Jhana’s time was up. This was all she knew. Artema couldn’t stand to let that woman away with anything more after the horrific simulation she had put her agents through. Nevermind what happened to Artema herself, everything her agents faced on that island made her deeply angry and she was going to bring Jhana in herself. Alone.
She had tracked Jhana’s location to an office complex right along the coastline, situated in an otherwise quiet neighbourhood. The location was known to the Agency as one of Jhana’s many safe houses.
For the mission, Artema expected trouble but knew not to take on too much at once. She had put on her white stealth suit, a skin tight suit that hugged her entire body as well as a light pair of knee high boots. Moving quietly was going to be essential for getting the drop on Jhana.
On her hip, Artema had a white holster attached to a belt in which a stun run rested. She didn’t want to take any chances this time. Jhana was going down and Artema was not going to leave without her.
Once inside the office building, everything was far too quiet. It looked like the place was abandoned in a hurry, with scattered furniture, knocked over desk lamps, and still open file drawers. Artema took an elevator to the top floor, where she knew Jhana’s office would be, and found it to be just as quiet.
But something told her that this building was less abandoned than it appeared. Stepping into the wide executive office, Artema found the place rather empty, save for the remote and complex computer that sat on a wide, semi-circular desk. Artema grabbed the remote in both hands and broke the thing in half, before kicking the computer off the desk, smashing it open. At least the simulation couldn’t be used again, Her senses still on high alert, Artema heard the floor creak behind her and she whirled around, reaching for her stun gun.
Before she could draw it, however, a large woman tackled her, grabbing her around the waist, and they both tumbled to the floor. Artema rolled with her, breaking free of her grasp, and got up first.
The woman, she noticed, was dressed in a black business suit and sunglasses, much like both Jhana’s and Aurora’s goons. Artema picked her up from the floor and grabbed her from behind, wrapping one of her powerful arms around the woman’s throat.
“Where is Jhana!?” Artema snarled.
“I.... she’s not....”
Artema gripped tighter. “Don’t lie to me!”
“Let her go and put your hands behind your head. We’ve got you surrounded.” Another woman’s voice came from the doorway. Artema hadn’t noticed that five more goons had entered the room and did, indeed, have her surrounded.
All five of them were pointing guns at her, though Artema suspected that they weren’t lethal. She paused for a moment, planning out her attack.
“I won’t say it again,” the woman in the doorway, smaller than Artema’s attacker, said to her. “Let her go and put your hands on your head.”
Artema smirked. “You’ll have to shoot me.”
“”I will! Don’t make me!”
“Go ahead. I’m right here. Take your best shot.”
Nobody moved and the standoff lasted another thirty painfully slow seconds. With her plan in mind, Artema took one quick step forward, knowing the goons would open fire on her.
She shielded herself with her attacker, who took a large dart to the shoulder, rendering her muscles useless. Artema then shoved her attacker toward the woman at the door. The two collided and crashed to the floor in a heap.
Artema then rolled backward and disarmed another goon, elbowing him in the head and disarming him. She moved around behind him and fired his gun at one woman who had not opened fire yet, hitting her with a dart. Another woman fired her weapon but Artema used the man as a shield, just as before, and the dart hit him and she shoved him toward the pair of woman, causing all three to tumble to the floor.
One final goon unloaded his dart gun at Artema but Agent Hunter proved too fast for him and he missed, taking a solid punch in the face. Artema then swept his legs out from under him, disarmed him as well, and fired three more darts at the women still getting up from the floor.
She dropped the dart gun and rolled her shoulders and neck, stretching out the muscles. Artema had turned the tables in seconds and had even done so without using her own weapon.
But before she could celebrate her victory, Artema had the distinct feeling that she was being watched. She spun in place and spotted another goon, a short woman, holding a gun and pointing it right at her. She was alone.
“You people really make this too easy,” Artema said.
The woman said nothing, remaining expressionless, and that was when she flickered in and out of existence for a brief moment. Artema’s eyes widened in shock for a moment.
“What the hell?”
Artema lunged for the woman, trying to grab her gun, but she passed right through the woman’s arm and she disappeared before Artema could react again.
“Damn it. Jhana, where are you? Come out here and face me!”
A familiar voice echoed around the room in response. “I don’t need to face you, dear Agent Hunter. I have... people who can do that for me.”
Artema didn’t have a chance to say anything back when she felt a stabbing pain in her lower back. She turned around and saw the same woman, now transparent, still pointing a gun at her. That was when Artema realized that she wasn’t dressed like a normal goon. She was wearing a black gown, a Victorian style dress, and held a revolver in her hand. It fired darts but everything about her appeared centuries old.
Then the dart started to take its effect and all of Artema’s muscles went limp. Her consciousness faded in and out and she flipped onto her back, seeing the face of the ghostly woman looming above her.
“I’m so glad you could join us, Agent Hunter. I counted on it, in fact. Now it is time to see what you’re made of.”
With a spirit of the dead still staring silently at her, Artema passed out on the floor and everything went black.
...
It was more than an hour later when Agent Hunter finally awoke. She was standing upright behind some kind off... blue glass. In fact, the material surrounded her in tight quarters. It was only then Artema realized that she wasn’t actually standing on anything. She was suspended between the top and bottom of some kind of chamber.
“Hmmmph?” Her voice was also muffled. Oh great Artema thought to herself. It’s happened again. Fool me for going off alone.
But her situation quickly appeared to be far, far worse than when she had been captured by Aurora. Worse even than Jhana’s prison that Lanala had broken them out of.
First, Artema found that she couldn’t stretch out her hands. They each gripped a rubber ball tightly behind her back and some very tough material covered them completely, trapping her hands in some type of restrictive mittens. She couldn’t see them but, like the glass around her, the mittens were also blue and were made of some experimental, high density fabric stronger even than Kevlar. But Artema didn’t know that at the time.
She then found that her arms were heavily restrained, behind her back, by heavy, metallic cuffs on her wrists, forearms, and biceps. They weighed her arms down and it was a tough effort just to try and move them. The cuffs themselves were locked on, with no visible keyhole, and tightly locked around each separate limb while fusing together only millimetres apart. Artema could feel her elbows touching behind her back, which caused her chest to just out.
Artema couldn’t see her cuffs either but they glowed blue, much like the glass chamber, and were made of some tough metal that Artema couldn’t discern. She would later learn that it was an experimental metal developed in Aurora’s laboratory and it proved stronger even than titanium. And with no visible keyholes, Artema knew that she wasn’t going anywhere.
But the cuffs on her arms were far from her only problem. Her legs were bound by some sort of glowing, blue straps that stuck together with heavy steel buckles like seat belts. Only they locked on tightly and, once again, there was no visible keyhole. They tightly restrained her legs at the ankles, calves, above and below the knees and in two places on her mighty thighs. Three more wrapped around her torso and waist, pinning her wrists and arms tightly to her back.
Attached to her ankles, a length of bright blue chain anchored her to the floor and stretched her out from the ceiling, where another chain attached to the ceiling. This chain, in turn, was wrapped around Artema’s torso. Yet another of the blue chains was attached to a metal ring on Artema’s stifling gag.
The gag was a huge muzzle, entrapping Artema’s head. It, too, was glowing blue like the tough straps that bound her legs and arms. Another rubber ball was forced into her mouth and sealed inside by a thick panel that covered Artema’s face from just below the nose all the way down to her neck, where it hugged her tight and prevented her from turning her head. A web of straps wrapped around her head and criss-crossed her face, obscuring part of her vision.
The heavy muzzle gag kept her completely silent and with Artema disarmed, unable to use her hands, with no keyholes and no tools, Agent Hunter was quick to realize that she was trapped. Much like the prison, she simply couldn’t escape. Not that she didn’t try.
Artema bucked and writhed and squirmed, testing her extreme restraints but her movements did nothing. Her mighty muscles were held in check by whatever she had been tied up with.
A familiar face appeared before her, on the other side of the blue glass chamber. Jhana smirked at her captive and Artema growled and screamed into her muzzle.
“MMMMMMRRRGGGH! HHHHHHRRRRGGGHMMMMM! MMMMMPH!”
“So here we are again, Artema. Do you like those restraints I used? I’ve learned a few things about how to keep a tough, strong escape artist like you tied up and at my mercy, my dear.”
“HHHMMMMPH! MMMMR DMMMMMD!”
“Ah, I can hear the threat in your voice, Artema. But that is pointless. You will not escape. I simply will not allow it. You are my prisoner now.”
“NMMMMMM! MMMMMK MMMM! MMMMMPH!”
“Oh that muzzle gag is simply divine. How silent you are, trapped in your little tube. Believe me, Agent Hunter, I have ensured that you cannot escape me this time. How fun it is to have the Agency’s own guardian angel, the rescuer, as the helpless damsel. And they will come for you, dear, dear Artema. But I will be ready. And without their mighty leader, the Weston Agency will fall. You can count on that.”
“NMMMMVMMMM! MMMMLL NMMMVMMM MMMT MMMNMM MMPH MMMMPH!”
“So it is that the Agency finds itself leaderless. Before I leave you to struggle, I have something to show you. A design feature I stole from the thief.”
Jhana held a small device in her hand and held it out toward Artema. She pressed a button and suddenly Artema was robbed of her vision. The head strap on her gag expanded into a black visor that completely obscured her vision. Artema then heard machines whirring on either side of her and two large, circular devices were fitted tightly over her ears and she was completely deafened. A soft voice spoke into her ears then.
“Can you hear me, Agent Hunter? What do you think of that? Built in sensory deprivation in that wonderful gag of yours. Are you ready for the next part?”
Artema struggled mightily in her restraints but they held her as firm as ever. It even felt like they had tightened a bit.
“Reactive restraints, to keep the subject compliant and obedient. They tighten and loosen as the subject struggles, making certain that they can gain no leverage or find any escape. Also, you may find a few other surprises in store.”
Artema continued struggling but then felt something slip between her legs and tighten up. It hummed and vibrated, stimulating her senses and making her struggle even more. “A sort of guide, from that strap around your waist, to help you to behave. It lets go when you stop moving. Meant to ensure unruly subjects will comply with demands.”
“MMMMMMPPPPHHHH!!”
“And that isn’t all. Especially unruly subjects get what we call the whistle treatment. Take a listen.”
Jhana’s voice disappeared in Artema’s ears and a high pitched squeal replaced it. The sound reverberated inside Artema’s head and she struggled more, causing the strap between her legs to vibrate harder and for the restraints to hug her tighter.
Jhana’s voice then reappeared, behind the high pitched squeal. “The sooner you stop fighting then the sooner you’ll stop being punished, prisoner.”
“MMMMMPPPPHHH!!”
Artema still refused to give in. There had to be a way out! There just had to be! But with all of her senses going wild, Artema simply could not think straight. And with all of her impossible restraints, the mighty Agent Hunter truly was trapped and at Jhana’s mercy.
With her restraints still punishing her and Artema still refusing to stop struggling, Jhana left the room, locking the heavy steel door behind her. A panel in the wall closed and the door she left disappeared. She was now back in her office, staring at a small tablet with several camera feeds on it. Now all she had to do was wait.
...
Lanala was the first to awaken back at HQ. Something stirred in the back of her mind. A sort of... feeling. She usually thought of Artema but her mind could not leave her wife, for some reason. And what she was feeling didn’t feel good. But what could be wrong? Artema was the best among them; their strong and dependable leader.
The first indication to Lanala was that she did not wake up beside Artema. Her wife had told them all to rest, yes, but Artema had said she would be there with Lanala when she woke up. This wasn’t the first time that Artema would have busied herself with office work or the like. She always worked so hard.
But Lanala still couldn’t shake the bad feeling in the pit of her stomach nor the nagging thoughts in the back of her mind. Still, this was Artema! She was always the best at getting out of trouble.
A noisy shout from Jonas put Lanala’s attempts to comfort herself to rest. She hurried over to his quarters and burst through the doors.
“Jonas! What’s wrong?”
“Artema’s gone!”
“Gone? As in... she left?”
“Took on a solo mission. She followed protocol and took a communicator but I can’t reach her.”
Lanala’s heart sank further. “What else?”
Jonas let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead. “I tracked it to one of Jhana’s safe houses. Looks like Artema went after her on her own.”
“So does that mean she’s...”
“Captured? I don’t know. It’s not like her to not answer me. I may have panicked a bit when she didn’t talk back to me. I mean.... I owe her my entire life. I don’t want anything to happen to her, you know?”
“We all owe her so much,” Lanala said. “I know what you mean.”
Jonas stood up from his bed and straightened his tie. “Come with me to her office. We have to know for sure what’s happened to her.”
Jonas and Lanala left together and walked through the winding halls, past the interrogation room where Farrah still sat, bound and gagged and fast asleep, and entered through the door to their leader’s office.
Digging into Artema’s computer, Jonas opened a sort of worm program that could give them a direct security camera feed from anywhere in Weston. Jonas had never shown this to the agents before because it was entirely illegal and he knew they wouldn’t approve. But Jonas pushed aside his morals on this one and claimed it as a dirty trick to help the Agency even the odds against people with a whole slew of dirty tricks.
Lanala frowned when she realized what Jonas was doing but neither of them addressed it. With Artema missing, both of them were desperate and that called for desperate measures.
Working his way in, Jonas got a grainy feed from a camera inside Jhana’s office. The room looked to be almost a cell and that was when they both realized that it was some kind of hidden space. Jhana had a makeshift prison built into her office in this particular safe house. And they both recognized the heavily bound and furiously struggling figure, suspended inside a blue glass tube.
“What the hell are those restraints made of?” Lanala asked.
“I’m not sure but it’s possible Jhana stole the materials and blueprints from Aurora’s lab. We did find reports of some high strength metal alloys they were working on.”
“Oh, look at her! She looks so upset in there! Oh, sweetheart....”
Jonas shut off the feed and turned away from the computer. He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh.
“That stuff looked pretty inescapable,” he said.
“And she’s got her in some kind of state of sensory deprivation. It must be so awful for her!”
Jonas cleared his throat and put his glasses back on, opening his eyes. They blazed with fire as he and Lanala held each other’s gaze.
“Gather the team. We’re getting her out of there.”
“How? Jhana must be expecting us. Not to mention the heavy guard she’ll have around the place.”
“Does that really matter to you? She’s your wife.”
Lanala let out a heavy breath and nodded. “You’re right. Whatever it takes.”
“That’s right. Whatever it takes. Any means necessary to get her back.”
“Any means? Does that mean-”
Jonas placed a hand on Lanala’s shoulder. “We’ve got to do this. We’ll avoid it as much as we can but, if that’s what it takes then we may have to-”
“Kill Jhana,” Lanala finished. “I don’t know if I can take a life, Jonas. Not even hers.”
“But would you do it for Artema?”
Lanala’s eyes hardened as well and she and Jonas exchanged intense stares. “If I have to.”
Jonas nodded. “Then let’s get ready. While you’re explaining the situation to the team, I’ll set to work getting the plan ready. We’ll do what we can to avoid lethal stuff but, like I said, it may be unavoidable.”
“I understand. For Artema.”
“For Artema,” Jonas repeated.
...
Seven agents gathered around a circular table in Artema’s office, which often doubled as a briefing room. They all had their stares fixed on a man pacing back and forth at the head of the table, poring over maps and diagrams and binders of information.
“Before I begin,” Jonas said, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. “Let me remind you who it is we’re doing this for. We would do this for any one of our number but we all owe Artema something. She brought us together. Made us a family. She’s saved us all, countless times, from imprisonment, loss of life and limb and, in some cases, pulled us out of the gutter.”
Jonas paused for a moment, remembering the day Artema had found him bleeding to death in that alley, alone and broken. Those men would have beaten him to death, or stabbed him repeatedly, if Artema hadn’t shown up. And even then, he would have starved to death on the streets if she hadn’t picked him up and found him work.
“So that means we do this right, we do this quick, and we do this brutally if we have to.”
“Do we really have to?” Mirelle asked, sounding concerned.
“Take a moment and reflect, ladies. What does Artema mean to you?”
Mirelle paused to think, remembering that day as a young girl when she was cornered by bandits who threatened her life. A majestic figure in white, strong, proud, and relentless, fought them all off and chased them away. Artema’s words to her that day have always stuck with Mirelle. You’re safe now. You’ll always be safe as long as I’m around.
When Mirelle grew up and learned to fight, she sought out the great hero who had saved her and joined Artema’s cause.
“Okay, Jonas,” she said. “I’ll do what it takes.”
Mirelle’s girlfriend, Luna, thought back to Artema’s welcoming nature of an outcast mage like her. When the rest of the world shunned her, branded her as ‘too different’ or ‘too other,’ Artema took her in to join her cause. No more would the moon girl be a nobody to the world. Artema made her somebody and, even better, told her that she belonged, that she had value and that there was no such thing as ‘too different.’
“I’m with you,” Luna said with a nod.
Taria stood furthest from the front of the room, arms folded, and a deep scowl on her face. An image of Artema flashed in her mind. The great and wise leader was so willing to forgive an old mercenary like Taria for her past transgressions. As long as Taria would fight for justice then Artema told her she was always welcome. Bad past or no, as long as you learn from it and grow then that is all that matters. Artema’s strong voice echoed in her mind and Taria remained silent, instead just nodding toward Jonas.
Meryn sometimes longed for her days on the streets as a crimefighter. It was exhilarating and satisfying just to know that she was making a difference. Then she was captured by a crime lord. Artema was there to save her. Meryn could never guess why Artema had come for her; they hardly knew each other, after all. But the great Artema offered her a job. Meryn, the natural loner, declined the first time. But then she was captured again and Artema saved her yet again. The offer still stands. Those four words were all Meryn needed to join the great and selfless woman who had saved her from a life of imprisonment.
“Let’s do it,” she said.
Celia simply nodded to her best friend, thinking back to all the times Artema had come for her when she had been captured. She was forever grateful to Artema for succeeding where Celia believed that she herself had failed; protecting Jonas. Keeping Jonas safe was always priority one for Celia while they were growing up but she just couldn’t pull him out of a dire depression when he wound up on the streets. It was only Artema who could do it when she saved his life that day.
“I think we’re all on board,” she said.
Lanala, pining to feel her wife’s touch, to kiss her again, to hold her tight and never let her go, ached for the torment the love of her life must have been going through. Artema had been Lanala’s first and only love. Never before did she think she could love someone as much as she loved Artema. Before meeting her wife, Lanala was convinced that she would be doomed to a life of loneliness, forever unloved. She had thought herself unlovable until the muscular amazon of a woman came into her life and absolutely rocked her world. Such perfection in a human was something Lanala had never thought possible. But Artema proved many things wrong for Lanala. Artema told Lanala that she was worth loving, she was worth feeling loved, and that she deserved a person worthy of all the love she herself had to give. Lanala loved her friends, to be certain, but Artema was her partner, her best side, and her bond for this life and the next beyond.
She said nothing and tried to bite back the tears that threatened to pour from her eyes.
Then they all turned to Elyn. Agent Firebrand shrugged, smirked, and leaned back in her chair. “What? Am I supposed to say something?”
“Elyn...” Lanala said.
In truth, despite hiding her feelings, Elyn cared deeply for everyone in the room with her. The same went for their fearless leader. After her expulsion from the Guild, Elyn was lost, alone, and had nowhere else to turn. She sought out the great Artema herself, hoping to do some good in the world. That was all Elyn ever wanted. Without hesitation, Artema accepted her into the fold and treated her with the same firm and caring guidance as any other member of their little band. Truth be told, Elyn was even a little envious of Lanala for getting to spend so much time with their amazing leader.
She glanced back and forth between the seven pairs of eyes that stared her way and a wry smile curled her lips.
“Did you think I would be against saving Artema or something? What are you, stupid? I am all the hell in, no matter what it takes.”
“Damn right,” Taria said. “Let’s do it.”
Jonas felt a swell of energy from the enthusiasm of the women in the room and a genuine smile played at his lips, though he quickly stifled it.
“Very good. Here’s the plan...”
...
Artema felt like she had gone deaf when the awful squealing in her ears was finally silenced. Her ears were still covered by the soft pads, of course, and no sound could reach her ears from the outside. But Artema really could not tell if she had gone deaf or not.
She still hadn’t stopped trying to escape and continued to fruitlessly fight her restraints. But the effort had become much more subdued as her energy waned. Artema was now drenched with sweat and her muscles had all become quite sore but she was as determined as ever to escape.
The strap that had tightened between her legs had also relaxed somewhat and the steady, overwhelming vibration was not just a dull hum that... stimulated her. In fact, Artema was even beginning to enjoy it. Now that her struggles weren’t as wild, her punishments had dwindled and made things actually feel comfortable. Artema had always enjoyed the challenge that came with being tied up but she had never really considered it all that pleasurable an activity. It was good for training, mental stimulation, and meditation but that was it, as far as she was concerned. But now this crotch strap made her feel... things. It made her think of Lanala and wish she and her were together, experiencing this bliss.
The thoughts of Lanala made Artema redouble her escape efforts. But the thoughts never went out of her head about how much... fun this all was. Maybe she had something new to try with her wife, whenever she got out of here. They had never really tied each other up for anything other than training before. It might be interesting to try it when she got back home...
Focus, damn it! She told herself. This isn’t like you! Get out of this, you big wimp!
“Mmmph!” Artema started struggling harder and the squealing began in her ears again. The straps on her arms and legs hugged her tighter and the one between her legs rattled her very bones with its vibration. It forced her to stop and take in a breath, allowing the punishments to cease after a time.
Being alone and deprived of all senses gave Artema a great deal of time to think. She hadn’t heard from Jhana in a while and wondered if this part of her plan all along. The simulation was bad enough but did she actually expect the Agency to break out of it? And had she really planned on Artema coming after her alone? There was no way that Jhana could think that far ahead.
But the evidence was all around her, gripping her body tight and refusing to let go. It seemed Jhana really had thought this far ahead. If so, what else would she do? She mentioned that Artema’s agents would come after her...
“MMMMPH!” Artema began struggling wildly again, eliciting punishments from her diabolical restraints. But she put it out of her mind and continued struggling. There was no way she was letting her agents walk into a trap! And Artema refused to be used as bait!
But the punishments eventually won out and Artema had to stop and take another breath, with no progress made toward getting free. Maybe I really can’t escape this time? Artema growled beneath her gag. No! You’re no quitter! Don’t let her get into your head! Keep fighting!
Artema grunted, struggling a little gentler this time, trying to find some kind of opening. She moaned at the sudden, light vibration of the crotch strap and found herself enjoying it again. I think I understand Elyn a little better after today she thought.
Even with these thoughts in mind, Artema continued to try and find some means of escape, refusing to let Jhana win. It was beginning to look a little hopeless, however...
...
“Are we set?” Taria asked, with one finger to her ear.
She sat at the wheel of a black van, peering across the street at the four guards that stood on either side of the doorway to the office building Artema was imprisoned within.
Meryn sat beside her, keeping hard focus on the on the guards, deciding which to take down first. The pair of them looked dressed for war. They were adorned in black baseball hats, long sleeved shirts, pants, and heavy combat boots. They each also wore Kevlar vests, borrowed from the agency’s tactical response unit.
Meryn checked the cartridge of her sub-machine gun, filled with rubber bullets, and gripped it tight while mentally practicing her aim.
A man’s voice spoke into Taria’s ear. “Everyone is in position,” Jonas said. “Wait for Spark’s signal.”
“And then?” Taria asked. She knew what to do, she just wanted to hear Jonas say it.
“Hit ‘em hard.”
“You can count on that, Shadow. Out.”
The voice in her ear disappeared and the pair of women waited, side by side, for Lanala to give the signal.
Lanala, meanwhile, watched the camera feeds on a tablet Jonas had given her. She sat on a bench by a nearby bus stop. She blended in well with a loose, black t-shirt, a pair of jeans and low cut running shoes, along with a long, black coat to conceal the pair of weapons she carried. One of them was a stun gun and the other, reluctantly, was a fully loaded, semi-automatic pistol. Just in case.
She monitored the guard patterns inside the building and waited for Jhana to make herself vulnerable and alone. As soon as she was, the team would only have a few minutes to fight their way in and subdue her and find out where she was keeping Artema.
Foot traffic in the office building was heavy and Jhana was kept under heavy and constant escort. It seemed she had expected them to come. But Lanala knew that Jhana was a high maintenance woman; she wouldn’t tolerate the presence of an escort of guards for long and needed a break from them. When that shift change happened, Lanala’s team would strike.
Artema’s team Lanala reminded herself. We’re still Artema’s team. Remember that.
She reached up to brush her bangs aside and spoke softly into her sleeve. “You in position, Rune?”
When she spoke, Mirelle ducked in behind a parked at the back of the office building. She and Luna were together, ready to take out the pair of guards at the back of the building. The two of them also wore tactical gear like Meryn and Taria, each toting shotguns with heavy beanbags in them instead of bullets.
“Ready when you are, Spark,” Mirelle said.
“Take them quick. Moonlight, watch Rune’s back. There are a few roamers outside and they may come running when you charge in.”
“I’m on it, Spark,” Luna said.
Lanala put her hand down when a pedestrian ambled past her and she pretended to play around on the tablet while still watching the security feeds. When the person had passed, Lanala brushed her bangs again and spoke softly once more.
“How is your situation, Swift?”
Celia carried a silent dart gun and her finger twitched nervously around the trigger. She, too, was dressed in black tactical gear. By a side door, a fire exit, a single guard stood at attention, her arms folded and her sharp eyes on the lookout from behind dark sunglasses.
Celia almost jumped out of her skin when Lanala’s voice spoke in her ear. “N-nothing new to report,” she said. “Still just one guard on this side. She’s big, though.”
“Celia,” Lanala said, speaking softly. “You can do this.”
“I know,” Celia said. “Thanks. For Artema?”
“For Artema,” Lanala repeated.
One more check-in to make. Lanala looked to the distant sky over the ocean where a helicopter hovered in place. It was a long distance away and Lanala worried that its occupant would have a difficult time doing her job.
“How’s it look, Firebrand?” she asked.
Elyn popped a piece of gum into her mouth and smiled when she looked through the scope of her sniper rifle. The bullets were rubber, as she had insisted, and she wouldn’t kill anyone but the thought of finally testing her marksmanship was a satisfying one indeed.
She lay prone inside a black helicopter, flown by Jonas, and it hovered steadily over the ocean. She had her rifle aimed at the top floor and watched the movement within like a hawk. Elyn kept one eye on her target, Jhana’s chief of security, who seemed to be quite a diligent and expertly trained woman.
“Security chief is doing her check-ins, I think,” Elyn said, answering Lanala. “Ready to take her whenever you give the say so, boss.”
“It’s a long shot,” Lanala said. “And you’re not perfectly steady up there. You sure about this?”
Elyn smirked. “Listen here, Spark. You ever shot a hole in a quarter from five hundred metres? Because I have. This is nothing. A cakewalk. She’ll be down and out soon as you give the word.”
“Are you making that up?” Lanala asked.
“Still have the quarter. Made it into a necklace. And there’s video to prove it. I’ll show you when we get back home.”
“All right. Just keep focus and make your shot count,” Lanala said.
“Just let me know when you’re making your move. Out.”
Lanala lowered her hand again and kept a sharp eye on the tablet. Finally, it looked like their chance was coming as Jhana stepped into the elevator and headed for her office. Her escort didn’t come in with her and the three guards that had been walking with her were taking up positions around the building. Three more gathered at the elevator, waiting for their boss to return.
“Ready up, everyone,” Lanala said, standing from her seat. She brushed aside her coat and reached a hand down to her stun gun. “Cobra is on her own. Standby.”
The other six agents tensed up and gripped their weapons tightly. Their moment had come and Jhana would not be prepared.
Lanala kept her eyes on the tablet and hurried off toward the main entrance, glancing toward the van where Taria and Meryn waited. She watched the camera feed from Jhana’s office doors and the elevator doors opened.
“Here we go,” Lanala said, into the communicator in her sleeve. “Ready to move in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...”
When Jhana closed her office doors, Lanala shouted her command into her communicator. “Now!”
Taria and Meryn burst out of the van, weapons raised, and the guards at the front door raised theirs.
“Chief! We’ve got trouble outside!” One of them said.
The security chief on the top floor, alone in an office, sat forward and moved to press an alarm button but something streaked through her window and heavily impacted her forehead. It was painful and she would almost certainly suffer a concussion. But she was alive, unconscious, and out of the way.
“Target down,” Elyn said, confidence oozing from her voice.
Jonas turned his head back toward her and smiled. “Are you serious?” he asked into his headset.
“I’m never serious,” she said. “But that woman is down and out. Get us out of here, Captain Scruffbeard.”
“Breaking off now,” he said, speaking to Lanala. “We’ll back in support once we touch down.”
Lanala said nothing but she received the transmission. She watched Taria and Meryn fire off quick bursts from their weapons, each taking out a guard with painful rubber shots that took them to the ground. With two guards still left to deal with, Lanala struck out at one with her stun gun, taking the woman down and rushing into the building. Taria took out the last one and the pair of them followed after Lanala.
At the back of the building, meanwhile, Luna and Mirelle emerged from cover together and pointed their shotguns at the two female guards on duty at the rear entrance.
“Drop your weapons,” Luna said, her voice ice cold.
The shotguns looked like the real deal and neither woman wanted to test them so they unholstered their pistols and slowly placed them on the ground.
“Smart move. Tie them up. Quickly,” Luna said, nodding to Mirelle.
Mirelle gripped a few pairs of zip ties and set to work binding both women’s hands behind their backs. She also tied their ankles together and zip tied their wrists to their ankles, laying them on the ground on their stomachs. Luna kept her gun trained on them both to ensure compliance.
Mirelle finished binding them by gagging the pair of women with a few quick wraps from a roll of duct tape she had attached to her belt.
“They’re secure,” Mirelle said.
“Good. Let’s move in.”
Mirelle ran to the door, leaning against the wall beside it and pulled it open, keeping her shotgun trained on the entrance. With no one immediately inside, she nodded for Luna to head in first. Mirelle quickly moved in behind her girlfriend and the two of them headed for the stairs, making their way toward the top floor.
The final entrance, the fire exit along the side, was also quickly abandoned. The large woman guarding the door didn’t even hear the sleep dart that hit her in the neck and she passed out quickly. Celia used to opportunity to pry open the door and find an emergency staircase, leading upward, toward the fire exit right inside Jhana’s office. Keeping her thoughts with Artema, Celia pressed upward and ascended the stairs quickly.
Inside the main lobby, the three guards by the elevator didn’t hesitate to rush the three women who had entered through the main door. Taria and Meryn didn’t have the time or space to fire their weapons but the guards that reached them soon regretted their decision.
Taria slammed the butt end of her sub-machine gun into the forehead of the guard that rushed her, knocking him out in one swift strike. The second guard tried to disarm Meryn and grabbed hold of her gun. Meryn let go of her weapon, allowing the woman to pull backward and stumble. She then swept out the woman’s legs, causing her to throw the gun into the air. In one move, Meryn landed a solid punch to the woman’s forehead, knocking her out, and caught her gun in mid-air.
She and Taria exchanged glances and the stoic, blue-haired fighter smirked at her. “Nice job.”
“No time for compliments,” Meryn said, opening the elevator doors. Lanala stepped in first, with Meryn and Taria close behind. “Still got a job to do.” The elevator then began to ascend, to the top floor, where Jhana waited behind closed doors.
...
“Mmmm mmmph! Mmmmph!”
She was surrounded on all sides by eight people who stared at her, demanding answers. Struggling against her restraints, there wasn’t much she could say to them since she was also gagged.
The operation had been a success thus far. Soon after Jonas and Elyn touched down, they received news from Lanala that their target had been subdued and was undergoing interrogation.
Now they all stood around Jhana, tightly tied to her office chair, and awaited an answer. Artema was in the building somewhere and none of them were leaving without her. And with Jhana’s office doors locked and barred, none of her security were going to save her this time.
They had found ample supplies in Jhana’s office to bind her with. Her wrists were cuffed behind the chair and her arms were securely pinned to her sides and attached to the chair by hundreds of feet of heavy, black rope.
Her knees and ankles were also tied together by the rope and thick, black duct tape wrapped around her head and covered her mouth.
Lanala leaned down into Jhana’s face and met her eyes. Some of the agents stepped back at the fire in the eyes of Agent Spark. They had never known her to show this level of anger before.
“You are done, Jhana,” Lanala said. “This is it. When we’re through here, you are going away for the rest of your wretched days. But it’s going to be a whole lot worse for you if you do not tell me where my wife is. You’re mine now. You can’t even begin to imagine what I’m going to do to you if she’s been hurt. And if you don’t tell me, well, it’s not all that hard to imagine what will happen next.”
“Mmmph!”
“What was that? I’m having trouble hearing you,” Lanala said, her voice calm as ever. But there was a seething anger behind it and a malice that none of them had ever seen from someone as sweet and charming as Lanala. “Tell you what. I’ll take that gag off if you agree to tell me where you’re keeping my wife. Understand?”
Jhana nodded and struggled a bit against her bonds.
Lanala unwrapped the tape from Jhana’s lips, eliciting a cry of pain from G.A.G’s leader.
“You can’t free her,” Jhana said.
“No. No more of that. Tell me where she is or the gag goes back on and you won’t like what happens after that.”
“I’m telling you the truth! Only I can free her! The restraints respond to a key that is programmed only to function in my hand. So you can’t free her without me.”
“Nice try,” Lanala said. “But I am not letting you go. Not after this.”
“Do you want Artema back or don’t you? You let me out of this and she’ll be free. That is what you want, isn’t it?”
Jonas stepped forward then and handed Lanala a small remote. “She’s right. Found this in her desk. Fingerprint sensors and even more besides. And it gets worse.”
“How?”
“If anyone but her presses any of these buttons, it’ll fry the remote’s circuitry. Then it’ll be useless no matter who uses it. Artema would be trapped forever.”
“Damn it,” Lanala said.
“Now do you get it?” Jhana asked. “You need to free me so I can free Artema. That’s a fair trade, as far as I’m concerned. You let me go and your leader goes free. You keep me tied up and Artema stays my prisoner. Your call, Lanala.”
Lanala let out a long breath and leaned down into Jhana’s face again. “I’ll only untie you if you tell me where you’re keeping her. You’re not moving from that chair until you do.”
“She’s back there,” Jhana said, nodding toward the back wall. “She’s inside a containment chamber in a hidden cell in the wall. But only I can open that, too. So you need to free me!”
“We’ll see about that,” Lanala said. She grabbed a roll of the thick, black duct tape and approached Jhana again.
“No, Lanala, wait. You can’t-mmmmph!” Lanala angrily wrapped tape around Jhana’s mouth several times, sealing it shut. She shoved the chair away, forcing some of her allies to dodge it, and crossed the room to Jhana’s large desk.
She eyed the many keyboards and a long control panel and same across a button labelled ‘cell door.’ When Lanala pressed it, a small device rose up from out of the desk and one of the monitors read ‘retina scan required.’
Lanala pounded the desk and growled, rushing across the room to Jhana in her chair. “Get over there!”
Lanala shoved Jhana’s wheeled office chair hard across the room until it collided with her desk. Crossing the room again, Lanala wheeled her to the retina scan and held onto Jhana’s chin.
“Open the door,” she said.
“Mmm mmm!” Jhana said, shaking her head. “Fmmm mmm!”
Lanala spun her around and leaned down into her face. “Open the damn door, Jhana! Now!”
“Mmmtmmm mmm fmmmph!”
Lanala growled again and punched Jhana in the stomach, spinning her around. She grabbed Jhana’s hair and held her closer to the retina scan.
“Open the door!”
“Nmmmm!”
Lanala wrenched Jhana’s head back and raised her fist in the air, glaring down into Jhana’s eyes.
“Open this fucking door!”
Lanala landed a heavy punch right on one of Jhana’s cheekbones, cutting her face slightly. Jonas stepped forward again and tried to put a hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, Lanala, take it easy.”
She shook him off and shoved him to the floor. “Get off me! We’re getting this door open one way or another!” Lanala turned back to Jhana, raising her fist in the air again. “Open it!”
“Mmmmph!”
“I said open it!” Lanala punched Jhana twice this time. When she reached back to hit her again, Mirelle got between them and pushed Lanala back.
“Stop it! This isn’t you, Lanala! What would Artema think if she saw this?”
“She’s in there suffering right now, Mirelle. Get out of my way!”
“No. We don’t hurt people like this. Not even Jhana. I won’t let you do it. You’re better than this.”
“We hurt her goons getting in here, didn’t we? How is she different?”
“That wasn’t the same! This is turning into torture! I won’t let you do that to someone, Lanala! It’ll poison you!”
Lanala hesitated, still seething with rage and getting angrier by the second. “Stand aside, Mirelle.”
“Please, Lanala. For Artema’s sake, just make this easy. We’ve got her surrounded. She won’t go anywhere. Just let her open the door and we’ll get Artema out of here. Don’t forget about what’s important.”
Lanala let out a long breath, closed her eyes, and then opened them again. She simply nodded to Mirelle.
“Thank you, Lanala.” Mirelle stepped aside and allowed Lanala to approach Jhana.
Lanala once again leaned down close to Jhana’s face. “You’re damn lucky, do you know that? I don’t know how a witch like you gets so lucky all the time. But if it were just you and me, you wouldn’t be so lucky. Understand?”
“Ymmmph!” Jhana said, nodding her head.
“You try anything when I untie you and I swear that I will kill you. You got that?”
“Ymmmph!”
“Good.”
Lanala removed Jhana’s gag first and then set to work releasing her from her bonds. When she was done, Jhana stood up and stretched her muscles a bit.
“Open the door please,” Lanala said.
Jhana bent down and allowed the scanner to scan her retina. When it was finished, part of the wall behind them opened up and a huge, steel door swung open into another room.
“She’s in there,” Jhana said. “I need my remote to free her.”
“I’ll hang onto it until we’re in the other room, if you don’t mind,” Jonas said.
Jhana relented. “Very well. Follow me, please.”
The agents all followed Jhana into the small cell and Lanala couldn’t help but gasp when she saw her wife. Artema was still just as heavily restrained as before, suspended between chains inside the glass tube. They all gathered around the containment chamber that held their leader, who was still blind and deaf to the world. She struggled very slightly but it was very clear that her long period of restraint had worn her down in more ways than one.
“Now, my remote, if you please,” Jhana said.
Jonas stepped forward, his eyes meeting hers, and he held the remote tightly in his hands. “Don’t try anything stupid, now.”
He handed her the remote and she hesitated.
“Free her. Now,” Lanala said.
“Stand back,” Jhana said. “The chamber needs space to open.”
The agents did as she instructed and Jhana walked around to the back of the chamber. She pressed one button and the glass opened. The restraints on Artema’s body began top click open and fall to the bottom of the chamber while Artema was lowered down onto her feet. As soon as Artema was free, however, a thick glass wall came up from the floor, separating the agents from Jhana.
She smiled at them as Lanala rushed forward and pounded the glass. They heard Jhana’s voice from a speaker in the ceiling.
“A fail safe, to ensure my freedom. You got your leader back. And now I’m off to hide myself away once again. But we will meet again, Lanala. Do count on that.”
Jhana stepped to the back of the room and another wall opened, revealing a secret elevator. She stepped inside, waved to the agents, and disappeared from view, riding the elevator down to the ground and freedom.
Artema stretched her tired muscles and stumbled toward her wife.
“Lanala...”
Lanala caught her wife in her arms, holding her gently and caressing her hair. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m here. I’ve got you.”
“Nice... change of pace.... don’t... you think?” Artema said, her voice weary.
“What do you mean, my love?”
Artema managed a smile. “This time.... you... saved me.”
“Don’t forget the prison, dear,” Lanala said with a wry smile. “This makes twice, now.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” Artema said. “But.... this time was... different. I really did... need help. Thank you. But... we aren’t even yet.”
Lanala laughed and embraced her wife with a passionate kiss, holding her tight, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. “I’m so glad to see your beautiful face again,” she said.
“We should get her home,” Jonas said. “This time, it’s her that needs rest.”
“Oh... yes. That sounds... lovely,” Artema said.
...
The happy couple lay together in bed, one of Artema’s mighty arms cradling Lanala’s body. Lanala snuggled in close to her wife, playing with her purple locks and studying every feature of Artema’s face.
“I still don’t get it,” Artema said. “Why would she hold up her end of the bargain if she could have just left at any time?”
“Why are you still worried about that? She let you go, didn’t she?”
“Well, yeah, but that doesn’t make sense. What the hell else could that woman be planning?”
“Please don’t worry about it, dear. You’re home and you’re safe now. You’re here and you’re with me. That is where you want to be, right?”
Artema turned her head and flashed her wife a warm smile, planting a kiss on her forehead. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, Lanala.”
“And we’ll deal with her later. Right now, I just want to be with you.”
Artema kissed her wife again and that was when an idea flashed through her mind. Remembering the stimulating feeling of her restraints she pulled back and grinned wide.
“Speaking of which, I have an idea. If you’re willing, we could have some fun. And now that I’ve got my energy back, I say we give it a try. What do you say?”
Lanala grinned back at her wife. “What did you have in mind?”
Artema giggled. “I think you look good in ropes. Come to think of it, so do I. Care to try it?”
Lanala blushed a bit but she giggled right along with her wife. “Oh my. What an idea. Have you been talking to Elyn?”
“No, but I’m starting to think she’s on to something. What do you think?”
Lanala’s grin turned a bit devilish and she sat up, straddling her wife on the bed. “All right. But it’s your turn first. Deal?”
Artema nodded. “Deal.”