Her muscles strained with the effort but she lifted the weighted bar successfully as far as her arms could outstretch. With another rep, Meryn brought the bar down again, pushing it up again once more. Taria spotted her, keeping her reps steady and standing by to help her when she got tired and couldn’t lift the bar properly anymore.
But Meryn was proving tireless, lifting the bar up and down again and again. Taria was worried she was overdoing it but Meryn’s strength had grown to incredible levels from when they had first arrived in Weston.
Finally, Meryn appeared out of energy and her arms shook with the effort of lifting the bar again. Taria helped her replace it on its stand and Meryn sat up on the bench, breathing heavily.
“Damn,” Taria said. “You’re benching more than me now. What was that, 190 pounds?”
“One ninety five,” Meryn said between breaths.
Taria chuckled. “You could bench yourself holding a sack of potatoes. That’s pretty strong, girl.”
“I’ve been working at it,” she said.
“Well you got me beat. I haven’t been able to get past 180.”
“You’re also smaller,” Meryn said. “Doesn’t mean you’re weaker. You look at the ratio and we’re about the same, you and I.”
“I guess so,” Taria said. “So you working for some particular reason? You pushed it pretty hard and you seemed... angry.”
Meryn growled under her breath. “Damn director let Farrah go again. Says she’s ‘too valuable as an informant.’ Doesn’t she see that Farrah is more than just a liability, but an active detriment to us? How can she be this repeatedly stupid?”
“It won’t last,” Taria said, sitting down beside Meryn. “One way or another, Farrah is going down right along with the rest of them. Farrah, Aurora, Jhana, they’ll all get theirs.”
“I hope so. I’d like to get another crack at that bandit scumbag, though.”
“Well, you might get your chance. I overheard Artema talking to Jonas earlier. Seems like they might be sending someone out after some prisoner of Aurora’s. I didn’t hear the whole conversation but I’m betting they choose you for the job. It’s getting to be that you’re our best field agent.”
“Don’t say things like that,” Meryn said. “Nobody could hold a candle to Artema. Or you. Or even Lanala.”
“Well, I think you could, Ms. Gold-Eyed Maiden.” Taria patted her on the shoulder and stood up again. “Now, would you mind spotting me? And shed some weight a bit. We’re not all super human.”
“All right, stop that. But I’ll help you.”
Meryn stood from the bench and allowed Taria to lay down on it. She removed some of the weights, bringing it down to 170 pounds to help Taria take it easier, and helped her lift the bar off its stand and bring it down to her chest. She still held onto the bar while Taria took in some heavy breaths.
“You ready?” Meryn asked.
“Let’s do it.”
...
It seemed Taria’s penchant for prediction was right on the money this time. Artema called Meryn into her office to discuss a solo mission to rescue a prisoner of Aurora’s that held valuable information on both Aurora’s and Jhana’s whereabouts.
“She’s a journalist, captured by Aurora for asking the wrong questions,” Artema said. “With Jhana in hiding and Aurora still missing, we need all the help we can get. Seems this journalist discovered all sorts of stuff about a whole bunch of Jhana’s secret safe houses. Even the Agency doesn’t have that kind of information. We need to know what she knows. That and we need to save her from her unlawful confinement, of course.”
“Anything else?” Meryn asked.
“It’s a pretty heavily guarded prison. It’s not Jhana’s asylum, but it is yet another illegal prison. Only difference is Aurora runs this one. So you need to be careful and don’t let yourself get overwhelmed.”
“Shouldn’t I have backup?”
“Everyone else is on assignment, unfortunately.” Artema let out a sigh. “And in light of my recent capture, the director has ordered me to run this operation from behind the scenes. I’m not permitted to do field work for six weeks.”
“She suspended you?”
“Not exactly. It’s not a formal suspension but she was less than pleased that I got myself caught. So I will get suspended if I go out into the field.”
“That’s a crock!” Meryn said, slamming the table. “She’s never pulled this with anyone else!”
“Meryn, it’ll be all right. I can help you out from here. Just be sure to check in with me every ten minutes so I know you’re safe, all right?”
Meryn leaned back and folded her arms. “All right. But, just so you know, Artema, I think there’s more to it than just her own stupid protocol.”
“Who, the director?”
“Yes. I don’t know what it is, but I can smell it from a mile away. That woman is crooked, Artema.”
“I doubt that, Meryn. And we can’t be talking like that in here. That’s insubordination in her book and she doesn’t take that very well.”
Meryn rolled her eyes. “Yeah, tell me about it. But just keep it in mind, will you? I hope I’m wrong but my gut hasn’t been wrong before. Pure instinct says the director is hiding something.”
“Noted, Agent Gold. Now, will that be all?”
“Unless you have more intel for me, then no.”
Artema slid a thick folder across the table to Meryn. “This is all you need to know about the facility. Read up and, when you’re done, report back to me. All right?”
“Will do, ma’am.”
Meryn picked up the folder and bowed her head once to Artema before leaving the room, leaving Agent Hunter alone with thoughts of doubt. She really hoped that Meryn was wrong about the director. If she wasn’t, then they had a whole new problem on their hands.
...
Another heavy crack reverberated off the walls as yet another of Aurora’s goons collapsed to the floor in a heap, falling unconscious. No matter what they did, Meryn just seemed unbeatable. Her movements too quick, her hits too heavy, her skill unmatched, there just wasn’t anyone who could keep up with Meryn.
Two goons remained, a man and a woman, and neither could land a hit. Meryn saved a bit of energy by staying back and simply avoiding them for awhile, letting both of them tire themselves out in the process.
Meryn caught her breath and caught the man’s punch with her forearm, countering by punching him in the stomach. He doubled over and stepped back while the woman stepped forward, attempting to grapple with Meryn. All of her strength training paid off then as Meryn shoved the woman away and planted a heavy fist into her face, knocking the woman back and to the floor. The single blow rendered her unconscious. The man, meanwhile, tried to stand straight and counter but Meryn was already on him. He suffered hits to the chest, stomach, and finally forehead which finished him off and sent him tumbling to the floor with the rest of them.
Getting down into the trenches and fighting bad guys felt good for Meryn to be doing again and she allowed the traces of a smile to play at her lips. The outfit wasn’t the same as her crime fighting outfit back in Ikaatan, granted. But a short stealth suit, yellow in colour, that hugged tight to her body, did the trick for getting in. The sleeves of the stealth suit were shorts, as were the legs, showing off Meryn’s toned forearms and calves, and she wore light, flat shoes for mobility. It proved effective in her fight with Aurora’s goons.
She quickly stifled her smile upon reaching the computer she was after in search of the journalist’s location. As she was searching through the files to find the journalist’s cell, however, she could feel someone watching her and her muscles all tensed up. Just as she was about to turn around and charge for the doorway she heard someone cock a gun behind her.
“You stay right there, Goldie,” a thick, woman’s voice said to her. Meryn growled under her breath at the voice’s familiarity. “Wouldn’t want to put a hole in that pretty head.”
“Farrah,” Meryn said through gritted teeth.
“Who else were you expecting? Now turn around. Slowly.”
Farrah crept closer while Meryn turned around, hands held up, and they met each other’s eyes. As usual, Farrah remained casually dressed and looked cocky as ever. But in eyeing up Farrah, Meryn also stared down the barrel of a large pistol. When it came to weapons, Farrah never did bluff.
“What a weird time to find one of you here, and totally alone too. And not just any agent, but my favourite, gold-eyed beauty. So what’s happening here, Meryn?”
“Like I’d tell you,” Meryn said.
“Shouldn’t you? I am your agency’s informant, after all.”
“Go to hell, Farrah.”
“Awww, now that’s just mean. But I will get the truth out of you one way or another.”
“Try me,” Meryn said with a snarl to her voice.
“Oh I will. Now, turn around. Put your hand behind your back.”
Meryn hesitated. Farrah pushed the gun closer to her forehead. “Do you want me to use this? I’d love to see what your brain looks like on the wall behind you. And won’t your little agency cry and whine when they learn the Gold-Eyed Maiden has bought the farm. Now turn around.”
Meryn did as Farrah instructed, seeing no other alternative, and placed her hands behind her back. Farrah reached to her belt and gripped a pair of handcuffs, snapping each shackle shut over Meryn’s wrists and pulling her close, making sure Meryn could still see her gun.
“Let’s get you a nice, clean cell all to your own.”
“The Agency won’t tolerate this from you again, Farrah. You’re on thin ice as it is. You imprison me and you’re finished.”
“But Meryn, if you’re all tied and helpless, there won’t be anyone for you to tell. And there is no other record of us meeting here. As far as anyone will be concerned, I wasn’t here and Aurora kidnapped you on her own. Now, if you don’t mind,” Farrah shoved Meryn forward, making her stumble a bit. “Get moving. You and I are going to have a long chat.”
...
Meryn didn’t focus on her captor, ignoring her questions for the time being. She watched the cell across from hers, peering through the bars and watching another tied up and gagged woman struggling away with her restraints.
The woman Meryn watched was her target; the journalist Jhana and Aurora had imprisoned, Nina Ridley. She knew from the light brown of the woman’s long hair, her tight white blouse and short, black pencil skirt and her sharp brown eyes. The woman was quite thoroughly bound with rope and seated on a steel chair, struggling away. She had also been gagged with duct tape and something stuffed in her mouth that Meryn couldn’t discern. Meryn smiled to herself beneath her own gag that Farrah had accidentally brought Agent Gold to her target. Now all she needed to do was escape. But Farrah had made that quite a difficult thing to achieve.
Like Ms. Ridley, Meryn had been very tightly bound with rope. She still wore the handcuffs Farrah had placed on her wrists but she, too, had been seated in a chair and tied to it. The ropes encircled her arms and chest, wrapping around her in layers and covering most of her chest and arms from just below the shoulders to just above the elbows.
Her ankles were similarly bound with a thick length of rope wrapping around her lower legs from her ankles to just below her knees. One final rope cinched her strict leg bonds together and pulled her ankles tight toward her cuffed wrists, which were also lashed to the chair and her waist. Topping it off was the gag that Farrah had taken extra pride in applying. She was careful to tuck the duct tape underneath Meryn’s bobbed red hair but she wrapped it around Meryn’s head many times, sealing in a soft cloth. Farrah, still wishing to taunt Meryn, then applied a thick, white handkerchief over the tape, covering Meryn’s mouth and nose. When she had finished with the gag, Farrah referred to Meryn as a ‘classic damsel’ but Meryn hadn’t heard her. She was too busy planning an escape route to get Ms. Ridley out of this prison. Of course, she also had to free herself somehow. But with the thick wrapping of rope, Meryn wasn’t so sure she could. It was awfully tight, after all. Not to mention the fact that Farrah had found and confiscated her tools of escape.
“Hey, Goldie! You even listening?”
Farrah’s voice finally grabbed Meryn’s attention and she glared daggers into her captor’s eyes.
“Ahaha, there she is! Now, I want to go over this one more time. I’m so glad to be on the other side of this for a change,” Farrah said, getting distracted. “Anyway, nod for yes and shake for no. You understand?”
“Mmmph,” Meryn said, nodding.
“All right. Now, be a good girl and co-operate and I won’t have to get rough, you got that?”
“Mmm,” Meryn said, nodding once again.
“Okay. So, is there any chance you’ll tell me what it is you’re here for?”
Meryn remained silent and still this time.
“I see. You do want to do it the hard way, huh?”
Farrah straddled her captive and grabbed her hair, pulling her head back. Meryn grunted at the pain and grimaced, squeezing her eyes shut.
“You here for me, goldie? Huh?”
“Nmmm!” Meryn said, trying to shake her head.
“If not for me, then Aurora? You after her?”
“Nmmm!” Meryn shook her head once again.
A camera in the corner whirred to life at the mention of Aurora’s name. Farrah didn’t know but her boss was watching the interrogation from a closed off room somewhere in the facility.
“So what is it then? Are you here for some prisoner then? Out with it!”
“Mmmph!” Meryn tried to shake her head again. Farrah tightened her grip on Meryn’s hair, pulling harder and leaning down closer to Meryn’s face.
“Don’t lie to me! I’ve been lenient with you all those other times. It’s only because I like you. But you’re beginning to piss me off.”
The larger woman finally let go of Meryn’s hair and stepped back from the chair. Meryn sighed with relief and opened her eyes. Her stare was as defiant as ever, still glaring into Farrah’s eyes.
“You listen here, Meryn. I work my ass off playing back and forth games with your Agency and Aurora. Who do you think tipped the Agency in to Aurora’s little kidnapping game for Jhana? You remember, don’t you? I heard about how Jhana had you all trussed up, like you are now, and at the mercy of some rich lady who bid on you. I told the Agency where the mayor’s daughter was and it was my intel that allowed Artema to even find that hotel in the first place. And that’s not even all I’ve done. Do I need to go on?”
“By all means do, sweet Farrah,” a confident voice suddenly said from behind her.
Farrah jumped and spun around. Aurora stood outside the cell, flanked by four of her goons, and standing with her arms folded. “Boss!” Farrah said. “H-how... where...”
“A thief has her secrets, my dear. And so, it appears, does her henchwoman.”
“Hey, wait, I didn’t mean any of that. I was just messing with her head.”
Aurora chuckled. Then she wiped the smile from her face in a blink and snapped her fingers. The goons rushed into the cell and grabbed Farrah’s arms, forcing her to her knees and pinning her arms behind her back.
“Boss, wait! Don’t do this!”
“Enough, Farrah,” Aurora said. “I will ask our gorgeous friend Agent Gold if what you said was the truth. I don’t think she has any motivation to protect you now, does she?”
“Boss, please!”
Aurora nodded to one of her goons. “Bind her hands. And gag her. I grow tired of her voice.”
“Wait, Aurora! I’m not-mmmmph!” The goons clapped Farrah’s hands in heavy, leather cuffs restricted by a sturdy chain only inches long. A large ball gag was also shoved into her mouth to keep her quiet.
“Now Agent Gold,” Aurora said. “I would so love to ask what it is you’re doing here. But I have more pressing matters at the moment.”
“MMMMPPPHH!” Farrah screamed into her ball gag, begging to be released by Aurora.
“So tell me. Was my dear, sweet Farrah working for your Agency as a mole in my organization? And before you answer, I want you to keep in mind the number of times that wretched, evil woman has captured and restrained you and many other of your allies. Now, what do you say? Is it true?”
An evil grin crossed Meryn’s gagged lips. She never thought she would get the chance at a revenge this sweet.
“Mmm hmmm,” Meryn said, nodding.
“I see,” Aurora said. “How fascinating. So she was, what? Your informant? And she betrayed you that many times?”
“Ymmmph,” Meryn said, nodding once again.
Aurora smiled and planted a kiss on Meryn’s gagged lips. “You were so very helpful, Agent Gold. I do hope our next conversation goes as well.”
Aurora turned to face Farrah and leaned down toward her, smiling wide. Farrah shook her head wildly and screamed into her gag again.
“Now, my dear. Whatever am I to do with you?”
“MMMMPPHH!!”
“I do not suffer traitors well, Farrah. Perhaps some time in prison with your biggest fan will do you some good? After that, well, there may be a nice cell in Jhana’s asylum with your name literally on it.”
“NNMMMM!!”
Aurora stood up straight and glared at her goons. “Make sure she doesn’t escape. Bind her as tightly as you can. When you’re done, leave her here. She and Agent Gold can get to know each other quite well.”
“MMM MMMMPH! NMMMM! PLMMMMPH BMMPH! LMMMT MM GMMM! MMMTMMM MMM!”
“And gag her again, one of you. I can still hear her treacherous voice,” Aurora said, walking away.
Farrah struggled while the goons set to work binding her. Aurora left them alone to finish the job, deciding to interrogate Meryn later. For now, she smiled to herself. Her suspicions had been confirmed about a mole in her organization. Now with Farrah out of the way there would be no more interrupting her plans.
...
“Hllllmp! Hllmmmp mm plmmmph!” Meryn rolled her eyes at Farrah’s constant, muffled pleas for help. When would she learn that it was pointless?
“Mmmmph....” Meryn sighed, still trying to escape from her own bonds. Farrah had bound her quite tightly and still hung onto her tools of escape; her lock pick and pocket knife. Of course, now Farrah herself was bound and Meryn knew that Farrah didn’t realize that she had those tools at her disposal.
She really didn’t want Farrah to get free. Farrah deserved whatever Aurora could give her and then some. So she didn’t even try to let Farrah now that she still had Meryn’s tools to escape with.
It might not have made a difference anyway.
Farrah was tightly bound in a ball in the corner of the cell. Her hands were cuffed behind her back and miles of rope encircled her arms, tightly pinning her arms to her sides. The coil of rope ran from just below Farrah’s shoulders all the way down to her waist, where it pinned her cuffed hands to her back. More rope practically mummified Farrah’s strong legs, only parting at the knees and at the top of her thighs. Even more rope pulled Farrah’s legs in tight to her chest, bending her into a fetal position as her calves were also attached to her thighs. The position caused her already short skirt to ride up and Meryn chuckled at Farrah’s exposed, red polka dot panties.
Farrah’s gag was equally as severe as her bondage. With the ball gag already in place, the goons also wrapped Farrah’s head in tight, microfoam tape. That, in turn, was covered by a harness panel gag that made Farrah’s cries barely a whisper. But Meryn could still hear her and it was getting annoying.
In the corner, Farrah struggled hard and was now drenched in sweat and still struggling. She cried and mewled into her severe gag, squirming this way and that, but there was absolutely nothing she could do. Farrah was completely helpless.
Meryn herself also realized that, without her tool, she was also bound, gagged, and helpless. Farrah had tied her too tightly to escape. Like it or not, Meryn would have to try and communicate to Farrah to get herself free. If she could get her tools from Farrah then Meryn could get herself and the journalist free of this prison.
Meryn turned her head to the side and grunted at Farrah. “Hmmmph!”
Farrah didn’t hear her, still mewling away into her gag. Meryn tried again.
“Fmmmrmmmm!” Still, Farrah didn’t hear her. Finally, Meryn lost her patience and just screamed as loud as she could into her gag. “MMMMMMPPPPHHHHH!!!”
This got Farrah’s attention and she looked in Meryn’s direction, wide eyed. “Hmmmph!?”
Meryn took in a deep breath. How was she going to communicate that Farrah still had her tools?
“Chmmmk ymmm pmmkmmph.”
“Wmmt?”
Meryn sighed. “Ymmm hmmmph mmm tmmmph!”
“Hmmmph?”
Meryn growled beneath her gag. “Mmm tmmmph! Mmm ymmm pmmkmmph!”
Farrah shook her head, still not understanding.
“Mmm FMMK MMT!” Meryn struggled against her bonds but they still held firm. She was beginning to lose her temper. Taking in one more deep breath, Meryn enunciated as best she could behind her gag.
“Mmm. Tmmmlph. Mmmr. Mmmn. Ymmmr. Pmmmckmt!”
Farrah furrowed her brow, trying to parse Meryn’s words. What did she say? She thought to herself. Pickle? Poker? Pocket? What about pock- “Mmmmph!” Farrah squealed. My pocket! But how am I going to reach the tools?
Farrah shrugged only a few centimetres, as her bonds wouldn’t allow any more movement. She squirmed with her hands, indicating that she couldn’t move much and demonstrating that she couldn’t reach her vest pockets.
Meryn nodded her head, indicating Farrah to get closer. Farrah furrowed her brow. Meryn sighed in response. “Gmmt. Mmphr. Hmmmr. Mmm. Cmm. Rmmcph. Thmmm. Tmmmph.”
“Wmmt?”
Meryn growled and thrashed in her bonds. “Cmmm hmmmr ymmm dmmm bmmmmph!”
Meryn motioned with her hands, squirming a bit in her handcuffs, motioning that Farrah should get closer. She was able to slump downward, low enough to reach into Farrah’s pockets. She looked over her shoulder and raised her eyebrows. “Hmmmph?”
Farrah nodded. “Mmkmm,” she said. It was a tough effort and it was slow going but Farrah began to scoot herself across the floor toward Meryn’s chair. She had to stop several times to keep from toppling over. If she fell then Farrah knew she wouldn’t be able to struggle back to her sitting position. Her bondage was too strict to allow that. If she fell over then Meryn would never be able to reach the tools and they’d both be stuck until Aurora returned. Neither of them wanted that.
“Mmmmph! Mmm mmmph!” Farrah grunted with each movement and it took her what felt like an eternity to get halfway to Meryn. She stopped for a breath and Meryn started losing her patience again.
“Mmmm mmm! Hmmrmmm mmmp!” Meryn growled, struggling with her bonds.
Farrah continued her agonizingly slow progress, grunting into her restrictive gag at each tiny movement. Eventually, she was within reach of Meryn’s hands, leaning toward her so her vest pocket was easy to reach.
“Hmmmm.. mmmrrgh!” Meryn groaned with the effort of fighting the ropes that held her captive but she was able to move just enough to slouch down and get her hand beside Farrah’s vest pocket.
Meryn strained and struggled with her cuffed hands, finally finding the pocket with her nimble fingers and reaching inside. She fumbled around, searching for both tools and eventually managed to find a tight grip on both of them. Transferring the knife to her left hand and keeping a tight grip on it, she worked away on her handcuffs with the lock pick, taking care not to drop it. Dropping it would leave both of them stuck...
But Meryn held on and, with a bit of work, one of the shackles on her handcuffs released its grip and she was free of their grasp. With her hands now free, Meryn cut away at the rope binding her arms and eventually wound it off of her body, getting to work on untying her legs. In no time, Meryn also freed her legs and then removed her two gags, spitting out the wad of cloth at Farrah. She glared down at her former captor, mulling over what to do with her.
“You wait here,” she said.
“Hmmmph!? NMMMM! MMMTMM MMM!”
“Quit your whining. I still have a job to do.”
Meryn picked the lock on her cell door and then walked across the corridor to the cell there, peering inside at the journalist, Nina Ridley.
“Are you Ms. Ridley?” she asked the bound and gagged woman within.
“Mmm hmmm!” she nodded.
“I’m with the Weston Agency. I’m here to rescue you. Hold on.”
Meryn picked the lock on her cell door as well and flung it open. She untied the young journalist and helped her to her feet. Remembering Artema’s intel, Meryn pointed down the hall, deeper into the prison.
“Head down that way. There’s a locked hatch in the floor that leads to the outside. Go and wait for me there. Try not to be seen.”
“Okay...” Ms. Ridley said. “But what are you going to do?”
Meryn glared back into the cell at the still bound Farrah. “I have a protocol to follow, unfortunately. But I won’t be long.”
When the journalist left, Meryn reached to her ear and tapped her comms unit. “Agent Hunter, this is Gold. Can you hear me?”
“I read you, Gold. Where were you? What happened?”
“I was captured. But I’m free and have the target in tow. I also have our informant. Her position has been compromised.”
Artema paused on the other side for a moment. “I see. Are you bringing her in?”
“No choice, Hunter. It’s...” Meryn sighed. “It’s protocol.”
“Understood, Agent Gold. I’ve sent in Agent Spark on a search and rescue for you but I’ll tell her to meet you outside. Rendezvous with Spark ASAP, Agent Gold.”
“Will do, Hunter. Out.”
Meryn turned back to her former cell and stepped inside again. She loosened a few of Farrah’s ropes and allowed her to stretch her legs out.
“I’m not untying you, just you know. This just makes you easier to carry.”
“Hmmmph?”
Meryn was quite a bit smaller than a large, muscular woman like Farrah but her strength training had done a lot for her own muscles. Though it was difficult, she hefted Farrah onto her shoulder and stood up straight, making her way slowly out of the cell and down the corridor.
She eventually made it to the locked hatch, where she put Farrah down and picked the lock. When it was open, she let Ms. Ridley down first before picking Farrah up again and climbing down the narrow staircase to the tunnels below.
The tunnels led them outside once again where Lanala stood and waited for them. It seemed Artema had pinpointed Meryn’s location within the prison.
“Agent Gold,” Lanala said.
“Agent Spark. I was under the impression you were engaged. As was everyone else.”
“I was. It was, um.... a private matter. Between me and my wife.”
Meryn shook her head. “I don’t want to know,” she said. “But I’m glad you’re here. Help me carry this one, would you?”
“I see our compromised informant has had a rough time of it. Again.”
“Mmmmph!” Farrah growled, struggling with her restraints.
“Well she’ll need to be reassigned,” Meryn said. “And we need to get Ms. Ridley back to HQ as well.”
Lanala helped Meryn carry the struggling Farrah and haul her off toward the van she had brought. Shoving Farrah in the back, they closed the doors and climbed in the front, reserving a seat for the young journalist.
“I have some things I need to tell you. About that prison and the woman running it. Also about a woman named Jhana,” the journalist said.
“Yes, we’re aware,” Meryn said. “That is why we came for you. We’ll let you tell us all about it back home.”
With that, Lanala sped off down the road and back to the Agency HQ.