Company Policy

                              by Michael Mariman
                                (f/f, qs. grim)


The  blinding light, the loud horn, and the crash of glass as Dawn and Sharon's
car  slid  into  the ditch. For a few seconds no one said anything, although it
felt  like  an  eternity.  Dawn looked at her passenger with a twitch of worry,
hoping she was all right. Sharon awoke with a moan, shaking her head to get her
wits  about  her. They assessed the damage, the window was smashed and the roof
had  crumpled  in  behind  them. Looking for cuts and bruises, Dawn's skirt was
slightly ripped, while Sharon's jeans remained intact. Neither of them lost any
blood,  but a small lump began to form just above Sharon's forehead. They tried
to  open  their  doors, which proved a futile act, and climbed out the windows.
Dawn saw the car that ran them off the road stopped only a few yards from where
the  accident  happened.  A  dark figure climbed out his car and strode towards
them. Dawn was relieved to see he was going to help them in this minor crisis.

"Thanks mister, can you call us a tow truck?" she asked politely.

He  smiled  as he revealed a nasty looking weapon from his coat. "I think not."
He opened the trunk on his car, motioning to the two now panicked ladies. "Both
of you, in the trunk. Now!"

Sharon sputtered and tried to respond to this demand, but it only came out as a
frantic babbling. Dawn stared into the black space. "What do you want from us?"
She got no reply as he shoved them in and closed the lid.

As  the  car  lurched  around  as  it sped off, Sharon got her senses right and
peered  into the darkness, barely making out her friend. "Wha-wha-what do think
he wants? Is he going to to-"

"I  doubt  it,  unless  he was stupid. People are going to see our car and know
something went wrong. Possible he might hold us for ransom, but for what I have
no  idea.  Who  knows what is on the mind of lunatics like that." A sudden bump
found  their heads painfully slamming into the lid of the trunk then the sudden
deceleration  forced  them forward. The engine turned off, and the door opened.
The lock opened like tumblers on a safe, flooding the trunk with bright light.

"Ok,  everyone  out  of  the pool." As they emerged from the trunk, he motioned
towards  the  wall.  "Stand  there  until  I say otherwise. You two are in deep
trouble,  and I suggest you don't make things harder on yourselves." They stood
against  the  wall,  looking  at the shackles placed there. He placed a call to
someone,  stating  that  he  had  them,  and  was about to begin what he called
"debriefing".  Sharon  looked  around  at  the medieval type items on the other
walls,  and  stared  wide-eyed  to  her  partner.  He hung up and looked at his
guests.

"Well,  looks  like  you  both  need  to  relax."  He motions to 2 chairs. They
gingerly  sit  there,  wondering what's next. "I know what you're thinking, and
you  need  not  worry  about that." He strides over to a series of old devices.
"Why are you here? Simple. You want to leave the company, and after downloading
several  confidential  files. Now normally this is no bother, but since you are
going  to  our direct competition after you signed those contracts not to leave
for any competition for at least 2 years, my boss requested that I debrief you.
This  is  not  a good thing. My methods are not considered in the realm of safe
working conditions, but since I am paid off the record, I have no problems with
it.  Anyone  who  arrives  to  my  'office' shouldn't have to worry about those
contracts,  since you just broke them. Now, after a few tests, you will be free
to  go.  The  files  you stole have been found on your systems at home and have
been  dealt with. Consequently I wouldn't be trying to use your computer to log
onto  the  company  network,  the results would be disastrous and fatal to your
computers. I have however backed up all the files from the other company and we
now  have  access to their system. Your personal files are safe and sound which
you will find on a disk at home."

He  walks  over  to  a  door  and  wheels out a lie detector. "I know these are
illegal  in  the  formal workplace, but this is anything but formal. You have a
choice  to  either  take this lie detector test, which I know you will fail, or
take  the  field  test.  I have heard reactions about both, and quite frankly I
don't  care which you take. I'll be nice and give you a few minutes to decide."
With a whoosh from his trench coat, he walks into another room.

Dawn  looked  at Sharon, and asked her the question. "How did they find out? Is
this some kind of joke?"

Sharon  shrugged.  "This  is unreal. We were totally secretive in getting those
files.  I didn't even use my own logon to get them. They should have been doing
this to one of the employees on a cell team. I doubt he is going to let us live
if  we  fail  these  tests. I can't try for that lie detector. We'd better take
this  field  test  he mentioned. That's our best way out of this." Dawn nodded,
and  the  made  the  decision.  The man walked back into the room, and lit up a
cigar.

"Well ladies, have you decided?"

Dawn  nodded  and replied. "You know we can't pass that lie detector, and if we
took  that you would probably end up killing us. You seem to know everything we
have done, and countered our actions. We'll take this field test."

He  smiled  and  helped  them to their feet. "Excellent. I made a few calls and
your car is waiting for you. All you have to do is get to it." He motioned them
through several rooms. They looked at him nervously, wondering why he seemed so
accommodating.  As  he  opened one last door, they peered into a swamp. "Here's
the  deal.  Your  car  is across this area here. You get to it; there is a bomb
there.  Pushing  the  green  button will deactivate it. Throw the bomb into the
swamp,  and  drive  off.  That's  it.  If  you say anything of what happened to
anyone, and I'll make sure you are never found. The boss says everyone deserves
a  chance, and this is the one I am giving you. You make it out of here, alive,
and  you  can live your lives in relative peace. If you don't make it, the bomb
will  go  off  and  you  will  be written off as a tragic accident. That's your
chance. You can take it, or I can shoot you on the spot." He motioned them onto
a small path leading into the dense growth. "By the way, that hacker friend you
had  to  get  into the system has been dealt with. He never got the opportunity
you have at hand."

They  started  to  make  their  way through the swamp when they heard a shotgun
blast behind them. Their pace picked up tremendously.

As they scampered down the path Dawn took the lead but not by much. "This might
not  be  too  bad.  Just follow this path and get to the car. Then we go to the
authorities.  This nutcase has got to be stopped." As they raced down the path,
they made the turn to see the path was no longer.

"Dawn, what are we going to do now?"

"Ok,  we know that the car is this way, so we better keep in this direction. He
said  the car is on a road, so if we find one the car shouldn't be too far off.
Until  then,  we  head due this way." The duo slowly made their way through the
swamp.  The  eerie sounds that weren't heard well from the path began to invade
their  ears.  Sounds  they  never  heard  before this night began to work their
fears.  The  buzzing  of locusts, the chirp of crickets, the splash of water as
something  moved,  and  the  rustling  of  undergrowth  nearby  forced  them to
involuntary  slow  down  to a near crawl. Sharon leaned on a tree, when a small
spider  climbed down the trunk, and over her hand. She shrieked with terror and
looked down to try and stomp out whatever it was that touched her. Dawn saw the
insect  on  the  swamp  floor and the 20 or so on the tree. Her skin crawled as
they made their way to the ground.

"We  gotta  get outta here!" stated Dawn as she led the way through the plants.
The  bottom  of  the  swamp  was layered with brackish water coated with algae.
Their  splashing  drowned  out  many  of  the  sounds  as  they  kept  to their
destination  and  a  small rise in the swamp. They stopped before a hummock and
listened. Something was heard in the distance. Could it possibly the running of
an  engine?  As  Dawn  looked for signs of cars, something brushed her leg. She
remained  still  for  a few seconds, trying not to panic Sharon. When the thing
was  gone,  she  moved to the rise. "This way, I don't think we have much to go
through."

As  they emerged from the shallow water, Sharon thought she saw a headlight and
squealed  with  delight. She charged past her companion, and parted some reeds.
The  place  was  mostly  clear,  with  just a bit of vegetation growing around.
"We're  almost  there.  Come on!" Sharon nearly tripped over herself getting to
the  last  leg  of  this  nightmarish evening. As she marched to salvation, she
didn't  notice  the ground beneath her getting softer ... Dawn looked as Sharon
led the way, looking down she noticed something was off. Way off.

"Sharon, stop. I think we got trouble here."

Sharon  stopped,  and  turned to her friend. "What do you mean? It's-" then her
feet  broke  through  the  smooth crusted surface and slid ankle deep into some
thick goop. "Oh, shit! My shoes are ruined." As she tried to lift her feet, she
noticed  Dawn was in the same trouble. As the mud climbed her claves, she looks
to Dawn for strength. Dawn saw their predicament, and knew the truth.

"Sharon,  don't  move!  Don't even breathe! We're trapped in quicksand!" Sharon
began  to  panic. "Sharon, calm down! We're in trouble, but only if we lose our
heads."  Dawn  tried  to  sound rational, but her voice was laden with fear and
panic herself as the quicksand rose to her knees.

Sharon  began  to babble. "I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die. You gotta help
me, Dawn. Oh god! I don't wanna die!"

"Ok,  just  relax, and try to walk over to me. You're going to sink a bit more,
but if we're together, we will be able to escape this mess."

Sharon  tried  to  walk  to  Dawn, lifting her legs above the trap and taking a
step.  As  she placed each step down, she sank a few inches. It was worth it in
the  end,  as she reached Dawn, though it cost her sinking up to her hips. Dawn
felt the mire around her thighs as she reached for a set of reeds and cattails.
Her  fingers  clawed  at the surface of the sand. 'Only a few more inches,' she
thought.  An  idea  began to form in her head. "Sharon, I need you to lift me a
little  so I can reach those reeds. After I get them, I will be able to get you
out of here, and we can go home."

Sharon  slowly  nodded,  but  realized what this would mean to her. "Why did we
take  those  files?  I  know  it  could've  made  us  rich,  but we should have
reconsidered  that."  The quicksand was forming a pattern around her waist like
all  the  patterns  she saw in those old movies. The ripples from the quicksand
began  slowly  moving  away  from her one by one. She grabbed Dawn and began to
heave her to the reeds, shoving herself deeper in the process.

Dawn  reached  out with all her might and grasped a handful of stalks. With her
other hand, she got a firmer grip on them. She looked back to see Sharon nearly
to  her  breasts in the bubbling mire, and set herself the task of getting them
both  out.  "Ok I have the reeds, now don't move a muscle until I get out. I'll
pass these to you and pull you out from there." Dawn slowly pulled herself from
the  quicksand  until  she  at last felt the safe touch of solid ground. Sharon
stayed  still,  only  sinking a few inches where the quicksand just covered her
breasts.  Her  eyes  looked  into  Dawn's, pleading for help, and she knew that
Sharon was doing everything she could not to panic, but soon that control would
be lost.

Dawn  pulled  the  reeds  out  of  the  ground,  and  pushed  them  towards the
quicksand's  captive.  Sharon tried to grab them, but they were too far away to
get  to.  Sharon  began  to  cry  for  help as the quicksand began to cover her
delicate  shoulders.  Dawn  grabbed the removed reeds and took hold of a second
batch.  She  stepped  back  into  the  quicksand and thrust the handful towards
Sharon once again. Sharon gasped with joy as she held onto the reeds.

"We've  almost  got it. Now don't pull at me, it will only sink me further. Let
me  do  the  work."  Dawn  relaxed  as she began to pull her friend to her. She
silently  thanked  the  company for the use of the gymnasium for this exercise.
Sharon  began  to  rise  from the mud, clamoring to safety. Dawn felt as if her
arms  were  about  to  tear  from  their  sockets  in this tug of war. Having a
newfound  respect  for  rope, she pulled Sharon closer to her. Sharon tugged as
well, trying to escape the deadly trap. Sharon was just at dawn's feet when the
reeds Dawn used as an anchor ripped from the ground. They plunged back into the
quicksand, and settled to where they had previously sunk. Dawn reached for more
reeds, but saw that they all were well beyond her reach, even if Sharon were to
push  her  to them. They sank and cried together, as Sharon's shoulders slipped
beneath  the  surface.  Knowing  her time was nearly up, Sharon looked at dawn.
"I'm sorry for getting you into this. Friends to the end?" They laughed at this
comment,  given  the  time  left.  Sharon  felt  the cold feel of the quicksand
touching  her  chin. With a look of resolve, Sharon went beneath the surface of
the  quicksand.  Her hands reaching for help then dropped limp as a small surge
of  bubbles told Dawn that her friend was gone. Dawn saw the quicksand reaching
for  her chest, said a silent prayer. She knew that what she did was wrong, and
began to curse in the silence.

Behind  her, someone sighed. "I like that part, especially about friends to the
end."  Dawn  looked  back and saw the stranger. He held a rope on his shoulder,
and grinned. "You want out?"

Dawn looked at her captor, then the quicksand as it closed over her breasts and
climbed higher. "How long have you been here?" she asked.

"Long enough," he replied.

She  looked  at him as she sank deeper. Then she thought of Sharon. 'Friends to
the  end' popped in her mind. She looked up at the man, and smiled. "I wouldn't
give  you  the  pleasure."  With  a  gesture,  Dawn  joined  her  friend in the
quicksand.

Guido looked at the quicksand. All she needed to say was yes, and he would have
pulled  her  out.  But  security  in  a  company like this needed to be guarded
carefully. He pulled out his cell phone. "Yeah boss, they're gone. Don't worry;
damage  control is working overtime for this. I have everything safe and sound.
The files they took were destroyed. The files never made it to the competition.
They  tried  to upload them, but it was stopped. Yeah, I know. The arrangements
are  made.  You said it yourself. Sometimes drastic actions need to be taken to
protect the company. That's why you hired me. To protect company policy."

He  turned  around  and  headed back to his office. 'What a shame,' he thought.
'You try to help people, and they just refuse it.'