Jen… What did this Adelaide want?”

“I don’t know… She was trying to break into the mayor’s office when I found her… She overpowered me and knocked me out.”

At that moment, the office door opened. Mayor Hargrove herself walked in.

She smiled at the three head staffers in her office. “Ah! Glad you’re all here. We have business to discuss.”

Then she eyed them strangely, noting the frazzled look on Jenna’s face. “Something wrong?”

Jenna decided it was best not to alarm the mayor with news of Adelaide’s infiltration. Hargrove had enough on her plate at the moment.

She shook her head. “All good, ma’am.”

“Excellent.” Hargrove smiled. “I trust you all plan to be at my home tonight?”

Claudia nodded. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She glanced at Zephyr. “Right, Zeph?”

Zephyr managed about as good a smile as she could, considering her unenthusiasm. “Sure. Of course.”

“Very good,” Hargrove nodded. “Tonight is the most important night of my mayoral term thus far. I’m pleased with the work that FEMME has been doing – uniform steals across the city have been reduced by thirty percent over the past two months! We are making progress… but it isn’t enough. We have to do more.”

She glanced out the window. “If FEMME is to succeed… if we are to succeed, we need more money. Lots of it. And tonight, we will impress the wealthiest people of this city so much that they’ll have no choice but to shower us with cash!”

She glanced at Claudia. “All is prepared, I assume? FEMME is sending its finest agents to my mansion tonight?”

Claudia nodded. “At least a dozen, probably more.”

“Perfect.” Hargrove approached a nearby cabinet and withdrew a bottle of champagne and four crystal flutes. “A toast, ahead of tonight’s big event. May everything go well.”

She poured the drinks and handed them to her staffers, taking one for herself. Then she raised her glass.

“To the end of uniform stealing everywhere.”

Claudia nodded proudly and raised her glass.

Despite her reservations about FEMME’s tactics, Jenna raised her drink as well.

For a moment, a look of disapproval flashed across Zephyr’s face. But it disappeared, and she raised her drink as well.

The four glasses clinked.

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

Atsuko slowed the car, frowning as she glanced at the dashboard.

“Damn it,” she muttered.

“What’s wrong?” Carolyn asked from beside her.

“Tire pressure is low… I’ve been meaning to get to the gas station, but work has been so busy lately.”

She pulled the car over to the side of the road. “Do we have a spare in the trunk?”

“I think so, but… no tools. I left them in my own car.”

Atsuko bit her lip. Carolyn could tell she was already having second thoughts about this trip to the mayor’s grounds.

“It’s not so bad,” Carolyn offered. “We’ll just wave down the next car that happens along. They’ll be able to help us.”

Atsuko smiled. “Good idea.”

It took about ten minutes of waiting, but at last a vehicle appeared in the distance.

The vehicle was a large white van, somewhat rusted but still in good working condition. Along the side of the van, emblazoned in lime-green lettering, were the words “Evergreen Gardening.”

In the front of the van sat two women, dressed in gardening uniforms - green overalls, brown shirts, and black boots. They each wore a baseball cap with the company logo imprinted on it.

The driver was a light-skinned woman with blonde hair wrapped back in a hasty bun. Beside her was a dark-skinned woman with straight black hair that reached her shoulders.

Carolyn and Atsuko waved, and the van slowed to a stop.

The passenger rolled down her window. “What’s the trouble, ladies?”

“Tire pressure,” Carolyn explained. “Would you happen to have a tire jack we could borrow?”

The woman nodded. “Of course. It’s in the back, right, Daisy?” She began opening her door.

“Hang on a second, Jasmine,” the driver interrupted. She eyed Carolyn and Atsuko suspiciously. “How do we know we can trust them?”

“Trust us?” Carolyn was offended. “Why wouldn’t you trust us?”

Jasmine sighed. “We’ve had a couple of… incidents in the past. On two separate occasions, our team was ambushed by a group of women, who tied us up and stole our uniforms and vehicle. We’ve become more cautious since then.”

Carolyn nodded. “I understand. I’ve been the victim of a uniform theft or two myself. It’s not fun.”

She reached into her pocket and took out the “FEMME” alarm. “A token I received from our city’s heroes,” she explained. “The women who are working day and night to end the threat of uniform stealing to women everywhere.”

Jasmine and Daisy exchanged a glance. Then Daisy smiled.

“All right… I guess we can trust you after all.”

Jasmine hopped out of the van. “Follow me… I’ll unlock the rear doors.”

Carolyn and Atsuko followed Jasmine around to the back of the van.

“I hope you understand why we’re so cautious,” the gardener told them as she reached for her ring of keys. “You never know who to trust these days… It’s a scary world.”

Carolyn nodded. “Very true… But hopefully, once FEMME does its job, we won’t have to be scared anymore.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw Atsuko remove something from her handbag.

“Well, let’s just hope it – mmpphhh!” Jasmine’s next sentence was cut short as Atsuko clamped a white cloth over her nose and mouth.

Carolyn’s mouth dropped open as she watched her wife pin the gardener’s arms to her sides. She was about to yell, but Atsuko caught her eye and shook her head.

Trust me, she mouthed.

Carolyn didn’t know what to do or say. She could only watch as Jasmine’s struggles slowed, her reflexes turned sluggish. Finally, she lapsed into unconsciousness.

Atsuko gently lowered the woman to the floor.

“What the hell are you doing?” Carolyn whispered desperately.

“I’ll explain in a minute,” Atsuko whispered back. “First, I need to take care of the driver.”

“But…” Carolyn barely had time to speak before Atsuko had disappeared around the corner, heading back to the front of the van.

Carolyn could hear Daisy’s voice. “Hey, what are you doing? Let go of mmmmppphh! Hllppphhhh!”

Sounds of a struggle followed. Carolyn couldn’t bring herself to look.

Finally, all went silent. A few moments later, Atsuko dragged the unconscious gardening van driver to the rear of the vehicle, setting her beside her partner.

“Atsuko, what are you doing?” Carolyn pressed angrily. “These women were trying to help us!”

“They are helping us,” Atsuko replied. “Their van is in better shape than our car. We still have a few miles to drive, and it’d be safer to do it in a vehicle that isn’t having trouble.”

She knelt down beside the driver and began unbuttoning her overalls. “Come on, help me strip them.”

“But… you promised you wouldn’t mug any women for their clothes!”

“We’re not,” Atsuko explained. “We’re mugging them for their van. Their clothes are just an important detail. People will get suspicious if they see a gardening van driven by women who aren’t dressed as gardeners.”

“Atsuko.” Carolyn crossed her arms indignantly. “I won’t be a part of this.”

Atsuko glanced up at her wife. “Look,” she gestured at the two gardeners. “These women have already been mugged for their uniforms twice, right? We’re doing them a favor!”

“What do you mean?”

“Mayor Hargrove implemented a new law recently – any women who get mugged three separate times for their clothes will qualify for special job insurance benefits. These two ladies might be inconvenienced now, but they’ll be very well compensated later!”

Carolyn raised an eyebrow. “Is that a valid excuse for what we’re doing?”

“Carolyn.” Atsuko got to her feet and took her wife’s hand. “I love you, and I always will. And I know that sometimes our lives can be… complicated. But believe me when I say I would never go out of my way to hurt these women. Look.” She held up the chloroform pad. “The fastest, most harmless knockout drug I could find. They’ll wake up eventually, with nothing more than a headache.”

Carolyn glanced down at the two gardeners. “And what will we do with them?”

Atsuko shrugged. “I guess we’ll have to leave them by the side of the road. After all, we—”

“No,” Carolyn said sternly. “We can’t just abandon these women in their bras and panties in the middle of nowhere. We can’t be that cruel.”

“So… what do you suggest?”

“We hide them in the back of the van,” Carolyn replied. “They’ll be uncomfortable, maybe, but they’ll be right where they need to be when they wake up. They’ll still have their van and all their tools.”

Atsuko wanted to argue further, but she could sense she had already pressed Carolyn far enough.

“Okay… fine,” she conceded. “Back of the van it is. Now can we please strip them? We’re wasting time here…”

She bent down and resumed unbuttoning Daisy’s uniform. After watching her for a few moments, Carolyn knelt down and began doing the same with Jasmine.

Both gardeners wore lime-green sports bras and slim panties with white lining. Presumably company-issued undergarments, right down to the environmentally-friendly label on the panties.

The rear of the gardening van contained an abundance of tools, including blue rubber flex and black electrical tape. These were put to use binding and gagging the two gardeners.

There were also two large burlap sacks in the van, each just big enough to fit an adult woman inside. Atsuko pulled Daisy into one of the sacks and cinched the top, then did the same with Jasmine. She left enough air for the women to breathe comfortably.

Once all that was done, Atsuko and Carolyn got dressed in the gardening uniforms.

“All good?” Atsuko asked Carolyn, gesturing at her disguise.

Carolyn nodded slowly. “It’s… fine.”

Atsuko smiled at her. “Chin up, Carolyn. One day, when we’re both old together, you’ll look back fondly at these days. I know I will.”

Carolyn tried to show a brief smile. Her eyes involuntarily drifted to the two large burlap sacks in the rear of the van. But then Atsuko shut the rear doors and turned to her.

“Come on, let’s get moving.”

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

Lupe sat trembling in the cold, dark, windowless room in the basement of the embassy building. She was seated on a metal chair, her arms and legs bound.

At the doorway stood Diana, the security guard who had apprehended her. The tall dark-blonde-haired woman watched her with steely blue eyes and a threatening grin on her face.

“Please,” Lupe said softly. “This was all a mistake. I was just trying to find my cousin. Please, we didn’t mean to cause trouble…”

“A bit late for apologies,” Diana retorted. “Ms. Smythe doesn’t like intruders.”

“But we…” Lupe’s words were interrupted by a knock at the door.

Diana opened the door. Standing there was another embassy security guard, this one with short brown hair and light skin, tightly gripping the shoulder of another woman. Lupe’s eyes widened.

“Elena?!”

Elena gave a weak smile to her cousin. “Hola, Lupe.”

“Hey, Trissa,” Diana addressed the other security guard. “Who’s this?”

“Another prisoner for us to babysit,” Trissa replied. “Idiot turned herself in. Collateral for her friends.”

Lupe’s eyes widened. “What are you talking about?”

“Shut up,” Diana glared at her. “I ask the questions here.” She glanced at Elena. “I assume you’re the cousin?”

Elena glared at her defiantly. “I am Elena Magdalena Lopez! Proud immigrant and uniform thief!”

Diana laughed. “Okay, dumbass. Let’s get you tied up too.”

She grabbed Elena by the arm and forcibly dragged her over to the table where Lupe sat. Diana pulled up another chair, seated Elena down on it, and began binding her wrists behind her back.

“Elena?” Lupe whispered. “You turned yourself in? Why didn’t you escape when you had the chance?”

“I will not abandon you,” Elena replied, a mischievous smile on her face. “Don’t worry, cousin. We just need to trust Oksana and Polina.”

Lupe’s face contorted into a grimace. “I wish you hadn’t said that…”

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

Svetlana crouched low in the branches of the old oak tree, studying the woman below her.

The FEMME agent had just finished patrolling an area of the park that was some distance from the crowds. A tall woman with tanned skin and French-braided chestnut-brown hair, she was dressed in the standard FEMME uniform and cap. She spoke into her radio. “Rica here. Southeast sector clear. Heading back to base.”

“No you’re not, darling,” Svetlana whispered to herself, a sinister grin on her face.

The young Russian mercenary had specifically sought out a lone officer whose path had taken her away from any unwanted distractions. And now, her strategy was about to be rewarded.

As the FEMME agent passed beneath the tree, Svetlana pounced.

The rustle of a branch may have alerted the woman – either that, or she had detected Svetlana’s shadow. In any event, she looked up – just in time to see the young woman lunging at her.

Reflexively, the FEMME agent reacted – her fist shot out, catching Svetlana’s shoulder. The young Russian felt a burst of pain shoot up her arm, and she fell to the ground.

The FEMME agent drew her gun, pointing it at Svetlana, who now lay face up on the ground, half-dazed.

“Who the hell are you?” the agent demanded.

Svetlana’s head spun; she tried to regain her bearings, but everything was a haze.

“Answer me,” the FEMME agent pressed. “Are you a real forest ranger? Because from my perspective, you look like one of those uniform-stealing scum.”

Scum. The word hit Svetlana’s pride like a dagger. All at once, her mind cleared.

“No one insults me.”

“Oh good, you can talk. Now who are – hey!”

The FEMME agent was abruptly surprised as Svetlana’s foot lashed out, kicking the gun from her hand.

Before the FEMME woman could react, Svetlana was on her feet. She barreled into the woman, slamming a fist into her temple.

“You’re just like the others,” Svetlana growled. “You think you can push me around… belittle and insult me. No one does that.”

Her foot sharply connected with the FEMME agent’s jaw. The woman slumped to the ground and didn’t move.

Svetlana pulled a knife from her boot. “No one insults me…”

As she raised the knife, a hand caught her wrist and held firm.

“I think she’s unconscious. Don’t you?”

Svetlana immediately turned to see another woman in FEMME uniform behind her. However, she quickly realized this woman was her fellow mercenary, Alisa.

“Unhand me,” Svetlana said with ice in her voice.

“Drop the knife,” Alisa ordered. “Katerina said no killing, remember? Apart from our targets. We render civilians unconscious, nothing more.”

“This woman is not a ‘civilian’,” Svetlana retorted. “She’s a filthy pig who pointed a deadly weapon at me and insulted my honor. Killing her would be entirely justified.”

Alisa gave her a strange look.

“However,” Svetlana continued, glancing down at the unconscious FEMME agent, “I suppose it would be counterproductive to don a disguise with blood all over it.”

She dropped the knife.

“I shall save the death for Chandra, when our paths cross.”

Alisa let go of her arm. She didn’t want to say it out loud, but Svetlana unnerved her.

“I… left another FEMME agent hogtied behind some nearby trees,” she said, changing the subject. “We can drag this one over there too, and strip her of her uniform.”

“Good idea.” Svetlana grabbed the unconscious woman by her collar, pulling her upward. “Lead the way.”

There was indeed an underwear-clad FEMME agent already lying in a nearby gathering of old oaks, hogtied with silver cuffs and gagged with white tape. Her alabaster skin and short, frizzy red hair gave her a youthful look, although her underwear – white exercise bra and hiphuggers - was rather plain and professional.

The woman Svetlana had ovwepowered had similarly plain white underwear, not that such details mattered to her mugger one way or another. Once this woman had been stripped as well, she was cuffed and tape-gagged and left alongside her associate while Svetlana donned her uniform.

Svetlana grinned in anticipation as she admired the stolen weapons belt she now wore. She couldn’t wait to put its tools to proper use…

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

Neither Chandra nor Sonja was in a good mood.

This was understandable, of course, considering their circumstances. They had spent the past hour lying on the floor of a metal van, handcuffed and stripped to their bras and panties. For most of that time, they’d had to listen to their captors, Ronda and Carmen, talk and laugh with one another. Though FEMME as an organization professed its fight against dangerous female uniform thieves as strictly a matter of profession, there was little doubt that these two agents were enjoying the predicament they’d put their two captives in.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity of driving to the two unwilling passengers, the van slowed to a stop.

“We’re here,” Ronda announced to the two prisoners.

“Here” was not a jail or a holding facility, as Chandra and Sonja had predicted they were en route to. Instead, it was a lush-looking grounds surrounded by a brick wall. Behind a silver front gate was a winding road leading up to what appeared in the distance as a rather extravagant mansion.

On the wall beside the gate was a plaque with words embossed in gold: “DELILAH HARGROVE – CITY MAYOR.”

Chandra’s eyes widened. They had been taken to the mayor’s mansion? But why?

Sonja, who – unlike Chandra – had been spared the indignity of a gag, gave voice to the question, if somewhat non-artfully: “What the hell are we doing here?”

Ronda chuckled. “The mayor is having a fancy event tonight,” she explained. “A whole party celebrating with the city’s finest. And you two will be the guests of honor.”

Chandra and Sonja exchanged a confused glance.

“You two have been among the most wanted women in the city for a while,” Carmen explained further. “For some reason, the mayor offered special bonuses for anyone who captured you ahead of tonight’s event… and delivered you to her doorstep.”

“The… two of us?” Sonja was puzzled. “But… there are countless uniform stealing women in the city. What makes us so special?”

“Don’t know, don’t care, so long as we get paid,” Ronda replied.

She rolled down her window and gave a professional smile at the armed female guard who approached. “Good afternoon.”

“Your business?” the guard inquired.

“Agents of FEMME, here with a pair of prisoners, at the mayor’s request.” Ronda handed the guard her FEMME ID badge, which the guard promptly scanned.

“You’re clear – go on in.”

As the van drove through the gate, Ronda leaned back in her seat and glanced in the rearview. “My guess? The mayor wants to make an example out of you two. The ultimate example of what this city thinks of uniform thieves.”

Sonja glared at her. “No matter what you do to us, you won’t win. Uniform stealing is the future. Women everywhere are utilizing it. You’ll never stop it.”

“That’s what you think,” Carmen retorted. Then she pulled the vehicle to a stop again. “Anyway, I suppose this is where you two get off.”

Two women in security uniforms approached the vehicle.

“We heard you caught some… interesting prisoners,” one of them said.

Chandra froze, recognizing the voice.

“We’re here to escort them into the mansion,” the other guard added.

Sonja gulped. It couldn’t be…

The next moment, the rear doors to the van opened, and a pair of grinning uniformed guards looked down at the helpless figures of Chandra and Sonja.

It was Cam and Gwyneth.

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

Malina LeRose reached for the lipstick on her dresser. She twisted the ruby-red stick and applied a layer to her lower lip, puckering at her image in the mirror.

“Not bad,” she mused to herself.

Malina was not especially fond of makeup, preferring whenever possible to let her natural beauty shine through. But after getting an invite to the mayor’s exclusive gala event, she knew it would be necessary to go the extra mile. She wanted to appear elegant and important, the better to fit in with her wealthy peers.

Still, few would deny Malina’s natural beauty. Though in her late thirties, the rich socialite looked a decade younger than she was, with a smooth white skin, blue eyes, and dark hair that typically reached her shoulders. Today, she had tied her hair back into a chignon, holding it in pace with gold pins. She wore an elegant seafoam-green sequined low-cut sleeveless gown that nearly reached the floor, white satin elbow-length opera gloves, and black scarpin heels. Her long neck sported a pearl choker, and diamonds gleamed from her ears.

A knock came at the door to her room. Anita, her bodyguard, most likely.

With her husband out of town for the week on a business trip, Malina was left at home with Anita – and, much to her pleasant surprise, had found herself rather enjoying the time spent with the buxom blonde bodyguard. She had grown fond of the woman, and was in fact excited to see how Anita would find her in the elegant gown she wore.

“It’s open,” she called.

The door opened. From the mirror’s reflection, Malina could see a woman enter, dressed in the familiar set of clothes that Anita always wore.

Malina spent a second longer than usual admiring the figure of the woman, before allowing her eyes to drift up to her face.

It was then that her smile faded.

She turned and scowled at the woman who had just entered. “Who are you? Where’s Anita?”

Olga ignored her question, instead studying the rich woman closely. “Yep… a pretty good match.”

Polina stepped into the room, sizing Malina LeRose up. “I dunno… She looks older than I do.”

“Nothing a little makeup can’t fix.”

“What is going on?!” Malina demanded. “Get out before my I have my bodyguard throw you out!”

“Your bodyguard’s napping right now, Ms. LeRose,” Polina replied, reaching into her jacket. “Why don’t you follow her example?”

So saying, she produced her tranquilizer gun, aimed it at the startled woman, and pulled the trigger. The small dark flew through the air, striking Malina LeRose right between her breasts.

Malina glanced down at the small dart, then looked up again in confusion. “Wha…?”

Then she slumped forward. Oksana caught her before she hit the floor.

“Little warning next time,” Oksana murmured to Polina. “Almost ripped her dress when she fell.” She dragged the woman over to the bed and lay her there.

“Sorry about that.” Polina tucked the gun back in her jacket. “Speaking of her dress, though… It looks amazing.”

“Well, let’s get it off her and onto you.”

Polina grinned and rubbed her hands together. “Hell yeah.”

While Polina began stripping the woman, Oksana searched the nearby closet for something to tie her up with.

Still, even as she divested the pretty woman of her heels and gloves, Polina’s smile was replaced by a concerned frown.

“Are we… really going to do this?” she asked. “Kill the mayor, I mean? It’s been a couple of years since I went out on an assassination mission… and even then, I was never the one to pull the trigger. I… don’t have the stomach for killing.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Oksana said as she pulled some pink sashes from the closet. “I have a couple of ideas about how to handle this situation… I’ve had to help a couple of foreign emissaries fake their deaths when I was operating back in Siberia… There are ways to deal with Ms. Hargrove without killing her… That will only be a last resort.”

Polina nodded as she began unzipping the woman’s gown. “Thanks… I can always count on you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Oksana approached the bed and held up the pink and lavender sashes. “Here… Malina’s awful fashion tastes have provided us with some good binding material.”

Once the socialite had been stripped to her violet push-up bra and white satin butt-lifters (“She has such a great figure already… Why bother with these enhancements?” Polina commented), Oksana bound and gagged her with the sashes.

Polina changed out of her clothes and into the gown, immediately feeling more elegant and regal as she zipped it up. She pulled on the gloves and stepped into the heels, then approached the mirror and began rearranging her hair.

“I feel like a princess,” she beamed.

“Don’t take too long with the makeup,” Oksana called to her as she dragged the bound-and-gagged Malina to the dresser. “We can’t spend too much time here.”

“I just need to make the disguise look convincing.” Polina did her hair up in a bun. “Hope she didn’t use up all the lipstick.”

“You look gorgeous,” Oksana commented as she shut the dresser door, Malina now safely stashed inside.

Polina grinned. “I appreciate the flattery… But you should buy me a drink first.”

Oksana rolled her eyes. “Can we go?”

“Just give me a few minutes… Then we’ll head down to the car. Hopefully the chauffeur won’t notice she’s driving a pair of imposters.”

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

Cristal hummed softly to herself as she polished the hood of the sleek black Porsche.

She always made sure to keep the van neat and clean whenever her boss needed to be driven to an important function or event. Today was one such day, and she had just finished giving the vehicle a fine once-over.

Cristal stood back and admired the gleaming car. “There! Two and a half hours, but it was all worth it.”

As Malina LeRose’s personal chauffeur for the past three years, Cristal took pride in her work. By the same token, she also took pride in her appearance. The light-skinned woman had finely combed red hair that she wore in a shoulder-length braided ponytail. She wore a freshly-pressed black uniform jacket over a crisp white shirt and navy blue tie, grey woolen pants, and black low-heeled boots. A shiny peaked black cap was fitted over her head.

Cristal checked her watch, and was pleased to see that her time was improving. Ms. LeRose had said that she and her bodyguard would be ready to go at three PM sharp.

In the reflection of the polished hood of the Lexus, a blur of movement caught Cristal’s eye. She gave a slight start, and looked around. “Hello?”

No response. Cristal smiled to herself and shook her head. “You’re imagining things, girl… Probably inhaled too much car wax.”

The next moment, something grabbed her wrist, twisting her arm behind her. A startled Cristal opened her mouth, but the sound she was about to scream was quickly muffled by the damp cloth rag pressed over her face.

“Try inhaling this instead,” a woman’s voice whispered in her ear.

Cristal could do nothing but struggle helplessly as the powerful fumes did their work. Her head began to spin, her vision clouded. The soothing sounds of her assailant shushing her were the last things she heard before unconsciousness overtook her.

Adelaide kept the rag in place a few moments longer, then lowered the unconscious chauffeur to the floor.

Her phone buzzed. Adelaide answered.

“Well?” Lucille’s voice sounded anxious. “Have you found Malina LeRose’s house?”

Adelaide sighed. “I’d prefer you not call me in middle of an infiltration, Lucy. But yes, I found the house. You sure she’s on the mayor’s list?”

“I’m positive. She’s just the type of snobby elite whom Delilah Hargrove would cozy up to. Now stop asking dumb questions and get back to work!”

“Well, I was trying to work before you…” Adelaide’s voice trailed off, as Lucille had already hung up.

Adelaide sighed and glanced down at the unconscious chauffeur. “Can you believe what I have to put up with?”

The chauffeur, of course, could neither hear nor respond. Adelaide glanced down at her. The sleeping redhead, with her black driving uniform, reminded her of someone…

Adelaide smiled. Yes, the woman bore a passing resemblance to Carolyn.

Adelaide and Carolyn had come a long way since the former had mugged the latter of her bus driving uniform a few years ago, although their relationship was still a bit rocky. Adelaide had not crossed paths with Carolyn or her wife Atsuko in months. She wondered how they were doing.

“Time enough to reminisce later,” she reasoned, bending down and grabbing the chauffeur by her underarms.

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

Fifteen minutes later, Adelaide had just finished straightening the necktie and brushing the wrinkles off her newest disguise.

“Thanks for cleaning the car, hon,” she said to the still-napping Cristal. “It looks amazing. And to be honest, you don’t look half-bad yourself.”

Stripped to a neon-green underwire bra and pink hiphuggers, Cristal was currently in a seated position inside the garage’s equipment locker. She had been bound with red jumper cables and gagged with her own white cloth rag.

Adelaide shut the door of the locker, then approached the car and got behind the driver’s seat. She started the engine and drove the vehicle around to the front of the house.

Minutes later, two women emerged from the front door. Judging by their attire, they were Malina LeRose and her bodyguard. The LeRose woman looked stunning in her blue dress, Adelaide surmised.

The two women got into the back seat of the car.

“To the mayor’s mansion, driver,” the fancily attired woman ordered. “And do roll up the privacy window.”

Adelaide nodded as she rolled up the partition window between the front and rear of the car. Thus far, her deception had gone unnoticed – rather surprising, considering that she looked rather different than Cristal. Still, Adelaide wasn’t complaining.

She was, however, curious. She glanced in the rearview mirror, where her two passengers were currently engaged in conversation. Though Adelaide couldn’t hear them, she was well-practiced in the art of reading lips.

“I still can’t believe we’re doing this,” the LeRose woman was saying. “What if we get caught?”

“Like I said, don’t worry about it,” her bodyguard replied. “If it comes to that, I know just the way to kill the mayor and avoid anyone knowing.”

Adelaide’s eyes widened.

By complete accident, it seemed she had just stumbled onto an assassination plot.

Why, Ms. LeRose… you just made today a little more interesting…

[meditions142]

Fun and intriguing continuation of the story!

The one scene I have to point out as a particular scene I enjoyed was the scene when Adelaide found the janitress that Lucille had forced to strip and then punched out in Chapter 2.

Love the concept of the woman just starting to regain consciousness and Adelaide finding her. Love Adelaide prying her for information but when the woman wants to report what happens Adelaide needs to deal with her.

Love the exchange:

“Excuse me,” the janitress said. “Could you please get me something to cover myself? I want to file a police report. I can identify the woman who attacked me, send FEMME after her…”

Adelaide smiled at the janitress. “I’m sorry, honey, but I can’t have you doing that. That woman is important to me… for the moment. And you need to stay asleep a while longer.”

“What are you talking about? I don’t need– urgh!”

Great scene.

Poor woman gets knocked out twice in one day.

[tirepanted3]

Thanks, Meditions!

I originally wasn't planning to bring back the janitress, but realized it would be amusing to "complete" her USB scene from earlier. She was a rare USB victim who was knocked out and had her clothes stolen, but who was not bound and gagged since Lucille did not have the time to do that. So Adelaide finishes the job, knocking her out once again and taking the time and effort to bind and gag her.

I also loved the idea of the janitress telling Adelaide (whom she assumes is a Good Samaritan) that she wants to call the police - which is ironically what convinces Adelaide to knock her out again.

[meditions142]

I also loved the idea of the janitress telling Adelaide (whom she assumes is a Good Samaritan) that she wants to call the police - which is ironically what convinces Adelaide to knock her out again.

I think that is what I like so much about the scene. The woman believes Adelaide is just a woman who happened along and found her. That is why she is confused when Adelaide tells her "“I’m sorry, honey, but I can’t have you doing that." and "And you need to stay asleep a while longer.”

I love how the woman only can get out “What are you talking about? I don’t need– urgh!” before Adelaide hits her on the neck at that special spot that knocks her right out.

[tirepanted3]

Indeed, though at least Adelaide was less brutal in her tactics in dealing with the poor woman than Lucille was. I believe Adelaide usually utilizes the neck chop in order to knock women out, though she does sometimes make use of other tactics (it felt right to have her use chloroform on the chauffeur at the end of the chapter, following that "inhale" line).