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			DAMSELS UNDER GLASS: THE SERIES
			Kat's Story — by Michael Masterton Chapter 7

Kathleen sighed through her gag, wondering if there was something in the Geneva Convention that forbids forcing people to watch corporate videos.  One hour of the wonders of TESSERACT had certainly been too much for her and Jo.  The droning voice-over gave them the resolve to find a way to get free from their tight bindings.  They first tried to shuffle the chairs closer together, so they could untie each other.  But they instantly discovered the ‘cane’ chairs had heavy cast iron frames, and it was impossible to shift them more than a few centimetres.  Unable to help each other, they would have to try to escape individually.  

Sweat trickled down in-between Jo’s breasts, but she had made no progress whatsoever loosening any of the ropes that bound her to her chair.  Kathleen realised their only hope was the loose ends of Kathleen's own wrist ropes, which their captor had forgotten to tie out of reach at her elbow bindings, in the same way she had with Jo.  For most of the past hour she had tugged on these loose ends, and finally the knots were just in reach of her groping fingers.  She strained, fingering the knots, of which there were two, and attempted to untie them.  

Eventually Kathleen felt the ropes loosening around her wrists and they were finally free; but with her elbows tied together, her body lashed to the chair, and the relevant knots out of reach, she still wasn't going anywhere.  Her wrists were free and she could untie the ropes around her waist, but not her elbows, chest or ankles.  

The robot started to come back to life, and made chirping noises.  Jo mmpphhed through her gag and gestured towards it.  Kathleen understood her suggestion, but realised the robot probably couldn’t understand gag-talk.  She twisted, bending down and bringing up her wrists as far as her remaining bindings would allow, while Jo, still helpless, watched, unable to assist Kathleen any further.  Kathleen desperately stretched out her fingers, but they were still centimetres away from the tape over her mouth.  She strained as hard as she could, and at last felt the cloth tape that silenced her.  She groped at the edges of the tape, and managed to start peeling it from her face until it hung from her other cheek.  She gladly spat out the saliva covered rubber ball.  It bounced several times, then rolled up against the leg of the adjacent couch.  Kathleen summoned the robot.  It spun around, and sped over to her. 

“How may I be of assistance?” it asked gleefully. 

“Help me out of these ropes,” Kathleen requested. 

“It will be my pleasure.” 

“Glad someone enjoys untying people around here.” 

Cutting tools sprang out from the robot and sheared through her bindings.  Now her arms and upper body were freed, she was able to reach down and untie her ankles.  As a final gesture, she removed the remains of the tape gag from her face, and gratefully got up from the chair.  Jo mewed through her gag, reminding Kathleen that she was still bound and gagged. 

Kathleen smiled sweetly and held up one of the many short fragments of rope that was most of what remained of her former bonds. 

“Sorry, Love,” she teased, “but my robot pal here has chopped it all up.  If you want some more ropes added...” 

Jo glared at her partner. 

“Oh!” Kathleen said with exaggerated innocence.  “You want me to free you.” 

Jo rolled her eyes and resumed her glare.  

“I suppose I better—I’ll need your help to jump that Emma Peel Wannabe and give her a taste of her own medicine.”

Jamie squirmed uselessly, trying to avoid Kat’s relentless attack on the soles of her feet. 

Her size six feet had been relatively safe up to now, but when Kat had returned to her red-headed prisoner, she had removed Jamie’s ballet slippers, produced a length of string, and carefully tied the hogtied prisoner's big toes tightly together.  Even though still stringently gagged, she had not been able to suppress involuntary, near hysterical giggles caused by the incidental contact of her captor's fingers with Jamie's tender soles during the binding process.  

“My, my, “ Kat gloated, “we are ticklish there, aren’t we?” 

After using the remaining string to tether Jamie’s bound toes to the other string between her hair and her thumbs, Kat removed her gloves with a deliberate slowness as Jamie squirmed.  Kat reached out and plucked the taut string between Jamie’s toes and her wrists.  

“All I need is a bow, and I could play you like a violin.  But I’d much rather play, ‘tickle the hogtied damsel’s tootsies’!” 

Jamie squealed through her gag as Kat lunged towards her vulnerable pink soles, her long fingernails brushing them vigorously. 

“The intruders have escaped,” Eve interrupted, giving Jamie some welcome relief. 

“You better not be malfunctioning, you glorified 486...” Kat warned. 

Eve responded by displaying a visual of Kathleen and Jo wandering through the lobby, complete with audio.  

“Okay, how are we going to jump her?” Jo asked Kathleen.  

“Easy,” Kathleen replied, looking towards something off the screen, “you hide behind that palm display, and I’ll wander around the lobby.  She’s bound to come back to check on us soon.  I’ll get her to chase me, and you pounce on her.”    

“Why me?  I always get the tough jobs!”  

“Just remember you got us into this mess.”

Bemused, Kat watched their plotting, while behind her, Jamie was relieved that something had distracted Kat from her tickle torment. 

“They could have come up with something more original than that,” Kat said, then smiled wickedly.  “So, they got out of my ropes, did they?  I’ll have to use something that’s a bit more challenging for a couple of would-be Miss Houdini’s.  Eve, are there any of those new automatic cable-ties in this place?”  

“There is a large supply in storage area 9B,” Eve responded.  “They’re one centimetre across, white, self-adjusting, self-locking, with softened edges, and are made out of TESSERACT’s revolutionary new myoplastic, that ensures the even the most fragile optical cables can be tightly bundled and secured with no risk of breakage or damage, even in the most inaccessible places, and—” 

“Spare me the sales pitch,” Kat interrupted.  “I know Margo’s new ties were designed as much for binding female limbs as fastening up cables.  Send one of your silly robots to get some, and bring them to me in the lobby.  Hmm....two bundles of every length you have in stock....and a roll of that white plastic tape as well.”  

“Yes, Ms. Mayfair.” 

Kat turned back to her hogtied captive, and picked up her gloves from the bed.  Noticing Jamie’s wince as she reached for her gloves, Kat grinned and moved as if she was going to tickle Jamie’s feet again.  She laughed as Jamie squirmed hysterically and tried to roll over on her side. 

“I haven’t even touched you, Freckle Fox,” Kat said as she put her gloves back on.  “Look’s like you’ll have a bit of respite while I deal with our intruders.  At least this will be a chance to try out some new manoeuvres.” 

Kat stretched with feline elegance, then did a series of shadow blows and swing kicks. 

“I think I can handle our guests, don’t you Dr. Seaton?” Kat asked rhetorically, then walked to the door.  She turned back and blew Jamie a kiss. 

“Don’t go away, Dr. Seaton.  I’ll be back soon,” Kat gloated, then walked out of the room, leaving Jamie to her futile struggles and hopeless whimpering.

Kat moved stealthily along the corridors to the lobby, where Kathleen was waiting.  Kat and the naked blonde's eyes met, and Kat's lips parted in a feral, feline grin.    

"Kat's found herself a canary," she mused aloud, "a canary who's out of her cage."    

Despite herself, Kathleen's eyes widened and she felt a mild panic rising... then she remembered the plan, turned, and started to run.   

"Run....run little canary," Kat called after her, going along with the pretence.  Kat gave chase, her senses alert to the impending ambush from Jo.  She felt the tall brunnette's presence to her left, and responded with a thrusting kick.  The kick was deflected by Jo, although she wasn’t successful in deflecting a quick follow-up blow from Kat’s left hand, and was sent reeling backwards.  Kat fluidly turned back towards Kathleen, who had spun around and was now rushing towards her.  Kat let Kathleen come in close, and with a minimal, gesture-like twist of one ankle deftly tripped her blonde opponent, who flew through the air and bounced hard on the floor on her bare backside.    

"Ooooo, poor Canary," Kat purred in mock sympathy, "that's gotta hurt." 

Jo and Kathleen recovered quickly, nodded to each other, and moved towards Kat in unison.  Jo reached out to grab Kat’s leather-clad wrist, and found her own wrist painfully stretched back and held.  Kathleen continued forward....and again found herself flying through the air.  This time she landed and rolled as she’d been trained—but recovered to find Jo flying directly into her.  The detectives collided in a naked tangle of arms, legs, and bodies.  They looked at each other, then at their opponent, who stretched and smiled. 

“We can continue this little dance,” Kat warned them, “or you can spare yourselves a lot of bruises and sore joints.  I can tell you’ve just enough training to know by now that I’m completely out of your league.  Give me any more trouble and you’ll both wake up in a lot of pain... and not just from how I plan on tying you.”  

“Okay, let’s talk this over calmly, shall we?” Kathleen said, as she and Jo stood up again. 

“Spare me the psychological crap,” Kat responded, “that won’t work either.  Eve, where’s that damn robot with the cable ties?”  

“It will be in the lobby in approximately two minutes,” Eve responded. 

“Well tell it to hurry up,” Kat growled, then turned her attention quickly back to Kathleen and Jo, “Okay, you got out of my ropes.  Now I’m going to tie you both up nice and tight in something you won’t get out of in a hurry.” 

“This isn’t necessary,” Kathleen said, “okay, we’re trespassing—” 

“Oh, so you admit it now, do you?”  

“Please let me finish.  Yes, we’re trespassers, but give us a chance to prove who we are, and why we’re here.  As for that redhead you’ve got bound and gagged, if you’re playing some kind of kinky game with her, that’s none of our business.”  

“I’ll be glad when I’ve shoved a nice big rubber ball back in your mouth.” 

“I don’t seem to be getting through to you...” Kathleen stopped mid-sentence, her attention apparently shifting to something behind Kat. 

“Oh come on, you two get first prize for originality,” Kat said, “first it’s the I’ll make a run for it and distract her then you jump on her ploy, now don’t you dare say ‘look out, behind you!’” 

Kat heard a whirring noise very close behind her.  She turned around, and could see it was a robot, carrying a tray piled with cable ties.  The robot was moving much too quickly, and it was just centimetres from her.  The robot slammed into her, toppling her over, and the cable ties scattered and bounced across the floor around her.  Before she could react, she felt the combined weight of Kathleen and Jo on top of her, pinning her down on the floor.  Jo sat astride her legs and brought her booted ankles together in a firm grip, pressing down to stop Kat kicking her legs up.  Kathleen sat astride her shoulders, grabbing Kat’s wrists and crossing them in the small of her back.  They had already grabbed a cable tie each, and used them to bind Kat’s wrists and ankles, noticing with amazement that they only needed to thread the ends of the cable ties into the locking parts, and with a quiet hiss, the cables automatically tightened until they pressed into the leather of Kat’s gloves and boots.  Then the loose ends shrivelled and detached, leaving the locking parts fused solid, and tight, inescapable white bands binding Kat’s gloved wrists behind her back, and her booted ankles together.