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Autopaid Prize Easy Co.

Autopa** i ***d Prize* [AWT-oh-PAYD-PRIZE] n. tech.

1. a promotional product that is presented to the customer as a reward, while they are actually paying its full value.

Typically implemented as a low-quality gadget, that one can “earn" by collecting fidelity coupons, then paying a cheap sum.

—

The morning is cold, gray, and drizzling. It's still dark. Bundled in her coat, Xia trots from the bus stop to the, fortunately nearby, office where she works.

A small, dirty white, building next to its small, sheet-metal-covered, depot, both square and stocky. APE Co. looks bleak and stands in an equally bleak industrial park; the badly drawn cartoon ape above the door —the boss loves a corny wordplay, and has a nephew who pretends he can draw— is not helping much: he's supposed to smile with friendly joy, but the otter finds him uncanny and grimacing instead.

She sighs and braces herself: another wasted day is beginning.

—

A bad day starts with a bad coffee. Keeping her coat —the boss only starts heating up the office when he arrives, to save on electricity, so it'll take about half an hour before inside temperature gets comfortable—, she zooms to the coffee machine and feeds it a coin.

“Good morning, Mister Oliver."

The middle-aged badger with thick glasses raises his cup cheerfully. “Good morning, Xia! Fresh day, isn't it?" He kindly doesn't mention that she's late: he's aware her bus is unreliable, and is generally lenient about punctuality. About everything, actually: Oliver Saltlake never was the bossiest of all bosses.

“And rainy too!" Too watery, but pleasantly hot, dark beverage finishes dribbling into orange plastic, and she eagerly grabs it for a first sip.

“By the way, Riley is not arrived yet and the transporter for Fruity Nuts' musical spoons should arrive at ten… Would you mind printing the labels for her, so the packing team can prepare in time?"

She resists the urge to make an angry comment about how, despite owing a car, Riley always finds an excuse to arrive once the office is warm enough. And doesn't care at all about her coworkers having to do her job in addition to theirs! “I'll take care of it," she mutters with a way more tensed pout than she'd have liked.

“Aw, don't be too harsh on her. Maybe she was stuck in traffic?" Xia came from the same road she takes, and there was no traffic. “And, you know how it is: youth must have its fling."

—

The old printer tends to jam on the sticker sheets. Xia is still struggling to finish printing her delivery addresses when Riley deigns to show up for work.

She brought a few cheap industrial pastries, that she distributes around: today's excuse, which additionally makes everyone sing her praises. As always.

The printer jams once more, and Xia slams her fist at it a few times. “Damn you!"

Only once she greeted everyone else, the work-evading ferret arrives. “Oh, you were here! All that remains for you is a croissant… do you like croissants?"

“I'm just finishing your task," the otter replies with as much coldness as she thinks is tolerated on the workplace.

“Oh, cool, cool!" She waves the pastry at Xia's face. “It's a little crushed, sorry. It was at the bottom of the bag."

“I already had my breakfast, so no thanks."

“Your loss!" And she stuffs half of the thing in her mouth. She's still munching on it when her eyes narrow and she adds, looking at her coworker's lower half: “I understand. Not everyone can be blessed with a great metabolism: me, I can eat as much as I like and never get fat!"

The two exchange killer glances. Riley is taller and nimble, and she believes to be irresistible and elegant. Xia is shorter and heavier at the bottom, which she believes are perfectly fine otter proportions! Riley's hair is always a touch scruffy and she wears comfy, grungy yet fashionable, clothes. Xia is bad at fashion, and makes a point to come to work looking professional anyways, not standing out. Riley knows the dark arts of office politics and is very popular. Xia is more reserved and often socially awkward with people that are not part of her friend circle —which includes basically everyone at APE Co.

The ferret winks with a mischievous grin and sinks her sharp teeth into the remaining of the croissant. Then, she collects the printed labels —with her careless greasy fingers— and, still rudely speaking with her mouth full: “I'll take care of these, from now on!"

And she trots away to claim all the praise for Xia's good work.

Riley is the worst part in this job.

—

Xia's main task is to enter any address the typist girls couldn't parse in her computer: missing zip codes, terrible handwriting, misspelled street names that the software didn't accept… the buyers have all kinds of tricks to make it harder to send them what they are paying for!

It's a soulcrushingly tedious task.

She can't help often checking the old clock on the wall, that doesn't seem to advance. As if she were trapped in a slow as molasses time anomaly.

That and her decorative postcard showing a seaside view. The tiny piece of cardboard on her desk is what keeps her from crumbling: Xia loves the sea. She wants to live near it. She wants to work around or on it. But to achieve this dream, she has to pass her chosen marine biologist school's competition exam. And the preparatory evening class is not cheap. So she needs that crappy job, but hopefully can escape from it soon!

—

She's just catching back the lag from doing Riley's work when Greg shyly knocks on her office's door. Honestly, this one is wasting as much of her time as the ferret… but it's not his fault, he's just terrible with computers. And he is very nice. And handsome.

“Yes?" Offices here are enclosed by glass panels, so she can welcome him with a smile, through the wall.

He opens the door, but doesn't seem to dare entering for good. “Hey… I'm really, really, sorry to bother you. Uhm… I think I may have done something the wrong way and… Uhm…"

“The software crashed on you once again?"

“I… I'm not sure. It doesn't seem to do anything when I click and… uhm, my mouse is lagging and everything is slow."

“Ah, it's frozen. The new version has a memory leak, and…" The male's anxious expression grows worse when she uses such technical terms. “Just reboot your computer. That's not your fault, it happens sometimes."

He flashes her a warm smile, full of relief, and her heart melts. “Thank you!"

Well, it's not only her heart that's melting: Greg is the second otter in the office, and it's that period of the year. Frisky season, if you know what I mean. Xia has a certain hunger. Greg must have it as well…

She bites her lower lip. “Say, Greg…" She hesitates. Pictures pop in her mind, of a much more domineering version of her coworker. In nature, their primal mustelid ancestors were rough in sex. Some of this instinct survived civilization, and many gentle and proper citizens of their kind have a spicy intimate life. Xia's secret porn collection would make any vanilla folk shudder, and she fancies herself a bondage connoisseur. Even if she never practiced much in real life.

Can this timid guy reveal his inner beast, if enticed to freely express himself in a private, securing, place?

She has been silent for a while, so he tilts his head. “Yes?"

She swallows, blushes, almost cowers and abandon the idea. Almost. “Can you come in and close the door?"

He does. And so, Xia comes on to him. She comes on to him hard. He's blushing too, awkward and hesitant, but he's willing. He's eager, even.

They agree on a rendezvous this evening: maybe today will not be wasted, after all?

Grrrreg!

They had a nice dinner in Greg's tiny apartment, they chatted about nerdy topics and laughed, the male put music on and they danced —which he is great at!

A pleasant evening, that all zoomed by in a blurry haze: Xia's overpowering needs burn so strong that she couldn't focus. Now, she's making intense eye contact and there's a low growl in her voice when she speaks his name. Now, her pheromones are so thick in the air that even if he were denser than a brick, which he isn't, the male would know.

But something is wrong. Greg is growing hesitant and avoidant. He probably wasn't expecting their relation to advance this fast. He wasn't planning anything serious on their first night… but this can't be the problem, because Greg is growing as needy as her; he wants this, she has no doubt about it. They broke the ice enough so he can't be so intimidated that he's getting cold feet. Then… what's the matter?

Xia is tired of waiting and being teased. She's no longer in the mood to play games. She longs for him to pin her down and rough her up gently, to show his dominant side. And if he could bring out surprise ropes or handcuffs, that'd be so sweet —a girl can dream!

She blurts it out: “Greg! I want you to make love to me like a beast! Please!"

He blushes hard. “Xia, it's… I… uh…"

“What's wrong? I'm not attractive to you?"

“Oh no! It's not… you… you are super sexy, Xia. So attractive, really! I'd love to… but… Oh my gosh, this is so embarrassing…" He wriggles on the sofa they are sitting on. “Alright, I'll show you. But please, please don't laugh."

“I promise."

He stands up and unbuckles his belt, then opens his pants.

Xia awaits expectantly, curious. Is he insecure about the size of his penis? She's sure he's fine! And she can deal with that: she's going to make him feel like a stud, and soon he'll… “Oh, wow…" The dropping pants and boxer shorts interrupt her line of thought and she stares in puzzlement.

Greg's member is trapped in a sturdy-looking chastity cage. The kind with a bent-down metal tube and only a slit opening at the end.

He clears his throat with unease. “Yeah… So… You have no idea how tight this thing feels right now."

She can believe him: the tip is leaking and he's throbbing up out of his control. Yet, this little bird is not flying out without the key, no matter how hard it tries. “Where's the key? Please tell me you have the key…"

He shakes his head sadly. “I met… a lady. A mustelid lady and… she's in the mood to dominate an otter lately, so… It's… it's kind of fun, really. Very exciting, but… Uhm… I can try asking for her permission, so we could play another time?"

Xia can't contain a frustrated groan. “So, you had a girlfriend all along?"

“Oh, no! We're not really mates. It's just a game. You know: love season and all, an otter got to do what an otter got to do."

“But you're so shy, and you have a side job eating all your time… You still managed to find a playmate?"

“Hey, it only takes one lucky encounter!"

Only one. A mustelid lady in the mood to dominate otters. The female frowns at an idea: “Riley?"

“Ah… Uhm… y-yes, that was her," he confesses with a tiny voice.

“Gah, that dirty bitch did it just to spite me!" She regrets her words the instant they pass her lips. Too late already. “Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, Greg! I didn't mean it, I swear! You're a sexy male and a great friend… You… She doesn't need any excuse to… I'm so sorry!"

The male nods and pats her shoulder reassuringly. “I understand. You are angry at her, you meant no harm. But thanks for the apologies. No hard feelings."

Frankly, it feels odd for the clothed female to be comforted by a caged guy with his pants and underwear around the ankles. Also, still swallowing the news, she's temporarily out of words.

He continues. “I know you two… started off from the wrong foot, and it never got better. And I can especially feel the tension in the air lately: it's the love season, you're two females around a single male, you know how this works for us. The fierce instincts surfacing… I mean, if you could just calm down and give each other a second chance, I'm sure you two could become great friends. You are both lovely ladies, really."

“Hmmf. I guess," she lies, because she doesn't want him to worry too much.

—

From there, Xia's plans for the night are ruined. Her rival not only snatched her male first and locked up a strategic part of his anatomy: by doing so, she also locked Greg into a purely submissive mindset.

She calms down. She wants to end the rendezvous on a friendly and appeased mood, so the incident won't ruin their relationship… She can scream in frustration all her heart's content once back home!

So, she asks what he's into, now he revealed his submissiveness. He's Riley's “sexy intern", in some workplace-related roleplay. Well, that's new to her.

She tilts her head ponderously at this reveal. “Workplace fetishism… I don't mean to kink-shame, but this sounds so trite and boring!"

He shakes his head and smirks with mischief. “Not necessarily. Let me show you something Ri… I recently discovered." He goes to fetch his laptop and opens a webpage.

Curious, Xia leans forward: “the Afterwork," she reads. An exclusive, elite, BDSM club —or so they claim— that promises its visitors the “most alienating, hierarchical, and cruel environment: corporation", and where “happiness is mandatory".

They offer team-building, seminaries, various education and evaluation services as well as abduction scenarios!

So far, they are facing a wall of warnings. Greg adds his own: “They are harsh. Are you sure that you want to see more?"

She does. Oh boy she does! And he didn't lie: the demo photos are intense. Brutal, even, for some: Riley is into weird and hardcore shit!

As much as she wants to judge her enemy, the show is not helping with her unfulfilled urges: once back home, some of these photos are going to get added to her collection.

At least, Greg opening himself restores their complicity. She shares back a few fantasies with him. Drat, if only he wasn't so submissive tonight!

—

This night, the otter has to tend after herself alone in her bed. She is sorely unsatisfied about it, which revives her grudge. Riley stole her male. She ruined the nice and handsome only otter in her life at the moment! And she surely did it on purpose!

She goes to bed angry.

As painful as it is to admit, she lost this round big time.

**You realize this

means war, right?**

The morning is cold, gray, and drizzling. It's still dark. Bundled in her coat, Xia trots from the bus stop to… yada yada yada, same old, same old, you know the drill: every day begins the exact same way for this otter, in this season.

Except that today is special. Today, Xia fights back: no more meek and polite little coworker allowing Riley to have her ways. No! It's payback time!

—

Well, things escalated quickly.

Contritely peeking at their feet, making themselves as small as they can on their plastic chairs, in the boss's office, Xia and Riley are waiting for Oliver's verdict.

On the other side of his desk, the badger is nervously toying with his wedding ring as he searches his words. After what feels like an eternity, he sighs, clears his throat, and begins: “Alright. Let me recapitulate, to be sure I got all of this right." He sighs again. “Xia, you messed up with Riley's spreadsheets, so, if the packing team had not been attentive, all of her shipments today would have been delivered to the North Pole."

“N-not all to the, uhm…"

“Ah, yes, I forgot the wardrobe fresheners you sent to Narnia, and the novelty sunglasses for, I quote, 'the southern region of the Fucking Sun'…" He peers at her from above his glasses. “Both with invalid zip codes, I assume, and you know how much I dislike when you are sloppy with those. Am I right?"

“Y-yes, sir."

“Do you believe this clarification was important for our discussion, Xia?"

“N-no, sir."

“I agree." He sighs yet again. “And you truly hoped, would it be for a single second, that this would go unnoticed?"

“I… was hoping Riley would take the blame, sir. Because it's… her style. And I was not aware our computer maintenance guy would be able to track back who made the changes." Damn you all, by-login edit histories! Damn you all to hell!

“Yes, we all learned something interesting today. Computers are truly an amazing technology." He pauses dreamily, the time to remember he's supposed to be angry. Back in character: “And you, Riley, when you discovered this, instead of reporting the event to me, or to bother hurriedly repair the damages first…" He groans and rubs his temples. “Pah! for all I know, some of this morning's deliveries might be on their way to the moon, aren't they?"

“N-no Mister Oliver, I didn't send anything to…"

“Please, please, Xia. Not now."

“Sorry."

“So, instead of acting like a professional, you retaliated by attempting the same shenanigans to send Greg's expeditions to Ria's home. Not as creative, but even more vicious, I reckon. I'm not quite getting where Greg comes into that picture, by the way, aren't you two getting along well?"

At her turn, the ferret stammers with a tiny voice: “I-I didn't mean to drag him into this, Mister Oliver. I wanted to reroute what Xia diverted. So she would be blamed for what she did."

“How did this happen, then?"

She sinks further down into her seat. “I… It was a lot of spreadsheets to check and edit, and I… was too lazy. So, I wrote a small script to automate it by picking the first batch of updated files this morning. Xia's changes were supposed to be those, since she had to hack my files before we started printing the labels, and we only update our sheets after the morning prints."

“But?"

“But Greg sucks at computers and, somehow, he set his clock so it doesn't update according to night-saving time. He did update his files later, but they were accidentally antedated."

“I see," makes Oliver with the tone and face of someone who doesn't. And probably didn't understand any of what was told before. “Well, at least, you took responsibility and didn't let him take the blame. I appreciate that."

“Thank you, boss."

Xia darts an angry glare at her neighbor: even in these circumstances, she finds ways to turn him on her side!

Oliver wriggles uncomfortably on his seat and seems to brace himself. His following attempt at angry shouting, still, is neither that loud, nor that convincing: “What went through your heads, you two!? This… this is downright sabotage! Do you have any idea how much it could have cost me? Not to consider our reputation! I would be supposed to fire you both! Yes, I would! I should even call the police! This is serious!"

The duo mumbles a miserable “sorry, sir" in chorus.

The badger readjusts his glasses, then his tie and calms down. Not from the anger, more from the stress of having to scold his employees. Frankly, he's as relieved as they are to be done with this part. “We're lucky you were discovered in time. Youth must have its fling, but… come on! Alright. I don't like to do this, and you know I don't. But I have to be firm in such situation, do you understand?" He's almost apologetic, but shakes himself back into as much sternness as he can muster. “We probably didn't send anything God knows where. I'm crossing my fingers. But today's deliveries are a mess, a mess I tell you! And you're going to repair it before tomorrow, so our customers don't endure more than one day of lateness. I do not care if you have to sleep here tonight and do all the packing work yourselves: you broke it, you'll repair it! And I'm not paying you overtime for this." He pauses to be sure they have no objection. They do not. “If you do this, and promise that you will never pull a stunt like this on me again, then I'm willing to forgive you. I know you both need this job… and this company is like a family for me, I care for my employees. Please don't make me regret this!"

Both burst into apologies and thanks, immensely relieved to get off the hook with so few consequences.

—

Oliver should keep the next part for later, to avoid risking the girls feeling that they are rewarded for their misbehavior. But he's guilty of how “merciless" he has been and needs the positive ending himself. So, next, he pulls out a brochure that he holds before the females' puzzled eyes.

“Moving on, I thought about a great way to help you get along." He shows them a few pictures of a cozy establishment with baths and massage beds. “This is the Serenity Drop, a very good spa from the region. I'm often going there with my wife, their sauna is bliss and the crew is very friendly."

The two are blinking without understanding.

“You see, a business like ours has a right to some education credits granted by the government. But we are a low-skill industry, to be honest, so I save these for team-building vacations and the like. It works too. And they," he waggles the brochure, “they do also provide such service. Imagine: a three-day vacations in a relaxing spa, a bit of hiking in the beautiful nature around, and a tabletop games club. However! I'm not going to send you there just to enjoy yourselves! I hope you will, but this shall remain a team-building exercise! By which I mean, you get one room for two, you do every activity together, for these three days I want you to be each other's shadows! I'm sure that sharing some good time there will help you reconcile. Because I'm fed up with your petty feuds." He smiles broadly. “So, what do you say? Sounds good, doesn't it?"

Xia looks excited: of course the otter girl loves a good time at the spa!

Riley is less demonstrative, but her poker face fails to deceive the badger: she's into this as well.

They both enthusiastically agree.

Phew, crisis solved! He's still a good boss and his employees still love him! He nods with determination: “This will be all. Now shoo! You have a lot of work to do!"

Xia the Mastermind

Xia never worked this hard, and, for once, Riley seems to be doing the same. It's a race to make as much use of the packing team as possible: if they can ensure that their remaining load is low enough to be handled tomorrow morning, without congesting the next deliveries, then the duo might not spend their entire night at APE Co.

—

10 p.m. No more buses, in order to sleep in her bed, Xia will have to ask Riley to drive her home. On the good side: the delivery mess is getting under control, she trusts they should have repaired everything by midnight. Also, Oliver entrusted her with the office's keys when they were left alone here. That he still did so after her sabotage says a lot about his character!

She yawns.

Outside, through the glass panel, she spots Riley going into the boss's office. Her ears perk and she stops what she was doing to spy if the ferret is trying anything suspicious.

Riley soon notices that she's observed and peeks back having a hesitant moment. Is she guilty and conspiring? Is she up to no good, or is the otter growing paranoid? She briefly turns Oliver's computer on, seems to check his e-mails, then shuts it back down and walks to her coworker's office.

“Hey. The mail about the head-bobbing gnomes, to recover their initial addresses, isn't in the boss's mailbox anymore."

“Drat. Did you check the recycle bin?"

“Of course, I did! He emptied it, for once… But with a bit of luck, he might have a copy on his laptop from the depot. So, can I have the key?"

Xia hesitates.

The ferret sighs. “Hey, I'm not trying to run away from work: remember that I'm stuck here with you until it's all done. I wanna go home as much as you do." She holds her hand out.

Xia gives her the keychain.

“Thanks. I'll be right back."

—

Riley disappears and, left all alone with free access to the boss's office, Xia is hit by a sudden inspiration.

What if she messed with the team-building plan?

The tantalizing images of a vacation in the spa haunted her all day. She loves the idea so much! She needs that relief so bad! Only this unexpected opportunity is going to be ruined by having her enemy spend every minute by her side. She just can't stand that!

But, now, it'd be so easy to reschedule the ferret's vacations. How about she sends her to the Afterwork for slave training, uh? It'd be doing her a favor to let her live her fantasies, and that'd take her down one peg or two!

Pictures from their webpage, with Riley as the subject, pop up in her mind and she shivers. This feels good! And she can only imagine the lush satisfaction to be melting in a hot whirlpool bath while knowing her rival is being whipped on a bondage cross!

A wicked smile appears on her face. Then, she hesitates: wait, no… she'd get caught. Unless… Well, Riley told a coworker about her secret kinks and, knowing the girl, she surely went to the webpage during work hours. Leaving incriminating logs on her computer. If the change were discovered, she'd have a hard time explaining she didn't use the company's education credits to indulge herself! She'd thus have no choice but to play along with Xia in pretending the vacations went as planned!

As for the spa's crew, they should easily be convinced that plans changed!

Oh, the sweet sensation to suddenly feel like an evil genius! Such a perfect payback!

—

No time to waste, Riley may return at any moment!

Xia rushes into the boss's office and turns his computer on. Like her colleague, she has no issue logging in: after he saw a TV report about industrial espionage, Oliver stopped using “1234" as his password to instead have a new, secure, random one, with ten letters, digits and special characters, every month. Only, since he has a hard time memorizing these, he dutifully writes them down on sticky notes that he places on his monitor.

His desktop is a mess of icons, as he stores most of his currently used documents there: finding the education credits' forms is easy.

Alright, first, she must check if the spa's arrangements can be canceled without fees. She opens the right website and finds the right form: easy as pie, and no fees! She doesn't validate the cancellation yet.

Private navigation tab, now, let's see what deals the Afterwork is offering… Her ears drop in disappointment when she sees the prices: they didn't lie about being exclusive and are way out of her budget. “Awww…"

Hold on, there's something about “payment in kind": if accepting the lowest roles in their games, coming as a toy for the other customers and having very little say about what will happen to you, you can get much cheaper fees! This is perfect! And nearly the right cost: Xia will have to pay about 100 bucks from her own pocket for an abduction scenario. Way worth it, and actually great: it means no suspect money will be returned to the boss because the vacation price changed.

The following steps have a lot of text and of boxes to check: important warnings and explanations, important settings about the submissive's limits, that Xia has no time to read. She does her best to set Riley as an everything-goes plaything, as fast as possible.

She must next slow down, the time to give them the info they'll need for the abduction: she sets it up to happen at the spa near their arrival, as it's a time and location where she'll know the ferret's schedule for sure. And she thinks the remote place by the forest should offer them opportunities. They need a photo, luckily Oliver has some from a company barbecue event last summer.

They ask for a three capital letters and digits codename for the slave: being called by this code is how they will know they are being kidnapped as a game. She ponders. Obviously, that pest is a “PST". They require at least one digit and one letter. “P5T"? This one works.

For the contact, she gives them her own phone number.

Finally, the payment and… oh, this is so great! They genuinely offer team-building vacations and even have a specialized form for the education credits! So easy! Even better, to ensure the privacy of their guests, they can be instructed to pretend to be a “normal" establishment: Xia fills up a form to explain how they are supposed to be the Serenity Drop. She gives the office and boss's phone numbers so they'll recognize them if he calls.

She adds the extra payment, cancels the spa, validates, updates the education credits' form… and success! Oh! one last thing… Oliver is more at ease with paper than with computers, so she checks the various sticky notes on his desk. She finds one with a circled “call for the team-building" and the spa's phone number.

Carefully imitating his writing, she creates a replacement with the Afterwork's number instead.

And she shuts his computer down, experiencing a huge rush of satisfaction and liberation.

—

She's back in her own office, heart beating too fast but looking inconspicuous and busy, when Riley returns two minutes later.

Perfect crime.

That ferret won't know what hit her!

Riley's Abduction

During the last nights, Xia thought to herself that maybe she had been a little too evil on this one.

But she's unable to stop things at this point, and the prospect to reap the profits from her crime today helps her to keep these bad thoughts away: no boring work, no Riley, three whole days being pampered and relaxing!

She's excited!

—

The ferret gave her a ride. Both spent almost all the trip silent, yet both are in a great mood: it's not the awkward and tensed kind of silence, more the tacit “let's both agree we are too busy savoring what's to come to chat right now" kind.

They arrive and park before the Serenity Drop: standing in the clearing of a hilly forest, outside of town and by a lake, the building has a modern architecture full of curves and bay windows but uses wood and irregularly colored clay bricks for a cozier, less modernist, touch.

Riley whistles. “Wow, this place looks good!"

“It doesn't look open yet, though… Are we too early?" Indeed, there is no light inside.

The ferret checks her watch. “Nope." She shrugs. “Let's go check."

—

The entrance is closed and they can see nobody inside. They find no indication about opening times.

On the other hand, two golden retrievers are chatting and having a smoke near a van by the side. They wear blouses that look like some uniform, maybe crew members?

Being the boldest of the duo, Riley doesn't hesitate to approach them: “Hey there! Hi! Sorry, but are you from the spa? Is this place not opened yet?"

Both males smile to the girls and the tallest one answers: “Yes, misses, my name is Harry, and this is Julian: we'll likely be your massagers later today. But you're too early by half an hour!"

“Awww, that sucks! But the appointment was at eight, I'm sure!"

“Odd… There must have been some mix-up."

The other dog looks sorry. “It has to be the new secretary. Sheesh, third time this week mix-ups like this happen!"

Harry nods and ponders. “You know what? I don't want you to get a bad opinion of the Serenity Drop for something this silly. We have our own key, how about we help you kill time until the admissions open, with a nice complimentary massage?"

“That'd be wonderful, thank you guys!"

Xia is working very hard to control her smile, but if you ask her: this looks like an abduction setup, something fierce! She's experiencing a confusing mix of excitement, anxiety, remorse and glee. Is she about to witness Riley getting chloroformed and dragged into this van?

—

They entered by a side door and were guided to the massage room. Julian set some soothing classical music on a portable speaker, while Harry handed them nonwoven disposable panties and bra, and showed them the changing room.

Xia comes out. The blue things are comfy and perfectly opaque, but fragile and somewhat medical looking.

Apparently, Riley thinks alike: “Ach! Gut! Zie pazient iz ready for das operation! Komen zi in, little lady, we're going to harvest all your organs! For scie __eeee_ nce_!"

She chuckles. “Silly!"

Julian smirks at this show. He's the only dog here when the duo finishes changing: “Harry will be back shortly: he's fetching a second table." They already prepared one, covered with thick, white, towels. “Did you use a massage table before?"

“No, it's my first time," makes Xia.

Riley shrugs. “It's not rocket science: you see the hole on the top? Rest on your belly and put your face into that."

Which is when Harry returns, without the table. “Alright, minor setback, ladies: the second table's wheels refuse to roll today." He winces apologetically. “Nothing is working as it should, this morning… I promise this is not usual here. Anyway, this is no big deal, we'll just have to give you your massages in two different rooms. I'm sorry about that, really: I hope you do not mind splitting temporarily?"

Xia and Riley exchange a fast glance. No, of course, they really do not mind splitting. And the new incident is reinforcing the otter's suspicions: Harry is, by far, the strongest-looking of the two dogs; she bets her foe is the one who is about to be invited to walk away with him!

Exactly as expected, the big, buff, dog invites Riley along! “If you would be so kind as to follow me…"

The ferret, apparently happy to get her own room, gives Xia a smug smile. “See you! Enjoy yourself!"

“See you!" …in three days. “Have fun!" …getting abducted.

—

Riley leaves and Xia climbs on her table. On one hand, she's experiencing a feeling of victory and of liberation. If her newly acquired premonition powers keep working, she's going to get a few minutes of nice massage, then Julian will find an excuse to leave… never to be seen again. Nor will be his accomplice and their victim. She won! She's getting her revenge! And the spa all for herself!

But on the other hand, the remorse she tried to suppress lately is coming back to haunt her. Didn't she go way overboard with such a cruel payback? She hopes Harry will not be too brutal… how will he proceed?

Her massager starts doing his magic on her spine. “Wow, you are so tense!" He has warm hands.

“Y-yes… it's… my work. It's stressing me." Unable to relax, she's still perking her ears and trying to hear a distant muffled cry for help, struggles, or the noise of the van's door.

He's stroking her back's muscles in long, flowing, firm but caressing, motions. “Take a few big, full breathes. Try to leave your work behind, for now."

The table's hole is very well padded. Very squishy. Oh, it's comfortable, but she's forced to look straight at the floor. She wants to see! She wants to run in the corridor and check on Riley! “Is my face supposed to be squeezed?"

“On a deluxe table, yes: it's supposed to nicely support your neck. But this doesn't work as well if you insist on pulling your head back!" He chuckles and reaches up to rub the roots of her ears with his thumbs.

“Ooohh, my goodness this feels good… good spot, please keep doing that…" She sighs and closes her eyes. The remorse slightly relents.

“Alright, on the condition that you relax!" He gently pushes her head back snuggly into the cushioning. “Theeeere we are. Let your tail down… keep these hands and feet all flat. Imagine that all of your body weighs a ton, and focus on your breathing…"

He keeps helping her to melt on the table for a while, then places something light over her back. A cover? Will this not make the massage difficult? This is followed by a long zipper noise.

And then a faint mechanical humming.

The back “cover" suddenly tightens and wraps around her body, pushing firmly down. The cushions under her “deflate" and solidify. Before she can process what is going on, the sheet “glues" firmly onto her and the table. She wriggles. Or rather, she tries to: she can't move a finger, a toe! There's an elastic kind of feel, but try as she might she can barely move her arm by one centimeter or two if using all her strength.

Being a bondage enthusiast, she understands she's now inside a vacbed, vacuum-sealed under a thick latex sheet.

And she panics.

—

Harry returns, whistling along with the music and bringing the ferret's table with him. The otter can't see, but she knows because of the wheel's noises —wow, he fixed them fast—…

…but also because Riley screams her lines before she could: “Stop! You are catching the wrong girl! You were supposed to abduct her, not me!" She sounds as scared as her rival!

Xia opens huge eyes and tries, to no avail, to look to the side. “You bitch! You set me up as well!?"

“As well!? What do you mean, 'as well', you hmffh!"

Julian appears, crouching before the otter, who understands what muffled the end of the previous sentence when a thick, black, ball-gag is stuffed into her maw. There are buckles on the underside of the table, which he uses to secure its straps as the back of her head is unreachable.

He winks. “They are going to have a lot of fun with you two!" And he gets back up, out of sight.

The terrible realization of what she got into hits. That shivering, incapacitating, “oh no! this was not the plan!" moment.

Somewhere near, Harry speaks. “A moment of your attention, please, girls. P5T, X1A, as you already guessed, we are proceeding to your scheduled abduction. The Afterwork wishes that your experience will be memorable and fully satisfactory. Your file indicates this will be a first time: if I may offer a suggestion, don't be too bratty too soon. I promise that you will receive plenty of punishment, and saving your stamina is best to fully savor the experience! As you both requested, you will get no safeword, no outside referent and absolutely no way out until the end of your internship. This introduction was the last time an Afterwork employee will speak to you out of character… in other terms: welcome to your internship, fresh meat. Adventure begins now, and there is no escape anymore. Have fun!"

—

“Good, I found their car's keys! Can I be the driving one today?"

“If you like. But first, make sure we forget no clothes or items."

“Of course!"

A few moments later, the music is changed to some loud heavy metal, and one of the dogs picks the speaker. The vacuum pumps' noises and the faint moans allowed by the gags will be completely covered.

A long sheet is tossed over Xia's table so she's also fully hidden, and she is rolled around. In the corridor, then outside… then she hears the van's door opening, and her vacbed is detached from its feet. Still blinded by the cover, she feels herself being anchored “standing".

From the fierce groans by her side, Riley puts on some fight! Not that it can likely bother their captors.

The door slams shut and the van starts rolling. Music is turned off. Guessing from how little motor and outside noise can be heard, they are in a soundproof vehicle.

New Accommodations

There are three classes of employees. Sorted by increasing ranks according to their level of internalized standardization:

1. the interns. Interns have a face (non-standardized personhood) and are not allowed personal expression, as they have yet to learn proper self-control.

Interns are a lowly, inferior and primal, life form and do not deserve in-class ranks. Which their limited intellect couldn't process anyway.

1. the secretaries. Secretaries have a customized hood (partially standardized personhood) and are allowed reasonable personal expression. Excessive or inappropriate displays are punishable, and may revoke that privilege.

In-class ranks are identified by the number of silver “notches" in their ties.

1. the executives. Executives have standard hoods (fully standardized personhood), and you are not to question their personal expression. Only high executives shall judge executives. Executives are appropriate by due rights and definition, unless explicitly specified otherwise by a higher-ranked one.

In-class ranks are identified by the kind of “notches" in their ties (silver < gold), then by their number. Gold (=high) executives also have a name.

(For further details about the hierarchy, cf. section 47-23-b about the Hierarchical Structure's Antimatroid. RESTRICTED ACCESS!)

—

The cover is pulled off from Xia so she can see again. Bewildered, and looking silly with only her squished face poking through a hole, Riley is facing her.

The one who pulled the cover and is now folding it is a mink in a very formal blazer and knee-length skirt. She's wearing a black tie —with two thin silvery lines on the left, near the bottom—, a badge branding her as “RC7", and, the part that really stands out, a leather hood with tiny, devilish, horns on her forehead. The said hood is decorated with elegant green, blue and yellow flowers. Oh, and looking better, there seems to be a collar with front buckle under her tie!

She does not particularly try to interact with her prisoners and is soon going to sit. Which is when the otter notices the silent male, in a black and white power suit, reclined nearby.

This one is a coyote, but his black hood with gold highlights gives him a somewhat anubian jackal look. This hood is in fabric, likely much more comfortable than the female's. He's tall and intimidating. His tie has a single silver notch and his badge is labeled “Mr. 8R1".

There is a moment of suspended silence while the duo processes all this, and then Riley starts gnawing at her gag and making as much noise as she can.

The male stands up, quietly. “Do you have something to say, P5T?"

His voice is friendly, so Xia takes her chance and starts making a fuzz as well, eager for an opportunity to get rid of her gag.

“In order to ensure your safety, I am going to listen to you two. Please note, however, that I am not interested in hearing about anything but an eventual safety issue."

He snaps his finger and the mink pops up from her seat. As he frees Riley from her gag, the female does the same to the otter.

Xia swallows and opens and closes her jaw with relief.

The ferret, on the other hand, wastes no time: “Let me go! You're making a huge mistake! My father is very rich, we can find an arrangement!"

“She's lying! Her dad is an accountant!"

“Xia, for fuck's sake! What are you doing!?"

“You don't get to run away abandoning me here!"

The coyote nods with an amused smile. “Well, this doesn't sound like a safety issue. RC7, syringe, please."

“Right away, Mister 8R1." The mink swiftly opens a box to retrieve a huge plastic syringe filled up with bluish liquid.

When the male pushes the hub into a small valve of her vacbed, around her crotch's level, Riley panics. “W-what are you doing! What is this!"

“There, there, my dear. No need to be afraid. This is perfectly harmless conductive gel. RC7, cattle prod, will you?"

“Right away, Mister 8R1." She hands him a long device with one prong and a hanging wire.

He attaches the clamp at the end of this wire to the door's handle, then pokes the prod at a metal plate around the valve. There's a loud, dry, “clack" and a visible blue spark.

Riley convulses in her bonds with a high-pitched squeal. “F-fuck! Hhhfff… Ow, ow, ow!" Tears start rolling from her eyes.

“Do you have anything else to contribute, P5T?"

She tries and fails to shake her head. “N-no…"

“Good then. Now ask, very clearly and politely, 'may I please be gagged back, sir'."

She looks at him with hatred.

He slightly raises the prod.

She tenses and caves in, with a face of utter defeat. “M-may…" She swallows and inhales. “May I please be gagged back, sir?"

“Yes, dear, you may." He returns the prod to his mink assistant, then puts the gag back in her mouth. “And now, say 'thank you, sir'."

“Mmanch... houu... hhih..."

“That's a good girl." He gently caresses the edge of her snout.

Xia is having second thoughts about having imitated Riley!

The coyote turns back to her with a widening smile and just opens his hand toward the mink. He's given a new syringe.

The otter can't see what he's doing when he reaches for her crotch, but soon feels cold liquid wetting the towel she lied on and flowing over her mound. She desperately struggles against her latex prison. “Ah! Please don't! I… I'm sorry! I'll be good, I promise! Please, please!"

“RC7, cattle prod."

“Right away, Mister 8R1."

The bolt of electricity zaps Xia's most tender flesh in a deep explosion of searing pain.

Like her peer, she convulses and squeals high. “O-oh my g-goodness… yyyh… it huurts…"

“Do you have anything else to contribute, X1A?"

She needs a couple of seconds to steady her breath enough to answer. “M-may I please be gagged back, Sir?"

“You stammered. Retry."

“May I please be gagged back, Sir?"

“Yes, you may."

Feeling very obedient at the moment, the female opens all wide for the gag and remains very still until it is fully secured in position. “Haanh hou hhheh..."

“You are welcome, dear." He gives her a comforting rub on the nose, then goes back to his seat.

After this demonstration of who is in charge, the duo remains quiet. The long travel continues with no further incident.

—

The van eventually stops and new minks open the door from the underground parking lot outside. Each wears the exact same outfit as RC7, except for the hoods: these share an identical shape, but vary wildly in colors and patterns.

They bow low to the coyote: “Welcome back, Mister 8R1! I hope your business trip was bountiful and pleasant!" The talking one has a tiger-themed hood and just as many stripes on her tie as on her face.

The male snatches a leash on his assistant's neck and gets out, nodding. “I recruited promising new talents. Of course, they are still raw diamonds caked in mud, but I trust we shall train them fast! Speaking of, unload them, will you?"

“Right away, Mister 8R1." She snaps her fingers and her team enters the van. “Any particular disciplinary requirements for these?"

“No, not yet."

“Permission to pamper them with my lushest accommodations on their first day, then? Helping them adjust their circadian rhythms fast should improve their productivity."

“Permission granted. I trust your judgment as a Chief Intern Handler, M3W, deal with them as you please. Besides, at this point of their taming, they can't really get spoiled, can they?"

“I'm sure they are still good-for-nothing brats indeed, Mister 8R1!" She laughs.

“On this, I have a scheduled meeting." He tugs on the leash and starts walking.

All the minks save the departing one halt what they are doing, the time to bow low to him, and, in chorus: “Have a nice day, Mister 8R1!"

In the meantime, Xia and Riley are unhooked and their vacbeds are placed onto new wheeled feet.

Xia is starting to get overloaded by all the cryptic nicknames. She decides to start giving them more memorable ones: M3W, she believes, would work better as a “Mew".

Mew pats the back of her prisoner's heads: “Welcome to the interns' kennels, my pretties. Show me your best behavior, and I'll keep you happy as two bumblebees in a flower patch."

And they are rolled around for a while.

—

Once again Xia can only helplessly look at the floor passing by under her. Mostly concrete, sometimes painted: still the parking lot, or a cave? The resonating sounds match that impression.

Speaking of sounds, sometimes she hears people chatting, sometimes chains moving. Sometimes whines… and… was this a cane landing on skin, before the last yelp?

She collected a lot of saliva she couldn't swallow around the gag, during the trip. In her new position, she can't help but slobbering, long ropes of spit dropping from her lower lip at a pretty regular pace.

She sees the feet of a passing group: that's how much she can catch, and only when they are close. One of the pairs was naked and hobbled by heavy-looking shackles with oversized padlocks.

T-this is one of her fetishes! She's so overheated in the rubber, suddenly… and is it only the fear making her breath shallow? The remains of conductive gel keeping her soaked? She whines and has to admit how needy she is.

“Almost there, X1A. Don't cry, my pretty."

A new group passes, and this time she sees the interns: a male cat and a female collie. She can see them because of how low they are: they are leashed on all fours, entirely naked, wearing chains… it was too fast, she missed most details. Oh gosh, this is crazy! She had seen the photos, but photos can be staged: this place is for real, truly?

They stop. So does the humming sound she had come to forget… wait, did the latex hold loosen? When the minks open her zipper, the hold instantly vanishes for good: what was a strong seal turns back into a mere light cover, the cushions soften and reinflate, a rush of fresh air and a light scent of talcum powder… she can freely move again!

She pulls her head out of the hole, and the gag stays behind. She watches around: a wide, empty, corridor with no window —likely still underground—; Mew and six other minks, four of which carry cattle prods —the two-pronged kind without a wire—; sturdy-looking doors that look like prison's ones on the walls. No escape.

“Come on, don't be shy P5T and X1A, you can get down."

The duo obeys. Coated with gel, their disposable panties are growing transparent. Xia feels terribly vulnerable, almost naked before formally clothed ladies.

Her bra is slipping down, but she isn't given the time to readjust it: one of the minks grabs it from behind and swiftly tears it off her. She reaches up, too late, in reflex. With a second tearing noise, off goes the wet panties. “Eeeep!" She lowers back her hands hurriedly to cover herself.

Mew taps her hand away and one of the cattle-prod others ostensibly approaches: “No! Bad intern! Do not touch yourself!" The tone is firm, but not angry.

Xia is too intimidated to argue and lets her hands drop to her sides, abandoning any hint of modesty.

Riley resists more, but when a mink makes her prod clack in the air nearby, she complies.

“All right, my pretties. A brief exercise to be sure all the blood flows well after being still and squeezed. Look!" She points to the opposite end of the corridor.

There, a mink they had not noticed yet is waving something in the air. Is this… a dog treat? And is she pspspst-ing them?

Mew gives Xia an encouraging slap on the butt. “Hop, girl! Go, go, go! Fetch!" Startled, she's running before she could think.

The treat-shaking mink encourages her. “Yes! Faster girl! Faster girl!"

Riley doubles her by the side, giving her a fast glance that says “this is a competition, and you're about to lose". So, she does race as fast as she can.

They arrive and both get a small cookie and a pat on the head. “Good girls! Look, look!" They are pointed back to Mew. Who is shaking a treat at her turn.

“Oh, come on…" mutters Riley.

“Go, go, go, girls! Fetch!"

They run back feeling terribly silly.

After this weird moment, they are led to one of the doors, which their “handler" opens with a huge key.

—

“My best room, for my new princesses." Mew steps aside so they can see.

Still panting, Xia steps in to peek around: a tiny and featureless room, no opening but the door, two mattresses resting directly on the floor. If this is the best room for princesses, she doesn't want to see the worst room for interns who piss the handler off!

But what really catches her attention is the pile of metal restraints in a corner. She's not given much time to study them… but is about to be formally introduced to them.

“Stand face to the wall, my pretties. Legs spread wide, hands up."

They obey. Xia is not sure if the no-talking rule still holds. She's so anxious to know that's going on that she dares checking with a trembling voice. “W… what are you going to do to us?"

“That's 'what are you going to do to us, Miss M3W' for you, intern."

She swallows. “Sorry. What are you going to do to us, Miss M3W?"

“Tuck you to bed. Do not stress, I'm about to explain."

During the exchange, two minks came for each prisoner, carrying their first restraint. A heavy metal yoke. Xia's neck and then wrists are guided in position and get enclosed. A huge padlock is added. Gosh, this is cold! And this thing weighs a ton! The collar part is not too tight, but is high enough so she has to raise her chin.

As the bondage minks go fetch the next piece, Mew tells what sounds like a well-rehearsed speech. “What you experienced so far is nothing but cutesy foreplay, my pretties! In about eight hours from now, you will face your first worknight! So, this is the time we have to ready you!"

The returning minks add a spreader bar. But this is not the common slim one with leather cuffs at the end. No, like the first device this one is thick with a joint to open and close it, and welded metal shackles. Steadied by two hands on her yoke, Xia is made to spread her legs further for it. It's even heavier than the yoke! Just with these two pieces, she's carrying a literal dozen kilograms of stainless steel!

“Do not get mistaken by my gentleness, girls. Restoring your workforce is part of your duty as employees, and you shall take it seriously: you are already at work, here! I'm expecting you to be quiet and to make no fuzz."

Next part: a chastity belt. Also all in thick pieces of metal. They use several screws and even big pliers to adjust it so it hugs her hips and circles around the root of her tail without harming her.

“So, here's what is about to happen to you for a while: nothing. I know you're still creatures of daylight, but you'd better try to sleep: you'll be tired next morning, I promise. You'll get one potty break and a small sandwich somewhere in the middle —if you're sleeping, I'll wait to save your rest. You're going to be hungry too, and to that too you'll adjust fast."

Next piece is a leather hood. It has holes for the snout and ears, but none for the eyes. Some lacing behind allows adjusting it tight and snug. Now, Xia is blind.

“I kindly gave you your own room so you can sleep quietly. Don't get used to the luxury, it's only for this first day. So, make good use of my largesse. And do not make noise and disturb your congener, or you will be punished."

Finally, something cold is slid over her snout, and straps secured around the hood. A muzzle? She can still open her mouth just a little. When she does, she feels the round bars of the metal muzzle. She's already dribbling around the chastity, soaking her legs. So needy.

“Any question, interns? Hint: the right answer is: 'No, Miss M3W. Thank you Miss M3W.'"

Both reply, mumbling due to their muzzles, and poorly synchronized, the demanded sentences.

“Sweet dreams, then, my pretties."

For a short moment, Xia wonders how she's supposed to go to her “bed". Several of the minks approach her: “Get straight and hard as a plank, X1A."

She obeys and has an instant of fear when she's pulled and starts losing balance! But her beginning of a fall remains controlled and is soon halted. She's lifted and carried to one of the mattresses. Her restraints are so heavy that she feels them deforming the surface and ends slightly arched.

Beside, Riley is “tucked to bed" at her turn.

They are left alone and the door is closed.

In complete darkness, nearly spread-eagle and too weighted down to be able to move —and maddeningly needy—, Xia awaits.

After several quiet minutes, she mentally rewinds what happened and does actually pay attention to what Mew said. She… she's really going to be abandoned like this for all day?

And this story about adjusting her biorhythm and about a “worknight"… the real drill will happen by night?

How can she possibly sleep, in the middle of the morning, under this much stress and excitement?

Again, she has a rush of complex and mixed feelings. This is terrifying, but this is also raw fantasy turning real. Oh, she is into what's going on, only it's way too much! She's not sure if this fate is horrible or if she's being very lucky right now.

Anyway, there is no way out of this predicament; she has no better option than to calm down and try to sleep as instructed. If she's going to be a slave for three nights, not three days, then Mew is right: any minute of sleep she can snatch will be precious.

—

Xia wriggles as much as the metal will allow, restless.

She can't stop thinking and wondering about what's going to happen tonight. It makes her shiver, both in anxiety and in frustrated lust. She feels so close to give herself an orgasm just by repeatedly tightening her legs! Too bad the wide spreader bar won't allow it to happen.

“Riley?" she eventually whispers.

“Shut up. You'll get us in trouble."

Her neighbor is right.

For the hundredth time so far, she believes, she forces herself to relax. How long was it already? Minutes? Hours? Not being able to do anything at all is making her crazy!

Her tail, her only free part, taps the mattress nervously. No: no noise! Quiet! She stops it and it ends all straight and trembling instead.

—

It gets terribly boring. Then exciting again. Then she's having a bout of fright and thinks way too much. Then boring again. Then peaceful. Then she has an itch she can't reach and it is horrible. Then it passes and she feels nice and comfy, serene. Then boring again…

She thinks she dozed off, but has no clue if it was a few minutes or a big nap.

How long was it already? Hours? Days?

There was supposed to be a sandwich in the middle. And she got no sandwich… oh gosh, she's not even halfway!

She cries a little, silently.

Then boring again…

—

At some point Mew comes back to briefly remove their restraints. They are allowed the promised bathroom break and triangle sandwich: by the way, it was one of these for the both of them.

She's hungry.

She's close to break down when, after no more than five minutes of relative freedom, she's sent back standing against the wall to get geared up again.

Only halfway done.

But, finally, she sleeps for good.

A First Worknight Begins

The security agent sips on his coffee as he watches employees leaving on his many camera streams.

His colleague, sitting at the same desk, is methodically checking a list of everyone he identifies. He points one of the screens with the back of his pen: “We have an arrival."

The guard puts his mug down and picks a few printed sheets with photos, while his neighbor zooms onto the visitor's face. “One sec... Ah, there! Mister Warren, he's one of tonight's VIPs: allowed to stay."

“Aaaand, we also have Kevin, who is late to leave as always…"

“And who isn't relocating to the non-reserved sector, according to the rules, for his overtime?"

The other rolls his eyes. “Do you even need to ask?"

“Call him."

Despite the usual slowpokes, the offices are emptying themselves at a good pace. They are on time so far. The movers should start working any minute n…

His radio beeps and a creaky voice comes out from it: “Interior design team," it announces, dryly.

The guard picks up the device to reply: “Good evening. You're authorized."

“Coming in." And a final beep.

Seconds later, strong groups in work overalls flow in from the elevators. They start moving about two thirds of the furniture toward storage areas, rearranging the remains, and even replacing posters. He smirks as a “work smarter, not harder" turns into “work harder, not smarter".

He contemplates their streamlined ballet on the screens, the time for his pal to deal with bloody Kevin.

Then: “Did your team check the toilets, broom closets, and emergency staircases?"

“Yeah, and the paper supplies next to the main printer room. We're done with that: all good."

Sometimes, the regular employees get curious. What's going on here by night is not a secret —being too shadowy is the worst way to handle curiosity—, but they are not supposed to be peeping at the private events when uninvited. Luckily, the average white collar, it turns out, is not too imaginative when hiding: the security knows all their “cunning" spots.

Speaking of the employees, the offices are now deserted safe movers and guards.

“Okay, you can start locking up exits in aisles 1 to 3 and around the courtyard. We'll go into full lockdown in five minutes."

“On it."

He checks the time again: all's going like clockwork so far.

Soon, everything goes quiet and empty on the screens. The last checks are performed. He waits for the sunset's hour…

…and flicks a special switch from the electric box four times: in all the offices —as well as in some hidden waiting rooms—, the lights go off and on twice, as a signal.

Until tomorrow, Barkley's Trading International Inc. is no more: the Afterwork opens.

The “special night shift" staff flows in to start their worknight.

—

Xia wakes up disoriented. It feels like a morning, especially after she had a breakfast —consisting exclusively in a big mug of orange juice—, then was allowed to brush her teeth, in a communal bathroom, along with many other, still half asleep, interns.

She's still wearing her chastity belt, and was not given a shower, so she's very damp down there. Additionally, her “work uniform" was completed with a pink leather collar. Her “X1A" name tag hangs from its D-ring.

Riley was treated the same, except that, thanks to having been pierced at places the otter wasn't, her “P5T" tag hangs from her left nipple. And she's kind of jealous for that.

Hours of sensory deprivation and bondage calmed them both and made them eager for any activity; even Riley is highly compliant!

Suddenly the lights go off. They return almost immediately, then blink a second time. All interns move away from the sinks to go stand in lines. The handler minks then call codes, who trot to the exit each at their turn.

The duo looks at each other and takes a big breath.

The process goes fast, it doesn't take too long before Mew whistles at them: “P5T, X1A, heel!"

Given that there are still many cattle-prod-equipped minks around, despite their hearts racing, they trot to their captor without trying her patience.

—

“Hello, interns! My name is A6L and I'll be your supervisor. Welcome to the Afterwork!"

Xia decides to name the new mink “Axel" because she can't find a female name that matches her code better. This one has a bright red hood with black horns, and three lines of long spike rivets as a “crest".

Their new mistress wastes no time and hooks a leash on them without any hesitation. Then, she points down: “On all fours, follow me!"

Xia drops down instantly, blushing hard and tucking her ears. Riley's eyes recover some spite and defiance but, probably not warmed-up enough to react normally, she obeys as well.

They are led at a brisk pace, and have a lot of trouble following which gets them to be firmly yanked forward, half choked, by a determined hand.

Following the others' example, they don't crawl on their knees. Some interns move like animals, close to the ground, with apparent ease: Xia, on the other hand, can't find out how to do it without her butt perking far up.

She peeks at her neighbor. The ferret is somewhere in the middle between her awkward and unnatural gait and the ease of the experts. If not elegant, she's having less trouble and moves faster. She's obviously trained!

Noticing that she's watched and that her technique is not lost on the otter, Riley frowns and sticks her tongue out. “Bleh!"

Axel's smile widens. She lets it slide.

—

They emerge outside from a tunnel. Night fell and the air is fresh, further reminding Xia of how naked she is.

In front of her is an imposing, stern, brutalist office building. She looks around, searching for potential exits. No, correction: she is surrounded by these buildings. They are traversing a pentagonal courtyard. She finds no obvious way out.

Groups of coyotes are chatting and smoking here and there, all with the exact same suits and fabric mask as the first she encountered. The minks are way more numerous, and she actually spots a couple of identically outfitted non-minks. And one who is likely a cross-dressing male. Oh, and a few have briefcases.

The sensation to be teleported in a parallel universe is strong and, somehow, being exposed outside revives the humiliation to be paraded like a beast.

—

They enter one of the building's hall. Axel stops. “Stand up! No pets allowed inside!"

They are relieved to comply and to be unleashed. Xia wipes her hands from some dust and looks behind: due to the dark outside and bright inside, the bay window looks like a mirror.

Adding to the eerie atmosphere, the place, she realizes, is ridiculously oversized for the crowd. There even is too little furniture! Despite a few other people around, the sensation to be lost after hours in a deserted liminal space is strong.

And then, the uncanny reality hits: they are trapped at work. Even if it's a deformed parody of it. The empty offices are as bleak as APE Co., but way more oppressive than the familial, smaller, business. Even outside is surrounded. The way the world disappears behind these one-way mirrors reminds her how, after their “worknight", Mew will trap her underground in nothingness: no leisure. No after work, since, here, the Afterwork itself is the work. Here, she only exists as a low rank worker drone…

She shivers to her core: this scenario is hitting her deepest life anxieties. Way too real despite all the kinky masks!

While she was bordering an anxiety attack, Axel led them to an elevator. They enter.

Another mink arrives just in time before the door closes.

“Good morning, 9HD."

“Good morning, A6L."

Each mink presses their button and they place themselves at an odd angle, heads turned sideways, the kind of way you go to avoid facing each other in a small space without explicitly turning your back on them… only too obvious, so the maneuver shows.

They are also strategically placed so Xia cannot find a place in the elevator where she's not too close to one of them. The otter's level of social anxiety is rising fast.

Door closes, and a stereotypically cheap and mellow elevator music loop —about five seconds long— resonates. Of course.

And it goes up… it goes up soooo slowly!

“Nice weather for the season," eventually notes the new mink, still ostensibly avoiding any form of eye contact.

Xia clings hopefully on that start of an ice-breaking small chat.

After waiting enough for it to become uncomfortable, Axel shoots blankly: “It should rain tomorrow."

The otter awaits for more, that never comes. Her discomfort skyrockets to painful levels.

Mercifully, 9HL leaves first.

On arrival, they walk more long corridors. Axel has that assertive and energetic gait of the self-confident corporate lady with a mission. Like all the other minks, and they even walk synchronized when together. They might be an evil, hive-mind, alien organism, Xia thinks!

Then, they take a new elevator down. The otter is already completely lost. Weird that it matters to her, given that she didn't know where she was to begin with.

At the very last moment before the door closes, a new mink arrives. Oh no!

“Good morning, A6L."

Axel does not answer. Instead she holds the elevator's stop button while staring insistently at the newcomer's tie. Which has way fewer silver stripes.

The new girl tenses and straightens, stammers something apologetic… and goes standing face against the wall in the back corner without even pressing her button.

Axel allows the elevator to resume its motion.

Xia didn't get what happened, but if it seemed devastating for the cornered mink, this is way less uncomfortable for her than last time!

—

They reach a wall that is fully covered with a card-holding panel. Hundreds and hundreds of colorful cards with employee codes —at least, Xia thinks so—, hours and cryptic abbreviations are being studied by many minks.

Axel stands there with her fists on her hips. “Ah, the Master Schedule! Let's see what exciting missions await us today!" She spends a moment decoding, then: “Oh, lovely! We'll start slow for you to adjust: just a regular morning meeting, to keep up to date about the department's performance."

Ick. That sounds boring. But boring is good, all considered, Xia decides: things have turned so wild, so fast, that she'll gladly take a break!

The Meeting

A few chairs are peppered in the too large meeting room, where coyotes —plus one wolf in an identical outfit— are already sitting.

A few minks are lined up near the wall, save one who is lowering the blinders despite the fact it's dark outside.

Two interns are also lined there, and the moment Xia sees them, she understands the presentation might not be that boring: because they are in full bondage.

Axel goes to bow to the males and shakes a few hands among the females, happily greeting everyone, then brings her trainees to the wall. She ties Riley up while a helpful colleague deals with Xia.

“Crouch before your anchor, facing forward," she's instructed.

The “anchor" has to be the upside-down-T-shaped metal contraption with large rings welted at all ends. The otter obeys.

“Hnf." She can't see but guesses the mink is lifting the thing? “Hands in your back and grab what's coming." She was: she places the anchor's cold bar in the offered palms and, when it's caught, lets Xia carry the weight. Heavy indeed. Next, she turns her subject's collar around, so its ring ends in the back, and padlocks it to the top. “Better not drop it, or you'll choke yourself."

The otter wriggles on her feet for balance, the crouch growing uncomfortable.

Her wrists are cuffed behind the T, with thick shackles, then the mink comes to the side with a rope.

She folds it in halves and slides the created loop in the ring beside the otter's right knee. “Spread all wide." When obeyed, she uses it to secure the folded leg to the bar and tightens a little.

She does something more: Xia's bet is she's looping the rope a few times around the bars' intersection, catching the cuff's chain there. Then, moving to the other side, she slips the loose ends through the other knee's ring and uses them to attach the left folded leg.

The rope is not terribly tight and can slide around some, but still: Xia is now forced to crouch with her knees wide and her arms in her back without any way to free herself!

She checks Riley, who is already in the same predicament but is wriggling and shaking —tiring herself fast— in an attempt to regain some control on her legs. The otter finds some comfort in watching these useless struggle.

Axel next removes both of their chastity belts, for terminal lewdness and exposure.

Xia nibbles her lower lip in frustration: if only her hands were free…

A last mink arrives. “Is everyone here?"

Several heads nod. Axel leans against the wall and whispers: “Shhh, be quiet," to her trainees.

So the mink turns the lights off. Another one in the back lights up a projector and a stock photo of smiling workers pops up, soberly titled “Weekly Report".

She unfolds a metal pointer, stands before the picture, clears her voice and begins. Instantly she gets all stiff, her voice too slow and unnatural —as if she was reciting a poorly learned lesson—, but also monochord: “Thank you for attending this morning's report. Please hold your potential questions until the end of the presentation."

Someone coughs in the darkness.

She clears her voice again. “First slide."

Her assistant pushes a button on the projector and Xia's eyes go wide: the next picture shows a naked fox lady, crying as a coyote is caning her bottom while she's nearly suspended from the ceiling by very red breasts, using leather straps. Little arrows labeled with random percentages are pointing at various parts of her body as if she were a diagram.

As boring and casual as if this were normal, the mink taps her pointer at the picture's nipples: “As you can see, we are experiencing an excellent growth in our synergism this week, likely due to the newly implemented paradigms." She next draws a line across the stripped butt. “The processes are performing according to prediction. That is: an 87.9% of the standard baseline, adjusted to the sector's conjectural indicators." Pause. “Next slide."

And so continues a slow flow of nonsensical buzzwords, over slides of hardcore BDSM pornography.

In the room, the attentive coyotes nod with approval sometimes. One of them turns his head to the side and raises a finger… and Axel tiptoes to him.

They exchange whispers, and, soon, the mink kneels to open his pants. He resumes watching as she… well, very naturally and professionally jerks him off to a full erection.

On the screen, in close up, some male is having his balls flattened between two plexiglass plates. His face is offscreen, but the hand trying to reach down —a cuff is holding it away— is contorted in a way that expresses intense suffering. “By pivoting strategies, we keep maximizing the disruption's leverage in horizontal as well as vertical innovation." Pause. “Next slide."

More whispers. Axel nods, stops what she's doing, and returns. Arriving beside her dumbfound trainees, she leans with a hand near her ear in the exaggerated mime of listening to something. Then nods to them with a smile: “Good point, good point," she whispers, “how about you go share your observations with Mister Carlson?"

W-what point? What's going on? Who is Carlson and how comes he has a normal name?

A gentle but firm hand comes behind each of their skulls to entice them to walk. It's not easy at all with their bonds: Xia has to make tiny steps and is often yanking on her collar despite her clamping hands on the bar.

From her grunts of effort, Riley isn't faring any better.

The other interns watching at them with fascination, one of them even dribbling under herself in excitement, are not helping the otter to feel any more comfortable!

“...a more holistic approach of bottleneck relaxation, to enhance our agility in the side-end of the ecosystem." Pause. “Next slide."

They are led to the erect male, who is ignoring them. His tag indicates that he is Carlson, and his tie's single strip is golden: is this important? Is this guy special?

As they are placed before his parted knees, heads coming dangerously close to his penis, Xia decides that her questions about the Afterwork's lore are not her priority right now.

He looks down at both. The otter blushes and averts her eyes. The ferret frowns up defiantly despite her situation. He smiles and points the latter: “Her on the top, the other on the bottom," he whispers.

So Axel crouches behind Xia, grabs her skull in both hands, and guides it so she comes pushing her snout right on the male's sac. He sighs with content. “Get that tongue to work," instructs the mink.

Breathing short, intimidated, but dripping a river under herself, the otter starts lapping the male's balls. Shyly and inexpertly.

In the meantime, she can look up to see Riley getting positioned at her turn. And she is not pleased about it! Muzzle remaining tight, she frowns and closes an eye as the male traces his length all over her face.

Sweet schadenfreude, and an exciting show for her best enemy! The otter's tongue works more hungrily. She plays her lips and nose in the wetness. Maybe if she's a wonderful and obedient intern while the other is a brat, she'll see the ferret getting punished?

Her dream is soon fulfilled: Riley looks sideways with worry when her tail is yanked, and the unmistakable noise of a flogger resonates from way down. She grits her teeth and gasps sharply.

Another lash already follows. “Yip!"

While everybody ignored the slapping noises, the tiny yelp causes a few reproaching “shhhh!" from the audience.

Face tensed, Riley realizes she's not having the upper hand and surrenders. She opens wide and gives a long lick to that cock, from bottom to top!

Yet the flogger lands again. Her expression more and more pained, eyes growing wet, she abandons any pretense of dignity and services the male with hurried eager.

Yet one more lash. “X1A…" whispers Axel.

Xia realizes that, in her fascination, she stopped working. She does not want her supervisor to turn her attention to her!

Mister Carlson reclines with a huge sigh as two tongues lavishly caress him with dedicated abandon.

The flogger keeps lashing, merciless, at a regular pace.

The poor ferret, more and more wriggly and desperate is now crying. Despite her efforts, she's letting out strangled noises of agony sometimes.

The coyote's own breath is shortening, and some of his pre —and of Riley's saliva— is dropping on Xia's forehead. His sac is retracting and his member bobbing. He eventually taps the otter's shoulder and gestures her away, then takes a hold on the ferret's unruly hair: licking will no longer suffice, it seems.

Xia makes room as fast as her limited motion range and tiring legs allow. She wants to watch as her rival is forced to engulf that cock and almost gags. She briefly glimpses at the reddening marks down the ferret's mound and inner thighs.

But Axel orders: “To the wall."

So, she turns away and can only hear the wet sloppy noises and gasps.

Terribly aroused, and desperate to avoid facing the other interns —just remembering about their presence makes her blush—, she peeks sideways at the screen: to illustrate something about “granularity", a mink is bent down, head, hands and feet trapped in some wooden box. A coyote is forcefully shoving a huge dildo under her tail, that another is pulling up for him. The second one is resting one foot on the box and holds a bottle of hot sauce —his idea of lube?— in his free hand. She shivers.

She's distracted enough so she doesn't see the other male's hand coming when, passing before a chair, her hair is grabbed at her turn and she's tugged closer.

She winces and tenses: by his side, the helpful mink who tied her up is stroking his cock: he was enjoying the show as well. She winks with mischief, and waves to the caught girl. She waves with a flogger in her free hand.

Inexorably forced closer, Xia understands that she's about to “get her share of fun".

The mink makes room and crouches behind her. “Do not nibble, or I'll put a dental retractor on you. Open up."

She obeys. Both the male and female control her and force her down, and she's unceremoniously fed a mouthful of hot penis.

It throbs in her and shoots pre on her tongue. He's already quite worked up, there is not going to be any foreplay.

The sharp slap hits her by surprise. Half a second later, the sting on her mound is horrible. “Hahaaa!"

There's a concert of: “Shhh!"

He yanks her further down by the hair and she gags on him, which efficiently silences her for the second lash. Aimed further down so it coils under and the sharpest impact lands right on her anus.

She would howl if she could! But she's now bobbed up and down carelessly and struggles not to suffocate.

She's flogged left and right, to paint her convulsing inner thighs red, then more in the middle. On the tenderized skin, the second helping is ten times worse! It burns!

She struggles, but the male is strong and the bounds hold tight.

Luckily, he's getting close already. She's pulled off, coughing and wheezing, lower lip and nose still connected to his tip by ropes of saliva. And the mink stops hurting her to give him a hand finish. He comes all over Xia's face.

The mink concludes. “Good girl. To the wall."

—

Xia is so exhausted, and doing the duck walk after that intimate beating hurts so bad, that she wonders if she'll make it to her destination at all. She still has that silly thought that she knew sucking up on the higher-ups was a central part of meetings, but that they are taking it too literally here!

Riley is already there, breathing shallow and crying as much as her, with a face painted with as much gooey white.

Axel nods when she arrives. “Good contributions to the discussion, gang. Very constructive! I'm proud!" She allows them a break, then: “Your makeup is dripping a little, tho. Make yourself back presentable."

The two look at each other for inspiration. How can they possibly do anything about their faces with their tied hands?

Their supervisor guides them face to face, close, and they understand. More than a little disgusted, looking at each other with resentful eyes, but too broken to openly resist, they both hesitate.

Axel ostensibly toys with her flogger. Xia's nether regions are burning too much for her to face the risk of more punishment: she surrenders first.

When she leans forward, Riley's eyes become so fiery that she fears she might get bitten. The ferret looks away as she scoops a first lick of salty sperm —and tears?— from her face. In addition to the debasing act, their breasts are squeezed together in an uncomfortably intimate “hug".

Axel caresses the reluctant girl's back with her flogger's tails. Riley shivers hard, panic in her eyes, then hurriedly gets to work at her turn.

Now, both are supporting each other —it's at least some physical relief—, soaking in their mixed scents and carefully tracing tongues in their unwilling partner's fur… this is weirdly sensual. Neither is looking happy at all, and their too shy lapping is smearing and spreading the mess more than it cleans it up.

Axel flicks her wrist and the flogger stings the side of their breasts. Nothing too painful, but the warning is clear. And it is taken seriously: the duo really gets into it.

It's actually hard to do this both at the same time: Riley keeps pushing Xia's muzzle out of her way, and the erratic tongue sometimes ends in her ear of lifts the side of her lip.

To keep at it, the otter has to squish her cheek on the other and to tilt her head. Mixed males' seed glues their fur as she traces flat, long, licks to collect the slow dripping white from her enemy's neck.

She is breathing on her face! And dripping on her feet below! Their entire bodies are rubbing in an awkward parody of a dance! As they are finishing the most sideways spots, they have to face and share what looks more and more like hungry kisses.

It takes them a while.

And the other interns keep staring all along.

For some reason, the worst moment is when Xia has to “tenderly" lap at the ferret's delicate nose, while the angry other groans… yet licks at her lower lip every now and then, to be sure Axel doesn't punish a break.

—

The meeting continues without any other “incident".

The other interns, Xia notices, are worried after the show. Nothing will happen to them, but they remain anxious until the very end!

All the bound ones are trembling, muscles reaching their limits, by the time the last slide shows up.

“Which concludes this presentation. Any question?"

There is an unbearable moment of suspense… and no question.

The coyotes leave and the interns are freed. It's a huge collective relief.

Axel has mercy and doesn't place the chastity devices back on their sore skin right away. She just warns them that they'll be punished if they “do anything inappropriate on the workplace". Frankly, Xia would love to… but no risks as long as even walking carefully makes the tears come back. Ouch, ouch, ouch!

Practical Exercises

To: all game masters/mistresses

Subject: IMPORTANT REMINDER

It came to our attention that a secretary guest helped the crew to write a report about Monday's roleplays, as part of the said roleplays.

This is not acceptable.

I remind you all that the Afterwork's guests are unpaid, and are non-syndicated despite being numerous enough for labor code art. 17 to apply. As such, for obvious legal reasons, they shall not, under any circumstances, perform any activity that produces value for the company.

Guests cannot work for us.

I will tolerate no sloppiness on that front. Please be more attentive in the future.

Cordially,

L. L. Barkley, CEO.

—

Xia had a good fright when, next, Axel enthusiastically announced they'd try some “practical exercises".

Thankfully, the mink is probably aware that her trainees can't handle such intensity for long without a breather: what came next was playing couriers. They are now delivering “memos" all around the place, with the instruction to stick together.

Xia keeps a sharp eye on Riley, planning to report on her if she attempts to touch herself! There's no reason she'd be allowed to sneakily pleasure herself when the otter can't. She can't, because her foe would obviously rat her out as well! So, she has no choice but to cook in her frustration and resentment as the flogging's burn gradually vanishes and the trips expose her to new tantalizing BDSM sights.

So far, each time they gave a memo card to a “secretary" —that's the mink's official name, by the way, and the coyotes are “executives"—, theses were sent unread straight to the shredder. Without an afterthought.

An experience in futility. Speaking of, she observed as much as she could but still has no clue about what is the work's nature here. Oh, they have meetings, schedules, management and processes —they speak about the processes a lot!—, everything around work. But nobody seems to be doing anything concrete: like a clinically neurotic perfectionist, the Afterwork seems to be so focused on organizing to do things perfectly that it forgets to… well, do the things at all.

This task allows them to familiarize with the place: there are codes to locate desks. Aisle number, dash, stair level, dash, desk number. Logical and easy, right? Eeeexcept that the numbers are not sequential! They are, for example, on a fifth floor that's numbered as 2. But it would be 3 in aisle 24. Which is between aisles 7 —also known as 9— and 15 (and, no, there are no more than 5 aisles in the pentagram).

Furthermore, some doors are locked, forcing detours. It's not uncommon to have to take an elevator up, traverse a whole aisle, then take an elevator down and go back in the direction you came from!

At first, she assumed that this was due to the Afterwork only using part of the buildings. It would have made sense, given how oversized they are: she's still having a hard time getting used to how empty most of this labyrinth is. But, nope! they do use all the place! Most forbidden doors arbitrarily bar access between two authorized rooms!

Luckily, there are many fire emergency evacuation maps on the walls. They still get lost and have to track back often: not the fastest couriers. But, gradually, it sinks. They start integrating a twisted mental schema of the place.

At some point, Xia has that odd sensation to have lost all sense of her position in space, and yet to be able to intuit the path she has to take, given a three-number desk code. An arcane, non-Euclidian and abstract, space…

—

“Alright, gang, this one will be fun! A little puzzle to challenge your minds!"

Axel brought them to a cluster of four empty cubicles, slightly off the middle of a large, square, windowless, room. As this is a strategical navigation point, people keep entering and leaving the room… but they are mostly silent and remain near the walls, away, so it's easy to ignore them.

The mink opens one of the two big cardboard boxes on the ground: “Office supplies. There is one box for each, both with identical content. X1A, you will work on this left cubicle. P5T, you'll take this right one." She walks to one of the desks and strokes its surface. “Ah, the intriguing potential of a virginal desk! Can you feel it girls? Anyways! We are going to install two low-level secretaries here, and you will have the honor to furnish them! You shall seek the perfect balance: on one hand, a worker needs the right supplies to be able to perform their task optimally; on the other hand, company equipment shall be used economically, we don't just provide everyone with excessive and useless stuff! And, of course, what you will choose must be arranged orderly and rationally, for ergonomic efficiency. Let's see which of you is the cleverest intern! Any question?"

Xia raises a hand: she wants to know if there will be a reward for the winner or a punishment for the loser. “Yes, I…"

“Excellent, then!" The mink cuts her as if she didn't notice. She slaps her hands together. “Get to work, and good luck!" Then she turns around and walks out.

Taken aback, the otter remains there with her finger up for a while. She's shaken out of it by some rustling noise: always competitive, Riley is emptying her cardboard on the floor to better see all its contents!

So messy! But Xia can't waste time, she doesn't know how much there is, and she must win! She kneels and checks her box. Alright: sticker notes, a notepad and a pen are no-brainers. Should she pick several colors of pens, tho?

—

Xia emptied half of her box, making neat piles on the floor that she can tidy up fast if needed, and carefully arranged select items on the desk and inside its drawers… when Riley places a huge dildo on her side's chair!

She pauses in shock.

The ferret shrugs. “What?" she makes with a little sneer.

“You have a dil…" She stops mid sentence: now she considers it, of course, she has a dildo. And so does her, deeper in her box. Yet: “You put a dildo on her chair!?"

New shrug: “Of course: she's a low _-__ level_ secretary, dummy, we can't make her too comfortable!" And she resumes working.

T-that's a fair point, actually. What else did she miss that the ferret thought of? There's a pot with some fake plastic ivy she didn't use: time to bet on a risk, while her rival makes her cubicle hostile, she'll try making hers welcoming!

She places the pot on top of the separating wall and arranges the dropping stems and leaves in a pretty pattern. Which is when she feels something is off, without managing to put her finger on it.

Beside her, Riley is looking around. She catches it: all the minks that were walking near the wall are frozen in position, ears perked and looking their way!

What is going on!

One of the secretaries walks to them with an even more determined gait than usual. Two others follow at a distance.

She stops in front of the tetanized otter: “X1A! No personalization of the workspace below five notches secretariat!" And with a very theatrical arm motion, she backhands the pot off its wall. “You will report yourself at 18-4-33 for discipline!"

“S-sorry!" mewls a terrified Xia.

The lady turns to the smirking ferret, who stops smiling instantly. “This amuses you, P5T?" She walks closer: the plant landed on her desk and its pot's dirt splattered across it. She traces a finger in that dirt. “Your desk is messy and disorderly. You will also report yourself at 18-4-33."

The two who followed walk behind the duo and pull shackles from their briefcases: “Hands in your back."

They get handcuffed, while the mean one fills up a red slip of paper. She stops briefly as her helpers crouch. “X1A, P5T, what is your safety training level on hobbles?"

“Ah… uhm… we…"

“We weren't trained with them, miss."

“Long chain, then, let's not trip them." At this instruction, the helpers produce more shackles —with chains that are not that long— to bind the duo's ankles. Then they leave.

Xia belatedly notices that the passers-by resumed moving normally.

The remaining secretary rereads her red slip, then nods. She opens her own briefcase and pulls out a round metal weight the size of a ping-pong ball, attached to two chains ending with metal clips.

She first reaches for Xia's left nipple, the one on Riley's side, that she flicks and rolls between her fingers to make it perk. Then she places the clamp there.

The otter gasps and hunches at the bite: the thing pinches hard! “Ow!"

“You'd better not lose it." She proceeds the same on the ferret while Xia keeps huffing and wriggling with one closed eye.

The paper was cut to form a little hook at the top: like a hotel's “do not disturb" hang door. She attaches it the weight and lets it drop. Both punished females yelp and come shoulder to shoulder, but there is no helping it: their chained together nipples are now firmly pulled down by ferocious clamps.

“There. Off you go: 18-4-33" And she departs.

**Reporting

for Discipline**

Riley is gritting her teeth. She tilts to the side to lower her breast and manages to let Xia carry all the weight.

“Owfuuck!" The otter elbows her away. Big mistake: there's a new sharp yank and then the weight oscillates between them for a while.

“Gah... Hhhfff… I hate… hate you, ow! It's all your fault!"

“I couldn't know!"

“A fucking potted plant? Here? Come on!" She mutters some more, then: “We'd better start walking. The sooner we're done with this…"

So they start their walk to a far away aisle. The hobbles are not too severe, but they still restrict how fast they can walk. That and the need to carefully synchronize their motions under penalty of immediate punishment.

With each minute and each poorly planned turn nearby ripping the clamps off, the pain is building up. Wincing and ears flat, the two are not bickering for long!

They arrive to the desk 18-4-33, some sort of reception one with a single, smiling, mink —they delivered a memo here, earlier. “Hello, interns. How may I be helpful today?"

Riley shoots first, hurried enough to be rid of her clamp so her fear of the promised discipline isn't an immediate concern: “We wish to report ourselves for discipline, please."

“Oh, I see! Please let me see your discipline slip?"

They get closer and on their toes, for the secretary to read the red slip. She doesn't bother taking it off.

“Everything is proper and abiding the process. Let me validate your slip!" She types something on her computer and a printer behind her slowly produces two orange slips. She takes the time to carefully read these, and nods with satisfaction.

Then, before their widening eyes, she produces two more weights, each with a single chain and clamp this time. Each intern gets her free nipple clamped to suspend one of the slips.

“There you are! Proceed to 33-27-9 for your disciplinary admission. Have a nice day!"

It's all the way to the other side of the pentagon! Xia's eyes fill up with tears.

The mink seems to have an afterthought. “Oh! But you two walked far already!"

Both nod eagerly and confirm, hoping she might at least remove the first clamp.

“Then your hobble safety training is good enough for me to update you to medium size! Congratulations, interns!"

—

With the “updated" hobbles, walking is aven slower and more difficult. And the side weights tend to wave around easily… causing reflexes and attempts to control them that yank more on the connecting chain.

Riley is in tears as well near the end. “I fucking swear… if they send us elsewhere…" She tries looking angry, but her shaky voice lost a lot of its edge.

The reception desk 33-27-9 stands in a row between two others. They are lucky, because only theirs has a secretary at the moment. She's busy finishing her solitaire game, however.

“E-excuse me, please?" Whines Xia, before the ferret can blurt out something that will cause them troubles.

The mink raises a finger in their direction in a silent “wait" gesture, and finishes what she's doing first.

Riley's eyes are daggers, but she manages to control herself into silence.

When, at long last, she deigns to turn to the duo, Xia takes care of the discussion again. “We… we'd like to report ourselves for discipline, please. If… if it's not too much trouble, this is urgent. You see, our supervisor must be waiting for us somewhere."

For once, Riley looks at her with approval.

The mink peeks at the orange slips. “Ah, you're here for admission? I'm sorry, girls, the admission desk has been relocated this morning. The secretary who sent you probably didn't get the update memo."

Fresh tears fill up Xia's eyes. “W-where should we go, then?"

“The nearest help desk is 33-26-44. They'll tell you where the new admissions are."

Riley tries being sweet, despite the growl in her voice and her grimace showing teeth. “Could you, maybe, check yourself or… I don't know, make a call? Pretty please?"

“I'm sorry, P5T: I would if I could, but this is not the process. I am not a help desk."

They leave demoralized.

“It… it's alright, Riley… It's not far, we're almost done…"

“I bet the real admissions are far away!"

—

It turns out the admissions are not that far. They were one of the empty desks right beside where they came from!

Good thing they are handcuffed, Xia thinks to herself, because otherwise Riley would have murdered someone! Anyone!

—

The admission desk is still empty. The ferret breaks, and whines.

The neighbor secretary, in the middle of a new game, does her raised finger gesture again.

When she lost the solitaire, she rolls her chair to their desk: “Ah, hello again! You are at the right place this time. I'll schedule you for your discipline."

“Y-you… it was you?"

“It was, yes." She's typing on her keyboard. “Ah, good news, Mister Barkley has room to receive you right away. Let me print your appointment." Her printer produces a new, green, slip.

When she pulls out a new weight with two chains, Riley bursts into miserable sobbing for good. This one is clamped at their clits, and it would be the worst by far if, after all this time, the first one didn't build up quite an agony. It will surely grow in intensity fast, however!

“Oh, nice! Your hobble safety training is complete, congratulations! I'll upgrade you to short!"

—

Short shackles are very short. On their next trip, they are precariously balanced and forced to make tiny steps. It's excruciatingly slow. Speaking of excruciating, the clit clamps are working their magic over time. Especially as the flurry of tiny steps makes its weight bob. Double especially as, where it hangs, they accidentally hit it with their knees sometimes.

Xia wonders if the discipline can be worse than that. As they arrive to their next stop —will it truly be the last one?—, her fear battles with her urge for the clamps to go.

This secretary has an expensive desk. In fact, all the room looks more luxurious: they are reaching someone important's office, it's probably the last stop. Then she notices the door's plate: Mister Barkley, CEO.

Trembling and panting, Xia swallows and tries again: “Hello. C-can we be disciplined, please?"

The secretary nods to her. “Of course. You are scheduled, Mister Barkley will receive you in about five minutes."

Five more minutes. All hope is lost, this is so unbeara…

“Let me unshackle you and remove your clamps."

—

One thing about clamps, which Xia discovers today, is how you get a strong rush of fresh pain before it gets better when they are removed.

The two interns howl and are near to pee themselves!

They are then instructed to wait “on the standing marks". They saw these already: paw-print stickers at some waiting places, the interns are supposed to put their feet on them so they are perfectly lined.

Except that, this time, there is only one on each side of the office's door.

After a hesitation, they stand on one foot to wait.

Discipline

Once her nipples and clit recovered enough, the fear of that unspecified, soon to come, discipline comes back to haunt Xia.

So far, every encounter with an executive has been especially stressful! She silently prays for Riley to go first! Please, please, please…

The door suddenly opens and she almost loses balance. “X1A," a male voice simply announces. Crap!

She follows him in a modern, luxurious office all in precious woods and dark red and silver tapestries. Behind the wide, and impeccably orderly, desk is a bay window with a view on the courtyard: the light here is dim enough so this one doesn't look like a mirror.

Two elements especially stand out: first is the low table in front of the minibar. Picture a normal, if sturdy, low table, only placed upside down on the floor. A secretary is thus replacing the top. Naked save her hood, her clothes are folded and strategically placed so any leak from her lower belly will drop on them. Each of her forearms and ankles is secured to one of the table's feet, using bondage tape, to trap her into a severe bridge posture.

A thick bit-gag in her muzzle, connected by a way too short chain to a steel anal hook, further locks her back arched. She's also blindfolded.

Her arms and legs are trembling a little, and her shallow breathing raises and lowers the ashtray placed on her belly, and the big cigar box wedged against her taped together breasts.

Xia shivers at this strong interior design statement!

The second element is less spectacular, yet much more worrying: on a small carpet rests a wrist and ankle pillory. Rather than a panel, when closed, this one must look like a heavy beam. Its two parts are currently separated.

—

Mister Barkley is, as expected, one of the masked coyotes. Their outfits make them all look similar, but this one is middle-aged, yet still obviously in excellent physical condition. He moves with a particularly aristocratic ease and elegance.

His voice, finally, is exactly as deep and intimidating as fitting for his role: “Assume the position," he simply commands, pointing to the pillory.

Xia gingerly goes kneeling there. She places her ankles in the outer, wider, indentations, then has to hunch to reach her wrists into the middle ones.

“No, arms coming from the other side."

She fidgets, hesitates and, looking at him for a clue, pulls her arms behind her back and raises her butt to ease her hands under.

He nods.

She wriggles and has to arch, blindly searching for the holes. It's difficult, and uncomfortable!

He crouches to guide her and picks the other piece of wood to slide it in position. It's locked with heavy-duty toggle latches on both sides.

The otter grunts: with this weird way to use a stockade, she's in some sort of a kneeling hogtie, presenting her chest. The wood hurts her wrists if she doesn't keep her forearms parallel enough to the floor, so she can't struggle and has to actively hold her back arched.

He goes to open a drawer on his desk and pulls out a slim and flexible cane, then what looks like two leather collars.

Returning, he fastens these tightly around the base of each of Xia's breasts. What's going to happen next is becoming obvious, and her panic level is rising fast. At this point, to her dismay, there is absolutely no escape!

He grabs the cane and swish it sharply in the air.

“Eeeeh!"

“Keep your chin up, X1A, I do not want to accidentally hit your nose."

“Y-yes, sir… I… I'm sorry about the p-plant! I'm really, really, sorry!"

“And do you think being sorry matters?" He places the cane across her breasts, then lifts it and taps firmly.

The bound breasts' tensed skin is bitten sharply and the “punch" adds a deeper, more diffuse, burst of pain to this mean sting. She can only yelp as an answer.

A red line fades in, and he places the cane parallel to it, one centimeter closer to the nipples. He hits again. “I believe you come from a smaller business, am I right? The familial kind of small company?"

“Aayyh! Ow! Hhhff!" She nods several times. “Y... hess... hfff... S-sir…"

“Well, then, let me make things clear, X1A. I am not your surrogate daddy." He hits a third time. “I do not care how you feel about me." For a change, he swiftly lashes from below. “I am a vicious great shark, struggling for life among other vicious great sharks." Yet another hit, directly across her nipples.

Xia screams in pain and shakes in the pillory, trying to claw at it.

“I do not even know what I am punishing you for, right now." He places a hand under one of her breasts and applies a few taps with the base of the cane: less sharp, but firmer. “I didn't bother reading your red sheet, because the only thing that matters to me is that you underperformed. You are slowing me and the company down, be it ever so slightly." He lets the breast drop and adds a new line of pain, this time crossing the others. “What happens to sharks when they stop swimming, X1A?"

The poor otter's face is a river of tears, and her high-pitched answer is not very articulated: “can't… breath… t-they… die, sir…"

“Exactly. Do you want to drown me, X1A?" To her relieved surprise, he stops the caning for now.

She shakes her head with all her might and manages to sip a full breath of air. “No, sir! No, I don't!"

“Good. Then, I need you, like all my other employees, to be efficient. I need you to stop being sorry and to swim X1A: be one of my vicious little sharks. Sharks have no regret, and they bite hard for profit."

“I'm a vicious little shark! I'm a vicious little shark! I'll swim! I'll bite!"

“Good girl." He pets her head appraisingly. Then: “Ten more lashes to imprint this in your memory."

—

Once he criss-crossed her breasts with deep red welts and thoroughly beat them sore, he discards the cane. He goes to the minibar and serves himself a glass of sparkly water, allowing the otter a moment to catch back her breath.

He eventually returns. “I'm pleased we could sort this out." He opens a file and checks some papers. “It says here that you are a fresh hire?"

“Y-yes, sir. This is my first worknight."

“I see. Low-training rookies can't perform at the desired two hundred percents on day one, this can't be helped. I'll give you your fair chance, and will not record this incident in your file."

“Thank you, sir! I'll be good!"

He looks down expectantly. “Good?"

“I… I mean… I'll be vicious! I'll be efficient!"

“That's more like it. This will do, for this time. But I will be watching: do not make the mistake of taking my charitableness for weakness."

—

Xia is back standing on one foot at the door, gradually managing to control her sobbing. The secretary told her that Axel would come for them soon.

She finds some relief hearing muffled screams from her rival inside. Gosh, she misses Mister Oliver: sure, APE Co.'s job was crappy, but she's now realizing how much she under-appreciated her gentle boss!

Eventually, a sore and exhausted ferret comes out.

Xia sneaks a peek at the reception secretary. The mink is not paying them any attention. So, she whispers to her neighbor. “Are you okay?"

Still resentful for having been dragged into this punishment, Riley shrugs without even turning her pouty head.

“What… what was your lesson?"

She shrugs again, then sighs and finally faces the other: “I'm a vicious little shark, grrr, grrr! You?"

“Same. Also, I don't think the sharks go 'grrr'."

“I'm a vicious little shark… blup, blup?"

Xia tries very hard to contain a fit of nervous laughter.

“Who's your not-daddy, girl?"

It gets worse, and contaminates Riley.

The two are soon muffling giggles.

—

Axel arrives shortly after, one of their chastity belts in each hand. “Legs apart, gang!" She crouches to secure and adjust the metal prisons back where they belong.

Xia never had any realistic opportunity to sneak an orgasm… but had not completely abandoned that hope. Being chastised again feels one more crushing defeat to team evil-minks…

As she does Riley, their personal evil mink chats: “Well, with this incident, you two are completely off the schedule I had for you! I have this weird sensation that you do not get along, and are not as enthusiastic at your wonderful new job as you should!"

The ferret, whose tail is tugged up as the mink carefully adjusts her crotch plate, looks worried at this. For once, she is sweet and polite —a good discipline session did wonders on her, but for how long?—: “We're sorry, Miss A6L. It's just… difficult for us to adjust to this new environment, but rest assured that our motivation is… is eager."

“W-we want to bite for profit!" concurs Xia, “We want to work hard for the company! Our spirits are burning with passion for… uhm… the synergism of processes!"

Axel playfully slaps the ferret's bottom and gets back up: “That's what I thought. You just need a bit of help to feel less intimidated and to break ice with your colleagues, that's all. And I know exactly the right way! But we'll see about that later: for now, it's lunchtime! Who's hungry?"

Both jetlagged little sharks are, of course, starving!

The Lunch

Xia was vaguely expecting to be fed on the floor in a bowl, especially after the trip to the company restaurant, passing through the courtyard, which meant that Axel leashed them and had them walk on all fours again.

The place, it turns out, is normal save its cooks being hooded “secretaries". She's sliding her tray along the designed path and picking cutlery, bread, a small tomato salad, cheese and a chocolate mousse: next, and coming soon as the line advances well, is the main course. She's impatient, because she's absolutely starving!

The chef welcomes her with a smile. “Hello, intern! So, what will it be for you: gray mush with brown sauce, or brown mush with gray sauce?"

“Eeerrr... What's in the 'mush'?"

“I don't have the accreditation level to know."

She looks ponderously at the mysterious substances.

Belly gargling and growing impatient, Riley nudges her with her shoulder: “Take brown and brown, and do not slow the line!"

“It's possible?"

The cook winks and places a finger before her mouth, then serves her a big plate of goey brown stuff with some viscous brown stuff on top.

“Fries or greens, on the side?"

“Fries, please."

The fries at least look good.

The ferret is already pushing her tray with hers, to take the place: “Same!"

They are reaching the end of the order track. Ahead of them, Axel brought her meal to a table, but is coming back to guide them before eating: “Let me show you the intern's corner."

—

So much for the normal lunch. Of course. On the bright side, they'll eat on a table. The seats, on the other hand…

Each is bolted to the ground. A sturdy metal bar is tracing an elegant arc, so one end supports a thick wooden bar with triangular edge: something like the least comfortable bike saddle in the world. The other end has a similar one, but lower, orthogonally placed and slightly tilted backward: shin rests. Articulated from its sides, a sort of small “rollercoaster lap bar" can be risen to lock the knees where they are.

The appalled otter halts: “What's this!?"

“Oh, I'm glad you asked!" Makes the ever happy Axel. “We, at the Afterwork, know the value of good ergonomics. Nothing is too good for our dedicated employees! Even our lowly interns can enjoy the benefits of the Relaxium-X-2000!!!"

As she almost shouts that name, something that normally only happens in bad TV ads occurs: secretaries who were passing by stop, to spontaneously present the product:

“Borrowed from the latest aerospace technologies, the Relaxium-X-2000 is the ultimate of employee force restoration seats!" the first one poses gesturing to the seat.

“With a slick design."

“And quality materials!" This one sensually caresses the wood.

“But most importantly a perfect spine stabilizing structure! No more back aches!"

“It guarantees an optimal recovery time, and a good posture helps a good assimilation of the nutriments."

“Exists in twenty colors!"

“Call now for a 12% discount!"

Aaaaand the group splits and resumes acting normally, as magically as their choreography started.

—

Xia and Riley's belts are discarded to the floor nearby, so they can sit in optimally uncomfortable conditions. Their bars are risen. Fortunately, these do not press on their knees; they don't touch them at all, a good ten centimeters away at the nearest point, actually, they simply prevent any way to move their legs enough to escape.

The “saddle" digging in Xia's crack is immediately very uncomfortable, and the shin bar downright hurts if she pushes onto it.

She can't use her hands to support some of her weight either: chains that she had not noticed on the table are anchored to its top, and end in metal balls inside which her hands were trapped. This will… not make it easy to use a fork or spoon. But also, it prevents moving her balled fists from the table.

As soon as Axel is gone, a helpful neighbor intern —a male cat— offers his advice: “Don't try to lift yourself with your knees, it will not work and you'll hurt yourself. Do like me: just hold your legs up so you don't rest your shins on the edge."

Both follow his suggestion. Riley winces and wriggles: “It will get tiring fast. And my ass is killing me, what about that?"

“It will, but it's the least evil you can get, trust me. And sorry about your ass, but you can't do a thing about it: try not to wriggle, the quietest you remain, the slowest the discomfort will grow."

Xia whines. “How long did she say was our break?"

“She didn't say…" mutters the ferret.

The otter looks around, searching for a clock. Which she locates from its discreet ticking in her back: a big, white, round clock on the wall, with very readable black digits… and no hands! No damn hands! Even knowing would not help!

“About one hour," the cat informs them.

Xia wants to take her face into her hands and almost punches herself with the metal balls.

“My name is KT9, by the way. Pleased to meet you. First time?"

“I'm Xi… X1A, pleased. First time, yes."

“P5T. Thanks for the hints, KT9. First time as well, yes." She sends an angry look at her rival. “We are… together."

“Cool! How long?"

“Three fucking nights."

“Oh, daring! That's a lot for first-timers. Most won't endure that trial to the end… but it's a good length to experience the genuine experience, if you like it strict."

“How about yourself?"

“One full week. But I'm a regular. Big masochist… sooo, it's not such a big deal for me. I'm taking three weeks, with the cruelest supervisor I can, when I want to challenge myself."

He is indeed sitting there pretty naturally, not seeming uncomfortable at all… while Xia can't help fidgeting and is shifting her weight back and forth to sacrifice a new tender spot when the currently wedged one hurts too much. She tries closing her legs tight to squeeze the bar for support. With her knees too far up, this has zero effect.

Riley acts as if she were sitting on hot coils as well. And she's visibly trying to reach the curved metal bar behind with her toes, but is falling way short. This doesn't stop her from gathering intel: “How cruel is A6L? Do you know her?"

“Oh, she's a softie. But she's playful and cunning, she'll mess with your minds!" He chuckles. “Nah, don't stress. She's a great supervisor for beginners. Very fun."

It's not that the otter isn't interested, but her brown and brown is cooling down and she could eat a herd of horses. She shakes her bound hands. “'Kay! How do I spoon and fork with these! I must eat!"

The cat chuckles. “Forget the spoon and fork. You'll have to lower your mouth to the plates. Look at me…" He places his hands and elbows to the table. “Get a good, stable, stance with your forearms parallel. The elbows are important, because the balls alone would slip. And then, you push on your arms when lowering: or else your hips will roll on your seat and you'll be pinched hard somewhere sensitive." He demonstrates and starts lapping at his gray mush with brown sauce.

Riley imitates, her hands slip —punching her tray's side and dropping some of her water into her salad— and she hisses and rocks her head in visible agony.

“He told you: the elbows are important," notes a smug otter. Then she performs the move perfectly! Oh, it's tiring her shoulders and super-uncomfortable, but no slipping and crying for her. Yay! Score!

—

The brown stuffs are not that horrible: passable, but filling.

Even once finished, Xia still couldn't tell for sure what she ate.

As the cruel wedge bruises her and her legs go tired, she is soon growing impatient to get back to work!

Let's Talk

At the end of their pause, after a face cleanup —they don't have KT9's skill at eating without hands—, and a potty break —on a short timer to dissuade masturbation—, Axel made a phone call to schedule the duo for something. Then, without any explanation, they were led to some new office.

Still sore down there, Xia is walking funny on the tip of her toes and keeps readjusting the position of her chastity belt. Well, trying to: the thing is conceived so it stubbornly refuses to move at all.

The mink knocks at the door, then turns back to her trainees: “There! I'll leave you under the caring hands of Mister L0L: you'll see that all your little worries and troubles adapting are about to vanish! Have fun!"

“Welcome! You may enter!" Answers a voice from inside.

Axel waves and leaves.

The duo watch each other, take a big breath, and Riley dares opening the door to enter.

—

A medium room, with sparse furniture. A few chairs, that look more comfortable than the usual plastic ones elsewhere, and rows of gym mattresses on the floor. There are big, colorful, flowers and clouds painted on the walls, and a poster shows a map of “all energetic points of the sacred body".

Some yoga room instead of an office? Usually, this would be reassuring, but the otter keeps her guard up: there are so many ways for the Afterwork to twist that concept!

In lotus position on a central chair —with his hands hanging at his side, pinkies out and thumbs and ring fingers forming loops—, sits one of the few non-coyote executives. A maned wolf.

He somehow manages to unfold his legs without the help of his hands, in very gracious motions, and stands up. Oh, gosh, this one is so tall!

As he walks closer, Xia notes that his vest is adorned with a smiley pin: a stark deviation from their usual perfectly identical outfits.

“Hello and welcome to my wellness room, interns. My name is L0L, and I'm our Chief Happiness Manager!"

Xia tenses and Riley cringes very hard at this title!

He walks around them, and his physique is even more intimidating when he towers them from this close, no matter the smile and soft voice. “So, I hear you two have a bit of trouble? Tell me everything, do not be shy."

The otter just wants to leave as soon as possible. She is not ready to disclose anything real to him. What would be the least committing answer? “We… We're just a little overwhelmed by this new job, that is all, Mister Lol." The obvious nickname, instead of the proper code, escapes her lips accidentally. Her heart misses a bit at this mistake!

“Please, please, no need to be so formal: just call me Lol." He next gets closer to Riley, who has been scrutinizing him the whole time. With an air of measuring her opponent. “How about you, P5T? Any issue you'd like to be counseled about?"

She raises her chest defiantly and bites: “I'd like to report sexual harassment during this morning's meeting."

He chuckles. “Ha! Good one, good one! Humor is an excellent, very sane, coping mechanism. I feel that you are maybe a touch on its aggressive side, however: good humor is bringing people together, not pushing them away."

“Can I try again, then?"

“By all means, please do!"

Xia swallows. Oh please, you idiot, do not provoke the guy and get us both into trouble! she thinks to herself.

“Knock knock!"

“Who's there?"

“Ice cream."

“Ice cream who?"

“Ice cream for help if you don't let me out!"

He laughs heartily again. “You like laughing, don't you? Maybe I should change my plans and make today's session some laughter therapy?"

“Oh g-gosh… Please don't!"

He waves a hand with flexible finger motions, like a prestidigitator, and suddenly plucks a red plastic nose out of thin air. “Or maybe you'd be more into clown therapy?"

“No! No, please! I'll be good, I'm sorry!"

That's too much for the otter, who is just as appalled by these scenarios. Riley needs to stop! “Quit disrespecting Mister Lol! He's our hierarchical superior!"

“Just Lol, please."

Riley leans forward and screams back into her face: “You, stop licking his arse! Grow a fucking spine!"

“I'm not mmmfff…"

Lol interrupts them both by suddenly lightly holding their muzzles shut with two fingers each, arms crossed. “Very good, veeeery good: expressing your anger is very sane. But, we must do this the proper way." He slowly releases them.

They hold silent and watch him with worry.

He reaches inside his vest and pulls out… a plastic squeaky toy. A carrot with big eyes and a big smile, specifically. He makes it squeak a couple of times. “What does this evoke to you?"

“Uhm… Healthy eating?"

“That you're batshit crazy."

He mimes planting the carrot in one of his hands. “Buried. Slowly growing in the dark inside. Doomed to rot in the end… unless," he yanks it out, “it is reaped. Pulled out into the light to become a happy, healthy, aliment. Feeding you and making you stronger. Carrots are obviously the very metaphor of our feelings."

They both blink in puzzlement.

He continues anyway. “Which is why Mister Carrot will serve perfectly as our totem of respectful listening."

“Say what now?" begins Riley… only for the maned wolf to swiftly shove “Mister Carrot" deep into her muzzle. She nearly gags.

He holds it there, his free hand coming behind her head to further control her. “Your anger seems to be the strongest, we're the least at risk to lose it. So, X1A will be the one expressing herself first."

“E-expressing myself?"

He nods. “Yes! Tell her everything you feel. All that boils inside you. What annoys you? Maybe she's the kind of coworker who unloads some of her burden on the others, then claims their successes? Maybe she's having it easier than you and doesn't even appreciate it?"

Xia can't know that when Oliver called the “spa", he was transferred to the uncannily empathic happiness manager. And that her boss was happy to answer all his questions, in order to help with the team-building planning. So, she has a frozen moment wondering if the guy is not a psychic… but anger she contained for too long overcomes this fast.

The dam breaks: “You keep evading work and you don't care if I end up doing it for you! I'm already exhausted with that crappy job, you know? I don't need that! And you… your dad bought you a car and pays half of your rent! Oh, it's easy not caring, when you don't really depend on the job! It's easy to feel snotty and superior!"

Riley clenches her teeth hard at that, and the toy makes a sound.

“Hopopop, P5T: please do not squeak squeak the carrot of respectful listening when X1A is talking. Continue, X1A."

“And… and… You don't even dress properly for work," she concludes with a less fiery tone, growing out of ammo.

After waiting to be sure this was all, Lol raises his thumb up. “This was excellent, X1A. Very heartfelt! Very constructive! Well done!" He pulls out the carrot from Riley's muzzle. “Now, say 'aaah'?"

She opens up and he grabs her head at her turn to force the carrot firmly in her maw. Still full of her foe's saliva.

In front of her, eyes narrowed and fur risen, the said foe wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. Everything in her expression screams: “This is on!"

Xia tries to swallow and only manages to squeeze the toy.

“Don't fucking squeak squeak the carrot of listening, bitch: it's my turn now!"

“Good spirit, P5T, great energy! You can go! Don't hold back!"

She takes a big breath and starts shouting: “Easy!? I have it easy!? My father hates me because of my 'deviant habits' and he doesn't give me shit! I worked my ass off for my car! All the other girls at APE Co. talk in my back and you believe their lies! They're all jealous because I got a better position, because I studied my ass off to have greater computer skills than them! And I am the snotty one if I keep my distances? You should be my friend! We're the same, you should be on my side! But, no! you're a spineless ass-licker for Oliver! Low wage, low effort, girl! If you don't resist being exploited, I shouldn't have to let you drag me into submission by your side! You don't do my work because I evade it, you do my work because you allow the boss to assign it to you!" She ends there, breathless.

“Wow! That was great self-expression! Don't you feel relieved now this got out?"

She reluctantly nods.

He retrieves the carrot and cleans it up with a tissue before pocketing it back away.

In the meantime, the duo is still agitated… but also reconsidering what they learned about the other's point of view. And carefully avoiding looking at each other.

Lol rubs his hands together. “We're making great progress! Great progress! You're a touch heated up, now. It's normal, part of the process, but we need to let this cool down before we continue. Don't you agree?"

Xia nods, she's eager for a break indeed.

Riley is more suspicious.

Cooling Down

“We'll go outside for a bit of fresh air. The intern-handling manual requires me to restrain you: what is your hobble safety training level?"

Xia considers lying, but he might know the answer and be trying to trap them. So: “Short, Mister Lol."

“Just Lol, please." He goes to fetch hand shackles and short hobbles, that he tosses to the duo. “No need to put them on right away. Now, follow me, I'm going to show you a cool, secret, place!"

—

They are led to a fire emergency exit, with a padlocked chain blocking the opening bar.

Lol proudly gestures to it: “My own, personal, exit. Sometimes, it is best to exercise outside, but in a more intimate setting than the courtyard. So, I had the alarm of this exit turned off. Which is why, by exceptional derogation from the fire department, it is locked." He pulls out a huge, old school, key from his pocket and opens the equally ancient-looking padlock. The chain drops to the floor and he pushes it away with one foot, then opens the bar. No alarm, as promised. “After you…"

—

They go down a few sparsely lit concrete stairs. The maned wolf presses the button on each floor to reset the timer.

Reaching the bottom, he points the wall: “Lean there, hands in your back and feet together: time to restrain you."

The last door is also an emergency exit, opened by simply pushing a bar. Once the two are handcuffed and hobbled, he holds it wide for them to slowly make their way out, in these tiny steps they are now familiar to.

—

He didn't lie about “fresh air". At this time of the night, when entirely naked, it's even freezing cold. And so is the asphalt under their curling toes!

There's a bit of wind.

The place looks like a small parking lot, facing an extension of the building with tall and wide metal doors. “It's one of our delivery areas," their guide explains, as he pulls out a cigarette and a gold lighter.

The access lane is not straight, so they can't see where it goes… but they are probably the closest from “the real world" than ever since their arrival! No wonders he hobbled them!

He puffs a circle of smoke and leans against the wall: “No exercise for now, it's a little recess. Relax, walk around if you like, you're free to do as you please!"

—

The cold soon sinks under Xia's fur. Her metal restraints feel as if they were made of ice and her toes are turning blue. She keeps switching the foot she's standing on to warm one sole against the top of the other toes.

Each short breath allows some iciness in, then lets out a puff of vapor. She opens and closes her hands, that are growing numb. Maybe walking would help?

She tries this. Unfortunately, the size of her hobble doesn't allow the kind of energetic motion that could heat up her muscles.

She is soon shivering.

“M-mister Lol?"

“Just Lol, please."

“C-can we get back in, please?"

“In a moment, X1A: I'm finishing my cigarette first."

—

She watches the small paper cylinder slowly burn with ravenous eyes.

The shivers soon turn into frank waves of spasms. She never was so cold in her entire life.

Riley begins making squats. It seems to help for a moment, but she's tiring fast and eventually stops after nearly losing balance.

Oh, gosh, the frozen metal cage squeezing her mound directly is killing her! And she can't feel her ears anymore!

—

Lol finishes his cigarette, snuffs the stub on the wall and flicks it away. “Aaah, invigorating weather, isn't it?"

The duo instantly begs in chorus, with trembling voices: “Can we go back in?"

“Aw, you are bored already?"

They nod eagerly and plead more.

“Alright, alright. Let's entertain you with a little game, then!" He lifts himself from the wall and goes to a corner. He picks up a net that they didn't notice, full of tennis balls, and shakes it so its content drops and starts bouncing and rolling everywhere around.

Xia's eyed grow wet and she whines.

Riley shows teeth.

The male points the painted lines on the ground before two of the big doors. “The left side is X1A's goal. The right side is P5T's. The game is simple: gather ten balls inside of your goal and you can return inside."

—

Riley rushes —well, as fast as the severe hobble allows— toward the ball that fell nearest to the doors.

Crap! Xia realizes too late that she can't win this race and will have to settle for further balls. She glares at her rival with angry eyes. The other is too busy to even notice.

“Grrr, I'm going back inside before you do, bitch!" She rushes at her turn for her first ball.

With her restricted range of motion, trembling legs, and half-frozen toes, herding the ball proves harder than expected. Sometimes she kicks it in the wrong direction, and at one point Riley gets an opportunity to send it away. Which she doesn't do, but Xia can tell she considered it.

She reaches the goal! One out of ten! It will take so long! But it can be d…

The ball rolls out of the goal and Xia realizes with horror that the ground is slightly sloped there. “No, no, no…"

Besides, Riley is facing the same issue. She's stomping on her ball to try making it stay. It stays. It… it can be done, it'll just be super hard.

—

Xia is wondering if she can survive much longer. The cold is pain at this point. She only managed to bring three balls so far, after many fails and retries.

She pushes a fourth one in the goal, and squeezes it carefully in position. Her numb feet are no longer accurate and it slips out at the worst possible angle: it goes to bump into the others and all the balls escape!

She cries.

On her side, Riley looks at her. She stopped following what the ferret was doing a long time ago, but her rival doesn't seem to be faring any better: only one ball in her goal, and she's looking as tortured and desperate as Xia imagines herself.

This is when the ferret understands. “X1hh-A!" She's so cold she's stammering as her teeth chatter: “H-he's a fu-hucking ha-happiness mana-na-ger! It's an ex-xerice, d-don't you see i-it? We're sup-possed to co-cooperate!"

“H-how?"

“I ga-gather my b-balls and you h-help keeping the-them in. T-then I'll help w-with yours!"

“Y-you're going to t-trick me! You'll abando-don me when do-done!"

“We can't w-win if we don't tru-trust each o-other!"

“I don't tr-trust you!"

The ferret's shoulders drop in despair. “F-fine! You g-go first! But don't b-betray me!"

—

Riley is kneeling in Xia's goal, so she can be used as a blocking wall for the balls. She's hunched and curled, doing her best to preserve her last bits of heat.

When Xia manages to get a ball near enough, she catches it with her teeth to finish placing it into the goal.

Ball number ten is stored!

“T-ten! I'm do-done, Mister L-Lol!"

“Just Lol, please. Congratulations, well done! You can go back in!"

Riley looks up pleadingly.

Xia needs to summon all her will to resist the chance to return inside right now. “C-can I stay mo-more?"

“Of course, of course. No rush, X1A."

“Okay, g-get up! Y-your turn!"

Riley wriggles on her knees, tries to push the floor with her head, and whines in despair. “I can't…"

Xia thinks fast. And gets an idea. She drops beside her friend: now, with the hobble, she's stuck down as well, but she's still able to crawl.

She understands right away why the other grew so weak: resting on the floor is a terrible idea, the thing sucks all your heat even faster than the wind and there's a colder pocket of air right above it. “C-crap… O-kay… nff… Load the b-balls on my b-back!"

The ferret's mouth gets to work, moving the goal's ball between Xia's tied arms. From there, it takes little time to finish the exercise.

Riley looks deader than alive and Xia, who dropped on her side to unload the balls, is completely stuck. Fortunately, Lol comes to help at this point.

—

By “accident", the maned wolf happened to only have one big blanket and one big mug: squeezed together under the former and holding the latter in four hands, the duo takes turns at sipping the hot chocolate with whipped cream and mini marshmallows on top.

Back in the wellness room, they slowly recover a normal temperature.

“This was an excellent session! We made so much progress! A truce! Of course, I don't expect you two to turn into friends right away, this takes time… but I believe you will work together more harmoniously from now on. And, please, take the time to think about what you learned about the other's point of view, when you have the time."

They mumble some vague agreement.

“And remember, if you need more on my counseling, my door is always open for you! Well, except the day after tomorrow: I'll be out for a congress about the use of sock puppets for conflict mitigation."

Déjà Vu

Xia and Riley are couriers again, distributing memos that will be shredded without being read: a quieter and reassuringly familiar activity, that feels like a welcome break.

The otter wonders how far they are in their “afternoon". She saw no clock in the offices, and when old reflexes get her to check a window, to see where the sun is at, she can only contemplate herself in a one-way mirror.

Naked save her collar and chastity belt, she looks as vulnerable as she feels. As exhausted as well: the sudden change of time zone, the stress, and all the physical abuse are taking their toll. She is sluggish and slow thinking. She longs for Mew's “princess room" at this point! She doesn't think she can take one more intense misadventure!

She's still making pitiful efforts at looking peppy, because she'd rather not get Lol's counseling again due to a poor attitude.

—

It takes her a moment to realize that she's walking the same paths as this “morning", in the same order. That each secretary who speaks to her is saying the exact same words as the first time.

When she checks one certain memo, it is indeed about the relocation of the discipline admission desk… and it feels like a wasted opportunity when it is destroyed once more.

She grows disoriented. W-what… We are the second part of the worknight, aren't we? She isn't having déjà vu, she actually already lived this moment, right? She didn't dream what came after, right?

D-don't let them enter in your head.

Still, it's uncanny and her brain no longer function to full capacity. She doubts.

—

Having finished their last delivery, they arrive in the room with four cubicles. Axel is awaiting for them, between two large cardboard boxes.

Xia's anxiety peaks and her breath shortens.

“Alright, gang, this one will be fun! A little puzzle to challenge your minds!"

Frozen in position like a deer in a truck's headlights, she misses most of the speech. Not that it matters: it's one that she already knows; the exact same.

“Any question?"

This time she doesn't move. Maybe this will break the scrip…

“Excellent, then! Get to work, and good luck!" Then the mink turns around and walks out.

Riley is halted in “does not process" mode as well.

The otter watches her box. She can't afford any mistake, this time! She can't revive the clamps and the “little shark" speech! But, even more importantly, she must escape the time loop —at this point of stress, she's willing to believe that she risks getting trapped in this night forever.

Big breath. It's okay, it's okay. She knows the one thing not to do. It'll be very easy, she can't fuck this!

The ferret looks at her with a “please don't fuck this" face.

Both slowly walk to their box and open them at the same time.

Each is filled to the brim. Exclusively with potted plastic plants.

“Aaaaaaahhhhh! Aaaaaahhh!" Xia loses it and runs away wildly!

A First Worknight Ends

After Xia's nervous breakdown, there's a hazy moment during which the events got unclear.

Hearing Mew's voice spurs her back to reality. Riley is helping her to stand, and their supervisor is speaking with the handler. They… they are back to the underground intern kennels! Is the worknight finished?

"... are leaving early today?"

“You know how it is, most new hires don't finish their first night. They did great! I'm proud of them! Very attentive and hard-working!"

“Nice to hear! So, you want me to tuck them to bed?"

“No, let's not ruin their nascent adaptation to our rhythm. I want them to relax with no further stimulation, but can you prevent them from sleeping too early? I'll come back later, to grab them for dinner time."

“Can do, not an issue at all."

“And when we return, could you give them a comfy room so they sleep well?"

“You can count on me: I'll keep spoiling your brats rotten!" Mew chuckles.

—

Silence and darkness. Xia wears a sensory-deprivation hood again, biting on a metal bar —under a thick layer of rubber, so her teeth are safe—, belts at her hips holding her cuffed hands there, and more are strapped around her ankles. Leather feels so much more comfortable than shackles!

It's warm and quiet. Her mind drifts empty. The only difficult part is how badly her head wants to drop. The bar weighs a ton! No, she remembers when it was installed and secured by a muzzle, it's hollow and pretty light: it's her head that is too heavy at the moment. All her muscles that are turning into marshmallow.

*clank*

Startled, she raises her head back up. There's a circle, she remembers, anchored by two side bars between two nearby pillars. Mew had her slide her head through it, it was way wide enough. Then she added the bar, that is too long to slip out: when her head drops, the bar hits the circle. The rubber absorbs the shock, so it doesn't hurt: it's the loud noise and the feeling of falling that gets her each time.

She's wobbling left and right again. She huffs through her nose. Just… just let me sit a moment, please…

*clank*

She allowed her knees to bend and dropped. She's now hung by the maw. It's not that terribly uncomfortable: the muzzle carries all the weight. Fuck this. Fuck everything. Why wouldn't she just sleep like that, uh?

After a few seconds without moving, the two cold, dull ended, points of a cattle prod are caressed in her belly's fur.

“No, X1A. Keep standing, girl."

Ah, yes… This is why. She whines but stands up, not without a huge effort.

“Good girl." No shock follows.

Her head is inexorably dropping forward again.

*clank*

—

Two zombie interns are briefly brought to the restaurant for a fast meal.

They get a lukewarm hosing and a good towel rub plus hot hairdryer blowing and brushing combo to dry them, then back to the “princess room".

This time, Mew's helpers have to lay them down before adding the heavy restraints.

It's such a relief to end this night, at long last! The cleaning up feels so good and the mattress so incredibly comfy!

There is no brooding and squirming, today: Xia sleeps like a rock.

The Promotion

Second worknight.

Xia woke up surprisingly well rested, and recovered some morale.

She's already more adjusted to the nocturnal life, and today is less an uninterrupted barrage of stressing new rules and events: she learned a lot about the place. There are rituals, repeats.

Oh, there are still surprises, she still gets toyed with by Axel and by playfully mean executives. In various ways. It's still crazy and scary… but less overwhelming. She catches a few breaks.

She also renounced to fight with Riley, who seems to accept the truce.

Oh, and without thinking, out of unconscious mimicry, the duo is now doing the synchronized walk with secretaries: there's something oddly empowering and entrancing in surrendering yourself to the hive mind, and unquestionably accepting its madness as mundane and logical.

Yesterday left bruises and stiffness, and today comes with its share of fresh abuse. It's a workout, mentally as well as physically.

Xia thinks that these moments will remain engraved in her mind forever, and that many scenes will haunt her fantasies: once freed, once fully recovered, all this will be incredible memories! Maybe she'll even long for them!

But right here and right now: too much. She's barely coping by. It sucks to have no safeword, because finishing the three nights at that pace still seems unbearable!

But she's stuck. There's no choice but to endure. Vicious little sharks do not cry.

—

The second worknight's end is nearing. Each standing on one foot, the duo is nervously waiting before the CEO's door.

They did nothing wrong, this time, and didn't go through the discipline report process… so it shouldn't be that bad, right?

The fact the receptionist secured ring gags in their maw is not reassuring.

The door opens: “X1A, P5T, come in."

—

The first thing Xia does when entering is checking the “low table". The same mink is still there. She wonders if there's some shift of secretaries, so she only has a reasonable time in her straining position, or if she truly is… lasting furniture, all on her own?

There is no pillory today, this is a relief! Two kneeling pillows instead, which the boss motions them toward: “Have a seat."

They go to kneel.

He takes a genuine seat behind his desk and pulls out a file, to leaf through its sheets. “A6L transmitted her evaluation to me. Not bad at all, so far, your supervisor is pleased with your efforts." There's a brief pause.

Hesitant, Xia attempts a tiny moan… and her gag makes her drool all over her chest.

“Now, about your hiring. I reviewed your files, and it seems that you lied to your previous employer about the nature of your internship." Both tense hard. “I saw no external referent either: nobody outside seems to know you are here." He smirks. “And nobody will, now one of my technicians hacked Mister Oliver's computer to delete all trails of your changes in his initial plans. I call this an opportunity! The Serenity Drop spa will get paid, after all, but I get to upgrade your temporary contracts into permanent ones. The company can use some permanent playthings like you. Congratulations!"

Xia blinks terrified eyes, trembling, this can't be true! This is not happening!

Riley is shaking her head and moaning inarticulate pleas.

He ignores them. “Of course, to be sure you cannot be found, you will have to be transferred. We have a much more private, and much more secure, branch a few towns from here: we call it the Forever-Afterwork. This means A6L will no longer be your supervisor. Do not worry, we will assign you to a new one with a firmer hand. It will be hard, but you will progress faster there."

Xia's sight is now blurred with tears, and she is drowning into dark despair. She can't take this! She needs a way out!

“You will be transferred tomorrow evening, at the end of your initially scheduled time. This will be all, dismiss."

One Last Chance

Mew deemed the new girls adjusted enough so they don't get special treatment anymore. Xia is hooded and muzzled —that's a constant in the intern handler's process—, but is curled in a small cage, piled up onto other cages, in a common room with dozens of other interns.

She can hear their ruffling, and sometimes anxious moans. She can smell their lust and fear in the air.

Instead of a lush mattress, she kneels and rests her cheek on a folded in two blanket.

Thumb cuffs hook her hands in her back and to a ring on the cage's top: a gentler form of strappado, but it's enough to drastically hinder her motions. Not that the cage's size would allow this much freedom anyway.

The last detail is the dildo, anchored to a bar in her back and that she can't possibly pull out from her anus. It's a special one as well: squared section and spiraling, wider at the root than at the tip. It has just soft enough edges not to inflict damages, but is very uncomfortable! It efficiently dissuades any careless hip motion!

If less thoroughly broken than yesterday, she's exhausted enough so all this should not prevent her from sleeping tight.

Her racing mind, on the other hand, is giving her more trouble: what will the Forever-Afterwork be like? How strict her new supervisor? How can she possibly take more than three days? Does her life really end there?

An extra burst of misery comes when she remembers how she doomed Riley to that horrible fate as well. Suddenly she sees her point of view: the ferret was the new girl at APE Co. Under her apparent boldness and ease, she was having trouble to fit in. Under her surface carelessness, she was feeling as trapped as Xia, struggling as much. They should have been friends. She… she sincerely, sorely, regrets having set her up. And she can't resent that the other did the same to her: she deserved that.

She cries and sobs for a long while in the dark before falling asleep.

—

The communal bathroom time is probably the moment of the night when interns are under the loosest supervision.

Riley, hair scruffier than ever this early evening, yanks Xia by the arm to pull her toward a corner sink. Then, she starts brushing her teeth furiously, to look inconspicuous while she speak.

Spitting toothpaste foam and often waving her toothbrush wildly for emphasis, she looks as if she had rabies!

“It's our last night! Our last chance! We must escape from here Xia! We must run away now!"

“B-but how?"

“Their enclosure has a weak spot! Lol showed it to us, remember? His secret exit! Do you remember the padlock? It's an ancient thing! These can be picked! Easily!"

“Do you know how to?"

“Yes!" As her neighbor is watching her curiously, wondering is she has a criminal past, she rolls her eyes and explains: “When I was a kid, we had an old shed with a door lock like that. And I loved to pretend I was a spy. Okay? Now focus! The plan is simple: I'm going to steal a pen or something, as my lockpick. Then, the moment Axel leaves us alone, we run for that door and escape!"

“Wait, not so fast! I don't even want to imagine what will happen to us if we get caught… we can't just rush like that!"

The ferret catches her friend by her shoulders to look at her in the eyes: “Girl… Last. Chance. It's not the right time to have cold feet."

Xia takes a big breath. “I don't. I'm in. You're right and… and it's awesome to have you: your boldness, your special skills, I couldn't do it without you. I'm just saying we must plan carefully."

“Oh… My bold skills plus your careful and methodical mind. That works for me: what would you change to my plan?"

She takes the moment to ponder. “We… we know that they are careful about their office supplies. If you steal a pen, they will notice. We need something that's harder to track. Like a paper clip: would a paper clip work for you?"

“Wow. Good thinking. It would do nicely, yes."

“Next, there are cameras everywhere! If we go for the fire exit and spend some time doing suspect things to its lock, we'll surely be caught… unless… unless the guards are already busy with something, and everyone is going toward the fire exits…"

“You want to trigger the fire alarm! I should have thought about this!"

“Finally, it doesn't end when we're out! They might run after us! We must plan that part as well!"

Riley shrug: “Easy, run to the police station."

“Do you know where it is, from Lol's secret exit?"

“Oh…" The ferret frowns in concentration. “Ring bells to the nearest house and ask to call the cops? Stop a random car?"

“The Afterwork's crew might live nearby. The risk we ring at the wrong door or stop the wrong car is too high! No: we need to escape early enough, before the last bus. Finding a bus stop in a big town should be easy, and a bus can take us away fast. And call the police for us. Or if we are lucky and people are waiting for it, they'll have phones and dissuade pursuers."

“What if the bus is, like, in twenty minutes? We wait for it and hope no Afterwork crew finds us first?"

“No, in that case, we run to the next stop: the further we get, the larger their search radius, so if we have to wait twenty minutes but do so while moving away, our odds remain good."

“You… you're very clever."

“And there's the cold too…"

“Oh! I know! Lol told us he would be out today, and his room is near the exit. We'll sneak in and steal the Blanket of Friendship."

Xia reviews all this in her head, and some faint hope rebirths: “This could work."

—

Luck is on their side: Axel sent them deliver papers to the printing room, alone, early.

They are close to Lol's office, but not too close: if they trigger the alarm now, by the time they'll reach the place, enough guard-diverting movement everywhere will have had the time to build up.

And there are no secretaries around right now.

Riley looks at her neighbor, silent but tensed.

Xia nods.

When passing by the next alarm button, the ferret sneakily pokes at it. The loud alarm rings!

—

The duo discard their carried reams on the floor, then walks fast but calmly, as if following the evacuation plan to the letter. Under the facade, they are terrified that Axel might arrive running at any moment!

In their deserted, bleak, corridor, they have no clue how much chaos —if any—, the alarm might be causing. Is the plan working? Too late to change it, at this point…

They split near arrival: Riley will open the lock while Xia steals the blanket.

Her mouth is dry and she's so anxious it's hard to breathe. Oh, gosh, she's so silly: of course his door will be locked! How could she imagine that…

His door is not locked. She peeks in, afraid to meet Lol or some other happiness manager: the room is empty. She finds the blanket and runs away.

Outside, her accomplice already unlocked the door, and they disappear in the evacuation stairs!

—

The alarm's shrieks vanish when the heavy door closes behind them. They trot down the stairs.

They did it! They are escaping! They are really succeeding!

Riley is joyful: “This was the easiest lock to pick ever! A real piece of crap!"

“I promise never to be mean to you again! I'm sorry I wasn't your friend sooner!"

“I'm sorry I didn't see the stress I caused to you! And about Greg!"

They are reaching the last door. They squeeze together and wrap into the blanket.

“It's going to be alright."

Both push the bar together…

…and freeze in horror: the tall Lol is standing in their way.

He horns the party blower he was holding between his lips, tosses a handful of confetti at them, then starts clapping his hands.

Behind him, smiling, Axel claps along. As well as the two ones from the capture van, RC7 with the flowery hood, and Mister 8R1 the shocking sadist.

The maned wolf places the horn back in his pocket. “Excellent teamwork, X1A and P5T! Very outstanding! This was a well-planned action, and each of you worked with the other, using your complementary assets. You mentally supported each other to perform such a stressful mission, and you even didn't miss a single one of my clues!" He gives them two thumbs up. “I give you a well-earned A+ for this team-building exercise! Congratulations!"

“Well done, gang, I always knew you had it in you!" concurs Axel. “As a reward, I think you deserve your first orgasm." She winks.

8R1 raises a finger. “But we will also have to punish you: for stealing furniture, abandoning the workplace early, and triggering a false alarm. Do not fret, dears: you'll see how beautifully reward and punishment can weave together!"

T-they organized it all! There was never any chance, never the slightest slipping out of their control! Xia looks at the access lane with craving and weigh her odds to outrun them all: with four of them, including the strong and agile maned wolf, she deems them… inexistent.

The captives are brought back inside, completely demoralized.

The Farewell Party

Lol leashed his prisoners —just in case— to lead the group to the entrance hall.

A small but busy crowd is already there, chatting and relaxing, enjoying coffees or champagne flutes and nibbling at hors d'oeuvres. Apparently, the alarm didn't stir much chaos…

“We set up a farewell party for you, as you are leaving tonight," the maned wolf explains.

Seeing them arriving, an unknown mink stage whispers to her neighbor: “I heard that P5T is very fierce for an intern. That's a great quality in business!"

To which the other answers: “I heard that X1A's spirit is burning with passion for the synergism of processes!"

“Wow, that's cool!" Noticing she's observed, she waves to the otter with a smile.

An intern dog arrives as fast as his medium hobble will allow. Face tensed and eyes wet, he's carrying a tray with refreshments: he's hunching low, carrying it suspended by four corner chains, that are suspended from his nipples using clamps. Because his hands are shackled behind his back. “Hff… Would you like a d-drink or nibble?"

8R1 smirks and shakes his head. “Not right now, dear. However…" He pulls out a phone from his pocket. “We do not wish to be distracted, so can you hold on to this for me?" And he places the phone on the tray as extra weight.

The dog muffles a whine and begins. “Of cou…"

But the coyote's flowery-faced assistant didn't miss the emphasis on “we": she's already pulling out her own phone to add it to the load.

The dog further curls down, tail tucking. “O-of… course, sir. Thank you for your t-trust, sir." And he leaves.

Xia notices a sitting executive, who is telling a joke while a kneeling mink fellates him. She's bare bottom and he's rubbing the top of his expensive shoe under her crotch, holding her head down to keep himself buried in her throat.

All this becomes insignificant when she spots the bondage gear on the floor, in front of a direction signboard.

The happiness manager unhooks the leashes: “A6L, I'm leaving this up to you."

“At your service! Alright, gang, let's throne you up as this party's queens! Can you help me, RC7?" She's already working on removing Xia's chastity belt.

RC7 turns her head to her master instead of directly answering.

He nods. “Yes, help her, please."

“Right away, Mister 8R1."

—

Axel picks up some thin rope on the floor. She folds it in halves, wraps it around Xia's abdomen, slides the ends in the loop and tightens. She adjusts it snuggly just above the hips.

Silent and attentive, RC7 copies the process on Riley. By the way, it's overdue time to give her a nickname: Xia decides she'll be “Racy". Oh! and her boss sounds like a “Hater".

Next, the long loose ends are slid under her and to her back on the side of her tail. “Hold this tense, in both hands." Xia obeys and Axel fine-tunes the two strand's positions so they dig in her mound and pinch her clit.

She goes for the next elements: two metal arcs, with screws at the ends, two corresponding pierced plates, and four nuts. She combines one set into a metal D that she tightens around her subject's wrists to hold them together. Plate sideways. The second is placed right above the elbows, plate on the opposing side.

Racy makes sure to work symmetrically.

Xia rolls her shoulders to check: these things feel a lot sharper than the shackles. They are lighter, but, not spreading the pressure on as much surface, make any attempt to tug immediately painful. Remembering the friendly cat's advice at the restaurant, she tries to relax and to avoid struggling, despite the discomfort.

“Sit together, with the leg on your partner's side stretched."

The duo carefully lowers themselves to the floor, without releasing their ropes, and Axel slides a wooden beam between their extended legs. The thing has small, rectangular, hole pairs poked through the sides, and round ones poking through the top.

The mink fetches new metal arcs. Larger and with a rectangular ends matching the holes. These flat ends are pierced as well. The purpose of all this becomes clear when both secretaries slide one around the root of their victim's thighs, push it into the beam… and Axel drops a screw from above, that traverses both the wood and arcs to lock everything in place.

Racy slightly lifts the beam, to add the nut.

Xia's leg is further anchored there, using the same technique, above and below the knee, then at the ankle. If not as tight as the arm restraints, these are also severe and biting!

A few observers gather as the bondage setup gradually takes form.

“Now, if you could help me with the signboard…" And the minks go to remove its panel that they store away behind a reception desk.

Having been distracted by way more spectacular things, Xia had not noticed how unnecessarily thick the support beams were. Or the bars between them: two horizontal, round, metal bars are now exposed, which look like they can easily carry heavy weights!

Speaking of: “I would please need strong hands to help us hoist them in position!"

Lol and Hater volunteer. Each takes a side and they lift the duo toward the bars.

“One sec, please…" Axel walks behind and catches the rope from Xia's hands. “There: please hook their arms over the above bar, and sit them on the bottom one."

With the minks' help, the prisoners are soon in position: they are bent forward, elbows risen and hooked to a bar, sitting in mid-air with one leg held stretched.

Next, the crotch ropes are pulled up harder, slid under their wrist restraints, and secured. It becomes a lot tighter, down there, and they can no longer free themselves to get down.

“Thank you, sirs!"

Back to the front with a belt, Axel guides Xia's free knee wider and pushes it so her butt slides backward. She then folds her leg around the bar and secures it like that, by strapping her thigh and ankle together.

The otter is now “kneeling" in the air with one leg forward. The friction is enough so she can't slide on the bar to narrow her widened thighs. Her motions are severely limited as she's now thoroughly anchored to a solid support! And, back bent forward, rope pinching her, and metal digging in her muscles and skin, her discomfort is worsening fast.

“Almost there, gang, hang in tight!"

One new roll of rope is produced. It is wrapped in an eight figure around Xia's breasts. Once they are presented and separated, more turns around both squeeze and pack them together. The pressure is growing into a dull pain. She finishes and adds a few knots.

The otter has an oppressed sigh of relief!

…she had not noticed that the loose ends were this long: “Aaaand, leg up!" Axel raises the beam and centers it. Then, still nicely synchronized with the conscientious Racy, she secures the loose ends near the beam's end.

What little range of motion the duo enjoyed vanishes: they must now present their feet, outstretched well straight, together. Allowing them to lower or trying to move them sideways is immediately punished by a hard yank on their half-crushed breasts.

The only apparently remaining possibility would be to lift the beam some. Apparent only: Xia's flexibility limits prevent this as long as she can't fold her leg.

“Comfy, girls?"

“Hff n-not at all Miss A6L…" barely huffs Riley.

“Good, good! That's the idea, since you're going to be punished. Now, I left your tails free because I enjoy a pinch of active submission on top of my enforced one: I want them straight up, gang, and staying there! If I need to secure them, you'll receive extra punishment!"

Two tails hurriedly perk all the way up and rigid!

Racy steps back to admire a work well done. For once, she breaks her silence: “They are loud when punished. Maybe an extra gag?"

“Oh, if you prefer. There's a choice of them at the desk, I let you pick your fave."

The other darts away, and returns with heavy muzzles. These embed phallic-looking long gags and stabilizing nose hooks. This time, Axel is the one imitating carefully as her friend adjusts all the straps.

“Wow, we got a little excessive there, did we not, RC7?"

“Excessive is the only right way."

Axel chuckles. “Well, they look pretty, at least!" She pets Xia's ear. “You're there for a while, gang, so relax and get used to the pose: we'll only start playing in a moment, when everyone we invited arrived."

Reward + Punishment

Thus begins what feels like an endless wait for their unspecified punishment.

Xia can see the broad entrance doors opened to the courtyard: she knows that it's an enclosure as well, but, from this point of view, it looks like a tantalizing outside.

Being this completely immobilized, a few meters away from an “outside", after their intense —if illusory— burst of freedom is… devastating.

Gradually, the bars under her elbows and her leg hurt more and more. She tries to wriggle and find a more comfortable position, but nothing strategic wants to bulge even a little. And any struggling makes it worse.

Then, there's the beam. It is not as heavy as it looks like, but it's still an effort to hold it plus her leg up. Over the time, she's tiring and is forced to let it pull harder and harder on her tied breasts: she can only compromise between two evils.

Well, she can to some degree: Riley is also holding this bar, and she can feel when she helps steady it and when she weakens. Or gives accidental yanks in an attempt to… errr… Xia can't tell exactly what her pal is trying to do, but she keeps trying hopeless things: this ferret is terrible at just accepting the unavoidable and remaining quiet.

Despite their inability to communicate, the duo does their best at cooperating. Xia works —and suffers— harder when Riley seems to be in trouble, and in return is never let down when nearing a cramp.

Their synchronization is often less than perfect, however, so the metal bars are sawing cruelly into their limbs while their breasts get bluish.

The long gag, going far near the back of Xia's mouth and firmly steadied by her muzzle, is making it impossible to swallow at all. To avoid drowning in her own saliva, she has no choice but to forsake her last straws of dignity and let it pour. Drool is soon dropping in slow but copious ropes on her outstretched breasts, and some runs under her chin and neck.

—

The crowd does not grow much, but a few executives with golden stripes in their ties join the party. Xia didn't yet decipher the arcane subtleties of the corporate food chain here, but these guys are definitely special.

She's reminded of the parts she skipped too fast during Riley's subscription: the ones about “payment in kind". Something tells her that they are about to cash out for the bulk of her internship's price.

The punishment and reward are finally ready to begin.

—

Lol comes to the center and clears his voice. “A moment of your attention, please?"

Secretaries are following him carrying trays. On top are canes, floggers, short whips, pointy little sticks, a cut piece of… garden hose? and more. Xia clenches her toes hard and exchanges a worried side look with Riley.

“Our two interns are leaving tonight. Let us all show our appreciation: X1A, P5T, you were great assets to this company and served us well. You will be fondly remembered. Thank you for your drive and commitment!"

The crowd applauds the duo, smiling to them and nodding approvingly, raising cheerful glasses.

“To end with a bang, these engaged interns finished their last worknight earning themselves a reward and a punishment." There are chuckles around. “So, the rules are simple: they shall only be allowed to orgasm at the end of the party. In the meantime, they are free-for-all: as you can see, we have a selection of available punishment tools. Anyone can participate, even the lowest interns! Just don't hog all the fun for yourself: remember that others may be waiting for their share! Enjoy yourselves!"

He steps aside and one of the golden ties immediately approach. He brought his own toy: a forearm-long little whip, half silver handle and half flat tail —Xia would learn later how this is called a “rebenque".

It… It doesn't look that bad?

—

Very focused, he places himself in a steady stance before the offered feet, slightly to Xia's side. He loosens and wriggles his arm —he looks like a golfer readying for his swing—, pulls the rebenque away… and lashes in a firm, elegant, and accurate stroke. With a loud slap, the rounded tail tip crashes right at the center of Xia's sole.

She shudders and shakes at the violence of the sting. “Yyymmmf!" She was wrong! It's bad! It's bad! She can only rock her head and emit muffled shrieks, toes hooking in the air, for several seconds.

Meanwhile, he is walking to the other side. Riley's turn.

The otter couldn't recover yet when her friend howls and yanks on their breasts very hard. She gasps and whines some more.

T-the male is returning on her side! She shakes her head and bursts into inarticulate begging for mercy.

He is not hitting again yet. He's waiting for something: this first lash was just to show them what was about to come.

The faint buzzing noise makes Xia shiver. From behind, someone pushes a low frequency vibrator under her: she's not to climax now, but can be teased, it seems. It is gently rolled up and down there, sending its vibes deep, while a hand caresses her side.

She… she's not at all in this mood right now. But it's the season, she's been chastised and madly teased for days, and the mechanical stimulation is irresistible. Her body responds no matter her spirit.

One eye closing, she feels her breath shortening.

Another buzz is resonating nearby, and Riley is groaning.

She peeks up at the male, still waiting, and understands his game. So she tries to resist. She tries it hard. But she soon shudders and dribbles under herself from the first little convulsive clenches below.

The vibrator escapes when she needs it the most, and the proper foot whipping begins.

—

The duo is breathless, crying miserably, desperate. The stress position built up into a torture, all of Xia's body is aching, but it's nothing compared to the mind-erasing need and to the sorry state of her whipped foot.

She endured various flavors of pain: the cutting stings of a thin rubber flogger, the deep impact and hollow sound of the hose, the accurate lines of canes, “gentler" breaks getting poked with the pointy sticks.

Different abusers have different styles as well: some hit hard and without a break, aiming for maximal brutality; others take their time and go lighter, to let the vibrator-induced pleasure rise and edge them into insanity; some only torture one girl; some will get a hold on their toes to stretch and present the striped skin, and aim for special little spots that were yet neglected…

The golden ties took the lion's share and played first, undisturbed. But then, as promised, everyone could join. Interns, especially, are gentler —or, at least, less skilled, sloppier, sadists when they aren't.

As the party progress, the creative crowd tries new things: Xia gets her undertail caned and some thighs flogging; Hater comes to squeeze one of her breasts between his fingers and bites the nipple, making her “sing" aloud again; an intern stands on a chair so he can masturbate into her face.

Her level of stress and physical strain is such that her muscles now tremble continuously.

—

It slowed and calmed down for a while. Xia attempts to recover her breath, with little success: she reached her physical limits hours ago, she thinks, and the cruel horde of monsters kept pushing more since.

Two familiar faces arrive: Hater and their cat friend intern.

KT9 is holding two vibrators and he leans to whisper: “You are almost done!" He kneels before them and sets the toys to a low setting. “Nice and slow?"

After all this torture, Xia is so humbled and submissive that she nods obediently to any question without thinking.

The toy comes buzzing soothingly, lightly traced up and down. He's doing this just right and the otter closes her eyes and groan.

Hater flicks his lighter and waves the flame under her sole. He's far enough not to burn the skin: oh, it's too hot, it's painful… but not enough to prevent the rising pleasure at this point.

Riley growl-whines when KT9 finds a good spot on her, then glares at Hater with all the spite she can still summon when he moves the flame to her side.

The cat lowers the setting yet some more. He's controlling the pace so the girls' rise toward climax is uninterrupted, yet excruciatingly slow.

At some point, Xia can't take this anymore and she groans pleadingly at him.

He looks up at Riley: “Ready too?"

She nods frantically.

So he gradually increases the setting. It takes only seconds before the best, longest, orgasm in Xia's existence.

Then, he keeps pushing more firmly, until it's unbearable. The girls weakly squirm for a moment, but it becomes good again after a while and they enjoy a second helping of bliss.

Only then, he stops, bows to them and makes room.

Hater blows the flame out and pockets back his lighter.

—

After a short pause, Axel and Racy come removing the duo's muzzles. They are each holding a plastic cup of fruit juice.

The supervisor's is presented to Xia: “There, you need some hydration. And it'd be a shame if you didn't enjoy a drink at your own farewell party!"

The otter is thirsty indeed, and some sugar is welcome. She drinks.

Sudden tiredness hits, and her head starts spinning. Was the drink drugged?

“Well, our paths part here, gang! I want to say you have been excellent interns and I loved to be your supervisor. I wish you the best in your future endeavors! Take care!" The mink waves.

Xia's last thought when she blacks out is that next time she opens her eyes… she'll be in the Forever-Afterwork beginning a new, terrifying, life as a permanent sex slave.

Happy Forever After?

Xia stirs in her bed and hugs the pillow tighter. She sighs, content and comfortable, until she's awake enough to remember what happened and hurriedly straightens with a start!

She's in what looks like a normal hotel room. No bondage? No cattle-prod holding mink around? Panties instead of chastity? What is going on?

Then, the walls' irregularly colored clay brick become familiar. She gets up from her bed, winces hard when she puts her left foot on the floor, and limps to the window.

She opens the curtains and daylight flows, dazzling her hard! It feels as if she didn't see the sun for an eternity! Once her eyes adjusted, the landscape confirms that she's back at the Serenity Drop spa. She can even see Riley's car parked nearby —but not exactly where they left it.

T-they… they did release her as was initially planned!

The relief is intense. Safe at last. Free, at last! Such a weight lifted from her chest!

It's all so surreal and sudden that if she were not sore everywhere, she'd wonder if this wasn't all a dream. She checks herself and confirms: bruises, shackle marks… nothing permanent, but she'll wear visible marks from her “internship" for at least a couple of weeks.

There's a groan behind her. At her turn, Riley wakes up with a start and needs a moment to understand what is going on.

When reality hits, she has a burst of nervous chuckle.

Xia comes for a reassuring side-hug.

Recovering, the ferret smirks: “Oh my goodness, I feel so stupid right now. I mean, we literally, explicitly, set ourselves up for team-building and checked all the 'yes, you can totally mindfuck us' boxes! I should have seen it coming! But they still fooled me hard!"

“They're good."

“Yeah." She looks around again. “I would murder for a shower! Dibs on the bathroom: if you don't wanna wait, you'll have to either go with me, or to fight!"

—

The Afterwork left a letter on their nightstand. It thanks them for their visits, and requests if they could kindly fill up a short satisfaction survey.

There is also a copy of the “spa" team's report to Oliver, which only says good things about them. And a detailed schedule of what their imaginary stay was like.

—

Back to Riley's car, both watch the building with a hint of regret. They could use a hot whirlpool bath and an abduction-free massage, right now!

“It'll take me weeks to recover from this 'vacation'," mumbles Xia.

“Yeah. And to recover normal sleeping cycles."

They remain silent some more.

Riley is not starting the car yet. Eventually, she clears her throat. “You know… I was thinking, maybe, we could come to the spa on our own some weekend? If you… don't mind doing it with me anymore."

“I… I'd love to go with you, yes."

The ferret starts the car and they leave.

Conclusion

It has been two months sice Xia's grand adventure. Work at APE Co. became a lot more tolerable since.

Riley is a dear friend, now. She drives her to work, which saves her from the bus's inconveniences… and means that they both arrive late to work. The boss is so happy about the abrupt change in the workplace's atmosphere that he doesn't complain too much.

The kinky ferret also introduces her pal to new BDSM-related places and activities. Nothing as wild as the Afterwork, but Xia is exploring fascinating and fun new possibilities.

They also agreed to time-share Greg. Once they remembered they should maybe ask for his opinion about such arrangement, he was very enthusiastic to get alternating weeks with a dominant and submissive girlfriend.

He's a dabbling dominant and a bit too soft, but full of good will and playful. And Xia is sure her ex-rival is prompting him with ideas… which is somewhat exciting on its own.

—

Mister Oliver joins them near the coffee machine during the afternoon's break.

“Good job with the glow-in-the-dark bandanas, you two: this one was a mess! I'm never working with this customer again, broken databases and incomplete addresses are too much of a hassle, we lost money there. I'm still glad you could finish this delivery. How did you do it?"

“I repaired the database," explains Riley, “these things have a lot of rollback backup data if you know how to summon them."

“And I searched for the incomplete addresses in our past deliveries," adds Xia. “You see, many of the folks who collect coupons for our stuff are regulars. Who go for many autopaid prizes. So, we already had about nine out of ten of their full addresses somewhere."

He's impressed. “Great teamwork! Well done! Oh, this makes me think: guess who just applied for some new education credits? I say, if you keep being such a good team, I'm sending you to the spa again this November!"

“Yay!"

“Thanks boss!"

—

Once he departed, the exaggerated smiles disappear and the two friends look at each other. They concealed it, but both had a cold shiver!

Riley is the first to recover: “Hey, hey, don't fret. No risk this time. I mean, you will not mess with my schedule again, will you?"

Xia hesitates and gradually blushes. “Well…"

The ferret catches what's going on and smirks: “Oh, X1A, you slut! You want me to mess with yours, don't you?"

“O-only if you come with me again."

“Heck, it can't be team-building if you go alone…"

And they return to work, with an unusual level of motivation…

The End.