The doorman, whatever his name was, greeted her in the lobby. "Welcome, Ms. McDermont." He smiled as always.
"Yes, yes." Dorothy casually acknowledged him as she walked past and went to the elevator. She rode it up to her floor and got off. Then, she entered her apartment. It took up two floors and was well-furnished. It might have seemed big for woman living alone, but she enjoyed the space. She grew up in a big house, after all. Besides, sometimes she had to entertain.
"Lola, turn on the main room lights." Dorothy closed the door as she entered.
"Turning on main room lights." A voice came from a small speaker attached to the wall as the lights came on. Lola was her electronic assistant, wired into the whole apartment. It was just too bad she couldn't cook, but at least she could make coffee.
Dorothy removed her shoes and put her coat on the hook. She then headed over to the kitchen to make herself a snack. "Lola, turn on the living room TV to the news."
"Turning on living room TV." The living room flat-screen switched on. It was currently reporting local events.
Dorothy brought her food, set it on the table and sat down. She ate a few things as she watched the screen.
"Following a recent change in ownership, Koxo Industries announced today that they will be relocating their manufacturing division to India following its sale to the Caldwell Company. This is coupled with the layoff of over 500 workers."
Dorothy chuckled lightly. "They could have announced that more discretely. Oh well, I've already got my money." It had taken a bit of work, but she had arranged the sale. Caldwell paid her a sizable fee for the manufacturing rights, and she had divided up the remaining assets and sold off most of them already.
The news anchor only briefly talked about it before moving onto the stock market. She had Lola mute it some time later when her phone started ringing. She looked at the caller ID; Albert Williams. "Hello Albert."
"Dorothy, it's been too long. How have you been?" Albert spoke in a cheerful voice, meaning he wanted something.
"I've been doing well. I just closed a rather lucrative deal." She smiled as she leaned back in her seat.
"Does that mean you're free right now?"
"Maybe~," she answered playfully.
"Well, I have a job for you. I've been trying to close a deal myself, but the chief executive has been rather stubborn. I need you to work your magic for me." The cheer in his tone started to fade.
"I see. Is it a big fish?"
"It's a good size company. They've mostly stayed out of the headlines, but they have some patents I need. Some of the best microchips and batteries on the market, yet they sell them for next to nothing."
"Sounds valuable, to say the least." Dorothy licked her lips. It smelled like money.
"You could say that. Your commission could be a few million."
"Oh, that's quite tempting. What's the company's name?" Dorothy was a woman of expensive tastes. She came from money, her grandfather did rather well for himself, and her father expanded the family business. He started grooming her brother to take over, but not before she learned a few tricks. She took off with a sizable trust fund and started buying and selling smaller companies.
"Synth-Fusion Industries. They've got their factories right in the middle of the U.S., along with their HQ. I can e-mail you the details."
"Sounds promising. I'll look into it. Send them over."
"I hope to hear a favorable response soon."
"We'll see. Sounds like this might take some extra convincing."
"Well that is your specialty. Talk to you soon." Albert hung up the phone shortly.
"Goodbye." Dorothy put her phone away and took her dishes to the sink for the help to deal with later. "Lola, turn off the TV." She grabbed a glass of wine and headed over to her computer.
The e-mail hadn't shown up yet, so she searched the company's name. Excluding the first link, most of the top hits were for tech blogs talking about their microchips and stuff. So she checked out their official website. They were a tech company located in Kansas of all places and it seemed they owned their own factories as well. All of it was privately held, so Albert wouldn't have been able to buy up the stocks like he would normally do.
Minutes after she started her search, her phone gave her an alert, so she checked her email. Albert had sent a number of links and files, along with a list of what patents he wanted. Not only that, he wanted the instructions on how to make the items. It seemed making knock-offs have proven difficult, to say the least.
The CEO was a woman named Lilly Smith. It was such a common name, she had difficulty searching her. While she had a small Wikipedia page, none of the social media profiles Dorothy found seemed to be for her. Still, she had a picture and the woman looked good for someone pushing 40. The earliest article seemed to be an old news clipping of her winning the lottery in her 20s. It seemed she was worth millions even back then.
"So some low class woman comes into some easy money and starts up her own company. Well it must be good if Albert is willing to pay so much for it."
Dorothy was surprised to learn her own phone used a Synth-Fusion battery. They were selling them at a rather competitive price despite the far greater capacity. Although she couldn't figure out why they manufactured them in the states and shipped them off to China, only for them to be placed inside of cell phones and shipped back.
She then looked over Synth-Fusion's reported income for the past decade. In terms of overall profits, it wasn't as much as one would expect with what seemed to be cutting edge stuff. Maybe they weren't being managed well. It had even been sued a couple of time, patent violations. The cases had either been dropped or taken to court and won by Synth-Fusion.
Synth-Fusion also wasn't Lilly's only company. She also owned a hospital and disease research center, which was partly funded by her non-profit charity. Dorothy looked into them as well and found that they came up with a few medical advancements. Additionally, they offered scholarships for people pursuing studies in the fields of technology and medicine. This might have been for the tax write-off, but they were required to work for them for a number of years after graduation.
"Well this is an interesting case. I think I will call Albert back tomorrow." Dorothy finished off her wine. "Lola, play relaxing music in the bathroom. Lola, fill the hot tub."
"Playing relaxing playlist. Filling hot tub."
Dorothy went to refill her wine before going to take her evening bath.
***
Dorothy had flown to Kansas and rented a cherry red sports car. She found a four-star hotel to say at, but she didn't know how long she would be there. She hoped it would only be a few days, but didn't count on it. Albert seemed rather fed up with Ms. Smith.
She pulled up into visitor parking and walked outside. It was a hot day, but at least she only had to deal without AC for a few moments. It was relatively cool indoors, but she was already missing her car's AC anyways. She walked up to the front desk. "Hello. I'm here to see Ms. Smith. I'm Ms. McDermont."
The receptionist looked like she smelled something foul. "Dorothy McDermont?"
"Yes, that's right." Dorothy kept her professional smile as best she could, but she didn't like the tone this woman was taking with her.
"Oh, you have a lot of nerve showing your face in front of me."
"Do I know you?" She could have sworn she never stepped foot in this building before. She had hardly ever been to Kansas, at that.
The woman didn't seem to like her response and slammed her hands down on the counter. "You ruined my life! After what you... after what you made me do back at Lopez & Donati! I couldn't find work for months after that!" She was starting to turn red.
Dorothy stood there, puzzled. She remembered liquidating a Kansas-based business called Lopez & Donati Corp. a couple of years ago, albeit vaguely, but didn't recall this woman. "Well clearly you've got a new job now, so I suggest you do it and let me in." She eyed the security guard who was now walking over.
“Like hell! You're not getting me to degrade myself like that again!" She sat down in a huff.
Dorothy tried to guess what she did to this woman. It sounded like it was more than just putting her out of work. On more than one occasion, she had ‘persuaded’ someone on staff to grease the wheels. "I'm not asking that. Just that you let me in to see the CEO."
"Is there a problem here?" The guard was a rather buff woman. She easily had 50 pounds on Dorothy.
"I have an appointment, but your receptionist won't let me in. She is being rather unprofessional." Dorothy tapped her foot, trying to maintain her composure.
The receptionist grumbled under her breath in frustration, ultimately letting out a reluctant sigh. "Fine. Here's your stupid visitor pass." She tossed a plastic card on a lanyard at Dorothy, causing it to fall to the ground after bouncing off of her.
"Well that's something at least." Dorothy dropped her pleasant tone entirely as she bent over to pick up the pass. "Where do I go from here?"
"Out that door."
The guard looked at the woman before looking back at Dorothy. "You're here to see the boss?" She glanced over Dorothy's tight dress. "Head up to floor 5 and go right. You should see her name on the door."
"Finally." Dorothy walked off without even saying thanks. "Well that was off to a horrible start. I can't count on them for any favors." She sighed as she pressed the button.
In a few minutes she found herself in front of another desk. Behind it sat a buxom African-American woman. She wore a low-cut red dress and a gold necklace. The door behind her read "Lilly Smith, CEO" on a gold placard.
"Hello, I'm Ms. McDermont. I’m here to see Ms. Smith." This woman didn't seem familiar, and Dorothy hoped they didn't know each other. The last thing she wanted to cause another scene like with that hussy downstairs.
"Oh yes. We have been expecting you. Just a moment." The secretary spoke with a sweet voice; it was rather enchanting. She pressed a button on the intercom. "Ms. Smith, Ms. McDermont is here."
"Very well, send her in."
The secretary looked back up at Dorothy. "Please, right this way." She held out her hand to the wooden door.
"Thank you." Dorothy opened the door and walked into the office. It was surprisingly mid-sized for a CEO's office. There was a wooden desk close to the back, with a large window to the side. Along the wall were a number of monitors; one displayed the daily stock market numbers, while another had the news on mute. Others had spinning logos, with a large logo painted on the wall behind the desk. There were a few art pieces in the room, including a life-size stone statue of a woman wearing a toga. It was a rather detailed piece. In another corner was a liquor cabinet.
A woman with curly blonde hair stood by the desk. She wore a blue power dress with a white blouse underneath. She also had a pair of shiny gold earrings and an ample watch. "Hello there."
"Hello. My name is Dorothy McDermont. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Smith." Dorothy held out her hand.
"Please, call me Lilly." Lilly grasped Dorothy's hand, lightly shaking it.
"Thank you, Lilly. You may call me Dorothy."
Lilly broke the grip first. "Thank you. How was your trip?" She leaned against the desk.
"It was uneventful, mostly." Dorothy flew first class. However, some baby in coach cried half the time. That put a damper on things.
"So you said on the phone you had a business proposition for me."
"Why yes, I did. A very lucrative one. I know how hard it is to run a company. My father ran one for as long as I can remember and I know firsthand how much stress it put him under. Don't you think it's time to sell? I know I could get you a good price." Dorothy maintains her smile and the honey in her voice.
Lilly's smile fades. "Oh, this again. I've already had a number of offers from an Albert Williams. Honestly, he was getting quite annoying." She let out a sigh.
"If he isn't offering enough, I'm sure we could work something out." Dorothy glanced at the shelf. There was a picture of Lilly holding a blonde baby. Her daughter, maybe. "Oh, is this your daughter? What's her name?"
"Lilly Smith... Jr." replied Lilly flatly.
"Wouldn't you love to spend time with her? My father didn't make much time for me growing up. At this age it's rather important for a child to spend lots of time with their mother, don't you think? And you're running more then one company at that. This could be a perfect chance to cash out."
Lilly folded her arms. "Despite my professional responsibilities, I still make the necessary amount of time for my child and even still have some free time for myself."
"Even with the lawsuits? I've noticed you've gotten a few."
"The patent trolls? Every large company seems to get them. They've become something of a hobby of mine. I do enjoying crushing them." An evil grin spread across Lilly's face. She moved closer as it faded slightly. "Unfortunately, a few of them fold when you call their bluff and after destroying a number of them and putting them out, the others are less willing to file suit. I may need a new hobby." She smiled as she drew closer, leaning forward a bit to expose more of her chest.
Dorothy was taken aback. "Well, you could find a new hobby if you had more time on your hands. If you don't want to fully give up your company. I could see to it you can stay on in a management role. Imagine what your technology could do with more resources. Mr. Williams has contacts in China and other manufacturing countries. You could expand and get your products in every household."
Lilly stroked Dorothy's chin. "I'm sorry, but selling is completely off the table. I'm afraid that's set in stone, so to speak. As for expanding, I'm doing that at my own rate. In fact I'm opening another factory soon. The issue isn't so much money, it's training people to operate my equipment. It's not something I could just pick up and ship to China or wherever. Besides I have other reasons for setting up here."
"Reasons like what?"
"Sorry, trade secret. But maybe we can talk more over drinks." Lilly giggled as she stroked Dorothy's cheek.
"I'll have to take you up on that offer soon." Dorothy forced a smile, but still took a step back.
"Very well. Until next time." Lilly checked the time. "Unfortunately, I have another meeting soon."
"Thank you for your time." Dorothy nodded. She turned to leave.
****
Dorothy sat at the desk in her hotel room a few days later. She was going over every scrap of information she could dig up on Synth-Fusion. She had some ‘contacts’ in the shipping industry and was able to get the records of everything sent to and from their buildings for the past five years.
Unfortunately, she didn't have contacts in every company they did business with, so she only had the dates and weights of the packages, along with where they were from. So she was hard at work cross-checking them and trying to get a handle on what they were buying.
Some stuff, she understood. There were a number of shipments from pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment suppliers. Given that they were sent to Lilly's hospital, it didn't seem too odd, but it was a massive amount for just one hospital. She was waiting on another contact on what some of those shipments were.
There were also chemical companies, farmer co-ops, watch makers, hygiene manufacturers, breweries, clothing designers, household goods, vehicle part manufacturers, and even heavy farming equipment suppliers. Some she could understand, just not in this apparent volume. "Sporting goods, MRE's, military surplus... What are you doing with all this stuff?" She blushed when she discovered some of the names were aliases for companies specializing in more intimate products. She also noticed a lack of metal supplies, something she assumed a factory would need. "Must be handled by a different shipping company."
Dorothy was also running background checks on the senior executives, trying to find any weakness she could exploit or who needed money. Some of them had social media accounts, while a few were shrouded in mystery. She had trouble finding information on them going back more than a few years.
Lilly in particular was an odd case. She could find the birth announcement of her daughter, but nothing beyond that she exists, not that a child her age could do much. No record of Lilly ever being married, at least not that she could find. She also noticed Lilly had odd hobbies, buying up decommissioned military vehicles in bulk. So had some of the other executives. "I think I'm going to have to hire some P.I.s for this." She could find a number of trucks registered to Synth-Fusion; while some seemed like normal delivery trucks, others were more tactical.
Dorothy rubbed her temples. "I think I need a drink." This data mining took her hours and was starting to give her a headache. She sent an e-mail to an associate to find out what kinds of things were stored at the warehouses they received shipments from, but it was such a long list that even being general with some of the products would be time-consuming. She was going to have to find someone on the inside who could leak her the invoices.
Dorothy sighed and turned off her laptop. She then got up and left her room, taking the elevator down. "Maybe I can find some hot guy to spend the night with."
She headed to the closest high-class bar, or at least as high class as it got around here, and grabbed a seat at the counter. "Bartender, open a tab and give me a glass of brandy on the rocks."
"Right away, ma'am." The bartender grabbed a bottle and poured it. She set it down in front of Dorothy.
Dorothy picked it up and took a big sip, taking about half of it in one go.
The woman next to her spoke. "Seems like you've had a rough night." She traced the rim of her martini glass with her index finger.
"You could say that again." Dorothy took a smaller sip before looking at the woman. It was Lilly wearing a blue evening dress. "What are you doing here?"
"Isn't is obvious? Having a drink, the same as you." Lilly giggled before finishing off her martini.
"Should I go? No, this might be a good chance. If I could get her a bit drunk she might let a few things slip." Dorothy smiled. "Well it's a nice night for one. Bartender, let's get a pair of drinks for the both of us."
"Right away, ma'am."
"Why thank you." Lilly smiled, setting down her glass. She took the new glass when it was placed in front of her, but just held it for a while.
"So are you drinking alone tonight? I haven't seen your husband yet."
"Oh, I'm not married." Lilly took only a small sip. She savored it on her tongue for a moment.
"Sorry, didn't mean to assume. I just thought that since you had a child..." Dorothy trailed off.
"You don't need to be married to have a child. A woman has options after all." Lilly lightly rocked her glass back and forth in her hand. "So tell me, why are you running an errand for little Albert? I would have thought your father would have set you up with some office job."
"He did that for my brother... but I just got a trust fund." Dorothy took a big sip. This was something of a sore spot.
"Shame. When I heard the name McDermont, I thought you wanted some sort of partnership or special order."
"Sorry to disappoint." Dorothy took another sip. They continued to make small talk and she tried to steer the conversation into Lilly's personal life, but would maneuver back around to Dorothy, or something going on in current events. Having been under a bit of stress, Dorothy got more than a few refills while Lilly drank like a bird.
*****
Dorothy woke up, still a bit tipsy. However, she could still feel her tender butt. "Ow..." The sheet slid off her naked body as she got up. Laying next to her was the sleeping form of Lilly, a smile across her face.
Dorothy got off the bed and stumbled a bit. "Oh, what did I just do?" She seemed to have gone farther then she ever had in college. She blushed when she thought about it.
The digital clock on shelf displayed the time: 12:13. The room had only dim light, which she used to gather up her clothes. Her panties were a bit of a mess. She sighed as she got dressed. On more than a few occasions, she had to slip out in the night, and she wasn't sure she wanted to stick around for breakfast.
On her way to the door, Dorothy spotted a key card on a dresser, the Synth-Fusion logo displayed on it. She glanced back at Lilly on the bed, an idea forming in her head. With a drunken smile, she snatched the key card and put it into her pocket. She then crept out of bedroom.
She found her shoes downstairs by the door, and made sure the security system wasn't set. Not having her car, she called a cab, once she figured out where she was.
Dorothy mainly evaded the cabbie's questions, but he still guessed what she had been up to given the hour and the state of her dress and hair. Still, she didn't correct him when he thought she was with a guy.
She leaned against the door as her mind wondered. She thought about the key card in her pocket. "How long before she notices it's gone? People lose these all the time. Does she have spares? Crap, I should have checked."
By the time they got to the hotel, she had made up her mind. After almost forgetting to pay the fare, she rushed up to her room. After fumbling with the door, she rushed in, asked Lola to get the lights before remembering where she was, and stripped off her dress. She put on something more maneuverable and black. She grabbed a few things and put them in her bag, including the pilfered key card. Next, she put on a large jacket, meant to cover her dark bodysuit.
Dorothy then headed back to downstairs, calling another cab. This time, she went to the business district. Along the way, she became a bit more clear-headed. Still, she continued on her mission. After getting out of the cab, she walked a few blocks. She didn't want her car seen out here and she couldn't let the cabbie know where she was going. After a while, she removed her coat and stuffed it into a bag, hiding it in a bush.
Soon, she got to Synth-Fusion Industries. After putting on a balaclava, she snuck around the back. There, she found a back door. It seemed to be out of sight from the cameras. She slipped in the key card and it opened. On the other side was an elevator and she rode it up to the office floor.
The lights were dim, but at least no one was around. The place looked so different at night, although she wagered she was on a different side of the building. "Now where is it? There has got to be a networked computer around here somewhere."
She went down the hallway, making a few turns. "All these walls look the same. Couldn't they have hung some pictures or something?" Eventually, she found an unlocked door. Inside was a computer. She booted it up and pulled out a flash drive. She was met with a log in screen. "Let's see how long that lasts." She plugged in the flash drive, booting up the wardrive.
While the program worked on cracking the password, Dorothy sat down in the chair. She started to get bored after a while, but it finally got her in. She then looked around and soon found the bank records. She skimmed over the Goodmen Saxe transactions, but she didn't have the time to study them. So she copied them over to the empty flash drive.
She eventually found the shipping records, complete with itemized lists. "Finally, I can find out what the hell she is buying." She copied those lists as well. There was a lot of data, so it took quite some time. She moved onto e-mails, but had trouble finding Lilly's account. Granted, she didn't know for sure if she had a professional e-mail. In the end she ejected the flash drive when it started to fill up. "This will have to do." Pulling it out, she put both drives into her pocket. "I've got to get out of here."
Smiling, Dorothy headed out of the office and went back down the hallway. She walked for about 20 minutes before stopping. She looked around and scratched her head. "Did I take a wrong turn somewhere? Where is that elevator?"
She sighed and went back the way she came. "I must have gone the wrong way." She found a plain white hallway which ended in a right turn. She took it only to find another right turn a few feet away, followed by another and another. Having no option other than turning back again, she kept moving. After a dozen right turns, she finally found a long hallway with a stretch of doors. "Argh! Mark your exits! This has got to violate the fire code or something."
She checked the first room. It was filled with faceless, naked mannequins. It was rather unsettling. The next room had chains hanging from the ceiling and lying on the floor. The third was empty, but everything was black and shiny. The fourth room looked like a server room. At the end of the room was a large metal wall with a glowing red light on a black circle. "Hello Dave."
"Nope." Dorothy quickly closed the door. She didn't bother with the others and instead just went down the long hallway. At least, she thought it was long. It started getting smaller as she went along. She had a bit of trouble getting through the door.
~~~~~~~~
Lilly walked down the hallway, stopping at a door labeled 'Security’. She placed her palm on the pad next to it. The light turned green and the screen read 'Lilly 07' as it read the chip in her hand. Then she opened the door and walked in. "Good evening."
"Evening, boss."
"Hello, ma'am." Two security guards sat at the control council. One of them was holding a bowl of popcorn as they watched the monitors.
"I see we have a late night visitor." Lilly leaned in closer.
"Yes, ma'am. She used a dummy card to get in through the northeast door. She used some program on a thumb drive to breach the Mish-Mash Blues server. It took over 20 minutes."
"20 minutes to breach the Mish-Mash Blues?" Lilly giggled. "Seems like what ever she used is out of date." Mish-Mash Blues was the honey pot server and by far had the weakest security. It had nothing but bots generating data, credit card numbers, statements from fictional banks, inter-office emails, etc. In her spare time, she read the emails from the chat bots. She rather enjoyed the conversions between RomeoV7 and JulietV5.
"She didn't even bother looking under the desk for the password."
"I told you putting a posted note on the monitor would be fine."
"It's too oblivious."
"It's a common enough thing. My cousin does it."
"Richie does it?"
"No, my other cousin, Greg, he does it at the morgue."
"Enough." Lilly interrupted them. "What is our little trespasser doing now?"
"She's wandering around level 5.5 now. So far, she has only peeked into the honey rooms. Hasn't really gone into them yet."
"Kind of boring, but she is starting to get frustrated." The screen showed Dorothy angrily slamming a door and stomping down the hallway. She seemed to have given up on any semblance of stealth.
Lilly grabbed a chair and sat down. She then took the mouse and selected the hallway Dorothy was in. "Let's move things along." She clicked on the bubble trap, opening a hatch disguised as a ceiling vent, and released a few gallons of goo onto the floor. It would quickly start to inflate as it took shape.
~~~~~~~~
In the random maze of hallways, Dorothy looked down at a box. It was a wooden chest, the type where pirates hid their treasure in the movies. "This seems out of place." She then heard something and turned to look at it. She saw a shiny black ball, inflating like a balloon. Soon, it took up the entire width of the hallway. Then it started bouncing her way.
"Oh what now?" Dorothy turned and ran to a T intersection. Without looking she took a left. When the bubble hit the wall it also turned left. She soon found herself in a dead end, her only escape a door. She opened it, rushing in and closing it behind her. She leaned against the door and caught her breath. "This place is too freaky. I can't get out of here soon enough."
The room was pretty empty and small. Its walls were a solid shade of purple. About the only thing in there was another door on the other side. She sighed. "It couldn't be any worse than what's out there." She strutted across the room and reached out her hand for the knob, only to hit the wall. She felt it, only to find not only the nob but the whole door was painted onto the wall. "Figures."
She jumped when she heard a sudden noise. The left wall started moving, closing in on her. She rushed back to the real door, only to find it's knob was also painted on. "What the?" She felt along the flat frame of the door, frantically trying to get it open. The purple wall was closing in on her. She moved back and soon it covered the door, trapping her in the shrinking room.
She pressed herself against the static wall as her impending doom approached, her heart racing. "Stop! Please, stop!" She held out her arm, pressing it against the moving wall, causing it to contort. She opened her eyes. "What?"
Dorothy pressed both hands against the wall as she struggled to keep it at bay. It became harder as the two walls pressed against each other, only her little pocket of air remaining. In time, her muscles tired and it pressed against her. It did more than just pin her against the wall; it conformed to her body, binding her tight and even sliding behind her. It got into every crevice, both intimate and otherwise.
"No, stop! I can't breathe, I can't breathe..." Dorothy started hyperventilating for a few moments. When she calmed down, she realized she could still breath somehow. "Well, I'm still alive at lest. Now how do I get out of here?" She struggled in vain as she tried to free herself. After a while, she gave up and just rested.
She wasn't sure how long she was there, but after a while Dorothy heard something move. She screamed into the coating. “Hmmph, lhh mm hrrn!”
She stiffened when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Then, something was forced into her mouth, pushing the membrane with it. After that, it started to inflate, forcing her mouth open and effectively gagging her.
Then she fell loose, falling from the wall but still cocooned in this rubbery substance. A pair of arms caught her and she felt herself being swung over a shoulder. She screamed into the gag angrily when someone grabbed her butt. She was then carried away.