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Okay so first things first: This happened to me about a week ago now though I've been into selfbondage since at least 11 (trying to unsuccessfully to trap my wrists in scrunchies was about the extent I got to at that age or looking at a piece of duct tape across my mouth in the mirror). I've liked the idea of being tied up since a young age as I'm sure a lot of people here are! This took place at university over the weekend we were breaking up for Easter. A few of my flatmates had already left but I don't know most of them that well so if I were ever to get stuck during one of my selfbondage games I'd really hesitate to call out to them for help. They don't know that I do it and I can only imagine a reaction :shock: And that's assuming I'm not gagged which I usually am. Anyway, I've done a few sessions there, mostly at weekends like this one but I decided to really go all out since it was my last weekend there before I went back home (and not so easy to do with my parents around). The night before I'd filled a cup half full of water and frozen it. While that was happening I'd take one of my handcuff keys (which incidentally are also luckily compatible with my ankle and thumbcuffs) and tied a long length of string around it. Once the water was frozen I placed the key on top of the ice with the string dangling outside and then poured water over that and frozen it. I now had my makeshift escape mechanism as I wouldn't be able to get to it without the ice melting. Now on the day I made my preparations and laid everything I was going to use for the session out before me. I was wearing a red flannel top and jeans for those interested. I was feeling pretty fancy as a friend of mine had done my toenails the week before and they were painted a nice dark blue; I thought it best to show them off so decided to wear my pair of strappy heels. They strap on (obviously) so can't really be taken off during the session so I can thrash around all I want without fear of losing them. :D For the actual bondage I had my handcuffs (standard police issue but with a layer of fuzzy material I'd taken from one of those cheaper pairs to make it more comfy), legcuffs, thumbcuffs, and belt to keep my knees together. I also had out my harness ballgag (in black) and blindfold (really just a sleeping mask but I work with what I can get off amazon). To top it off ( I wanted to feel properly cut off from the rest of the world) I had my headphones which had a bunch of hypnosis tracks loaded up on to it. Earplugs would've been fine but a nice relaxing voice telling me to submit and let things happen during my sessions always arouses me further as you can imagine. I set up both my laptop webcam and phone to record just because I like to rewatch (don't judge me! I'm sure some of you do the same :D ). As mentioned, since all the keys opened the same things I used them to unlock any locked cuffs and placed one onto the bedside table and one on to the bed (I have 3 in total and this left the one in the freezer for the session itself). I decided enough waiting as I was getting aroused enough as it was so I fetched the cup with the key in and placed it on a chair next to my bed (this will be important later) and tied the end of the string around the bed frame (having a metal bed frame has its advantages). I put the laptop cam to record my face and phone to record my feet (like I said was feeling pretty fancy with my painted nails). I looked at the time: about 10.30 am. I lay down on my bed and got to work. I placed the key on the bed in one of the handcuff locks: I always do this as a precaution to make sure I lock them on the right way i.e. with the lock facing towards my hands. If I can feel the key with my fingers it's in the right place and I can't always tell if I'm blindfolded. I've heard enough selfbondage scare-adventures where everything goes perfectly only for the person the cuff themselves the wrong way and get trapped anyway! I strapped the belt around my knees and ankle cuffs around my ankles. Being as the chain for them is so long I don't really feel helpless enough with just that so I used the thumbcuffs to lock the chain connecting the cuffs together a lot tighter, now about the same distance apart as my handcuffs. Perfect. Now came the hard part. I've tried before using a blindfold and harness gag combination but the trouble is that putting the blindfold on after the gag means it's a lot easier to remove when rubbing your head against something but if you put it on first it's a lot harder to see what you're doing when putting the gag on (and there's a lot of straps for the harness ones). Regardless I managed to put the blindfold on first and then strap my harness ballgag nice and tightly around it. I couldn't see anything definitely and the ball was pretty deep in there so no calling for help now. Now I fumbled around for my handcuffs and looped them through the chain of the anklecuffs. I locked them around my wrists to give a reasonably tight makeshift hogtie. I felt the key in the lock with my fingers and concluded that everything had gone according to plan. It had, for the most part. Like I said I was fairly aroused already but come on...I wanted to feel even better so I started moving around a little, testing for weaknesses. As most of the equipment was metal cuffs I didn't have much success and I couldn't remove the belt either no matter how much grinding against the bed I did. If anything I just got more aroused. I couldn't move, see, hear, or speak: I was in heaven. I wiggled my toes a little for the camera. I did want to try properly calling out but even though I was confident I was properly silenced will the ballgag I was still a tiny bit worried that one of my flatmates would here. I think only one of them hadn't left and was way down the hall from me and my door was locked too but I was still cautious. Regardless, I mphhhhed a lot anyway and ended up with some drool. The hypnosis tracks were nice as well. Though not specifically designed for bondage (just general relaxation) the soft lilting voices really helped me get into the mood. I knew the first 40 mins were up when the first track ended and I was feeling just about perfect but was still pretty aroused and hadn't came yet. I moved around some more, getting more aggressive in my struggles now. I tugged at the chain holding my ankles and wrists together hard but there was no give at all. Neither was there any when I tried to escape my ankle or wrist cuffs. So far so good! I moved around like this for a while (looking rather like a worm on camera watching them back). I started moaning nondescriptly and writhed around harder. This went on for some time until it became too much for me to handle and I came there and then in my panties. They were my white ones but I wasn't too worried. :P I bathed in the afterglow for a while, waiting until the next hypnosis track had played to move with any real purpose (though some light struggling was always present. Can't resist). Eventually I began to get tired and decided I'd try to get free. The key I'd used to check the lock was in the right position had fallen onto the bed somewhere when I'd taken it out so I tried searching around for it. I couldn't. I searched all over the sheet and it didn't seem to be there. I sighed into my gag. Of course it wasn't. That'd be easy. My back was starting to ache slightly from the strain and my feet were getting cold too. I couldn't really rub them together for warmth because of the heels so I just had to endure it and hope. Thankfully my wrists were alright thanks to the fuzzy handcuffs but still I wanted out. I then tried to remove the blindfold but that worked as well as you'd expect. No matter how much I squirmed or rubbed my head on the sheets it was just too smooth and kept gliding over them. I refused to catch no matter what I tried. It was also strapped in place thanks to the harness so that made it basically impossible to get a purchase on. Now I was panicking slightly. I REALLY didn't want to have to wait for the ice to melt and release the key. Maybe it was the afterglow wearing off (I know it's a common thing to happen) or my body starting to ache or my feet getting cold but I want to get free again. But I couldn't. The key on the bed just didn't seem to be there. I scraped my fingernails over every inch of the bed I could reach and couldn't find it. I even rolled myself onto my back with some effort and tried searching there but to no avail. Defeated I rolled back onto my front. Now arms and back hurt even more. Where had it gone? Maybe it had fallen off during one of my more intense struggles? Or maybe I'd missed the bed when I'd placed it down? It's not like I could hear anything so how would I know? I was screwed. I was hogcuffed, ballgagged, blindfolded, and deafened. I struggled around some more just for the sake of it but I remained trapped. My only release was going to take a while to melt as the cup I'd filled had been pretty big. It was also a cold day (hence my feet getting cold) so it'd take even longer to melt. I writhed around in vain looking for it and for every minute I couldn't find it I got more impatient and struggled harder. It all came to nothing and I just ended up with even more drool and getting slightly aroused again. I curled my toes in annoyance and balled my hands into fists. If anyone had been watching they wouldn't have been able to see much but under the blindfold and gag I was glaring pretty intensely at the wall. At least the hypnosis tracks calmed me down a bit. I decided to enjoy it. It was the only thing I could do anyway. :oops: Or was it? I knew the ice was going to take a while to melt and the room temperature wasn't helping things but what if I could raise it. I'd tied the string of the frozen key around the bed frame so I could reach it when I needed so I decided to try that. If I could remove the ice from the cup and hold it between my hands, the body heat would melt it a lot quicker which meant I'd be free a lot quicker. I'd moved pretty far away from the edge so it took quite a bit of squirming to get myself back over. I rolled onto my other side and splayed my fingers out hoping to catch the string. I did and breathed a sigh of relief as best I could. I started to pull the cup towards me. Here's where it all went wrong! The chair I'd chosen to put the cup on was sloped slightly to better support the legs and was made of wood. Pulling the string as I did didn't pull the cup towards me all at the same time: because of the slope and the string coming out of the top of the cup, that part came first while the bottom stayed. This overbalanced the cup and jerked it downwards as it fell over. I only felt this slightly through the vibrations on the chair (because I still couldn't see or hear what was going on) and so continued to pull the string towards me slowly. I was so happy when I got to the end of it...only for it to be snatched away in an instant. The Key wasn't there! I remember exactly what I'd said at that moment. "Whggght gggh phhhkk?!?" Roughly translated as: What the f*ck? I think that's a perfectly reasonable response considering my only way out of my bondage had seemingly vanished. I guessed (and found out later I was right) that when the cup had fallen over, the end of the string had snapped thanks the ice making it brittle so the rest of it (and the key) was still trapped in the ice. And to make matters worse the slope of the chair had screwed me again and rolled/slid the cup all the way to the back so I couldn't possibly reach it. Now I was well and truly trapped. :? I couldn't believe it. After all my careful planning I'd still managed to trap myself anyway and mess it up. I stayed completely rigid as the fear and panic began to set in. Our block was a very quiet one so I knew that screaming into my gag wasn't going to accomplish anything except make myself drool more. Even if I got the attention of my roommate down the hall (which I don't think I could've done anyway; the gag was too tight and good at its job) the door was locked. I knew exactly where the keys to the door were; on the desk completely out my reach. Even if I'd managed to get them I wouldn't be able see where the lock was nor could I stand up to reach it courtesy of the hogcuff chain. They wouldn't be able to understand me at all or be able to unlock the door and help. Even then I'd have been so embarrassed at being caught and having to explain to them what had happened and that I do this all the time. I could actual feel my cheeks heating up at the thought of them walking into find me helplessly writhing all over the bed, hogtied and ballgagged and blindfolded. What would they do? Would they rush over and help me? Take a few pictures I wouldn't be able to see and then blackmail me some other time into being their slave? Would they just be disgusted and weirded out and just leave me there, unable to free myself? Would they lock the door and take the key with them?! Probably not but I can dream! :oops: I couldn't even reach my phone because I was using its camera to record myself for viewing pleasure. Likewise I wouldn't be able to use it to call anyone or message anyone. All these possibilities and fantasies swimming around my head got me incredibly aroused despite my predicament. I capitalised on it, breaking out of my shock and struggled furiously against my bonds. Shortly after this I came even harder into my panties. These stains were definitely not coming out now but I didn't care. I cared about escaping. Despite the afterglow I kept thrashing around and screaming into my gag. Whether it was the headphones or the gag just silencing me so effectively I didn't know but I just knew I could barely make a sound. I then tried to push the ballgag out of my mouth but that didn't work at all either. I'd made sure to strap it in as tightly as I could and the rest of the harness helped keep it exactly where it was; in my mouth. I pushed against it hard with my tongue and shifted it forward slightly but it slid back the second I took it away. I screamed what I thought was louder but it just came out as a muffled groan. I pulled on my wrists again but they didn't budge. Of course not. My heels hadn't managed to come off either despite my desperation which was something. I flicked them around experimentally. They stayed strapped on. I tried rolling back over to search the chair but I'd managed to push it relatively far away from the bed and leaning over any further made me scared I was going to fall off. I grasped around for the cup but just got meltwater. I wanted out so badly now but I had nothing. My key had vanished and I was tied up and blindfolded so couldn't go looking for it. I was just a scared, sweaty, drooly mess and that was basically all I could do. Sweat, drool, and wiggle my feet around helplessly. I stayed like that for over an hour judging by the headphones but I kept zoning out so I couldn't be sure. I didn't particularly care for the hypnosis tracks but I couldn't exactly change the tracks so I was forced to lie there and listen anyway. :( I don't know how long it had gotten as the blindfold stopping me looking outside but I had gotten desperate enough to try anything. My back was really starting to hurt and my knees, arms, and now wrists were starting to too. All that intense struggling around had done a number on me. I collected my thoughts as best I could. I knew I didn't have the key and thanks to the blindfold and headphones I couldn't be sure if the cup was even still on the chair anymore but I had to try and get it. I'd tried a bunch of times already but hadn't had any success. If there was meltwater on the chair I guessed it meant the iceblock and therefore the cup still were too. I took a deep breath around the gag and rolled back over. The melt water made it incredibly difficult to grasp but I gradually (over the course of about 10 mins) managed to pull the chair back over the bed. It wasn't a wheely chair which made it all the more annoying for my fingers but I didn't care at this point. It was still far enough away to be annoying and somewhat scary but I had to try. I stopped briefly to consider the consequences if I did fall off the bed. I truly would be screwed. I might be able to knock the cup and ice onto the floor but there was no guarantee. I might be able to make my way over to my door to bang on it but I didn't know which way it was and I was still gagged tightly anyway so I decided against. Besides my flatmate didn't have a key for my room. That just left my phone which I might be able to knock down but I'd just run into the same problems of being blindfolded and gagged. I decided I did NOT want to fall off the bed. Slowly but surely I lowered myself over it. I searched around in the cold water for it but still nothing. I wanted to cry in frustration! Where was it?! How big could this chair possibly be that I couldn't find it? Had it really fallen onto the floor so I'd have to fall down and get it there? I wouldn't be able to use my hands to break my fall so it could be pretty painful. I tried to grit my teeth but of course it didn't work so I rolled my eyes under the blindfold and searched even more frantically. Something brushed by one of my nails. I swept that way again and felt a cold object at the very edge of the chair. I couldn't exactly fistpump but fumbled around for the handle of the cup. I couldn't find it. It must have fallen the other way. Now came the hardest bit: getting the cup back on the bed. I just couldn't grip it. It's side were far too smooth for me get a hold of and any effort to roll it just ending up in it sliding backwards down the slope thanks to the meltwater. I felt like crying again. I was so close but I just couldn't reach. Freedom was barely millimetres away but fate was playing cruelly and deciding to deny me freedom for a while longer. Wiping away some of the water with my fingers yielded better results and after about 20 mins I'd gotten it to the top of the slope. This was the most nerve wracking bit; there was a gap between the edge of the chair and the bed. If the cup fell down there the key could easily fall under the bed and there definitely was no way I could get to it there. I remained paralysed with indecision for a while, deciding whether to risk it or not. The ache in my back and arms along with the others crying out soon persuaded me into the former. I used one hand to grasp the outside of the cup and the other to hold the top to stop the ice spilling out onto the floor. This was the safest way but because of how short my hogtie chain was, forced my back and knees into arching painfully to support them. It was now or never. By some miracle the cup landed on the bed next to my thigh. Now all I could do was wait. I removed the ice from the cup and held it between my fingers waiting for it to melt. It was so cold! Obviously it would be but I forced myself into rubbing it every now and then in the hope of speeding the process up slightly. Either way I was forced to lie there for several hours, still trapped in my selfbondage while I waited for it to melt. After the first two I became tempted to smash the ice against the wall in the hopes of releasing the key but so many things could've gone wrong so I restrained myself. Get it?? Because I was already restrained physically?? :D No? Fine bad joke but the point stands. :lol: If I tried to smash it against the wall that meant rolling over to my opposite side which I really didn't have the strength to do at that point. Two orgasms and a whole lot of furious struggling had drained me past the point of wanting to move anymore. Besides I was terrified that the freezing had made the key brittle enough to shatter on impact and stop it fitting into the lock. Then I'd have waited several more hours to fail anyway and remain trapped. Even if that wasn't the case the key was light enough to possibly bounce somewhere erratically upon being released and I'd never be able to find it on the floor. My room was pretty big after all. All these thoughts of potentially being trapped for even longer aroused me again but I was so scared of the ice slipping out of my hands during my struggles I decided against doing so. This gave me the idea for a game a Mistress might play with her slave. Give them their key to freedom in slippery ice and force them to orgasm or suffer the consequences. Orgasm means moving around a lot and one careless move could easily mean loss of freedom. The idea of a Mistress playing this game with me aroused me even further but I bit down on my ballgag and forced back the desires. I was forced to lie there for several more hours until the ice had melted fully. By that time my back and legs were screaming and my knees arms and wrists weren't far behind. My jaw was also really started to hurt from having the ball inside for so long. Of course by now my fingers were almost totally numb and could barely pick up the key. It took another few minutes for me to manipulate it and turn it into the lock. I immediately turned it and I was free! :o I uncuffed my other wrist and set to work on removing my gag. It was tough work what with all the straps and my frozen fingers but I somehow managed. I spat it out gratefully, finding that I could no longer close my jaw properly without it hurting. That's prone to happening so I didn't worry so much. I took of the blindfold and looked at the time: 5.40 pm. I'd been trapped in my selfbondage for over 7 hours! I rubbed my wrists. They were pretty sore so I uncuffed my ankles and removed the belt around my knees. I tried futilely to undo my the straps on my heels but between their small size and my fingers having to deal with the ballgag I gave up quickly so the heels stayed on. I wondered over to my mirror and saw a total mess looking back at me. Face completely flushed. Mouth forced slightly open and lips chaffed. Constantly panting. Hair a mess and all in my eyes. Jeans and panties soaked from the ice melting and my earlier orgasms. Totally worth it! :) So that's the story of my self bondage adventure. What I take away from this is always always ALWAYS have more than one back up. I'd say at least minimum 3 but preferably more. It might seem like overkill or ruin the mood but the price to pay is getting trapped in selfbondage and you might not get lucky like I did. I realise so much of what I'd done could easily have backfired and left me trapped in my cuffs for a long time. I genuinely don't know what would have happened had I not gotten the key in the end. I couldn't call for help nor was there anyone for me to call! I'm considering telling my flatmate who I'm closer to so if something like that does happen again I won't get so panicked!

"Luna, why are you in front of my computer? I know you're immature and perhaps you don't realize it, but it's really strange to just come into your roommate's room and sit down at his computer," said Owen as he hastily ushered the 19-year-old out of his room. Owen was a brilliant scientist who had been working for years on a device that could alter reality, connected to his computer. The device, which Owen had created to prove something to himself, seemed to be completed. However, he had been hesitant to test it out, pondering the potential consequences of using such a powerful tool. "Okay, okay, I'll leave. You always say how immature I am. I was just curious about what you're doing," Luna responded, pouting slightly as she walked out of the guy's room. Due to Luna's intrusion, the genius scientist fell into a long contemplation. At the end of it, he deemed the device to be too dangerous, and decided to destroy it before anyone could use it. What he didn't know, though, was that

Tightness. All-encompassing and inescapable tightness. Ash had to be conservative with the breathes she took. Mounting further with each passing moment, the pressure around her torso made her nearly blue in the face-and thankful for every ounce of oxygen she *could* get. Her body was shaken violently. Such were the hugs from one Annabelle “Anna” Hamrick-Ash’s mom and #1 fan. “OoooooOOOOO! I missed you so MUCH, Scooby!” Ash’s face turned beet red as she was flailed about-there were enough people in earshot of the campus apartments to hear her mom’s favorite little pet name for her. “~hrrk~” She struggled to get her words out from the hug, “m-kk-mom! P-pleaskkkkk!” Mrs. Hamrick gave one last tight squeeze before putting her daughter back on the ground. She straightened her oldest’s bangs before placing her hands on her own hips. “I think the hug is only fair, Scoob!” Ash winced again at the nickname, “Least you can do for not even trying to call! You know I talk to your sister weekly, right? I’ve got to get all my updates on you through her!” Ash rolled her eyes, “Yeah? Because Aidan’s a college freshman? She’s homesick? Of course she calls mom every week!” “Once a quarter wouldn’t kill you!” “Fine, FINE, sorry!” Ash crossed her arms and pouted for a moment-then her confrontational furrowed brow softened. “Missed you too, mom.” Anna Hamrick beamed-drawing in her daughter for one more, far less violent, hug. “So what are you even doing here?” Ash asked. “I know it’s ‘Parents’ Weekend’ and all-but that’s sort of, y’know, for the freshmen? I’m kind of in my fifth year? And you guys live, what, thirty minutes away?” “You SAY that-but we haven’t ever seen you for a visit, have we?” “Moooooom, I’m BUSY! You know this!” “Busy busting the chops of those LlamTech assholes for your adoring fans? You know you can hold off impressing lonely guys on the internet for ONE weekend!” Ash buried her face in her hand. Much to her dismay, her mother truly WAS her biggest supporter. Even on the ugliest streams, Anna Hamrick was logged in to Twitch to offer moral support-and usually call the cops to help as needed. Not *terribly* often though-any good mom wants their kids to be able to solve their own problems. And sometimes those problems are ten-foot tall robots that your kid just needs to learn how to beat themselves. “Ok, ok-fair enough.” Ash flicked her hair. “Shouldn’t you be checking in with Aidan though?” “Track meet weekend.” Anna popped a finger gun. “You’ve got me all weekend, Scoob.” Ash grumbled (as pleasantly as she could in front of her mother). Anna Hamrick was a busy woman, to say the least. After years in the reporting field in the 90’s, she was now sitting in the comfortable chair of Editor-in-Chief for the Austin Globe. For most of Ash’s teenage years, their mother was constantly sandwiched between meetings, calls, and paper deadlines. Austin was a lively city-even without the evil robotics companies she turned a blind eye to. Didn’t she have articles to review or something? Then again, her mother had a reputation for breaking protocol and getting in the trenches herself-insisting on being on the frontlines for a story, no matter how dangerous. The infamous Senator Schertz biker gang bribes in 1992. The Bat Country Traffickers raid. The “Sludge in the Soda Machine” expose. Hell, her mom even got the scoops on the LlamTech/PeachCorp tech war that was at its height in the 90’s, leaking upcoming innovations from both companies as they were fighting for dominance in the new digital age. Her methods were unorthodox. Ill-advised. Dangerous and frankly *stupid* most of the time. But they got results. They were what made Annabelle Hamrick one of the most notorious names in Texas media in the 90’s. While other journalists waited to cut through the red tape of a story, she was the one that broke the locks, got in the faces of her quarry, and exposed scandal and corrpuption for all the world to see. Anna Hamrick always chose to ask for forgiveness instead of pers mission. And goddammit, if Ash didn’t want to be exactly like her. Much to the dismay of the journalists in her employ, Anna had a knack for continuing to live like it was 1992. She didn’t *need* to get herself into the offices of corrupt politicians or poke around drug smuggling operations-but she couldn’t help herself. Being a renegade in her field was what kept her feeling young and alive-and for a woman who looked twenty years younger than she actually was, it seemed to work pretty damn well. Sure, she had the fancy Editor-in-Chief desk-but a stuffy job couldn’t keep a good girl down-no matter how much her subordinates begged her to let them handle the more risky stories themselves. Given all this, Ash realized just how *unusual* it was for her mom to just decide to show up on parents weekend without their dad. Something seemed *off* about this visit. Given her reputation and her schedule, her mom didn’t just show up to Southern U just to say “wha’s up”. In fact, it just now occurred to Ash that her mom was still in her best professional attire-a burgundy two button jacket, *alarmingly* short matching skirt, dark nylons, and heels that any reasonable woman would have difficulty walking in. She wasn’t exactly dressed for a casual weekend trip to a college campus. “…..You’re here for business, aren’t you?” Ash pointed an accusatory finger as she widened into a smile. For once, it wasn’t HER doing things she wasn’t supposed to! “You’re here to beat your own reporters to the punch” Anna Hamrick crossed her arms and smiled at her daughter. Apples not falling far from trees, and all that, huh? “Alright. You caught me.” Her mom threw up her hands-her collected wry smile never leaving her face. “I’m here on a bit of off-the-record business. Our legal department has sort of told me I’m not allowed to get into any more scraps, but hey-what are they gonna do? Fire me? I’m the boss.” “I KNEW IT!” Ash was hyped as all hell-shaking like a small dog that just ate an entire bag of sour skittles. Growing up, Ash had NEVER been able to convince her mom to take her along on business for the paper-reasonable enough, given what she had been through on jobs. But now? Ash had dealt with robots, drug lords, mad scientists, and death traps by the dozen. There was no way she couldn’t handle whatever her mom got into at this point. Was this finally her chance to shadow her mom on a stakeout?! To see how a REAL renegade journalist gets things done? “Shhhhh, keep it on the DL!” Ash’s mom grabbed her shoulder in brought her in close, leading her to the apartment parking lot. “What do you say to a ride-along, Scoob? I might need a hand, anyway.” “ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY” Ash said in a half-assed stage whisper. This was awesome. This was killer. She was about to tag along for some REAL gueirilla journalism. The unstoppable duo of Anna & Ash Hamrick. What a team! There was no was this could go wrong! No way that this could disappoint in any way whatsoever! ……………………………………………….. Holy shit, was this disappointing. Ash and her mom sat at one of the patio tables of “Taco Fantastico”, each halfway through a farm-fresh burrito bowl. Her mother’s eyes were scanning the restaurant, peering under tables and trying to get good passing glances at the operations behind the counter. She had been dragged along for one of those “Sludge in the Soda Machine” columns! Not a drug bust. Not hush money. Not even killer robots! Just…Unsanitary dining conditions. And lackluster kitchen maintenance. Ash poked the lettuce and beans in her bowl as Anna focused on a corner of the restaurant-apparently watching a rat scuttle beneath one of the ovens as she scratched something down into a notebook with fervor. This sucked. All that excitement and here she was being Deputy Health Inspector. Anna Hamrick noticed her daughter’s sour expression. “What’s on your mind, Scoob?” She asked, glancing between her notebook and her phone. “Nothing..” “Nothing?” “Yep.” “Bored?” “Yep.” “Disatisfied, even?” Anna smiled cheekily. “You could say that.” “Let me ask you something, Ash-have you ever seen those campus delivery robots? The TOGO bots?” Ash blinked. “The food delivery ones? Yeah. The little ice coolers on six wheels right?” “Precisely!” Ash shrugged. “All the time. Not exactly anything to be impressed with after what I’ve dealt with. They just sort of zip around campus with Whataburger bags inside them. Nothing crazy.” Anna tapped her notebook. “Ever considered what a perfect opportunity for a dead drop such a device makes? An all-terrain insulated robot that can get into just about any place unnoticed?” She rested her chin on her hand. “Would be interesting if a business was using that for, oh, I don’t know? Smuggling operations?” Ash’s eyes narrowed. Her mom *was* on to something. “Do tell?” “I don’t gotta tell.” She gestured to the back of the restaurant. “I can *show* you.” A chirpy digital tune came from the kitchen, followed by one such all-terrain delivery robot. Built like the lovechild of a Mars rover and a school bus, the happy little bot rolled across the restaurant and out the door to make whatever delivery was set for it-*presumably* a farm-fresh ‘Tacos Fantastico’ burrito bowl or two in its payload. Anna leaned in to the table. “I’ve got reason to believe these things are making deliveries outside of their regular schedule. A couple of weeks ago, I had one of my interns start tracking the movements and traffic patterns of those bots all over the city-the app let’s you track your order via GPS, y’know? Had him place a few dozen orders on my purchase card. Different pick up and delivery locations. Nothing seemed amiss at first, honestly.They left their dispatch warehouse, picked up their food from the restaurant, then delivered it to their destination.” Ash pursed her lips. “..But?” “BUT-we started running some heat maps. None of these bots took the most linear course. Hell, some of them took MAJOR detours.” Anna pulled out a map of the city and pointed to a spot circled in highlighter, “On all trips, they made sure to pass by this same spot on Congress Street. No matter how far out of its way it was, these little guys made sure to swing by this single spot.” Ash’s smile widened. “So you think somethings up, huh?” “I like to think I’ve got a pretty good sense for when fuckery is afoot, Scoob.” Ash straightened her jacket over her shoulders and leaned in. “Sounds to me like we’re headed to a little warehouse Congress..” ……………………………………………………………………. UNMARKED DISTRIBUTION WAREHOUSE S. Congress-Austin, TX 04:51PM The duo kept their profiles low, moving with the footsteps of the warehouse worker to avoid detection. The building was nothing particularly special-shipping containers made a maze around the edges, with wooden crates unloaded and stacked toward the center of the warehouse. The only indication that anybody was home was an occasional thud and clatter coming from the very middle; so naturally that was what the two zeroed in on. Ash stopped at a corner, holding up a hand to signal for them to stop. This was as good of a vantage point as they were going to get-a foot wide gap in a stack of boxes gave them just enough space to see the central part of the warehouse, while still providing enough cover to remain unseen. A heavy set man of about forty or fifty had just pried open a crate when the TOGO bot had they had followed made its way to his workstation. The man then crouched down to the bot, opening a circular hatch in its aft section-an opening not unlike a torpedo tube, before standing back up to reach into the crate. After tossing the packing materials to the side, his greasy hands reached inside to retrieve some of its contents. Both hands held a three foot metal canister, like a bizarre cross between a giant battery and a propane tank. A tank with the silver “LLAMTECH” logo emblazoned on the side. *FUCK* Ash pulled back to the darkness, frantically rubbing her temples. “MOM.” Ash pressed in a hushed but stressed whisper. “You REALLY barked up the wrong tree here. These guys aren’t a freaking biker gang or something. You guys were tracking LLAMTECH. Literally THE bad guys.” Anna scoffed, poking her head through the gap to see what Ash was panicked about. “C’mon, Scoob! Do you know who you’re talking to? I’ve had my fair share of tussles with nasty tech corporations!” “LlamTech isn’t exactly the wacky sixties Batman villain of tech companies you dealt with back in the day, mom!“ Ash’s concerned tone remained just above a whisper. “Yeah, yeah, I KNOW you pissed off that Peachcorp company or whatever over lobbying or something back in ‘94-“ “Actually it was straight up kidnapping politicians, but go on sweetie-“ Anna interjected. “WHATEVER.” Ash threw up her hands. “You realize why Peachcorp doesn’t exist anymore, right? You realize why ALL those companies like that don’t exist anymore? If they didn’t get bought, they got trampled-in more ways than one-by LlamTech.” “So they have an aggressive acquisition plan, big deal-“ “MOM, I have literally been kidnapped and menaced by these guys more times than I can count! You’ve SEEN my streams! Human experimentation! Robot soldiers! That doesn’t raise any red flags?!” Anna Hamrick turned to her daughter-sure, Ash was a little manic almost all of the time. But she was the one in the thick of it these days-even with all her experience, Anna wasn’t the one getting in the trenches to get a story anymore. That torch had pretty much been passed to Ash at this point. Anna sighed. “You’re right..I’ll take your word on this one.” Anna gave a side eye to the man unloading the crate. “Maybe my crew IS in a little over their head.” “YOU THINK?” “Ok, I get it! Approach with caution!” She looked back over to the large man and watched him load the LlamTech canister into the torpedo hatch of the TOGO robot. “So what do we do? We’re already this deep…” Ash deepened into her crouch, twirling her ponytail in thought. What the hell was in those tanks? And what were they being loaded into these delivery robots for? “Well, these shipments gotta be going TO or FROM somewhere. If they’re doing this operation out of an unmarked warehouse, there’s no doubt this is some sort of PR nightmare they want off the books.” “So you think a shipping manifest ought to be here somewhere?“ “SOMETHING to tell us what the next move is. I don’t want to hang around here any longer than you do. If we can get that next breadcrumb, we can get out of here.” Anna nodded, putting her eyes back on the warehouse worker. As if on cue, the beep from another TOGO robot came from outside the warehouse door-making him abandon his workstation to go tend to the new arrival. “Now’s our chance-GO!” Anna pulled Ash’s arm as they dove out from behind the boxes toward the workstation. “We’ve got maybe two minutes to get what we can, mom. Move fast” Ash went over to the table opposite the man’s workstation where a laptop sat, while Anna scrambled through the open canister shipments themselves for any kind of packing slip or indication of *what* might be inside those tanks. The pc, as expected, was locked-and there wasn’t going to be enough time to crack the thing, even if she had her tech pal Adrianne to assist. As expected, the greasy hillbilly didn’t exactly keep excel sheet printouts of every thing coming and going from the warehouse-so there wasn’t going to be an easy grab-and-go on this. “Aren’t gas tanks supposed to be labeled?” Anna asked, scanning every side of one of the canisters. “Like corrosion or toxicity levels? Doesn’t matter if it’s propane or mustard gas, there’s a federal standard for that, right? I mean, I’d imagine you’d at least put the chemical abbreviation for what was in it for the safety of your own guys..” “That’s sure as hell not a good sign.” Ash continued rifling through the desk. “They don’t even want their own people to know about whatever’s in there. My guess is the circle of people who they’ve got informed on the full scope of this operation is in the single digits. Grease monkey over there probably doesn’t know a thing; he just knows he’s getting paid to load robots and go home.” “Not worth questioning him?” “Mom, he’s got two-hundred pounds on both of us. What are you gonna do, punch him until he says he’s annoyed?” “Your father and I should have signed you up for those kickboxing classes.” Anna sighed as she continued cracking crates open. “Something tells me those theater camps didn’t teach you how to drop a guy twice your size.” “I can hold my OWN, thank you! I just know when-“ Ash stopped as she noticed something peculiar beneath the mess of papers, “Hellooooooo!” Before her was a a cadastral map of Austin-showing every boundary, powerline, sewage route, and street. Ash dragged her finger to the spot on Congress street where the warehouse was. Around her finger, a substantial cluster of red dots had been marked in the surrounding area. This particular spot was obviously the hotbed for whatever they were doing-but the red dots fanned out into the whole city. More concerning, was seeing just how dense some of the spots around the university and the capitol building were, amongst other heavy population centers. What the hell were these marking?… Anna crossed over and looked over her daughter’s shoulder, trying to make heads or tails of the map as well. “Drop off points?” Ash asked. “That, and then some I think.” Anna dragged her finger along the the linear paths of dots. “Look at all the main drags in the city. 6th. Congress. Rainey. Major sewage pipelines on all of those. There’s a mark on those points almost every ten feet.” “So they’re…” Ash thought for a moment. The robots. The canisters. The heat map. The unmarked gas. “This is some kind of next level chemical warfare they gotta be planning..” “Using the delivery bots to cover ground on every inch of the city? Have them swing by here for every delivery they have, load up, and do a dead drop in as many spots as possible.” “But for WHAT?” Even as they found answers, Ash only grew more concerned. “There’s no way that’s just a poisonous gas in those tanks. LlamTech doesn’t just KILL people without reason. There’s gotta be a long play here.” “You know these guys better than me, Scoob. I leave that part to you.” Anna patted her daughter’s back before turning away to check for the warehouse worker and see how close he was to finishing up with the new arrival. But he was gone from his spot at the gate. Anna Hamrick didn’t even have to think twice about springing into action. For Ash, everything happened so fast that it took a few moments to fully process what had happened. She registered a hand grabbing her shoulder and another clamping over her mouth. Before she even had time to react, she found herself pressed against another body, followed by the sounds of two separate firearm hammers clicking into place. In less than a second, an assailant held Ash in a tight handgag, with the barrel of a firearm fixed to her temple. Her mother had moved just as quickly-having her own .38 revolver focused on the man holding her daughter. Ash tried not to think about where that gun had been hidden, as Anna Hamrick’s outfits didn’t exactly leave a lot to the imagination. Best to focus on the life-and-death situation at hand and *not* her mom’s revealing wardrobe. “Let. Her. Go.” Anna Hamrick hissed. Her small pistol was trained right over Ash’s shoulder-her expression chillingly focused. The usual levity in her face was gone-replaced now by the countenance of someone fully prepared to fire at another human being. “Or what? You’re gonna shoot me?” The man chuckled with a west Texas accent, muffled through a black ski mask he had slipped on to conceal his identity. He pulled Ash closer as she strained to escape him, pressing the gun even harder against her head. “If ye’ really meant that, you would’ve already done it.” “Nobody has to drop dead tonight. Just-“ Anna took a deep breath-clearly boiling under the surface of her collected expression. “Just get your hands off my daughter and walk away, fucker.” “I ain’t dumb, newslady. I see the way ‘yer holding that piece. You don’t think you can make the shot. We’re juuuuust far away from each other that ya’ run a chance of putting one right between these gorgeous green eyes..” He playfully brushed Ash’s bangs with the barrel, holding her head firmly as she tried pull away. He chortled to himself as she writhed against him, uselessly trying to break his grip. “Even if you did put one between my eyes-I’d make goddamn sure to pull this trigger on my way out.” Anna’s face was starting to flush red. The man holding her probably didn’t notice-but Ash could definitely see a bead or two of sweat beginning to form. Her arm remained firmly outstretched, ready to pull the trigger. GOD, she was so fucking cool! “Do you have any idea who I am?” She asked coldly. The man’s hot breath came up close to Ash. “‘Do we know ‘er’, she asks! HA! Not a lot of news reporters get famous, Miss. But the ones that do? I reckon there ain’t a soul in Texas that don’t know YOU, miss Annabelle Hamrick.” “Hlllhhh yhhh, mhhhhm!” Ash cheered her mom’s notoriety through the handgag, only to be quickly met with a jolt from her attacker and a firm *’shut up’*. “Great, so we’re already familiar.” Anna raised her chin. “So you know I’ve got a reputation..” “Reputation? Shit, I got buddies that are STILL in jail after that Bat Country story of yours back in ‘92.” Although masked, a lecherous smile could be *heard* in his voice. “Got a couple of newspaper clippings of ‘ya I used to keep under my mattress, too!” “Ghhrrssssss..” Anna Hamrick wasn’t about to flinch in this situation, so Ash made it a point to be creeped out for both of them. “This ‘yer daughter, huh?” The heavy set man grunted as he pulled Ash close, making her squeak. His fingers playfully twirled through her hair. “DAMN if she ain’t the spittin’ image of you twenty years ago. Pretty girl’s got a face for TV, alright-just like ‘er mom! Hell, she’s even wearin’ that biker babe leather just like you!” “Shut up.” Anna’s eyes were cold as she watched the man wrangle her daughter around. “We’re done here.” The grunt knew he was in control of the situation-so he decided to press his luck a little further. “Can I be a lil’ personal with ya, Miss Hamrick?” The man’s eyes moved between Anna, then back to Ash. Eyeing them both down. “Lemme tell ya, me n’ the boys used to see you on the evening news down at the station-I could NEVER take my eyes off those legs’ve yers. Hell, this might be a little T.M.I., but I used t’-“ “SHUT IT.” Anna Hamrick shouted. She was reaching capacity-and this situation was about to get a lot uglier if it didn’t resolve itself. “I’m going to count to three. You get your fucking hands off my girl by the time I reach one-understood?” “Oooooh, momma bear is gettin’ real serious now, huh?” The man growled in Ash’s ear. “Three.” Ash bucked her shoulders, trying to break out before it got things erupted. “Two.” The cold barrel pressed harder against her temple. “One.” Ash shut her eyes. ….Nothing happened. Wait…Did her mom?.. “Well, well, well-looks like Annabelle Hamrick’s a little less BOLD these days!” Ash opened her eyes back up-her mom stood before her, slowly lowering the pistol. Her face showed no sign of anger, frustration, or fear-just..Resignation.. ….She couldn’t make the shot? “MHHHMHHH!” *C’mon, mom-start blasting!* “Now ‘ah can’t help but admit I’m a little disappointed.” The man laughed, “You sure you’re the same woman who put out three rounds in Screwball Juarez’s leg back in the day?” “I just forgot to stretch, is all.” Anna tried to play down the seriousness of the situation. “That’s a damn shame…” he held the gun back up to Ash, “now, why don’t you put the gun down, pretty woman?” Ash saw the tinge of anguish wash over her mother-and genuinely wish she hadn’t. Her whole life she had been this proud, outgoing, *badass* of a woman who didn’t flinch in the face of ANYTHING. But here she was-having to hold back. Having to let herself be beaten. All because of *her*. Anna never took her eyes off the man as she slowly kneeled down to put the .38 on the concrete floor. “Now slide it over.” She complied, contemptuous sneer never leaving her face. “Good girl.” Without another word, the man released Ash-throwing her towards her mom with a shove before reaching down to pick up the other gun. Anna caught her and brushed her off-her eyes still furiously fixed on their rival who now had both barrels trained on the duo. “Now then ladies-there’s a few bundles of rope on that crate over there. Why don’t you get to work?” ………………………………………………. “Now THIS I wish I had some newspaper clippings of back in the day.” The man cackled as he tousled Anna Hamrick’s hair. He stepped back to snap a few pictures with his phone. “THE Annabelle Hamrick all tied up like a pinup girl. Shit, and her fine-ass daughter carrying the torch!” He placed his hand under Ash’s chin. “DAMN, if I was only twenty years younger!” Fucking creep. “Listen, pal.” Ash jerked her torso to the side to see just how tight the ropes were. “Maybe if you had spent less time ogling news reporters back in the 90’s and more time, I dunno, exercising? Talking to women? Painting? Maybe then you wouldn’t be working graveyard shift for a bunch of evil comic book villains all alone in a warehouse.” The man grunted before shoving a rag into Ash’s mouth. “Silver-tongue bitch, eh? Just like her mom. You must be proud, huh?” He proceeded to tie a scarf around Ash’s head. The side of Anna’s mouth lifted into a wry smile. “You have no fucking idea, hillbilly.” Ash’s eyes widened-even as she was getting gagged. Did Anna Hamrick just say-? The moment was quashed as the man did the same to her mom-stuffing another rag behind her lips before fastening another scarf gag around her head. It didn’t matter though-Ash was beaming. Holy shit, her mom said she was *proud* of her! “Well, ladies-as much as I’d LOVE to keep snapping photos of this beautiful sight-I gotta get moving.” He placed a hand on Anna’s thigh and gave a firm squeeze. “DAMN-wish we could’ve met under different circumstances, gorgeous.” “Hhhhss Hfffff…” Anna groaned. She was mature enough to know that there wasn’t a damn thing she could do while trussed up like this. If this asshole wanted the excitement of getting a reaction out of her, he’d be disappointed. Ash’s mom really was a woman of resolve-because the hick’s hands moved right up to the collar of her coat and blouse. As if he knew Anna was making a concentrated effort not to appear phased, he firmly tugged open her top-revealing the woman’s ample chest and black lace bra. To her credit, Anna looked the man in the eye and didn’t even flinch. Even as he stepped back to take another few photos of the humiliating site, there was not even a twitch of embarrassment to be seen on the seasoned journalist’s face. Ash WOULD have been in continued amazement at her mother’s badass constitution, had she not turned away in beet-red embarrassment; cringing at an atomic level. *Jesus FUCK her TITS are out and she’s still trying to be a badass…* Ash thought to herself-her thoughts far more manic than normal. *WHY IS SHE SO COOL? JESUS I’m embarrassed FOR her what is WRONG with her?!* “Aaaaaand those are some gooooood shots, Miss Hamrick!” The man snapped one last photo of his local celebrity crush’s predicament before sliding his phone back away. “Suppose I ought’a get to *dealin’* with y’all, huh?” The two women watched as he crossed over to a crate and lugged out another TOGO robot like the one they had followed to get here. “You probably already know this-hell, you probably wrote a story or two about it!” The man grunted as he overturned the robot, “but these things have a REAL bad overheating problem. Poorly engineered batteries, ah think. They’re meant for short distances. Run ‘em without stopping for an hour or two?” They watched as he popped open a panel and flicked a pair of switches. The wheels started rolling uselessly as the robot sat there like an overturned turtle. “After a good while, these batteries tend to swell up and go BOOM.” The motor whine of the capsized robot steadily grew in pitch as it got up to speed. Within a minute, the little TOGO robot was at max cruising speed-or would have been, if its wheels were touching the ground. “Seeing as Austin Globe’s finest already knows what’s going on here, boss is already making the moves to relocate this lil’ shindig. This place ain’t much use to ‘em anymore-and he’s willing to sacrifice a little bit of product to keep us going in the long run.” The masked man cupped Anna’s gagged face. “Not sure if we could weather all that ‘bad publicity’ if you lived to run a story, Annabelle. I’m sure ‘ye understand?” “Dhnnhh chhlll mhhh hhnnhbllhhh…” Ash’s mom grunted, pulling her face away from his gloved hand. While her mom and the goon were exchanging good old fashioned villain/victim pleasantries, Ash couldn’t help but notice the straining little robot directly in front of them. The part of its underbelly with the exposed motor had begun to emit a soft orange glow; and it looked like the coils within were beginning to struggle with its own output. The whine of the motor was steady, but one could tell just how much this little robot was fighting. “As I’m sure your brilliant deductive thinkin’ probably figger’d out, those canisters you tracked down to us are a little volatile…” *Thats a big word for YOU, hick* Ash thought to herself. “All the crates in here? Wouldn’t take much to send ‘em all up in smoke. N’ like I said-boss is willin’ to take a loss.” He kicked the heavy robot straining on the ground. “Give this lil’ feller about ten minutes at this speed? That battery’s gonna blow. Then? All these shipments go with it. Pretty likely blowin’ the whole block if not just the warehouse..” “Yhhhh fhhhkkkrrrhhh….” Anna cooly cursed the goon beneath her gag. “-Blowing the warehouse, and any would-be heroes tryin’ to muscle in on our operation! So-“ The goon stepped forward and pulled Anna’s gag, removing the rag from her mouth. “Got anything you wanna say for posterity’s sake before the famous Anna Hamrick becomes a black spot on the concrete?” Anna spat out the gag furiously before locking eyes with the man. “I just gotta know-what’s the game here? Why blow your ‘operation’? This has to be *millions* of dollars in product. There’s no WAY you can just weather losing all that..” “Aww, sweetheart! You’d be surprised! This is just a stagin’ area! We ain’t buyin’ n’ sellin’ outta here.” The man stepped back and patted one of the shipping crates full of canisters. “These cans move on to bigger n’ better things around the city from here! Everything’s building up to the boss’s *main event*.” “…Main event?” Anna’s tone was one of skeptic concern. Ash knew her mom never doubted her research on LlamTech-maybe disagreed with her *methods*, but never *doubted* her. Maybe this gave even more credence to what she was telling people? It was all too damning-a warehouse full of mysterious gas canisters with LlamTech logos plastered all over them? For what? Maybe Anna would finally realize that LlamTech really was that boogeyman Ash had been saying they were… “Listen, lady-I’m just a heavy-liftin’ guy. And even if I knew what the folks up top were doin’ with all this stuff, it wouldn’t do me a bit of good to waste my time explainin’ their plan to ya.” He tugged on the ropes around her chest, making sure to cop a feel on Anna’s exposed bust. “Seein’ as you an’ your daughter ain’t gonna be around much longer. Shame about that!” “Listen, I don’t care what happens to me.” Anna gestured to Ash on her left. “But let *her* go. You already know I’m a liability. I get it. Who’s to say I wouldn’t tell the whole world about this operation? But your risk is with me-not her.” “S’much as I’d LOVE to grant you that request, Miss Anna-“ he stepped over and playfully patted Ash’s gagged cheek, “‘fraid the girl’s seen just as much as you have. Sure, she ain’t *famous* like mom, but who’s to say that apple don’t fall far from the tree? What if she tells all them younger folks on MySpace what were doin’?” *Damn. That kinda stung* Ash exhaled in disappointment. This guy REALLY hadn’t heard of her? Of “AshInvestigates”?…Or even of “that blonde girl that breaks into places and fights robots”? The ‘thug grapevine’ of Austin pretty much knew her by name at this point. Huh. ….She was a microcelebrity, dammit! “I know I won’t be able to get you pretty ladies to beg,” he shoved the rag back into Anna’s mouth before tying the gag back around her head, “so I’ll go ahead and let y’all spend these last moments however ya like.” The man tugged the ropes around Ash’s legs, then her mother’s. before stepping back to admire his handiwork one last time-the little (soon to be exploded) robot’s motor screeching all the while. Not one to leave without being creepy one *last* time, he pulled his phone out once more. “Smile, Hamricks!” He gave a nasty chuckle, snapping a few more pics of the bound and gagged mother/daughter duo. “Won’t need to hide those under the mattress, I reckon!” “Ffhhhkkknn ghhrsssss” Ash and Anna grunted in muffled unified disgust. With a tip of his imaginary hat, the man disappeared into the labrynth of crates to exit the warehouse-likely planning to get himself far away from the unpredictable blast that was to come. A minute had passed as they both writhed next to eachother-trying to find slack in even one of the knots holding them. Anna Hamrick stood just as proud as she had in front of Creep McHick moments ago-but *now* the nervousness had washed over her. She was doing everything she could to remain resilient in front of her daughter-but the very real threat of death coming for both of them was starting to make the cracks show. “Mhhhmmh?” Ash tried to nudge the woman next to her. Anna Hamrick wordlessly turned her gaze to her daughter. Her expression was very clearly deep in thought on how to get out of this-gears turning in her head as she tried to recollect years of experience in tight situations. All coming to nothing. The motor’s sound steadily grew in pitch as the robot inched closer and closer to detonating-and both women knew that a sudden end was coming fast. Ash nudged her mom one more time, trying to get her to snap out of it and get back to the famous Anna Hamrick everybody knew. C’mon-she had to know something about using the robot to untie themselves, or maybe she had prepped an escape plan while they were snooping! Anything… If she hadn’t sprung into action by now? Then she really had to be out of ideas. No quips. No fast thinking. No overwhelming confidence in the face of danger. Her mom always had a plan-and this was her first time seeing her without one. Anna Hamrick wasn’t a woman to admit defeat-but her silence was about the same as doing so. “Hyyhhh, mmhhhmmm?” Ash tried to prod her to think of something. “Nhhhy hhdhhs? No response. Her mom just sat there-trying to think of a solution that wouldn’t come. Ash felt something wash over her. Not sadness. Not regret. Hell, not even fear. The woman resigning herself to fate wasn’t just her mom-this was motherfucking Annabelle “Anna” Hamrick. Literally the coolest, most resilient, most *badass* woman she ever had the privilege of knowing. A woman that, frankly, had never been reduced to a situation like this-to be overpowered, defeated, and facing certain death with no chance of escape. Failure, plain and simple. And Ash sure as FUCK wasn’t about to let defeat consume the coolest woman to ever live. Because you know who was something of an expert on colossal failure? Ashley Hamrick. Daughter of said coolest woman to ever live. And if there was anything that she got from her mom, it was that it didn’t matter how many times she got acquainted with failing. She *always* got back up. How many death traps just like this had she faced? How many humiliating scenarios where she had been tied up and left to die by some third-rate goon? Too many to count. But no matter how many times she got thrown *into* those scenarios, she always fought her way *out*. Ash shouldered her her mom a little more aggressively this time. The hit rattled Anna Hamrick out of her daze. “Phhktttt! Jhhkht pkkhht!” Ash gestured to her torso, turning into face her mom. Anna shook the fog out of her head and raised an eyebrow. Jacket potatoes? Jerk putz? “Jhhhkk. Htttt… PHH.. KHHTT!” Ash was almost slamming her hip into her mother-trying to gesture to the zipper at her side. JACKET POCKET! Duh. Anna turned away from her daughter, using her bound hands to try and shimmy the zipper down on Ash’s purple leather jacket. It took a few moments of fidgeting around with the zipper-as doing it behind her back with roped wrists wasn’t exactly easy-but eventually she managed to wriggle Ash’s phone out, giving her daughter an affirmative pat on the side to tell her it was free. Ash’s next few movements were actually astounding to watch, from Anna’s perspective. With practiced ease, she unlocked her phone without even looking. All from behind her back with bound hands, she swiped forward through two pages of apps before tapping- …..Twitch? The streaming app? Anna had supported enough of her daughter’s streams to know that *occasionally* viewers would call the cops when Ash was in danger-but that was NEVER when time was of the essence. A quick glance at the struggling robot told her that time was not something they had an abundance of. The robot’s motor was now a vibrant glowing orange- If she had to guess, there were maybe less than five minutes before that thing gave out and ignited all of these gas canisters. C’mon, Ash-what was the move? In the brief moment that Anna was looking at the struggling TOGO robot, her daughter was already live on Twitch. From what it looked like, she already had a few hundred viewers in the chat-all of them spamming dozens of emotes that she couldn’t quite make out from this distance. It was what Ash did next that was, frankly, baffling. Baffling, but brilliant. Ash grumbled into her gag-turning her face away to hide her crimson-flushed face. A deep breath was released, and Ash tossed her phone on the ground with purpose. Front-facing camera side up. Right between her legs. Anna’s complexion suddenly matched Ash’s as she, too, flushed red-hot with embarrassment. It had only been a quarter of a second that she let herself see what was showing on the stream feed-but it was long enough to see the chat absolutely ERUPT. “Dhhhnttt EVVHRR thhll ddhhd…” Ash groaned, still avoiding eye contact with her mom. She was fortunate enough that her dad still had *zero* clue about what exactly it was she did online-and it needed to stay that way. Ash foolishly looked down at her own stream to see if her plan had worked yet. The chat was exploding-as expected. Lots of the usual pandemonium in response to fan service. In fact, her fans appeared to be particularly blessed today-the camera was kind enough to give juuuuust wide enough of an angle to show upskirt shots of both her AND her mother Oh god, this REALLY had to go to the grave with them. “HHHH, YYHH HVV GHHT THH BHH KDDDDHNG MHHH!” Having seen a pantyshot of her own mom, maybe exploding didn’t seem like such a terrible fate. It’d be quick. Painless. And it *wouldn’t* haunt her for the rest of her life. That image was going to be burned into her memory until she died. With any luck, that would be soon. Hoping she could avoid making eye contact with the spectacle that her camera was getting, she zeroed in on her chat. The robot’s whine was getting to sound like the highest pitch of a violin-so any indication that her plan was working would be GREAT. Ash could feel her mom’s shoulders wriggling next to her, followed by seeing a rag hit the ground out of the corner of her eye. DAMN, mom really was good at this! The gag was out! “Alright, Scoob-“ she continued to try and loosen her ropes, with no luck, “I THINK I see your plan, but-OH GOD, THAT’S BOTH OF US ON CAMERA, HUH?” Both women looked away from eachother, very much hoping to avoid the pervy elephant in the room. “I uhhhh…” Anna cleared her throat, trying to pretend she wasn’t aware they were both having their dignity broadcasted over the internet. “-what’s the move? Even IF someone in that chat of yours called the police, there’s no WAY they could get here in time. Hell, why didn’t you just CALL the police yourself? I’m-I’m not saying I’m panicking or anything, I’m just trying to figure this out!” “Mhhh nhhh chlhhh phhhlhh…” Ash mumbled into her gag, her eyebrow smugly raised. “You what? Wait. Hold on.” Anna leaned in to Ash’s cheek and pulled her gag down with her teeth. Ash spat her own rag out and looked her mom dead in the eyes. “I wasn’t calling the police, mom.” “Okaaaay,” Anna remained as calm as she could-even as the TOGO robot started smoking. “Then, my beautiful daughter, the light of my life-and I mean this in the calmest and nicest way possible, please tell me-who the FUCK are you trying to get the attention of with a stunt like that??” Ash smiled and raised an eyebrow. The sound of another motor could be heard-this one much deeper, and with a whole lot more horsepower behind it. Another TOGO robot? Like the sound of a car mounting louder and louder as it picked up speed to hit someone, Anna could tell something big was coming directly for them. “ASH, WHAT DID YOU DO?” Ash just smiled and rolled her eyes-as the wall behind her straight up exploded into a cloud of smashed concrete and dust. All the while, Ash didn’t even flinch-her cool, collected smile unwavering as slabs of wall flew over her shoulder. The only movement from her was the act of raising her hand to push her bangs out of her eyes. “Wait, holy shit, you got your hands untied too??” Anna’s face widened into impressed disbelief. In spite of the certain death and peril of the situation, Anna couldn’t help but feel her body swell up with pride. Sure, she was usually one to keep her emotions *mostly* in check under pressure-but this called for an exuberant- “Fuck yeah, Scoob!!” Anna, despite being bound, shouldered the hell out of Ash-the closest approximation of a hug that said ‘Holy shit, I really DID raise a badass.’ Over Ash’s shoulder, a single red hi-beam light could be seen glowing ten feet off the ground; as an enormous silver monolith on tank treads pushed through the dust-stopping right in front of the bound duo. “STATEMENT-WHILE THE GESTURE IS APPRECIATED, PLEASE DO NOT FEEL THE NEED TO SACRIFICE YOUR DIGNITY TO APPEASE ME.” “Good to see you too, Iggy.” Ash said. “Wait, do you know this thing personally?” “ADVISEMENT-IT WOULD ALSO BE IN YOUR BEST INTERESTS TO DEACTIVATE LOCATION SERVICES ON YOUR PHONE. WHILE I AM GRATEFUL THAT IT MAKES FOLLOWING MY PROGRAMMING IN RESPONSE TO CERTAIN-“ the towering tank of a robot twitched, “CERTAIN STIMULI EASIER, IT IS UNWISE TO SHARE THIS MUCH DATA ON THE INTERNET. I HAVE JUST SENT A FASCINATING ARTICLE TO YOUR PERSONAL EMAIL REGARDING PRIVACY ON THE INTERNET AND THE EXTENT OF TRACK-“ “IGGY! I appreciate your concern but we REALLY need to get moving.” Ash was already untying the ropes around her legs, moving on to her mom’s bonds. “This place is a powder keg full of gas and that little bot over there is about to set ‘em ALL off.” The robot snapped to attention. His single eye darted its focus to the now sparking and smoking TOGO robot on the ground-likely seconds away from detonating. “ASSESSMENT-AH, YES. THE TEE-ZERO GEE-ZERO MARK FOUR COURIER UNIT. MOST KNOWN FOR THE COMBUSTIBILITY OF ITS POWER SOURCE. THIS PROBLEM WAS REMEDIED IN THE MARK FIVES DUE TO AN INGENIOUS METHOD OF DIV-“ “IGGY. We can get the tech specs later! You got room for two in that chassis?” “AFFIRMATIVE. I AM EQUIPPED WITH STORAGE FOR UP TO FOUR APPREH-“ “GREAT. Open up! We gotta move!” Having untied her mom, Ash pulled Anna to her feet. “Let’s go, lets go!” “Ash, are we really sure we can-“ The robot slid two human sized panels in his chassis open-revealing padded storage compartments. “I don’t have time to explain what I don’t have time to explain!” Ash pushed her mom into one of the compartments, before turning to the other-only to find one of the robots long tendril arms shoving her back into the same compartment. “DETONATION IS IMMINENT. PLEASE REMAIN CALM.” The door slid behind them-sandwiching Ash in the tight compartment with her mother. The space was small for even an individual-so naturally one would likely find themselves pressed far too close for comfort with another person if they were forced to share said space. As it stood, Ash found her face pressed firmly into Anna Hamrick’s ample chest-with very little room to even wriggle or object to the situation. Both women said nothing-but they knew not a word would be spoken of this. “Hmhhhhhmhhh…” Ash tried to give her mom a courtesy warning to brace herself-but her current predicament made words just as muffled as when she was gagged. There was an abrupt “POP” outside the chamber. This was it. The box they were in suddenly tumbled violently-spinning one direction, then another. As thick as the walls of the robot were, the sound of the collective explosion was like getting exposed to a thousand gunshots at once. The six inch steel absorbed the higher frequencies of the sound, keeping shell shock to a relative minimum as the two were tossed around against eachother. Ash closed her eyes and imagined that one scene from the bad Indiana Jones movie-the one where Indy crawls into the fridge to weather that nuclear blast. Not because she thought it was a cool scene, or that it was a comfort in the face of danger or anything; it was just all she could fill her mind with to avoid thinking about the fact that her face was buried in her own mom’s bazonkers in the middle of a chemical explosion. The little things, ya know? Within a few seconds, the sound of all the blasts made by exploding canisters had subsided-with nothing more than the low echo of the shockwave remaining. The cabin inside the robot stopped rolling with a heavy slam, rattling both of them violently. The two women fidgeted inside the cabin as their makeshift bombshelter lifted itself upright. Iggy proceeded to open the pod door to let Ash and Anna tumble out, quickly splitting apart to try and ignore the awkwardness of the last two minutes. The smoldering wreckage of the warehouse was three to four blocks away-meaning they were REALLY rocked by that explosion. Enough so that their little mobile bomb shelter must have literally been FLYING through the air from the blast for them to have landed this far away. A pause. “Never a word of this to dad?” Ash asked, straightening her bangs. “To anyone. Ever.” Anna replied as she assessed her outfit-noting a few tears in her stockings with a disappointed sigh. She looked back over at her daughter. “Proud of you, Scoob.” Ash popped a finger gun at her mom-doing everything in her power not to let the over-the-moon excitement of her mom’s praise show and make her look like a dweeb. It was showing, though. Her smile was taking up her whole face. And she *did* look like a dweeb. Ash paused for a moment. “You know what? Fuck it.” She turned and wrapped her mom in the strongest hug she could muster. Tight, all-encompassing, and inescapable. Anna Hamrick beamed, and promptly followed suit-eliciting a desperate squeak from her daughter as she proceeded to squeeze a little *too* hard. As was her way. Both women noticed the hug start to get a little tighter than usual. As if another set of very large (and cold) arms had joined the moment. The two opened their eyes to see a charred black robot, his armor still scored and smoking, joining in on the embrace-his long tentacle arms making several passes around them to complete the hug. “STATMENT: THIS IS A LOVELY MOMENT AND I AM SATISFIED THAT WE HAVE RETAINED A CASUALTY RATE OF ZERO PERCENT.” “Thanks Igg.” Ash patted one of the tentacles gingerly, trying to indicate that the moment was over. “You’re a real one.” The robot pulled away, allowing the other two to separate from his massive embrace. Anna took a long sideways glance at the smoldering robot, then to her daughter. Then back at the robot. “Sooooooooo, is this-?” Iggy snapped his attention to the older woman. “APOLOGETIC: FORGIVE MY PREVIOUS FORWARDNESS, MRS. ASHLEY’S MOTHER.” He tiled forward on his treads as if to bow. “I AM DESIGNATION EYE-GEE-EYE-EYE, MARK ONE. YOUR DAUGHTER AND I HAVE BEEN FAMILIAR WITH EACHOTHER FOR SOME TIME A-“ “This the boyfriend?” Anna cocked an eyebrow with a wry smile. “CLARIFICATION: IF WE WISH TO DISPENSE WITH FORMALITIES, THEN AFFIRMATIVE. I AM ASH’S BOYFRIEND IN A TRADITIONAL SENSE.” “He’s not my boyfriend, mom.” “CORRECTION: I HAVE RECENTLY DOWNLOADED AN ARTICLE TITLED ‘ARE WE DATING, OR ARE WE FRIENDS? A TEEN’s GUIDE TO DATING’ FROM THE MARCH 2009 ISSUE OF TIGER BEAT AND BY THE CRITERIA SET IN THE QUIZ AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE, IT WOULD APPEAR THAT WE EMBODY THE STANDARD FRAMEWORK FOR BOYFRIEND-GIRLFRIEND RELATIONS.” Iggy extended a steel claw from his body toward Anna, offering a civil handshake. Anna’s smile was very near bursting into laughter as she looked at a now thoroughly embarrassed Ash. GENUINE STATEMENT: IT IS A PLEASURE TO MEET THE MOTHER OF MY BEAUTIFUL GIRLFRIEND, MRS. ASHLEY’S MOTHER. IT IS OBVIOUS WHERE ASHLEY DERIVES HER FAVORABLE PHYSICAL APPEARANCE.” “Well, consider me charmed!” Anna shook the menacing metal claw gingerly before turning to her daughter. “Ash, why didn’t you tell me about the nice ten foot iron man you were dating?” “H-hey! It’s not like that MOM!” Ash brushed soot off of her leather skirt, not sure of what to do in this situation to make it any less awkward. “Listen, it’s a really, REALLY long story and I’m not sure HERE is where we want to have this discussion-“ “Mister ‘Eye-Gee’, I-“ ”INSISTENCE: PLEASE, CALL ME ‘IGGY’” Anna gave her daughter a shit-eating grin, savoring this opportunity to stir the pot. “Iggy, then-“ Anna continued, “You know, ‘The Iron Giant’ used to be one of her favorite movies as a kid. That might explain a lot of things. Hell, this is news to *me*.” A loading bar flashed on the robot’s display for a brief moment before returning to his regular red eye. “I HAVE JUST DOWNLOADED THE FILM AND WATCHED IT IN ITS ENTIRETY. YOUR DAUGHTER AND I WILL DISCUSS THIS INTERESTING NEW LAYER IN OUR RELATIONSHIP AT A LATER DATE.” “Awww, that’s sweet. See, Ash? This is the kinda guy I always wanted for you! Takes interest in the things you like, polite, bomb-proof and indestructible. Y’know, just a good fella!” Ash threw up her hands and was already leaving the scene. “I’m done. I’ll see you at Christmas, mom. Catch you later.” Anna carried on after her daughter-still surprisingly adept at running in heels. “Awwww, c’mon! Don’t be like that Scoob! We still gotta make plans for having tall, dark, and bullet-proof over for dinner!” Iggy scooped Anna Hamrick to let her stand on the ledge of his chassis. ”ANALYSIS FROM PREVIOUS DATA: ASHLEY IS AN ALARMINGLY ADEPT RUNNER. PLEASE ALLOW ME TO OFFER TRANSPORT TO MAINTAIN PACE, MRS. ASHLEY’S MOM.” Anna allowed her self to perch on the large robot’s base, just above the treads-gripping onto one of the panels for safety. “You really are the consummate gentleman, aren’t you?” Ash’d mom gave a gentle peck to the robots charred chassis, before reassuringly patting his frame. “Go get her, handsome.” …………………………………………………………………………….. LLAMTECH EXECUTIVE BOARDROOOM Austin, TX 07:08AM CST “-authorities are still investigating the source of the explosion, having not ruled out the possibility of arson. Although the damage from the blast extends over three blocks, no fatalities have been reported. We’ll update you with the latest as soon as we-“ The tv at the foot of the long boardroom was turned off. “Well, that’s not exactly a good look.” A stern woman with vibrant pink hair said curtly, leaning back in her chair. “Are we compromised?” “No m’am. Protocol was followed to a ‘T’” responded a smartly-dressed twenty something Hispanic girl organizing her stack of notes into a leather binder. “Say what you will about the warehouse labor we hire, they ALWAYS follow orders. No witnesses, no collateral, not even a a scrap of debris linking LlamTech to this.” The pink haired woman-LlamTech CEO Juliana O’Mara-tapped something into her phone to make note before looking back up at her assistant. “As always, Jackie-doll, you’re a peach.” The older woman sighed deeply before standing up. “Have a crew perform damage control on the site, discretely. Don’t want a trail to have been dropped from this.” “Yes m’am” O’Mara turned to a gaudy historic map of Austin, Texas that hung on the wall behind her, taking a moment to observe the painstakingly hand-drawn craftsmanship of it. Upon further observation, she took note of the pins placed throughout every area in the city-a heat-map of sorts keeping track of *something*. The highest concentration of these pins came from a single point, then fanned out to the entire city from there. A single point on Congress street where, interestingly enough, an abandoned warehouse had just exploded. The CEO took a thick marker from the desk and crossed out that point of interest on the map-it was, after all, just a smoldering crater now. “I like to see this as an opportunity, Jackie.” The sultry pink-haired woman said over her shoulder. “It’s time we diversified the reach of our distribution anyway. I hate to sit in one place for too long.” Jackie nodded, making notes in her day planner. Juliana O’Mara crossed the room to the window overlooking the Austin skyline, letting out another wistful sigh. “….And the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from her power,” The CEO crossed her arms as a sinister sharpness grew across her face, “and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels was finished.” Jackie looked up from her notes, reasonably alarmed. “…Revelations?” O’Mara paused. “Don’t tell me my Jackie never had to be dragged to Sunday school?” Her assistant smiled awkwardly to break the tension. “N-no! I figured! Just.. Wasn’t sure what you were trying to get across…” she was floundering, worried she might have overstepped her boundaries. “N-not that you need to explain anything, m’am!” O’Mara twirled back around to face Jackie, her dress trailing with a flourish. “Don’t worry your gorgeous head so much, sweetheart!” The CEO’s expression softened as she crossed over, placing a gentle hand under Jackie’s chin. “I suppose even the best of us get those little power trip moments! Standing in front of a window like that, view of the whole city! Oh, it just goes straight to your head! You start to feel like…Ohhhh, what’s that character’s name? The one from the Star Wars?” “….Darth Vader?” “That’s the one! I’m just being ridiculous. Please don’t worry yourself Jackie…” the older woman tugged the collar of her assistant and pulled her close, taking in a deep breath of her perfume. “Just a little over-stimulation, going to one’s head. A little show-boating, that’s all.” Jackie found herself blushing as her boss (and mistress, privately) pressed into her-forcing her to take a seat on the conference table. From everything she had been told, this endeavor was for the good of everyone in the long run. What harm was there in letting the woman in charge have those little moments of eccentricity? What tech billionaire *didn’t* have those? “We’ll just reposition, adapt, and move forward from this setback..” O’Mara’s tone became a little more lofty as she ran her nails along Jackie’s nyloned legs, almost melodic. “In any case, I think we’ve had enough discussion about all that Project L.O.C.U.S.T. business, haven’t we?” Jackie Garcia tried to maintain her professional demeanor as O’Mara pushed her hair behind her ear. “I-I’ll go ahead and move your eight o’clock, m’am.” “That mess from last night has me a little behind, Jackie.” O’Mara said with a lifted eyebrow. “Why don’t we push out my nine o’clock, too?” Jackie let the CEO pull her close, her nails digging into her thigh. The assistant finally let herself loosen up with a soft smile. “Yes m’am…”