Corporate Manoeuvers

 I never should have accepted her invitation for drinks at her hotel room. She was nice though. A little TOO nice for being our competition. I was a sales rep for the Simply Fabulous Stocking company and she worked for our worst competitor, High Fashion Nylons. both companies were at the same convention vying for prime contracts from distributors and modeling agencies. But she talked a good game and made it all sound like two girls getting together to talk that I accepted. It was all hindsight now, under the circumstances. 

 I don't know when she slipped the drug into my tea. Maybe it was when I went to the restroom. Perhaps it was always drugged the entire time and it just took time to affect me. but whatever the case , I had maybe three sips and I was drowsy. She feigned concern well enough, and offered for me to lie down. I politely refused and said I wanted to go to my room. I stumbled once then hit the floor almost unconscious. The last thing I clearly remember was her bending over me with an evil smile on her face. 

 I woke up after I don't know how long and found myself lying on her bed. I tried to get up, but couldn't. My hands felt stuck behind me. My feet refused to move apart from each other. Then I noticed the tight circles pressing against me from all directions. My eyes popped wide open as I realized I was tied up from my shoulders down in thin white ropes. 
 "What the..." I gasped, wriggling in the restraining cords. 
 "Awake at last." Sabrina said from her chair by the bed. I turned my head and found her going over my briefcase with a finetooth comb. Contracts and other papers were scattered across the little table by the window. 
 "What are you doing ?" I asked with alarm, "Untie me !" 
 " Hush up, darling." she snapped," You are in no position to make demands." 
 "Those are my private papers, You have no right..." 
 "And you have no right to take away my company's business !!" she returned angrily. " Simply Fabulous has been slaughtering us all over the market so it was left to me to find a new way of leveling the field." 
 "So you kidnap me and tied me up ?" 
 "I didn't kidnap you, dear, you came of your own accord. As for the other, it's merely a formality. I couldn't exactly ask you for these papers now could I ?" 

 She was right on that tack, but I had to try to make her see reason. " But keeping me here is illegal. Don't you see that ? It's false imprisonment. You'll go to jail forever for this." 
 "True. If anyone knew you were in here, and they don't. No one's going to notice two women walking off together, regardless of who's wearing what company badge. So you might as well relax because you're no going anywhere." 
 "My room-mate knows I'm here." I lied. 
 She dropped the contract she was reading and looked at me, " Really ?" 
 "Yes. When I went to talk to the matre' d downstairs, I told her I was meeting with someone at room 237. so you better just let me go right now." 

 "Hmmm..." she said stroking her chin," I can see your point here, princess. But I have another idea. How about I invite your little friend over for a drink ?" 
 "What ?? You can't !! " 
 "Sure I can. It was easy enough to talk you into coming here. It should be just as easy talking her in." 
 "With me lying tied up on the bed ? HA !" 
 "You're right there. I guess I'll just have to tuck you away for a little while." she looked around the suite, " That closet should do nicely." 

She got up and walked over to the walk-in closet the deluxe suites came with. She popped open the doors and looked around, " Nice and roomy." she observed. 
 "Let go ! Let go of me !" I cried, struggling in her grip. Sabrina grabbed me under the arms and half carried half-dragged me over to the closet. Stocking feet offered no friction on the smooth carpet as I tried to dig my toes in to slow her down. She pulled me inside and dropped me hard on my butt. 
 "OW !! You'll never get away with this !" 
 "Of course I will darling. I've done this lots of times and the only thing that ever comes of it is some corporate embarrassment for the loser. In this case, you . Now sit here and be quiet." 
 "Like hell I will. Help !! Help me!!" I shouted. 

 Sabrina seemed unconcerned as I screamed to my heart's content but merely reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a foam rubber ball and a white scarf.  I drew in another breath to scream and she grabbed my nose and pulled it up. She jammed the ball into my mouth and pressed it deep inside with her thumb and held it there. She arranged the scarf neatly and pressed the wide flat part over my mouth. I twisted my head left and right trying to dislodge the gag, but it only slowed her down. She pulled the scarf around my head and tied it tightly behind my head, gagging me. 
 " mmmph!!" I called. It should have been a loud scream for help, but the foam reduced it to a whimper. 
 "That's better." she said, arranging my tousled hair around the gag, " Now, sit there quietly while I make a phone call." 

 All I could do was glare at her as she pulled the double doors shut and crossed the room to trap my friend. I struggled experimentally. She must have been a girl scout at least once because none of the ropes moved. I twisted my bound hands back and forth, wriggled my feet inside the ropes trying to find some weak spot in her bindings. 

 I heard her pick up the phone. I heard her talking to Michelle. She was very convincing. She made the invitation once. She made it again. Good ol' Michelle wasn't falling for it, unlike you-know-who. I smiled under my gag. Sabrina made an exasperated sound and set the phone down. She crossed over to the closet and opened it. 
 "Your friend wants to talk to you. She also sounds like she didn't know you were here, clever girl. Now that she does, I want you to make sure she understands the invitation is on the up and up." 
 I shook my head no. 
 "I'm afraid you don't understand. You see your friend could seriously screw up my timetable, which means I'll have to pay her a personal visit, which means that she might have an unfortunate accident. A very fatal one. Get it ?" 

 If she was crazy enough to kidnap a woman in broad daylight, I had no reason to doubt she might harm Michelle. I nodded at her. 
 "Good girl." she said. 
 She hoisted me up by my arms and dragged me back to the bed. 

 "Now let's get one thing straight. Keep it light and casual and get her butt over here. You mention one word of what's happening or try to act clever, it'll be worse for both of you. Got it ?" 
 I nodded for emphasis. Sabrina removed my gag and put the phone to my ear. I swallowed in a dry throat, " Hi Michelle." I said brightly. Sabrina gave me a warning look. 

 "Hey Sasha, what's up ?" 
 "Just hanging out. We could really use a third party though." 
 "Yeah but isn't she well.... the enemy ?" 
 "Forget all that. We're all girls here." 
 "Well...." 
 "C'mon Michelle. You're bound to have a good time." I said. Sabrina gave me a deadly look. 
 "Okay, sure I'll be there in five minutes.' 
 " Good. See you soon." 
 "Bye." 

 She hung up. Sabrina yanked the phone away from me," Bound to have a good time ? Are you trying to get her killed ?" 
 " Look she's on her way. That's what you wanted, right ?" 
 " True enough. Now open your mouth." 
 "Don't stuff that ball in my mouth, it hurts my jaws." 
 "I don't care if your face unhinges, I said open your mouth !" 

 I obeyed her and she kneaded the blue mass of foam in place and tied the scarf securely over my mouth. She dragged my back into the closet and set me on the floor. She closed the doors. The water started in the bathroom. Sabrina went back to the table, gathered my papers and stuffed them into the briefcase. She put the case on the floor by the credenza. She had just gotten the room to rights when Michelle knocked on the door. She opened the closet door just a crack. 
 "Not a sound." she warned, then closed the door once more. 

Sabrina opened the door. 
 " Hi there.' she said sweetly. 
"Hello." Michelle replied," Where's Sasha ?" 
 "The bathroom. She'll be out shortly." 
 "Is she okay ?" 
 "Just fine." Sabrina replied, " Have a seat. Have some tea." 

 She had said the exact same words to me. I struggled vigorously with my ropes. I had to do something to stop her. If Michelle drank that tea, she'd be unconscious and helpless. The cords refused to budge. I started scooting across the floor. 
 "That sounds lovely." Michelle said, much relaxed. Sabrina fetched another glass off the nightstand and set it in front of Michelle. She poured a full measure of drugged tea for her. Michelle licked her lips and raised the glass to her mouth. 
 I kicked the closet door open, groaning as loudly as I could through the gag. Michelle turned her head and did a double take. I wasn't in the bathroom as Sabrina had claimed but was instead a bound and gagged captive of our worst competitor. the glass tumbled from Michelle's hand untouched. 

 "What the hell is going on ?" Michelle cried, standing up," What have you done to her ? " 
 "The same thing I intend to do to you, my dear." Sabrina said mildly, raising a silver derringer in her left hand. Michelle looked at me, looked at the gun, then back to me again. She was trapped. 
 "Raise'em high, deary." Sabrina said gesturing with the gun. Michelle reluctantly obeyed. 
 "Now stand over there by the bed and drop to your knees." 
Michele did as she was told.
 "Cross your ankles." Sabrina instructed her. She stepped on Michelle's toes, effectively pinning her to the floor as she prepared a loop of cord to tie her hands. 
 "Right wrist, then the left behind your back." Sabrina said. 

 Michelle complied. She winced as the cords surrounded her wrists, were drawn tight and knotted. Sabrina got out another loop of rope and began tying Michelle's arms behind her, elbow to elbow. Michelle gasped with pain and bit her lip. 
 "Why are doing this ?" she asked. 
 "I'm being paid a lot of money to make sure you two don't get your contracts signed. Without those, your company's going to lose a lot of business and High Fashion Nylons profits." 
 "Industrial sabotage." 

 "Precisely. I'm going to keep the two of you tied up here until well after the deadline. Past that point, my company reps will have gotten your business lined up on our doorstep and you two will look like fools." 
 " So then what ? You just leave us like this ?" 
 "I'll drug both of you and put you back in your room. The chemical reads as simple alcohol in the bloodstream. People will think you got stupid drunk and missed the deadline. Even if you two tell what actually happened, no one will believe it." 
 "You bitch !!" 
 "That's enough out of you." Sabrina said and pulled pair of handkerchiefs out of her suit pocket. 

 Michelle whimpered then growled as she stuffed the first handkerchief in her mouth. Sabrina threaded the second one between her teeth, trapping the wad of white linen inside her mouth. Sabrina knotted the gag firmly in place. Michelle muttered angrily. 
 "Get up." Sabrina said, stepping back. 

 Michelle rose unsteadily to her feet, thrashing her arms back and forth behind her. Sabrina had done a good professional job however and nothing moved. Sabrina pushed her down on the bed and got another rope out to tie her feet together. While she worked on that, Michelle gave me a wide-eyed look. We were trapped in a hotel room and no one outside was the wiser. 

 Sabrina tied Michelle's feet and knees together and made her slide into a sitting position on the bed. She crossed the room and grabbed me by my arms again and dragged me over to the bed. I sat down and lay next to Michelle. 
 "I suggest the two of you take a nap. You're not going anywhere for at least six hours ." 
 Six hours ?? We were going to be prisoners here for six hours. Michelle and I exchanged frightened looks over our gags. Sabrina laughed at our expressions and went to the restroom. 

 Michelle seized the opportunity, rolled over onto her side and began desperately picking at the knots on my wrists. Her fingers plucked and pulled here and there at random, trying to find a knot to unravel. I could hear her strangled breathing around the gag as she worked. 
 "Mmph... mmmph...." 

 Her fingernails caught on strand of rope and pulled sharply. The toilet flushed and Sabrina stepped out moments later. Michelle assumed her original position. Sabrina looked at us suspiciously. She crossed the room, grabbed my shoulder and turned me over. 
 "I figured as much." she said. She found whatever Michelle had untied and re-knotted the ropes securely, " That should hold you. And as for YOU, young lady. You need a time out away from your friend, I think." 

 Michelle whined piteously as Sabrina untied her feet and knees. I moaned sympathetically as she pulled Michelle off the bed and walked her over to the closet. She pushed her inside and made her kneel on he floor. She tied Michelle's feet together and attached another rope from her bound feet to her stringently tied elbows. She tugged hard, bowing Michelle over slightly backward. Michelle groaned painfully. 
 "I always did appreciate a good hog-tie, don't you ?" Sabrina asked cheerfully. Michelle shook her head, straining to move her arms. 
 "Who cares what you think. Now be a good girl." Sabrina closed the doors, leaving Michelle in semi-darkness. Not the cruelest punishment, but with the added restraint of the hog-tie it was a vicious prison. 
 "Now what about you ?" she asked ,"Are you going to be good or what ?" 
 I hated doing it, but I nodded at her. 

 Sabrina made some phone calls to her contact Redbird, telling them the competition was well in hand and to proceed as planned. She chuckled as she told them precisely what she had done with us, looked at me and winked. I glared at her. She finished her conversation and hung up. 

 Two hours crawled by before Sabrina let Michelle out of the hog-tie and removed her from the closet. By that time she was a sweating contrite captive not anxious to incur Sabrina's wrath. She put Michelle in a chair by the bed and tied her to it. She bound her ankles to the chair legs then encircled her torso and belly with a fairly wide band of rope. She tied it behind the chair. Michele flexed uselessly against the cords. The wood creaked with the effort. 
 "Still defiant ?" Sabrina asked. 
 Michelle relaxed. 
 "That's better. Now if you two houdinis are done for the time being I'm going to the restaurant to get some food. If you're good, I'll give you something to eat when I get back. That means no escaping, no noise. Got it ? " 
 We nodded as obedient captives. 
 Sabrina picked up her purse and walked to the door. She opened it and stepped out. One last warning look and she was gone. 

 Michelle moaned quietly, shifting under the coils of rope pinioning her in the chair. She garbled at me around her gag. It sounded a lot like 'evil bitch'. I nodded, pulling against the ropes binding me. I looked around the room. The phone sat on the nightstand by the bed. It was useless to me, being gagged so tightly. With my hands tied behind me, I doubted I could dial the damned thing. then it occurred to me that I had read somewhere that hotel phones connected directly to the operator if the receiver was left off the hook for too long. I looked at Michelle. Her gag was relatively loose. I could almost understand what she said past it. I had a thought. 

 I inched across the bed, Michelle watching intently, swung my feet over the edge and sat up. Michelle made a querying noise at me. I got to my feet and staggered over to the nightstand. I reached for the handset three times before I got the thing off the cradle. 
 Michelle looked at me strangely as if to ask, "so what." I nodded at the phone. She looked at me confused. I nodded again. The phone was already ringing. If Michelle didn't make any noise, the whole thing would be for naught. She still looked at me. I sensed rather than heard the operator answering. I grunted at Michelle, hopping up and down. 
 A light came on inside her. She drew in a deep breath and let out a long low muffled groan for help,"MMMMMMMMMMPPPPPHHHHH !" 

 I crouched down to her the operator's response. She was confused, uncertain what she had heard. She kept asking Hello and asked for us to speak up. I nodded at Michelle again. Michelle groaned again louder and clearer,"MMMMMM-ELP !!!" 
 The door popped open and Sabrina stormed into the room. She dropped the bags she was carrying and seized the phone," I'm so sorry operator. I have kids with me and they're just pulling a prank is all." she hung up before the operator could reply and glared at us both. 
 "I thought I said not to try anything ?" 

 She untied Michelle from her chair and untied my feet and knees. We both knew what was coming. She pushed us inside the closet and had us kneel down. Michelle and I sniffled around our gags. She tied us both into tight hog-ties, attaching our bound feet to the ropes at our elbows, then pulling the cords down just enough to bend our backs into bow-shapes. She found another scarf, folded it and tied it over Michelle's packed and cleave gagged mouth to silence her moaning. 
 She pushed Michelle one way and me the other so we lay on our sides on the floor facing opposite directions. She tightened my gag before she closed the door and left us there in the dark. We squirmed in the shadows, unable to free ourselves from the cruel ropes and choking gags. 

 Two hours passed before she opened our prison and released us. She had us sit on the end of the bed again. 
 "Now I'm going to untie you. Don't get your hopes up, darlings. I still have the gun and I'll use it if you give me a reason. Now what I want you to do is, after you are untied, you are going to take off your blouses and skirts and give them to me. You see I bought some bottles of booze and some condoms which I intend to plant all over your room and I want the two of you appropriately disheveled when you are found. I mean who'd believe a drunken orgy without some perfunctory evidence ?" 

 Michelle and I nodded. After being hogtied so cruelly for so long we were just anxious for this ordeal to be over. She untied us and we handed over our clothes without resistance. After that she had us sit in the two chairs and retied us. 
 She tied our hands behind us, around the back of the chair then tied our elbows firmly and as closely as she could manage. She attached a rope to our bound wrists and anchored it to the brace between the chair legs down below. She pulled till there was no slack at all then made a knot. Michelle moaned as her shoulders were drawn down behind her. She tied our knees and ankles as well then fixed the other end of the anchoring rope to our bound feet. She wound rope around our bodies, crossing our bellies and torsos with thick bands of white rope. Michelle gave me a hopeless expression. 

 Once we were securely bound, Sabrina grabbed a bottle of vodka and a bottle of bourbon and splashed some of both over our clothes. She unwrapped a condom and jammed it into my blouse pocket. She spritzed some men's cologne over the mess. She doused us both with some of the liquor. She looked at her watch and whistled. 
 "Only a half hour to go girls." she announced. 
 Neither one of us were in any condition to do anything about it though. We were pretty well beaten. Michelle tugged half-heartedly at her bonds, looking at me at with sad blue eyes. 

 Sabrina unzipped a little bag and produced a syringe and a tiny clear bottle of liquid. It had to be the chemical she planned to use on us to make us appear drunk. If everything went to plan, we would look the picture of two girls who shirked their corporate responsibilities to have a good time.  Everything else would be negated by that and any unusual marks we had would be attributed to a particularly "wild time". 

 Sabrina loaded the syringe and swabbed my arm with alcohol. I fidgeted by didn't really struggle to escape the needle. It was almost a quarter inch away from my arm when there was a knock on the door. Sabrina stopped and looked at Michelle and me. She pressed a finger to her lips. 
 "Who is it ?" she called. 
 "Redbird." the man replied. 
 Sabrina relaxed visibly, "Just a second." 

 She answered the door," You're early, I haven't even given them the..." that was as far as she got before a palm closed over her mouth, squelching the sound. Five men in trenchcoats barged in, three of them bearing her down on the floor. Sabrina bucked and kicked, effectively pinned by the swarm of arms and legs holding her down. 
 "Is she the one ?" asked one of her attackers. 
 The two other men nodded," Yes, that's the bitch who got my sales reps last year. She tied'em up and made them miss their contract times. I lost millions." said one. It was Bill Glass, sales manager for the Silk N' More Stockings. 
 "Me too. The little sow made it look like mine were drunk and partying instead of working. I lost two good employees and a lot of money to her." It was James Edwards, head of Satin Touch Lingerie. 
 "Good thing we spotted her in the restaurant." said one of her assailants. 
 "Good thing her contact was such a wuss. So what do you want done with her ?" asked the man with his hand over her mouth. 
 "Give her a piece of her own medicine." said Mr. Edwards. 
 "I agree, let's put this bitch on ice." 

 The three assailants wrestled Sabrina over onto her belly on the floor and tied her hands behind her back with some thin black rope. She fought as hard as she could, but there were too many bodies pressing down on her. Her feet were tied next and then her knees. 
 "Got that gag ready ?" asked the man holding her mouth shut," She's biting the hell outta my hand !" 
 "Here ya go.'" said the one tying her knees together. He handed him a familiar looking foam rubber ball and a roll of duct tape. 

 They pulled Sabrina upright and he stuffed the ball into her gaping mouth then applied the tape quickly. He wound it tightly around her head four times then tore it off and smoothed it down. Sabrina made quiet, desperate sounds behind the tape. They tied her upper arms to her sides with more black cord before leaving her to struggle and fume on the floor. 
 "Now what about those two ?" asked one of Sabrina's captors. 
 "Check'em out." Mr. Glass snapped. 
 One of the men crossed the room and dug out the wallet from my suit jacket. 
 "Simply Fabulous Stocking Company." He read out loud ," I bet the other one is too." 
 The two company reps snorted derisively. 
 "They're the competition too. They've got all the business shares practically." 
 "But at least they got it honestly." one of the other three defended. 
 "Like it makes a difference." 
 "True." 
 "So ?" the attacker asked emphatically. 
 "Leave'em here." Said Mr. Glass with an edge in his voice, " We'll call someone to untie them after the contract periods are up. I may be a bastard. But I'm not a damned bastard." 
 "Good enough. Let's go." 

 And so they were gone, leaving the three of us helplessly struggling inside the hotel suite. An hour after contracts were settled, a very surprised looking maintenance man opened the door and found us still securely tied and gagged. We reported the whole matter to the authorities and they arrested Sabrina for corporate sabotage, felonious restraint, assault and conspiracy to defraud. the other men who attacked her were never found and never prosecuted. We may have lost the contracts, but at least we had the evidence to save our reputations at work. 

The End