Judith wiped her eyes
wearily with the back of her hand and stared again at the rows of figures on
the computer printout. Time for another strong coffee, she thought,
although it is so stuffy and warm in here that an iced drink would be better.
Still no such luck, and she had to crack this last puzzle left by her predecessor, Rod Martin. She had spent six weeks, now, working sixteen hours a day, including weekends, trying to clear the bugs he had put into the system. She remembered him leaving, explaining bitterly how he had asked for more resources only to be told there was no money, when all the time he had seen the Directors skimming off the top using his advanced systems. He had left saying there were a few surprises he had left behind, and he had been quite clever.
She thought she had found them all, now, but for this last one, which was loading all customer invoices by an arbitrary percentage and deducting the same percentage from an unrelated suppliers payment, upsetting both ends of the business. She got up and went to the coffee machine. She was alone in the offices; even the security guard went home at seven in the evening.
Suddenly there was a loud knocking at the front door. Startled, she opened the office door and peered down the corridor. A man's shape was outlined in the main glass doors and beckoned her down. As she came closer she saw it was Rod and stopped, glad the door was locked.
"Rod, is that you? What do you want?"
"Judith, I'm glad you're still here. I've been a fool, messing up the computer systems. It's been on my mind and I want to help you put things right. I hear you've almost cleared them up, but I think you'll need help on the last one. Please let me in."
She argued for some minutes and he became more insistent. She was going to
refuse, but she was tired and the company would be nice. After all, he had
installed the bugs; he could get rid of them quicker than her.
"Okay," she said, "coffee's on and we should be able to finish
in a couple of hours."
She opened the door and in he came carrying his familiar battered briefcase. Quickly she locked the door behind them and led the way back to the computer room.
As she walked in, his hand came over her shoulder and held a pad to her face. Startled, she struggled, but his other hand held her body tight, and as her senses floated away, she smelt a sickly smell and also felt an overpowering rage at her stupidity.
She didn't pass out, he only wanted her groggy, and dimly she felt him lay her on the floor, and watched him open his case and pull out a large roll of wide grey plastic tape of the kind they used in dispatch. Disembodied, she remembered it was very sticky and tough, as she felt her hands pulled behind her back and taped tightly together. A couple more wraps held her ankles locked and then a strip was smoothed over her lips.
"I'm sorry, Judith, but you're too good; I'm going to have to do something
really nasty to mess up this computer firm."
He sat down and started tapping buttons on the terminal keyboard she had been
using. After about ten minutes, she was fully awake and also realised he was
totally engrossed in his work. Turning her head slowly, she saw the door to the
corridor still open; she remembered a telephone and panic alarm on the front
desk. Careful to make little noise, and watching Rod's back all the time, she
slithered quietly out of the room. Luckily, the printer masked any noise she
made.
She was out of the room and out of sight. Resting her back against the corridor wall, she bunched her legs and pushed up, sliding her back up the wall. The exertion brought tears of pain and the breath rasped through her nose. She was up and standing, then she remembered noise, and wriggled her toes and feet out of her shoes. She started hopping down the corridor, steering a path round the potted plants and reception chairs. Each time she jumped, her buttocks clenched, bust bounced, and she felt exhausted.
She caught sight of herself in the glass doors, a funny sight. Her white tee-shirt and short denim skirt disheveled, her hair limp with sweat, the wide bands of tape on her ankles and mouth whilst her arms seemed to have disappeared. Ludicrous that she should be doing this in her own office, two miles from town and her nice warm home.
She was almost there when eagerness overtook, and she tried to jump too far. Her heels slipped on the shiny floor on landing, and she was falling against the counter. The impact jarred her ribs but worse, caused a pot of flowers to wobble. Without hands she could not stop it as it rolled off the counter.
"What the hell" he rushed to the doorway "Oh no you don't, but
full marks for trying."
She noticed he had a penknife in his hand as he pulled her roughly by the
shoulders, cut the tape from her ankles and walked her back to the room.
Tears welled as she realised he would not give her another chance.
"You'd better sit next to me here," he said pushing her into a typists chair,"and watch me, as I've almost finished this part."
Ten minutes later he had finished bugging the payroll program, and she realised, with a sinking heart, it was going to be almost impossible to correct this; she'd have to start again.
"Right I'll just let the beast digest those instructions. Time to get you
ready for my departure. Firstly, up you get and clothes off, I think. That
should make you think twice about parading yourself down the corridor."
Quickly,
he unzipped her skirt, and let it fall to the floor, then pulled her short slip
down, followed by her knickers. Next, her tee-shirt was yanked over her head
and down her arms, as was her bra. Out came the roll of tape as she wriggled to
get away, but he quickly wrapped the tape around her arms above her elbows,
joining her elbows together, then cinched it, locking the tape solid. A solid
band of tape was then wound around her arms from above her elbows to her
wrists, so her arms could not be bent. Finally, the tape around her wrists was
pulled off and she winced as the fine hairs were yanked out, her clothes pulled
off and more tape replaced, this time cinched tightly. As she was standing, he
walked round her winding tape around her upper body and arms above and below
her breasts.
She tried to move her arms, but they were part of her body at the top. Some movement
of the wrists was still possible and he went to stop it.
A long length of tape was wound round her stomach, down between her legs, up to her wrists and through the cinch and back to her stomach. Another length followed; her wrists were anchored into her bottom. She winced, thinking of the pain that would follow the removal of that tape.
Now he applied himself to her legs, as cinched wraps went around her thighs, above and below her knees and around her ankles.
Gently, he pushed her down onto the little stool she used for the office; it had no back, nor arms but a seat on a centre support on four castors. Lengths of tape over her thighs and under the chair welded her to the seat whilst her legs were pulled back and taped to the centre support. Her toes were just touching the floor.
"That should stop you following me" he smiled and slapped her back
happily.
"Mmmmnnph,mmph,nnnnmmm."
"Ah, much too much noise there," he said thoughtfully "you need
some packing in that lovely mouth of yours."
She was aghast and started complaining loudly although it did not seem to her
that the noise travelled more that ten feet.
He, meanwhile, had picked up and discarded her knickers-- "too small"; her tee-shirt-- "too big"; and was feeling her slip in his fingers. She knew it was light and silky but it looked a lot of cloth as he bunched it up in his fist.
"This is ideal" he said, and picked at the tape over her mouth to
find an end. Suddenly, it caught and he tore the tape off.
She gasped and gulped for air. Her lips felt stiff and sore.
"Rod, please, this is silly; I can't free myself. Don't stuff that in;
it's too large. I won't shout and any way no-one is around to hear me this time
of night."
"Sorry, love, I can't take the chance, I need you quiet for some time to
get far away. Now open wide so we can finish."
Desperately, she clamped her jaws closed, but he simply pinched her nose until
she ran out of breath. As she opened her lips, he started pushing the slip into
her mouth.
It's too much, she thought desperately, as her cheeks ballooned and her tongue was pressed to the floor of her mouth. He was humming to himself as he pushed it in. Still he had more, and ended up using two fingers to cram the flimsy cloth in.
At last she stared at him, mouth bulging open with the edge of the black slip showing. He grabbed his tape and pressed an end to the top of her head, brought it down the side of her face and used his other hand under her chin to force her teeth closed. The tape was pulled under her chin, up the other side and around a couple of times. She tried to relieve the pressure on her mouth but her jaws were locked solid.
More tape then went over her lips and around her head three times, under there was a band from below her nose to her chin. They both realised there was no chance of her expelling the cloth or making a noise.
He slapped her again, hard, on the breasts; she screamed but all that came out was a curious whistling sound through her nose. Startled, she realised nobody outside the room would even know she was there.
"Much better," he enthused," now I've one final thing to do to
this system and then I'm off. Still better if you don't see this."
He picked up her knickers, folded them lengthways and pressed them over her eyes. Four times the tape was wrapped around her head until a solid band went from her forehead to the bridge of her nose. She cried miserably into the cloth.
Suddenly she panicked and started throwing herself about, although little
movement resulted. She was out of breath, she couldn't breathe, she was going
to die!
"Breathe slowly and deliberately," he whispered in her ear "
then you'll be alright. Just don't get too excited yet, I'll come to that
soon." '
Excited? she thought. Huh?.
How long she sat there she did not know, but it seemed hours listening to his muttered exclamations of glee and clicking of computer keys.
"Right, I'm off now, all finished. I don't think even you could untangle this, Judith, good as you are. One more thing to keep you occupied and excited."
She felt his fingers down by her crack and then pressure as he spread the tape through her legs and pushed something smooth into her warm lips. She heard a click and felt the end inside her start to vibrate.
Oh, no, she thought, a vibrator. I'm not going to be able to stand this too long.
He taped it down to the seat.
" Be good and don't go away; there'll be someone in the morning."
She heard him leave the room and close the door. Damn! she thought, no exit there, although I might be able to move the handle; my fingers are still free. But who are you kidding-- you can't even get to the door or see what you are doing.
She waited until she was certain that he had gone, and knew she had to make a try for the door.
She pushed with her toes and the stool rolled a few inches backwards. She aligned herself in the room and realised she was going the wrong way. A few urgent twists of her body and the stool had swivelled enough, she decided. More pushing with her toes, as she gritted her teeth on the packing in her mouth, brought her very slowly into the bookcase. Again she twisted, and after a long time felt her way down the wall until the door handle was against her shoulders. Now for the fun part, she thought, as carefully she leaned forward until she was balanced on her toes, still attached to her stool. The weight caused her muscles to tighten with agony, but also pushed her more onto the vibrator, which then slid further inside her. She realised this would be a race against her body.
Further, she bent, feeling with her fingertips for the handle. At last she grasped it and pulled down; the door did not move. She tried again: no movement. As the pain of cramp built up in her legs, stomach and arms, and the sweat ran off her, she swore savagely into her gag.
Bastard, he's locked the door.
She sat down quickly and rested, if that were possible in her predicament. She
started weeping, she was going to stay the night in this position after all,
and it was beginning to hurt; all the tape pulling in different directions on
her skin as she moved. The cloth over her eyes became sodden and the salt stung
her cheeks beneath the tape.
Suddenly
a thought: The telephone, you dolt, it's got a hands free button. I can dial
out. She also remembered with gratitude the new desk speaker they had just
installed.
Another half an hour of movement brought her backed up to the phone, bent over
with her fingers punching away. She listened to the clicks as the machine
dialled her home number.
"Hullo, The Penns " came the voice, Neil's voice, her husband.
Quickly, she turned and pressed her mouth to the loudspeaker.
"Mmmphph, mmmmphmm,mmmphphmm. Mmmpnpph, mmmphph,mmmmm"
"Is anyone there, or is it a wrong number? Speak up, I can't hear you"
"Mmmmmnnnmm, mmmphphnn, mmmpphhmmn."
Click; the phone went dead.
Furious she tried again, dialing on the telephone keypad, thankful that long practice meant she did know the keys blindfold.
"Hullo," warily now came Neil's voice.
"Mmmmnnph, mmmnnnphph, mmmmpnphm," she screamed at him.
"Oh come on, stop playing games. It's late and I'm awaiting a call anyway.
You're not even good at this game of frightening phone calls. Either speak up
or go away and play elsewhere."
"Mmmmmmm, mmmmnnnnph,mmmmmnphph,"
Click, went the phone.
Frantically she dialled again, but this time the number was engaged. With mounting desperation she kept dialling but each time it was engaged. He's taken the phone off the hook, she thought savagely. I'm stuck here for good and this hurts like hell.
Her
arms and legs were buzzing from reduced circulation. The tape through her legs
had moved in to a sensitive area and was clamping the buzzing vibrator inside
her, causing tingles to run up her spine every time she moved. Her jaws were
almost numb, and although the slip was sodden it had got no smaller and there
was no play in her gag. The tape was like iron bands around her.
Suddenly, hope came to her again. She remembered the burglar alarm and Nigel,
her manager, had insisted on having a panic button installed on the wall of his
office in the corner of the room. ' You never know who might burst in,' he had
burbled cheerfully as the fitter had installed it. Now, could she get over there and reach it?
She paused a moment to align herself again in the room, then set off on her lonely, slow journey. All the tape was now pulling her skin in all directions; it felt like being rubbed with sandpaper and her huge gag meant she had to take small breaths or choke.
Fully 30 minutes of slow tedious painful movement later, she backed into the doorway and found the door luckily ajar. Back she went, inch by painful inch.
Bang. Her arms jolted with pain as they hit the sharp edge of the desk.
Shit, she thought, I must get round this. Now, think,
where is the button... which wall... behind the desk...No... this
side....yes OK'
On she moved on her toes, feeling down the wall and sliding down by the side of the desk. There was just enough room, but she picked up some splinters from the rough wood edge for her troubles. She didn't feel these much as her body was now screaming with pain from stress and cramp.
She bumped into the end corner and realised the button was just above her right side now. She bent over, her muscles ached with the effort. Higher.... higher she pushed her hands and started to wave her fingers about. Suddenly, they caught on something then passed on. She tried to find her way back then collapsed on to the ground.
Stupid, why don't I use my face, it's probably the right height anyway.
Turning herself round, she started to move her nose across the rough surface then, bang, it hit painfully on the metal button. Reaching back, she aimed and prodded forward... Missed. She felt her skin slide down the side.
Again. Hooray-- this time, she contacted, and leant back in her chair,and wept as the siren started its mournful wailing high in the roof. She knew it was also connected to the Alarm H/Q and they would send someone with keys to investigate. Not much longer, and she would be out of there.
The End.... so far !