Because, Because Because
 

Hey Folks: here's a story I wrote a while ago. I'm trying to get back into writing and I'm planning on putting up some of my previous stuff here in order to get some feedback.

Part 1

As soon as she heard the rumble of a car coming up the road to their house, Megan called “I’ll get it” from the kitchen with as much cheerfulness as she could muster. As if there was a chance Erin was going to answer the door, she thought sadly. Or the phone. Or her email. Or much of anything.

If she was being honest, Megan had no desire to answer the door either, her own mood just as dark and cold as this house, despite it being a warm and sunny May afternoon. Megan’s guess on who was coming was confirmed by a look out the window: Rebecca, Malachi’s brother, stepped out of her car and surveyed the McDougal family farm house, with a sizeable briefcase slung over her shoulder.

If Megan was being really honest, she would admit that she would have said no to Rebecca’s visit, but Rebecca was more than a bit intimidating by nature. Megan remembered looking down at the text from an unfamiliar number yesterday and opened to read, “It’s Rebecca, Mal’s sis. I’m in town for some business. When are you home? We need to talk.” Not “What’s a good time?” but “We need to talk.” It spoke to her personality. They had met all of three times before this but each time Rebecca struck Megan as charming but absolutely intense. Each time Megan felt like Rebecca was a detective in one of those police shows that’s playing good cop just before she lowered the boom.

Erin sat at the kitchen table, a cup of tea cooling in her hands, looking distracted. People say that talking about things make them easier, but if they’d asked her that, she’d give them a compelling argument against that theory. But she readied herself to talk about it one more time, for the sake of her sister. Erin was acutely aware of how much her sister loved Rebecca’s brother and she didn’t want Rebecca to blame Erin.

Even though Megan and Erin were twins, they’d led very different lives. The fact that they were fraternal made this somewhat easier. There was probably as much similarity of appearance between Rebecca and her brother as between the two sisters.

Ever since they were girls, Megan wanted to be a nurse like their mother was, and went out of state for college to do it. Erin just wanted to live the rural life like their dad. Her dreams didn’t extend much beyond simply making pies for the town carnival.

In high school, she volunteered for every community committee she could think of. After graduation, she got a job with the city in the Parks department. She got to help plan events, work with kids, work with the people at the rest home. It was everything she wanted.

Things started to change about 10 months ago. A new crop of women had been elected to the Town Board. They got very involved in everything they could almost immediately.

Their first outburst was over the town’s annual Halloween celebration. They said it was evil and un-Christian to have children running around like ghouls. The second was a month later, this time with Thanksgiving, saying it was too focused on the Pilgrims. Thanks to some political maneuvering, planning of the Christmas carnival was handed over directly to the Town Board. That disaster was impressive; everyone hated what they did with Christmas, both the religious and non-religious alike. By the time Easter rolled around, the town was considering not doing anything anymore. But that caused another outcry, so the mayor called everyone in, the Parks Department and the Town Board, and announces that they would still be doing Easter, but the elephant in the room was that this would be the Town Board’s last chance.

Erin was privately hopeful, of course, but she couldn’t miss the looks she was getting from the women on the Town Board. So she promised to help them, and for their part they said they couldn’t imagine doing it without her.

The planning was a mess, and a part of Erin wanted to sabotage the whole thing. The Town Board finally decided they didn’t want to do a Bunny or an egg hunt, because that would be too sexual, so they settled on The Rite of Spring. Eyebrows were raised at this. The Town Board made it clear they didn’t want an actual ballet. They wanted a festival in the park, with girls in dance robes, May Poles and things of that ilk.

Two days before the festival was when it happened. The Town Board had given Erin every piece of drudge work they could think of before the event, but she happily complete each one. She had just finished throwing down new mulch and some plants around the gazebo to show off the white bunting she had nailed on this morning when they sent her to pick up some other plants for the walkway. Obviously they were trying to work her to death but Erin was raised on a farm, and enjoyed this sort of work. So she happily sweat in the sun, toiling away.

At noon, Courtney, the new head of the Town Board, ran up to Erin. “I need your help. The newspaper is coming to do promo shots and we’ve got no one here for the dancers. Could you throw on one of the costume and do some poses for them?”
Erin held her hands out. “Well, I’m filthy and soaked with sweat.”

“Can’t you just wash up in one of the park restrooms? We've closed off most of the park to set up. You’ve got a key. Just lock yourself in.”

Erin suppressed a sigh. “Sure thing.”

Moments later, Erin and Courtney were in the restroom. Erin started to wash up and Courtney quickly checked the stalls to make sure the room was empty. Courtney asked, “Hey, what are you wearing underneath that?”

Erin blinked. “Um, a sports bra and shorts.”

“Ohhh, would you mind ditching those? I don’t want the dress to get ruined and someone else will have to wear it. Don’t worry, it’s not see through, we checked.”

As Erin grimaced at that prospect, Courtney piped up. “Well, I’m going to step outside to make some calls and give you some privacy. Be sure to lock yourself in right after I step out. Remember, I don’t have a key.” With that Courtney hung the dress on the side of one of the stalls and walked out. Erin heard the buzz of Courtney’s phone as soon as she stepped outside.

After she was gone, Erin stood looking in the mirror for a moment before peeling off her t-shirt and shorts. She was glad that she was alone. It was already uncomfortable, standing in just a sports bra and boy shorts. Still, she had to admit, she was soaked with sweat. She took a quick breath, planning to rinse herself as quickly as she could and then squeeze into the dress. She pulled off her bra and shorts quickly and took a second to place them carefully on to top of the stall door with her other clothes, carefully away from the dress. She turned to the sink and quickly lathered her hands, face, and ears. The water out of the faucet sounded like a jet stream. Erin stuck her head under it. And that’s when it happened.

The lights went out. All of them. Like most public parks, there were no traditional windows, just a few glass blocks at the far end of the room, which hadn’t been cleaned since they were installed forever ago. The room was almost completely black.

There was a squeak, somewhere in the darkness. Erin stood confused, her eyes trying to adjust to the light. She turned and groped in the darkness, looking for her clothes, or the dress. Her hand slid back and forth along the top, then along the bottom of the floor. Nothing. Her clothes were gone. She looked up at the mirror. She couldn’t make her face out in the darkness, but she was sure her cheeks were blazing red.

Part 2
 

Erin’s eyes began to adjust to the lack of light, but not much. She was able to see shadows and some outlines. She definitely wasn’t able to see her clothes, however. She stepped back into her bright red sneakers, which she had taken off to remove her boy shorts.

Erin heard a thump off to the side that echoed a bit. The door? She wondered in horror. But she had locked that herself. She called out a small “hello” but heard nothing in response.

Erin began to panic. If it was open, it was a matter of when, not if, someone would walk through that door. Covering her breasts with one arm and her pussy with the other, Erin took a moment to survey her options. The town had gone to air dryers a long time ago, so there were no paper towels. The first two stalls had no toilet paper, and the door to the third one seemed to be jammed. She briefly considered climbing over or sliding under the door but the potential lack of cleanliness involved in either option turned her away from either of those as options.

She cautiously made her way towards the door in the near darkness. She experimentally pushed at the door with her finger, and pulled it back as if it was burned. The small sliver of light conformed her worst fears: the door was unlocked.

Erin felt her breast heaving under her arm. “Ohgodohgodohgod,” she whispered. She couldn’t catch her breath. She realized her only hope was that Courtney was still out there and could help. She gingerly opened the door, trying to just peak around it, squinting in the bright light of the noon sun.

Erin felt the whoosh of air behind her before she felt the hands on her back. She stumbled forward, arms swinging wildly to keep her balance. She got her feet under her and her eyes widened. She immediately turned and ran back to the door. She tugged at it hard, but the attempt was futile. It was locked tight.

Erin whirled, pressing her bare butt against the cool metal of the door, and again tried to cover herself. She felt herself start to panic again. Courtney was nowhere in sight, but neither was anyone else. Erin bit the inside of her mouth. There was nowhere to hide. Her car was all the way across the park, and she was pretty sure she locked it, but with how things were going today, she didn’t want to bet on it. Besides, her keys were in the pocket of her pants anyways. The only copse of trees was the nature preserve which was on the other side of the park: this part was mainly walking paths and the gazebo.

Gazebo. The idea hit her like a lightning bolt. If she could rip some of the bunting off, it would give her something to cover herself with, at least until she found her clothes or Courtney. Taking a quick look around and seeing no one, she ran around the corner for the nearest one. Covering herself as best she could, Erin sprinted the short distance with a speed she didn’t knew she had.

She saw the white muslin she had just stapled on earlier that day and tugged hard. She heard one or two rips but it was still attached. Erin cursed herself for a moment, thinking about how many staples she had put in there to make sure it remained in place.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING, ERIN!” The voice was loud, angry, female, and certainly wasn’t asking a question. Erin turned and covered herself in one motion. She stood staring at Officer Haley.

Erin vaguely knew Janelle Haley from high school. Her joining the local police force was a shock to no one. Janelle had always been a mix of tom-boy and jock, a star forward on the girls’ basketball team. At 6’1” she towered over Erin.

“Oh, God, Officer. Thank God, you’ve got to…”

“We got reports of vandalism in the park, but I assumed it was the teen boys over at the basketball court. What the hell is wrong with you? Are you some sort of weirdo?”

“What? No! This isn’t…Let me explain, Janelle.”

“IT’S OFFICER!” she roared, and grabbed Erin by the wrist and spun her around. Erin went to cover herself but Janelle roared again. “HANDS where I can see them. On the wood.”

Shakily, Erin lifted her hands and grabbed the bars of the gazebo. Janelle kicked her feet apart and Erin warmed, conscious of the air between her legs.

“I remember you for high school,” Janelle continued. “You did all that artsy type stuff. Are you on drugs? Is that why you get your kicks running around naked?”

“No, someone stole my…”

"Yeah, right. Someone stole your clothes but left you sneakers. Right.” With that, Janelle began to search her.
Erin winced in confusion. “Why are you…” and then stopped as Janelle’s hands lifted then kneaded her breasts. I’m naked, she thought. What is she doing? She felt herself get warmer as Janelle dropped down and started working her way up her legs. She felt Janelle’s hands on her ass, pressing and rubbing. Erin felt herself starting to sweat. She gasped as Janelle’s finger slid across her clitoris then paused at her anus, and was unable to hold back the moan when her finger went back to her pussy, sliding back and forth. Erin tipped her head back slightly.

Janelle grabbed her by her long braid. “What are you, a sicko? Are you into this, huh?”

Erin was startled out of her sexual revelry. “No…You were…” Erin was cut off by the beep of Janelle’s phone.

“Yeah, I got her. I’m headed your way now.”

Erin yelped at getting her wrist bent back and whimpered at the cold reality that came with the click of the cuffs. As her other wrist was bend back as well, she begged. “Please, could you cuff me in front so I can cover up…something?”

“I normally would, but you’d probably stick your fingers back up your sn*tch. As a matter of fact,” Janelle lifted Erin’s arms away from her butt, “Let’s just keep you away from any other temptations.”

Janelle walked Erin forward. Being tipped like that made Erin even more conscious of her nudity, as she could feel her breasts moving slightly in what seemed to be an overlong and circuitous walk back. She closed her eyes to the rising tide of voices that seemed to be surrounding her.

“Erin, what’s going on?” Erin lifted her head to face a shocked Courtney, who was flanked by Samantha, another of the new members of the Town Council, who also worked for the local paper.

Erin rose her voice to speak but Janelle interrupted her. “I think she’s either high or crazy. I found her ripping apart decorations and fingering herself.” Erin heard a burst of laughter from behind her at the word “fingering”. She peaked to see that somewhere in the walk they had been joined by the group of boys from the basketball court, many of who had brought cell phones to document the occasion.

Erin turned back miserably. “No, my clothes were gone and you weren’t here…the lights…” her voice petered out in the end.

“What are you talking about? I just walked in there. Your clothes are hanging right on the stall.”

They walked into the open ladies room, with the door swinging open and closed to the sound of a disappointed groan from the basketball players. Her clothes and the dress stood right where she left them.

“Nooo…that’s not….” Erin words were bare whispers. She felt oddly sleepy, and fought the urge to slump on the floor.

Janelle asked, “Should I run her downtown?” The words sent a shock through Erin’s spine.

Courtney let a smile play across her lips for a second. “No, I think she’s learned her lesson. But I’ll be speaking to the Parks Department.”

Erin had spent the next week inside her house. She opened exactly one email, from her supervisor explaining that she would be on unpaid leave until a full investigation was held, and answered exactly one call, from her sister.

Part 3
 

“Hello, Rebecca. I have to admit, this is unexpected, even after the text.”

“I would guess so. We should sit.”

“Absolutely.” Megan felt the faint shame of not being a proper host. She had no desire for this conversation, but she felt a pang of guilt for not immediately inviting her in. She guided Megan to the living room and a seat. “Can I offer you anything? Ice Tea? Lemonade?"

Rebecca nodded. “Something stronger, if you don’t mind.”
After a fair amount of searching, Megan found a bottle of gin in a cabinet. Jesus, it must be twenty years old. “Um, I’m sorry, not a lot of options.”

“Whatever you've got is fine.”

Megan came back with a tumbler full of ice, two glasses, some Ice Tea for herself and the gin bottle. She watched Rebecca pour a remarkable quantity of gin into the glass and ignore the ice tea all together. Even sitting, Rebecca radiated energy. It wasn’t that she wasn’t feminine. On the contrary, she was a beautiful woman. At 37, she had a better figure than most of Megan’s friends. She had the same soft, dark brown hair as her brother, worn much longer, of course. Megan had seen her with three different men the three times they had met. And while she was no fashion expert, Megan did catch the designer labels on her clothes. But that energy. It was just so different than her brother.

Rebecca looked at Megan for a long second before speaking. “I can’t imagine this is comfortable for you, so let’s just get to it. Why did you leave my brother, and are you coming back?”

Megan recoiled at the word ‘leave’, as if Rebecca had punched her in the stomach.

“I love Mal, Rebecca. Totally. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I want to spend…I just have to help my sister through this. I…it’s just…I…” Megan found herself choking back tears as her words ran out.

Rebecca offered her Megan the gin. Megan wasn’t much of a drinker and the smell alone roasted her sinuses but there was something comforting about the harshness of it in her throat, as if the burn tempered her throat, giving it strength.

“So once your sister’s…better…you’re going back to my brother?”

“Well, yes, that is, if he still…”

“Loves you? Yes, he does. He’s loved you for a long time. A week apart with little more word than from you than a text saying 'things aren’t good right now but you’ll get back to him' isn’t going to change that.”

Megan felt her eyes well up again. This was a different cause for tears, and a few spilled over this time. “I don’t…don’t deserve him.”

Rebecca pursed her lips. “Well, you’ve got him. So let’s get this fixed. What happened to your sister?”

Megan took another sip from the gin. “I think she’d better tell you."

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

A few minutes later, Erin was sitting on the couch, and Rebecca had her tablet on the coffee table between the two of them. Rebecca was looking directly at Erin, who was staring off to the left, almost dreamily. Megan, however, couldn't stop staring at the website on the tablet. The pain was fresh every time she looked at the photo splashed across the main page: her sister, naked, a look of total shock on her face, her mouth in a perfect "O". Every time Megan looked the photo, she noticed something different. This time it was the hair: In the photo, the red braid was so prominent on her shoulder. The contrast seemed to highlight Erin's lightly freckled skin, and the soft rose color of her nipples, the sharp red of her thatch of pubic hair. Megan knew that there was more: other shots, videos, and of course the comments. But she had never gotten much past that first screen shot.

Erin’s voice was shaky at first, but she made it through her story. Rebecca stopped her repeatedly, asking questions, having her repeat details and sections. When it was finished, Rebecca went back down to her tablet and picked it up, furiously swiping and making some notes. After a few moments, she looked up.

“Well, short version. What happened to you was terrible. Reading between the lines, you were set up.”

“By Courtney.”

“More than just her, although she’s your ringleader. Janelle was part of the set-up, probably Samantha, and one or two others. Here.” Rebecca turned her tablet right towards her. Erin looked at it as if it would bite her, while Megan couldn’t bring herself to do more than glance before looking away. “The splash page shot is borderline professional quality. If you didn’t see who took it, then it’s got to be a good telephoto lens. The videos underneath, most of them, are cell phone quality, shaky, teen boys who are trying not to have a heart attack. But this video, this video of your face during the frisking…No kids with a cell phone camera is managing that.” Erin flushed matched the red in her face when Janelle was searching her, but for an entirely different reason. “Also it starts and end with Janelle out of the frame. Had to zoom and edit that. No teen boy is leaving out a woman rubbing another woman’s breasts.”

Erin sighed. “I figured something was up but…How did I not see...” Erin blushed again, answering her own question in her head. Being taken half-way to orgasm will distract someone.

Rebecca waved her hand. “The only question is what you need to get yourself back together. So what do you need?”

Erin sighed. "I love my job, and..."

Rebecca interrupted her with a hand wave. "Employment's not the issue. I make two phone calls and you're back at work, either here or in a list of cities I've had dealings with. My question is this: Do you want to move or stay?"

Erin looked Rebecca directly in the eyes for the first time. "I want to stay."

"Then we'll have to make sure that you can walk around town again with your good name intact."

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

An hour later, Rebecca finished a few phone calls then texted her brother. 'Met with your girl. Still don't like her leaving my baby brother but I get why she can't tell you what's up. Family problems. She'll call tonight. I'll fix her issue and have her back to you in a month, tops.'

Malachi texted her back. 'I really do love her, sis. And I love you. Thanks for helping. Just, be gentle okay?'

Rebecca texted back. 'We'll see. I saw the ring on your dresser when I visited last week. I don't do well with people who mess with my family, current or future.'

On his end of the phone in Chicago, Malachi rubbed his temples. An hour later, Megan called him. After an hour of tears and laughter, things seemed settled again.

"So, Mal, your sister can...fix this?"

"Yeah, but I'm genuinely afraid to find out how. When we were kids and things were a bit tough, one of the older girls in the high school made fun of the fact that our clothes came from Salvation Army. Three days later the girl was outside the school, topless and handcuffed from her underwear to the hook on the flagpole with a sign in her hands that said 'I need to be less judgmental'. They never could get a word out of her as to who did it."

“Handcuffed by her underwear?”

“Yep. Think about it for a second.”

"Oh, Jesus. So she’s stuck topless or a full nude streaker. Wow."

"Yep. My big sis is thorough. It's part of why she's so successful but, well, you'll see."

Part 4
 

As she parked, Samantha noticed that the street was empty except for a copper colored American muscle car parked right at the site. It was the sort of thing her ex-husband would have drooled over. She spent a few minutes primping her hair and checking her make-up in the reflection of the glass outside Baum’s Metalworking shop. Her blond hair was perfect, her pin striped business suit was freshly pressed, and after pulling a loose thread from the bottom of her skirt, she felt like a million bucks, despite the fact that it was all of 4:35 on a Saturday morning.

The voicemail she received yesterday was from a female voice, stating that Rebecca Burke was wondering if she could meet with her assistant to look at a few items, as that Samantha was the new head of the historical society. Ms. Burke had just bought the old metalworking shop and was in the process of having it gutted and turned into an office, and they had found some things that might be historically valuable. A brief google search put Samantha’s heart in her throat. Rebecca Burke was a developer, venture capitalist and businesswoman, all of which had made her preposterously wealthy. She was a noted philanthropist, but also notorious for her dislike of publicity.

For Samantha, this was a no-lose situation. Either she managed to get some interest drummed up for the historical society or she got an interview for the local paper. Both possibilities led to a brighter future for herself. She was startled to find a woman in her mid-thirties in jeans and a muscle t-shirt with her dark brown hair tied back with a bandanna, holding a cordless nail gun in her right hand.

"Hello Samantha, my assistant Wynnie is busy on another project this morning and no one else will be here until 5:15 at the earliest so I thought I should talk to you myself."

“You’re Rebecca?”

"Rebecca Burke, that's correct. I was hoping you could help me with something. I’ve had some experience with reclamation projects and we’ve found some things, well, that I’d like to donate if they are worth anything. Apparently, Mr. Baum was quite the pack rat.”

Samantha spent the tour of the partially-gutted downstairs learning that Rebecca Burke was exceptional at dodging questions. However, Rebecca was serious about historical preservation, more than willing to hand over any item that Samantha so much as blinked at twice.

“You know, Ms. Burke, we can’t afford to buy these items from you, and we really appreciate your charity.”

Rebecca smiled back. “No worries, Samantha. They're all donations. I grew up in the city, but I love these old antiques. It’s like a hands-on history lesson for me. Speaking of which, there’s an item upstairs I was hoping you could help me identify.”

They picked their way up the stairs, with Rebecca offering her free hand to help the high-heeled Samantha over a few spots. They arrived at the storage section of the old shop. “I’m hoping you’ll want the rest of this as well, I know there’s a big market for old oil cans and cash registers.” Rebecca gestured towards the back, pointing with the nail gun. “But there’s something back there, that well, I’m unclear and a bit uncomfortable with.”

Samantha picked her way to the back to find a massive wooden T with a host of nails sticking out of it.

Rebecca stared at it. “When my boys found it, they called me immediately. I don’t want to embarrass myself, but I have no idea what it is. Is it a cross or was he…Baum I mean…some sort of…” her face scrunched before continuing, “some sort of weirdo?”

Samantha smiled indulgently. “You are a city girl, aren’t you? That’s a stand for a scarecrow.”

Rebecca’s face stayed scrunched up. “A scarecrow? I thought those were all-in-one jobs.”

“Not necessarily. Many farmers believed that you should change it out so the crows wouldn’t get comfortable, seeing the same thing.”

“But why are the nails only half-way down the arms of the T?”

“So the arms of the scarecrow would dangle with the wind.”

Rebecca shook her head. “I’m not following you. Could you…could you show me?”

Samantha stepped up on the small block at the base of the T, taking a second to balance herself on her high heels. Rebecca placed a helping hand on her stomach. “Normally this whole thing would be higher, I’m guessing this stand was cut down to fit in here. I’m just five inches higher than you right now; normally it would be closer to two to three feet, so that most of this was above the corn. This block was there so the farmer could climb up there and adjust the scarecrow.”

Rebecca nodded slowly. “That makes sense but I don’t get the part with the arms. Why not nail them at the end?”

Samantha laid her arms straight out against the wood. “Like this they would have been stiff.” She let her arms dangle. “But if the wind was blowing…”

Rebecca moved like a flash. The concussive sound of the nail gun scared Samantha, and she instinctively pressed herself back against the T. Four more loud shots later and the sleeve of Samantha’s suit-coat was nailed tight to the wood.

“WHAT THE HELL?!?” Samantha screamed.

“I didn’t get your skin, did I?” Rebecca asked brightly.

“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?” Samantha was even louder.

Rebecca looked at Samantha’s sleeve. “No blood. Good. Not my intention.” With that she grabbed Samantha’s other arm and nailed it by the sleeve as well.

“ARE YOU CRAZY?!?” Samantha was nearly breathless. She struggled against her coat, trying to wiggle out of it, but the nails pulled it tight against the wood and her bicep.

Rebecca looked at her, all the more frightening for her relative calmness. “So, take me through what happened with Erin.”

“WHAT! I’m not telling you anything, you psycho! Get me down from here.”

Rebecca reached into her back pocket and pulled out a curved blade. She then grabbed the side of Samantha’s skirt, and ripped the blade along the edge in one sharp motion, letting it slide down Samantha’s legs and pool at her feet. Samantha looked down in horror at the display of her bright plaid panties, then over at a smiling Rebecca.

Rebecca picked up the skirt and dangled it from her finger for a second before flicking it across the room. “I don’t think you understand. You’re not in a position to negotiate.”

Part 5
 

Samantha felt her mouth moving and was dimly aware that no sound coming out. Rebecca calmly pulled over a stepstool and looked at her watch as she sat down at it.

“Well, Samantha, time is not on your side. It’s after 5 o’clock, my crew will be here at one point or another and well, the sun is on its way up.” Samantha looked to her left and saw the massive bay window that she was directly in the path of. Rebecca smiled. “The town is waking up. So let’s get this wrapped up before we have an audience, hmmm?”

“You’re crazy, I’ll have you…”

“Arrested? Not likely. I have Wynnie, who was late to this meeting because, as she will swear, I was with her this whole morning. Plus, I had a very pleasant meeting with the mayor about expediting some construction permits. That meeting was…very advantageous to his re-election drive. Considering the sheriff is a political appointee…” Rebecca’s voice trailed off for a moment. “But, it seems you know one of the sheriff’s deputies, correct? Janelle was in on this from the very beginning. Is she the ring leader? Or is it Courtney? Honestly, I just don’t think it’s you. You don’t seem…to have the brains, as it were.”

Samantha fumed. She struggled for a second to get loose from her coat, but only succeeded in pulling her blouse up a bit.

Rebecca stood up, pulled her phone out of her back pocket and set it on the step stool behind her. “The reason I know you’re not the brains is that you used your computer for setting up the website.” As she spoke, Rebecca slowly rotated her finger around Samantha’s exposed belly button. “I called in a favor to have the site taken down and decided to have them check the IP address as well. You really should have tried to cover your tracks. Not to mention the fact that it was unnecessary. You’d already humiliated her enough to get her out of the way, at least.”

Samantha was sure if it was the movement of Rebecca’s finger or her words, but she suppressed an urge to shiver. “IP addresses? That’s not legal…”

Rebecca stopped her finger for a second and walked it up to the lowest of the buttons on her blouse. “Oh, I think legality isn’t exactly a pillar for you to be standing on, at this point. So, let’s talk about what’s going to happen next.” Rebecca undid the button and moved her way up to the next. “So who.”

Samantha sputtered. “It was Courtney’s idea. She pulled me and Janelle in, and Janelle got two of the girls from the volleyball team to help, since she’s their coach.”

“Willingly?”

“Yeah, they’re her…co-captains.”

Rebecca nodded. She undid another button and sat her hand right on Samantha’s sternum. “So, why?”

Samantha felt the warmth of Rebecca’s hand as she tried to control her breathing. Her heart was racing, she could feel the warmth in her face. “Erin was in the way. It’s a money thing.”

“It usually is, but how?”

“Courtney said…well, it’s…it’s sort of…”

Rebecca shook her head. “You are definitely not the brains of this operation.” With that, Rebecca undid the last of the buttons on the blouse, exposing Samantha’s white bra. “Mismatched? Hmm. I didn’t expect that.”

Rebecca flipped off her phone, pocketed it and sighed. “Well, I want to thank you for your honesty. I’ll just need your help for a bit more, of course. But first, we need to get you down.” With that, Rebecca pulled her knife out again, and cut right along the sleeves of the suit coat. Samantha stumbled out of it and rubbed her elbows for a second. She considered running for a moment, but realized that she wasn’t exactly dressed for it, and she was terrified of what Rebecca would do to her if she caught her. Besides, her car keys were sitting in her purse, which was on the ground next to Rebecca.

Rebecca followed Samantha's eyes to the purse, picked it up, and slung it over her own shoulder. Then she made a few texts before, pocketing her phone and smiling brightly at Samantha. “Well, let’s get going, shall we?”

"Going?"

Rebecca smiled. "Well, yes. I'm sure you don't want to run into my crew, do you?" Rebecca turned and started her way back out of the building. Samantha followed, arms wrapped around herself, deeply bothered by the fact that she didn't know what to cover. She settled on her breasts and her stomach, still feeling self-conscious about Rebecca's tracing around her belly button.

When they got to the front door, Samantha scanned the horizon through the glass windows. It was still early, the town was fortunately not yet up, but she could hear the rumble of delivery trucks in the distance.

Rebecca motioned to her own car. "Don't worry, it's unlocked. I'd scrunch down in the back if I were you."
Samantha didn't need much encouragement. She scrambled as quickly as she could and threw herself in the back seat, scrunching herself into the fetal position. She heard the slam of a car door and then the opening of another as Rebecca sat in the driver's seat.

"Comfy? Prefer the radio off? Would you like me to turn on the heat? Don't worry, it's not a long drive."

"Where are we going?"

"I'm just dropping you off away from my construction site. I left your purse in your car." As Rebecca started to drive off, Samantha tried to look out the car window to figure out where they were headed, but quickly gave up. All she had figured out was that they had left downtown. After a few minutes, they arrived at their destination. Samantha cautiously sat up a bit and looked around. "The park?"

Rebecca smiled. "Yep, back to the scene of the crime, as it were. Stay put for a second."

Samantha didn’t need much encouragement to stay tucked down. She heard the trunk open, followed by Rebecca’s voice. “All right. Come on out.”

Samantha nervously reached for the door handle and eased her was out of the car, conscious of how much her plaid covered butt was sticking out as she got out. She stayed low and walked as quickly as she could to the back of the car. She got very nervous when saw Rebecca standing there with what looked like a broomstick. Eyes wide, Samantha could barely manage a whisper. “You’re not going to…”

“What? Oh, no Samantha. I would never do…well, that’s not true, I’m sure I would but, no, it wouldn’t serve this purpose. No, this is part of how you’re going to help me, actually. Could you hold your arms straight out to the sides for me?”

Samantha shakily held her arms out. Rebecca rested the wooden rod across her shoulders. She nodded and reached back into the trunk and pulled out a roll of duct tape, which she used to bind Samantha’s wrists to the rod.

“So here’s what’s going to happen, Samantha. You’re going to help me change the narrative around here. You’ll tell people that you received an anonymous tip and you came here to investigate the incident at the park with Erin. Tragically, in the course of your investigation you too were attacked and left as the next victim. Tragically, you were grabbed from behind and you have no information besides a female voice but you’ll keep investigating, of course, determined reporter that you are. Who knows, this may actually help your career. This would make a tremendous article for the local paper.” Rebecca finished off her taping. Samantha struggled against it for a moment, quickly realizing that she wouldn’t be able to get out without help.

Rebecca stood back for a second and examined her work. “Your car will be left here at the park of course. You’ll be too distraught to remember where you parked. Your purse will be inside, but with your arms taped, well, you’ll be needing someone’s help first. Besides, I need you to get caught.” She paused and the reached into her back pocket for her blade and quickly cut away Samantha’s bra. Samantha whimpered, aware of the exposure of her small a-cup breasts.

“Oh, now the mismatch makes sense. You couldn’t find a padded bra in plaid. You should really shop on-line in the future. And for a blond, plaid’s a great look for you. That’s unusual. Let’s leave those on you.”

Samantha felt a momentary pang of relief as she saw Rebecca fold up her knife and put it in her back pocket. That disappeared when Rebecca knelt down and pulled the panties down to her knees, exposing her light blond patch of pubic hair.

“Well, I think that about covers it, Samantha. I’d head straight behind you. Apparently, the local high school cross country team has their practices somewhere around here. Also there’s the playground, but that may be empty. Also, I’m willing to bet if there are parents there, they may be more likely to press indecency charges. And next to the playground is the main road, as you know. The high schoolers will likely be more understanding and you may get lucky and hit the girls first.”

Samantha scanned back and forth, trying to decide which way to go.

Rebecca turned to leave, but stopped and spoke over her shoulder. “After today, I won’t be humiliating you if you do as you’re told. But I will be in touch. Get going.”

Part 6
 

Samantha bit the inside of her mouth and began to stumble past Rebecca. It was awkward enough trying to walk in high heels on the loose gravel path, the challenge of doing it without losing her panties left her moving in a shuffle that made her extra conscious of the wiggle of her sizeable ass, which had been a point of pride to her in the past. She heard the slam of a car door and the start of Rebecca’s engine behind her and started to turn to look but gave that up after nearly losing her balance.

Samantha made a small clip through the park before hearing a collective roar of voices. Samantha identified the mix of female and male in the chorus and panicked, stumbling before falling right on her ass. She yelped in pain from the landing but was secretly thankful. If she’d fallen forward she wouldn’t have been able to protect her face. Samantha tried to rock herself back and forth to get back on her feet but gave that up as she heard the approaching crunch of feet on the track.

Samantha had to force her eyes open, not even aware that she’d closed them. She saw a mix of high school boys and girls surrounding her, jockeying for position and a better look. She snapped her legs closed and blushed.

One of the boys spoke up first. “What happened? Are you in trouble, miss?”

Samantha gulped. “Yeah, I got attacked while investigating an incident that happened a little while ago in the park during the Spring Carnival. Could you get me loose and loan me something to wear?”

One of the girls poked another in the ribs. “Hey, that was that Erin woman. Coach Janelle, the one who’s a cop, told everyone that she was just some total pervert. Huh, I guess not.”

Samantha nodded. “Yeah. So, clothes? Help?”

The boy who spoke earlier smiled, gesturing to the collective pack of shirtless boys and girls running in sports bras. “Well we’re all a bit short on clothing but we can certainly help. Let’s get you up first.”

Samantha was about to protest but already she felt their hands on her arms and shoulder, lifting her to her feet. She was uncomfortably aware, thanks to a rush of cool air and a rise in the murmurs, of how much she was exposing. She felt herself redden as she heard one of the girls murmur to another, “Jesus, my chest was bigger than that by seventh grade.”

Standing, Samantha watched another of the boys pick at her tape for a second before shrugging. “Nope. We’ll have to cut it. My knife’s in my backpack which is in the van.”
Samantha managed to croak out. “Could somebody…pull up my panties?”

The first girl threw a wink to her friends. “Oh sure, I will. But hang on a second.” The girl knelt down behind her. Samantha gasped when she felt the girl’s hand on her waist. “Your butt is just covered with bits of stuff from when you fell. Just covered.” And with that, Samantha felt the girl’s other hand begin swatting at her butt. Increasing giggles came from the assembled teenagers as the swats became progressively harder. “There just…so much back here,” the girl continued, as the giggles turned to small laughter. After what felt far too long, the girl mercifully stopped, and Samantha felt the burning in both sets of her cheeks.

“So,” the girl continued, more to the audience than to Samantha, “Let’s get those panties up nice and high so they don’t fall again, hmm?” And with that, the girl yanked the bikini cut underwear straight up as hard as she could. Samantha nearly fell out of her shoes from the force of it. The underwear pulled tight against the lips of her pussy and straight up the crack of her ass, effectively turning them into a thong. The girl leaned in to Samantha’s ear, still tugging. “And what do we say?”

Samantha looked down in embarrassment. “Thank…thank you.”

The girl whispered brightly in her ear. “Good girl.”

The boy rubbed his hand over his face to suppress a smile. “Well, we’ll have to get you back. And it looks like running is not an option for you in those shoes.”

The girl smiled and raise a hand. “Well, Reuben’s also on the football team. It’s not that far back, so…”

All eyes turned to Reuben, who flashed a shy smile. “Thanks Kelly. I owe you one.” In one clean but gentle motion, he lifted Samantha and set her stomach down on his shoulder. She knew she must have looked ridiculous. Samantha was painfully aware of how much this put her able butt on display, as well as her pussy lips, which were now visible on either side of the panties wedgied into her crack.

With a fair amount of laughter, the group made the jog back. Samantha felt herself getting warmer from rubbing against the think muscles of Reuben’s shoulder and scolded herself. Still, by the time they stopped, Samantha felt the stiffness of her nipples as they brushed against his back.

The parking lot was empty expect for the van and what looked like her car in the distance. Still, any relief Samantha might have felt was gone when she saw that all of the students went to their bags and brought out their cell phones for the cutting ceremony. The second boy was true to his word though and diligently, if far too cautiously, cut the tape away. The moment her first arm was free, Samantha dug her underwear out of her crotch, then covered her breasts as quickly as she could.

“Aww, after all my hard work,” the girl laughed.

Once she was free, one of the girls offered her a spare t-shirt. Samantha simply pressed it to her chest rather than put it on and took off for her car. She ignored the catcalls that followed her and ran up to her door. Mercifully, it was unlocked and her purse was in there. She dug out her keys and started up her car, cranking the A/C. She then finally took the time to put the shirt on. It’s wasn’t until then that she realized it was a half shirt that stopped three inches above her belly button. Anyone driving in anything higher up would look down and see her crotch. She started to consider her options for the drive home when she saw the light on her cell phone notifying her of a text. It was from an unlisted number. The message said simply, “Looking forward to the article about your harrowing ordeal. I’ll call later to go over some things.”

Part 7
 

Megan and Erin took turns alternating stares between the Sunday newspaper and Rebecca. Megan found her voice first. "Wow. you are...just, wow."

The front page of the Town Courier was article from Samantha Bolger about her investigation and subsequent humiliating ordeal at the hands of a female attacker or attackers in the park. The article was accompanied by an editorial demanding accountability from the local police department as to why the original incident was swept under the rug and whether or not the town should be afraid of further attacks.

Rebecca nodded, without lifting her head from the tablet. "Yeah, we're getting there. Samantha did well. She's not the brightest but at least she knows how to play the victim. Plus, she's at least smart enough to be obedient. And we'll need her for the next step. Her and probably both of you."

"Part two?" Erin blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Janelle's next. Just because we nailed Samantha, that doesn't mean it's over. Janelle gets us the high school girls and Courtney, who's our big fish. So I'm going to make some calls and then we're going into town. I need to do some research."

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

Janelle spent a second fuming inside her car. Quite frankly, this hadn't been a good 24 hours.

She felt a sick bubble Sunday morning when she saw the paper, which was followed by a text from Courtney that read CALL ME RIGHT NOW. Before she could start dialing, Courtney was calling her. Janelle briefly considered not answering it, but realized that might make it worse. She tried to muster some toughness in her voice when she answered. “Yeah?”

“What the hell, Janelle? What the hell? What is going on? Samantha’s not answering her phone. That Erin woman now looks sympathetic instead of pathetic. This was supposed to be a minor first step in a larger plan and now it’s a total disaster.”

Janelle swallowed deeply for a moment before answering. “What do you want me to…”

“Fix it, Moron. Fix it. Go get Samantha, figure out what’s going on, and fix it. Believe me, I’ll end your career if this ruins things.”

That call was followed by one from the station house, where Sheriff Thorpe yelled at her for an entire hour, waving the Sunday's Town Courier article over his head. Shortly after Thorpe slammed his office door closed, she found out from her fellow officers that Thorpe had spent the previous hour getting yelled at by the mayor.

Janelle called Samantha at every number she had with no answer, swung by her house to find it empty, and even stopped by the Courier to look for her, but got nothing more that the Privacy of the Press speech from the editors. By the evening she was dreading calling Courtney back when Samantha finally texted. CAN'T TALK. DELETE THIS AFTER READING IT. DON'T TELL COURT.

Samantha groaned and spent her evening getting yelled at by Courtney. She got her next text from Samantha Monday morning. WHAT'S YOUR SCHEDULE?

Janelle texted back I'M ON DUTY UNTIL HELL FREEZES OVER.

Samantha texted her WE'RE IN DANGER. MEET ME TOMORROW AT ROCK WATER SPA AT NOON. TELL NO ONE. NOT EVEN YOUR BOSS. PARK YOUR SQUAD CAR A FEW BLOCKS AWAY. DELETE THIS CONVERSATION.

Janelle rubbed her forehead. What else could she do?

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

At 11:30, Rebecca, Erin, Megan and Samantha stood in the back room of the spa. Megan stared daggers at Samantha while Erin looked at Rebecca, expectantly.

Rebecca checked her watch "We all know what we're doing?"
Samantha, who was looking at the floor, nodded, as did everyone else. Rebecca continued. "Alright, let's get set up. I want to be ready before she's even here. Samantha, in to your towel."

Samantha nodded again and started undressing but stopped when she saw that Megan was holding up her phone, recording.
"What..." Samantha sputtered.

"Insurance," Megan snapped. "Now, strip."

Anger flashed across Samantha's face which was followed by resignation. Still, her fingers shook a bit as she unbuttoned her jeans. Her structured tank top came off next before she hooked her thumbs in her panties.

"No more padded bras?" Rebecca raised an eyebrow.

"No, the secret is...over."

Megan smiled. "All the secrets are. Check the internet. Now, drop the panties."

Samantha seemed about to speak and gave up. She lowered her underwear and stepped out of them, bending over to through them into the open locker. She held a hand over her bare pussy and held out her other one for the towel. Erin dangled it just out of reach, making Samantha grab at it for a few moments before letting her take it. Megan pocketed her phone, smiling. She was originally worried about this when Rebecca put it together but, seeing her sister start to come back to life made everything worth it.

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

Just before noon Janelle. walked in to Rockwater Spa. It was not the sort of place that Janelle would ever normally set foot in. The light harp music made her itchy.

"Ahh, Officer. I was told you'd be joining us today. What a treat." Joy was already coming around the counter, hands apart, and Janelle was briefly afraid she was about to get hugged. "Your other party is already inside. If you could come with me?"

Janelle walked into the back room where Samantha was already waiting, flushed and sitting in a towel with her phone next to her. She made a hushing motion with her hand at Janelle while smiling pleasantly at Joy.

Joy continued. "Well, we'll do the hot oil massage for you, Officer, and the stone therapy for you, Ms. Bolger, followed by a quick steam. Whenever you two are ready, just hit the buzzer in room two."

Janelle nodded and went back to staring at Samantha, whose eyes followed Joy out of the room. She then looked at Janelle. "Who saw you enter?" she whispered fiercely.

"It's noon." Janelle hissed back. "There's a few people out there. But I'm on duty. What's going on?"

"Uh-uh. Not until I'm sure you're not wearing a wire."

Janelle rolled her eyes, then looked skyward when she saw that Janelle was serious. "Fine," Janelle said with an icy smile. She quickly unbuttoned her uniform and started undressing. Janelle was still in pretty good shape, having avoided most of the traditional cop's diet, and thanks to a life spent in locker rooms, wasn't that self conscious about being naked around other women. Quickly naked, she threw her hands apart and brought back her same icy smile. "Happy?" she hissed.

Samantha shook her head. "Turn and spread." Janelle glared for a second, and considered choking the story out of Samantha instead. But she realized police brutality on a public figure would be a mistake. She turned and bent over. Grabbing her cheeks in each hand, she exposed her asshole. It was then that she felt her first flash of embarrassment. She looked over her shoulder at Samantha. One smile from her, Janelle thought, and I'll choke Samantha unconscious. Instead, Samantha was nodding and looking around.

"Not yet," she whispered, picked up her phone, and started to walk toward room two, motioning her to follow. Janelle was about to ask for a towel but Samantha was already moving, so she followed, shaking her head.

Part 8
 

Janelle was ready for answers by the time she walked through the door of room two, but Janelle was already face down with her towel off on one of the two tables. "I already hit the button. But here's what you need to know. We're being set up."

Janelle stared for a second. Set up by Courtney? Had she gone nuts? Janelle was about to ask but Samantha continued. "I got an anonymous tip the other day from someone who wanted to talk to me at the park about the Erin situation. They knew so much about what they did. So then I when there and got attacked from behind. But here's the thing. I had someone check the call afterwards and it came from Courtney's office."

Janelle was confused and about start asking questions when Joy opened the door. She seemed slightly startled to see Janelle still standing naked it the middle of the room. "Officer, if you would just lay down there, we'll get started."

Janelle sighed and laid on the table. She heard slight moans from Samantha as the stones were placed on her back. She then felt the warm oil and Joy's hands on her back. For such a slight woman, she had a lot of hand strength, Janelle thought. "Ohh, such tension," Joy murmured. "We'll be using all the oil."

Janelle smiled. This was the sort of place she would normally never consider setting foot in, but she had to admit this was nice. After a several more minutes of rubbing, Joy whispered, "We'll give you a few minutes to relax and then we'll wipe you down." Janelle smiled back as Joy left the room.

Samantha's voice shook Janelle out of her near sleek-like state. "Here's the thing. I found out that Courtney's made some calls to Erin's house. And they've both been in contact with that Burke woman."

Janelle threw her eyes open. "What? But why did she call me..."

"I've been doing some other checking. Supposedly, Erin is supposed to be here."

"What?!? Here?!?" Janelle tried to push herself up but slipped. She blinked. The oil was literally dripping off of her."

"Get your voice down!" Samantha hissed. "Yes, here! Do you think I dragged you here for fun? Yes, here."

"Well why didn't you..."

"Think about it. She gets here and sees your car outside. or gets in back and sees you in uniform. This way we can get the drop on her."

"That's...pretty good. Wow, you're smart than I...I've give you credit for."

"Thanks, Janelle, you're not as heartless as I thought." Samantha looked down at her phone. She nodded at Janelle. "She's here," Samantha mouthed silently, wrapped a towel around her and opened the door. Janelle wiped again at the oil on her arms and followed her, unsteady on her feet.

Samantha padded silently into the locker room with Janelle right behind her. Janelle smiled at the fact that Samantha's towel only covered half of her ass. It reminded Janelle of her own nudity. She liked it, there was something primal about this to Janelle. She felt like a huntress in the jungle.

Samantha held up a hand and pointed. At the furthest locker she saw Erin. Janelle got ready to lunge. "Get her!" Samantha snapped.

Erin whirled her head around when she heard Samantha's voice. Janelle cursed as she ran forward, angry for the loss of the element of surprise. Erin ran left and Janelle followed. She saw Erin run past a woman she didn't recognize and then open and through a solid metal door with a sign above it that read Tanning Room. Janelle pushed up her pace. The woman stepped backward into Janelle's path. She shoved her roughly out of the way and flew through the door in pursuit.

Rebecca picked herself off the ground, dusted herself off, and stepped up on the bench to remove the sign that said Tanning Room to reveal the red Emergency Exit sign underneath it.

Part 9
 

fter pulling down the sign, Rebecca quickly pulled out her pocket tool and twisted the hasp for the lock back into place. She started screwing the red metal plate back on the bar as Samantha cautiously padded forward. “So,” Samantha started meekly, “Are we done?”

Rebecca didn’t turn. “Nope. I fix this and then we grab my tablet and Janelle’s phone. You’re not out, Samantha, not yet.”

Samantha nodded slowly. “You’re pretty smart, disabling an emergency exit.”

“I learned it from one of my regular employees, a long time ago. It’s good that this was an older building. Newer ones…different system all together.” Rebecca finished, and looked Samantha right in the eyes. Samantha instinctively stepped back as Rebecca spoke. “Let me make this clear though, Samantha. This is what I’ve been doing my whole life. I analyze, plan, execute, and adapt. At present, you’re still useful to me. Keep it that way, okay?” There was a brief pounding at the door behind her that Rebecca ignored. “Now, we go back to your locker. Depending on what Janelle does, we might only have five minutes, tops.”

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

Janelle squinted when she stepped through the door and looked around for a second. She spotted Erin making a turn at the end of the alley and took two steps forward, intent on catching her, before stopping dead. Alley. The word hit her like a punch to the stomach.

Janelle froze for a second. I’m in an alley, she thought. Outside. As new realizations flooded her, it was if the world was in slow motion. She cautiously covered herself, looking around for a second. She heard distant sounds but there was no one else there. I’m outside and naked, she thought, as if coming out of a dream. She felt the adrenaline of the chase exiting her body, and despite the warmth of the late May and the noon sun, she was suddenly almost cold.

Janelle turned and went back to the door. It was solid metal, without a door knob or handle. She saw the red exit sign above it and frowned. This was the tanning room, wasn’t it? She thought. That’s what it said on the inside, right?
Janelle cautiously took a hand off of her breasts, and tried to fit a finger into the seam between the door and the jamb to force the door open, but the door was not moving. She tried a knock on the door, softly at first, then slightly louder. The sound worried her. She waited a moment and no one answered. There was that woman she had pushed out of the way inside and Samantha but neither answered. She thought about hitting the door again when she heard the sound of traffic from the street.

Janelle covered her breasts and pussy as best she could and ducked down. It bothered her, reminded her how naked she really was, with her skin touching in the crouched position. And this damn oil, she thought. I feel like a greased pig.

Janelle started to sweat despite her chill. She looked around the alley for cover, but there was nothing but a recycling bin. She scurried over to it to hide for a second and think. This wasn’t the biggest town but she was downtown, naked, and noonday business was picking up. She thought about heading around to the front but she watched traffic begin to build. Besides, Erin could be up there, waiting for her. And she had the advantage. She exhaled. What other option did she have?

She thought for a moment before inspiration struck. Her squad car. She had her coach’s warm-ups inside her bag. And she had parked it not too far from here. She took a second to mentally orient herself and visualize her path; back down the alley between these two buildings, over a block and across the street.

She began to scurry down the alley, taking a second to curse the oil all over her body. It made her feel, unsteady, too loose, and the powerful floral smell kept her from keeping her focus. She shook her head. She was about to make her first turn when she heard voices, and threw herself against the wall.

She peeked around the corner and saw a man taking out bags of garbage. She realized she was passing Bamboo Garden and shook her head. Can’t go that way, she thought, as she visualized the lunch crowd and big front window. She looked ahead of her. The metal fence on the other side wasn’t too high, she thought. She could scale that and just double back.

She peeked around the corner and waited for the worker to go back in before racing across the opening. Janelle heard the wash of voices talking in a language she didn’t follow as she sprinted low along the back. She nearly slipped into the fence.

Janelle took a deep breath and started to climb. It was harder than she expected, as the links dug painfully into her bare feet and the oil made her grip slippery. She was out of breath when she reached the top.

Janelle carefully lifted her leg over the top, fearful of cutting herself and paused for a second, checking her balance before starting to lift her other leg. It was then that she noticed the silence. She looked around and saw three kitchen workers staring up at her. She froze in horror. The one who had been taking out the garbage experimentally lifted a hand and waved. The other two were holding up cell phones.

“No.” It was a single word from Janelle. A small part of her wondered how long they had been watching, and Janelle realized that they were below her and she still had her legs apart with one half over the fence. She threw her leg over the rest of the way, hung for a second, pushed off and dropped. She landed hard on her heels, slipped and fell in a seated position. Janelle’s hands went to her lower back and stomach as she felt the wind knocked out of her.

Janelle heard a voice asking something to her in a cautious tone and then she realized she was sitting with her legs apart, flashing her pussy at them again. She snapped her legs together, scrambled to her feet and took off running.

Janelle turned the corner, almost heedless. The hope that she wouldn’t be seen was gone, replaced with a desire to just get this over with. She sprinted alongside the restaurant, heard a wave of rising voices as she passed the side and crossed the street. She was dimly aware of the honk of horns, but nothing mattered now besides getting to her squad car. She increased her pace when she saw it, pushing herself, conscious of the weight of her breasts as she ran. Janelle nearly slid past her car as she tried to stop. Out of breath, she fumbled with the handle of the car door for a second, her fingers still slippery. The realization crushed her as she pulled futilely at it. It wasn’t the oil. The door was locked.

Janelle rested her head against the window for a second, defeated. It was then she heard the voice behind her ask, “Can I help you?”

Part 10
 

Janelle whirled, covering herself as she did. She saw the two sanitation workers for the first time, the one who spoke was a woman who was currently rubbing her jaw and smiling while the other was a guy barely out of high school, who stared open-mouthed at her.

Janelle snapped her arms over her body. “Oh God, yes…I’m Officer…”

The woman raised her hand, palm out. “I’m going to need to see some ID.”

Janelle blinked for a second and then her eyes narrowed. “Do you think you’re funny?”

She smiled. “A few people do. Relax, I know who you are. I’ve seen you before. It's not that big a town. I’m Harriet, and this is Jamie.” She offered her hand to shake. Janelle tipped her head to the side before she responded. “If my hand comes off my body, I’m going to use it to punch you.”

Harriet laughed. “Might be worth it. How can I help?”

“Do you have anything I can wear or cover up with?”

Harriet looked off to the left, thinking. “Hmm, city went to clear garbage bags a while ago. Nothing in the truck. Here, take my vest.”

Janelle stared for a second, considering her options. She heard more voices and quickly reached out and grabbed the vest, pulling it close to her body. “Could you turn, please.”

Harriet shrugged. “Doesn’t seem fair but sure.” She poked Jamie in the ribs to shake him from his trance and turned. Janelle struggled her way into the vest. It ran on either side of her breasts but it at least covered her nipples. It came incredibly short in front however, and she had to lean forward to cover her pubic area.

“Can I turn back now?” Harriet smiled after spinning around.
Janelle sneered. “So you had no intention of waiting for an answer.”

“Yep, rhetorical, you caught me. But, considering your circumstance, you could be nicer.”

Janelle frowned. “Fine, sorry. Could you please give me a ride?”

“Sure. Jamie, hang here and finish up, okay.” Jaime blinked mutely. Harriet waved Janelle over and walked over to the pick-up. Janelle scrambled to the side door and pulled at the lock. Harriet smiled at the sight of Janelle’s butt sticking out from beneath the orange vest.

“Sorry, we lock it now, even when we’re not in it. Apparently you had the same problem.” Harriet climbed into the driver side and started the truck. Janelle had a brief moment of panic that she would drive off before she heard the lock open. She tore open the door and climbed into the truck. Harriet took a moment to enjoy the view of a bottomless woman having to step up to climb into the truck.

Once in, Janelle went to work readjusting the vest, aware that the act of sitting had put her breasts in view. It took a bit longer than she would have liked, but with one hand over her crotch, it was a trickier process than she expected. Harriet put on a show of adjusting her rearview mirror, feeling her heart in her throat as she saw one nipple brought in to view, followed by the other, as Janelle tried to settle herself.

“So where to?” she asked.

“The Spa. It’s a long story. Is your buddy back there going to be okay by himself?”

“Jaime? He’s all of 19 and a bit socially awkward. You may be the first naked woman he’s seen in the flesh. Have a heart.”

Janelle grimaced. “You know you’re the second person today on the subject of my heart. Or lack of it.”

Harriet shrugged. “May be time for some changes then.” She pulled up to the front of the spa. “Not as long as a drive as I would have hoped.”

Janelle nodded. “Thanks.” She looked at Harriet for a long second. “Really, thanks.” She pulled off the vest and handed it to her, and looked her straight in the eyes for a second. Then she threw open the door and ran into the spa.

After walking by a very confused Joy, Janelle headed into the women’s locker room. She went left, right towards the door she passed through and stared up at the red exit sign. She furrowed her brow. She was sure that said tanning room. Sure of it. She walked back to Samantha’s locker. Mercifully it was open, with all of her stuff still there. She grabbed her phone first. A text from Samantha was waiting.

CALL OR TEXT ME AS SOON AS YOU CAN.

Janelle dialed her. Samantha began talking as soon as she answered. “Janelle, what happened?”

Janelle sighed. “Long story. Bad decisions. Was there a tanning room sign above the door I ran out of?”

“No, Janelle, not that I saw. Janelle, that woman you knocked over, that was Rebecca. I lied to her, saying I didn’t know who you were. Oh God, what if she finds out who you were? What if she presses charges?”

Janelle rubbed her face before responding. “Did she talk to Joy?”

“No, I sort of hustled her out of there. Do you think you can convince Joy to forget you were here?”

“Maybe.”

Samantha sighed. “Janelle. Lay low. Don’t call anyone we know, don’t text anyone we know. Especially Courtney. I’ll see what I can do and I’ll get back to you.”

Janelle sighed. “Thanks, Samantha. Just, keep me informed.”

Samantha barked a short laugh. “I’ve never heard you thank anyone before.”

“Yeah, well, this has been a humbling day.”

Part 11
 

By 1:30, the lunch crowd had largely cleared out, and Em’s Diner was empty with the exception of a few retirees at the counter. Em herself wandered by with coffee pot in hand. “Megan, Samantha, let me know if either of you need more cream. Another slice of one of my pies, Ms. Burke?”

Rebecca smiled and lifted her cup for a refill. “No, two’s my limit. Over my limit, actually, but my God, it was good. I still want to talk to you about your future, but, could you give us some privacy?”

“Oh Dear, yes. I’ll keep the booths around you clear.” Em about to leave but stopped to put a hand on Samantha’s shoulder. “I just want you to know what a brave woman you are to tell your story. I feel so awful for what happened to you, and that poor Erin. To think I believed the rumors about your sister.” Em looked right at Megan, shaking her head. “Can I run by her place with a pie later?”

Megan nodded. “She’d love that. And she’s doing better, thanks.”

Rebecca turned her gaze back to her tablet. “According to Janelle’s text messages, it was two of her girls on the inside, Nicole Walshe and Lara Behrt.”

Megan’s eyed narrowed. “And they did this willingly?”

“In part. Nicole loved every second of it, even helped in the planning. It appears that Lara was forced into it. If I’m reading between the lines, there were threats of her losing her scholarship to college.” Rebecca scrolled through the internet for a second, stopping on the two girls’ respective Facebook pages. “Hmmm. It looks like Lara’s been pretty down since it happened.” Rebecca pursed her lips for a second, thinking. “I’ve got some ideas. Let’s make some calls.”

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

At 4:45 on Friday, the volleyball team was wrapping up an exceptionally hard practice with running up and down the bleachers. Nicole surveyed the team from the umpire’s stand with a wicked smile on her face. When Nicole had started her special theme practices, the team hadn’t blinked. It allowed them to work around the rules on how many practices the team was allowed to have. However, in the past few months, Nicole’s more draconian ideas started to manifest themselves into reality. Last month it had been Hit or Strip, where Nicole had the girls start in full uniforms and warm-ups, and for every time they shanked, they lost a piece of clothing, picked by Nicole, of course. By the end of practice two girls were down to Sports bras and underwear, while Katie awkwardly wrapped up the practice running with her shorts and track pants on, but topless and wearing only one shoe. Nicole laughed aloud as she thought of Katie failing to keep her large breasts covered as she stumbled and slid through wind sprints.

Today’s theme had been equally evil. Nicole called it Worthiness. She had the girls shower before practice. When they entered the changing room, they found their lockers open and empty, with their things in one bag and a second bag sitting on the benches for each of them, neatly labeled. Some girls’ bags had shorts and t-shirts. Others had their warm-up suits. She and Lara’s had their full team uniforms. And the bags of the two sophomore girls, Renee and Via, were empty except for their sneakers and socks.

Addressing a confused room, Nicole seemed in her element. “You’ve probably noticed some issues with clothes. And I’m sure you’re wondering…why are Mandy and I in uniform?” If Nicky was hoping for a chuckle from the crowd, she was out of luck. “It’s because we’ve earned the right.”

Nicole pointed at Lara’s chest. “You see that letter there. Take a good look.” Lara hoped she wasn’t blushing. It wasn’t that she was that self-conscious, but the uniforms they had worn as freshman were track style shirts and shorts. A month after Coach Janelle took over, the girls were in college-style compression shorts that left nothing to the imagination and tight tanks with built in sports bras. Lara had the body for it, but never liked it.

“She’s earned that letter.” Nicole kept tapping Lara’s chest right below the C, squarely on her breast. “She’s earned that and a college scholarship, thanks to Coach Janelle, because she’s worked her butt off.” With the word butt, Nicole smacked Lara squarely on the ass. Lara was sure she was blushing now. Be brave, she reminded herself. This will get worse before it gets better.

Nicole circled the two sophomore girls. “You too hadn’t earned your jerseys. You haven’t earned your warm-up suits.” She paused behind them. “In fact, you hadn’t even earned those towels.” With that, Nicole grabbed the back of their towels and lifted them to the waist, showing of the neatly trimmed pubic hair of both girls.

Both girls grabbed the knots on their towels instinctively, but Nicole just laughed, letting her grip go. “Oh, don’t worry. You’ll keep them for now. That’s why we have practices like today. So you can prove your worth.”

The practice had been a grueling one. Deena, a senior who had seen limited playing time, had originally felt good about having her full warm-up suit on until she shanked an easy dig and Nicole walked up behind her and yanked the pants off in one swift pull, exposing her thong. Nicole held threw the pants over her shoulder. “Well Deena, I’ll be honest. I was going to just give these right back to you. But I don’t remember putting a thong in your bag. So since you saw fit to modify your uniform, I’ll just keep these through practice, hmmm?”

Deena reddened with embarrassment. However, her problems were small compared to Renee and Via. Both had dropped their towels more times than either could remember, or would ever want to. Via’s towel survived less than a third of her block and spike attempts, and her ample breasts were sore from jumping over and over again, not to mention the rubbing of the towel on her dark brown nipples. Renee, meanwhile, experienced an uncomfortably long sequence where she lost her towel sliding for a dig and hadn’t had a chance to grab it for several rallies, as Nicole had kicked it away so “no one would trip on it”.

As the girls closed practice with water and stretching, Lara whispered in Nicole’s ear angrily. “What were you thinking? Having the two of them in towels?” Nicole balked, confused, but Lara kept right on talking. “Are you trying to get us busted? Haven’t you seen the news?”

Nicole was thrown by Lara’s vehemence. “What are you so worried about?”

Nicole hissed at her. “Get a clue. Coach isn’t here, rumor has it that she’s losing her job, and there’s no one to cover for us. Suppose the two of them report us to the principal? Suppose people notice you've got a thing for stripping people?”

Nicole looked at Deena, Renee and Via, who were staring up angrily, and gulped before whispering to Lara. “Well, you haven’t been reigning me.” She bit her lip. “What are we going to do?”

Lara exhaled. “No one else is here today in the building, right? Then follow my lead. And you owe me.”

Lara took another breath, grabbed Deena’s pants off the ground and threw them to her. “This was a tough practice. For everybody. But Deena came in like she always does and got better as the game went on.” There were a few nods and pats on the back as Deena shuffled back into her pants, snapping the sides back up. Lara continued, pointing at Renee and Via. “And you two were great today.” There were a few small claps at this. “Two years from now, you two will be captains.” There were a few more claps at this. “And these will belong to you.” And with that, Lara quickly peeled off her jersey, followed by her shorts, leaving herself topless, wearing only a thong and her sneakers. There was a sharp intake of gasps from everyone, but Lara didn’t flinch. She held out her uniform to Via. “Take it. You’ve earned it today.”

Part 12
 

The silence was crushing. Via blinked, confused, as were the other girls. While most girls were normally naked in the locker room, Lara’s shyness was a noteworthy exception. Normally, she went out of her way to get dressed under her towel. And now, here she was, topless in a thong, in the middle of the gym.

Nervously, Via took a few steps over and took the clothes from Lara. Lara smiled at her encouragingly and then once the clothes were out of her hand, instead of covering up, started clapping vigorously. Her energy seemed to break a spell over the room, and the rest of the team broke into loud cheers and clapping as well. The girls pounded Via on the back, and she threw a beaming grin at Lara.

In the tumult, Lara leaned back to Nicole and whispered, “Give your stuff to Renee.”

Nicole grimaced. “Are you sure?”

Lara kept a smile on her face, but her voice roared. “You were the one who kicked her towel away. Do it.”

Nicole wanted to object further, but the applause had died down and players started looking at her, with expectation in their eyes. Nicole nodded to them, and nowhere nearly as quickly, she peeled off her jersey, mentally cursing the fact that they had a built-in sports bra. She hesitated for a moment, almost posing with her rose colored nipples sticking out on her pert breasts and her thumbs hooked in her waistband, before slowly pulling her shorts down.

There was a sense of stifled laughter as Nicole’s pussy came into view. Her strawberry blond pubic hair was delicately carved into what looked like an arrow pointing downward to her pussy.

Still, she managed a smile and offered her stuff to Renee. Again, the applause and cheers went up, louder than before, as the tension seemed to leave the room. Nicole couldn’t bring herself to clap, and had to fight the urge to cover up. She was incredibly conscious of the sensation of air running through the room.

As the team began to filter out, Nicole stood awkwardly, looking at Lara for a clue as to what she should do. Even though the school was empty, the idea of walking through the hallway to the girls’ team locker rooms while naked seemed unsettling. Lara, however, was talking to the sophomores, her face bright with enthusiasm, still topless herself and seeming fine with it. Nicole shifted her weight, resisting the mounting urge to cover herself and exchanged a few high fives with teammates on their way out, along with some stinging butt slaps. A few moments felt like an eternity as she watched Lara talking brightly to Renee and Via. Still, Nicole had to admit, the two girls were smiling, and Renee even through a wave to her as she turned to walk out the door with Via, eager to get back to the locker room.

Nicole exhaled, disappointed to see the girls leave with her clothes and Lara returning empty-handed, and so Nicky finally gave in to the temptation to cover herself. It made her embarrassed somehow, as if the act of covering was an acknowledgement to her situation being embarrassing. Lara crossed her arms over her breasts and shook her head, the smile gone from her face. “That was close, Nicky. I didn’t think you were going to go that far with the girls. Jesus. You’ve got to be…” Lara was cut off by a high-pitched yell from the hall.

Both girls eyes widened. “What was that?” Lara’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“Not a clue.” Nicole felt sweat built up on her back.

“Christ.” Lara stared straight down at Nicky’s crotch for a second. “Alright. I’ll check. I guess I’m the more dressed of the two of us at present. Lara carefully padded over to the door and opened it before squeaking her way through and letting it close behind her.

Nicole felt the sweat increase. She was now alone, naked, in the school gym. She took a quick look around for something to cover herself with and came up with very little. As per usual, the girls had cleaned up after themselves, leaving nothing behind. Nicole considered trying to untie the volleyball net, but was worried about how long that would take and how much coverage it would actually bring her. Her planning was interrupted by another yell. That was definitely Lara’s voice.

Nicole padded slowly over to the door, hating the squeak of her sneakers, still covering herself. She took a hand off of her breasts and opened the door a small crack. There was no sign of Lara. There was however, another loud voice, one which was unquestionably male.

Nicky’s eyes went bright white. She stepped away from the door, closing it soundlessly. She quickly scanned the room, desperate for options. She looked up and saw the banners hanging from the rafters. If she climbed all the way to the top of it and stood on the guardrail of the umpire’s stand, she might be able to grab one of the championship banners and tear it down. Nicole turned and grabbed the stand and dragged it over to the wall, flinching at how loud it was even with the two wheels for movement.

She climbed up the steps and experimentally shook it. Her balance would have to be exact. She perched on it like a gargoyle for a second when the lights went out, plunging the gym into total darkness.

Nicole froze, afraid to fall. She listened carefully for a moment, but heard nothing. She began to step back down when she felt a cold click on her wrist. Panicking, she pulled back, nearly falling. Her wrist however, was tied tight to the stand. Nicole heard the door behind her open for a second, and tried to turn to see, but the light coming on blinded her momentarily.

Nicole locked down at her wrist. There was some metal band around it, and another band around the guard rail. She pulled at it for a second and realized that she was stuck. She heard the voices getting louder. She pressed herself against the wall, using her free hand to cover her ass as best she could, and closed her eyes against the inevitable.

“So, Bryan texted you saying he just found Lara Behrt handcuffed naked in the side hallway and we’re not running over there because why?”

“Because Bryan said if we did he’d snap our necks. You know he’s always had a crush on her.”

“Screw it, it might be worth it. What a luckyyyyOH MY GOD!!!”

Nicole cautiously opened one eye and saw Isiah and Chris from the wrestling team staring right at her. She was about to speak when things got worse. Isiah turned and yelled down the hall, “EVERYBODY GET DOWN HERE! Nicky Walshe is in here naked!” It was then that Nicole remember that they were also on student council.

The rest of the council filtered in quickly. Each person coming through the door was like a fresh blow to Nicole, as the process repeated itself; a gasp, laughter, the sound of digging for and turning on a cell phone, and more laughter.

Finally, Chris spoke up. “So, Nicky, why are you still hanging around?” The rest of the student council found this unbearably funny.

Nicky realized there was no logical way to explain this. “I… I got… pranked. Can someone get me loose.”

Isiah called, “Sure thing. Let’s get you away from that wall and get a good look at…the situation.”

There were more guffaws at this. Nicole had to take her hand off of her ass and grab the rail so she didn’t fall off the stand as they tipped it back to get it on its wheels and away from the wall. Nicole looked at the assembled student council and stared at her worse fears realized. She clasped her free arm across her breasts and then, when she heard the barrage of arrow jokes switched to her crotch, before twisting slightly and turning herself, which left her breasts and pussy somewhat covered, but resulted in her naked ass sitting on the rail.

Chris and Isiah made a big production of staring at her wrist, which was, of course, partially blocking her sn*tch.
Isiah tapped at his chin with a hand. “Hmmm. Heavy duty. What do you think?”

“Well, we could drag her down to the tech arts room and cut it with a torch?”

“Nah, it’s locked. What about sliding her wrist out of there?”

Bethany, one of the girls from the Chess Club, chimed in. “I’ve got a moisturizer in my purse.”

After a bit of planning it was decided that they would first have to tip the stand horizontally and get Nicole down to ground level to grease her up and pull her loose. Nicole struggled to climb over the front of the rail, aware of the angle she was at and where everyone else was in relationship to her. Bethanny called out to her in mock impatience, “Would you stop monkeying around and hurry up?”

Nicole stared daggers at her for a second, and then instantly regretted it when she saw the devilish smile spread across Bethany’s face. Finally giving up any hopes on doing this modestly, Nicole took her free arm of her breasts, grabbed the guardrail and threw her leg over it, trying to flash her pussy as little as possible. The buzzing murmur she heard as she did it confirmed her lack of success. She pulled her other leg over and then hung with both hands as Chris and Isiah tipped the chair to the ground.

“Hang on, let’s be safe about this.” Bethany yelled as she ran behind Nicole. Nicole yelped aloud as she felt the hands on her bare ass as she was lowered. “Sorry, Nicky,” Bethany called in a sing-song voice, “Did I startle you? I was afraid you’d fall.” Nicky gritted her teeth, ignoring Bethany’s nails digging in to her ass.

Once Nicole got to ground level, Bethany pulled the moisturizer out of her bag and started rubbing it on and around Nicole’s wrist, making sure to bump her away from the limited coverage of the stand. Nicole tried to keep her one breast and pussy covered with her free arm, but was aware of how exposed she was as her other breast shook slightly from the Bethany’s vigorous rubbing on her wrist.

Bethany stood back to examine her work and set a hand on the guardrail before pulling it back, as if it was hot. “Why is this damp?” she asked in mock indignation. “Are you…wet?” There was a roar from the crowd at this. Nicole simply glared at her.

Bethany shook her head. “Well, let’s have Chris and Isiah hold the chair down and Susanne, would you give me a hand pulling?” Susanne smiled brightly and nodded.

Bethany and Susanne grabbed Nicole by her free hand and pulled it away from her body. Nicole lowered her head, aware that she was completely exposed now. She briefly thought about protesting, but realized that it just might encourage something else.

Bethany whispered something to Susanne, who smiled and nodded, and they began to slowly pull and push at Nicole. Nicole could feel her breasts sway slightly, and the small wiggle of her butt. She tried to ignore the mocking calls of “Heave, Ho” and the growing sense that people were calling the “Ho” part with added zest right at her. Finally, after much straining, her hand slid through the cuff.

The force of the pull sent Nicole stumbling, and her momentum sent her down on all fours. Bethany and Susanne immediately ran over to help her up, each grabbing an arm and keeping it clear of her body.

Bethany leaned over and both she and Susanne swatted Nicole on the butt as hard as they could. “Great job, champ! Go hit the showers.” Courtney ran toward the door, fumbling with it for a second before managing to open it, the last sight her bright red butt as she headed toward the locker room.

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

Bryan leaned against the wall outside, starting at Lara in her sweats with a smirk on her face. Lara smiled back. “What? Feeling deprived? Disappointed?”

Bryan smiled. “Disappointed. Lying about seeing a naked girl.”

“I’m sure you’ll catch the highlights online. Besides, you could have run down there instead of coming to me after the yelling and your text.”

“Not the naked girl I was interested in. I have to give you credit. This was pretty courageous. Sneaking around naked, trusting me not to spoil the whole thing. Or to take the chance to catch you naked.”

“I had some help with the plan. Besides, it’s easy to be brave when you are finally doing the right thing. Thanks though. You’re a good guy.” Lara patted the plastic bag with her and Nicole’s jerseys next to her. “I’ve got something to deliver. Will you be around later?”

“Yep. I just need to get the student council to vote yes on the Burke funding thing and then I’m free. It’s an amazing opportunity. How did you set this up?”

“She came to me actually. Do me a favor and don’t tell anyone that. Say she contacted you. I’ll make it up to you.”

Bryan smiled, playfully shaking his head. “Make it up to me?”

Lara headed to the door and threw a glance over her shoulder. “Later we can fix one of those lies you told for me. Think about which one you'd prefer to change while I’m gone, hmm?”

Part 13
 

Courtney leaned against her car, tapping her high heel. She alternated between staring at her watch and her phone. She was eager to meet Samantha, to get any answers whatsoever, especially now that Janelle was apparently no longer answering her calls. But a sense of unease was gnawing at her. Why did she want to meet at the high school? Courtney distractedly stared at the parking lot, watching it fill up with students, and briefly wondered why it was at all occupied at 5 o’clock on a Friday. Courtney’s phone flashed. It was not the prepaid numbers that Samantha or Janelle had used, but she answered it.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Courtney Stregheria? I trust I’m pronouncing that right? This is Rebecca Burke. I was wondering if you’d be interested in meeting me to discuss a real estate partnership.”

Courtney pursed her lips for a second, suspicious. She forced enthusiasm into her tone. “Well this is a pleasure. I’d be interested in hearing more but I have a decidedly busy schedule coming up.”

“Well, I hate to press you, but time is certainly a factor. Is tomorrow morning too soon?”

“No, that could work. How about 11 am?”

“Excellent. Where? Em’s Diner?”

“Oh, I think we can do better than that. How about The Green Club? I’m a member. It’s just outside of town and they do a nice brunch there.”

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

Erin knocked cautiously at the wall, feeling awkward, as if asking permission to enter her own living room. But Rebecca seemed so intent, bent over the outfit, working with the seam ripper, that Erin felt like she was an intruder.

Rebecca looked up and smiled. “You’re looking much better, Erin. Much better.”

Erin smiled. “Thanks. And that’s why I’m here, actually. I was thinking, you don’t have to do this. I’m better. Really. People are talking to me again, that Lara girl spent an hour on the phone apologizing, Em stopped by. You’ve done so much.”

Rebecca smiled at her. “You have such a good heart. You really don’t get people like Courtney, do you? She’s not about to stop. You were a small stepping stone for her on the way to something bigger. If it’s not you, it’ll be someone else. If it’s not Lara, it’ll be a new band of cronies. She needs to be stopped.”

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

Courtney sipped at her coffee and thumbed at her phone, making a concerted effort to not look towards the entrance. Still, she caught Rebecca out of the corner of her eye, noting the light grey Vera Wang dress and Louis Vuitton clutch approvingly. The woman certainly had style.
Rebecca paused for a second at Courtney’s side. “It’s nice to meet you.” She waited for a handshake, but Courtney wasn’t offering one. Rebecca smiled a bit brighter. “Where should I sit?” she asked brightly.

Courtney grimaced at the loudness of Rebecca’s voice, aware that other people had turned to look. You’re not in a big city, moron, she thought. There’s no reason to yell. Courtney pointed at the seat across from her. “There’s fine,” she said softly, hoping Rebecca would take the hint. Courtney watched Rebecca take a few seconds to settle in her seat.

“So I’ve got you figured,” Courtney sneered.

“Oh, really?” Rebecca smiled. “I would expect you to do some research before a business partnership. I certainly did.”

Courtney waited for the waitress to come and go before continuing. “That’s not what I mean and you know it. I did some digging of my own. It’s you. Your brother is dating Erin’s sister. You’re the one who took out Janelle, and Samantha, and my two little helpers. And you’ve got me targeted next.”

Rebecca smiled. “So, you’re not entirely dense. But targeted?” Rebecca shook her head sadly. “You’ve already been hit. You just don’t know it yet.”

Courtney barked a laugh that caught the stares of everyone else in the room. “Oh really, what are you going to do? Call the cops on me? I was careful.”

Rebecca poured creamer into her coffee and offered some to Courtney. “Too careful, I’m afraid. Pre-paid cell phones, no witnesses, very clever. But you’re all alone. You can’t take anyone else down with you.”

Courtney sneered again. “And you’re going to take me down?”

Rebecca smiled and exhaled. “I already did. A moment after I sat down in that chair.” Rebecca slid her chair back and stood up.

The sound of tearing fabric was surprisingly loud in the relative quiet of the heavily curtained room. Courtney dropped her spoon staring at Rebecca, who was standing only in a bright green lace bra and panty set. Rebecca froze for a long moment, almost posing, before yelling, “Oh God No!”

Courtney blinked, confused, trying to understand what happened. Rebecca dramatically clutched one arm to her chest and threw the other hand over her ass, crossing her legs slightly as she did so. “Why did you tell me to sit there?” Rebecca yelled. Courtney’s mouth opened but no sound came out. “Why did you tell me to sit there?” Rebecca repeated, louder. “What’s wrong with you?”

Courtney began to stammer. “I…what…I…”

“Was this some sick plot?” Rebecca yelled over her. “Is that why you picked your regular place? So you could set me up?” With that, Rebecca grabbed her purse and used it to cover her butt and promptly ran out of the restaurant.

Courtney shook her head for a moment, as if trying to come out of a bad dream. She looked around and saw the patrons all staring at her, with looks that ranged between anger and disgust. Courtney slumped back in her chair, feeling an urge to cover her face.

Right after stepping through the doors, Rebecca was met by Megan, who threw a coat over her shoulders and led her right to the car. “My god, wasn’t that embarrassing?”

Rebecca smiled. “Not really. After all,” she gestured broadly to her lingerie as she tightened her coat around her waist, “This is La Perla.” Without asking, Rebecca sat in the driver seat, nodded to Lara in the backseat and motioned for the keys. “Let’s make some calls.”

Part 14
 

By noon that very afternoon, Courtney would have sworn she could have touched the noose that she felt tightening around her neck. She tried to ignore the accusing eyes of everyone else in the club as she promptly grabbed her things and left. She hadn’t been in her office for more than 15 minutes before one of the board members of The Green Club called and politely asked that she not return for the foreseeable future, in a tone that made it clear they weren’t asking in the slightest. A few moments after that, her assistant informed her that her 1:00 o’clock and 2 o’clock appointments had cancelled. Then her prepaid phone beeped. She dug it out over her purse and recognized the number that Samantha had used.

“Where the hell have you been?” Courtney demanded.

“Well, I was enjoying some personal time, until my editor just called me in to investigate your latest incident.”

Courtney was taken aback. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, I just got out of the Green Club. I’ve got a room full of people claiming you ripped the clothes off of this Blake woman. And I’m staring at a chair with a metal link attached to it, which is the same style as the ones used to embarrass two high school girls yesterday. And interestingly enough, you were seen outside that same high school yesterday. By the way, what’s your alibi for the middle of last week?”

Courtney sputtered for a few seconds before making her way around a sentence. “What? You...are you…no, it’s not you, is it? You’re not smart enough. Rebecca’s pulling your strings! Well newsflash, do you think I’m going down alone on this?”

“Actually yes. Yes I do. You see, you made sure we covered our tracks. I’m taking a creative route back to town, and pitching this phone out the window into a field or a well or a pond and the only connection we have goes with it. So that leaves you with what, some vast conspiracies to yell about? Every link in the chain goes to you, Courtney. You’ve got nothing.”

Courtney resisted the urge to slam the phone against her wall. “Alright, you want to play it that way? Fine.”

“Last question, and this one’s off the record. What do you think Janelle’s going to do when she finds out you got her girls?” Samantha waited a few beats and laughed. “Well, I think tomorrow’s edition should do quite well, hmmm?”

Courtney stared at her phone, stunned for a second. She rubbed her temples, swallowing the bile that was creeping up her throat. She walked out of her office without saying a word and climbed into her car and stared at her watch for a long second: almost 2 o’clock. She noticed she was sweating. She needed a plan.

She spent a few minutes rummaging through her purse for her keys when she noticed something. There was a small flash of silver sticking out from under her passenger seat. She reached down and pulled out a small bag. She opened it to find two sets of volleyball uniforms and some metal rings. Her mouth opened and closed a few times. It was then that she saw the blinking red and blue lights from the squad car that suddenly were flashing in her rearview.

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

The wheels of justice can move very quickly when properly encouraged. Courtney spent all of 24 hours proclaiming her innocence before her lawyer made it clear to her that she didn’t have a chance. However, in the interest in protecting the victims, the prosecutor was more than willing to accept a plea deal. 500 hours of community service seemed quite reasonable to the judge, and the matter was closed by the end of business the next Friday.

And on Saturday, Courtney showed up in time for her first day of community service, eager to put this behind her, and to move to a new town. As she walked into the parks department warehouse, Courtney grimaced when she saw Janelle waiting there, her face a storm, staring right at her.
Courtney swallowed, but steeled her voice. “Hello, J-…Officer.”

Janelle nodded, and walked away and returned with a green jumpsuit. Courtney started to raise her voice in complaint, but the look from Janelle silenced her. Her reached her hand out for it only to have Janelle pull it away and point at her clothes.

This time a complaint did escape her lips. “Oh, come on!”

Janelle simply shrugged, turned and walked away. Courtney’s confusion was replaced with worry when Janelle returned with shackles. “No…no,” Courtney stammered. “It’s fine.” She quickly began unbuttoning her blouse and stepped out of her jeans, folding both and seeing nowhere else to put them, set them on the ground. She stood up, crossing her arms over her chest and reached a hand out for the jumpsuit, eager to be dressed before anyone else showed up. She tried a friendly smile as she reached her hand out to Janelle.

Janelle, stoned-faced, gently shook her head and with her nightstick, tapped Janelle’s bra strap and the side of her panties. Courtney surreptitiously stamped her foot as she hooked her thumbs into her bra straps. She peeled off her bra and panties quickly, adding them to the pile.

The silence was deafening. Courtney placed one arm across her breasts and the other over her crotch. She watched Janelle’s eyes, waiting for her to trace her curves. She considered trying to flirt a bit with Janelle in an attempt to get into her good graces, as that Courtney was pretty sure what team Janelle played for. Courtney knew she was an attractive woman, slightly curvy but still fit, her blemishless olive skin a result of a stringent beauty regiment. As she flipped her silky black hair over her shoulder, she looked into Janelle’s eyes and felt the last remnants of hope dies saw Janelle staring back flatly. So much for that, Courtney thought darkly.

Courtney feared the worst as she considered reaching her hand out once again, realizing exactly how much she would be exposing as the warm air ran over her body. She tried to quietly swallow the lump in her throat, and lifted her arm off her breasts. Courtney felt the seconds tick by and saw no sings of motion from Janelle at all.

Part 15 - End
 

Courtney tried to remain still, not wanting to give Janelle the satisfaction of seeing her squirm, but not wanting to provoke her either. She heard the sounds of the day beginning, trucks starting outside, voices that were no more than murmurs off in the background, but which sounded like bellows to Courtney.

Janelle smirked, turned and tossed the green jumpsuit to her. Courtney lunged for it, taking her hands off of herself and exposing herself completely. She scrambled into it hurriedly, eager to cover herself. For a brief second, Courtney’s mind played with some unpleasant possibilities. But while the suit was snug, it fit without an issue. Courtney was slightly bothered by the gaps between the buttons on the front but the front laid flat. If it was looser, the fact that she was naked underneath would have been visible down the arm holes whenever she lifted her wrist above her shoulders.

Janelle shot a thumb towards her squad car. Courtney was bothered by being treated like a criminal, but didn’t have much to say. She even started to raise her voice about Janelle’s route, as that they seemed to be just tooling up and down the streets of the downtown. Paraded around like a common criminal, Courtney thought to herself. Tired of seeking people gawk, Courtney just stared down at her hands and ran over her options on when and where she would start over. Out west seemed appealing, she thought to herself.

When she looked up, she noticed her destination: the park. Courtney grimaced as Janelle opened the door and pointed straight ahead. Courtney took a few steps forward down the path and saw Erin waiting for her. She felt an urge to run, but could sense Janelle right behind her.

“Did you get my letter?” The softness of Janelle’s voice startled Courtney, but Erin seemed to take it in stride.

“I did. And I appreciate it. And I forgive you.” Erin smiled.

Janelle shook her head. “You’re so much stronger than I am.” She shook her head again. Alright, well, you’re all set here?” Erin waved her away and motioned Courtney to follow her. They made their way to the center of the park. Courtney was surprised to already hear voices and see people off in the distance at this hour of the morning. Erin followed her eyes and nodded. “We’ve seen a real uptick in events at the park since your…well…your story appeared and answered so many questions. Plus, we’ve got a few new projects that we’re just starting to break ground on. And that’s what you’ll be helping us with today.”

Erin led Courtney to a brick patio area that had been freshly laid next to the foundation of what appeared to be a deep reflecting pool.

“Well, you’ll be starting here today. We’re having some stones delivered later to fill this. Obviously anything this deep would be way too dangerous. But we need you to start sweeping up the loose gravel and dust down there first.”
Courtney eased her way down the ladder to the bottom of the empty pool. Erin handed down an old style straw broom. “Well, I’ll be back,” Erin said brightly. “We’re bringing the local media by and a few others in a little bit to show off our work. Unfortunately, since my promotion, I just don’t have time to stay and chat.” Erin threw a wave over the side and was gone.

Courtney slowly and uneasily began sweeping. She had done some labor as a girl, but little as an adult, getting her exercise from spin and Zumba classes. She was startled by the sound of the ladder clattering next to her. She turned to see it pulled over the side. She looked up and saw Rebecca smiling down at her.

“Hey Courtney! Sorry, I’ve been really busy lately, haven’t had a chance to get back to you. You’re working so I won’t keep you. I just wanted to let you know we’ve increased the number of people coming by to see the fountain. Not me, of course. I’m actually with Megan right now, picking up my brother from the airport.”

Courtney blinked and started to respond but Rebecca stopped her with a hand. “Well, I’m in a terrible rush. I just wanted to give you a heads up that I’m going to test the plumbing system before I go. Also, sweetie, you’ve got a lot of hours of community service ahead of you and green is really not your color.” Rebecca held up a jumpsuit the exact same styles as the one Courtney was wearing. "But I'll fix that.

Courtney blinked for a second. Fix that how? she wondered. But any thoughts she had were blown away by the sudden and brief impact of jets spraying her from a variety of directions.

Courtney coughed. Her jumpsuit was soaked, but her hair and face were relatively dry. And just as quickly as the water had turned on, it shut off.

She looked up at Rebecca with a sneer and opened her mouth to curse at her when she felt a button fall off her suit. Rebecca smiled down at her. "Oh dear. It appears you're melting." And with that she was gone.

Courtney turned in a panic, and as she did, felt the back of her suit split open. When she grabbed at it, her short sleeve fell off to her wrist before falling apart under it's own weight. In a panic, she considered her options. Without the ladder, escape wasn't an option. She looked around and saw the corner of the uniform Rebecca had left peeking over the side. She jumped up at it unsuccessfully, and felt her suit fall apart at the waist, leaving her naked from the waist down. She heard voices getting louder.

Giving up all hope, she clasped the broom to her breasts and tried to hide her bush behind the handle.

The loud voices immediately turned to laughter. Courtney opened her eyes gingerly, and saw a host of people staring down at her.

Erin's voice called out. "Courtney, what's the meaning of this? You're supposed to be sweeping along the brick path?"

Courtney opened her mouth to reply but saw Janelle next to Erin. She closed her mouth and felt her face burn.

Erin shook her head. "Well, let's get her out of there." Janelle pushed the ladder down into the pool. Courtney realized that She would have to drop the broom to get out. She stared hopefully at the remaining jumpsuit and climbed out as quickly as she could.

As soon as she climbed over the edge, Janelle grabbed her by the arm and cuffed her. Janelle nodded to Erin. "How should I take her back?"

Erin smiled. "Go with your heart, officer. After all, she's got 497 hours to go."

Great story. Really enjoyed how they got their revenge. Really hope you write more