Clockwork Paradise

by Zero & FreezAntix

Prologue

Madam DuBose Annual Show Off, Paris, France

            The night brought out the top names in the industry to the fashion capital of the world. Even though the show was to be a non-profit event it still featured the top runway models and a sneak peek from many designers’ upcoming fashion lines. The show off was being held in its usual setting, the grand hall of the Residence Internationale De Paris. The streets in front and the lobby within the popular hotel were filled with both casually dressed tourists and the classier dressed show attendees. Paris’s finest were in full attendance for the event in order to keep the large crowd in order. Officers were posted at every corner within a two to three block radius of the hotel. Uniformed officers made their presence known directly out front and within the hotel.

            Behind the hotel a nondescript black van blended in with the other vans that had brought equipment for the show. Alexis Sutherland looked at her watch and calculated the time in her head. The show was going to begin in five minutes. Putting a hand held radio to her lips she spoke in a sultry British accent, "All units check in."

            "Red unit checking in; street side front is covered," reported a thick German-accented female voice on the other end.

            "Blue unit checking in; roof top is covered and Type-7 is ready."

            All of her team members were ready and in position. The Brit checked her watch once more before pulling the radio back up to her lips, "Go," she calmly ordered and then turned to the driver of the van, a dark haired woman of Spanish descent. "I’ll see you in three minutes have the engine on and ready to move," Alexis added then nodded as the Brit hopped out of the van and began walking towards the back door of the hotel, pulling on a gas mask.

* * *

            Eva Hallowell checked her make up over on her dressing room mirror. Her three assistants worked quickly around her, dressing the supermodel and putting on the finishing touches on her hairdo. The loud techno music that pumped the inside of the hall did not phase her one bit. She could hear and feel the commotion of the other models just outside of the thin walls of her makeshift dressing room getting ready. Being the first model, and the last model, to walk she should have been a bit more nervous but she felt calm and collected. She was no stranger to fashion or the hectic life that came along with it, being perhaps one of the world’s richest and most popular runway models for the last couple of years.

            The dress that Eva’s tall tanned frame of a body was wrapped in was a gorgeous strapless evening gown that was cut low, revealing her magnificent cleavage with a high hem to show off her smooth, long, slender, legs. She stood in pair of lofty spiked strappy heels that would be a nightmare for any normal woman to walk in. However for her it was second nature and the heels made her calves look damn sexy as well. She turned her head side to side and frowned. Her long brunette hair was done up wrongly. Not enough of her profile was showing. She started to turn to her assistant Rene, who had been working on her hair, and was about to say something but everything faded to black and went silent around her.

* * *

            The Type-7 gas worked fast. Alexis did not exactly know what it contained, but she did know what it did: The gas rendered people immobile, frozen stiff, in whatever positions they were in. Depending on how much of the gas was used, the people would be in this frozen unconscious state for a set amount of time. In this case, for about five to ten minutes; enough for her to do what she needed to do. Blue unit, Ryoshi Tenzo, had pumped the immobilizing gas through the building’s ventilation system. Even though the whole hotel might not be affected the Grand Hall would be, since there were no windows to vent the gas there. At this point Red unit, Leslie Schulz, had caused enough of a commotion with opening the now spouting fire hydrants in the front of the vast building to divert attention.

Alexis pulled open the back door of the hotel. There were two armed Paris police officers posted there; one a male, the other female. The male officer stood with his eyes shut and smiling with one hand behind his head as the other rested on his pistol at his hip. The female officer was leaning against the wall with arms crossed over her chest and her face looking blankly and smiling at the male officer. Both were as still as statues or mannequins.  It was clearly obvious that the two were in conversation as they unknowingly breathed in the Type-7 gas. Alexis looked the couple up and down before going around them; the remaining occupants of the whole hotel looked similar to the two police officers, frozen in the moment.

            Being this was Alexis’s third operation in the last couple of weeks, the sight of frozen people caught in mid-stride and mid-conversation did not faze her. She moved easily through the still, wax-museum-like environment towards her target, which was located back stage within the Grand Hall. This was her third fashion show; Alexis had figured out they were all set up mostly the same. Long runway and stage facing rows of folding seats and techno music; there was always techno music present. Behind the runway and stage was the dressing area, an area that was crowed with designers, assistants and half-naked tall, lithe, models.

            The back stage of this particular show was no different from the other shows Alexis thought, looking around at the motionless tableaux of two dozen or so models surrounded by half a dozen assistants. Designers and their assistants busily working – in this case frozen as if in photo – next to racks of clothing, doing last minute alterations to their designs so they would look perfect on the models. Alexis casually walks past the hourglass-shaped bodies of tall models from all over the world who are either bent over, petrified, as they pulled on dresses or staring vacantly into mirrors.

            As in the other shows, the lead model had her personal dressing area, four dry walls with door cut off her area from the rest of the back stage area. Alexis entered the room and spotted her target right away. She did not have to look at her reference photo to spot Eva Hallowell; the woman was in and on the cover of every big name fashion magazine in the free world. The supermodel had one hand on the counter of her make up table and was slightly turned to one of her assistants. Eva’s mouth was open as if she was about to say something. Alexis looked the model’s slim body up and down, taking the every curve. Soon Alexis will get a glimpse of the multi-million dollar model au naturale. Pushing the assistants aside, who fell to the floor in their frozen positions, Alexis cradled the taller woman from around the waist and dragged her long-legged figure towards the door.

* * *

            Veronica Estes waited in the driver's seat of the van patiently. She could hear police sirens in the front of building and knew Leslie had done her job. Looking at her watch, she knew Ryoshi was destroying the pumps she had used and was on her way to the lobby. Ten minutes from now she and her team would be on a private bullet train heading out of France with world-class model Eva Hallowell, with another OP completed. The back door of the hotel opened as her team leader Alexis emerged dragging the rigidly stuck form of the super model. Veronica moved the van closer as her team leader slid open the back door and gently placed the frozen model in the back cargo area.

            "We’re clear; move out," Alexis ordered, pulling off her mask. She positioned the immobile Eva’s figure into a sitting position easily, having done this three times before, and then injected a higher dosage to the Type-7 into her to prolong the effects of the gas. The supermodel would now remain mannequin-still for almost a week.  Fishing out her cell phone, she hit the speed dial, "Mission Accomplished," She reported in the receiver, looking into Eva’s empty green eyes.

Chapter 1

Residence Internationale De Paris, Paris, France

            Jean-Baptiste Odilon, better known to his friends as JB or Odie, sighed to himself as his Interpol team surveyed the aftermath of the third international incident involving the year's special fashion tour. Eva Hallowell was the latest supermodel to go missing; previous disappearances being the Brazilian Calixta Teodoro in Lisbon, while the South Korean Yoon Suk and Greek Anastasia Stephanos both vanished in Monte Carlo. Up until now the international nature of the suspected kidnappings hadn't warranted an Interpol investigation, for reasons beyond Odie's understanding. The moderately experienced agent had only run two investigations in the past, both of which had involved international drug concerns, thus kidnapping was not his field of expertise. The team JB had been given for the most part was fairly inexperienced as well, but luckily there were a couple of good ones in the mix.

            "Have you got any leads yet?" demanded Amelia DuGalle, a French model who was making things hard in more ways than one for JB. The woman was stunning, being five foot eight in bare feet, with vibrant red hair set in waves, piercing blue eyes and peachy smooth skin.  The gorgeous woman was currently wearing a long blue robe as she'd been in the middle of changing when Eva had vanished. It wasn't four hours ago that the suspected kidnapping had occurred and the police hadn't allowed anyone to leave. Everything and everyone that had been in the dressing room was being examined or interviewed by the resident forensic expert, leaving Amelia and several other models understandably annoyed since their street clothes and belongings were in there.

            "It's too soon to say, none of my team has reported back within the last hour," JB told the irritated model, desperately wishing he could make her shut up without upsetting her and getting himself reprimanded. "We're trying to figure out how Eva vanished seemingly in mid-air as well as how the guards at the doors didn't see anything as they were on duty and present during the entire time. No one recalls blacking out, yet over ten minutes suddenly went by, so we're investigating how that is even possible."

            "She probably just felt like being on two magazine covers in last week wasn't enough and decided to cook up a scandal," fumed Amelia, storming off with her assistants, several lovely women and a few men of whom JB suspected none were heterosexual, following right behind her. JB made a mental note to stick to hunting murderers and drug dealers, as they were nowhere near as annoying.

            "Hey JB, comment ça va?" asked a familiar voice, making the Interpol agent grin even before turning around. Arriving not an hour after he'd made the call was his old friend from his training days, Lucienne Christophe. Odie had always felt Lucienne was slightly too attractive to be an Interpol agent, suspecting she'd do better on television if she could act at all, but not quite up to the level of beauty to be a model. The decently tall reddish-brunette strode towards her friend with open arms and the two hugged, Lucienne offering her the standard mimed kiss on both cheeks in greeting. With her was a shorter redhead JB didn't know but suspected was Lucienne's current partner.

            "Lucienne, good to see you mon coeur," laughed JB, calling her by the old nickname all the male trainees had decided she deserved. "You made good time, considering you were just called in for consulting purposes. Did you bring your partner?"

            "Yes, this is Tasia Spiro; she's originally from our office in Greece," Lucienne told JB, waving the Greek woman forward. Tasia casually shook JB's hand, clearly not comfortable with the kiss-hello Lucienne had done. While Lucienne was certainly good-looking, Tasia was out of the park, being completely sexy and dazzling to gaze at; JB swore she must have once been Miss Greece. The flaming redhead reminded him a bit of Amelia, only shorter and more tanned. JB was now glad to see Lucienne in more ways than one.

            "Pleased to meet you," offered Odie. "Are you briefed on the situation?"

            "Eva Hallowell vanished during the pre-show preparations, without a trace, and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.  Kidnapping is suspected but there has been no ransom note at this time," recited Lucienne, recalling reading the official file as she and Tasia had been driven to the scene. Tasia and Lucienne then exchanged a quick knowing glance, one that puzzled JB as he wasn't sure what was behind it.

            "Right, and in spite of all the security and several dozen ideal witnesses no one saw a thing, but we suspect they were knocked unconscious by something for several minutes, as more than ten minutes is unaccounted for in time," rattled off JB, explaining what the current investigation had turned up. This caused another glance between the two new arrivals, one that showed recognition. "Any thoughts?" asked JB, uneasy all of a sudden.

            "Do you have someone checking the air for chemical agents?" asked Lucienne, clearly knowing something.

            "Yes; our forensic expert Marika Heino is going over the dressing room now," answered JB, noting another glimmer of recognition in both women's eyes.

            "Good; she's the best," laughed Tasia, clearly pleased to hear that Agent Heino was present. "We should go see what she's found right away, as it may be a huge break in the case."

            "Fine then, I'll take you to her," offered Odie, walking away from the crowd of people being interrogated by his agents towards the closed off area that made up the dressing rooms.

            Marika Heino, a blond woman from Finland with an Amazon-like body and short blond hair, was examining the air with an electronic nose when JB led the two guest agents into the room. The blond saw her two old friends enter and instantly smiled. "Lucienne, Tasia; I didn't know you were assigned to the case!" she exclaimed, lowering the device to her side. It was unusual for JB, as he'd never seen her stop her investigation partway for anything.

            "We were called in for consultation purposes as most of the agents here don't have experience with… kidnapping," explained Lucienne, giving the blond agent the kiss-hello, the younger woman returning the greeting. JB wondered if he would be going for a record and without even using Viagra.

            "Oh, I think you'll be needed for more than that," Marika assured Lucienne, tapping the black box in her hands. "You'll never guess what the mechanical nose here picked up."

            "A trace combination of various exotic drugs, including a standard sedative and potent muscle stiffener?" suggested Tasia casually, causing JB to look at the beautiful woman in surprise.

            "That's correct," Marika confirmed, tapping her device again. "The room appears to have been flooded with Type-7 at some point, if this machine's expensive software is at all accurate."

            "Those things are never wrong," Lucienne assured her old friend, turning to face JB and anticipating questions.  “This fully explains the gap in time everyone experienced.”

            "Okay, you ladies want to fill me in on something that I'm missing?" asked the agent in charge of the investigation, clearly lost.  “What is this, this, Type-7 you are speaking of?”

            "Months ago a woman named Erika Stone went on an international crime spree; stealing priceless works of art and kidnapping several women along the way using a drug called Type-7, a new form of sedative that she controlled," explained Lucienne. "Marika just found traces of it here, which means either someone else is using the stuff, or our missing billionaire is finally out of hiding. Either way, you need to let agents Cassandra Flick and Aisha Reynolds know right away because they're going to need to be brought in on this case now."

            "Great, anything else?" sighed JB, suddenly craving a cigarette or a quickie, something to calm his skyrocketing nerves.

            "Contact the home office as I want to take over the investigation," Lucienne told him flatly. "No offense to you, Odie, but if Stone's resurfaced then I want my old team back together so we can finish what we've started. I need this."

            "Yeah, I sort of saw that coming when you appeared here," groaned Odie, scratching his chin. "Alright, I'll place a call, but this investigation is starting to really go overboard. I don't know how many agents they'll want on the case."

            "If Stone is back, we'll need an army," Tasia said flatly.

190 Km  south of Paris

            The shiny, black, four-car bullet train propelled quickly and silently into the night. Alexis Sutherland and her team occupied the third car of the train. The four ladies lounged comfortably in plush leather seats, surrounded by contemporary styling that would put a four-star hotel room to shame. Former Spanish secret service agent Veronica Estes, dressed in a dark wool turtleneck and a pair of tight jeans over knee high leather boots, sat behind a glass table eating a steak dinner while enjoying glass of red wine. Ryoshi Tenzo sat across from Veronica, reading a fashion magazine, snacking on some fresh fruit from a bowl. The former Japanese Intelligence agent was dressed in a black tube top over tight leather pants. Her silky jet-black hair was pulled back into a tight bun and held together by chopsticks. Leslie Schulz, the German bounty hunter, slept on a wide leather sofa in front of a large wall-mounted flat panel TV. She was the tallest woman in the room, with Aryan good looks, wavy blond hair, and an Amazon-like frame clad in dark casual attire that showed off her round full bust and shapely legs.

            The track curved slightly, causing the car to lean left and right before it was level again. The movement was enough to wake Alexis up. The sleeping quarters for her team were located in the front of their car, even through it was closer to the center it caused enough movement. The former Scotland Yard inspector was not used to sleeping on moving trains. Getting up, Alexis stretched out and yawned. She looked at her watch. Two more hours until they were at their next location; she then could get a hotel room to really get some sleep. The blond Brit was still fully dressed, sporting a ribbed sweater over black trousers and black high-heeled boots. She rolled out of the cot and moved groggily to the sliding door that led to the main cabin of the car. The bright light hit her like a shot of cold water. "Bloody Hell…" she cursed, closing the sliding door behind her. She noted her team sitting around as they were when she had decided to take a nap, Ryoshi and Veronica at the table while Leslie slept. "Where are we?" she then croaked more than asked.

            "We’re still in France, I believe," Veronica replied, looking back at her boss, "Christ Lex, you look like shit."

            "I hate trains… Ryoshi, call ahead and get us a hotel. We should be there in no time and I’m not spending the whole night on this amusement ride." Alexis ordered, walking towards the connecting door that led into the last car. Ryoshi still reading the magazine, pulled out her cell and made the arrangements.

            The last car in the train looked completely different from the rest of the cars. This car was a sterile room, with tiled walls and floors along with blacked-out windows. Lining the clean white walls were stainless steel cabinets and counters. Fluorescent lights illuminated the car, providing bright lighting and a constant buzz.  Posed at the center of car were four motionless dark-haired ladies standing naked at attention. Each was tall in height with hourglass-like bodies and each had long luscious hair falling to the middle of their sinuous backs. Their eyes stared vacantly ahead with blank expressions. Their bodies were works of art, with cutting board abs, slender smooth legs and perfect round breasts and asses. A bulky man with brown hair moved around the women, checking the condition of their frozen bodies. Another woman sat a computer terminal closest to where Alexis was standing. She was short, looked to be in her late 30’s with black hair and mysterious blue eyes. Her name was Dr. Ashley Tisdale; the creator of Type-7. "What’s going on here?" The Brit asked.

            The woman looks up from her terminal, "He’s checking them over once more before he inserts the chips." She simply answered, glancing at the row of naked women and then back at Alexis. "You look like hell; ever try sleeping?"

            "I cannot sleep well on trains." Alexis simply answered and walked towards the man and the four naked women who all seemed to have the same empty look on their faces. The women were all supermodels and had been abducted by Alexis and her team from fashion shows all over Europe.

            "They’re marvelous aren’t they? You do excellent work Ms. Sutherland," The man complimented, looking briefly at Alexis and then getting back to work examining Brazilian supermodel Calixta Teodoro. "We’re going to be very rich." He added, not looking at the Brit.

            Alexis crosses her arms and walks around the four women, eying their perfect bodies. Indeed they were going to rich. That is, if the law did not catch up with them first. She knew by now that Interpol was probably involved; it was only a matter of time before this whole thing was going to get rather challenging. She stopped in front of the latest addition of the group, Eva Hallowell, who was like the other women totally naked now. The brunette stared blankly at Alexis with her wide-set green eyes, completely unaware of her nakedness.

            "Excuse me, Ms. Sutherland," Ashley said from behind Alexis, snapping her from her thoughts. Alexis turned to face the chemist. "If you have trouble sleeping I have a little suggestion." Ashley said, holding a silver thermos in her hands.

Moscow, Russia

            The bust was a complete success. Russian police officers and detectives were all over the building, securing evidence with Interpol agents supervising. The operation had taken almost a month but it was finally over. The international prostitution ring that had plagued over twenty nations was finally broken, with the major players now heading off to prison and the hundreds of sex slaves from six nations freed. Rookie undercover specialist Miranda Ohala ripped off her blonde wig as she left the building. Miranda had been undercover as a secretary to one the major suspects of the ring. She for one was glad that everything ended the way it did. It was a great feeling that she had a something to do with bringing such a large operation down and helping those poor girls who were forced into prostitution.

            "Miranda, wait up!" A voice called from behind the Hawaiian special agent. She turned to see Special Agent Hui Lan coming out the building, dressed in black Kevlar tactical gear. "How does it feel? Your first big case," Hui asked, flashing her trademark smile. The small woman looked intimidating in her tactical gear but the smile quickly changed that image.

            Miranda returned the smile. "The feeling is indescribable."

"Were you scared at all?" Hui then asked. She had been Miranda’s backup the whole time and she had been worried for the undercover agent’s life, for the most part.

            "Nope," Miranda smiled. "I knew you were there and I know you wouldn’t let anything happen to me."

            The comment made the veteran agent blush. Hui was about to say something when Aisha Reynolds appeared at the door the building. Her tall dark frame, dressed like Hui in tactical gear as well, since she had led the assault on the building along with local police. "Don’t celebrate yet; our hackers just decrypted their client list. It looks like we’re going to busy for the next month or more with follow-up raids."

            Cassandra showed up. She was dressed casually, being that she had coordinated the whole sting from a building four blocks away. "We just got word from the home office. We’re needed in Paris ASAP."

            "Talk about a turn of events…" Miranda muttered. "I don’t know what to feel now." Hui nodded in agreement.

Chapter 2

Madrid, Spain Beach Fashion Showcase

            Once the team was all together, they all had set off to Spain, where another series of fashion shows were to take place all at the same day. Lucienne, who was the new head of investigator for the case, had wanted the whole team and a strike force in position for the Beach Fashion Showcase, a swimwear show set in a large three floor penthouse suite located in downtown Madrid. Aisha, who was the other lead agent and the agent whose team had been pulled off a major prostitution ring case, wanted the teams separated with smaller teams at each of the major shows. After a heated argument between the French and American agents it was decided through democratic vote that the teams be separated. Tasia and Marika headed south for a show, while Miranda, Cassandra and Hui headed north for a large model expo. This left both lead agents, Aisha and Lucienne, both in Madrid for the swimwear show. Cassandra thought this arrangement was best so both senior agents could work out their differences in style.

            "We should have had the whole team here," Lucienne said flatly, looking over the large group of models that were busily coating their bodies with oil or donning fancy, revealing, but impractical swimsuits. The French agent and her America counterpart were standing in the ready area, a space that was located at the front of the dressing room just before the runway entrance. They both wore sharp-looking pants suits and looked like a pair of fashion execs.

            Aisha was peeking out to audience and noted the large crowd of VIPs settling into their seats for the show. It was going to be a full house. She turned back to Lucienne, "You don’t even know if the hit is going to happen here or somewhere else. We can’t risk having all the eggs in one basket."

            "What the hell are you talking about eggs in one basket?" Lucienne shot back, her Gallic accent thick with irritation and a confused, frustrated, look on her face.

            Aisha smiled, realizing the French agent was unfamiliar with American sayings and explained. "We can’t have everyone one in place because we do not know where the kidnappers will strike next."

            "You could have just said that instead of… eggs one place…" Lucienne muttered, turning her attention back to the models. She wished Tasia was here to enjoy the sight of all the lightly clothed, lovely ladies with her but instead she was with Agent Reynolds. Her replacement, that her old team had loyalties to now; even her old friend and partner Cassandra was close with the American agent. Lucienne glanced back the American quickly; she was an attractive lady, tall, dark, and very smart. Of course Lucienne wasn’t going to admit that to her, but the thought of seeing the American naked had already crossed her mind several times.

            "Listen Lucienne, I don’t want to work on this assignment arguing with you all the time, especially in front of the junior agents. Cassandra and I work on equal ground when in comes to team decisions and tactical situations; I can’t see why we can’t do that here." Aisha said, standing next to the more senior French agent.

            "You have been a lead agent for two months. To be honest, I don’t really think you and Cassandra should even be on the same level. In fact my recommendation to Interpol was for Cassandra to take over my team. Damn bureaucrats."

            Aisha took a deep breath to cool her nerves. She didn’t want to blow up at that French woman; that, from what she knew from Cassandra, would be a bad idea. "Let me tell you something Agent Christophe: I am plenty capable of making tactical decisions regarding my team." 

Lucienne pulled a thin cigarette from her pocket and stuck it between her lips, "We’ll see how capable you are to make those types of decisions, after these kidnappers hit this show and we are unable to lift a finger to stop them." She said coldly, lighting her cigarette. In contrast to her voice, she was starting feel hot standing next to the elegant African American. "I’m going to go watch the lead models. I suggest you keep an eye on the VIPs or other big name supermodels, if there are any left," Lucienne added, stepping off the platform.

            Aisha sighed, then blurted out, "Hey Lucienne; you could be a cold bitch and Ms. Tough if you want to, but if this crap endangers my agents I’ll seriously kick your ass," The American called out, unable to contain her annoyance.

            Lucienne turned and forced a smile: "Leave the drama back in America, Agent Reynolds; we have a job to do. Rule Number One of being leader is don’t loose your cool," The French agent replied, disappearing in among the crowd of half-naked models.

* * *

            Sitting in the building's security booth, Ryoshi Tenzo casually ate a bag of chips while sitting in the vacant chair, fully dressed in a guard's uniform. The real guard, another Japanese woman who'd been hired for her electronics expertise and skill with martial arts, which Ryoshi thought afterward were rusty, was sedated and locked in the room's utility closet clad only in her underwear. Due to the complicated locations, Alexis had come up with a different plan of attack, one that required more subterfuge. Ryoshi had arrived an hour before the strike, giving her time to inject the guard with enough Type-7 to keep her out for a week and then disguise herself properly. Alexis and Leslie, meanwhile, had taken on the role of a pair of maintenance workers, which gave them access to the building's freight elevator. Veronica was waiting in the underground parking lot, also disguised as a maintenance worker.

            The night before, Alexis and Leslie had first donned their cover, sneaking in under false orders to inspect the ventilation. During that time the duo planted a new version of the gas injectors, larger ones than they'd used previously as the gas tanks contained enough Type-7 to last an hour rather than a mere ten minutes. The injectors also had a self-destruct, which resulted in the devices dissolving into what would seem like ordinary dust in moments, making it easier for Ryoshi to run clean up. Now all she had to do was watch the monitors and make sure it all went to plan, using her remote to take care of the heavy stuff.

            "This is Black unit; all units check in," Alexis's voice suddenly came over Ryoshi's radio.

            "Blue unit; everything is fine," replied Ryoshi, pausing from her snack. She was now focusing on one monitor where she could see their two targets, Israeli model Tal Reubenstein and Portuguese superstar model Adina Kapel.  The latter also hosted a talk show in her home country and had dated several big Hollywood actors; they were both talking with a third woman, an American model named Kitty Drake, who shared Tal's dark hair color and tan complexion. All three wore two-piece bikinis, all of the models carrying intricate images in the fabric depicting elements from their home countries. Tal's had the Star of David on her cleavage while Kitty had the Statue of Liberty while Adina had the flag of Portugal.

            "Green unit; we're doing good too, but I had to deal with one of the guards," called in Veronica. Ryoshi had seen what had happened on the monitor as a guard had approached the parked van after noticing the driver was smoking, and asked for a work order or something to that effect. Soon afterwards Veronica had nodded him closer and used an injector gun on his neck, promptly hiding his rigid body in a blind spot.

            "Go in three seconds, mark!" ordered Alexis, she and Leslie donning gas masks as their elevator began to rise to the desired floor.  Both were dressed in simple dark blue jumpsuits that said 'Maintenance' in Spanish on the back. Ryoshi counted off the three seconds and promptly hit the button on her remote, causing their pricey but effective gas sprayers to activate and begin spreading the Type-7 sedative evenly throughout the three-floor suite. The penthouse held over two hundred people, half of them being models, their assistants and the security. Ryoshi grinned as she watched the seemingly magical gas take effect. The three models she'd focused on, all talking at once in rapid succession with large hand gestures, instantly froze in mid-sentence; all three looking like unusual mannequins in a store that sold swimsuits. Kitty had her left finger on top of her right finger with her hands in front of her, her lips almost pursed while her shoulder-length spike-tipped hair pressed down slightly on her right shoulder, her blue eyes essentially glazed over. Adina had her hands gestured away from her body with palms up, her own wavy hair which reached the small of her back and was the darkest of the trio, making it almost look like she was wearing a wig, her own mouth wide open as if a doctor were about to examine it. Finally there was Tal, whose right hand was touching the base of her neck while her left hand was raised with her index finger extended as if to make a point, her own short black hair brushed aside by her hand, her teeth flashing almost as if she were smiling instead of being caught in mid-speech. Nearby was a handsome woman in a suit with an ID badge clipped to it, smoking a cigarette, the object still lit as the woman held it to her lips, her reddish-brown hair done in a low ponytail that made Ryoshi assume she was either security or a VIP businesswoman. Either way the Japanese woman thought she was also a fairly good-looking statue.

            The freight elevator reached the floor and the two kidnappers stepped out, quickly moving through the room, ignoring the sudden wax museum they'd created. Alexis was leading the way, not bothering to be careful, which resulted in one man's glass of water being spilled onto a dark-skinned woman's suit and blouse, soaking through the white top and exposing her yellow bra. Leslie grinned slightly at that while Alexis casually plucked a cigarette from one woman's hand and stamped it out, not wanting a fire to start or the woman to get injured while everyone was under the effects of the gas. They were kidnappers, not murderers.

            "There they are," noted Leslie, indicating the trio of models that stood together in their unusual bikinis, their sleek oiled bodies gleaming in the room's lights. Several people of less importance were swarmed around them, fixed in place as a crowd, like the unimportant background characters of a cartoon scene.

            "Yes, and our concerns about Interpol were dead on the money," declared Alexis, pointing at the frozen woman they were standing next to. Leslie looked at the stiffly posed woman's ID badge and saw it affirmed she was Agent Lucienne Christophe of the very organization they were wary of.

            "I guess Miss Tisdale's worries were nothing after all," laughed Leslie, poking the suspended woman in the cheek. "What good are they if we can just gas them too? Drugs don't distinguish one person from another."

            "Indeed; still, we should keep this in mind," replied Alexis, heading towards the trio and wrapping her arms around Adina's waist. The woman was barefoot, thus dragging her on her heels would be rough which was why Alexis had causally pushed her way over to the models. Lifting her up slightly, Alexis awkwardly carried her target back towards the elevator, with Leslie following close behind lifting her own charge. The two ducked inside and quickly headed back down. With the Black unit clear, Ryoshi was free to destroy the injectors, which she did with a push of a button, then rushed downstairs after cleaning up after herself. A tiny vacuum was used to ensure she didn't even leave a flake of skin, an eyelash, or a crumb from a chip behind. The latex gloves she wore also helped.

            By the time Ryoshi had arrived downstairs, Alexis and Leslie were already in the van and the models had been secured in the cargo area, thus the Japanese woman hopped into the front seat beside Veronica, nearly sitting on her injector gun in the process. Taking that as her cue, Veronica started the car and quickly drove away before Ryoshi had even buckled in.

            "Mission completed," declared Veronica with a smile as the nondescript van hit the streets of Madrid and quickly blended in with the traffic, leaving at least fifty minutes of head start before anyone in the suite could react to the kidnapping they'd just pulled off.

            "Unfortunately, that isn't the case," sighed Ryoshi, knowing that the team had just managed to make their first big error since they'd started working together.

Private Beach House, Alcobendas, Spain

            "I can't believe you made it all the way out before realizing your mistake," sighed Ashley as she stood in front of the team she and her associate had employed. The six, the strike team and the two executives, were sitting in the luxurious house's main living room. A classic Spanish mansion, it had cost Ashley's male counterpart four million American, roughly, but was worth every penny as it was an excellent location for their clients to visit and a good place to keep their acquisitions. Ashley was sitting in a white lounger while her other half stood, pacing the room while grinding his teeth and squeezing an orange stress ball.

            "By the time I'd noticed, they'd already gone down; I didn't think it mattered," confessed Ryoshi, being the first to have realized the team's mistake.

            "Alexis also yelled at me the entire way from Madrid," added Leslie, her face red with shame. "I don't know how it happened."

            "Whatever, I guess we'll treat this like an opportunity," grunted the only male present. "I still don't see how you couldn't tell an Israeli from an American, especially given what they were wearing, but it doesn't matter now. We'll keep Kitty too, but one of our clients specifically wanted Tal and was very clear. You'll have to find a way to extract her, tonight."

            "But the fashion show was shut down, how are we supposed to--" began Alexis.

            "We know the hotel name and Tal Reubenstein’s suite number," interrupted Ashley, holding up a piece of paper. "A simple midnight extraction when ideally everyone is sleeping shouldn't be hard. Just go in like you belong there, find the room, flood it, override the lock and drag her out. Simple.  You might want to check her passport photo too, so you don’t pick up the chamber maid by mistake!"

            "What about security?" asked Veronica, speaking up, ignoring the sarcastic comment.

            "You have your guns, the remaining Type-7 gas, and you have more than enough tools to disable a hotel's security system," pointed out Ashley. "By the way, this is being done off the books, which means no payment for this one. Your team made the mistake, you have to clean it up."

            "Alright, we'll get our gear together and head out," sighed Alexis, having hoped she would be done soon and be able to sleep in peace for the night for once. Her teammates rose as well.

            "Oh, Leslie, you'll be staying behind," ordered the male, calling back the German woman. She reluctantly nodded while Ashley followed the remaining three to the door. Ryoshi and Veronica went out the door in a hurry but Ashley held back Alexis.

            "I have one other request," declared the scientist, bearing a sinister smile. "If you happen to run into someone from Interpol, give them a full injection. That will keep them out of the picture from now on.  It'll be a little middle finger from me personally, but naturally don't tell them that."

            "Fine with me," grinned the Brit before she left. Walking back into the living room, Ashley saw that her male counterpart was placing a needle on the table while Leslie stood in front of him, frozen, her left arm extended with her hand in a fist, her face neutral as she stood like a mannequin in the Spanish jumpsuit.   She wouldn’t be moving on her own for a while.

            "You still holding a personal grudge against Interpol?" asked the man with a fixed scowl as shook his head.  “That can be dangerous…”

            "Sorry Scott, but they forced my old boss to go into hiding, and that just doesn't fly with me," replied Ashley, managing not to smile. The somewhat bulky man shook his head again.

            "You have to be careful around them, they are clearly smarter than we'd like to think," pointed out Scott as he lowered Leslie's arm and pushed her over, causing her to lay on top of the couch, her neck on the backrest and her thighs on the edge of the seat as if she were a cardboard cut-out leaning on it instead of a real person. "Well then, let’s go visit our guests."

            Together, Ashley and Scott left Leslie behind, who'd only been given enough of a dosage for two days as punishment for her error. Scott had acted understandably upset that she'd nabbed Kitty Drake by mistake, but in reality he felt any model they could obtain was more business in the long run.

The duo arrived in the mansion’s sub-kitchen where seven sedated women were currently being stored. All of the women were naked, naturally. Four of the captives were seated at a round marble table as if enjoying a meal, while one stood at the island in the middle of the room, another in front of the stove, while the last one held open an unplugged refrigerator. At the table were Eva, Calixta, Yoon and Anastasia; all four doing different things while sitting in their black leather chairs, the Type-7 preventing them from sticking to their seats. Eva held a fashion magazine in her hands and had it open while Yoon brought a forkful of plastic grapes to her open mouth, a plate of plastic fruit in front of her. Calixta had a teacup in her hand, which was raised to her lips but still a few inches away; there was nothing inside the cup. Anastasia held a mirror in front of her face, her left hand raising a brush to her hair. Over by the fridge was Kitty, her position there being Scott's joke about how Americans are typically fat, unlike what the Hollywood magazines would have you believe. In front of the stove was Adina; Ashley had heard she was a really good cook thus she held a frying pan over a cold stove element, fake eggs inside it. Finally a dazzling redhead stood in front of the island, the only one not posed in any particular way, who merely stood in place with her hands at her sides.

            "Ready for the test?" asked Ashley, holding up a small black remote. It was a custom one, featuring several buttons, but only a few she considered important. Each of the frozen women in the room now had a micro-chip attached to the base of their skulls, one created courtesy of Scott's own organization which Ashley was now technically a part of.

            "Let’s see what we can do," agreed Scott. Not one to hesitate, Ashley immediately pressed the button labeled 'UNFREEZE' and the redhead blinked but remained posed as she was. A light on the remote next to a label that said 'ACTIVE' turned green, initially red, indicating that the chip-equipped woman was now able to receive commands.

            "Come over here," ordered Ashley, and the redhead immediately obeyed, jerkily walking around the island and up to the scientist, moving stiffly and machine-like, her face glazed over with neutrality. She seemed more like an android than a human.

            "That looked a bit clunky," observed Scott, giving Ashley a warning look.

            "It's only the first generation chip, there's bound to be problems," retorted Ashley, defending her work. "The device itself works fine, we just aren't getting a clear signal to their brain. Some of the predictive logic could be improved, too.  This is still a new development. We'll use the data from this one to make the next batch better."

            "I should hope so," nodded Scott, looking the paused nude redhead up and down. Her breasts were fairly average compared to those of the world-class models in the room but were a nice C-cup all the same, and her rear end was something that was easily on par with the others that he could see. "Tell her to do something else."

            "Alright then, I want you to go over to the sink, turn on the tap and drink directly from it," commanded Ashley, speaking to her new puppet. Once again she moved somewhat awkwardly, with a single step taking twice as long as a woman normally moving slowly would, but eventually the redhead made it to the sink, not even having to look down as she turned the knobs and got the water flowing. Still not looking directly at the water, the redhead cupped her hands, filled them with water and took a sip.

            "That'll do," declared Scott, nodding with a decent level of satisfaction. “She can interpret complex instructions.”  Ashley nodded in turn and pressed the 'FREEZE' button, instantly stopping the redhead in mid-motion as she stood with her lips to the pool of water in her palms, the last of it trickling through her fingers and back into the sink where the water was still running. Scott casually walked over and turned off the water.

            "So what are you going to do with Leslie?" asked Ashley, putting the remote aside and walking over. "I know she couldn't tell an American from an Israeli, but the girls had several physical characteristics in common and Leslie was wearing a gas mask with poor lenses."

            "We still need four people on the team for the large jobs, so she'll only stay immobilized for the two days or so she's due," answered Scott, admiring the redhead he was standing next to, feeling the curves on her backside. "This one's nice. Another redhead, but we should probably start looking at blondes. What was her name again?"

            "Mary Hamilton, she was my old assistant," explained Ashley, placing her hands on the redhead's shoulders and kissing her neck. "I want to keep her for myself, since I brought her in as a test subject and she was...  acquired outside of our operation. She's been living in my apartment, so to speak, for quite some time now."

            "Fine, but don't expect any more bonuses," shrugged Scott, walking out of the kitchen while digging his cell phone out of his pocket.

Madrid, Spain Beach Fashion Showcase location

            They had brought in medical personnel to administered blood test on all those who were attending the show. The VIPs, especially the models, were not too happy. Hui was put in charge of crowd control, supervising Spanish officers who were tasked to keep everyone involved at ease and canvass for any leads. Miranda supervised the detectives who were questioning models and others who were close to the victims, in this case American model Kitty Drake and Portuguese model Adina Kapel. Both women were two of the three main leads of the show. The third lead was Israeli model Tal Reubenstein who had willfully given up her blood for examination and voluntarily offered any help she can give. The two missing models were close friends of hers. Being that she was the only lead model left, Lucienne saw it fit that Tal was escorted back to her hotel and put under guard just in case. Aisha had a drink spilled on her at one point and headed back to the hotel for a change of clothes after which she had given Marika a sample of her blood. This left Lucienne solely in charge of the investigation, without having any debate from her American counterpart.

            Her name was Kazu Shiitaki. She was as a Spanish citizen with a Japanese background. Kazu had been assigned at the main guarding post of the complex. She was later found only dressed in her underwear in the closet of her station, stiff as a board. Another guard was found in the garage in the same state as well, only he was still clothed. Marika had taken a sample of Kazu’s blood and moved on to examine the other guard. Tasia looked the rigidly posed guard dressed in her underwear, standing at attention with goofy smiling expression upon her frozen face. The Greek agent walked around the guard; she wasn’t that attractive and had very plain features, unlike her friend and colleague Hui Lan. Kazu was not that ugly, either, Tasia thought, looking at her firm breasts and womanhood that was masked by her plain Jane panty-bra set. As she stood face to face with the stiff guard a thought came to her head and she grinned. Before she could act, a voice from behind her made her jump.

            "Agent Spiro, is it?" Aisha asked, entering the small room that was used to isolate the half-naked guard from the general crowd of potential witnesses, police, and onlookers.

            "Yes, ma’am," Tasia answered obediently. Even though Lucienne had a problem with Aisha and clearly showed it, Tasia couldn’t act that way, being that she was only a junior agent and that she really didn’t have a problem with the American. In fact she thought agent Aisha was kind of hot. She grinned at the thought, stealthy checking out the tall dark skinned woman dressed in tight fitting navy pants suit with a tight white dress shirt underneath.

            The lead agent did not notice the Greek undressing her with her eyes, "Where is your partner?"

            "She’s with Cassandra, questioning security." Tasia answered, smiling innocently.

            Noticing the smile on the Greek’s face, Aisha asked, "What’s going on here?" She gestured towards the half-naked motionless woman standing behind Tasia at attention.

            "Oh, this is Kazu Shitaki. She’s one of the security guards that were injected with the Type-7 sedative and that hasn’t revived yet. Marika is examining the other guard in the other room."

            "Are you certain it is the Type-7?" Aisha then asked, walking around the frozen guard.

            "We’re quite certain, based on the observed effects, but we’ll be a hundred percent certain once Marika has a sample from the other guard’s blood."

            "What do you think happened to her, Agent Spiro?"

            "Well I think that Kazu was taken out early, as there was need for her uniform. She may have seen who did this to her.  So she is our best witness once she is out of this immobilized state to who our kidnappers are. The other guard walked in on the kidnappers; he too would be a decent witness as well. Marika is pulling some strings on getting some antidote here but it’s difficult since this seems to be a more advanced form of Type-7. I’ll be sure to report to you once they come to and I find out something," Tasia explained.

            Aisha thought for a second, "Very well; let me know once that antidote comes in and tell Agent Heino good job for me," she added, leaving the room.

            Tasia turned back around to Kazu’s goofy expression, "Let’s collect that underwear from you now, for trace evidence," she said, smiling at the stocky woman.

* * *

            It took Aisha a while, moving through the crowd of media, potential witnesses and police officers before she found her team. Cassandra, Miranda and Hui were gathered together sharing notes on their findings. The questioning and evidence collecting was nearly over it was time to start putting things together. "What do we have, ladies?" Aisha asked, approaching the group.

            "None of the VIPs who were sitting out front and the few that were in the back dressing area saw anything. In fact most of the guests did not even know what had happened to them until Ms. Reubenstein called for help," Hui reported, looking over her notes.  “Whatever it was, acted fast.”

            "The same goes for the models; the only model who noticed anything at all was wrong was Ms. Reubenstein when her the girls she was talking with appeared to vanish in the blink of an eye.  We haven’t questioned her yet; since she’s gone through enough stress for one day we had her sent back to her hotel. Chances are though she’ll be pretty much in the dark, as much as everyone else," Miranda reported.

            "At this point we’re pretty sure some variation of Type-7 was used. Marika still has some more testing, but we’re pretty confident. Marika also reported that the forensic teams found some substance that is unidentifiable at this point in the ventilation system." Cassandra concluded.

            Aisha quickly took in the information and then asked, "Where is Agent Christophe?"

            The three agents looked at each for a second before Cassandra spoke, "She went to interview Tal Reubenstein."

            "Damn… why wasn’t I notified?" Aisha cursed.

            "I called you on your cellular twice." Cassandra replied calmly.

            Aisha patted herself down and remembered that she had left her cell in the rental. Damn. "No biggie," she then said with a sigh. "Let’s head over there and see if Ms. Reubenstein has any good information for us." Aisha ordered, leading the other three towards the elevator.

Madrid, Spain Hotel Regina

            Israeli beauty Tal Reubenstein wanted nothing more than to know if her friends were ok. The supermodel had dressed down completely as usual in private when she wasn’t doing shows. Her brown hair was slicked back into a simple small ponytail and she wore nothing but an oversized baby blue t-shirt and a pair of fuzzy slippers. She had been pacing in her spacious hotel room for hours, unable to sit still with the thought of her friends being missing. Tal didn’t even want to watch the news in fear that images of her missing friends were going to be all over it. A knock at the door snapped her from her worried thoughts. "Come in," she spoke, barely keeping her voice from cracking.

            Chloe Vega, Tal’s newly assigned Spanish bodyguard, entered the room. She was a tall woman with short blond hair, dressed casually in jeans and a tight fitting t-shirt. A holstered Beretta sat on her right hip. "Ms. Reubenstein, there is an Interpol Agent Christophe here to see you," Chloe announced in her thick Spanish accent.

            "Oh, please send her in," Tal replied, eagerly hoping that there was any good news coming. Chloe nodded and left the room. Lucienne entered the room with a warm smile as Chloe closed the door behind her. "Agent Christophe; great to see you again," Tal greeted warmly, ushering the Interpol agent to a nearby table. "Is there is any news?" Tal then asked quickly after they were both seated.

            "Sorry, nothing yet, but I assure you my team and I are working around the clock to find your associates," Lucienne reassured her, seeing the look of worry on Tal’s face. Even dressed down, the woman was amazing looking, the French agent thought. She quickly shook the erotic thoughts from her head and re-focused herself back on the case. "Tal, if it is alright, I would like to ask you some more questions that may help with our investigation."

The Israeli smiled weakly, "Of course, Agent Christophe, anything at all; I just want to find my friends."

* * *

            The elevator doors slid open, causing a bell to sound. Chloe looked towards the elevator and noted a blonde maid pushing a laundry cart off the elevator. She looked down the other end of hall. It was empty. She yawned and looked at her watch; two more hours left before her shift was over. Looking back in the other direction, Chloe saw that the maid was heading in her direction. Seeing the maid up closer now she noticed that the maid did not look Spanish; in fact her facial features put her as being of English or American origin. From what Chloe knew from her briefing earlier, all of the employees in the hotel were locals. She reached for her Beretta. The maid was faster, pulling out a dart gun and firing it just as the Beretta left Chloe’s holster.

            Chloe stood facing Alexis in a stop-action pose with her Beretta half drawn and her face tensed up as if she was about to yell ‘stop’ or ‘halt’. Alexis looked over the blond bodyguard, poking her torso; she was frozen solid and out cold. Looking around the hallway for any more spying eyes, she saw nobody. She quickly reposed the stiffened bodyguard to lean with her back to the wall, her arms crossed, and her pistol securely holstered. With a quick molding of her face Chloe now held a serious grin with her brown eyes vacant. Pulling the cover off the laundry cart, Alexis removed the special Type-7 Injector system. She put the injector at the foot the door and quietly pushed the nozzle under the door. With some towels from the cart Alexis clogged up any openings under the door. She then pulled her hand-held radio from the apron pocket of her borrowed maid’s uniform, "Black unit to team; hallway is secured, preparing to release the Type-7. All units report your status."

            "This is Blue unit; security room is secured," Ryoshi replied, eating a candy bar. Her job was to make sure no security interfered. The three security guards that operated the hotel’s security center were suspended at their stations thanks to shots from Ryoshi’s dart gun. They stared blankly at the security monitors as Ryoshi paced calmly behind them, monitoring their comrades’ movements throughout the building and watching her team leader’s back.

            "This is Red unit. I’m in the alley behind the hotel. Escape route is clear and the engine is warm and ready." Veronica reported, scanning the mirrors of the rented Benz making sure no one noticed her presence.

            "Releasing the Type-7 now," Alexis calmly reported, pressing the button on top of the injector and then listening to the hiss that followed letting her know everything was functioning. "All units stand by." Alexis said, looking at her watch. She waited a full five minutes before removing her gas mask from the cart, moving the injector aside, and entering the suite.

            Alexis surveyed the motionless scene, spotting her target sitting at the table, with another woman seated across from her. From the frozen expression on Tal’s lovely face, Alexis knew the Type-7 gas had done its job. She quickly went back out into the hallway and pulled her maid’s cart in along with the empty injector. Chloe remained outside, ‘on guard’. Alexis quickly lifted up the stiffened Israeli model and placed her inside of the laundry cart. Tal remained in her seated position as if she was still sitting in the chair, talking. Once the supermodel was in the cart, Alexis injected her with higher dosage of the Type-7 from her dart gun before covering her up with a tablecloth. Looking back at the table in the suite, she recognized the other woman immediately as Interpol Agent Lucienne Christophe of Interpol France. "Doctor Tisdale sends her fond regards." Alexis mutters from under her gas mask as she turns up the dosage on the injection gun and injects the already suspended agent with a large dose of Type-7.  There was no reaction, nor would there be. "Black unit to team; I have the target. Give me ten."

* * *

            Alexis was feeling creative, so she decided before she left to arrange a little scene for the authorities that would surely be arriving. After leaving the room, she had Ryoshi meet her down in basement and together they got their target into the waiting Benz and Veronica got them out of the area quietly and quickly with Tal securely buckled in the back seat.

            Back in the hotel room the injector system had been destroyed; all that remained was a pile of ash and dust in the corner of the room. Inside of the room’s bedroom, Lucienne and Chloe had both been stripped naked and held each other closely in a lover’s cuddle. Their bodies were coated with lotion and their hair slicked back with water, giving them a hot, sexy, look. Both were given another injected dosage before Alexis departed.

Chapter 3

Madrid, Spain Interpol Spain HQ

            The collection of stiff guards was growing. Four male guards, one from the fashion show and three from the Hotel Regina sat together around a table with blank expressions upon their faces. They were in Interrogation Room Three of the headquarters building for Interpol Spain. Cassandra thought it was a good idea to keep all of the still-motionless victims together in order to get their statements whenever they came out of their current state but had no idea when that might be. Marika had been unsuccessful in obtaining an antidote so far, so waiting was the best bet for the time being. Marika sat in the corner of the room reviewing her notes, new evidence and results of the blood work while she monitored the guards’ unchanging condition.

            "Anything yet?" Cassandra asked, peeking into the room.

            Marika looked up from her notes and smiled, "This is worse than watching pain dry; no signs of movement yet, though."

            "Well, get someone to relieve you in five minutes; Aisha wants a briefing upstairs," Cassandra said before leaving the room. Marika nodded tiredly, looking over the four rigid guards once more before looking back down at her notes with a sigh.

            Inside Interrogation Room Four Tasia kept an eye on three equally frozen females, which now unfortunately included one of their own: Lucienne. By the time Cassandra and company had arrived at the Regina, Tal and whoever had abducted her were long gone and Lucienne and assigned bodyguard Chloe Vega had been left in a questionable pose with both apparently having been injected with Type-7 sedative. They had quickly secured the scene and had both women covered and moved out immediately before the local authorities arrived. Chloe Vega was now dressed in ill-fitting Spanish police coveralls as well as was security guard Kazu Shiitaki. Both Spanish women sat shoulder to shoulder at one side of the table, a wide-eyed expression and big smiles on their faces, thanks to Tasia. Their hands were on the table in front of them, posed with fingers interlocked. The Greek agent sat on the other side of the table, next to her now frozen superior and partner who was positioned the same way as the other motionless ladies. Tasia was resting her head on her arms, fast asleep, while Lucienne stared emptily at Kazu and Chloe who sat across from her. Tasia had gathered some of the French agent’s clothes from her baggage and dressed her stiffened form in them. The veteran agent was now dressed in a black tight fitting knee-length skirt with a matching ribbed sweater over a crisp white satin dress shirt. Her legs were covered in dark hosiery over a pair of shiny black heels. She was obviously the best looking stiff girl in the room; Tasia had spent the time in making sure Lucienne kept her sharp image even in her current helpless state.

            Cassandra entered the interrogation room, silently eying the three frozen women along with the sleeping Tasia. She went over to her long-time friend Lucienne and knelt down beside her, looking into her staring eyes. The immobilized agent’s reddish hair tied was back into a simple high ponytail. She was dressed more nicely than the other ladies, thanks to Tasia, and even had her gun on her right hip along with her Interpol ID looped around her neck. Her rigid friend looked like a well-dressed wax display at a museum. Before Cassandra could stop herself, she poked Lucienne on the cheek but quickly pulled her hand away after she copped a feel of the French woman’s breast. She quickly stood up quickly, stirring the sleeping Greek awake.

            "Hey Cassie," Tasia said sleepily, unaware of what had just happened. "What’s going on?" She asked with a yawn and looked around, hoping to see at least one of the women unfrozen and responsive.   None of them had moved so much as a millimeter.

            "Nothing," Cassandra answered, quickly hiding the nervousness in her voice. She looked down at her friend who was still sitting, still and unmoving like statue, and then back at the Greek. "Aisha wants a briefing in five minutes upstairs. Get a female agent to cover for you by then," Cassandra added before leaving the room quickly, feeling shocked of what she had just done. Tasia did not know anything the wiser as she stood up and stretched. She gave Lucienne’s wax like face a full kiss on the lips before leaving room herself to look for that female agent.

* * *

            "So we have eight high-fashion models missing from eight different countries, with no leads? The only good witnesses that we have are all stiff as statues under an unknown kind of Type-7 for an unknown duration. Does anyone here have any good news or ideas?" Aisha summarized testily from her spot at the head of the table after hearing a quick summery of events from her team. Her team was quiet, with no one really having anything to add. Special Agent Hui Lan smiled calmly as she always did during stressful or tense situations. Aisha was finding out that by just having Hui around her blood pressure was always better. She took a deep breath then asked, "Let’s start again with all the facts that we know one hundred percent and maybe something will pop out at us."

            "Four major fashion shows in four different countries have been hit. Each resulted in the top model or models there coming up missing." Hui started, gesturing towards the board at the head of the room where the team had graphically mapped up the series of events using pictures and colorful markers.  Small photos of the models were also tacked up along the timeline.

            "Each of the models was of different nationalities with the exception of the two Americans, Eva Hallowell and Kitty Drake. All the models share the same body characteristics, being tall, slender, with near-perfect features. Supermodels, in a word.  They are all ranked in the top twenty worldwide when in comes to modeling and fame." Miranda continued, looking over the notes that she had made so far through her research.

            "I have found a huge predominance of Type 7 sedative at each of our crime scenes. Blood samples taken from witnesses, guests, and models have all come up with traces of Type-7. So we know the drug was used. My best guess would be it was delivered as a gaseous agent; that is, air borne, through a special injection system. I have not yet determined what this system is as of yet, nor have we found any of the equipment. The witnesses and agents that still remain frozen under the Type-7 seem to have been injected via needle; I have found injection marks on their necks or arms. The injected version of Type-7 seems to be different, with unknown effects." Marika reported, shuffling the large amount of paperwork in front of her.

            "Different in which way?" Aisha asked as she watched Cassandra get up from her seat and walk over to the board. She could tell the Brit was up to something.

            Marika sat back in her chair, "The Type-7 that was used during the Erika Stone case was not as potent as this stuff. This variation looks to be a more advanced, controlled, form with dosages set for exact amounts of time and seemingly higher potency. In other words we’re dealing with almost an entirely new form of Type-7 sedative. Maybe it’s even Type-8?  I have the home office seeking the original chemist for an antidote. No luck yet, apparently Doctor Tisdale left the company shortly after the Stone case. We’re trying to track down her whereabouts down as we speak."

            Aisha nodded, taking in the info; a small part of her wished Lucienne were active. She was not ever going to admit it, but the French agent was much more experienced than she was and was a bit of a legend in her investigative abilities.  Now she was a statue.  Sighing, Aisha then asked, "Agent Spiro, your insights?"

            "You could call me Tasia, ma’am. You’re calling every one else by their first names; you could do the same for me. We’re all friends here."

            "Very well under one condition: you stop calling me ma’am," Aisha replied with a smile and then added, "What do you have for us, Tasia?"

            "There is more than one kidnapper involved here. I’m thinking there are at least three, working together. There have to be in order to pull off these hits effectively and quickly. The team make-up would be something like, driver, head operator, and clean up. We have found different set of unidentifiable fingerprints at each scene. There were some faint prints on Ms. Vega’s and Lucienne’s bodies and clothing as well but they’re too partial to scan so far."

            "They’ll be going for blonds next!" Cassandra exclaimed, turning around causing the team to look at her in surprise. As everyone was going over all of the bits of information that they already knew, Cassandra had really looked at the board. At first she couldn’t see any real pattern, besides the fact that the kidnappers moved from country to country after each hit, they only took the lead models and they widely used Type-7. Them she realized that there was not a single blonde-haired model within the missing bunch at that point; she also noticed that it looked like the kidnappers were making some sort of collection. In her last case, dealing the prostitution ring, the ring had abducted girls from various countries to offer their clients a ‘colorful’ selection. It was staring to look like this was some sort of abduction ring, only now the leaders were dealing with high-class supermodels.

            "There has been no ransom yet. That would only mean these girls are being kidnapped for another purpose. It is starting to look like they maybe selling these girls or just collecting them. If that is the case, and if they are staying in the European region, then they need blonds next." Cassandra concluded her explanation. The rest of team put everything together quickly, now seeing where all the clues were pointing.

            "Hot damn girl! I think you got something!" Aisha remarked, standing up with excitement. "Miranda, start looking for upcoming shows that would have blonde leads, starting off with Sweden and Germany. Tasia start contacting naturally light-haired models in the top twenty list and warn them about the situation as we see it. Hui, we’re going to be moving shortly so I want a plane and trucks arranged for transportation to wherever we’re gonna be going. Marika, get our silent witnesses ready to travel. They may still be of some value.  Cassandra, get in touch with Agent Odilon; he took over our previous case.  It’s a long shot but there maybe a link with these two cases. I’ll get in touch with home office and let them know what’s going on. Great job everyone. Let’s get this thing solved!" Aisha ordered as her agents quickly began working on their assigned tasks.

KTC (Krug Trading Center), Berlin, Germany

            Miranda’s best result of her search came up with the East European Show-Off; the trade show was a weeklong event that was actually coming to an end. So far the show had gone off without any problems or any models disappearing. The whole was event had been held at the newly opened KTC located in downtown Berlin. The KTC consisted of seven glass skyscrapers, two of which were twin towers connected by an underground tunnel. The closing show was to be held in the basement of KTC One.  Under the suggestion of Aisha, who was advised by Cassandra, the show’s promoters had moved the modeling prep area from behind the runway to the basement of KTC Two. At the start of the show, the models would then be escorted from one building to the other via the underground tunnel.

            Aisha and Cassandra’s whole plan depended on the kidnappers thinking that the models were in the same building as the runway. The general plan was to have Miranda and Tasia go undercover within the modeling group, thus providing security without scaring the kidnappers if they were to strike. Hui would be positioned around the runway area of building one with a tactical team for a security response if the kidnappers were to hit the runway. Aisha and Marika, along with another tactical team, would provide security for models passing  through the underground tunnel. Cassandra as usual would provide overall coordination from unmarked van located in the underground parking of tower one. All teams would have gas masks to prevent them from succumbing again to the effects of the Type-7. Under Cassandra’s protest, Aisha wanted none of the strike team members or agents wearing their gas masks pre-maturely. She wanted Lucienne to see she was capable, despite the fact that Lucienne was still frozen and unable to see, or do, anything.

KTC 2 7^th floor (Temporary Interpol HQ,) Berlin, Germany

            The team had taken over an accounting office that occupied the entire seventh floor as a command post. The motionless witnesses were stashed together in the boardroom, sitting in high leather chairs. Tactical German police officers, Bundeswehr, and other officials were all in different offices gearing up and prepping themselves for the upcoming operation. For the time being the normal accountant’s office looked like a military base.

            "What do you mean, she’s dropping out?" Aisha asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice. The stress of the case was starting get to her. "These people only go after the lead models if she’s not appearing here, they may get spooked and bail out.  And, she’s the world’s most famous blonde."

            "We can’t force her Aisha; Devon has a lot of money and she’s already out of the country with her lawyers putting up a screen so we can’t touch her," Cassandra replied. One of the models that was on Tasia’s list to warn, and the she in question, was none other than Devon Von Krieger; Germany’s top supermodel and this show’s single lead model. As soon as she heard of the dangers of being kidnapped and the fact that security was not able to prevent the earlier abduction of other models, she terminated her contract with the show and was on the next flight out to an unknown location. "I have an idea though," Cassandra then suggested, handing the lead investigator a press photograph of Devon Von Krieger.

            Aisha looked closely at the photograph and then looked back up at Cassandra, "This babe looks a lot like our Marika." Cassandra simply smiled.

* * *

            Miranda silently opened the boardroom door and peeked in. There were only three male guards now; the fourth one from the Madrid show had regained consciousness and was on his way back to Spain. He offered up very little information, only mentioning that the kidnapper was a Spanish female who was pretty and was driving a maintenance van, which was by now recovered. The three remaining guards sat side by side with staring faces as if they were looking up at security monitors. Sitting across them were Chloe and Kazu, still baring their smiles and vacant looks upon their faces. The sharply dressed Lucienne stood in front of the boardroom at attention with a neutral gaze and puckered lips. Miranda smiled at the look as she stepped into the silent boardroom, closing the door behind her.

            Hui had been assigned watch duty and to Miranda’s surprise, the Chinese weapons expert was fast asleep at the end of the boardroom table, a victim of working international cases and switching different time zones erratically. Miranda sat down silently next to the snoozing Chinese agent. Hui’s head was resting on her arms with her face turned towards the Hawaiian agent. Miranda smiled at Hui’s sleeping face, thinking the weapon specialist was adorable especially when sleeping. She had a thing for Hui, who did not swing her way, which she didn’t mind. Just being a friend and around the Chinese woman was enough for her. She rested her head down on her arms too and turned her face to face Hui.

            Feeling a presence beside her, Hui opened her eyes in time to see Miranda’s smiling face staring at her. She quickly jumped and sat up. Miranda slowly rose and stretched. Hui stood up and stepped away from the table, "Don’t do that! You know how I feel when you do that."

            "Do what?" Miranda asked, jokingly leaning back in the leather chair that matched the dark marble boardroom table.

"Watch me sleep." Hui replied, pacing the room. She was known for her calmness but Miranda always put her on edge. Working with the rookie agent for almost three months now made Hui really second guess her sex life; was she a hundred percent straight? She and her boyfriend Tommy were having issues now, with him working too much and not spending anytime with her. She had actually been with Miranda more than she was with Tommy in the last couple of months. The thought to experiment had more than once crossed her mind, but she couldn’t bring herself to act on her urges.

            Miranda chuckled, "There’s no harm in it. Its not like I’m gonna freeze you and have my way with you." Hui shot her a serious look and that was when Miranda knew to back off. "Sorry Hui, but for real, though, I was just watching; no touching," she apologized.

            Hui smiled warmly and sat back down. "I know you wouldn’t do that. It’s just the whole freezing thing should not be joked about right now." Hui gestured at the group that had been turned into lifelike statues around them, including Lucienne standing in regally front of the room. Miranda looked at Lucienne’s mouth and then back at Hui with a smile. "No!" Hui said quickly but seriously.

            "I wasn’t even thinking like that," Miranda laughed, "You’ve a nasty imagination, agent Lan. It makes me wonder about you," she added, getting up from her seat.

            "Me too…" Hui muttered, barely audible, following the younger agent.

            "Her pose is so boring… I mean this is Agent Lucienne Christophe. She deserves a more heroic pose, don’t you think?" Miranda asked, walking around the stiffened French woman, checking her out freely.

            "Just leave her be. She’s not a doll for you to toy with; She’s an Interpol senior agent." Hui suggested, now looking at the French’s agent’s puckered lips. The thought of seeing her superior naked crept into her mind briefly before she dismissed it, "Let’s just leave her alone and get some coffee."

            "Come on, Hui there’s no harm. It’s a lot nicer than what you were probably thinking." Miranda replied with a smile.

            "What do you have in mind?"

* * *

            "Is there any more to this so-called dress?" Marika asked, looking in the mirror. The garment was an orange and black strapless evening frock that showed off generous cleavage and a lot of leg. This was going to be terrible, she thought, feeling like a fish out of water.  A half-naked fish, at that. She wished she could meet this Devon Von Krieger and sock her a good one for putting her through this crap.

            "Don’t worry about it. You look amazing. If I had legs like yours I’d be showing them off all the time," Tasia remarked, looking over Marika’s skimpy dress. The Greek was dressed similarly in a blue and black gown that seemed to Marika to cover the other agent much more.

            "I second that, plus I wish I was taller," Miranda added, looking at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a leather body-hugging dress. "Why do I have to be the one to wear this leather slutty looking thing…?"

            "Cause you’re American." Tasia replied. As her and Marika burst out laughing.

            "Ha, Ha, Ha, just because of a few slutty actresses doesn’t mean the whole country is slutty," defended Miranda, turning around in the dress, "Screw this I’m changing dresses; this thing is going to chafe me so bad," Miranda concluded, going next door to look for another dress.

            "Agent Heino, you have a call," A German officer said poking his head in and out quickly.

            "Crap…" Marika said as she started to reach for the zipper of the dress to change out of it.

            "Go get the phone; you’re not completely naked and don’t worry so much, you’re hot anyways," Tasia quickly said, pushing the taller woman out of the office and into the hallway.

            Before she knew it she was being stared at by a dozen tactical officers in full combat gear. "Damn you Tasia…" she muttered and smiled as she quickly went into one the offices that had a phone, feeling the eyes on her body every step of the way. Marika had sent the partial prints from Chloe and Lucienne’s clothes back to the home office to see if she could get anything. It was a real shot in the dark, but anything was worth it. To her surprise, the office was able to put together a decent print from the partials and came up with a match. The print belonged to a former Scotland Yard inspector, Alexis Sutherland. As soon as she hung up she quickly left the room. In her haste and her excitement she bumped into a German inspector hard, knocking the man down. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!" Marika said, kneeling to help the man up. The man was brown haired and blue eyed. He was very handsome with the build of a cruiser weight with an attractive jaw line. He was dressed in an expensive suit that increased his already good looks.

            "It’s no problem; I still have my health." He replied in his accented English, "It not everyday you get knocked down by a gorgeous supermodel." He said as Marika helped him to his feet. "My name is Dieter Bran, Inspector Dieter Bran."

            "I’m Marika Heino, Special Agent Marika Heino." Marika replied with a smile captivated by the encounter, the new information slipped the Finnish agent’s mind as the two begin to mingle.

* * *

            Lucienne stood with her fists on her hips with her legs apart, standing wide. Her head looked to the right and leaned back. A pair of sunglasses shaded her eyes and an unlit cigarette was placed between her lips to capture the real Lucienne image. With her Interpol ID looped around her neck and her USP sitting on her hip she looked like some kind of life-sized secret agent action figure.

            Aisha looked at her watch and then up at the motionless French agent as she walked around the mannequin-like sedated woman. "Well, it’s almost show time. I’ll show you now how capable I am," The American said almost harshly to the silently posed Lucienne. Aisha grinned and chuckled, "I really like you like this way much better, Agent Christophe."

Private Beach House, Alcobendas, Spain

            Scott casually wiped his hands with a towel as he led his guest, the gray-bearded millionaire Richard Stilton, through the mansion. "This is certainly a nice facility you have here," noted the man, who was nearing fifty and twice divorced. Since Scott and his company knew about Stilton's past experiences with high-profile escort services and the like, he was the ideal first client for their new operation.

            "With men like you as our customers, money is never an issue," replied Scott, leading him into one of the many bedrooms. The room was bare except for a bed with red silk sheets and a simple oak cabinet, but standing in front of the former was the luscious figure of Eva Hallowell. The American model was cupping her breasts from below, her face shaped to show pleasure in the action she was frozen while doing, her brown hair hanging loosely around her upper body.

            "I can't believe it," whistled Richard, walking into the room and waving a hand in front of the unmoving model's face. "Your scientists are geniuses, my friend. What are your rates?"

            "Ideally there would be four packages, but due to the current limitations as the chip is first-generation, we only have three," explained Scott, throwing his towel aside and having it land on the cabinet. "You can pay for an hour, a day, or just buy her for good. An hour is two thousand Euros, a day is a hundred grand and purchases range from five hundred thousand on up, based on availability. Our front is that of an investment group, so the money transfers will certainly appear legitimate. This isn't some simple dummy company either, as it has been in service for years so the standard credit checks make it look real."

            Richard circled Eva, looking her up and down. Being an older man who couldn't get a wife now unless she was a gold digger, thanks in part to his completely gray hair and beard, having a personal slave that could fulfill his sexual needs was perfect. Scott knew dozens of men like Richard who required such company, which was why he was taking the risks to get the women every man would want. "Your prices for purchase seem low, is there a reason?" asked Richard.

            "Shipping is extra, as are remotes and clothing," explained Scott, being perfectly honest. "Also, as I pointed out, she's the first generation, so while being under your command she moves more like a robot than a real woman. Once we have the new chips ready, I imagine the initial prices will double or triple. Eva herself is one million, five hundred thousand, by the way. Natural green eyes but not quite a Perfect-10 model, if you know what that means."

            "All the same, I consider it a bargain," laughed Richard, rubbing his hand along Eva's lower body. "I mean, a realistic sex doll costs several thousand, but here you guys are with real live fashion models that you can control through remote control. I'll take her, plus a remote and few dresses."

            "Excellent, that'll run you almost two million then, if you want her delivered," replied Scott, smiling and pulling out his PDA so he could make a note of the sale.  “Fuel surcharges, you know?”

            "How do you guys do that anyhow?" asked Richard, squeezing Eva's thighs. "I mean, wouldn't a large shipment containing a human woman raise suspicion?"

            "Only if the container hasn't been modified to hide human life-signs," revealed Scott, calculating the total cost of the sale. "X-rays can still scan it, but they won't see anything that looks human. We disguise her image to be something else, like a large collection of clothes or something."

            "Right then, I look forward to her arrival," said Richard, satisfied with the deal. The two men shook hands and Scott quickly led him out of the house, commenting that in the near future many more varied women would be available for purchase. Currently his group was only targeting models, but sooner or later they'd start doing a full sweep and nab whoever they felt they could sell.

            After his client was gone Scott wandered back inside the house and into the primary living room where Alexis was speaking with Ashley, the two were dressed in black robes and sitting quite close together. Scott was aware that Ashley was at least bisexual if not a full lesbian; the fact that she had claimed Mary as her own being a rather blatant sign, but wasn't sure about his British agent. Of the four women he employed he only knew that Leslie was fully straight and that Ryoshi was both bisexual and into the whole statue fetish, but surprisingly she'd kept herself under control during missions, at least so far. Scott also knew Veronica liked feet. It was in his best interest to know as much as he could about his employees, as even the slightest unknown could throw the entire operation into jeopardy.

            "Hello there, how went the sale?" asked Ashley, pausing from her conversation with Alexis.

            "He bought her pretty much on the spot, plus he's suggested a few other women we should work on acquiring," laughed Scott, holding up Stilton's business card and the small list written on the back of it. "None of them are models we're currently shooting for, however, and some aren't even in that profession. If a future target allows for it I'll add them to our list. Carry on now; I've got other stuff to do." Ashley smiled a knowing smile as Scott left, leaving her and the Brit alone.

            "So back to what you were saying, we're looking at a couple of blonde models this time?" asked Alexis, trying to return to the subject of the conversation.

            "Devon Von Krieger and Michelle Foster, to be exact," confirmed Ashley, holding up photos of the two models. "Devon's arguably the most attractive German around, and Michelle's an Aussie due to start a television career shortly for that one American network that frequently shows women in the all-and-all."

            "Ah, the joys of American cable," laughed Alexis, taking the photos and memorizing the faces. "You said something about a new tool that we can use, what is it?"

            "Well...  watch and see," declared Ashley, glancing at her watch. "Hey Veronica, come here please!" shouted the scientist, the other woman being in the adjacent room reading a book. Sure enough a few moments later she came walking over by the couches, her book held in her hands while she was dressed only in a dark blue housecoat. The woman was reading East of Eden, Ashley noted. Veronica opened her mouth as if to say something, her right hand on her hip and her left holding the book at her side. Then she paused, failing to speak, merely standing still as a statue like she'd just been injected with some of Ashley's famous Type-7 drug.

            "How did you... ?" began Alexis.

            "Tiny time-release Type-7 pills in the water she drank half an hour ago," explained Ashley. "Normally a drink of the formula causes someone to freeze within seconds, but this way they can go for a long period of time and thus not be able to know what’s hit them. It's a lot easier to clean up than gas sprayers too, even if they have a self-destruct mode. If the pills time-release and aren't consumed within a human body the chemical compound goes through a rapid breakdown, making the liquid safe to drink again within a few minutes. It's virtually tasteless too, unless your tongue is really sensitive to salt."

            "Wow, it works great," marveled Alexis, standing up and snatching away Veronica's book.  The woman remained motionless and stiff. "How long does it last?"

            "Only about ten hours maximum, as otherwise the pills are too large and can thus be seen," revealed Ashley, also standing. "Scott said he wanted to give you girls twenty-four hours to wind down, so you'll leave tomorrow morning. Leslie should have recovered from her own dose by then as well. You'll be taking our private jet to Berlin."

            "Hey wait, you said the pills were in the water she drank," Alexis suddenly realized. "That was the same water we all had with dinner, wasn't it?"

            "It shouldn't be, I made sure her glass was the--" began Ashley, suddenly stopping in mid-sentence, her lips parted with her left hand gesturing towards Veronica while her right remained at her side.  The seconds ticked on and she showed no signs of moving.

            "Ashley?" asked Alexis, reaching over and touching the stiffened scientist on the shoulder. A quick shake confirmed that Ashley was also under the sedation effects of Type-7. "Bugger; she must have goofed," groaned Alexis, quickly running into the side room where Ryoshi had been watching TV, Veronica having been in the room as well before stepping out to answer Ashley's call. The Japanese woman sat in a lounger, intently watching a Spanish game show that Alexis didn't understand, not being fluent in the language. Ryoshi, like the rest of the women, was dressed only in a robe; hers white with matching fluffy slippers, her arms resting behind her head as she stared vacantly at the screen. Fearing the worst, Alexis's suspicions were confirmed when she waved her hand in front of the Asian woman's face, getting no response.  She was immobilized.

            "Well--" began Alexis, only to succumb to Ashley's error as well, freezing in place as she was moving in mid-step, her right foot raised forward, her left arm gesturing in that direction as well while her right arm and left leg trailed, sudden frustration captured on her features.

            "Nice; I was wondering when that stuff would finally take effect on her," laughed Ryoshi, suddenly moving as she got up from the couch. During the dinner the four women had shared, Ryoshi had seen Ashley drop what had looked like a granular powder into one pitcher of water and promptly deduced it was drugged, thus she'd quickly filled the glasses of Alexis and the scientist with the same thing almost right afterwards with none of them being the wiser. Now with sixteen hours of free time, Ryoshi was free to have the fun she'd been itching to have since she'd joined the team and learned what their main weapon would be.

            "Sorry Lex, I'd go with you but you're not my number one," giggled Ryoshi as she quickly walked to the living room and wrapped her arms around the mannequin-like Veronica, dragging her on her heels. On her way to her own bedroom, which was a few doors down, Ryoshi passed Scott's and heard the familiar sound of a man having sex with a woman through the back door. With Ashley and Alexis accounted for as well as the models, all but Eva being in the secondary kitchen, Ryoshi had a pretty good idea whom Scott was with. Glancing through an open crack in the door, Ryoshi confirmed her suspicions as she watched her employer standing behind an unmoving Leslie while she lay naked on the bed, sprawled in a backside-down starfish position.

            "I guess I'm not the only statue lover around here," Ryoshi whispered to Veronica as they entered the Asian's room, the non-frozen woman disrobing the frozen one and pushing her onto the bed after a quick kiss. "My gay-dar hasn't decided on you, Ronnie, but you're definitely worth going after all the same," declared Ryoshi as she dove on top of her teammate, quickly working towards satisfying her built-up sexual tension. It was a good day for the Japanese woman.

KTC Three, Ground Floor "Coffee House", Berlin, Germany

            The flight from Spain to Germany had been a quick one given the company private jet that had been arranged for them. Once Alexis and her strike team, now was back up to full strength and refreshed, touched down in Berlin they picked up a nondescript white van as arranged, and less than an hour later they arrived at the KTC. Using fake documents obtained by Ryoshi, Veronica was able to park their van in the underground basement of KTC One. Alexis found a coffee shop located on the ground floor of the KTC Three that looked out across the plaza towards the tall twin glass towers of KTC One and Two. KTC One was the target building, which was where the fashion show was being held. The show was scheduled to start in an hour. Alexis, however, did not feel right and decided to send Leslie and Ryoshi out for some recon before they executed their plan. As she waited for her recon teams to report back Alexis and Veronica, dressed as upper class businesswomen, enjoyed their German-blend coffees.

            "Hey, Lex?" Veronica asked, looking down at her coffee in front of her.

            Alexis was scanning the plaza looking for anything that might tip her off to an ambush, "What is it?"

            "Do you feel weird..."

            Looking back at the former Spanish Secret Service agent, "What do you mean, weird?"

            "This Type-7 drug, does it have any kind of side effects? Because I feel like…" she lowered her voice and leaned in closer to her boss, "like I just had a lot of sex. The feeling’s been with me since we left Spain."

            "Don’t worry about it. I feel the same. As a minor side effect, it’s not too bad is it?" Alexis answered, taking a sip from her coffee. "I think everyone feels that way. Leslie commented on it before we left and Ryoshi, well just look at her, she was all smiles after we all woke up from our little interlude."

            "Oh okay," Veronica simply said, even though she was still unsure about what her body was telling her and what her boss was telling her about the effects the drug. She was getting good money for these jobs so she’ll just have to deal with her odd feelings.

            The two women sat in silence for the next ten minutes or so, just keeping an eye on their surroundings was something both were trained to do so and they knew the authorities were on to them by now. Alexis was changing her plan now in an attempt to throw off any pursuers. She had Veronica going in with her to pick up the targets, even though Veronica was more key for the role of driver due to her evasive driving skills she’d picked up in the Spanish Secret Service. Leslie would now drive since she was familiar with the Berlin area while Ryoshi would work support and make sure they didn’t run into any trouble while extracting their targets.

            "You’re right, Alexis," Ryoshi said, smiling at Veronica before turning her attention back to her boss. The Spanish woman looked down at her coffee uncomfortably. "Interpol has to be planning something. I found out that the models’ dressing rooms have been moved to KTC Two and the girls will be transported via underground tunnel before the start of the show. They now have a tactical unit in place of where the original dressing area was," the former Japanese intelligence agent reported, sitting down next to Veronica at the small table. Veronica felt a strange aura from the Japanese woman but couldn’t put her finger on it.

            Leslie sat down next to Alexis and reported, "They moved their surveillance center to the garage instead of keeping it in the main security room at KTC One."

            Alexis took in the information and looked at her watch and then back out the window. With Interpol and the tactical teams in place she would have to be extra careful. She quickly thought up of a practical plan and turned back to her team. Looking at Leslie first, she explained, "You take out that surveillance van in the garage and then give the all clear to Ryoshi, who will take care of the tactical team and secure the tunnel. Once that is done Ryoshi will give me and Veronica the all-clear and we’ll move." Turning back to Leslie and then eying each of the members around the table, "Once we have the targets, you have to be ready to move and we’ll all fall back to van. Clear?"

* * *

            Cassandra didn’t like the set up or the plan. She was starting to wish that Lucienne was around as something more than a still-life. The French agent was good at thinking out of the box and in situations like this. Aisha knew what she was doing, but she was thinking too much like a cop. Their team was spread out way too thin. They had three undercover agents embedded with the models. Hui had command of both tactical teams who were both placed in KTC One. Aisha was so sure the kidnappers were going to strike the show through KTC One that she had both of the tactical teams positioned there. Hui and Cassandra thought the idea was bad, especially because it left Aisha patrolling the tunnel by herself. Another problem with this plan was that Aisha had moved the main surveillance center out into the garage in fear that the original surveillance center inside of KTC One could be compromised. The precaution was sound and the van’s surveillance equipment was tapped into the building’s security cameras, which allowed Cassandra and her small team of four security guards monitored all the potential risk areas that included vents, entry ways, the models’ new and old dressing area and the underground tunnel. The only problem was that being in the garage made the radio communication difficult. Cassandra found herself having a hard time hearing the check-ins from the undercover and tactical units along with Aisha as well. She would have to strictly rely on visual contact to coordinate this thing.

            Hui’s static-filled masked voice sounded in Cassandra’s ear piece, "KTC One to base, radio check over."

            "I hear you KTC One," Cassandra replied wincing at the static in her ears as she moved to the back of van to pour herself some tea. Hui repeated her message. With her cup of tea in hand Cassandra moved back towards the monitors and was able to see the Chinese agent sitting among the dozen or so Berlin SWAT officers just behind the runway. "I hear you, KTC One, but not clearly," she repeated, speaking louder and moving the mouthpiece of her headset closer to her lips.

            "Roger that base; I hear you now," Hui replied sticking a thumb’s up at the camera.

            "Damn radios…" Cassandra muttered as she looked at the monitors and noted everything was clear. Tasia, who was wearing her hair down, was designated with an earpiece and a tiny watch microphone, reported in next for a radio check. She had to repeat her report twice in order for Cassandra to hear her.

            "Aisha, the signal is really bad; I may have to relocate. I’m having trouble picking up the teams through the net," Cassandra said loudly into her mouthpiece. She took her seat behind the four camera operators and looked up monitors.  Everything was clear.

            "We just have to deal, Cassie. We can’t risk moving the van now. How are we looking?" Aisha asked. Cassandra looked at the video feed showing her boss walking in the tunnel. She was dressed in a business dress suit with a white dress shirt underneath. The jacket had the KTC logo on the right breast showing that it was the security uniform for the complex.

            "We’re good, everything is clear," Cassandra simply, said sipping her tea. Looking down at the floor of the van she noticed a small tube. Before she could think, everything faded to black and silence.

* * *

            Leslie, dressed in a pair of dark coveralls, slinked out from under the Interpol security van. She looked around the empty parking garage and noted that no one had seen her. Walking to the back of the van she peeked through the tiny access windows. Inside she saw four uniformed security looking up at the monitors and a female dressed in a dark-colored pants suit seated behind them. The woman held a cup of tea in one hand had her other hand up to her ear piece while she was looking down towards the floor. Leslie knocked on the door loudly. No one inside the van moved. She stared at them for a couple of minutes to make sure the gas had taken effect. Satisfied, she removed her hand-held from her breast pocket and reported, "Security van is secured. You’re clear, Ryoshi."

            Everyone in the van, including Cassandra, was more or less out cold and thus could not do anything about the image that was shown on the monitors. The monitor showing ventilation system over fashion show in KTC One showed a black-clad figure appearing and dragging a pumping system behind them. Cassandra’s eyes stayed fixated on the floor of the van as the figure drills into the vent wall and inserts the injector tube.

* * *

            The crowed within the basement of KTC One were frozen in the moment as if they were all part of gigantic wax diorama. Behind the runway, the fully armed tactical team stood around as if they were action figures in a toy store. Hui sat on a folded chair dressed casually in black slacks and a sleeveless blouse covered by a tactical vest with an MP-5 suspended in front of her. She was frozen looking up at a SWAT officer, her lips her agape with eyes half shut. Ryoshi moved through the packed basement dressed in her black "ninja" outfit and gas mask as she surveyed the scene. There were some nice looking ladies in the crowd and she wondered if she would be able to double back and take a peek while Alexis and Veronica did their thing. She saw the lone Asian woman back stage and figured her to be Interpol. She was about to get closer to look when her earpiece came alive.

            "What is your status, Ryoshi?" Alexis’s sultry British accent asked. The former intelligence took a quick look around once more, controlled her urges, and then left quickly. She moved stealthily down the hall and made her way towards the underground tunnel. Once there she peeled off her gas mask, knowing that the gas was not able to reach that far thanks to the many vents under the buildings.

            "KTC One is secured. They’re all stiffed.  Moving to tunnel now." Ryoshi replied calmly, pulling out her dart gun.

* * *

            "Cassie, do you hear me?" Aisha asked again into her mouthpiece. She was starting to regret the position of the van. She had to get to higher ground and hopefully she could get the word out to Cassandra to relocate before the kidnappers knew what was up. Aisha briskly made her way towards the tunnel exit that lead to KTC One. She was the only one in the tunnel and the only thing that she heard was the sound of her heels against the concrete.

            As she reached the corner, a woman all in black popped out in front of her. Aisha jumped back in surprise and pulled her USP, only to feel a sharp pain on her neck as everything quickly faded. The lead Interpol agent turned stiff as a board as her body dropped to the concrete as if she was still standing upright. One of her nylon covered legs was slightly in front of the other while both and gripped the USP that was held in front of her. The expression on her face was one of shock with eyes wide and mouth open.

            Ryoshi stepped over the frozen woman and fired another dart into her for good measure before she spoke into her radio, "Tunnel is secured. You are clear," She simply said, looking down at Aisha. She looked at her watch and calculated how much time she had before extraction. It wasn’t enough to double back to KTC One but it was enough to have some fun with the dark-skinned Interpol agent. "Let’s get you around the corner and see what you’re hiding under that fancy suit." Ryoshi smiled evilly as she bent down and took hold of Aisha’s ankles.

* * *

            Marika, fully undercover as Devon Von Krieger, was having her attendant finish styling her short blonde hair so it had plenty of body. She, Tasia and Miranda were all in character, dressed in their assigned clothing, but had their trusty USP pistols tucked away inside the counter drawers. There were forty people in the room; fifteen models and twenty-five assistants and the like. To Marika's left was a tall woman with milky skin and a black bobcut. At the end of the row was Michelle Foster, the other very attractive blonde in the show's current line-up and considered to be a probable target. After learning what had happened with Devon, Interpol had chosen to make sure none of the models knew the show would most likely be the next one targeted.

            "I can't believe they didn't give us better listening equipment," whispered Tasia to Marika's right, the Greek free to talk for a moment while her assistant scurried about elsewhere. "What do we do if they blind the cameras and we see something is wrong?"

            "We have the equipment but if something like that happen we just have to deal with it ourselves," was Marika's serious reply, feeling her stomach churn. "I must admit however I do prefer it when Lucienne's in command. She would have not done something so foolish. I think Aisha's distracted by something."

            "She's probably flustered because she's never dealt with this kind of thing before," suggested Tasia, taking a sip of water before her assistant returned with the dark red lipstick she was going to apply. A travel agency sponsoring the event had provided all the models and assistants with free water, much to everyone's delight. Marika herself wasn't a fan of straight water and had managed to get some cranberry juice to help flavor it. "So what's up with you and the charming Inspector Bran?" asked Tasia, changing the subject and speaking in a normal tone of voice.

            "Tasia, that's personal, and too new for me to say," was Marika's quick reply, the blonde fighting the impulse to blush and managing to succeed. At this point the brunette working on Tasia began to apply the lipstick so Marika was granted some silence from her friend while her own assistant began sorting through the bottles on the counter, looking for the right fragrance. Right when she'd apparently found it the dirty blond picked it up and held it in front of her, waiting. Marika raised her eyebrow at that and then slowly reached up and took the bottle from her assistant, whose name she recalled as being Hilde. However the petite assistant's right arm remained where it was as if she were still holding the bottle. Instantly the color drained from Marika's face and she stood, looking around.

            The preparation room was as still and as silent as a field of statues. Tasia sat in her chair with her assistant pressing the lipstick to the left side of her upper lip, Tasia's mouth open in an O-shape. Next to Tasia was Miranda who had water spilling down her dress as she had a glass of water on her lips whose contents had spilled out onto her, her free left hand raised at the wrist while resting on her hair, her index finger the only one fully extended. The bobcut model was applying her own eye shadow to her left eye while Michelle, furthest down, was having her left nails painted and was frozen in the middle of a laugh. The situation was bad, as it seemed only Marika was free to move.

            "What the bloody hell?!" cursed a blond woman in a designer yellow blouse and black shorts, one whom Marika recognized as being one of the pair that had distributed the water. Marika took one step forward and tried to burst into a run, but her feet suddenly failed to move, seemingly glued on the spot.

            "Who are you?!" demanded Marika, grabbing her ankles and trying desperately to move her feet. "Ah, what's going on?!" A Second woman appeared; she also dressed like the first but had dark hair instead of blond. Marika felt her ankles stop moving and stood up straight again, desperately trying to move but only managing to flail her arms.

            "Something weird is going on; she should be frozen like the others," muttered the dark-haired woman, the blond nodding agreement.

            "Well it looks like her feet just locked up, so I guess she's just having a delayed reaction," declared the Brit, flashing a dark smile as she stared at Marika. "You're Devon Von Krieger, right? You're going to go on a little trip with us." The blond pointed at her associate and then down at Michelle, the dark-haired woman nodding and walking over to the Aussie as Marika felt her knees lock while slightly bent.

            "Who the hell are you people?!" demanded Marika, her waist suddenly locking as she leaned to the right. "Why are you doing this?!"

            "Money, what else?" laughed the Brit. "Go ahead, make all the noise you want. Everyone drank our special water so they're just statues now, like you soon will be." Marika raised her arms and tried to grab the blond as she walked towards her but then felt her shoulders freeze, leaving her arms stuck in the elevated position.

            "You won't get away with this, they'll catch you," warned Marika, feeling her arms freeze completely with her fingers hooked slightly, her elbows straight.

            "Not if they're just a bunch of mannequins, they can't," laughed the blond once again as the dark-haired woman dragged over Michelle, her shoes abandoned by her chair and her assistant laying awkwardly against the wall now.

            "Don't under...  es..." managed Marika before she felt her tongue freeze. A moment later her vision went dark as did the rest of her senses and her thoughts.

* * *

            With every main threat literally frozen in place, Alexis and Veronica were able to take their time with their two blonde targets, Devon being surprisingly tall while Michelle was only average height. Fortunately they still didn't have to go far before they reached the van where Leslie was waiting. Since the first gas had been sprayed, nineteen minutes had passed, most wasted on waiting for the tunnel to be cleared. Upon arrival Veronica hopped in and working with Leslie they slid their target in on her back as it was a windowed van thus having the faces of kidnap victims hidden from outside the van. A moment later Devon was slid into the vehicle as well on Michelle's right, Alexis sitting next to her while Veronica plopped next to her own charge. It took another three minutes for Ryoshi to arrive with Leslie noting that the Japanese woman's pants were in disarray as was her hair, her face flushed. "What were you doing?" asked the German, her accent pronounced as she was clearly feeling the pressure from the elapsed time.

            "Wrong question to ask," chuckled Ryoshi, quickly strapping in. "Lets move, quickly!" As if waiting for a cue, Leslie needed a small nudge from Alexis before she started the van and quickly drove out into the streets of the city while Veronica readied two hypodermic needles full of Type-7.

            "Two more in the bag, Scott will love it," grinned Veronica as she injected Michelle with the drug. Alexis took the second needle and found a good spot on Devon's right arm, injecting the Amazon of a woman with a full dose of the drug, nearly hitting overdose levels. Ashley had warned the team about using too much Type-7 as an overdose wouldn't allow for the chips to work right thus they'd need to use a restoration fluid on the victim first.

            "Oh, another Interpol agent was given a couple of darts, so she'll be out of our hair for a few days, hopefully time for at least one more job," announced Ryoshi, opening her dart gun and checking how many shots she had left.

            "Perfect, we'll tear them apart one by one if we have to, but I'd say we're certainly winning this little game," smiled Alexis, stroking Devon's hair. She did find the blonde quite attractive, but she was a model so she'd expected it. "Welcome to slavery, my beautiful Aryan supermodel," whispered Alexis to the frozen woman.

Chapter 4

KTC Two, 7^th Floor, Interpol Temporary HQ, Berlin, Germany

            They had laid Aisha out on the boardroom table between Chloe and Kazu. The American agent had been found completely naked near the exit leading from the tunnel into KTC One. Her body had been coated with a shiny slimy substance, which was sampled for examination before it was cleaned off. Her stiff form was moved, under Hui’s orders, to the boardroom and laid on the table as-is. Aisha’s bare arms were raised over her head and her naked legs were spread wide, exposing her neatly trimmed womanhood. Her long black hair that was usually tied back in a conservative ponytail was loose around her head and was a mess. The American’s face was posed with her brown eyes wide and dark lips slightly parted.

            Hui, still dressed in her tactical vest, entered the boardroom with a blanket and closed the door behind her. Moving over to the side of the table she draped the blanket over her current boss, covering her private areas. Only Aisha’s raised arms, spread legs and head are visible. Looking at the front of the room, she saw Lucienne’s figure was now joined by Miranda and Tasia who still remained seated in their stools, frozen since earlier. Tasia had her sexy tan legs crossed at the knees with her hands clasped together on her lap. She sat with her back straight with her head raised slightly and her lips in the shape of an "o". Lipstick only covered her lower lip. As usual, like all of her outfits, the blue and white dress that the Greek wore hugged her shapely exotic body like a glove. Hui looked the redhead up and down from head to toe, wishing that she had a body like that; maybe then Tommy would pay more attention to her. Sighing, she looked over at her friend and partner Miranda, who had her hand up to her face with her fingers curved as if she was holding an invisible cup. Her other hand was over her dark hair. The shimmering red sun dress that she had on was still moist down the front from the spill from her drink. Hui looked at the tight-fitting dress and Miranda’s crossed legs. "You look good," she whispered looking into the Hawaiian’s empty hazel eyes, which were at half-staff.

            A sudden feeling of warmness swept over Hui; she looked around at the mannequin-like crowd of frozen agents around her and then back at Miranda. Without thinking Hui pulled down Miranda’s wrists so that her arms were down at her sides with fingers still frozen in an unnatural pose. Hui then spread apart the Hawaiian’s stiff legs so that she could fit between them. She was now face-to-face with the undercover expert, whose bare knees were at Hui’s hips. Hui could feel her face flushed and hot with desire as well as the rest of body as she pulled down the spaghetti straps from Miranda’s smooth shoulders. She then pulled down the front of the dress, revealing Miranda’s round breasts tipped with brown nipples. Hui’s hands involuntarily groped the two orbs as she leaned in to kiss the frozen woman.

            The brief knock at the door snapped Hui from her erotic thoughts. She quickly looked around the room. All those in sight, including her four teammates, were still suspended. Looking at Miranda in front of her who was still mostly dressed with her arms fixed in their original positions. Hui took a deep breath and noticed that she was sweating. There was another knock at the door. She wiped the sweat from her brow, trying to compose herself. "Who is it!" she answered, surprised that she had raised her voice. Her emotions were out of control. "Damn you Miranda…" she muttered at her silent and frozen friend who still had a weird sense of control over Hui even in her current immobile state.  Thankfully, whoever had knocked hadn’t just barged in.

            "What’s going on?" Hui asked, back to her calm and collected self, as she stepped out of boardroom and closed the door close behind her. One more minute in that boardroom might have been bad; she was glad in a way she was interrupted. Standing outside was the German tactical officer still dressed in his armor that stood at attention. "We’re not in the military; there is no need for that." Hui said with a grin.

            "Interpol command is on the phone, ma’am, and I can’t find the senior agent in charge."

            Hui sighed and looked back towards the boardroom, remembering that both senior agents were out of the game at this point, along with most of her colleagues. "I’ll take it," Hui replied, flashing her smile.

* * *

            Cassandra was in the farthest office away from everyone else on the 7^th floor. She needed some time to be alone. Hui was simply left in charge at the moment since she had made herself unavailable. The Chinese agent was only a year her junior, so she was qualified to take charge if she had to. Cassandra was use to doing things by the book every day since she was an inspector at Scotland Yard and then in her early days at Interpol. Lucienne usually did things more out-of-the-box but she was a competent and creative lead agent so Cassandra always went along with her. Aisha was like Cassandra; she did everything by the book as well so they also worked well together through the last couple of months. She was starting to realize now that doing things by the book didn’t always get the job done being that four of her team members were now frozen statues and one was missing.   The fact she had almost joined them after she had been gassed and immobilized in the van did nothing at all to calm her nerves.

            She leaned back in her chair, taking deep breath, trying to pull herself together. She was beginning to feel like she was going to fall apart any minute. Marika, who she had put undercover as the lead supermodel, was now missing. Both lead agents were out now, stiff as waxworks for who knew how long. Any minute now that the home office was going to call and ask for her. Cassandra was now the default lead investigator and Hui Lan was her second. What was she going to tell the director?  She had always wanted her own team, but not like this. A knock at the door made Cassandra jumped and she automatically answered, "Come in," turning around in the swivel chair to face the door just as Hui entered the office and closed the door softly behind her.

            "Everyone is looking for you, Cass," Hui said quietly with her usual friendly grin as she sat down on the chair in front of the desk.

            "I need to clear my head for a bit," Cassandra replied, realizing that she was feeling tired and sleepy. She wanted to just go home. Everything was becoming a steaming mess of...

            "You’re lead agent now," Hui simply said and paused to let news settle in. "The home office just called."

            Leaning on the desk, Cassandra asked tiredly, "What did you tell them?"

            "Well, I told them you were busy running things and were unable to come to phone. Then I reported that Marika is missing and that Aisha, Miranda and Tasia are now out, under the effects of Type-7, and that none of the previously sedated agents have regained mobility."

            "Thanks, Hui," Cassandra replied with a forced smile.

            Hui smiled thinly, "I told them you would call them back in fifteen with a more detailed report."

            "I take that back," Cassandra smiled, dropping her head on the desk. "What am I going to tell them, that Aisha screwed this one up, Hui? The asset placement was all wrong. The communication was terrible, and our adversary out-thought us at virtually every turn. We lost an agent because of that, and three more became statues. I should have pushed for a better plan of action. I don’t think I can clean this one up; I feel that I’m partially responsible for this disaster. Lucienne should have been in charge from the beginning. Aisha is a fine agent and all, but she just lacks the experience. Hui, I think you should be lead; my head isn’t in the right place right now," Cassandra bemoaned.  The room remained quiet the only thing that could be heard was the soft murmur of voices from the Germans just down the hall from the office. Cassandra looked, up expecting to see Hui’s smiling face sitting across from her. Instead the seat in front of her was empty. She sat up straight and looked around the empty office, then stopped abruptly at feeling a pair of hands on her shoulders.

            "Relax, Cass," Hui said softly as she firmly and erotically worked her hands on Cassandra’s tense shoulders.

            "What are you do…" Cassandra started to ask but felt a wave of warmness washing over her. She started to sag down in her seat heavily; her mind was becoming clouded but she felt an unnatural feeling of total relaxation. Her body was going limp, her arms dropped to her side like limp noodles. Her head heavily dropped forward. Darkness was surrounding her but she felt safe and warm.  Just as she was about to black out completely, everything came back to normal and she felt as if she had slept for ten hours. Her mind was free of stress and her body felt great.

            Hui leaned around from behind and smiled cutely at her, "Better, Cass?" she asked bashfully as if nothing had happened.

            "Bloody Hell Hui!" Cassandra remarked, standing up quickly while smiling at the petite Chinese agent who plopped herself up on the desk and playfully swung her legs. "What the hell was that? I feel great now!"

            "Old Chinese relaxing technique." Hui simply said, looking at the British agent. "You have a great smile, Cass."

            Cassandra couldn’t help but blush at the comment. "You really should market that technique; open a parlor or something. Bloody Hell, that was ridiculously amazing!"

            "I’ve been told that, but a woman like me opening a place like that creates unwanted rumors. So, no thank you, I’ll stick with Interpol. The company is better anyways," Hui replied grinning. "Now that you are refreshed, what’s the plan, chief?"

            Cassandra looked at the grinning agent. She made a note that if she ever got her own team, after this fiasco, she was going to request Hui as second-in-command. If Lucienne could do it with Tasia, she could surely do the same with Hui. She thought quickly and analyzed the situation before she spoke, "Get me the lead inspector in charge."

Four hours later…

            Tasia and Miranda had thankfully recovered from their brief exposure to the Type-7 and they only hoped that Marika was well, wherever she was. They were still in the boardroom, having been tasked with taking care of Aisha and watching the other frozen girls, making sure no entered the room. Tasia was dressed in a dark red tight-fitting pants suit while Miranda was in a cream colored skirt and a short-sleeved blouse. Both had their USP’s on their hips and IDs looped around their necks. Tasia was sitting on the edge of the boardroom table, "Stupid plan; Lucienne should have been in charge," the Greek muttered, tying her long red hair back into a ponytail.

            Aisha was still naked and was now standing at attention with her arms slightly spread at her sides. Her face bore a vacant look and her hair was again tied back into her usual ponytail. Miranda was kneeling over a suitcase full of clothes. "How I am supposed to know if any of this stuff fits her? And really, who cares whose in charge or not, everything always works out at the end."

            "Marika is missing because of her mistakes!" Tasia gestured towards Aisha’s stuck form.

            "Hey relax," Miranda smiled and stood up to face the Greek. "Everything is going to be fine. Cassandra can fix this. Don’t worry and just relax," Miranda said, giving Tasia a reassuring smile and rubbing her shoulders. Tasia took a deep breath a collected herself; the Hawaiian was right. Lucienne had told her once that Cassandra could fix pretty much any messed up situation. "Ok now that’s better. There’s no time for blame; help me dressing Aisha up, you did such a great job on Lucienne," Miranda said, going back to the suitcase.

            "That’s only because I went through Lucienne’s own suitcase, not some random model clothing," Tasia explained, kneeling next to Miranda. Looking up at the naked American, "She’s pretty hot; nice tits…" She stopped in mid-sentence, forgetting that she was with Miranda not Lucienne.

            Miranda laughed, "Don’t worry about it. We’re on the same team, if you know what I mean,” she said, looking through the case and shuffling clothes around. "There’s no underwear in here."

            "Screw it; let her go commando… that’s what I did with Lucienne," Tasia suggested. "She’s pretty tall, so I think most of the dresses in there would fit her.  They might be tight on top, but they’ll fit."

            Miranda shrugged and picked out a nice pink strapless evening gown from the case, "Commando it is."

* * *

            "What do you have, Inspector Bran?" Cassandra asked as the sharp looking German detective entered the main meeting room of the office, which was used for their command center. Dieter Bran was the lead German cop in charge of the operation and he was greatly affected by Marika’s kidnapping, having just met her only hours before. Since the incident he has had his team working on overdrive doing everything they could to assist the remaining active Interpol agents.

            Dieter took a seat at the board table across from Cassandra. Hui, the other agent, was on the phone; she had been tracking flights and trains that had left the area within the last six hours. Dieter’s job was to establish checkpoints and lock Berlin down; easier said than done for a capitol city. Traffic outside of the KTC was a nightmare, to say the least, but was necessary. "I looked over the security cameras and accounted for every vehicle that was in the area at the time of the incident. All of them checked out, but this one," he explained, sliding a photograph of the van’s plates taken by a security camera to Cassandra. "I ran the plate and they came back to a rental agency. Cross referencing that got me nowhere. These people are good, they know how to cover their tracks."

            "I’ve got nothing from airports and rail services. No one has spotted anything unusual," Hui reported, hanging up the phone and joining Cassandra and Dieter.

            Cassandra thought for a minute. The kidnappers wouldn’t be doing the obvious things; they were good and knew how to disappear quickly.  This meant they were either former cops or spies. It was going to be a waste of time to try to chase them; they would have left few or no clues. The best bet would be to head off their plans, try to predict their next move and then work from there. "Hui, look up for any major fashion shows happening on the continent in the coming days," she ordered, turning to the Chinese agent. Hui nodded moving over to a nearby computer. Turning to Dieter, who had received a phone call from his cell and was speaking in rapid German too fast for Cassandra to translate, she waited until he was done.

            Closing his phone Dieter sighed and looked at Cassandra with a gloom look. "The actual Devon Von Krieger had become unreachable." Cassandra was speechless. How could they have known? Dieter continued, "I’m sending a unit out to her private estate now to confirm, but it does not look good."

            "I’m going to need you to keep doing what you’re doing, Dieter. Keep searching even though you don’t have anything just keep on doing it. I’ll pass the word to our French and Spanish friends as well. These kidnappers may have an inside person at these shows; we have to keep looking like we’re behind them so they’ll be watchful and won’t expect us to be at the next location waiting for them," Cassandra explained; this was a page out of Lucienne’s play book. The art of misdirection; she hoped by showing a large amount of activity at the already hit places would cause the kidnappers to think that the cops maybe getting closer. This would hopefully make them move faster, more recklessly. Dieter nodded and flipped out his cell to make the calls.

            "Cassie, the World’s Number One Model, is filming an episode in Moscow and – get this –

there will be two model judges:  Cammie Domingo and Judy Robertson. The host is also former model Tonya Cash. I’m pretty sure this is their next target," Hui reported from the computer.

            "Tell Tasia and Miranda and then get Lucienne and Aisha ready to move," Cassandra ordered. She then turned to Dieter, "We’re going to Russia; make sure that news does not leave this room. We’ll leave the rest of our frozen witnesses behind with you." Dieter simply nodded and called two of his inspectors over to make the proper arrangements for the covert departure.

Private Train, Roughly 200 km East of Berlin

            After discovering that Devon Von Krieger had been replaced by one of her old Interpol enemies, namely Marika Heino, Ashley had been somewhat upset. Scott had pointed out their customers wanted models, not incredibly impressive imitations. Already the dark-haired scientist was trying to think of what to say to her partner, who was really more her superior or employer, as she worked furiously on her laptop, a wire connecting to the chips attached at the napes of the necks of Marika and Michelle Foster. Both women were naked of course, standard policy for Scott, and stood at stiff attention, their eyes gazing blankly ahead as they rode in the special back car of the train. The unit was split in two, with storage for the programmed women in the back and a laboratory section for Ashley in the front. Connected to it was the dining car and beyond that were the sleeping car and then finally the engine. Ashley was amused that trains were still as popular in Europe as she couldn't recall the last time someone had mentioned riding one to her while in the United States, unless you counted a monorail or subway.

            Once the slave program had started installation, Ashley finally cracked a smile and stood, putting her laptop aside. "Sorry to program and dash, ladies, but I'm famished," offered the scientist, giving Marika a quick peck on the lips. The Finnish Amazon had appeared in Ashley's dreams a couple of times since they'd last crossed paths so it was always nice to see her again, especially in the buff.

            The dining car was quiet, but Ashley had intended it that way. To help get rid of the stress after figuring out who Marika was, Ashley had compulsively insisted the team take some time-release Type-7 pills with their dinner which they'd agreed to, all four of them finding the drug quite restful. Veronica stood in the aisle, her back to Ashley with her body in mid-stride, the kidnapper still dressed in the outfit she'd worn while in disguise earlier. Alexis was nowhere in sight, most likely already back in her bed. Ryoshi and Leslie weren't present either. In the kitchen was Yoon Suk, who'd been determined to be the best cook, the chipped woman was wearing a white apron which covered her front but did nothing for her naked back; she had her hair tied back in a chef's bun.

            "Make me something tasty, and use regular water," insisted Ashley, after pointing her remote at the idle model and activating her slave mode. Like a primitive robot, Yoon moved to obey, her limbs bending very jerkily. Progress had been made on the new chip but it wasn't quite there yet. All the same, Scott had already managed to sell Eva and Calixta and made a few million dollars so the project was soon going to be in the profitable stages. As Yoon went to work, Ashley casually walked up to Veronica, turned her around and dragged her on her heels into the other car. Ashley knew Ryoshi had dibs on the dark-haired girl so she didn't do more than cop a quick feel.

            As there were only four rooms on the train, the four agents Scott had hired shared sleeping areas. Veronica was bunked with Ryoshi so Ashley dragged the dark-haired beauty in there only to be surprised to see Ryoshi and Leslie locked in a passionate kiss in front of the former’s bed. "You do get around," giggled Ashley as she slid Veronica into the room and plopped her on the edge of her bed. Deciding the two lovers should have some more privacy, Ashley then pulled out a small vial of Type-7 she always carried and dripped a few drops into Veronica's exposed throat to make sure she would awaken after the Asian and the blonde did. Both had their eyes closed; the taller Leslie was pressing down on Ryoshi's lips with her hands on her butt, so Ashley had to assume any questions about the German's sexual preferences were answered, unless Ryoshi had arranged it to look that way. The Asian woman had her own arms around Leslie's rear as well. "Sorry to disturb!" called Ashley as she closed the door behind her.

            A few minutes later, Ashley sat in the dining car again enjoying a bowl of lamb stew when Scott suddenly wandered in, wearing a black suit with a matching tie and a white shirt, making him look like a bodyguard. "Where have you been?" asked Ashley as she casually took a spoonful of her meal, Yoon Suk was silently sitting across from her.

            "In my room getting, a proper rest and speaking with the rest of the company," explained the only male present, plopping down next to Yoon.

            "You've been doing that for the last five hours," noted Ashley in between bites of lamb, tomato, potato, turnip, mushroom and carrot.

            "I was busy fixing an error we didn't know we were going to encounter until it was too late while you were train-sitting and the girls were out doing their thing," declared Scott, pulling out a remote of his own and pointing it at Yoon Suk, pressing the command 'BACK MASSAGE.' "I've got some good news, by the way."

            "What would that be?" asked Ashley as she watched the Korean slave massage her employer's back with her thumbs.

            "Why don't I tell you what I was doing in Berlin while the girls were out making new friends?" suggested Scott.

Room 214 of the Hilton Hotel, Berlin

            Not having enough time to really go anywhere, Devon Von Krieger had decided to merely contact the Paradise Foundation to help her go into hiding while the fashion show was taking place. The organization catered to all but really took care of the rich, offering them all kinds of services including a full package arrangement for last minute vacations. The organization had sent her a special bodyguard named Matt Parker who'd also brought with him a long brown wig that looked real enough along with a modest car and a reservation at the Hilton for her under a false name. A wheelchair had also been arranged so it looked like she was handicapped, thus no one would assume she was really one of the country's greatest models.

            Matt was now sitting in a nice wooden chair at the table in the room, casually flipping through the daily paper while Devon emerged from the shower. The tall blonde model was stunning and she knew it, giggling every time her Canadian bodyguard tried to hide the bulge in his pants. Little did he know she had one other request that she hoped later on he'd help fulfill, as while he wasn't that handsome he wasn't really ugly either and did have a certain charm to him. Emerging from the bathroom in a fluffy white robe with matching slippers, Devon was surprised to see a cart with a white cloth, a bouquet of flowers and a silver tray on top as well as a bottle of Chardonnay and a single glass. "You ordered me something?" asked the model as she eagerly sat down in the chair placed in front of the tray. As she was a model she knew how to pace her meals, but still looked forward to them, something many women who were trying to look thin didn't seem to master.

            "Tomato and basil soup with balsamic rice, leek and a hint of spinach," explained Matt, lowering his paper and flashing Devon a warm smile. "We had a list of some of your favorite foods and I figured you might be hungry."

            "You are such a dear!" exclaimed Devon, removing the lid and seeing a white bowl full of her favorite soup in front of her. Eager to eat at the sight of food, Devon immediately dug right in, grabbing a silver spoon and having a few dignified sips of the broth. After the third slurp however Devon suddenly stopped with her right hand holding the spoon to her lips which were puckered, her left hand on her lap and her head leaning forward slightly.

            "About time," grumbled Matt, putting his paper aside and grabbing the wheelchair. With strength honed from years of weight lifting, the false bodyguard lifted the slim model by her armpits out of her chair and into the one with wheels. Afterwards, he quickly dumped the soup into a thermos, making sure to rinse the dishes, and for the sake of it stashed the bottle of wine near Devon's crotch before covering her lower body in a throw blanket and placing her wig on her head as well as sunglasses, reshaping her lips so they were neutral. Devon was unrecognizable. Once he was satisfied with the quality of the room, Matt quickly made a minor mess, even leaving behind his company-issue pistol and scattering traces of real blood on the floor. To the average person the room would look like a crime scene that involved possibly murder, thus it wouldn't fit the usual method used by the kidnappers. Following his completion of the scene Matt activated the remote that disabled the hotel's security cameras and wheeled the frozen and disguised Devon on a prearranged route to the service elevator, which took them to the handicap van he had waiting.

* * *

            "So you posed as her bodyguard and drugged her soup?" asked Ashley, glancing down at her own meal suspiciously.  The only taste Type-7 had was slightly salty..

            "Relax, I have no reason to drug you, yet," Scott assured the scientist while pressing another button on the remote which caused Yoon to stop massaging his shoulders, returning her hands to her lap and seeming to freeze once more. "She's in my room right now, I didn't have a chance to put her in the back yet. I was, like I said, resting and talking to our superiors about the plan for Moscow."

            "Yes, I could understand that, since the upcoming television show will have three of the most famous models in the world attending," recalled Ashley, knowing vague details about their next target. After months of using Type-7 recreationally, Ashley was usually able to tell when she'd taken any and, sure enough Scott hadn't messed with her food, or the glass of sparkling water she was having with the meal.

            "Don't worry, we've arranged something so cunning no one will figure it out," chuckled Scott as Ashley pushed her bowl away, the stew gone. "The team will primarily just need to plant false evidence and deal with anyone who manages to avoid our first little strike."

            "I hope they can handle it, since our little Interpol prize in the back seems to indicate we could be in for some trouble," Ashley reminded Scott as she stood up and headed for the sleeping car. Scott casually followed her, after making sure that Yoon was fully in freeze mode before he left.

            A few moments later, Ashley stood in Alexis's room where the blond Brit stood in front of her bed, frozen right before removing her tight black bra that nearly showed the tops of her nipples, her hands held behind her back. Ashley grinned ear to ear as she casually strode in and finished what the Brit had started, revealing perfectly round breasts that Ashley suspected were fake but after a quick rub discovered they were not. "You really know how to take care of what's important," cooed Ashley as she placed her head between Alexis's pillowy breasts.

            "Now there's an image," chuckled Scott from the doorway, causing Ashley to stand upright, startled.  She reddened.

            "I thought you were..." began Ashley, but Scott held up a finger, walked over and touched it to her lips.

            "Devon can wait; you know how hard it is to nail a subordinate?" asked Scott with a smile. Ashley took his hand and lowered it, pressing it on her own breasts through her white blouse.

            "All right, a threesome, but remember that this is strictly to keep my job," insisted Ashley as she let Scott unbutton her shirt with his hand.

            "Yeah, yeah, it'll mostly be mechanical for me too," was Scott's amused reply as he got a look at Ashley's chest. "I prefer blonds myself, but when you have a chance to go with multiple women, you take it."

Paradise Garden Palace, Moscow, Russia

            It had cost two million dollars to build but it would make them at least triple, Tasia realized as she strolled through the massive building that had been renovated by the Paradise Foundation. Originally founded in 1999, the Paradise Foundation was controlled by two of the world's top twenty billionaires and catered to people and companies with a lot of cash. The Foundation had their own private security, personal needs, travel agents, and architects, everything a person with money could want to help them live their lives like their bank accounts dictated. For the show The World's Number One Model that meant creating a virtual garden wonderland for the filming of the season finale. A two story abandoned building on the north end of the Russian capital, long thought to be condemned, was renovated and now many celebrity models, a couple of whom had successful film and stage careers, were going to be present. All this fanfare was why Interpol was worried and why Tasia was once again undercover. Tasia's identification claimed she was a Greek model who was there because of invitation and she'd been given the small pink flower to wear on her white dress which indicated she was supposed to be there. Everyone on the building wore a similar flower, regular ID badges just not cutting it.

            Up on an elevated stage was Tonya Cash, the world's most famous African American model who'd been Miss America back when she was nineteen. Now in her mid-thirties, she was still an object of international fantasy and the host of a popular international television series. The woman was tall, thin, and had her hair colored to a honey-blond color that was also extremely curly and stuck out a lot. She was wearing a conservative black dress with a red flower pattern on it and talking into a camera with a microphone in her hands. Not far away were the two guest judges for the show, Cammie Domingo and Judy Robertson. Cammie was the same age as Tonya, plus or minus a few months, and was a blonde with a body that was tight in the right areas but still had more where it was really needed, such as her breasts and face. A combination of cute and hot, Cammie was a twice-nominated actress who'd been a model since she was in her late teens. Judy meanwhile was quite tall; almost as tall as the towering Tonya and Amazonian Marika, and was a southern belle as they were called in the United States. Her hair was naturally a nice dark brown but it had been highlighted to seem reddish. Pushing forty, Tasia doubted Judy was nearly as attractive as the make-up artists made her look, her smile still quite large, but she did own an Academy award and had a dozen nominations for various others under her thin belt so Tasia had to respect her. If Tasia thought she had a chance, she might actually consider dumping Lucienne for one of the three women she was now looking at. A ringing of her cell phone distracted her from that thought.

            "Tasia, report," asked Cassandra from over the cell. It looked like an ordinary phone but it was really a special issue one that was protected by advanced encryption algorithms. Tasia casually glanced around and found a quiet spot to talk near the bathrooms. The Greek agent also had a listening device in her ear but the phone worked better for communication as she was undercover.

            "No one suspicious, usual crowd," declared Tasia, scanning the throng again. "They're probably going to enter from the outside, in which case I won't be much help as whatever will affect the crowd will probably hit me too."   She was worried about what might happen after she was frozen again.

            "Don't worry, we'll make sure no one kidnaps you again," Cassandra assured her teammate over the phone. "We've got four surveillance teams and only one is in a van, which is hidden from the public being positioned on a service road by the way. These guys would have to be pretty good to tag all four groups."

            Outside the building, Cassandra sat at a face to face with a male agent named Ivan as she talked on her own cell, the pair pretending to be on a date. Two more agents were at another table, also in disguise and pretending to be lovers. Hui was hidden in the back alley, behind a pile of cardboard, with three other agents wearing body armor and carrying submachine guns. Miranda and two other undercover agents were doing various things in the nearby bookstore. Only the truck, which was painted red and hidden from the public eye, really stood out. Inside, agents were monitoring the situation through several wireless cameras Tasia had planted earlier. It was a bit much to trust the lone Greek agent to be their eyes inside, but Cassandra had insisted she could do the job. All the same, a backup group was at the nearest police station along with all the Type-7 victims who hadn't recovered yet. Cassandra even had Lucienne's old friend JB on speed dial if things really got out of hand. They were as prepared as they were going to be.

            "Well, it seems quiet, and our last check-ins with the security desk and maintenance guys seem to indicate there's no special surprises planted anywhere," declared Hui from her position, feeling uncomfortable with two men and another woman all sitting tightly together like sardines. "Just keep your eyes open, Tasia. I'm sure we'll get them this time..."

* * *

            Alexis was feeling a bit uncomfortable and uneasy. A feeling that she had not felt in a long time and had not felt at all since she began working for the Paradise Foundation. She knew for fact that Interpol was on to their operation, but as she scanned the area from her Benz van’s tinted window,  she saw nothing that told her there was an ambush in the area. Leslie sat quietly in the back seat and Veronica was in the driver’s seat, also scanning the area. She had Ryoshi up on top of a nearby building overlooking the area. So far the former Japanese spy had only spotted a suspicious red van nearby on a service road but that was it. She carried a high-powered rifle and scope, equipped with Type-7 filled darts.

            "Bollocks…" Alexis muttered under her breath as she looked around. "I don’t like this one bloody bit. There are no cops here, just guards." She wished they had gotten more intel. They should have given them more information since it was the Paradise Foundation, after all, that owned the place; they should at least have info on what Interpol was planning. Scott had told her that the building was operated under the legitimate part of the foundation thus Scott couldn’t have access to it. He only had limited access in which he provided special flowers that were to be used for ID and that would in turn help Alexis and her team out.

            "Isn’t that a good thing?" Leslie asked.

            "We’ve done this too many times. We’re not that lucky, my friend," Alexis replied, looking around the area once more hoping that she had missed something. Nothing. That truck that Ryoshi had reported was out of her sight as well so she could not tell if it was a real threat or not. "We also have one of their own; they’re not idiots, so they have to be here somewhere." But where? Her cell phone rang, she flipped it open. "Alexis."

            She could hear her two employers on the end. They had her on speakerphone. "What is the hold up, Ms. Sutherland?" asked Scott, annoyed.

            "The time-release will go off in less than a minute. I suggest you get your team in position," Ashley added.

            How did they know she had not moved out yet? Alexis thought before answering, "This does not feel right," She decided not to ask about that and inquire on the matter later. "I don’t see any sign of Interpol. This may be a trap," she continued.

            Scott sounded angrier than annoyed now, "No sign of Interpol. That’s a good thing. Now, Ms. Sutherland, you will do what I paid you and your team to do."

            "Come on Alexis, there is no time to be seeing ghosts; our time window is very limited, being that this event is in such a public area. Any longer of a delay we will not be able to extract you," Ashley warned; she was sounding as cold as her male counterpart.

            Alexis looked around at her two team members who looked back at her waiting for her answer. This thing was feeling more and more like a set-up as time passed. The risks felt too high this time. They had to regroup and switch to another plan, perhaps a night strike. "I’m aborting…" she began to say, but was cut off by Ryoshi’s voice in her earpiece.

            "Deploying gas canister projectile on that suspicious red van now," the Japanese reported calmly. During all the debating between Alexis and her superiors, Ryoshi had inserted a cylinder-shaped projectile to the front of her rife. The projectile had sharp spikes at the front that were sharp enough to penetrate through drywall and light sheet metal such as what covered the red truck that she had been watching. Once the projectile penetrated, a nozzle at the center of the cylinder would dispense Type-7 gas, filling the room, in this case the truck. She took aim and fired as she breathed out calmly. The projectile shot through the air quickly, and then silently and hit its mark. She observed the red light flashing on the back of the canister showing her that the gas was working. "Projectile fired."

            "Damn you, Ryoshi! I did not give you that order!" Alexis yelled.

            "You ladies better move. You’re clear for now." Ryoshi replied, unaffected by her team leader’s sudden anger towards her.

            "Sutherland, get the job done.  Now.  I’ll talk to you on this subject more once you are back," Scott snarled and killed the line.

            "Bollocks!" Alexis cursed and threw her cell to the floor angrily. "Dart guns and gas mask ladies: Let’s move." She ordered, pulling on her own gas mask. Leslie and Veronica did the same as they sped towards the Garden Palace while onlookers looked on in confusion.

* * *

            Miranda had seen the weird object flying through the sky. "Shit…" she muttered, looking at the two other agents who were looking her direction just as she heard the hollow sound of the object smacking the side of their surveillance van.”This is Miranda; we may have situation," she said, moving towards the bookstore door quickly with the two other agents in tow. Once outside, the three Interpol agents had to cross a street and an open plaza before they could reach the service road. They hustled across the street, almost getting hit by cars doing so. Miranda, dressed in street clothes and sneakers, led the other two male agents; one was in flip-flops and shorts the other wearing a suit and dress shoes. All three agents withdrew their USPs once they had reached the plaza.

* * *

            Ryoshi grinned as she looked through her scope and spotted three armed people heading towards the red van. She didn’t expect flushing them would be so easy. "There’s your ambush, Lex," she said softly as she took careful aim and fired three darts from her rifle. She watched through the scope in amusement as three people who she suspected were Interpol agents slowly started slowing down and looked for a moment as if they were running in slow motion before actually freezing in place. She figured the high levels of adrenalin their bodies mixed with the Type 7 took a little longer to take effect. She scanned the three suspended agents again with her scope. All three were posed in mid-running stride with the female leading the two males. A crowd had formed around the spectacle. The Japanese woman smiled coldly as she began firing at random people in the crowd, freezing them in place too. It wasn’t long before some noticed what was going on and panic began to spread.

* * *

            "Hui, move!" Cassandra ordered into her mic as her Ivan stood up and moved hastily towards the café doors with the other two following. She had heard Miranda report something, but now she couldn’t get in touch with her. The van had gone silent as well. This was it. Once she was outside she looked around her. Everything still looked normal. Ivan and the other two agents looked around as she flipped open her cell phone and to call Tasia. There was no answer.

            "Look over there," Ivan said, pointing out a black Mercedes Benz van speeding towards the Garden Palace.

            The female agent who was with Cassandra was named Anna; she remarked drolly, "This does not look good." The male agent who she was partnered with nodded in agreement.

            "No it’s not," Cassandra agreed pulling out her USP the other three agents following suit. "This is so not-good.  Let’s move!"

* * *

            Hui’s team was at the back entrance of the Garden Palace. They had donned their gas masks and had stacked up at the door with their UMPs at the ready. There was something going on the other side of the building. People were screaming and running, Hui had noted on their approach. She figured that was why Miranda and the surveillance team were silent. She shook the thought of the fact that her friend and partner was maybe in danger and focused on the task at hand. She turned behind her; Tatiana was the other female agent on her team, followed by Gregory and Victor. She gave them the hand signals for ‘ready to enter’ they nodded as she opened the door and entered the building.

* * *

            Ryoshi now regretted being dressed the way she was, as she stuck out from the crowd. She was clothed in a black leather slim-fitting trench coat with an hourglass leather corset and pants underneath. A pair of high-heeled boots made the short Asian woman look taller as she pushed through the crowd of people running towards her. A black single-strapped bag was slung over her back, which carried her rifle only added to her suspicious look. Lucky for her, everyone was in too much of a panic to notice her. She smiled at the ten or so random people frozen around the running agents, she spotted a couple of pretty ladies in the crowd; one of the agents was a looker as well. She wished she could have some fun but, given the situation, now wasn’t a good time.

            Reaching the van she reached and pressed a button in the back of the projectile. She calmly walked away as the cylinder sparked up and disintegrated into dust. As she moved towards the back of the van, she pulled on her gas mask and readied her dart gun. With dart gun up, she threw open the back door. The four agents, two male and two female, who occupied the van were all frozen in place wearing their head phones and staring blankly into their computer monitors, taken totally by surprise.  The Japanese operative climbed into the van and shot all four agents with darts again for good measure.  As she did so, she pushed both male agents out of their chairs to the floor; they stayed posed in their seated positions. She chuckled at the sight before turning her attention to their monitors. Her gloved hands danced across the keyboards expertly. Disc drives containing the recorded data of the video feeds from inside the Garden Palace ejected from the computers. Ryoshi retrieved the discs and stuffed them into her coat pocket. Looking on the monitors, she could tell the inside of the Garden Palace was frozen thanks to the time-release, Type-7 treated, flowers that everyone wore. Turning around, she looked at the two frozen female agents. One had curly brown hair and high cheekbones and exotic eyes the other silky black hair tied into the ponytail; her face was average but her bust was not. Ryoshi looked at her watch and calculated her team’s progress. She had some time to spare.

            As she moved the two women to floor of the van for her fun, the experienced former Japanese spy failed to see in the monitors as Hui’s tactical team entering from the rear of the building and Cassandra’s closing in from the front. Alexis, Veronica and Leslie had moved in and quickly spotted their targets and had begun moving them out. They were completely unaware of what was approaching them while Ryoshi had her quickie.

* * *

            Time was everything; they had to be gone before the police locked everything down. So far, with the exception of the mission starting too early, everything was going to plan. Alexis had not heard from Ryoshi so she assumed the police were not on site yet. The time-release flowers that the Garden Palace had required everyone to wear had worked perfectly. Alexis entered the large room that the show was being filmed in; it was filled with statues. The room was made to look like an enchanted mystical garden of some sort. There were exotic plants, ferns, rare flowers, trees and even the ground was covered with lush green grass that made the interior the warehouse look like that of a forest. Alexis, Veronica and Leslie moved between the frozen guards and camera crews, who all had the colorful flowers pinned to their chests. She looked around the forest-like room picking out the producers, the directors, assistants, make up and wardrobe personals all captured in the moment; stuck in a variety of poses ranging from awkward, hilarious to normal, at least somewhat. It was like any other show they had hit. Everything was going swimmingly this time as well. Leslie headed towards the modeling area where a group of young models from around the world stood frozen. Alexis stopped her, pointing toward the stage were all three of their targets were.

            The three unfrozen women quickly head for the stage. In their haste they knocked down some stagehands and photographers. Leslie moved towards Cammie Domingo, who was dressed in a once-piece violet dress that showed off her long, shapely, legs. The blond was leaned over with her hands on her thighs. From the looks at her contorted face it was apparent that she was laughing when the Type-7 was released. The German stood the tall blond straight up, wrapped her arms around the ex-model’s thin waist and hoisted her up. With the frozen blond in her arms, Leslie hopped off the stage and made way her back to the entrance. Veronica was closest to Judy Robertson; the tall American had been flashing her trademark big smile when she was frozen. She stood straight with her hands together in front of her, frozen in mid-clap. Judy was turned slightly towards the exotic Tonya Cash, dressed in conservative yet fashionable beige sundress with a matching scarf around her neck. Veronica was a bit smaller than the model; she struggled a bit with taller woman before getting her up. She uncomfortably carried the American offstage with her face buried in Judy’s stomach and blindly made her way towards the entrance. Alexis stripped the microphone from an eyes-shut, mouth-opened Tonya Cash and lifted the African-American faux blond from the waist and followed Veronica off the stage.

* * *

            Cassandra sent Anna and her partner to the front of the black van, while Ivan followed her to the rear of the van. They had their USP pistols drawn at the ready as they cautiously inched around the van after confirming the van’s occupants had already gone inside. Ivan could not get in touch with back up on the radio and cell phone lines were jammed with citizens reporting some type of sniper attack in the area. Police units were on the way anyway. Cassandra hoped they would make it on time. As both pairs of agents stepped around the van, a tall blond woman appeared at the door of the warehouse, heading towards them carrying another tall blond model, who looked frozen stiff. The woman saw the armed agents at the same time that they saw her.

            "Don’t move; police!" Cassandra yelled, aiming her gun at the kidnapper. Ivan inched up closer. The gas-masked woman lowered her rigid cargo and slowly raised her arms.

            Ivan spoke in rapid Russian, ordering Anna and her partner to move in, while he and Cassandra covered them. The other pair did not respond. Cassandra looked over and saw the two agents still held their USPS at eye level, aiming at the kidnappers. Their faces and eyes were blank however. No! Cassandra screamed in her head as was unable to actually say the word as moments later everything fell silent and went black around her.

* * *

            Ryoshi moved around the two frozen Interpol agents who remained standing with their guns pointed at Leslie. She noted that both female agents, who had a serious focused expression frozen upon their faces, looked pretty. The one at the front of van had dark red short hair and kissable lips while the one at the back of the van did not even look Russian; she had long brown hair tied into a ponytail and a tall, slender, body that was barely hidden by her casual clothing. As Ryoshi checked out both the male and female Interpol agents, Leslie picked her cargo once more and carried the stiff blonde to the van before loading her up.

            The German ripped off her mask as soon as Cammie was loaded and marched towards where Ryoshi was keeping an eye out for any more agents. "Where the hell were you? You were supposed to be watching our backs!" she yelled, turning the smaller Japanese woman to face her.

            Ryoshi shot a cold look at Leslie, making her back down. "You ask too many questions," she said calmly and shot the German in the stomach with a Type-7 dart, which took effect instantly. She pushed the taller woman over, Leslie fell like a board with a fixed expression of anger on her face. "That’s better," she said, kneeling down beside Leslie and taking the German’s dart gun. Time was running out, Ryoshi thought, looking at her watch. The police were going to be here any minute. She sighed as she entered the warehouse carrying two dart guns. Too much walking, she thought. She couldn’t wait for this mission to end.

* * *

            As expected everyone, inside of the building was frozen and in their expensive formal clothes looked like high quality mannequins. Hui spread her team out wide as they moved towards the stage, with UMPs raised at eye level. The Russian agents had never seen anything like this before and stared in awe as the motionless sight before them. They began to lag behind their Chinese lead, who unnoticed moved ahead, fully focused on the frozen environment ahead of her. As Hui moved closer to the stage, she looked around the room to see who was missing. She looked at the group of models and counted them, they were all there. She even saw Tasia standing, as frozen as the other girls, there as well. Her relief quickly faded as look at the main stage and saw no one. Glancing around the room once more, she cursed under her breath seeing that the famous model host and both judges were gone. With her heart pumping, she quickly moved towards the entrance thinking that her team was still behind her. Ironically, they were backstage, now looking for her.

* * *

            Veronica had tripped over something and fell. Luckily the stiff Judy Robertson had broken her fall. Alexis put down Tonya and quickly raced over and helped the Spaniard lift up Judy. She found out quickly that it was much harder to lift the stiffened woman once she was on her back. As they struggled to lift the American back up, a voice from behind made both women stop what they were doing.

            "Police!" An accented woman’s voice ordered.

            Veronica and Alexis turned around to face the tactically clad woman aiming the UMP at them. Both woman looked at each other and saw their dart guns were still holstered on their belts. They didn’t have a chance; they slowly raised their hands up and stood. Alexis cursed under her breath, barely audible through the mask. She wasn’t going down for this by herself. She was going to take down Scott and Ashley too. She had a feeling this was going to happen but they just had to push. She had warned them. "Bugger…"

            Two darts from out of nowhere hit the black-clad policewoman in the thigh. The woman, whose face was covered by a gasmask, had just enough time to look down at the two darts. Her body language said it all; she was shocked as she froze in place. Veronica and Alexis turned around to see the leather-clad Ryoshi come out of the shadows, holding two dart guns.

            "Quickly draw your guns, we have company!" Ryoshi ordered, moving ahead of the two ladies and firing two more Type-7 darts. The darts both hit another black-clad officer coming out from behind the first frozen officer. Darts from Alexis and Veronica hit a third, freezing him in a running pose. All three women fired darts at the final officer, making him fall stiffly backwards.

            "Ryoshi, grab Tonya!" Alexis quickly ordered, turning her attention back to help Veronica with Judy. Ryoshi holstered her both her guns after firing off some more random darts and lifted Tonya, who was nearly two heads taller than the Asian who had no trouble carrying her from the waist. They heard the wail of sirens off the distance. Veronica, in a panic, grabbed Judy by the dress and pulled. Alexis had a good hold on Judy’s leg thus making Veronica fall backwards, ripping the dress completely off of Judy’s frozen form. Both women looked at the motionless multi-million dollar actress and model who was now only wearing a matching pair of lacy undergarments and a scarf. They both laughed before regaining their composure, picking up the actress, and making for the van.

            Outside, Ryoshi had loaded both Tonya and Leslie into the back of the van. She then assisted with Judy, who now lay stiffly on top of Cammie. Alexis had just finished helping her other two team members put Judy in when she turned and saw that she was looking at the immobilized face of Cassandra Flick, her old partner from her days at Scotland Yard. "So this is where you ended up, Cassie, I should have known," she said, taking off her mask. "Ryoshi, help me with her," Alexis ordered, snatching the USP from Cassandra’s stiff hands and leaning the woman back. Ryoshi nodded and grinned and did as she was told, lifting the rigid Interpol agent up by her ankles. They placed her on top of Tonya. Alexis then jumped into the back, closing the door behind her. Veronica took the driver’s seat with Ryoshi sitting shotgun. Before all the doors had shut, the van was already moving quickly away, almost running over the two other agents who stood frozen near the front of the van.

            Once they were moving and on the road, Alexis quickly injected everybody in the cargo area, including their unexpected catch, Cassandra with another dose of Type-7. She then noticed that Leslie was one of the frozen figures in the pile. "What the hell happened!" she asked turning around.

            Ryoshi smiled as she opened her dart gun, "She got in the way. Good thing we’re not using real guns," she said simply.

            Alexis stared, amazed that the former spy had shot one of her own. She was going to ask the Japanese to elaborate on what had happen but Veronica interrupted, pointing. "Look at that; looks like we got out of there just in time." On the opposite side of the road there were dozens of police cars heading in the direction in which they left.

            "We were lucky. Hurry to the extraction site. Who knows how many people saw this van," Alexis ordered. She then looked back down at Cassandra, her issues with Ryoshi forgotten.

Chapter 5

Interpol Branch Office, Moscow, Russia

            Lucienne and Aisha sat silently in the private conference room, the former smoking near the open window. After almost a week as a statue, Lucienne had come to; Aisha had recovered in less than half that time. Both now sat in comfy wheeled chairs, appreciating the irony as they watched over the three agents who were under their command, all three now frozen like they had once been.

Tasia stood in a white dress with a flower pinned to it, her hands holding her black purse in front of her, her hair tied in a looped ponytail; all Lucienne wanted to do, though she didn't announce it, was kiss the Greek woman. Hui was nearby, her tactical armor, mask and gun removed by the people who'd carried her inside, leaving her in a blue jumpsuit with her hair in a tight bun and her hands holding an invisible weapon at the ready. Miranda wore a low-cut T-shirt, skirt, pantyhose and running shoes, her right foot striding forward and her left hand behind her back where her USP had been. Several other agents and civilians who had been also shot by Type-7 filled darts were in other rooms of the building.

            "It seems like we're always waiting, either to un-freeze or for someone else to," sighed Aisha, breaking the silence as she shuffled through some papers a runner had delivered a half-hour ago. "Tests confirmed that the ID flowers have large trace amounts of Type-7 on them, meaning someone rigged the Paradise Foundation's little Garden Palace party before the show."

            "A mole inside their company is the most likely scenario," pointed out Lucienne in between deep drags from her cigarette. "The Garden Palace started construction months ago, long before anyone knew Cammie Domingo and Judy Robertson would be appearing. In fact, it wasn't even confirmed that Tonya Cash would return as the host for the season yet."

            "Yeah, I doubt the organization is the real villain here, that's too complex for any cop's taste," admitted Aisha, eying her three stiffened coworkers, whom she wished she could call friends. "International crime syndicate, no question, but the Paradise Foundation is frequently one of the top fifty companies in the world, though it can't beat the real giants. Someone with serious money is backing them though."

            "Just to put the nail in the Foundation theory, even though it’s pretty much already there, this is the first inkling we've had of them at any point since the kidnappings began," concluded Lucienne, casually grinding her cigarette into the glass ashtray on her knee. "Still, I don't like what happened here. It seemed too sloppy. Random civilians were hit, Tasia and a few inside got hit too and they were already gassed, plus for some reason, Cassandra was undoubtedly taken hostage. It makes as much sense as… poutine."

            "I thought that was a French creation?" pointed out Aisha, finally cracking a smile.

            "French-Canadian, and they're about as French as Bill Clinton," laughed Lucienne, her associate joining in. "But seriously, I'm wondering if Cassandra's little ploy had an impact? She stationed her teams pretty well. Even an experienced agent like you or me may have had trouble spotting all four units she had placed. I think she rattled their cages and they figured out who was in charge, hence why they took her. They don't want someone smart leading us against their operation."

            "So, someone like me instead?" asked Aisha, her smile now a frown.

            "Oh no, I never meant--"

            "No, you're right, even if that isn't what you meant to say," admitted Aisha, heaving a deep sigh. "I was angry that we, equals in terms of authority, were assigned to this case together. When you were, uh, still..."

            "The common term we use is 'frozen,'" interjected Lucienne.

            "Right, when you were frozen, well, I was happy," confessed Aisha, continuing. "I guess my joy at being back on the saddle all alone messed up my thinking. Looking back at the Berlin incident, I can't believe how I placed our units; it was just stupid."

            "It's alright, we all make mistakes," allowed Lucienne, getting up and offering Aisha her hand. After a brief hesitation, the American took it and the pair shook hands.

            "Well, no more mistakes," declared Aisha. "You and Cassandra worked together for years, so I'm assuming you can think like she can. I want you to run things from now on; I'll just be your number two, or whatever you want to think of me as."

            "Thanks, I appreciate that," replied Lucienne, then nodding at the door. "My first request is that you go look into the database on these kidnappings and search organizations known for sex slavery and prostitution. The way this team moved indicates experience along with funding, and the high profile targets could just be due to the fact that they have a new toy."

            "Right, I'll get on it," nodded Aisha, offering the French woman a quick smile before picking up her papers and leaving the room. Lucienne detected something in the woman's smile that was unusual, something that seemed to indicate a high level of understanding. Glancing over at Tasia, the French agent then clued in.

            "What do you know, she's good after all," muttered Lucienne with a grin, casually walking over to her three frozen subordinates. After carefully turning the figures of Hui and Miranda the other way Lucienne proceeded to kiss her immobilized lover just as she'd wanted to. With their Type-7 at home running low the French woman had to admit she was a bit pleased that there was more now in circulation, as if anything it gave Lucienne another chance to enjoy its erotic pleasures.

* * *

            It was another twelve hours before Tasia, Hui and Miranda exited the conference room under their own power, all three disoriented but familiar with the effects of Type-7 by now. After getting some directions, they met up with Lucienne and Aisha in the branch chief's office, the chief himself away briefing his own agents, who'd also recovered. "Cassandra, Domingo, Cash and Robertson were all taken," announced Lucienne as the three entered, all smiling at the sight of their two leaders being not so stiff anymore.

            "Crap; not this again," groaned Hui, recalling the last incident. "Are we going to have to track another billionaire back to the United States only to end up like wax figures in a private museum before dumb luck helps us escape?"

            "Come on Hui, I think fate can be a little bit more original than that," laughed Miranda. "Besides, since when are you so negative."

            "Since an armed tactical unit failed to capture the kidnappers in spite of having their leader at gunpoint," declared Hui, crossing her arms and scowling.

            "Luckily for us we don't have to go back to the US, and our suspects aren't blonde socialite billionaires who got bored and decided to rob museums," chimed in Lucienne, holding up a manila folder in her hands. "Sierra Escorts, ever heard of them?"

            "Weren't they thought to be connected with that prostitution group we helped bust before this case started?" asked Miranda, remembering the name.

            "Yes; they're supposedly a legitimate escort service, for people wanting to look impressive at parties, on prom night and at other events where appearing without a female companion looks bad from a social standpoint," confirmed Aisha. "The group you busted were all clear-cut prostitution ringleaders, and it’s possible they were also part of an ugly side to Sierra. The escort company is making a modest and growing profit every quarter, but their employees are throwing around a lot more money than they should be on their salaries. It's suspected that Sierra Escorts is really just a front, like that old international pizza company that used its stores as a front for cocaine dealing."

            "I guess it helps that this scenario made you think of your career-making bust," laughed Tasia as she looked at Lucienne, the Greek being the one in the room with the least amount of tension.

            "Yeah, Lucienne's input really helped connect the dots," admitted Aisha. "We now have the support from the local branch for anything we want to do, and trust me when I say that these boys and girls are itching for round two. What we need right now however is someone to scout out Sierra's main office, which is right here in the city."

            "Want me to have a go at it?" asked Tasia, raising her hand to shoulder level. "I don't know if you've seen my photos, but I can play a decent man."

            "Sorry, but we think your identity will be compromised as you did play a fashion model twice recently, were frozen and observed by the kidnappers," pointed out Lucienne, getting a look of disappointment from her secret girlfriend. "Miranda has been rather low-key and crime scene analysis indicates she'd never really been looked at up close. With a simple disguise we should be able to send you in; going as a man is not important so long as you appear to be very rich."

            "Alright then," shrugged Miranda, forcing a smile. "I guess this means I'll finally be able to dress as good as I feel."

Sierra Escorts, Moscow, Russia

            Ashley was hard at work in her new lab, monitoring several attractive women lying on cheap cots with wires connected to the chips in the back of their necks. What Scott hadn't told her or his primary team was that he had deployed two other teams around Eastern Europe to snatch up local girls, ones that wouldn't be terribly missed but had the beauty and physical charms to make excellent love slaves. All of the fashion models they'd captured up until Berlin were now sold and Scott was currently in the bedroom set, negotiating a deal for Michelle Foster, leaving only Devon Von Krieger and the three captured in the city remaining from the last batch of kidnapped supermodels. Marika Heino was still present as well; fitted with a control chip, the robotized agent was now acting as Ashley's assistant as she moved around the room mechanically, checking the connections to the ten women the scientist was trying to program at once. A bit frustrated, the dark-haired villain sighed while putting down her laptop.

            "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then," laughed Scott as he finished his conversation and hung up the phone. "How are they looking?" the Canadian then asked, looking at the ten naked women that lay before him. None of them were famous, none of them had even won a beauty contest, but all ten were quite attractive in Ashley's eyes; apparently both Scott and the Paradise Foundation agreed.

            "They'll be ready within the hour," declared Ashley, rubbing her face.

            "You're tired, I know," sighed Scott, sitting down next to the scientist on her bench. He reached out and gently rubbed her shoulders, causing Ashley to close her eyes and moan.

            "You're a big guy, granted not exactly muscle, but you have such soft hands," Ashley almost purred as Scott leaned in and kissed her cheek.

            "And you are the best resource we could ever have," the man whispered into the scientist's ear. "Don't think that means we see you only as a number or anything. Replacing you would be...  unfortunate."

            "Ever since you sent Yoon Suk to that creepy British guy you've become irreplaceable too," moaned Ashley, letting Scott ease her down, leaning her chest flat on his knees as he worked her back. "If I didn't have problems with man-junk, I would be in bed with you so fast right now..."

            "Hey, this is just fine with me," laughed Scott, uncharacteristically relaxed. Suddenly Ashley felt a sense of worry, but the large man's hands were too accurate in their massaging technique, rending the scientist's worries pointless. Marika casually shuffled around in a cheap lab coat with only her underwear underneath, checking the women that were being programmed.

* * *

            Leslie, Cammie, Judy and Tonya all stood in the room as Ryoshi and Veronica sat on the couch. The room was a simple sitting room; the four frozen women were merely placed there due to storage issues.  The three kidnapped models already had chips attached to the nape of their necks. After Scott and Ashley had berated the team for the serious backlash, the Canadian executive had threatened to not only chip Leslie, but all of them, for the incident. Alexis had even tried to blame it all on Ryoshi, who had been silenced on the trip over by the Brit's dart gun. Now the Japanese woman was completely naked and sprawled on the couch, her arms stiffly held above her head as Veronica, also naked, lay on top of her in a classic 69 position.

            "Man, who knew doing it with a statue could be so much fun?!" gasped Veronica as she raised her head from Ryoshi's womanhood, her tongue practically cramping. With no one but four women who were effectively mannequins watching her, Veronica had given in to the sexual urges she'd developed in the relation to her teammate, with the Type-7 drug providing her with a means to get her head in order. Since she figured everyone felt like they'd had sex after being injected, why should she worry about Ryoshi figuring it out and went for it. Veronica liked women, it was true, but she wasn't entirely sure sometimes if she was really a committed lesbian or just sick of men being so complicated and hard to understand.

            "Huh, not what I expected to see," came a sudden voice from her frozen partner, causing Veronica to break out in a cold sweat as she quickly fell off of Ryoshi. The Japanese woman appeared to be awakening, blinking and sitting up as Veronica lay on the floor, seemingly afraid of what her teammate was going to say.

            "Wow, two days already?" whistled Veronica, her face turning a deep red. "Look, um, Ryoshi, I can explain..."

            "Oh, shut up and come here already!" shouted Ryoshi, diving on top of Veronica; the two proceeding to kiss passionately, unafraid of getting splinters in their skin from the lousy wooden floor that they were making out on. Leslie, who blinked in the corner as she reanimated, merely rolled her eyes and quietly slipped out of the room.

            "Freaking lesbians, you never know who they're going to be," grumbled the German as she walked down the hall only to pass Ashley kissing a redhead, that Leslie recalled was named Mary, on top of a metal bench while Scott sat in the corner, chatting on his phone with Marika mindlessly rubbing his feet. Leslie merely rolled her eyes once again and decided she'd just grab a pizza and watch a good action movie to take her mind off all the girl-on-girl action she was not fond of.

* * *

            Cassandra Flick found herself strapped to a cheap queen-sized bed when she came out of what she assumed was another extended immobilization under the effects of Type-7, clad in nothing but a short-sleeved white blouse and her dark green underwear that was in a frumpy style that men might call Grannie Panties. Her arms and legs were tied to the bed by leather straps, trapping the British Interpol agent in a starfish position. The room was quite plain except for a desk with a laptop sitting on it, a single print of the Mona Lisa framed on the wall and the familiar face of Alexis Sutherland, clad in a black tank top and a white thong, as she sat atop Cassandra's waist and knees. "Wake up time, Sleeping Beauty," declared Alexis, a big smile on her face.

            "Alexis, what the bloody hell is this?!" screamed Cassandra, completely lost. She thought she'd had known the suspects, but now she was having flashbacks to the Erika Stone incident, except those memories didn't involve bondage.

            "A friendly kidnapping, so we could talk in private," revealed the other Brit, casually standing up and getting off of the bed. "Sorry about the bonds, but I wanted to make sure you wouldn't get away before we could have this talk."

            "Okay, you've gone through a lot of effort just to speak with me, so spill it," demanded Cassandra, stopping her weak struggles and looking at her old friend. "What in hell happened to you, Alexis? After I was recruited by Interpol and went for training, I heard you were fired or something and you never returned my calls or emails."

            "I wasn't fired, I just quit," revealed Alexis, casually feeling Cassie's right knee, the Brit not resisting as the other one's fingers explored her leg. "You broke my heart Cassie; taking a job that you knew would take you outside of the UK..."

            "Lex, I was thinking about my career," insisted Cassandra, her voice somewhat sad. "As for us, well...  That is...  Look, I cared about you, a lot. You were my best partner. I might even say that I loved you, but it wasn't, well, romantic. I thought of you like the sister I'd never had."

            "Well in any case, you'll be happy to know you leaving town wasn't the big thing that made me resign," continued Alexis, her hand now caressing Cassie's toes, causing her to twitch slightly. "Still ticklish, I see. Anyhow, after you left I took a hard look at my life. I was almost thirty and was an in-the-closet lesbian working for the very conservative Scotland Yard on a salary that couldn't buy me a decent flat in the worst parts of an out-of-touch village, let alone Central London. I knew a few people with some… connections… from the arrests we'd made and I got in contact with them. They found me some much better job opportunities with much better pay.  However, not so legal."

            "You're a criminal now?!" gasped Cassie, the color draining from her face as she connected the dots. "Oh God, please don't tell me you're one of the bloody kidnappers who's been nicking all the fashion models! You damn well better not be saying that!"

            "How else would I have managed to get you here after we drugged you?" asked Alexis, causing Cassandra to curse repeatedly and quite creatively for almost a minute. "The world of crime is so much more lucrative than busting a few street hoods for Queen and Country, love. With all of our experience we know what to expect from the law, which was why it was so easy to stop you and your team from interfering! You know that cute bird you used to stand-in for Devon Von Krieger? We’ve got the real one, too! Cassie, I'm going to be a millionaire thanks to these people and we're too damn slick to get caught by anything Interpol can throw at us."

            "You'd be surprised what we've managed to overcome," muttered Cassandra, turning away as to not have to face her former friend.

            “Not actually, love,” Alexis replied.  “I planned and led those kidnappings; so far nothing Interpol has tried to apprehend was in the least bit surprising or even effective,” she boasted.

            That revelation shocked the Brit agent, who opened her mouth several times like a trout out of water but did not say a word.

            "I'm giving you a chance here, Cass," declared Alexis, hopping onto the bed once more, her hands planted with Cassandra's head between them, her knees by the agent’s waist again. "I can vouch for you. You join us, you'll become rich and can even get your own personal slave as well as the nicest house you could ever want. Better than that, we'll be partners again!"

            "If I refuse...?" breathed Cassandra, uncomfortable with how close Alexis's face was to hers but unable to do anything about it.

            "I guess that's your answer," sighed Alexis, closing her eyes and leaning in. Cassandra tried to fight it but no matter what she did Alexis still was able to plant a long and quite passionate kiss on her lips before sitting up and producing an odd-looking gun that Cassandra hadn't seen, most likely tucked into the back of her ex-partner's thong.

            "Alexis..." pleaded Cassandra, a single tear dripping from her right eye.

            "Sorry Cassie, I love you," whispered Alexis, firing a dart right into Cassandra's bare throat. She gasped and her eyes went wide in an instant of astonishment that solidified on her features. The kidnapped Brit was frozen once again as Alexis shed a few tears of her own before producing a chip from between her cleavage.

* * *

            The five-series BMW did not fit in with the old looking buildings of the neighborhood. Even so, the residents of the quiet street gave no special attention to the suspicious looking car. Expensive new cars had been a common occurrence in the past weeks at the Sierra Escorts building and the locals knew better than to ask questions what was in this building to bring the people who owned such cars into the poor area. The black Bimmer pulled up to the curb in front of Sierra Escorts, nearby shop owners and patrons eyed the car briefly before returning to their own business. The driver of the car stepped out, he was a tall man dressed in all black with a white shirt and black tie. He wore a black cap and leather gloves. He looked up and down the block as if scanning for any threats before stepping to the back of the car and releasing the lone back seat passenger.

            A woman, dressed in a crisp white business skirt suit, emerged from the back of the Bimmer. Her identity is masked by a white and black wide-brimmed fedora that covered her head and face. She nodded at her driver who closed the door of the Bimmer and returned to the front seat of the car. The well-dressed woman walked up the three steps leading into the Sierra Escort building as her chauffeured BMW leaves the curb and disappears up the block.

            Adriana Dashkov sat behind the front desk that was located just behind the main entrance of the building. A dirty tiled floor under old mismatched furniture was between her and the double glass door entranceway. Hearing the door open and shut Adriana looked up from her magazine to see a woman in a classy white business suit seductively walking towards her. Adriana herself only wore a shirtsleeve white blouse and a navy skirt, her dark brown hair tied back into a simple bun. She immediately felt underdressed. She flashed her fake smile and asked in Russian, "May I help you?"

            The woman removed her wide brim hat and smiled back at the receptionist, a little coldly. "Hello, dear, I’m Abigail Frankford. I am told your firm could provide me with some service," the woman replied in English.

            Adriana frowned, not quite understanding, and repeated in her accented English, "Service?" She knew what the woman meant. They have been getting new clients every day wanting the same thing. The big difference now was that here was a woman asking for it; a good-looking woman at that. The woman was perhaps of Asian decent and had brown hair tied back into a fancy bun. She had deep mysterious dark eyes, almost black, that sparkled as she smiled.

            "Yes dear, services," Abigail repeated, still smiling. "I don’t play for that team if you know what I mean." She added with wink, still smiling. Adriana looked down quickly, figuring out the woman was an American and knew exactly what she meant. She did however play for the team under this woman’s definition. Adriana gathered the necessary paper work and then looked back up at the American, who was grinning at her.

            "Here is the paper work and list of service costs for new clients; I will need some of your identification for a background check."

            "Of course, dear," Abigail replied putting down her fedora and opening a small white handbag she had with her. She removed a passport along with an obsidian credit card and handed both to the Russian.

            "I will be right back," the receptionist said, gesturing towards the furniture, two armchairs, a sofa and a coffee table covered with outdated magazines. "Please have a seat here and fill out the paper works and I will return to collect all when you are done."

            Adriana handed a pen to Abigail, before she disappeared through a door behind her desk with the passport and card in hand. Abigail looked down at the list of services and prices, then looked around for a camera or something that would reveal that she was being watched. There was nothing. She made a ‘wow’ face, seeing the outrageous prices; glad she was not really doing any business with these people.

Interpol Safe House, Moscow Russia

            The safe house was a two story building that matched with the rest of old buildings of the neighborhood and was located about ten blocks away from Sierra Escorts. This was the closest they could get. The other buildings that were closer were either privately owned apartments or business owned properties. They also knew now that Sierra Escorts had deep hands into the community that it operated in. This made it difficult to set up a close enough safe house but where they were was good.

The Interpol teams consisting of Ivan Bukolov and Lucienne’s team were crammed on both floors of the safe house that was also a convenience store on the ground floor. Ivan had three agents downstairs posing as store employees as well as two in the back room for extra security. Upstairs Hui, Lucienne and Ivan, who was dressed in a black driver’s uniform, having just come back from dropping Miranda off, sat at round table playing poker. Tasia sat back comfortably on a lounge chair and watched Russian MTV with an expression on the borderline between bored and sleepy plastered on her face. Another one of Ivan’s agents sat behind at a desk, with Aisha looking over his shoulder as he worked on laptop.

            "We got a background check for Abigail Frankford!" Aisha announced, waking up the quiet room, everyone looking her way. Lucienne put her cards face down and joined Aisha at the desk.

            "Well Miranda’s in, basically." She turned to Ivan, "That info we put up about Abigail Frankford is good?"

            "Agent Chekhol is the best, Agent Christophe. Do not worry they will not find your agent out," Ivan assured, with Chekhol nodding in agreement as he typed rapidly on his laptop.

            "Very well," Lucienne replied, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and her cell phone. "I’m stepping out for a smoke and a phone call," she continued, heading towards the stairs. Turning around and sticking a cigarette between her lips, she asked, "Tasia, play my hand."

            The Greek, still looking at the TV screen asked, "Is Hui still playing?"

            Hui answered with a smile at Ivan who looked at her worriedly, "Yes."

            "No, thank you." Tasia replied, yawning. "I think I’ll nap instead.

            "Aisha, take my spot. Chekhol has all that under control." Lucienne then said as she descended the stairs. She was gone by the time Aisha turned to face her.

            "I haven’t played poker in long time; I guess I can fill in till she gets back," Aisha declared taking the vacated seat.

            "I still owe Hui from the last time we played…" Tasia muttered, turning on her side and falling asleep. Aisha smiled nervously as Ivan shook his head. Hui smiled brightly. She had a pile of money in front of her.

Sierra Escorts Moscow, Russia

            Miranda waited at the reception area patiently with her paper work ready in front her. She had checked it twice to make sure she didn’t put anything other than Abigail Frankford info on the forms. Adriana returned with the passport along with a printout of Abigail’s background information Miranda presumed. The Russian collected the papers and looked them over, comparing with the official background check for any kind of inconsistencies. There should be none if Ivan’s guy did his job right, Miranda worried.

            "Everything looks to be in order, Ms. Frankford, if you would please to follow me," Adriana gestured. "I am Adriana Dashkov. I will be assisting you today. All of our other representatives are currently busy at the moment."

            "Well, very nice to meet you, Adriana," Miranda said as she followed the brunette into the back room. There was an office immediately after the door leading from the front room. Miranda glanced in as she walked past. It looked like a standard office with a desk, leather chair, computer, scanner and printer. She guessed this is where Adriana went to check her background. They walked down a narrow, dimly lit, hallway for a while before stopping at the end of it. To Miranda’s left was a staircase leading upstairs, in front of her was door that was marked ‘loading dock’ in Russian and to the right was another door that Adriana was unlocking.

            Once the door was opened, Adriana stepped aside and Miranda stepped in, trying not to look too cautious. The room was a large area that was fully carpeted with a maroon carpet. The walls were colored a deeper tone of red and the ceiling was high, giving the room an airy feeling. There were plush leather sofas set up in three rows of two facing an elevated stage with a red curtain covering whatever was back stage. "This is the showroom; we used to use it regularly but however with the women we offer now… come this way, Ms. Frankford." Adriana directed, closing the door behind her and walking towards the stage. Miranda was starting feel that Sierra Escort not only was slightly involved in the kidnappings but in fact responsible for them. She followed Adriana, keeping in character as she climbed the stage after the Russian while she removed a pen from her handbag and hid it in her hand.

            "Wait here," Adriana instructed, stopping Miranda right in front of the curtain. She could feel another presence in the room and gripped the pen in her closed fist as the Russian receptionist pulled the curtains open. As the heavy curtains slid open, Miranda masked the shock that swept over her at the peculiar sight before her.

            There were five women behind the curtain who were all very attractive but none were the missing models. These women stood at attention and stared at Miranda blankly. There were two blondes, a black-haired girl, and two brunettes. They were all dressed in colorful revealing lacy undergarments, a different color for each girl. Matching garter belts encircled their hips attaching to sheer black thigh-high stockings. The girls stood on what looked like eight-inch high-heels. None of the models so much as blinked. "Do you like?" Adriana asked, smiling.

            Miranda smiled back, hoping that her face did not show the disgust she was feeling. It must have not, because Adriana turned around and headed towards a table with some remote-control looking devices on them. This was it, Miranda thought. They are behind the whole thing. She quickly closed the distance, coming up behind the unsuspecting receptionist and jabbing the pen into her backside. Adriana grabbed at her stung right buttock, turned around with a shocked expression on her face and then froze just as she was about to say something. Miranda looked at the frozen woman and then the pen. "It works as advertised…" she muttered, capping and replacing the pen in her handbag. Lucienne had given her the device before she left with Ivan and told her the pen was a syringe that was loaded with Type-7. She told her to only use for hairy situations. Miranda looked down the row of blank staring women and thought this situation would be deemed as hairy.

            She took her cell from her purse and hit the speed dial, reaching Lucienne’s phone. As soon as she heard the French woman’s voice she spoke, "It’s them," and then hung up. It was too risky to hook her up with a wire so Lucienne had told her to make a brief call once she had found something and the rest would come in a raid. Putting her cell phone away, looking around the room that was eerily quiet, she realized she was the only one moving now. She thought quickly, looked down at the table and noted the remote-control devices were color coded, matching what the girls were wearing. She had no idea what that meant but she couldn’t stay here and check it out. She had to see if she could locate the missing agents and models before Lucienne and the backup arrived. Looking around the room she spotted a freight elevator right behind the stage. She then looked at the motionless Adriana and then the other girls, "We can’t have you standing here like this…all suspicious and all," Miranda said with grin grabbing the frozen receptionist by the waist.

            Five minutes later, Miranda found herself dressed as Adriana. The white suit that she had worn was too flashy to be sneaking around in and her hair was as dark as Adriana’s so she could dress like the receptionist and have a better chance of looking around the place without getting caught. The backstage elevator only went up one floor, moving very slowly. She found this out after she had gotten on it and wished she had taken the stairs instead. When the elevator opened up on the second level, Miranda stepped out quickly, acting as if this wasn’t the first time she had been there. The room that she was in now was half of the size of the showroom down below and was practically empty, save for some cheap looking cots lined up against the walls and a paper-littered desk at the far in end of the room.

            As she stepped deeper into the room, she noted that the cots had bodies on them. Upon closer examination she saw that five of the cots had naked woman on them, all lying stiffly with legs and arms rigid. Their eyes were open and staring blankly at the ceiling, they had wires running from the back of their necks. Miranda knelt down next one of the girls, trying to see where the wires were connected. The sound of movement in the corner of the room made her jump. She grasped her pen syringe and moved towards the noise. A figure stepped out the shadows. Miranda raised the pen and realized that this weapon was useless if this person had a gun. As the person stepped out the shadows, Miranda was relieved and elated to see it was Marika. The Nordic agent was dressed in a lab coat with underwear underneath.

            "Marika, I’m so glad to see you!" Miranda said happily, moving closer to her fellow agent. She stopped dead her steps when she saw that Marika held a vacant expression upon her face as if she was still frozen. She was moving though, like in a trance. There was something wrong. "Marika are you alright?" The tall blond remained silent as she raised a dart gun into view. "Marika NO!"

* * *

            Ivan was back at the safe house, preparing his team to go in. Lucienne had ordered him not to move in yet. She had additional help arriving momentarily and she wanted them to move in with Ivan. Lucienne and her team set off on a ten-block walk toward Sierra Escorts hoping to have the element of surprise. She would call for Ivan, who was leading the tactical team, once she had the area secured. This was to prevent bloodshed and any escape. Ivan was on strict orders to hold back until she gave him the word to move.

            When they reached the building, it looked to be deserted as did the streets. It was late in the day and most of the businesses had closed for the day. Lucienne looked around casually, smoking her cigarette. There was no one watching the four women standing in front of the building. She dropped her cigarette and stomped it out. "Aisha, you and Hui front, Tasia and I will take the back. We’ll link up inside."

            "You got it," Aisha said as she climbed the steps with Hui in tow.

            "Be careful," Lucienne called after the two agents. Hui smiled at her as she disappeared into the building after Aisha. Tasia had begun walking into the alley that led to the back of the building. The French agent took one more look around her before she followed the Greek.

* * *

            The front reception desk was empty. Aisha withdrew her USP with Hui doing the same. They both moved with caution around the empty desk and down the hallway that led away from the front room. Hui covered the hallway as Aisha checked the office that was right after the door leading to the front room. The room was clear; Aisha nodded for Hui to push forward, with her tailing. They reached the end of the hallway. Aisha scanned the stairways as Hui checked the doors. The door in front of them marked ‘Loading dock’ was locked while the door to their left was unlocked. Hui opened the door a crack and looked back at Aisha who nodded for her to move in.

            Hui opened the door all the way and crept into large room. She scanned the room quickly with her USP at eye level. Everything was clear but the curtained stage at the head of the room. She moved towards it her with her USP ready. If someone were to shoot her with a dart she’d make sure to get a round off. She might end up frozen, but her attacker would be sorry. Aisha followed, close behind, watching their backs. There were six women standing stiffly on the stage at attention. Five of them were dressed in colorful lacy undergarments with sheer black hosiery and high heels. The sixth one was completely naked and had a shocked expression on her frozen face. From the blank and fixed expressions on their faces, Hui could tell they were under the Type-7. She climbed the stage and holstered her gun while Aisha stayed off stage with her gun still out, making sure they weren’t being ambushed.

            Hui walked around the naked girl first, touching her. She was stiff as a result of Type-7. She was pretty but the other five who were dressed were more attractive; they were made up and dressed purposely for that. They looked like they were being presented. The naked girl had an expression on her face that set her apart from the others, leading Hui to believe that this was Miranda’s doing. She noted the clothes that Miranda had worn earlier folded neatly on a nearby table that had what looked like five TV remotes on it.

            "What do we have, Hui?" Aisha asked eying the six ladies who looked straight on at some unseen distance.

            "They’re all under Type-7. It looks like Miranda may have frozen the last one there with the pen that Lucienne gave her. There are five remote looking things here on the table; not sure what they do yet. We also have Miranda’s disguise clothing here too. It looks like she took the clothes from that last girl,"  Hui reported, walking around the fixed women once more. They were attractive, yet she felt nothing. Even with the naked one, who looked pretty good in the buff.  She felt nothing. No thoughts of ravishing any of the ladies.

            "Is that an elevator?" Aisha then asked, snapping Hui from her thoughts. The Chinese agent looked and nodded. "Let’s go."

            "Not that way," Hui then suggested, hopping off the stage. "We’ll take the stairs. You don’t want to get gassed again, do you?" She asked rhetorically, pulling her gun out.

* * *

            Lucienne and Tasia gained entry from the back loading dock door. The French agent had fiddled with the lock for almost three minutes with Tasia keeping watch before it opened. They were lucky that the only security system that the door had was just the lock. With USPs drawn, both Interpol agents entered a spacious garage. The garage contained a two large delivery trucks, several other smaller cars and a numerous amount of cargo crates lining the walls. Lucienne had Tasia spread out from her and they methodically cleared the large space as they had been trained. The place was as normal looking as any typical warehouse garage. Lucienne wondered though, why would an escort service have a warehouse like area in their building?

            "All clear," Tasia reported as she concluded the search of her end of the warehouse. This had only taken them two minutes. Lucienne kicked over some cardboard boxes as she met up with the younger agent.

            "Clear on my side, too. Why would an escort service have a place like this?" Lucienne asked, testing the door that would lead into the building. It was locked. She looked around for another way in. She was not going to kill more time picking another lock. This lock looked more complicated.

            Tasia looked around at the boxes around the warehouse, noting their coffin-like dimensions. "To transport frozen women," she simply answered.

            Lucienne stopped her scan around the room and looked at her partner and grinned. "Ms. Spiro, you’ll make a great senior agent someday," she complimented, then leaned over and kissed the Greek passionately on the lips.

            Tasia smiled they parted lips. "Thanks Lucy and I saw an elevator at the end of the room."

            "Great. Let’s hope it’s not a trap and we don’t get gassed or something," Lucienne said as she walked to the other side of the room. Tasia’s smile faded, replaced by a look of worry as she followed her boss.

            "Maybe we should try to find another way in," Tasia suggested.

            The elevator only took them up one floor and, with luck on their side, was not a trap as well. Tasia and Lucienne had their USPs aim and ready as they stepped of the elevator. As they turned the corner they almost fired seeing two other ladies with guns pointed at them. They breathed a sigh of relief seeing it was Hui and Aisha who had come up from the stairway just down the hall. There was another flight of stairs behind them that led up the next level.

            "Down stairs is clear. Just a few hard-frozen ladies," Aisha whispered.

            "Any sign of Miranda or any of the missing models yet?" Lucienne then asked.

            Hui and Aisha shook their heads no. Hui added, "We checked the first two rooms just off the stairs. They were just empty bedrooms."

            Lucienne nodded. "We’ll move up; you girls clear the rest of this floor." Hui and Aisha nodded as Lucienne and Tasia headed towards the second set of stairs.

* * *

            Hui and Aisha covered the hall as Lucienne and Tasia took the stairs up to the third floor. They moved back towards the staircase, the first two rooms they had searched were relatively small. The floor only had a couple of rooms, leading them to conclude the other rooms must be huge in comparison to the first rooms. Since there would be a small number of rooms, which were probably large, they thought it best if they moved together. Opening the door to the third room from the staircase, Hui and Aisha were shock to see the large room had nothing in it but a worn sofa in the center. There was really nothing to search unless they wanted to flip the cushions and the sofa over. They decided it would be pointless and moved down to the next room.

            Hui gasped in surprise as she opened the door to the next room. The room was an empty space, with no furniture of any kind. Spaced apart at intervals, however, were twenty or so women all dressed differently from sharp-looking business attire to casual street clothes. There were two uniformed women within the group as well. One was military; judging by the uniform she was probably German. The other was an Italian police officer with dark hair tied back into a bun and her uniform cleanly pressed with shiny knee-high boots. The motionless women were all posed in various positions; some had blank looks other had a look of surprise or shock. There were blondes, brunettes and black haired women within the group; all were different in some way but they were all very attractive. Hui holstered her gun, seeing that Miranda was standing stiffly in the front row.

            The Hawaiian held her hands in front of her and she had a shocked expression on her face. It was obvious her friend was frozen, so Hui looked around at the other women to make sure they were not faking. It looked like none were. She turned to Aisha at the door. "We’re clear. Miranda is out."

            "They got some operation going on here," Aisha observed, eying the women in the room as she looked in from the doorway. "Looks like the fashion models aren’t the only ones missing."

            "What are we going to do?" Hui then asked as she looked her immobile friend up and down. Miranda was now dressed in a white short-sleeved blouse over a navy skirt and nylons. She stood in a pair of black heels. Hui remembered the naked woman downstairs. Good thinking, Miranda, she thought to herself. "We can’t leave them here," she said, still eying her friend. She was suddenly beginning to feel warm.

            "Yeah, you watch them, Hui. I’ll clear the rest of these rooms and come back and help you move them downstairs." Hui forced herself to look at the lead agent and nod. Aisha ducked back out into the hallway.

* * *

            The third floor had several rooms off a long hallway, resembling those of a normal apartment building or hotel. The doors were even marked with numbers. The two Interpol agents started searching the rooms from the top of the stairs, Lucienne worked on the rooms on the right side of the hall, while Tasia worked on the left. Their search had turned up nothing as of yet. The rooms were plain and mostly had only an old mattress along with desk and chair. They looked cheaper than most cheap motel rooms. Not something one would expect from a company making as much money as the records had shown.

            They had moved halfway down the hall when they both stopped, hearing something that sounded like footsteps. Both agents clicked off her their safeties and moved towards the sound with their handguns up at eye level. Tasia gestured at a door about five feet away from them on the left side of the hall. Lucienne nodded, letting Tasia take the lead while she watched her back. Reaching the suspected door, Tasia held her USP ready in her right hand and reached forward with her left opening the door. She flung the door open and immediately brought her other hand up to steady her USP. The room was empty of furniture, but not of people.

* * *

            There were only two doors left on the floor and Aisha hoped they would be as open and empty as the other rooms so she could secure the floor and help Hui with the captured women they had found. The door that was closest her, to her surprise, was locked. None of the others had been.  Aisha jiggled the doorknob a bit more but no luck. She decided against kicking it down but instead coming back to it once she checked the last door which was on the same side of hall but was about ten feet away. Feeling that most of the floor was secured, Aisha plainly walked the few steps and with her USP in hand turned the doorknob.

            This room was much larger than the other rooms and had limited dim lighting; she could feel a presence within as well. As she stepped in, she didn’t get a chance to scan the whole room as she saw a woman dressed in a white lab coat standing directly in front of her. She stepped into the room quickly, not noticing the door behind her closing, as all of her attention was on the woman in front of her. The woman had dark hair that was tied back into a pony tail. Standing rigidly next to her were Cammie Domingo and Judy Robertson. Both women were naked and standing at attention, staring emptily at Aisha.  Standing on the other side of the dark-haired woman was Tonya Cash; she too was frozen at attention with a pile of clothes at her feet. The dark haired woman resumed removing Tonya’s dark colored bra, the last article of clothing before rendering the model completely naked.

            "Don’t move!" Aisha ordered, aiming the USP at the other mobile person in the room.

            The dark haired lab coat-clad woman looked up from what she was doing, not a bit fazed by the woman aiming the USP at her. "Hello," she simply greeted, removing the rest of Tonya’s bra and dropping it into the pile.

            "Who are you?" Aisha then demanded; she could see other women around her lying in cots, motionless. There was another woman standing at attention in the shadows behind the dark haired woman.

            "I’m Doctor Tisdale. Welcome to my lab. I presume you are Interpol?" Ashley asked, stepping away from Tonya with her hands held up in front of her.

            "Your lab? What’s going on here?" Aisha demanded, taking a step back.

            "Well these women are all under Type-7 and I am getting them ready for the next step. Yes, this is my lab; it isn’t much, but it’s cozy I suppose," she replied, looking around the dimly lit room. "I’m in good company."

            "Getting them ready for what?" Aisha backed up some more. Her gut feeling told her there was something wrong, and this Tisdale woman’s glib attitude did  not help any. She should have had Hui come along with her.

            "I thought Interpol was really on top of their game. But now, I guess not so much. These women are being robotized and sold as slaves to whoever can afford them." Ashley replied calmly with her hands still held up in front of her. This woman had a gun aimed at her and she wasn’t going to give her a reason to use it.

            Aisha thought for a second then asked, "For slaves?"

            "Yes, you see they have these chips inserted at the base of their skulls. The chips send an electrical signal through the nervous system and controls their brain functions through a programmed remote.  They can perform many actions and tasks."

            The remotes downstairs, the women on the display stage; it all made sense now, Aisha thought. They were kidnapping models and attractive girls and turning them into mindless slaves with the chips. Why did this Tisdale give up the information so easy though? Trap. Right as the thought and feeling of a possible trap entered Aisha’s mind, a powerful arm grabbed her from behind, causing her gun to fall out her hands. She turned quickly but whoever grabbed her had a tight hold on her. A moist rag was pressed over her face. She tried to struggle free, but everything faded black before she could free herself.

            "Why did you tell her everything?" Scott asked, letting go of Aisha and picking up her dropped USP. Aisha stood frozen in a dramatic pose with both hands in front of her with fingers curled as if she was pushing against an invisible arm wrapped around her waist. Her knees were slightly bent and her upper body was twisted to the left. Her face was turned hard to the right with an expression of horror masking it.

            "I did not tell her everything. Just the general plan," Ashley defended, walking up to the stiffened agent. She then turned Aisha’s head to face forward and smiled at the agent’s captured expression. "Besides, I had to buy you time to get behind her."

            "You should have just made something up," Scott replied seriously as he pulled out his cell phone to make a call. Interpol was close. This thing might blow up in his face; he had to make some back up arrangements.

* * *

            Hui had decided to move Miranda downstairs first and then start moving the others once Aisha was done. As she picked up the stiff Hawaiian she got very aroused and lowered her back down. She looked at Miranda’s shocked expression and then at the other frozen girls. Aisha had left the room already. There were no witnesses. She looked Miranda up and down; she wanted to see the girl naked. On impulse she lowered her partner to the old wooden floor of the room. She moved Miranda’s arms and made them spread wide as she straddled the frozen woman. She ripped open the blouse sending buttons flying in every direction. Hui licked her lips as she bent over and started pulling on the satin white bra that covered Miranda’s round breasts. Pulling the cups down and sticking them under the Hawaiian’s bust, Hui began to vigorously lick the suspended woman’s breasts. As she moved south she felt a sudden prick at the back of her neck; before she could act darkness settled over her.

            Ryoshi smiled evilly, looking down at the two frozen women on the floor. She holstered her dart gun and closed the door behind her. It looks like Interpol agents have to have fun sometimes too, she thought. She lifted Hui off of Miranda. "Well, it looks like I have to strip-search both of you," she said looking at the blank eyes of the two immobilized Interpol agents.

* * *

            The two statues that Lucienne and Tasia saw standing there were attractive but were not any of the missing women. One was blonde while the other dark-haired and looked to be of Spanish origins. They stood straight upright with their arms to their sides and legs slightly parted. Both women had neutral expressions frozen on their faces and stared blankly at Lucienne and Tasia as they stared back. The blond was dressed in thin dark-red long sleeved t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans over high-heeled boots. The brunette was dressed in a dark colored tank top and a pair of tight fitting leather pants stuffed into knee high boots.

            Lucienne looked at the two women closely. There was something odd about them. She had seen the effects of Type-7 up close on Tasia. These two lacked something, a certain stillness. Tasia had holstered her gun and walked around the two, poking at them. Lucienne then noticed that both women were lightly breathing! "Tasia!" she warned.

            Leslie knew they had been spotted when the dark redheaded agent’s eyes went wide. She quickly withdrew a steel syringe filled with Type 7 from her back pocket and attempted to jab the one with lighter red hair that was closer to her. The dark redhead acted quickly though and Leslie soon found herself on her back in a struggle with her own syringe aimed right her. She was bigger than the dark redheaded woman but the woman was freakishly strong. Leslie found her arms shaking as she tried to push the syringe away from her chest. The woman on top her looked down at her menacingly as she pushed the syringe relentlessly towards her. The German let out a yelp in pain before freezing in place as the Type-7 plunged into her breast.

            Tasia was locked in a melee with the black-haired girl as they both spun around the room, bouncing off the walls, fighting with every technique they knew while the girl’s metal syringe kept aiming close to Tasia. She had seen the other girl move at the last minute and grasped the woman’s arm as she attempted to stab her with the freezing drug. Tasia then found herself pinned against the wall after brief struggle. The woman had the syringe lifted up in her right hand while Tasia kept the girls’ arm at bay with both her hands. She was losing the battle, though, as the syringe was drawing closer every moment. Suddenly the brunette froze, staring at Tasia angrily while her right arm still poised as if stabbing the Greek. Tasia let out a sigh of relief, seeing Lucienne standing behind the woman with another syringe. She was about to thank her partner when she saw a black clad figure standing in the doorway. "Cassandra!" she remarked.

            Lucienne turned around to see her old friend and partner Cassandra standing in the doorway. She was dressed in an all-black leather motorcycle outfit that showed off every nook and cranny of her body; a style that she had never seen her conservative colleague wear before.  Cassandra also bore a blank expression; staring vacantly straight ahead, she gave no reaction as Tasia call out to her. Before Lucienne could act, Tasia had moved from the wall towards her as Cassandra raised up her right hand, producing a gun. "Cassandra what are you doing?" Tasia gasped at the sight of the gun and stopped in her tracks.

            It happened quickly. Lucienne watched in horror as Cassandra pulled the trigger without even aiming at the Greek. The Type-7 dart from the gun hit its mark and the Tasia was frozen in place with her hands in front of her and mouth opened as if she was about to say something. Lucienne charged at her dazed friend before she could be shot herself and they both fell to the ground rolling out into the hallway. "What is wrong you?" Lucienne screamed, slamming Cassandra’s right hand into the ground, knocking the gun out of it. Cassandra said nothing; her face remained emotionless, rigid, and her eyes continued to stare unblinking as if she was under the Type-7. She was certainly not frozen, though, as she popped her hips up and knocked the French woman from on top of her. They both stood, circling. Lucienne sidestepped quickly as Cassandra threw a roundhouse kick. "Cassandra, why?"

            "This is so.. much better.. that is why," Cassandra finally spoke, but in a monotone voice empty of emotion. She moved forward towards Lucienne throwing wild hooks. The French agent backed away, blocking all the hits. However, she was unable to bring herself to hit back. There was something wrong with her friend. She wasn’t evil.  This wasn’t the Cassandra that she had known for almost seven years. "Please, Cassandra, stop; I don’t want to hurt you."

            Cassandra stopped and smiled. Her eyes still held their emptiness. "You don not.. want to hurt me or.. you cannot.. hurt me," she said in her monotone voice and then front-kicked Lucienne hard in the gut, sending the French woman to the ground. Cassandra moved forward, kneeling down and picking up the Type-7 dart gun. Lucienne quickly stood up, withdrew her USP, safety off, and aimed it at her friend. She hesitated for one sentimental moment and Cassandra got the shot off first. The dart hit Lucienne in the neck and she froze instantly in place, staring in shock at her once friend. "Good job, Cassandra," Cassandra said oddly before freezing in place herself while still standing in front of Lucienne holding the dart gun. Both waxwork-stiff women stood face-to-face with their guns pointed at each as if seen on a still from an action movie or paperback novel.

            Alexis emerged from one the rooms behind Lucienne. She was holding a remote and smiling. "Looks like the remote and new chip works great. Gotta love technology," she said while looking over Lucienne’s frozen body. "Not bad, Cassie. She’s hot," Alexis added, and then pressed some buttons on the remote.  Cassandra unfroze, lowering her hand. Alexis then brought the remote to her lips, saying, "She’s ok Lex, but you’re hotter." A moment later Cassandra repeated exactly what had been said into the remote.   “I know,” Alexis confirmed to herself.  Cassie was a good robot slave.

Chapter 6

Sierra Escorts Moscow, Russia Some hours later…

            "What’s the progress? Scott asked as he walked down the hallway, with Ashley striding beside him, the shorter scientist making an effort to keep up. He had been tense ever since the Interpol agents had breached the building; even though the situation was under control now he still felt uneasy. Something was eventually going to happen and that something was not going to be in his favor. He knew Interpol was operating more then one team and he had expected for the other team to come in as soon as the first group did not return. That, however, never happened. That was why he was so tense right now. He wanted to be out of Russia and off of the continent as soon as possible.

            "Well the latest models, Cash, Robertson, and Domingo are all chipped and ready. They have even been loaded up and ready for transport. I have a little over half of the normal girls chipped right now, but they are not fully programmed as of yet.  That is taking longer than planned.  The first half is being prepped as we speak," Ashley reported; she could sense that her boss was upset and nervous but frankly she did not understand why. The Interpol threat had once again been eliminated; in fact that very threat would now make them money.

They continued walking down to the end of the hallway, where Ashley opened the door and was welcomed to a glorious sight, Lucienne Christophe and her Interpol team.  Captured and frozen.

            The lead agent herself stood at attention with a shocked wide-eyed expression, surrounded by two of her agents who stood in the same manner and seemed equally surprised. Tasia Spiro stood to her superior’s left with a sleepy-eyed look, her lips slightly parted. Aisha Reynolds now stood on Lucienne’s right, her face still contorted in an expression of horror with mouth opened dramatically. Agents Hui Lan and Miranda Ohala had been positioned away from the lead group; both woman were naked with their hair loose around their bodies as they held each other in a passionate frozen embrace, thanks to Ryoshi, who took it upon herself to complete the living work of art while ‘searching’ the two agents. Standing in the back of the room, immobilized like their Interpol rivals, were Leslie and Veronica.  Ashley and Scott decided it was their last time to screw up and had left the two frozen. Their ‘escort’ recruitment operations in Europe were practically complete as well; all they needed were two operatives, Ryoshi and Alexis would do, having shown their skills. The tall German and the cute Spaniard would go on the market, along with the captured Interpol agents, as chipped slaves.

            Scott followed Ashley into the room, also feeling pleasure of the sight before him. The Interpol agents who were after him and his operation were all quite attractive women. He would make a killing on the redheaded Greek and the exotic Hawaiian. There was a buyer who he knew would pay top dollar for the Chinese agent and he already had an idea who would buy Veronica. He had feeling Ashley would want the lead agent for herself, since she wanted vengeance for her friend who was still missing. Of course, Scott would take Leslie if no one else bought her and the African-American would sell quickly on the market as well, being as she was tall and attractive like her colleagues. Scott walked around the group of frozen women, lost in thought, "How soon could you have them chipped?"

            "Well, there are still quite a few of our other girls ahead of them. Alexis and Ryoshi are prepping that group right now. In the meantime, they aren’t going anywhere.  I’ll start to chip them as soon as possible. I’ll send Ryoshi in to prep these ladies before the second half of the last group as soon as I free up the space in the lab."

            Scott takes one more look around the tableaux. "Work faster and add Adriana to this group. We’re closing operations here; I want no loose ends," Scott ordered, pulling out his cell phone as he was leaving the room.

Interpol Safe House, Moscow, Russia

            "We should have gone in when Agent Christophe did not return." Ivan muttered. He and the rest of his team were all dressed in heavy tactical gear that included Kevlar helmets and gas masks. His team, fully dressed and ready now for almost five hours now, lounged around unmarked cars that were crammed into the small parking lot in the back of the safe house. It was dark now so any type of operation that was to go down would be much more dangerous now. Ivan himself sat on his helmet with his gasmask hanging off, his AK-74SU leaning in front him against the wall. Sitting next to him were Special Agent Jean-Baptiste Odilon and Inspector Dieter Bran of Berlin’s International Crimes Task Force who had arrived several hours after Lucienne had lead her team into Sierra Escorts.

            "How long does it take your people to set up observations posts?" Dieter asked, getting up from the wall and pacing anxiously. He had not slept in the last few days, being worried about the beautiful Interpol agent that he had met just before she had been abducted in his country. Dieter had fallen behind on his normal duties as he continued to call Interpol for daily progress reports. He was hyped when Agent Christophe had invited him in for assistance. He met Special Agent Odilon at the airport, who was also called in by Christophe as well. At the airport Odilon, who preferred to be called JB, swore Dieter in as a temporary Interpol agent so he would be allowed to carry his sidearm in the foreign country.

            "They have been in their observation posts for the last two hours! Were you not listening when I told you?" Ivan shot back, standing up to face the German. Both men were the same height and athletically built. They stood staring at each other like any alpha males would do.

            "That’s enough of that," JB said calmly, stepping in between the two taller men. He then turned to Ivan, "Lucienne told us not to charge in there. It’ll scare them. She wants us to sit back and let them think we’re not coming. It’s a crazy idea to me, but she’s the lead," the Frenchman explained. Ivan only grunted as he went back to sitting down on his helmet. His facial features were obscured in the darkness of the alley. Turning to the German, JB continued, "You my friend, have to calm down and relax. Ivan did tell us his teams were in position. You would have heard him if you were not so wired up."

            Dieter let out a breath and turned around. He counted to ten before he turned back. Looking down at Ivan, he stated, "I’m sorry." Ivan nodded in response, pulling a cigarette from one of his many pouches on his chest rig. The German turned to JB, "How much longer do we have to wait?"

            JB looks at his watch. "It’s been long enough." He then turned to Ivan, who stood back up and pulled on his helmet. "Your teams haven’t reported anything?"

            "Nothing."

            "Alright, Inspector Bran and I will head over there and see what is going on. After this time, it’s probably not good.  See if can spot our people. As soon as we get a better look of the place I’ll call and you and your teams are to go in," JB explained. Ivan nodded and signaled his waiting team members to get ready.

            "You care to go on a nightly stroll?" Dieter asked, anxious to start moving.

            JB nodded and looked back at Ivan, "If we don’t come back within a couple of hours and you do not hear anything from us, swarm that building with everything you got." Ivan smiled and nodded, cocking his AK-74SU.

Sierra Escorts, Moscow, Russia

            With Adriana out of action and being transferred in status from employee to merchandise, Ashley needed someone to staff the front desk. Sierra Escorts never really closed; even though it was dark out, she needed someone to watch the door. To Alexis’s dismay, she was selected, since Ryoshi was already assisting Scott with something, while Leslie and Veronica remained frozen and were also being prepped. She wished that Ryoshi was being put up for sale, not her other two operatives. There was something about the former spy that Alexis did not like. She couldn’t wait for this thing to be over so she could just leave with her new robotized doll and be away from pressures of dealing with Scott and Ashley, not to mention the relentless Interpol. Alexis smiled at the thought of a mindless Cassandra Flick patiently waiting for her in her room, clad in a tight sexy catsuit. She snapped out of her daydream as two men entered through the front door. One was taller than the other; both had on expensive suits. They both smiled at her as they approached her desk. She smiled back looking the two men over carefully as the walked up. They were both armed; she noted the slight bulges at their hips that an untrained eye would miss. "How may I help you?" she spoke in a mock Russian accent, hiding her panic that the two men might be Interpol.

            "Hello Miss, I am Jean Reno and this is my friend Leo Schulz. We are told to come here for some… how you say… zee companions?" the shorter man who called himself Jean asked in a thick French accent.

            Alexis frowned at the man and looked over at his taller friend, who grinned back at her. These men were either cops or gangsters.  However they had come when it was dark making them look more like gangsters instead of cops; police mostly operated in the day around these parts. "Of course," she replied smoothly, gathering up the necessary forms and handing them to the men. "Fill these out and I’ll need your IDs as well."  Both men smiled back and handed her their passports. As expected, the shorter one was from France while the taller one was a German national. She took the two passports and gesture the two men to sit. "You gentlemen have a seat while I go run these."

            Dieter waited for the secretary to disappear into the back before he turned to JB, "Jean Reno? Of all the names you had to pick from, you had to choose Jean Reno?" He asked in a sharp whisper as they walked to the chairs in the small waiting area.

            "I like Jean Reno." JB defended.

            "Yeah and so does everyone else. You are going to get us caught."

* * *

            The room was filled with naked girls all standing straight and stiff with vacant stares. Scott enters the room and walks past the naked women, straight towards Ashley. The dark-haired beauty stood behind a round-faced redhead with a shapely body. The redhead was bent forward at the waist with her red locks pulled in front of her face, clearing an empty spot at the nape of her neck. There a skin colored chip rested naturally across her spine, having just been installed. Ashley was checking the interface as Scott approached and grabbed her at the elbow, not forcefully, but firm enough to tell her that something was going on.

            "Come with me," he said plainly as he led her out of the room. They briskly moved down the hall to where the agents were stored. Scott threw open the door and looked around the room that was filled the five frozen Interpol agents and now three of his own employees; Adriana being the latest one added to the group. "Which one is the lead Interpol agent?"

            "What is this about?" Ashley asked, puzzled.

            Before Scott could answer, Alexis appeared at the door. "They’re Interpol, I know it. I just ran their passports and they came back good. Too clean, though, for a couple of guys who arrived armed," she explained. A wave of shock swept over Ashley. Scott and Alexis both looked at her with eager eyes. She numbly points at Lucienne.  “That one.”

            "I want her immediately chipped and ready… don’t worry about stripping her down or changing clothes, just chip her for control so we can have her call off the other team. Alexis, help move her to the lab, then go back down and stall those men. I’m going to make some calls. After she’s chipped, we move out. Leave the others; take what we have and destroy anything we can’t move. I’ll send Ryoshi in to help." Scott ordered quickly, leaving the room with his cell to his ear.

* * *

Ryoshi had been spending most of her time cleaning up any kind of evidence left in the building. She had also helped Scott with packed up the remaining supermodels that were going out to prospective clients; this shipment also included ten or so non-model girls as well. Most the company’s equipment and the chipped girls were loaded into one of the two trucks in the loading area. Scott was busy making other arrangements, while Alexis was down below stalling the possible lead elements of a second Interpol team.  Ashley had called Ryoshi up to the lab, where she was busily prepping a control chip for the lead agent in order to slow down or stop the second Interpol team while they made their exit. The scientist had ordered Ryoshi to remove the remaining chips from the un-programmed girls and pack them up, along with their specialized Type-7 weapons. She did so as the chipped agent known as Marika stood stiffly by and watched from the corner of the room along with another chipped woman named Mary. The former spy wondered why she was doing this and not those mindless slaves.

            With the box full of unused chips, some loose clothing, and the Type-7 weapons cradled under her arm, Ryoshi headed back towards the elevator to take it below. She, however, decided to stop by the room with the agents. Veronica and she had a great time prior to the agents entering their base; she figured she should at least say goodbye or have a one last good feel before they would have to part.

            The Japanese agent smiled as she opened the door to the room. The two other Asian women in the room, a cute Chinese woman and an exotic Hawaiian beauty were still posed near the wall in the tight embrace that Ryoshi had put them in hours ago. She didn’t know who the two women were but figured this may put them closer once they came to, since they were not going to be chipped now. Putting the box down and ignoring the other women in the room, Ryoshi made her way to Veronica. The Spanish girl looked blankly out at her with empty eyes in a panicked expression. Ryoshi wrapped her arms around the stiff girl and locked lips with her. "I’m going miss you… we did have our fun; just wish it lasted longer," she cooed, pressing her body against the frozen woman. Feeling Veronica’s body, even though it was frozen, felt great. She was really fond of the Spanish girl even in her frozen state. Maybe she could take her with her; load her on to one of the trucks? Ryoshi thought for a second, the plan was flawed. Too much moving for her and too much of risk of her getting caught herself. She then smiled as a thought came to her. Going back to the box of items, she removed a large spray gun; it was the Type-7 antidote. She’d just spray Veronica, taking her out of her current immobilized state, have her walk on her own to the loading dock, and then freeze her again later thus keeping her boss happy along with herself satisfied.

            She never really used the spray gun before, she thought, as she examined it. How hard could it be? Standing in front of Veronica she aimed the nozzle of the gun at the stiffened Spaniard and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. Ryoshi looked at the gun, puzzled, adjusting some random dials and knobs on it before she aimed it again. Pulling the trigger yielded the same results: nothing. Frustrated, she shook the gun violently. "Piece of crap!" she cursed as she tossed it to the floor. The impact broke the canister from the gun itself, letting off a hissing sound followed by a constant high-pitched whine. The quickly room filled up with the contents of the antidote canister. This is not good, Ryoshi thought, backing away. A wave of panic swept over her as she heard coughing from the back of the room.

* * *

            Aisha blinked and looked around at the foggy room she was now in. She could tell there were people all around her, though she could not see them clearly. She spotted Tasia standing next to her, who was coughing and waving the fog from her face. She heard more coughs around her. There was a yelp near the wall. A petite Asian woman that Aisha never saw before was standing in front of her. The two looked at each other at the same time. Aisha sprang forward, attempting to grab the woman. The Asian shot her leg out and caught Aisha in the gut, doubling her over. Hui was at her side within seconds; she was naked!

            Tasia was grabbed from behind. She turned around quickly facing a tall blonde who had a frighteningly strong grip. She pulled back hard but could not free herself. Miranda appeared at her side, she was naked too but that was the least of Tasia’s concerns. With the help of the Hawaiian agent, Tasia was able to break free and then they turned their efforts to restraining the blond.

            There was no time to figure how she ended up the way that she did. It is a good thing I am comfortable with my nakedness, Hui thought as she threw a roundhouse kick at the other Asian woman she did not recognize. The woman dodged the blow and countered with a kick of her own. The two then went into battle, countering each other’s moves.

            Aisha regained her balance and stood up, only to be knocked down from behind by another woman who tried to restrain her. The other woman was smaller and weaker though. With a slight roll, Aisha was able to free herself and turned around to face the other woman as they began struggling for an advantage. As all the fighting was going on the lone brunette, the only woman in the room who hadn't gotten involved in the fight, reanimated and rushed out of the room.

* * *

            Ryoshi looked around the room while at the same time keeping the small but very fast Chinese woman at bay. Veronica was rolling around on the floor with the African-American agent while Leslie was in a type of tug of war match with the two remaining agents. The tall German was still holding her own against the two smaller agents. The whole situation was turning super bad. They had to get out. She quickly spun around as the Chinese girl went in for a right hook. Ryoshi threw a reverse heel kick into the smaller woman’s gut, sending her down. The woman wasn’t out, though, so she picked up the box of loose equipment as well and tossed it on her. While the woman was stunned she turned her attention to Veronica and kicked the other woman off her. She turned to Leslie as she helped the Spaniard up. "Let’s go!"

            Leslie grabbed hold of the two women and tossed them behind her. They both slammed into the wall, dazed. She then took off with her two fellow teammates. Ryoshi quickly closed the door and locked it just as Leslie got out of the room. They could hear banging on the other side. She turned and faced the girls, "Leslie, go get Ashley and Veronica head down to the trucks!" she ordered. Both girls did not question her command and left in haste to do their tasks. Ryoshi then quickly headed up the flight of stairs leading to the top level.

* * *

            It took Aisha, Hui, Miranda and Tasia only two minutes to get the door open, with Aisha's skill with removing hinges proving to be an asset. Miranda and Hui had managed to slip on some discarded lab coats and dirty laundry that was in the room to cover up; their clothes were oddly absent. In addition all the agents had picked up a sedative dart gun from the discarded equipment, all of them converted Beretta pistols from what Hui observed. As well as the guns and spare ammo, Aisha and Hui had each taken a few non-damaging explosives, supposedly gas grenades filled with Type-7 and flash-bangs while Miranda and Tasia each grabbed a remote for the controller chips. "Not Interpol standard issue but they'll do, given our situation," declared Aisha after checking her weapon's safety. "Tasia, you come with me. I'm going to pay a visit to their lead scientist's lab and this time I'll be getting the drop on her. Miranda, Hui, you two try and contact our backup, plus I need you to free anyone else you find. The more our enemy has to worry about, the better."

            "Be careful, we have to assume anyone who isn't with us now is under their control," warned Tasia. "Lucienne and I were ambushed by Cassie."

            "Yeah, Marika got me, so watch for her too, plus we should assume Lucienne's been worked on too," added Miranda, reinforcing the cautionary words.  “That’s what I would do.”

            "Alright, good luck," offered Hui as she and Miranda quickly exited the room, scanning the hallway before heading right and down the stairs at the end of them. Tasia somewhat nervously prepared her own gun and followed Aisha's lead as she took the left path, following it towards the room that had been last on her list during her previous tour of the building.

            After three minutes of careful movement Aisha found herself once again in the darkened room full of women on cots, however there weren't as many occupied as she'd seen before. The three celebrity models were absent as well, leaving only a few more casually pretty girls such as medium-height Russian blonds and brunettes; the room was almost a perfect collection of clichés. Several had chips connected to the base of their necks they all stared at the ceiling with no clothes on. The nudity did nothing for Aisha but did make Tasia's lower body get a bit warm, thus she was glad that, so far, she'd managed to go through the operation without being forced to roam around naked.

            There was sudden movement on the right but Aisha was fast, dropping to one knee as she turned and fired a quick pair of shots, striking the moving figure in the center of her mass. That movement soon stopped.  Frozen in an awkward running pose was the German Aisha and Tasia had fought in their prison-like room only a few minutes earlier, her body bent at the waist with her right foot raised well off of the ground, a spray bottle in her left hand which was raised just above her hips but not even pointed at the Interpol agents, her teeth flashing frustration with furrowed brows as she stood there. A moment later the immobilized blond toppled over on her back, unable to remain balanced on one foot.

            "Nice," whispered Tasia, scanning the room for more trouble.

            "Eyes down!" hissed Aisha, pulling a flash-bang from her pocket and throwing it into the dark side of the room. As trained from their tactical simulation sessions both women shielded their eyes and ears properly to avoid unpleasant sensations, namely ringing in the ears as well as blindness. As the flash faded, both Interpol agents saw a tall woman in a lab coat walking towards them with a syringe held in her hands, seemingly unaffected by the flash.

            "It's Marika, she's got a chip on her!" screamed Tasia, remembering Miranda's words from earlier. With no real hesitation both women fired their guns at the advancing Finnish Amazon, the darts striking her in the chest and arms. In spite of being exposed to inappropriate levels of Type-7, however, Marika kept advancing, her face remaining blank but her movements smooth.

            "What the-" began Aisha before she was forced to grab Marika's right arm and try to prevent herself from getting needled. The two struggling women quickly fell to the floor, Marika slowly moving the medical device towards Aisha's shoulder as she tried desperately to stop it with both hands.  The agent was uncommonly strong.

            "Of course!" Tasia exclaimed as she pulled the remote from her pocket. Pointing the device at Marika, Tasia quickly found the special 'FREEZE' button and pressed it. Marika became a statue. Instantly, Aisha went from having the needle mere centimeters from her skin to pushing a stiff Marika off of her body, the chipped agent’s right hand frozen with the syringe still in it while her left remained as if supporting her position on the floor, her face was still blank.

            "Damn you, why must you always be a problem?!" screamed a panicked voice from the other end of the room. Springing up from her hiding place was the Tisdale woman Aisha had seen before who, with a laptop in her hands, bolted out the door.  Aisha's darts only struck the wall behind her. Tasia got up to go after the woman, tossing the remote she'd been carrying to Aisha as she hurried out of the door.

            "Annoying bitch," groaned Aisha, standing up and examining the remote. It didn't take her long to find the 'SHUT DOWN' button, which she promptly pressed while pointing it at Marika. Instantly the chip on the back of her neck fell off and a moment later Marika's raised arm fell to the floor as her body relaxed from its stiffened pose.

            "... What...  I...  hey..." gasped Marika, breathing heavily as she looked around in confusion. "They drugged me...  I could feel it freezing me..." Marika then focused her eyes on Aisha, who was flashing her a white on dark smile. "How long was I out?"

            "I'd say about a week, give or take," shrugged Aisha, offering her fellow agent a hand up. "The bad guys stuck you with some kind of brain scrambler that turned you into a remote-controlled zombie. We're inside their Russian headquarters with at least one of their number is down. Hard to say how many they have, but we know some woman named Tisdale created the control chips.  Tasia went after her."

            "Tisdale..." muttered Marika, the name then ringing a bell. “Oh, of course! Ashley Tisdale, of Stone Enterprises! We met her back during the Erika Stone case, but we had her filed then as a kidnapping victim!"

            "Oh hell; I thought the face was familiar," groaned Aisha, realizing her earlier folly. "Now I get why she's so pissed with us. Okay, let’s bring her in. Tasia's on her trail, so hopefully we'll have good news. But first..." With a wave of her Beretta, Aisha gestured at Lucienne, who had been in the room the entire time in the back right corner, not far from where Ashley had initially been hiding. The French woman now stood, bent over at the waist a full ninety degrees, her fingers almost touching her toes, a familiar chip in place on the nape of her neck.

* * *

            Down on the first floor Hui and Miranda moved side by side, scanning the floor of signs of anyone. The building was surprisingly empty now, the stage room where Adriana had showed Miranda some of the girls now bare. After quickly scanning the room, Hui moved to the door that connected to the office, which in turn connected to the front desk. After using hand signal with Miranda the Chinese agent kicked the door with her heel, knocking it open and having a quick burst of gunfire send several darts flying past them into the elevator doors at the other end. Dropping low and peeking into the office, Hui saw the naked brunette from before, the one she'd found on the stage that Miranda had drugged earlier, and quickly fired back in retaliation, a dart hitting her left breast. The brunette dropped her own Type-7 gun in surprise and moved her hand to clutch the dart, freezing right at that moment in shock with her head looking down at the object sticking into her.

            "Hello again, Adriana," greeted Miranda as she scanned the office. Much to her relief Cassandra was also in the room but appeared to be frozen, standing stiffly in place in a tight-fitting black catsuit with her right arm extended at the elbow, her hand shaped as if holding a gun. The computer at the desk in the office was active, the red-tinged words 'FILES DELETED' flashing on the screen.

            "Crap!" cursed Hui, running to check the computer while Miranda walked over to Cassandra, pulling her brunette hair clear and examining the chip attached to the nape of her neck. After careful deliberation the Hawaiian pulled it loose, the device making a clicking sound and leaving a small red patch on the agent’s skin.

            "... Huh?" asked Cassandra, suddenly blinking and looking around in confusion. "Ugh, Alexis must have frozen me again," groaned the British agent, rubbing her eyes and then looking over at Miranda's smiling face. "Hey, thanks for what I'm assuming is a rescue?  What happened?"

            "Good to have you back!" exclaimed the Hawaiian, giving her fellow agent a quick hug while Hui typed away at the computer.

            "We're in luck!" declared the Chinese agent as she pressed more keys. "Someone started the deletion process but didn't finish it. The Interpol computer experts should be able to recover everything for us before too long; we just need to get this computer to them."

            Just then there was a knock at the door, and after carefully moving towards it Miranda and Hui opened it, Type-7 guns at the ready, surprised to see Jean-Baptiste standing there with a confused look on his face. "Quoi passe içi?" asked the French agent, his confusion becoming relief. His wandering eye also noted the naked receptionist but he was smart enough not to linger on the image, nor that of Cassandra in her tight fitting catsuit that showed off too much of her lovely figure.

            "We've got a computer and at least one target down," explained Hui as JB waved Dieter into the room. "First floor appears secure, but we haven't checked the garage; get your team on that right away. Tasia and Aisha are on the second floor, last we checked. Lucienne and Marika are status unknown; be careful if you encounter them. The opposition is using some kind of mind-altering technology, so if you see anyone with a blank stare moving at you consider them a threat but avoid lethal force, naturally. I'm not really sure how many there are in total, but I'd estimate at least five including this one here."

            "Okay, I'll make the arrangements," agreed JB, moving into the corner of the room and speaking into his communications device.

            "We can hold the fort here with Cassandra while you two try the other side of the garage," suggested Dieter, noting Cassandra wasn't armed.

            "No, I'll go with them," insisted the British agent, picking up the dart gun that Adriana had dropped. "You'll do fine, Inspector, but leave this to us."

            "Whatever you say," shrugged Inspector Bran, pulling out his sidearm and offering a quick wave as the three women, all of them quite beautiful, hurried out of the room towards the special exit that led to the garage.

* * *

            "Those bloody wankers," cursed Alexis as she frantically searched the parked car for keys. After learning that they needed to move she'd taken Cassandra downstairs to wipe the computer files and freeze her guests, but Adriana's arrival changed her plans. Cutting her losses, Alexis had ordered the expendable secretary to take care of the files while she ran away, even giving up keeping the one love of her life to save her own skin. Unfortunately when she'd arrived, she'd found all the vehicles gone except a fleet of useless cars and only one other person present, the shapely Greek redhead that they'd captured earlier. The sultry woman was standing out in the open, her gun at her side with her left arm raised in alarm, her eyebrows furrowed but her frozen expression not really one of shock so much as puzzlement. A lack of darts in her body indicated that someone had gassed her by Alexis's estimation, meaning she would have only a few minutes to escape before the woman started waving her gun again.

            "Ugh, they really need to learn about teamwork," cursed Alexis as she failed to find anything she could use to drive the vehicle, only recovering an old Ruger Mark II pistol, which had been loaded with Type-7 darts. Deciding to just try the alley, Lex exited the car, making sure to shoot the Greek woman first with a couple of darts. As she moved out, however, the door connecting to the building suddenly burst open and out came the Chinese agent and the Hawaiian, both carrying Beretta pistols that Alexis knew were loaded with the freezing drug. Acting instinctively, she pointed and fired off a round as she rolled behind the car. Two guns fired back at her in response, which meant that Lex hadn't hit either woman.

            "Give yourself up, its over!" shouted the Chinese woman as she moved to the right, seeking cover behind a wall while the Hawaiian did the same on the left. It was a predictable move, Alexis knew, but it gave all three combatants good cover, which wouldn't be easy to bypass.

            "Yeah right, haven't you noticed that they're all gone?" asked Alexis, laughing at the lame statement her opposition had made. "You bloody idiots, all you've got is a building, nothing more."

            "On the contrary, we have some of your chips and a computer full of files, along with two of your team frozen!" declared the Hawaiian as she fired a shot from her spot, her dart striking the car's passenger window but only cracking it. Alexis cursed Adriana's name in her mind, deciding that from now on she should do the important tasks herself.

            "Maybe, but you don't have me yet!" howled Alexis, suddenly popping up and firing a shot she'd intended to miss in the direction of the Hawaiian. Miss it did but the agent, clearly a bit less experienced than the Chinese one, returned fire, aiming where Alexis had been standing. The Brit instead had instantly dropped down and fired a shot from under the car, the dart catching the island beauty's foot.

            "Ah, I'm-" called out the agent before freezing, her foot raised up to her right hand while her left leaned against the wall with the gun in her grip, her face contorted in pain. Ideally the darts were painless but taking one in the foot could cause some damage, though far less than one in the eye.

            "Nice shot, but it'll be your last!" taunted the Chinese woman, firing three shots for no clear reason. The pause afterwards made Alexis realize her opponent's plan so she quickly rolled away from the car as a gas grenade came clattering down. As the invisible white gas exited from the canister Lex ducked and rolled again, finding herself right behind the immobilized Greek woman. Another dart flew at the Brit but struck the already frozen woman's knee instead.

            "Sorry, Tasia!" called out the Chinese woman with a grimace as Alexis fired back, spending all but her last two shots. With such poor cover she was getting desperate, firing from in between the Greek woman's legs.

            "That bitch won't feel anything, and neither will you in a second!" exclaimed Alexis, finally seeing her opening. The Chinese woman had ducked low for her next shot but left her knee exposed. Right as the attacking woman began her roll Alexis fired, twice, and managed to hit home as the Interpol agent continued to roll before stopping on her left shoulder, her eyes facing ahead with her gun held tight against her uneven clothing, her coat hiked up to reveal her womanhood and butt, intensity frozen on her face with her tongue touching the tip of her lower lip.

            "I win," announced Alexis, lowering her gun and moving away from Tasia, running fast. An unexpected gunshot then suddenly echoed in the large concrete room and Alexis's eyes flew open in surprise as a dart struck her squarely in the back, causing her to stumble and freeze on her toes with her arms flailing at her sides, a curse locked on her rigid lips.

            "Sorry Alexis, but it's like I told you back when we were partners," declared Cassandra, who'd rushed into the room with Hui and Miranda but who remained silent until she'd found an opening, "The good guys always win, and you're not a good guy, not anymore."

* * *

            An hour later Aisha, Marika, Lucienne and Cassandra all stood together, Cassandra and Marika dressed in jumpsuits, as police and Interpol teams swept the building. Hui, Miranda and Tasia were in another room with the dozen women the teams had been able to recover from the site, all being given a Type-7 antidote that had also been found laying around. Marika was already using an electronic nose to analyze the building while the three most senior agents were having a talk.

            "Alexis Sutherland?" asked Lucienne, thinking back. "Yes, you mentioned her. Didn't she do a brief stint in Interpol as well as working for Scotland Yard?"

            "She did, that's probably where she got the manual on Interpol procedures," confirmed Cassandra, nodding at a piece of evidence that sat on the stage in the massive room they were standing in. The book, along with various firearms, drug containers and expensive electronics dotted the room, all of it bagged as evidence by the investigation team for processing.

            "I guess that explains why they were so good at taking us down," whistled Aisha, shaking her head. "Any ID on the other ones?"

            "Leslie Schulz, German bounty hunter who was known for being quite slippery," explained Lucienne, holding up a notepad JB had handed her moments earlier before going back to handling things while the ladies recovered from the ordeal. "And we know that the chief scientist was Ashley Tisdale so we can put out a search for her, plus there's the Japanese woman and that redhead. The secretary, as near as we can tell, is just a local girl with loose morals who supposedly used to work for a crime syndicate."

            "Hey, I have some excellent news," announced JB as he returned from the office. "We've managed to recover everything on that computer and it includes a client list. They have everything we need to find the missing women, including bank accounts and buyers. We should have them all back before too long."

            "Bloody marvelous," grinned Cassandra, Lucienne and Aisha doing the same.

Epilogue

Volos, Greece

            "That is great news, Odie! You’ll be senior agent in no time." Lucienne complimented into the phone receiver. After everything had wrapped up and the team was relieved, Lucienne and Tasia had taken the first flight out of Russia to Greece. There they flew to Volos, Tasia’s hometown. She had not been home in months and wanted to make sure her house was still there. Lucienne had wanted to go to someplace more romantic for fun but Tasia insisted and offered to cook her senior colleague and partner some dinner. Volos, being a coastal city, offered exotic and tropic scenery so Lucienne for the most part was enjoying herself. Tasia lived in large house that over looked the majestic Pagasetic Gulf; through the large living room windows Lucienne could see the greenish water of the gulf bordered by Volos.  Her family, who now lived in Athens closer to the rest of their large family, had given the house to Tasia. "Yes, I am out of the country at the moment but I’ll be back in a week or two. Cassandra and Aisha are actually in Lyons right now, dealing with Sutherland and Schulz. Well I’ll be back in a few weeks. We’ll all go out for drinks then. See you later, Odie," Lucienne said, smiling and hanging up the phone.

            She stood and walked over to the large living room window and took in the majestic sights in front of her. She had thought her view of the Eiffel tower was grand from her apartment in Paris but Tasia had it made with this view. Feeling a breeze at her legs, she looked down and remembered she was in a light hot pink sundress. Lucienne wasn’t a ‘dress’ kind of girl, especially a hot pink one that showed off too much leg at that. Her legs were nice and all but the dress itself just wasn’t her. When they had arrived Tasia had gave her a drink and the next thing she knew she was dressed in the sundress with her hair tied in pigtails.

            "Was that JB you were just talking to?" Tasia asked, coming out from the kitchen, which was in the next room. The Greek was only dressed in apron that she was wiping her hands on.

            Lucienne turned around and smiled at her gorgeous girlfriend, the apron left little to the imagination, barely able to contain Tasia’s large bust and cover up her womanhood at the same time. "Yes, he reports that all the fashion models and missing girls are almost all recovered. There’s just two left unaccounted for now. Tonya Cash and Yoon Suk were sold to the same person. Odie had a bit of trouble tracking him down, but they found him in Malta; both girls should be back at home within the next couple of days. The remaining guards have all recovered from Type-7 as well but were not able to give us anything we did not already know," she explained, crossing the spacious room and wrapping her arms around the Greek. The two locked lips for a while with Lucienne’s hand running up and down Tasia’s bare back and Tasia’s riding up Lucienne’s dress.

            "Dinner is ready," Tasia announced after pulling back from Lucienne. Lucienne noted the smile on the Greek’s face. Tasia took hold of Lucienne’s hand and pulled her towards the dining room.

            "Where are all my things, Tasia?" Lucienne asked as she followed her younger girlfriend.

"No smoking in my house," Tasia replied, knowing what Lucienne wanted. "It’s really a disgusting habit. I don’t say anything when we’re working but that’s just because you’re the boss. You should really quit though, for your health," she suggested seriously as they entered the dining room. The large family table that usually sat ten was set for two, lit by candlelight. Two oval dishes were covered in spinach rice, steamed cucumber, a side serving of salad and couple of slices of juicy lamb. Crystal empty wine glasses sat at the corner of each plate setting, along with a cloth napkin wrapped silver utensils. Tasia pulled out a chair for Lucienne before taking her own seat.

            "Speaking of bad habits, we’re running low on that Type-7 as well; you should really cut down on drugging me every chance you get." Lucienne warned, looking over the lovely meal set before her. "Not that I don’t enjoy it or nothing but really, it’s becoming a habit. This meal looks great, by the way."

            "It’s Lamb Souvlaki… it’s about the only thing I could really cook." Tasia replied unrolling her silver. "Eat up; it’s good," Tasia egged her on, scooping a spoon full of some rice and looking over at Lucienne eagerly.

            Lucienne unraveled her silver and eyed the empty glass, "No wine?"

            Tasia’s eyes opened wide, "Oh I forgot, I have bottle chilling right now – let me go get it. Excuse me," Tasia quickly got up and shuffled out of the dining room. Lucienne stared at her bare ass as she disappeared around the corner. She then looked down at her plate and then to Tasia’s and smiled.

            A moment later, Tasia returned with the chilled bottle of white wine. She uncorked it and poured a glass for Lucienne and then for herself before sitting back down. "Sorry about that, I know how the French are about wine and dining." Tasia said with a smile, scooping another spoonful of rice, not noticing the rice was undisturbed. She looked over at Lucienne’s dish, then noticed the missing rice on Lucienne’s dish. "Hey-" she started to say, but abruptly stopped.

            "Yes, Tasia, I switched dishes. I knew you looked a little too eager for me to eat." Lucienne cooed, looking over at the now-frozen Greek. Tasia was turned towards Lucienne with still holding her spoon; it was a couple of inches from her plate. She had a slightly open mouth grin as her eyes stared blankly at her lover. Looking down at her food, Lucienne observed, "This really is a lovely meal. I really hope it can re-heat." She turned to her stiff companion. "Because you know, we’re not going to eat now; you might have hidden my cigarettes but I have other ways to pleasure myself,"  she said, standing and lifting Tasia up from under the arms. "Now where is that bedroom?"

Berlin, Germany

            It was the most fun that she’d had in years. Marika instead of going back to Finland, she had accepted Inspector Dieter Bran’s offer to spend a weekend in Berlin on his behalf. He had put her in a four-star hotel so she would not feel the she would be spending the weekend with him but rather spending time in his wonderful country to relax. Of course, he was going to be her tour guide for the weekend. The first day they had spent driving all around the city and the neighboring Brandenburg region in Dieter’s Audi S8, just talking and enjoying the sights. The day ended with a casual dinner and walk in downtown Berlin. Sunday, Dieter left Marika alone so she could relax in private, she had just come off of a stressful case in which she was captured for a period of time. Marika spent the day relaxing in the hotel’s spa, which was paid for all by Dieter, then slept and read for the remainder of the day. The day had been so enjoyable that she had forgotten that she was even a police officer and she would have to report back to duty in week back at her home office.

            That night Dieter returned with a marvelous evening dress and shoes – all paid for – for Marika to keep as soon as the night was over. He had made reservations at a high-end Berlin restaurant to treat her to dinner before she flew back to Finland the next day. It was for the first time in Marika’s life that she felt truly happy and carefree. Throughout the whole evening she had felt like royalty. She was also starting to feel something for Dieter as well. Unlike her other boyfriends, who always wanted something from her, Dieter only wanted her company and in return he had been a perfect gentleman and gave her more then what she deserved. It was only about ten-thirty when the S8 pulled up to the curb of the hotel.

            "Well, Special Agent Heino, it has been my pleasure," Dieter said with a smile, putting the car into park.

            "It’s been my pleasure too, Inspector Bran. I don’t know how I could ever repay you for this evening; never mind this weekend," Marika replied.

            "It was truly nothing. Do not worry about it. Just promise me to visit next time you are in Germany and we’re even."

            "That’s a deal. You should come down to Finland some time and let me treat you to a weekend there," Marika suggested, smiling brightly and taking in Dieter’s handsome features.

            Dieter nodded and smiled back, "That could work as well.  Marika, it really has been fun," he said, leaning over and kissing her lightly on the cheek. "Let me know if you need a ride to the airport tomorrow."

            Marika grinned and looked down at the floorboard of the car and bit her lip. She did not want the night to end yet. She didn’t want go back to Finland yet. She wasn’t really due for a week. Why not stay? Would he mind? Would he spend more time with me?  Marika looked back up, "Dieter?"

            "Yes Marika," Dieter’s heart started to race he could feel electricity in the air. He was truly attracted to Marika; she was a gorgeous woman and smart at that. What more could a man want? She was also a police officer like himself so she understood him. He had decided to move slowly with her perhaps as close friends first, then a serious relation later. Now he felt a certain energy in the air that something good was going to happen.

            Looking down at her hands, she said, "I really don’t want to go back tomorrow and I don’t have to. I was wondering if we could spend some time together. I could pay for my own hotel room or I could stay with you, if it is okay?" Marika was nervous and regretting what she had said already.

Dieter smiled warmly. "No problem. You could stay as long you like. Since you are staying would you like to go on an evening drive?"

            Marika giggled she was feeling relieve that Dieter had not felt awkward about her staying, "How about we spend some time in my hotel room, it is the last night I’ll be staying there?" Dieter only smiled as they both leaned in and locked lips.

Oahu, Hawaii

            One of the main reasons why Miranda had joined Interpol was to get off the island and to see the world. She had been with Interpol for almost three months and she had seen most of Europe and Asia. Of all the exotic places that she had been to, when it was all over nothing could replace home. Miranda lived in a small little house just off the beach in Kailua, the place was small just enough room for her and it was easy to manage especially now when she was not a home as much anymore. From the beach her house looked more like a shack if there had not been a car parked next to it in the gravel driveway.

            Every morning when she was home Miranda would go for a brisk 3 mile jog followed by a 2 mile swim. Miranda happily jogged up from the beach, clad in nothing but a simple blue two-piece bathing suit, her tanned body covered in droplets glistening in the morning sunlight and her luscious dark hair slicked back. She smiled brightly seeing a lone woman stand next to her prized 1967 Mustang as she got closer to her house. She just knew who the woman was already before even seeing her face. "Hui!" She called out as she sprinted the last couple of yards.

            Hui bashfully waved at the half naked woman coming up to her. She was already starting to feel hot. "Hi, Miranda."

            "What are you doing here?" Miranda asked after hugging her friend and partner. The Chinese agent was dressed casually in colorful sundress and flip flops. She just looked like another tourist with her duffel bag in hand.

            "I remembered I asked you that a couple of months back when you just showed up at my doorstep. It’s payback time. You don’t mind, do you?"

            "Of course not, come in, come in," Miranda said, happily taking Hui’s bag and leading her into the small house. "It’s not much but you’re not that big," she joked as they entered the small shack-like building.

            Hui looked around the small room that served as the common area of the house as Miranda went off to clean herself off. The place was small indeed but it was cozy even though the floor and furniture was littered with articles of clothing. She peeked into the kitchen and spotted a washer and dryer sharing the space. A small hallway led to two doors, one door was Miranda’s bedroom while the other Hui guessed was the bathroom. She moved some clothing off from the sofa and sat down, looking around once more, thinking maybe she should have invited Miranda to Hong Kong instead.

            "Sorry for the mess; if I knew you were coming I would have shoved all my crap into the bedroom," Miranda said with a grin, coming out of the bathroom now dressed in cute baby blue t-short and pair of shorts. She dried off her hair as she took the few careful steps into the kitchen. Once there she randomly tossed the towel behind her. "Want some tea?"

            A couple of minutes later, with their tea in mismatched mugs, Miranda sat next to Hui on her small but cramped sofa. Hui silently sipped her tea looking around the room and avoiding Miranda. "Nice place you have here."

            Miranda laughed, "It’s not that nice; I’ve seen where you live. I know you didn’t come all the way over here to see my place."

            Hui put her cup down on the cluttered coffee table and made sure the cup was balanced on the book it was sitting on before she moved her hand away, "Tommy and I got into a big argument. We broke up. I just didn’t want to be alone right now."

            Miranda frowned and put her mug on the floor, "Sorry to hear that," she said, hugging her friend who seemed more as a normal girl than an elite Interpol agent at that point. "You can stay here as long as you like."

            "Oh thanks, Miranda… but I have something to tell you," Hui began nervously, looking at Miranda. She had figured out through several tests that she was straight with the exception of her Hawaiian partner who had made her question her sexuality every time she looked at her.

            Oh? What is it?" Miranda asked concerned staring at Hui with her deep dark mysterious eyes. Hui felt herself get flushed and all the sudden she had forgotten what she had rehearsed on the flight over. She mumbled something and looked away. "Is there something wrong? Is it too hot in here?" Miranda asked, concerned, as she got up to open the three windows in the room. "This place gets stuffy sometimes."

            "No it’s fine," Hui managed to say weakly as Miranda sat back down. She smiled at her friend as an idea came to her. "Could I give you one of my world famous massages?"

            Miranda looked puzzled and smiled, "World famous, you say? Certainly," Miranda turned around. "You really hyped it up Hui; it had better be good or you’re not going to hear the end of it from me."  She was about to crack another joke when she felt Hui’s delicate hands on her shoulders followed by a wave of total relaxation. Her body suddenly felt heavy; Hui’s hands were the only things keeping from her from falling over. It was an odd feeling, but she felt safe and relaxed.

            Hui could sense that Miranda was almost totally out of it; her body had loosened up completely and she was as limp as a rag doll. At this point Hui usually brought people out of this state of mind but this time she simply lowered Miranda to the sofa and rolled her onto her back. She then moved her legs onto the sofa so the Hawaiian agent was now lying on her tiny sofa. Miranda looked at Hui with sleepy eyes. "What’s going on, Hui? She asked dreamily. Hui smiled down at her friend as she took off her dress. Miranda smiled weakly, seeing that Hui was naked before her. The smaller woman straddled Miranda at the hips. "Hey this feels great… you weren’t lying; this is world class..."

            "I know and this will feel even better," Hui said, smiling seductively as she leaned forward and kissed Miranda full on the lips. The warmness and relaxation was quickly in a blink of an eye replaced with hotness and nirvana. Miranda felt great and extremely horny as she kissed Hui back wrapping her arms around the naked woman on top of her.

Autoroute just North of Lyons, France

            Driving along in a lone tiny SUV on a road sparse with traffic, Cassandra was getting tired but wasn't planning on trading seats with Aisha until they reached the gas station. The other agent was in the passenger seat reading the latest issue of Vogue. "The whole incident with the fashion models got you interested?" Cassandra had jokingly asked earlier, with the American merely shrugging in reply. In the back seat were Leslie and Alexis, both still immobilized under the effects of Type-7 with plastic binders on their wrists and ankles just in case they revived, large sunglasses covering their faces to make them look less conspicuous as they hid their glazed eyes.

            "Did I tell you I spoke to Lucienne today?" Aisha asked Cassandra, speaking up after ten minutes of lingering silence, which neither woman minded.

            "No, what did she have to say?" asked Cassandra, not taking her eyes from the road as she was doing very high speeds of around one hundred kilometers per hour.

            "She's taking a short vacation in Greece, Volos of all places," revealed Aisha, looking up from her magazine. "That happens to be Tasia's hometown..."

            "Are you implying something?" asked Cassandra, too tired to pick up on the subtext.

            "Those two have certainly spent a lot of vacation time together and arranged to become partners at work a few months back after that one incident," pointed out the American, a sly grin on her face. "I think the two might be...  involved."

            "What?!" exclaimed Cassandra, nearly swerving the car at hearing the news. "That's nuts! Tasia I can see; I don't recall her ever having a boyfriend, but… Lucienne?! I've worked with her for years, Aisha! She can't be, you know..."

            "She's French," pointed out Aisha, causing the Brit to chuckle slightly in spite of her shock.

            "Well, none of our business, like that helicopter up there," declared the English agent, pointing her left index finger up at the helicopter that was flying around up ahead of them.

            "That's a traffic ‘copter, but its moving a bit slower than usual..." noted Aisha, seeing the flying machine for the first time. As the SUV got closer the audible sound of the aircraft's spinning blades was heard. Then came the sound of shattering glass and the car swerving off of the road as something pierced the windshield and the left front tire, sending the vehicle into the brush. Aisha, who'd closed her eyes to avoid being blinded by the flying glass, opened them to see Cassandra was still holding the wheel with one foot on the gas but her gaze was blank, her eyes looking at the left mirror as the car moved forward. A quick body check confirmed a large dart was sticking out of Cassandra's right shoulder.  She was frozen. "No!" screamed Aisha, as car headed for a tree.

            Just when it seemed the vehicle would hit, however, another pair of sounds was heard and the car instantly stopped, its wheels anchored to the ground by pitons. After getting over the whiplash, Aisha turned off the engine and produced her USP, rolling out of the car only to feel the sting of a dart in her lower chest a moment later.  Then she didn’t feel anything at all as her vision blacked out.

* * *

            Veronica landed the disguised helicopter in the nearby field as Ryoshi fired another Type-7 round into the African-American agent to make sure she was out of it. Both airborne women were dressed in their usual black bodysuits, Ryoshi sporting a monster rifle that could fire large darts as well as crossbow bolts, the latter being used to anchor the car so it wouldn't crash. The two women who worked for the Paradise Foundation were being paid to capture and rescue, not to kill. Scott was furious that his entire client list had been compromised, leaving him with no one but a few actual prostitutes he'd stolen from Russian and Ukrainian pimps. It was for revenge and clean up that Ryoshi and Veronica were rescuing the remaining two of their number that had been captured; the information they possessed was best-kept secret, rather than falling into the hands of Interpol.

            Hopping off of the copter, Ryoshi left her big rifle behind, carrying only a Ruger as she ran over to check the vehicle. Cassandra and Aisha were both tagged and stiff; Aisha holding her gun in front of her while she was on her knees, intense fear on her face as she looked to her left. Working fast, Ryoshi removed the woman's pistol, field-stripping it so it wouldn't be found by some kid and then used, and hefted the American over her shoulder, running her to Veronica who lifted the woman into the helicopter and strapped her frozen form into a seat. Ryoshi then proceeded to retrieve Alexis and then Leslie, both given seats opposite Aisha with the rigid figure of Cassandra getting the last one. By now sirens could be heard in the distance so the pair needed to move fast. Ryoshi planted an explosive device in the car and then hopped into the helicopter, which then lifted off.

            Watching from the skies, Ryoshi waited for the fire engines and ambulances to get into view before she detonated the C4 she'd planted; the SUV went up in a cloud of flames and debris. "Pretty!" exclaimed Veronica from the cockpit, her voice coming through the headset. Returning to the matter of the frozen women, Ryoshi produced a vial and carefully opened it after shooting Cassandra with another dart from her pistol to ensure prolonged immobility. The vial had a unique-smelling liquid inside of it which Ryoshi promptly held under Alexis's nose. After a few moments the British woman blinked and looked around in surprise.

            "What the bloody hell happened?" asked Alexis, completely disoriented and not at all used to awakening several hundred feet in the air. Then she noticed she was bound at hand and foot.

            "Hang on, lets get Leslie first," insisted Ryoshi, giving the German woman a whiff of the vial's contents as well. The second blonde's eyes twitched and she promptly tried to raise her right arm before looking around in surprise.

            "What-" began the German.

            "I'll explain," offered Ryoshi, interrupting as she strapped in on the other side of Aisha and clipped their plastic binders with her knife. "You two got nabbed by Interpol and they destroyed our entire operation pretty much. You two are now in their files as big-time criminals and, once they figure out you've escaped, you’ll make their most wanted list. Ashley's on that list now too, but luckily Veronica and I were never identified. All of the girls are gone, but for a few cheap whores."

            "Bugger," cursed Alexis, looking at the frozen form of Cassandra in anger. "Her team finally pinched us then?"

            "Yeah, but only took you two and Adriana, whom we sprung earlier from a Russian jail," revealed Ryoshi, continuing her debriefing. "Scott ordered us to rescue you and for all of us to head to Australia. He's got a new place lined up there and he wants to start again, with our help of course. He'll give us all the details when we get there. There's a private plane waiting for us at Amiens that will start us on our rather long journey."

            "Great, that flight will take us around twenty hours," groaned Leslie, wishing Ryoshi hadn't unfrozen her so soon.

Melbourne, Australia

            The Leonard Hampstead gated community was slated to open in a couple weeks. The community was situated just outside of Australia’s party city of Melbourne and offered affordable luxury homes to the average family. The 500 units of identical homes stretched across a grassy green landscape with newly smooth concrete roads running horizontally and vertically divided the 1000 acres of land into blocks and streets. The land itself was owned by The Paradise Foundation, who had also built the homes and roads of the community. The Land Rover entered the quiet and empty community; the first residents were not set to move for a couple of weeks or so. The Land Rover was the only moving thing through the streets besides the handful of Paradise Foundation service and securities vehicles.

            Alexis noticed that the house was slightly larger than other houses on the block and unlike the others this house looked more complete with blinds within the windows and a welcome mat at the front door. The house was a three story building on a split-level and sported an assortment of contemporary designs for its different size windows. A large two car garage was connected to the right side of the house. The house itself was made of dark marble and steel along with the other houses it gave a cold feeling of a corporation rather than a family home. Veronica pulled the Land Rover onto the driveway and the garage door automatically opened for her. Another black Land Rover was already parked in the spacious garage.

            As they parked, Scott and Ashley appeared, coming from a door leading from the house with another woman following them. "Welcome to the Hampstead." Scott greeted in his usual business-like tone as his four operatives stepped out of the Land Rover. All four were now dressed in sharp looking pants suits, Scott thought it was a bit cliché, but they were mercenaries of the 21^st century so he expected it.

            "We have unexpected guests?" Ashley asked with a grin.  “But not unappreciated…”

            "Two Interpol agents," Ryoshi reported, walking towards the back of the SUV with Ashley, Scott and the others trailing her. She opened the back door to reveal the naked bodies of Cassandra Flick and Aisha Reynolds. Both Interpol agents were laid out shoulder to naked shoulder flat on their backs with their bodies fully straight, arms and fingers straight as an arrow at their sides and their bare toes pointed if diving into a pool. Their faces bore exaggerated large smiles with wide eyes. Alexis grinned at the sight; while her co-workers slept on the long flight she had fun with both agents. It is I who has won, love, she thought, looking at Cassandra’s elated face.

            "Interesting," Scott simply said, taking in the view of the two naked women and hiding his pleasure. "Ryoshi and Veronica, take our new ‘guests’ down to the lab," he ordered, turning to the two women.  He then leaned around the SUV and called, "Adriana come here." The former Sierra Escort receptionist casually came out of the shadows of the garage. She was dressed in a tight, cream colored, business suit that left little to the imagination, her thigh-length skirt showing a lot of her nude nylon-covered legs, a business jacket wrapped tightly around her torso and her bust nearly spilling out of the top.  She wore white spiked heels that looked inhuman to walk in. Her long brown hair was tied back in business like bun and her carefully made-up face bore a neutral expression with glazed-over brown eyes. "She’s much more effective this way," Scott simply said, and then ordered, "Show these ladies to the lab and then take them to the dining room."

            "Please follow me," Adriana said in her monotone voice, her accent thick. Ryoshi and Veronica only looked at the Russian who they had picked up from a Moscow jail just four days earlier. Veronica had a look of worry, Ryoshi simply shrugged and gestured to the Spaniard to grab a naked Interpol agent.

            "Ms. Sutherland, Ms. Schulz; please, this way," Scott then nodded towards the entrance into the house as Adriana led the way. Alexis eyed the skin colored chip on nape of the Russian girl’s neck before following Leslie into the house with Scott and Ashley behind her. "Ashley, could you please check on the progress of our dinner," Scott asked, looking back at the scientist with a serious glare. Ashley nodded and headed towards the kitchen. Scott then took the other two ladies down an elegant looking hallway decorated with modern artwork, with classy paintings hung on the vanilla faced wall while steel or stone sculptures lined up evenly spaced against it. They entered a large dining room with a rectangular black marble table, surrounded by black leather armchairs. Scott gestured the women to sit first before he took his own seat at the head of the table. Both women taking seats at his right and left, Alexis on the right while Leslie across from her.

            He cleared his throat and sat back in his chair comfortably before he began. "Has Ryoshi filled you in what happened?" Both women nodded as Scott continued, "The whole operation in Moscow; everything is gone. We have to start from scratch. I’ll go into more detail over dinner once the others are here. Did you tell Interpol anything under questioning?"

            "We were kept frozen until Ryoshi and Veronica got us," Alexis replied with Leslie nodding in agreement. "We would have not said anything," she then assured him.

            Scott nodded, "Very good.  The secrets are safe."

* * *

            Inside the marble and steel kitchen two chipped girls that had escaped the Interpol raid were mindlessly preparing the steak dinner, their hands automatically doing the work while they looked straight ahead blankly. There were both former escorts of Sierra who had chips that programmed them for domestic duties. They were to be sold in a couple days under Scott’s new operation. One woman was blond while the other had darker hair and Asian features; both were dressed in skimpy French maid’s outfits that included the black uniforms with lacy trim, with white aprons and thigh-high black hosiery.

            As the silent women worked around her, Ashley added a little something to each of the ice teas that were to be served to the hired mercenaries. She made sure no one saw her to insure there was not a mishap. She would be serving the drinks as well to prevent any accidents. She added a large amount of the type-7 into each of four glasses to make sure of a long freeze. Ashley did not know too much about this new operation, only that the old operatives had to be silenced. She had arrived the same time as Adriana, Scott and most of the left over chipped girls, including her Mary, weeks ago.

* * *

            Veronica and Ryoshi entered the dining room following Adriana who walked normally but had a fixed blank expression upon her face. The Russian moved to stand directly behind Scott while Ryoshi took a seat next to Leslie and Veronica next to Alexis. Scott removed a slim cell-phone-looking device from his jacket pocket and pressed a button on the glossy touch screen. Adriana’s body stiffened into a rigid at-attention stance. Putting the slim device back in his pocket, Scott turned to Ryoshi, "Have you taken your medicine, Ms Tenzo?" The former spy smiled at her boss; a smile that said something more than just a boss and employee relationship, Alexis observed.

            "I took two pills… just as the doctor ordered," Ryoshi replied, catching the looks of her team members. "I am severely allergic to many Australian plants," she simply explained.

            "I make it my business to know many things about my employees; I knew of Ryoshi’s condition and made the necessary arrangements for her as soon as we landed in Australia. I don’t want anything slowing down my employees from getting the job done. No more excuses," he said seriously, looking around at all the women. The room was silent again for a couple of minutes before Ashley entered carrying a tray of six glasses of ice tea followed by the two chipped maids pushing serving carts.

            "Dinner is served." Ashley announced, smiling brightly. She served the ice tea to each of the mercenaries, giving the non-Type-7 laced teas to herself and Scott. The blond maid set out the silver for everyone while the dark haired maid began serving the dishes of food. Once they were done, they pushed their carts to the side of the room out of the way and joined Adriana in standing behind Scott. With his slim remote Scott pressed a series of buttons, causing both of the serving maids to freeze into a rigid at-attention state the same as Adriana. Ashley took her seat at the other end of the table and nodded to Scott, while the other four girls started on their meals. Scott simply nodded in the same unnoticed manner.

            Scott took only a few bites of his dinner and took a sip of his ice tea before he started explaining his plan. "We’re starting a whole new operation, at a lower level this time at, least for the time being. We’ll be abducting random targets that we deem as being ‘profitable’. These women –

also men as well if the client asks for them – will first be programmed as private assistants and servants. Perfect assistants who do not gossip or talk about private matters. Assistants who will do precisely what they are told and not complain. Most importantly, assistants who are easy on the eyes," he explained with a grin, nodding back to the three frozen ladies behind him. "Adriana was sold for million this morning this morning to an eager software developer, while our two maids sold for 600 thousand, each, to a Tasmanian drug cartel. As you can see there, is money to be made here. We’ll continue to run the operation this way until it is clear for us to continue with private escorts at a later time," Scott concluded, picking up his glass. "We are all going to be very rich. Again." That brought a smile to everyone’s face at the table. "To Paradise," he then said, lifting his glass up in the air; the others did the same and they all drank at the same time.

            The rest of the meal went on uneventfully with some small talk here and there. Ashley eyed the four mercenaries as she ate. With Scott’s new operation those four women would make excellent servants and assistants. She hoped she could get the two Interpol agents for herself, adding them to her Mary would be great. She smiled at the thought just as Leslie suddenly stopped cold as she was cutting a slice of steak on her dish, her face looking down at her plate with eyes glazed. The others did not seem to notice. Indeed, they did not have time to do so as Ryoshi was the next to go; she had just swallowed and looked up, then the Japanese woman froze, still holding her utensils. Veronica froze next with her glass of ice tea held to her lips and her eyes shut. Finally Alexis froze just as she turned to Scott to ask him something, her hands still holding her utensils with her lips slightly parted and eyes in mid-blink.

            Scott looked around the table at the motionless women and then at Ashley at the other end. "Good job. Let’s get them to the lab," he said, pulling out his slim remote seeing that they would need some help.

* * *

            The blond maid had taken care of caring Veronica, the dark-haired maid Leslie; Ashley took care of Alexis while Scott took personal care of Ryoshi. Ashley thought it was odd that Scott had been really insisting on taking Ryoshi, he was usually liked taking care of the blondes. She did not think too much of it, though; her employer was hard to read at times. She had been working with him for numerous months but she had not yet figured him out. He was charming and a firm leader, very charismatic; if she wasn’t into the other sex the scientist would have truly been attracted to him.

            The basement of the house had been converted to a new lab that was much better than the makeshift one that was in Moscow. Ashley was surprised at how much Scott had done in matter of weeks, it seemed like the place had been ready for months. It was a large room matching the length and width of the floors above. The walls were covered in cold steel panels while the floor was thin industrial gray carpet. There were two cloth-covered tables in the center of the room with a computer terminal in between them. On the two cloth tables were the two frozen Interpol agents in the same stiff, nude, form they were in when they first arrived. Lined up along the far wall was a group of four girls that had come from Sierra Escorts; two of the girls were nude and bent over at the waist with their hair hanging loosely in front of them, leaving the skin toned chips at the nape of their neck exposed. The other two stood at attention, dressed in slutty business attire similar to Adriana’s with blank looks on their faces. Scott sat behind a desk in the corner that was littered with new chips and the slim-looking remotes. Adriana stood behind him, rubbing his shoulders, her eyes looking forward vacantly. The two maids stood frozen, posed next to the desk ornamentally, also bearing empty expressions. He spoke on his cell in French to a client working on a deal.

            On the opposite side of the spacious lab were lined up the newly arrived ‘guests’, the once-mercenaries. Leslie was first in line; the tall blond was naked, a pile of her clothes on the floor. She was bent at her waist with a newly implanted un-programmed chip already installed at the base of her skull. Next to her was Veronica; who was also naked and bent at the waist. Mary, dressed in a white skimpy nurse’s outfit with fishnet stockings, attended to the Spanish woman. The former redheaded biologist looked straight ahead as she precisely installed the skin toned chip into the expose nape of Veronica’s neck. Alexis still stood upright; the Brit’s face still bore the same sleepy-eyed, parted-lips frozen expression she had upstairs as Ashley removed the rest of her clothing, adding it to the growing pile of clothes on the floor. The former team leader had an exquisite body, Ashley thought, as she peeled the black thong from Alexis’s hips rendering the stuck woman nude. Ashley stood back up and kissed both the pink nipples before bending the stiff woman over at the waist. She then undid Alexis’s blond hair and exposed the back of her neck. She grinned at the Brit once more before moving on to Ryoshi. Mary moved over to Alexis, with a chip in hand.

            "Ryoshi was good, you know. She always listened and never complained. Really a professional; I think she might have been the best one when it came to getting the job done. What a pity, I guess she’ll suit us better this way," Ashley said over her shoulder as she started to unbutton Ryoshi’s jacket. She suddenly noticed that Ryoshi was breathing normally! She looked up at the Japanese woman’s face just in time to see her blink and smile. "How-?" Ashley began say just as Ryoshi grabbed her and spun her around. The Asian woman’s grip was unnaturally strong.

            "I am the best," Ryoshi whispered into Ashley’s ear.

            "Scott!" Ashley screamed. Scott closed his cell phone and looked up; Adriana stopped rubbing his shoulders and froze. "I don’t know what happened," Ashley whined, feeling the grip on her arms tightening.

            "Allergies," Scott explained with a smile. "You see Ashley, Ryoshi and I go back a long time. We met almost four years ago when the Foundation was working with the Japanese Intelligence service. We have the same interests, you see. I actually hired her a full year before I even hired you and you’ll be surprised how much she knows about everyone. She’s my right hand girl; I don’t step into any situation without her. She actually planned most of the operations and made sure everything worked. She also made sure that I or the Foundation never got in trouble, so as you have stated she is indeed the best. You cannot buy that kind of loyalty!"

            Ashley’s eyes opened up wide in shock as Scott walked towards her. She looked over at Mary, who was still working on Alexis and then back at Scott who was now a couple of feet in front of her. "You played us all!"

            "Played you? Hardly," Scott scoffed. "We worked as a team; I hired you to get the job done and you did so for the moment. The operation has changed now. I do not need a full team of mercenaries I just need one person. The others just know too much and I don’t trust them as I do Ryoshi," Scott explained, gesturing towards the bent-over women.

            "You can trust me. You still need someone to administer the Type-7 and the chips." Ashley pleaded. She tried to struggle free herself but Ryoshi’s grip would only tighten.

            "Maybe I could trust you, or maybe not. I could administer the control chips; heck it was my company that forked out the funds for their research and production.  You’ve done all the real work already, and I commend you for it. As for the Type-7, I have someone in mind already."

            Ashley looked at Scott, puzzled, "Who?"

            "Me," Mary suddenly spoke up in her normal quirky voice, followed by a giggle that Ashley had not heard in almost a year. She looked at Ashley and smiled now that she was done with Alexis.

            "Mary?!" Ashley replied in shock.

            "Allow me to explain," Scott said, nonchalantly leaning on the table that Aisha’s stiff form rested on. "Ryoshi and myself got here a couple weeks before you did and a couple of days before Veronica due to all the heat on us. As soon as Veronica got here, I sent her and Ryoshi out. That left me with a bunch of mindless, programmed, girls. Mary was the only English speaking one with a mind that could possibly carry on a full intellectual conversation so I un-chipped her. Let me tell you, I was amazed at what she told me. Your own partner, Ashley? Really? You think I’m bad for ‘playing’ you?"

            Mary grabbed Ashley’s chin roughly. "Nearly a year Ashley! Nearly year I did not see my parents and my family! They thought I died in car accident! You treated me like a doll, a toy.  Look at how I am dressed.  This is your payback!" Mary yelled.

            Ashley could see the anger in her former assistant’s eyes. "I’m…"

            Scott cut her off, "We’re starting new Ashley. New everything. All good things come to an end. It was honor to work with you," Scott smiled coldly. Mary pulled a syringe full of Type-7 from her pocket and uncapped it. Before Ashley could protest, Mary jabbed the syringe into Ashley’s neck pushing the full dose of the sedative into her former boss. Ashley froze up with a horrified expression on her face, her piercing blue eyes wide before she could even feel the pain of the needle. Ryoshi let go of chemist, who was more or less standing straight with her fists balled up.  Ashley wobbled, but did not fall over.

            "Well with that done," Scott said casually, brushing his palms together, "get her prepped and chipped and then," he turned behind him to Aisha. "Chip and program this one to be a maid; she may be going to Paris in couple of days if I could get Mr. Colet to agree on a final price," he ordered, looking at his new chief scientist. Mary nodded with a grin looking at Ashley’s stuck form. "Ryoshi, come join me for a glass of wine, minus the Type-7 if you would, we have some business to discuss. Ms. Hamilton has told me some information that I need you to look into,"  Scott added, heading up the stairs.

            Ryoshi nodded and turned to Mary smiled as warmly as a spy could, "Have fun and welcome onto the team, Dr. Hamilton."

            "Thanks Ryoshi, I will." Mary replied with a grin, waiting as Ryoshi headed upstairs. She then looked over at Ashley’s frozen body and ripped opened the dark-haired blue-eyed woman’s blouse, sending buttons flying. "You’re mine now, Ashley.  Let’s see how you like it…"    

418 Locomotive Dr, Santa Monica, California

            Most modern thieves had all kinds of advanced tools for breaking into houses, from key-makers to high-tech lock picks to alarm disablers. In response, retinal scanners and thumbprint readers were also becoming more and more common, thus the cycle continued. Ryoshi, however, had the ultimate method for breaking into someone's house:  she made the owner open the door.

            A blank-faced Ashley swiped her thumb over the special biometric locking mechanism, opening the door to her million dollar, two-story, home that still seemed somewhat small for her neighborhood. While the house had room for six plus a large yard with a pool it still wasn't quite the same as the typical mansion one expected for rich folk in the suburbs of LA. The half-decent view of the beach seemed to add to the place's significant mark-up. "Good girl," smiled Ryoshi as Ashley casually led the Japanese woman inside, Veronica following close behind with the same dazed expression as the scientist's. These latest control chips were superb; they made the chipped victims think their actions had been their own ideas. Ryoshi had been asked to go explore Ashley's files and decided to take Veronica along as well. To make them all look less suspicious, Ryoshi had gotten them all jeans and tank tops, Ashley was wearing black while Ryoshi wore teal and Veronica sported pink.

            Leading them through her impressively decorated house, Ashley brought Ryoshi and her mind-controlled lover to her private office, the one that had used to house Mary posed in the corner. A sizable bookshelf covered the back wall, half of the literature with titles hard for the Japanese woman to even pronounce in spite of her excellent English. A single leather executive chair sat behind a cherry desk with an Apple-Mac PC sitting on it. "Open your secure files," ordered Ryoshi, and Ashley moved to sit in front of her computer without any hesitation. As the scientist went to work on her files Ryoshi, looked at Veronica and smiled. "Take off your shirt and strike a pose," insisted the Asian woman, causing the Spaniard to do just that. The pink top was on the red and gray carpet in less than two seconds, the dark haired woman hooking her thumbs into her pockets with her elbows sticking out, her body leaning to the left. Licking her lips, Ryoshi pulled out her slim remote and froze her lover in the pose, proceeding to stick her head in between her breasts.

            Five minutes later Ashley had stopped typing and Ryoshi took a break from Veronica, who was now on her back on the floor with her fly open, a good portion of her chest and face moist from a few of Ryoshi's sloppy kisses. "Get out of the chair and stand next to it," ordered Ryoshi as she walked over, the scientist once again doing precisely as she was told. A few key-presses later and Ashley was frozen at attention. Upon quick examination of the computer, the Asian woman saw that Ashley had called up nearly fifty files, all of them related to private projects.

            Twenty minutes of reading the files revealed little to Ryoshi, mostly stuff she already knew. It turned out Ashley had downloaded the files on Cassandra Flick, Tasia Spiro, Lucienne Christophe, Marika Heino and Hui Lan months ago, back when she'd first encountered them. The files had some surprising additions, including a note about Spiro and Christophe being secret lovers, something which amused Ryoshi to a certain degree. Another file detailed several tests done with Type-7, including a few unauthorized ones as well as where she had placed several stashes and notes on how the drug reacted with various substances. After the incident in Berlin, Ryoshi had been quite pissed at Ashley for not mentioning how it reacted to cranberry juice; as it turned out similar problems could occur with other berries and their respective juices. Also included was the liquid's freezing point in all three temperature formats and ideas on how to turn it into a time-release pill. A third file detailed what she knew about the Paradise Foundation, which as also more than Scott had assumed. It turned out Ashley knew Scott's official position as the company's senior manager, he being only two levels away from being the big boss. Above him was the management council and above that was the president, the council's members being considered vice-presidents. Ryoshi copied all three files into her portable hard drive before reading more files.

            After going over some boring notes about the Pentagon, the DEA and other items that offered nothing to the agent, Ryoshi finally found a curious file labeled Clockwork Thief. Ryoshi opened it up and saw the first words of the summary listed the name of Erika Stone. Ryoshi read on, her eyes widening as she continued.

2486 Lakeshore Road, Kelowna, British Columbia

            Scott's private mansion was just the way he liked it: full of beautiful women. It wasn't two weeks since the second operation had officially begun and already a dozen new girls were at his disposal. Lounging by his pool with his laptop and cell phone beside his deck chair, Scott was enjoying a cold mug of Alexander Keith's Red while Cassandra Flick, clad only in a skimpy pink bikini, rubbed his feet. Not far away Aisha Reynolds, wearing a green apron, held a large pair of hedge-clippers and was trimming his natural fence that surrounded the massive backyard of his house. He'd wanted to sell the two Interpol agents, a man in France having offered two million each for both Cassandra and Aisha, but the president of the foundation had ordered him not to sell anyone important, and that included models and international police officers, at least for the moment. Even with this minor setback, his own personal bank account was over three million richer and the Paradise Foundation had received a lot more than that, already breaking even on how much they'd invested in everything.

            Coming out from inside the house was Mary, who'd decided to join Scott in Canada for a few days before returning to LA to start work on the new projects they had for her. Europe was getting too hot for them so the Paradise Foundation had deployed six teams in Japan, China, Canada, the US, Mexico and Australia to start with. It wouldn't be long before South America, Africa and more of Asia was tackled. The first operation had been thwarted by Interpol, but with independent teams working around the globe and no clear connection to one another, the international police organization couldn't be called in thus it would be up to that country's own enforcers to deal with the situation. Scott smiled at the thought as Mary approached him with a stunning Japanese woman at her side. "Scott, this is Naoko Kobayashi, she's here for a job application," explained Mary, stepping behind the somewhat tall and sexy woman who wore nothing but a white top and matching shorts, her dark hair having a lot of bounce at the bottom thanks to gel she had applied this morning.

            "Alright, what specific job did you have in mind?" asked Scott, scratching his left ear as he talked.

            "Well, I have experience as-" began Naoko, only to be cut-off as Mary placed one of the new chips on her neck and pressing lightly. The woman instantly froze as if taking a dosage of Type-7, her right arm raised in a casual speaking gesture while her left hung at her side, her mouth open and her vacant eyes glancing to her right where Aisha was still working on the hedges in a revealing gardener's outfit. The new chip was bigger than the old one but was a lot easier to employ. It contained two milligrams of Type-7, enough to freeze someone for a few moments, which it injected upon contact. The glass container that had housed the drug was then removed, making the chip smaller and more or less skin-tight. At this point it would keep the subject in a frozen state until it could be programmed, as making a person obey still meant getting into their somewhat unique brainwaves. A Foundation scientist had claimed however that he could soon make it so the chip would mesh 100%, resulting in no more blank stares or occasionally robotic movements.

            "I'm surprised you even had to check with me," chuckled Scott as he took a sip of his beer. If he'd scratched his right ear Mary would have walked away and let Scott finish the application, then hit Naoko with a memory-scrambling drug on her way out and leave her on the beach where she'd wake up an hour later with no memory of anything related to her experience at the mansion. It was Scott's screening process for potential candidates, as he liked to see what they looked like before drugging them.

            "Better safe than sorry, I figured," shrugged Mary, wrapping her arms around Naoko's waist and dragging her back into the house. As Scott watched the pair go his cell phone suddenly rang. Sighing, the wealthy man picked up the cell as well as a slim remote and paused Cassandra, her fingers stopping on his left big toe. He needed to be able to concentrate on his call and having a sexy Brit rubbing his feet didn't make that easy if his manhood was any indication.

            "How's the beach down there?" asked Scott as soon as he opened the phone, having seen who the caller ID was. Ryoshi meant a lot to him, a fair amount more than a typical assistant should. He wasn't open about his feelings, however, not that he was entirely sure if they were real or just by-products of all the time they'd spent together.

            "Not bad, you should come down, I'd love to see you in a thong," laughed Ryoshi on the other end of the line.

            "Please, it would probably just disappear," mused Scott. "How did things go at the Tisdale estate?"

            "Pretty good, I've downloaded all her dirt onto my drive and was sure to wipe everything out," Ryoshi told her boss. "I dropped off the computer at the incinerator a few minutes ago. All her Type-7 research was on there, but that isn't the best part. Not even close, really."

            "Oh, then what is?" asked Scott, suddenly interested in the conversation and taking his eyes off from Aisha as she was bending over.

Phi Sig Delta Sorority House, Fullerton, California

            "This place is a gold mine," whistled Scott's assistant manager Seth Greenberg, who was standing with his boss and other half Ryoshi Tenzo inside the sorority house. The trio had made their move at night, freezing the local campus guards where they stood with a few Type-7 darts and disabling the cameras that could compromise them. Afterwards it was a simple flood maneuver, a gas sprayer being placed near an open window and filling the building. The three Paradise employees were naturally wearing gas masks to avoid succumbing like the cute blondish-brunette by the stairs had. The college girl's hair was slightly curly and nearly hit the small of her back, her left hand reaching for the stairway railing while her left had a textbook under her arm, her right foot raised to go onto the first step. It was late so she was only wearing a fluffy white robe with the house's Greek letters written in gold on the right lapel.

            "Be careful, Tisdale's records say one of the girls has a Senator for a dad," warned Ryoshi as Scott casually picked up the frozen girl on the stairs and moved her aside. "Let’s sweep the rooms before we get greedy." Working together, the trio quickly explored the house, finding three other girls; one a brunette while the other two were blonds. Finally in the third bedroom the Paradise agents found who they were looking for.

            Five women were in the room, three of them blondes. Two were clearly college girls, both probably barely over twenty and most likely not even legal drinking age in spite of the vodka bottles that littered the room. The two younger blondes both wore the same robes that the other girls had on, the immobilized pair doing their nails on the bed on the right side of the room. One was applying the nail polish to the other girl's right index finger, the color being pink. Standing near the other bed was a redhead in black lacy underwear who was cupping her breasts, her face shaped in a moan. Next to the window was a dark brunette in white underwear with her hands cupped together in front of her chest, a martini glass on top, her face blank. Finally there was a third blonde laying on top of the second bed with her arms at her sides, her body only covered by a towel that didn't go all the way around. She was somewhat tall, perfectly tanned and was recently ranked the third most beautiful woman in the world by two magazines, finishing fourth through ninth in several others.

            "Well, well, the famous Erika Stone," grinned Scott through his mask. "Chip her."

The End? (Yeah right, like we're going to end it here forever... )

Clockwork Paradise

Initial Concept by FreezAntix

Developed and Written by FreezAntix and Zero

Produced (hosted) by Dmuk

Cast

Lucienne – Josie Moran

Cassandra – Emily Deschanel

Hui – Cecilia Cheung

Marika/ Devon – Charlize Theron

Tasia – Doukissa Nomikou

Miranda – Malika Dudley

Aisha – Aisha Tyler

Ashley – Constance Zimmer

Scott – Kiefer Sutherland

Alexis - Naomi Watts

Leslie - Katherine Heigl

Veronica - Paula Garces

Ryoshi - Maggie Q

Mary – Sarah Lancaster

JB/Odie – Edward Norton

Dieter – Til Schweiger

Ivan- Timothy Olyphant

Adrianna – Ksenia Sukhinova

Richard – Malcolm McDowell

Judy Robertson – Julia Roberts

Cammie Domingo – Cameron Diaz

Tonya Cash – Tyra Banks

Naoko – Park Ji Yoon

Amber – Britney Snow

Sandy – Jessica Simpson

Jaki – Emma Stone

Monica – Shiri Appleby

Caitlin – Jewel Staite

Erika – Hilarie Burton