Losing It

Roxanne sprinted out of the room and away from Mia’s grasp. Her internal monologue cycled from thought to thought. Her mind lost itself and ran from place to place as the rattled Roxy struggled to process the situation.

Her heart thundered like a drum, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Every nerve was on fire at how close she’d come to total disaster.

She didn’t stop to see the damage she’d caused to Mia or even attempt to take advantage of the situation, as she lost herself in the labyrinth of the mansion. Roxanne pressed her hand to a hidden pressure plate in the wall of one of the corridors, and the wall opened to reveal a little recess,

Roxanne slipped into it and closed it behind her. The dim, artificial lighting she’d installed in one of the mansion’s hidden passages illuminated her. She gazed down at her hands, which trembled at her near exposure. She felt as if she’d been exposed already.

No, she almost got me. I can’t believe she almost got me. She can’t…

Roxanne hiked up her pants as far as they would go to make her feel better. She lamented not wearing a belt for extra protection, but their tightness had saved her this time.

She got lucky. That wasn’t my fault. It could have happened to anybody… but I’m not anybody. That won’t happen again.

Roxanne stalked down the passage, the dim automatic lights switching on as her footsteps echoed. The passage led right back to her command center, where the bank of cameras still illuminated her starting point.

Ah, shit, I left the glasses behind! No, no, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. I’ve got something better. No one humiliates me like that and gets away with it.

Roxanne opened a cupboard where she kept various devices. She was done playing around, and Mia was going to suffer hard for this.

The Punk Princess removed a sleek, futuristic-looking gadget about the size of her palm. It was crafted from matte black and polished chrome. The device features various intricate buttons and switches, with a small digital display on the front.

A small aperture glowed at the top of the device with an eerie blue light. Roxanne donned two earpieces attached to the destructive device.

Nobody will ever see me stripped down. But they will see Mia – and, this time, I’m not going to do a damn thing.