Meryn’s throat had gone raw from all the screaming she did. But no amount of rage or struggling could release her from the handcuffs that bound her wrists to the bed frame above her head. A ball gag with a head harness kept her from forming coherent sentences but a scarf tied tightly over the ball muffled all of her anger.
She still wore her yellow dancer’s outfit and the discomfort was killing her. But being bound and gagged meant she now couldn’t even change out of it. Not to mention the fact that some rich woman kept trying to make her laugh by tickling her under her arms with a long feather. But Meryn refused to laugh and the tickling sensation just made her angrier. Just who was this woman and what did she want with Meryn? At least she was gone for the moment.
Taking the opportunity, Meryn looked up at her cuffed hands. The damn straps of the harness ball gag obscured her vision somewhat but she got a good look at the cuffs. They were made of a strong steel and they were tinted gold. The colour choice was to mock her, no doubt. But they weren’t uncomfortable as leather cuffs were attached to the shackles of the handcuffs and they, in turn, were lined with a soft, fuzzy material. But they didn’t slide, much to Meryn’s dismay. They still hugged her wrists very tightly and the short chain between the shackles gave her no room to move. Another short chain held her wrists above her head and wrapped around the golden frame of the bed’s head board.
Shaking her legs, Meryn found that the gold coloured leg irons held her just as tight. Their chain had been looped around the opposite frame and stretched her out quite a bit. It wasn’t too discomforting but her arms were sore from being held above her head for so long. She had no idea how long it had been and the woman who tormented her wore quite a fancy dress and gilded jewellery adorned her neck and wrists. From all appearances, the woman was quite wealthy and seemed to imply that she had paid for Meryn to be here. But why? Meryn would never have agreed to be humiliated like this. So then she must have known something about their mission. But why would she pay for just Meryn? And why knock out the other agents?
Her thoughts remained with the others, wondering if they had suffered similar fates. When Meryn got out of here, if she could ever get free of those blasted cuffs, then she would find out where they were. Meryn fought hard against her metal restraints but, for the moment, all she succeeded in doing was rattling the bed frame shaking her chains.
The sound prompted the woman to return from the bathroom.
“My, someone enjoys struggling,” she said.
“MMMMPH! LMM MM GMMMMM!”
“Haven’t you grown tired of all that screaming yet? Ah well. You do know how to make things fun, don’t you?”
“MMMPH!”
“You know, that Jhana woman told me how magnificent you were to look at. It is why I bid on you. I don’t know how true that is, now that I see you. But I do like your eyes, darling. They’re unique and... quite pretty.”
“JMMNMM!?”
That explained it. Somehow Jhana had set this whole thing up. That must mean the mayor’s daughter, the dancer, must be held somewhere in this hotel, too. Meryn just needed to escape this insufferable woman.
“Well, that’s enough talk, I think. Now how about we put a smile on that pretty face, hmm?”
“MMMMPPPHHHH!!!”
...
When the rich twins left the room, Mirelle tried to turn her head and look at Luna. Their position prevented that. They both felt a need to start getting closer to one another but this was not what they had in mind.
Both women had their hands bound behind them with sturdy duct tape but each woman’s hands was wrapped around the torso of the other in a sort of reverse hug. The two women, both rich and twins by the looks of them, had used almost half a roll binding Luna and Mirelle together, back to back, and winding the tape around their arms and torsos to fuse them together. More tape kept each of their legs together as they sat on the bed, binding them at the ankles and thighs. To make it even more difficult, both of them had been heavily gagged with a rolled and knotted scarf tied between their teeth. This, in turn, was sealed inside their mouths with a heavy wrapping of tape. A final wrapping of tape kept their heads stuck together and neither could so much as flinch without causing the other to move involuntarily.
Still dressed as dancers, both of them moved in an almost elegant synchronicity. The outfits were quite fitting for their struggles together as they both fought against the tape for freedom. They were like dance partners, swaying and twisting together, back and forth, working hard in their vain attempts to escape.
Mirelle let out a sigh and Luna sighed with her. Luna, ever the pessimist, actually saw things more cheerfully this time. Her proximity to Mirelle had that effect. They were held captive by these two rich, brunette twins, both airheaded and gaudy. They were exactly the type of feckless, intellectually brain dead people that Luna hated most. But what made it bearable was the presence of the person she loved most, bound closely to her, trapped together in a warm embrace.
The revelation hit her like a tidal wave. Yes. I love her Luna thought. I love Mirelle. I should tell her. “Mmmph!” Her gag got in the way. She would tell her later.
Mirelle, though, actually found this situation rather fun. The situation wasn’t perfect. She was bound and gagged as the prisoner of those two mean women. They would sit across the room, taunting the both of them and flicking whatever small objects they could find at their heads. The brunettes didn’t seem to understand exactly why these two women were trussed up in their hotel room. They both claimed to pay for something but they couldn’t seem to remember exactly what. So all they could think to do was make fun of them and play a stupid game where they would score points by pelting them with small objects like lipstick tubes and emery boards.
In spite of all this, Mirelle would giggle slightly every time Luna moved and would sometimes even try to tickle Luna’s belly with her hands. Luna was decidedly less happy about the situation but Mirelle could tell that she was helping her first love stay sane in a less-than-ideal situation.
The thought struck Mirelle. Yes, it was true. Mirelle had girlfriends in the past but Luna had to be her first love. Nothing had ever really stuck until now. She thought she had loved others but just the thought of Luna beside her made her feel totally at peace. No amount of taunting or brow pencils to the face could make her feel otherwise, as long as Luna was by her side.
The brunettes came back in from the hallway and one of them tossed an eyeshadow brush at Luna’s head from the doorway but she missed.
“You didn’t even, like, come close,” the other brunette said.
Luna rolled her eyes. God, if only they wore gags like ours...
“It’s not my fault, okay? She has, like, the tiniest head in the whole world.”
“Mmmph!” Luna was growing tired of their petty, ridiculous insults.
“Hmmm mmmm,” a soothing voice said from behind her. Just the mere sound of Mirelle’s cheery voice made Luna’s icy temper fade away.
“So sis, I totally remembered what they’re doing here!” the first brunette said.
“Was it that scary, tall lady?”
“Oh my God you, like, read my mind!”
“Well, I’m the smart one,” the second brunette said.
Neither of you are the ‘smart’ one Luna thought.
“But, like, what did we bid on them for? We didn’t even know what they’d be doing. That, what was her name? Jamboree? Jingle Bells?”
Those aren’t names, idiot.
“Janessa, I think? Or was it Janice?”
“Mmmpphh!” Luna tried desperately to make them stop. Their stupidity was maddening. I hope I don’t catch moron brain from these two. She heard Mirelle giggle from behind her. Mirelle, it turned out, thought the whole thing to be rather funny. Still bubbly as ever Luna thought.
“Oh, wait! I totally remembered again!” the first brunette said. “Jhanana!”
“Hmmph!?” Mirelle and Luna both shrieked in surprise. Even though the woman had added an extra syllable, they knew then who had set this whole thing up. But why would Jhana do this, of all things?
“What a stupid name,” the second brunette said. She then turned around and lobbed an empty makeup tin at Mirelle’s head and it bounced off the top of her head. “Mmph!” Mirelle grunted.
“There’s another point for me!” she said.
The two of them entered the room and sat down again. They both seemed lost for a moment as they gripped their various makeup implements from the large handbags on their shoulders.
“Hey sis, do you remember what we were talking about?”
The second brunette paused for a painful amount of time, ruminating on her sister’s words. “Nope!”
With that, the pair continued their barrage of their two bound and gagged captives, counting up and losing count of the points they racked up along the way.
...
After four tries to reach Celia, Artema had enough. There was no other choice. She had to go after them. With Farrah still bound and gagged in the interrogation room, she assigned Taria to keep an eye on their prisoner while she went out into the field. Jonas was waiting in her office when she returned.
“Trouble?” he asked.
“I can’t get through to any of them. Something has gone wrong. I’m going after Celia.”
“Do you even know where she is?”
“No, but I’ll find her.”
“You don’t have to,” Jonas said. He handed Artema a folder full of papers.
“What is this?” she asked.
“Secret transactions that Jhana has been hiding from even her own people.”
“Why are you giving me this?”
“I think Jhana is getting some funding together. For what, we don’t know. But this funding is coming from rich ‘buyers’ who seem to be paying for time spent with what she’s calling ‘escorts.’”
“She’s running a prostitution ring?” Artema asked.
“Not exactly. It seems that Aurora has been in on it, too. They’re selling time with people they kidnap. But Jhana is very specific about what they’re allowed to do. In the written agreement she makes them all sign-”
“Written agreement? Where did you get this?”
Jonas shrugged. “I may have recruited Taria once or twice.”
“And you didn’t tell me why?”
“I have orders from the Agency Director herself. She knows there’s a leak in your department. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. Now, you were saying?”
Jonas cleared his throat. “The written agreement states that nothing ‘Untoward or otherwise criminal in nature shall occur between the buyer and the occupant.’ I assume she means prisoner there. She continues and says ‘at expiry of allotted time, all occupants are to be returned to the custody of the Guardian Agency Group at which time the agreed upon compensation shall be transferred to the accounts’ and the rest is just legalese.”
“So what does this mean?”
“All of this takes place in the Atado Hotel, which is down the street from-”
“The Baillon Theatre! Are you saying that’s where they’ve gone?”
“Might be where Ms. Calloway is being held as well,” Jonas said.
“Thank you, Jonas. Keep in contact while I’m gone,” Artema said.
“You’re going alone?”
“I have to. We’ve got enough agents missing as it is. Stay here and keep in contact. Send in tactical if I don’t check in every five minutes.”
“Will do. Be safe, Artema.”
...
None of the straps holding her would give an inch. The spirits stepped closer and Jhana sat down and leaned in close to Lanala’s face. Lanala did everything she could to push the terror from her mind and hold Jhana’s fiery gaze.
“Nice trick you pulled with the orb, Lanala,” Jhana said. “A dragon spell, of all things? Is that how you escaped my prison?”
“Mmm!” Lanala grunted, tugging on her restraints. She couldn’t keep her eyes off the stone-faced spirits who loomed above her.
“Ah, you saw them? You see, there’s something about this world that you lot haven’t figured out yet,” Jhana said.
Lanala remained silent and just glared into Jhana’s eyes, still fighting back the fear.
“I don’t know how true it is for you, Ms. Prodigy, but I’ve retained some interesting abilities. These ladies, for instance, were warriors from a bygone age. They’re the spirits of the dead, Lanala. And they’re responsible for those ravishing restraints holding you so tightly.”
“Hmmmph!?”
“That’s right,” Jhana said. She closed her eyes and clenched her fist until her arm was shaking. It seemed to take a lot of effort but soon the room was full of staring spirits, whose cold eyes all stared down onto Lanala’s bound form.
“The power is weak here,” Jhana said, opening her eyes again. “But it’s real. And I’ve unlocked its secrets. The best part of it is that I know you haven’t. And you never will. Not when you’re trapped in my asylum.”
“Nmmmm!”
“Oh yes. And there will be no daring escape this time, dear Lanala. I will make sure of it.”
“Nmmm! Plmmmph! Dmmt dmm thmmph!”
Jhana chuckled but she stopped suddenly and all the spirits in the room disappeared. They both listened silently for a moment and heard the sounds of a struggle out in the hallway. “Hmm. Seems your darling lover is hellbent on crossing me again,” Jhana said.
...
Celia pushed the pain aside from her back and her butt after the constant whipping from Aurora. The thief had left her two prisoners alone to struggle and Celia felt sorry for young Dana. The mayor’s daughter was barely nineteen years old and a bright young kid. She didn’t deserve any of this.
Welts marked her skin all the way up her arms from Aurora’s riding crop, though Dana proved to be quite tough. She barely flinched when Aurora was whipping her and refused to give her the satisfaction of crying out in pain. Now, though, Dana was mewling into her gag and clearly feeling it badly. If only I wasn’t tied up Celia thought. I wish I could help her.
The thought gave Celia a renewed sense of purpose and she struggled harder against the ropes that clung tightly to her body. No matter what she tried, however, there was just no getting loose. Aurora tied iron knots and kept them well out of reach of any of her captives’ prying fingers. She also cinched everything very tightly in the middle to ensure no slippage. Much like the last time, Celia realized that nothing came easy if you were Aurora’s captive.
Her jaw was staring to ache badly from being held open by the ball gag for so long. But she would just have to endure. Celia’s only hope was that Artema might come for her again.
With her thoughts on the amazonian woman, the door to the hotel suite busted open and fell off its hinges. A woman in a dark suit tumbled down with it and skidded to a stop a few feet inside the room. Whatever had hit her had knocked her unconscious. Both women jumped in their bonds at the sudden crash and looked to the doorway. Celia smiled behind the ball gag and squealed in happiness at the sight. Artema had come for her again!
When she stepped into the room, Artema took a hard look around before addressing the two bound captives within.
“Sorry about the mess,” she said. “Probably scared you two half to death.”
“Arghhtmmaghh!” Celia tried to say through her gag.
Artema turned her way and smirked. “We have to stop meeting like this, Agent Swift.” With a chuckle from Celia, Artema looked to the opposite side of the room and nodded to the other woman. “Dana Calloway, I presume?”
“Mmm hmmm!” Dana nodded enthusiastically.
“We’re with the Weston Agency,” Artema said, nodding toward Celia. “We’re going to get you out of here.”
...
Two down Artema thought. Only four to go. She had escorted Celia and Dana back to Celia’s surveillance van and watched them drive off before heading back into the hotel. Now she was on the trail of some rich woman who had apparently bought some time with a golden eyed woman. She passed by room after room but stopped when she heard a familiar voice bellowing from inside one of them.
“How do you like this? You rich piece of garbage! How about this?”
“Meryn?”
Artema found the door unlocked and stepped inside the hotel suite. Meryn knelt on the bed on top of a woman in a dress with her hands cuffed above her head. A large ball gag harness filled her mouth and she begged and pleaded with Meryn to stop... tickling her. It seemed odd for Meryn to do this as a form of punishment.
“Agent Gold!”
Meryn quickly stopped what she was doing and stood up from the bed. She straightened her hair and cleared her throat. “Agent Hunter. Took you long enough to get here.”
“How did... this happen?” Artema asked.
“Oh, I was in her position not too long ago. But she got cocky and dangled the keys a little too close to me. So I... um... got a little payback. For what she did to me. Artema, she bought time with me from-”
“Jhana, I know. I’m on it. Head back to HQ. I’ll take things from here.”
“I should help you.”
“You should rest and calm your temper,” Artema said. “I’ve got it. You haven’t seen the others at all?”
“Not since we were in the theatre. What about the mayor’s daughter?”
“Safely back at HQ. Get back there and help protect her if you want to do something, all right?”
“Sure. Thanks, Artema. For coming after us.”
“Save your thanks. Just go.”
Meryn quickly left and Artema continued on down the hallway. She stopped at one room where she heard a peculiar sort of bickering going on inside.
“No, sis. I, like, paid for the black one with the blue hair. You paid for little greenie.”
“What? That’s totally wrong. The blue haired one is mine. You got little greenie.”
“MMMMPH!”
The muffled scream sounded a lot like Luna. Artema needed no further proof. But she crept into the room silently while the two brunettes still bickered.
“Listen you’re, like, the most wrong any person has ever been, ever.”
“Sis, shut up. You’re the mostest wrongest than... me! Yeah!”
“No, you’re wrong!”
“No you are!”
“Am not.”
“Are too.”
“Am not, times infinity.”
“Are too times infinity plus- aggh!”
Both of their heads clunked together and they crumpled to a heap, unconscious on the floor. Artema shook her head. “Shut your idiot mouths,” she said.
It took her a bit of time to unravel Luna and Mirelle from their tape bondage but when they were free, they both immediately turned around and gave each other a hug.
“Oh, it’s so good to be able to speak to you again!”
“My God, I’m sick of those idiots. But I’m glad you were here to keep me sane.”
“Agent Moonlight,” Artema said. “Agent Rune. I need you both to report back to HQ.”
They both turned to Artema. “Thank you for coming after us,” Mirelle said.
“Did either of you see where they took Lanala?”
“No,” Luna said. “But Artema, it’s-”
“It’s Jhana. I already know that. You two just get out of here.”
They both stood up but they stopped and looked each other in the eye.
“Listen, Mirelle, I’ve been wanting to say this for awhile.”
“Me too, Luna. I’ve really felt close to you the last little while and, um, I just wanted to say-”
“I love you,” they said in unison. They shared a warm smile and another hug but they were interrupted when Artema called to them.
“This is lovely and everything but you two really need to get out of here! Now!” Artema said.
With the two of them gone, Artema kept on in search of her wife, the last of Jhana’s captives.
...
“Mmmrggh! Mmmph! Mmmtmm mm tmmph immphtmmnt!”
Jhana writhed and bucked on the bed, now tied up with the same straps that had once bound Lanala’s body. The two agents of Weston stood over her, triumphantly, watching her futile struggles. What made it worse for Jhana was that she had used a great deal of energy in showing off for Lanala and now the spirits of the dead weren’t listening to her. They had simply vanished back into the ether.
But luck was still on Jhana’s side as just when Lanala and Artema were ready to take her back to HQ, the door to the suite burst open and scores of armed goons charged into the room. They carried stun pistols but the effect was still intimidating for Lanala. But Artema was unfazed. She actually smiled and cracked her knuckles.
“A-Artema? There has to be, like, ten of them. Are you sure about this?”
Artema seemed to ignore her wife’s words and planted herself firmly on the floor, crouching low in a fighting stance. “Let’s rock.”
Several of the goons fired their stun pistols as the hulking woman rushed at them but she managed to avoid the projectiles. An uppercut to a goon’s chin, a swift punch in the gut to another, and a stiff forearm to the head of another and three of them were already down. Lanala was stunned.
The fight carried on into the hallway and Lanala was torn. She needed to help her wife but their primary target was trussed up on the bed beside her. Her decision was made for her when she heard Artema call out to her.
“Leave her and run, Lanala!” she called. “More of them are coming!”
Lanala charged out the door and met up with her wife, who fought off another two of Jhana’s goons. Another rushed in from behind but a heavy kick to the chest from Lanala took care of her. The two of them then rushed to the elevator and forced the door shut before the goons could reach them. Heaving and out of breath, Artema and Lanala embraced and gave each other a long kiss.
“Artema, she’s-”
“I know. I saw.”
“You saw the spirits?”
“I did. She still has power. But that means you do, too. More than her.”
“But I don’t know how to-”
“You will, sweetheart. You always do. You’re Lanala. You’re the best there is.”
Lanala kissed her wife again but when she stepped back, she had another question. “Did we at least get Aurora?”
“She was long gone before I got here. Someone must have tipped her off.”
“Or it was the bug in your office. Farrah’s still chained up back at HQ, right?”
Artema shook her head. “Damn it. I forgot about that damn thing. And Jonas told me all about the hotel and everything right in my office. She probably heard it right from me.”
When the elevator doors opened, the two of them ran off again, right out the front doors of the hotel. They didn’t stop until they reached Artema’s car and sped off down the street.
“We’ll find that bug, Artema. Together. Then Aurora will have nothing on us.”
“All right. But let me rest, first. I think I sprained my wrist on one of those hardheaded morons that Jhana employs,” Artema said with a smile.
Lanala giggled and leaned on her wife’s shoulder and Artema wrapped one of her strong arms around Lanala while they drove back to HQ.
...
Dana wanted to thank the women of the Agency for saving her from Aurora so she gave them free season passes to every show she performed in. Everyone but Artema and Lanala elected to go to the first one. The happy couple stayed back at their quarters in HQ to spend some time together and rest.
With Artema fast asleep, Lanala crept to the small kitchen area and made herself a cup of coffee. Her mind stayed with Jhana. She had harnessed the power of this strange world. But her power was both weak and different. If Lanala could concentrate, what would she be able to do?
She closed her eyes and thought hard. She mastered lightning before but now she couldn’t do that. So what could she do? With her mind deeply focussed, a deep voice whispered in her ear.
“North, south, commander of steel,” it said.
Lanala jumped at the sound of the voice but she held her concentration and held up her hand. She felt something stir in the back of her mind and opened her eyes. When she did, the refrigerator in front of her lurched forward and few inches and she jumped back. It stopped in its tracks. Had she done that?
The words then lingered in her mind and she repeated them. “North, south, commander of steel. Holy crap! I’m magnetic!”
For the next few hours, Lanala practiced and honed her newly discovered ability. It would take some time but Lanala knew that she could do more. And then she’d be able to stop Jhana.