Emily’s brief, humbling walk through the building and quick tour of her new office would fade into the back of her mind once her new Master took her towards the 30th floor’s drone storage room.

“You have to fit in with them,” the drone helmet covered the head completely, with an oval shaped glass lighting up in Spiral’s purplish blue hue as it sealed to the rest of her uniform. “Hiding among the drones when you’re not in the office is a good idea, RT27, whoever has it out for me likely won’t want you around either.” What Emily’s Master said made sense, but even as she faded back into her incomplete drone persona, RT27 was a little worried that putting it on or laying in a pod would trigger the process to complete her transformation. She would be registered with this floor’s mini hive, the floor number now attached to her designation, and another drone would stamp a “-30” at the end of the number on her chest before assigning her a pod.

Her Master had been mumbling to himself about still needing to iron out some of her behaviors, but she was becoming far too docile now to question it. She told herself that she needed to play the part for now, regardless, and that if she woke up as a full conversion she wouldn’t really know the difference anyway. Throughout her first night in an assigned pod, a place she knew she had a strong possibility of ending up in permanently, a low hum and audio conditioning would fill her mind. Occasionally an error message would appear in her vision and she would feel a jolt of electricity flow through her body, making her feel like a malfunctioning robot, but eventually she found enough comfort in the hum to fall asleep.

RT27 dreamed of serving as a mindless drone, performing hard labor for its Masters without question or complaint, only to be stolen by some humans who were allegedly friends from its old life. Its alleged friends attempted to unmask it, only to be horrified when everything underneath had successfully been converted into wires and circuitry. As they screamed, it declared its loyalty to Spiral Holdings, and then woke up at 5:30am sharp. In a way RT27 wanted its former friends to see this new version of it, so that it could rub it in that it didn’t need them to excel, not the way they needed the old it. If RT27 did become a drone, it would be as good at being a drone as it was at anything else it had ever been. For a fleeing moment it even began to crave completion as a drone.

RT27-E01-30 would rise from its pod on command and line up alongside the floor’s other drones. Each floor had at least a handful of drones assigned to a number of cleaning and maintenance duties. Additionally, each floor had at least two security drones. The 30th floor had roughly a dozen of those, whose uniforms were mostly similar to labor drones like RT27, but with thick armor as white as snow built onto them, making them a little bulkier than most but not so much that they couldn’t fit through the average doorway. The security drone’s helmet had one large lens in the middle, which glowed with purplish blue light to match Spiral’s logo. As Emily, the incomplete drone had never liked them much, even becoming nervous around them, but RT27 felt safe around them.

RT27’s hair made the helmet fit uncomfortably. A part of her deep down was thankful for that, as normally when one’s droneification was finalized their hair would be permanently removed so everything would fit better, and the discomfort was so distracting that it likely helped her resist succumbing completely to the pod’s overnight conditioning. RT27 learned a lot about the end of the process, but wasn’t sure how. It was like it was being beamed through the helmet, directly into its mind, informing it of what it had to look forward to. It seemed like it had witnessed one, but the memories were odd and dreamlike. It seemed correct to assume that a drone’s dreams were controlled by an outside source, feeding the drone conditioning and affirmations in its sleep, and that some of its “dreams” overnight had been like labor drone orientation videos.

Finalization of one’s drone transformation was far more invasive and time consuming than she’d expected, with most of the conversion’s organic material being replaced by the mechanical and robotic over time. It made more sense to her now that the corset device felt like a piece of armor. The thought was horrifying to RT27, or Emily at least, but real drones didn’t think like that anymore, with the ability to think for themselves and human personalities being destroyed long before that stage. That she could still think and ponder about such things reminded Emily that she wasn’t truly one of them, and she didn’t plan to become one any time soon. She recalled once more how nervous her Master had been towards the end of the day, and a tiny voice in the back of her mind told her to stop succumbing to her new programming. She just needed to play the part for now, and if Mr. E had tricked her then he would be no more immune to her wrath than her old friends. 

Emily did have one thing in common with the drones though. She gazed upon her right hand, wrapped in black latex and listened closely as she moved her fingers. The mechanical sounds of her robotic hand made her heart sink. Supposedly she’d punched the security drone who attacked her and Mark. According to her Master, her hand was severely broken on impact, and when the drone responded by grabbing her broken fist and squeezing? It would have never healed correctly, and so it was easier for Spiral’s medical team to replace it. At least it wasn’t the hand she needed for the fretboard. She could probably pick impossibly fast now, which she thought would be cool, and if she made it out of this? Being an ex-drone with a robotic hand to prove it would probably get her some cool points. Not that she was a true drone, but her peers and fans didn’t have to know that. She thought it would be a cool story if she could spin it like she’d been successfully converted, only to escape and denounce the Masters she’d once been loyal to. An excellent opportunity for a controversial rebrand when this was over. Unlike the other drones here, even if she felt she could relate to them a little bit now on a mental level, at least the hand was the only thing about her body that had been replaced.

“New unit detected: RT27-E01-30.” The statement rang through the helmet, more like a thought than something the Drone Overseer said aloud. “State your purpose.”

RT27 immediately felt like itself again, obeying as Emily faded into the background of her own mind, and stepped forward before standing at attention. “This unit is assigned to serve as Agent Lisa Sullivan’s personal drone. Its previous identity and connections have been deemed useful to Mistress Sullivan’s current case. This unit is required to meet Mistress Sullivan in its assigned office.”

“Acknowledged. Recognition: lack of completion desired by our Masters. Old identity is still relevant and necessary.” The floor’s Drone Overseer would step forward, lightly running her hand down the side of RT27’s helmet. Its purplish blue armor was durable but thinner than a security drone’s, gleaming beautifully in the low light while her lack of helmet, a small crown in place of it, signified her status as this mini-hive’s Queen. Her eyes glowed with Spiral’s color of choice and made RT27 further crave completion. “Serve her well, and if you impress her, perhaps she’ll take you on as her personal drone for life. What an honor that would be.”

“This unit will serve and obey Mistress Sullivan without question.” The helmet’s filter made its voice flat and monotone, which helped it fit in, but it liked to think it had mastered playing the part. If nothing else it would be good practice just in case it needed to go undercover, or at least that’s what RT27 told itself. Perhaps Emily didn’t want to admit how hopelessly subject to the will of Spiral Holdings she had actually become. Then again, perhaps Rachel was really in control, leaning hard into the persona of loyal and obedient slave as a long term survival or manipulation strategy. Emily wasn’t sure if she was more disturbed when she felt like Rachel or when she felt like a drone. “This unit must earn its place as a finished drone.”

“Good drone. Follow her commands, and do not return to your pod until your conversion is complete. The sleep conditioning cycle carries a risk of wiping your old self, as the system will detect you are incomplete and attempt to correct that. Additionally, for an incomplete drone, this action may result processing errors or intensify splits between the perceived self and identities. Remain patient, drone, our Masters will grant you the gift of completion when your assignment is finished.” The Drone Overseer’s affirmation carried an air of genuine kindness, as if she truly cared about the lesser drones she commanded. For a moment, Emily wondered if drones who could reconcile being a machine with their former humanity were assigned to be Queens.

“Affirmative. Command acknowledged. This unit obeys.” Its heart raced at the thought of being fully converted. Initially it was excitement and a desire to become a perfect machine, as its old self had always been a perfectionist, but as it left the drone storage room it would finally feel more like herself. The low hum and subtle mantras would fade, becoming inaudible and she no longer felt trapped in a limbo between human and drone. Her previous excitement quickly became concern. Emily wanted to be thankful that E’s idea didn’t end as badly as it could have but wondered if he’d intended for her to lose herself due to his fears of her as Rachel. She silently thanked her uniform’s previous malfunction, which explained the error messages, and may have been one more thing that had saved her. 

* * *

“Oh, hey there drone, what do you need?” A beautiful woman of 24 sat behind the desk just outside of Emily and Lisa’s newly assigned office. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a small bun, and she wore a ruffled white blouse with a black pencil skirt, while a cute pair of glasses completed her look. “Oh! Maybe they assigned one of you to our new agency! Could you fetch some coffee for my new, um, boss? I guess she’s my new boss. I’m honestly confused about the situation. Mr. E tried to explain but I still don’t- well, I don’t know why I’m talking to a drone about this, I just don’t feel like fetching coffee right now! I haven’t even had mine yet!”

Emily cocked her head to the side. “I think I’m your new, boss, I guess too?” The entire floor, outside of this and the drone room, seemed empty. 

“A drone? Ha! Adorable, but there’s no way they’d ever do that. I think you’re malfunctioning, poor thing, here let me just call your Ove- Whoa wait! What are you doing?!” She exclaimed as Emily took her helmet off, but to the secretary it probably looked like a malfunctioning drone was trying to remove its own head. 

“Happy early… Halloween? I’m going as a Spiral Holding’s drone.” Her tone wasn’t convincing. “Nice to meet you. I’m,” She felt frustrated, not sure which name to use. “Just call me Miss Thompson, or Agent Thompson, please.”

”Oh my god I’m so sorry! Yes Miss Thompson, but how did you get such an authentic looking uniform? Actually, you know what, I apologize. That’s probably way above my pay grade and I’ve probably annoyed you enough already. Please, right this way.” She would then open the office door for Emily and follow her in. “Oh god I’m so sorry, again, my name is Tina!”

It was an extravagant corner office, with big windows which allowed Emily to see a large portion of the city known as Sapphire Bay, and the best part? She’d never seen the bay itself from this high up before, at least not when in a relatively relaxed situation like this where she could appreciate it, and would step over to do so as she responded. “Tina, shut the fuck up for a second.”

Tina froze in place, slowly blinking as she attempted to process what she’d just heard. “Wha- I? I don’t under- I don’t. What do..”

“How were you supposed to know? My fault for wearing this, don’t you think?” She placed her helmet on the large, beautiful desk, before sitting in the luxurious office chair behind it. “Fuck this office is big. What’s that?” she asked, pointing at a couple of doors to the left which she’d only spotted from this view, realizing the layout of the office allowed for some extra rooms within it.

”Your office has a personal bathroom, Miss Thompson, and a closet. The offices on this floor were actually used as luxury apartments for a time!” Tina seemed happy working here.

”That explains the,” she paused, looking to the right to see a mostly open side room which contained a TV and a couch, “personal break room?” She also saw a fridge which sat somewhere between the average mini fridge and a full sized one. “Whoa they actually fucking make that? Tara owes me $50!” Emily practically sprinted towards it, almost tripping over the couch she assumed she’d be sleeping on. It wasn’t just that she’d been kicked out of the drone storage room for now. Ever since the malfunction she could press her luck and the uniform wouldn’t punish her for it, so she wasn’t worried about anything like properly connecting to the pod and her memories or personality being wiped. However there were still some lingering effects of the uniform, overnight conditioning, and E’s hypnosis which compelled her to obey the Overseer’s command: Do not return to her hive until her transformation was complete. Not that she wanted to go back anyway. The point of accepting this job was to avoid that altogether. 

“You must be new to Spiral, Miss Thompson. Where did you come from?” Tina adjusted her glasses.

“I was… a freelance investigator and security expert. Kind of a hired gun, make sense? I thought it was time to move up, get out of the streets, and just happened upon this offer.” She returned from the fridge with a beer and glanced at the time on the desk’s computer. 7:30am. She hadn’t really thought about the time, given that it had all blurred together during her stay here. “Hey, Tina, what the fuck are you doing here so early anyway? Shit, I can’t undo opening this now.” 

Tina seemed like she was having a very strange day. Coming in ridiculously early, a new boss who was dressed as a drone and  speaking far less professionally than she was likely used to, and now drinking on the job. Not only that, but her new boss had technically been an enemy of the company she clearly loved, though Emily didn’t know if she realized that. “Mr. E asked me to be here early so that I could help you settle in. He said you have a lot of work to do, and I’m at your beck and call to help you with anything you need! This whole floor is like our own agency now,” she squealed with excitement.

”What? Like separate from Mr. E’s?” Didn’t they already have investigation and security?” Emily sipped on the beer.

Tina nodded. “It’s still technically under him, but he’s reorganizing. He says it makes more sense to split some duties, and he wants only the best to be in this new division.” 

Maybe he really did just want to hide Emily from any potential threats. It’s not like knowing how the drones actually worked was his department. She decided she would be careful, but not assume the worst. “Well I know we have the best secretary.”

Tina could barely contain her excitement. “Thank you Miss Thompson! Would you like a coffee before I help you get started, Miss?”

”Black. No sugar, no creamer, I mean it. Not a single grain or drop.” She didn’t mean for it to come out like a command, her tone colder than intended, but she felt a strange satisfaction when Tina gave a bow and a “yes Miss Thompson.”

* * *

”We’ve never hired an extraction team. Why the fuck would they now?” Emily thought out loud as she looked at through the paperwork E had given her. Reports on bands in the local scene, activists, a number of mercs, a variety of organizations, and a chart drawing out known connections. Then, the pic she was staring at, a professional looking militia meeting her friends. She paused for a moment and looked back at the connection chart. “No what the fuck? Those two are sworn enemies, and you people have this gang’s structure all wrong.” She would correct the chart with a nearby pen before tapping it against the picture of her band with the strange group. “If plan was leaving though-“

She knew her brain was still fried from her meeting with E and sleeping in a drone pod all night, on top of watching his mind numbing videos until an hour or so ago, but the more she tried to figure out what was going on here the less sense it made. She definitely wasn’t sure what connection the Steel Vespids, an all women gang whose structure she corrected, could have to any of this. Emily didn’t have many dealings with them, having only ever taken one job on their behalf way back before she and Ronnie linked up with Mark and Eric, and the Vespids rarely outsourced work to mercs. That was almost ten years ago now, and those people were unlikely to speak to Mark directly. Ronnie was a possibility, as the Vespids were willing to work with nonbinary people, and while Ronnie wasn’t sure about it yet he had been exploring that recently. As far as Emily knew however, Ronnie wasn’t interested in dealing with the Vespids after the chaos of the first and only job the pair had taken from them. Emily was going to do it alone due to their rules, but Ronnie had fortunately made her take him as backup. In the end they were staring at so much unnecessary chaos they agreed to more or less silently blacklist the Vespids from their client list. Tara didn’t seem like the type. Emily didn’t recall her ever wearing their colors or having any of their tattoos, and she couldn’t see Tara riding a sport bike well enough to get in. At least it was a potential lead. 

If the job simply went wrong on its own then it was likely as disastrous for the rest of the crew as it was for Emily, if not more. What they did manage to take would be unlikely to cover much more than the cost of the extraction team, depending on who they subcontracted, and given how professional the team in the photos looked it was unlikely they’d have anything left for starting over in another country. It was likely they were on bad terms with whoever hired them for the ransom job, whether or not it was true that they were paid by a secondary client to botch it, and they’d likely need to lay low for awhile. “I knew we shouldn’t have taken this shit.” She spun in the chair so that she could look out the window. There were large protests going on outside of corporate buildings lately, though she hadn’t given it attention earlier in the day. The team had used the chaos of the one outside of Spiral’s headquarters as cover to get inside. It was one of the largest demonstrations in city history, and Emily had helped organize it, which made her proud. It seemed so small from all the way up here. The sun setting over the bay was something she’d never actually seen from this angle, and the orange glow’s undeniable beauty would quickly grab her attention. 

She needed to take a break anyway. It didn’t help that Emily was so exhausted, even independently of her meeting with E and the odd sleeping arrangement of her first night here. Two nights ago she’d played a big show, calling more attention to the protests and hyping up the crowds, and yesterday morning she’d gone on that failed job with almost no sleep and a hangover. She hadn’t even felt like herself until she entered this office today, which felt more like a nice hotel room or apartment than a professional workspace, save for the lack of a bed. Emily didn’t plan on sleeping much until this was over anyway, and wasted no time getting to work. She started with Mr. E’s videos first to get some of them out of the way, only getting to work on the case in the last hour, and she was a little annoyed about locked out of the videos once 5pm hit but in truth she hadn’t even realized how much time had passed before she was locked out. She could barely even recall what the contents of the videos actually were, but blamed that on rushing through them.

“Miss Thompson? I don’t mean to intrude, but is everything okay?” Tina asked from the doorway, Emily having left the door cracked wide to let her know she could come in if she needed to.

Emily would slowly turn her chair back around to face the secretary. It wasn’t intentional, but she felt like a movie villain and tried to avoid making herself laugh as she quickly formed the idea to mimic one. “I’m sorry, did I summon you?” She tried her best to put on an evil voice, like a tyrannical Queen or cruel Mistress. 

“Oh, I’m sorry Miss Thompson, you just sounded stressed. Please forgive me,” she bowed her head, sounding scared.

”I’m fucking with you. Come in.” Emily smiled. “I also did actually have a question for you though, and please feel free to sit down.”

”Of course, Miss Thompson. I’m here to assist you with any and all tasks!” Tina perked up, even laughed, and opted for one of the chairs in front of the desk.  

”Good. Why am I locked out of the videos?” The obvious annoyance filled the room with tension again. 

”Your workday is over, Miss Thompson. It is wonderful that you want to get more work done, and I can assure you as a loyal employee of Spiral Holdings that your efforts will be recognized! Rest, however, is important for maximum efficiency.” The enthusiasm was actually kind of cute in an embarrassing way.

Emily groaned. Even with the complexities of the case she was certain that she could solve it within a week or two, but there were so many videos, not to mention all of the tests and surveys. There were even some of those workplace problems to solve E had mentioned. Even if she solved the case tomorrow she’d be stuck here for a month at least. “Then why am I allowed to work on the case tonight?” She asked, pressing her teeth together in frustration.

Tina smiled in spite of her new boss’s frustration. “Oh, that’s a good question, but maybe Mr. E just wants to help you manage your time well, since you have so much to do.”

”Oh what the hell?” A red haired woman of roughly 30, dressed in a nice black suit and tie entered, carrying a large duffle bag over her shoulder and a huge bottle of tequila in her left hand. “A.. drone? Wait, Tina, are you my partner?”

”Oh no, Miss Sullivan, you have it all wrong!” Tina exclaimed, “this is Agent Thompson. I had no idea you’d be on this! This is going to be so cool!” She turned back to look at Emily, grinning from ear to ear as she leaned over the desk and whispered. “Top. Fucking. Agent.”

”Hey drone girl. I’m Lisa.” She said coldly as she approached, reaching her right hand out to shake Emily’s.

”Oh, no I’m not a drone, it’s just- well, um.” At first Emily was nervous that Lisa would notice her robotic hand under the latex, but she didn’t seem to.

”It’s a Halloween costume!” Tina would say, finding it amusing as an idea.

”Well it looks authentic so I would take it off if I were you.” Lisa said sternly as she set her things down.

”Why?” Emily hadn’t even tried to take it off, but Lisa’s tone sounded a little ominous.

”Because there are tiny little hooks that press into your skin, and if you find yourself in the hands of the wrong drone technician specialist they’re going to permabind it, starting the finalization process. Those tiny little hooked cables will dig in and bind to your nervous system, if they haven’t already, slowly replacing it. And then? After a long and excruciating process? You’re ready for them to start taking everything human about you away, but I’m sure that one just looks authentic. It isn’t the real thing, right? So I wouldn’t worry about it.” Lisa wandered off to the break area to grab two glasses, breaking the silence she’d dropped the room into as she walked back in. “Tina, I don’t mean to send you away so soon, but some of our case details of are highly classified. I can ask E if we can share more with you, but I can’t risk anyone without clearance accessing anything. I trust you and all but it would still get my ass in trouble.”

”Oh you don’t have to ask him that. I’ll be a great assistance in any way I can, and will even protect your office with my life if I have to!” She stood, putting her hand over her heart as if pledging herself, before going back to normal and looking to Emily. “I really should be heading home, but it was nice meeting you Miss Thompson. Please, if you need me to get anything for your skin once you get all those hooks out, I’m on it!” 

“Hey, uh, Lisa?” Emily said as the door shut behind Tina, with Lisa began pouring two glasses of tequila. 

“Drones ask questions now?” Lisa finished pouring and slid one glass over to Emily with a smug expression before sitting down.

”Is that true, the hooks? Cables?” The tequila went down smooth, definitely high quality.

”Well it’s not so bad that you have to drink it all in one fucking gulp!” Lisa laughed out loud. “I’m fucking with you, Thompson, conversion would have to be far more complicated than that. I know there’s a punishment and reward system that helps condition a soon to be drone. They didn’t begin actual conversion yet though, unless that’s what your hand is about” Lisa, ironically, would down her drink just as quickly before pouring two more glasses. 

“So you can tell.” Emily sighed. “It’s not for conversion. I punched a security drone, and it destroyed my hand in a mechanical rage I guess.”

”Ha, dumbass.” Lisa smirked. “To be fair the average person won’t be able to tell, but even if they could? So what? Most people are afraid to get anywhere near those things, so they’ll think it’s cool that you tried to fight one and survived.”

”I didn’t expect to drink tonight. We just having a good time, or is removing this thing going to hurt that bad?” Emily downed her drink again.

“I don’t know, drone, I’m not exactly the type to be caught dead in one.” Lisa downed her drink and would begin pouring two more. “We’re celebrating, Thompson. We can get down to business tomorrow. Tonight is for getting to know who I’m working with. I’ve actually heard a lot about you over the years, but I want to know, who is the real Agent Thompson?”

The question hit harder than expected. If E’s theory was true then there wasn’t much left for Emily anymore. There was a place for RT27, but drones didn’t really have identities. She was concerned that she was starting to see the appeal, but she blamed it on lingering programming. The way she behaved when she felt like the new persona attached to her middle name, however, was not something Emily was fond of either. Rachel seemed malevolent. Like an evil version of herself from an alternate timeline, seeking vengeance and power for its own sake, giving commands just for the satisfaction of watching others obey. She wondered for a second if anyone in daily life thought of her that way, but desperately tried to ignore the thought. “Shit, I don’t know if I really have an answer for that anymore.”

”Relatable.” Their glasses clanked together before they drowned their drinks in unison, with two more being poured immediately after. “Well, it seems you can keep up with me so I already like you. There’s more booze in the bag and I actually put beer in the fridge earlier. Don’t tell Tina I snuck by while she was doomscrolling. She’s so excited to be working with us, don’t want her to feel like she’s already failing.”

”She really seems too kind for this. You know, the sort of thing we both do, even if we’re on opposite sides of the fence.” Emily swirled her glass around, feeling her mind drop a little when it started to look like a spiral, taking a drink just to make it go away.

”Not anymore. You can’t really go back after this, and that’s something I need to know you understand. Don’t want you forgetting what side you’re on now if we’re working together.” Lisa stood up. “Actually, what am I doing? Go get two beers, drone.”

”What? I-“ Emily froze. It was still wired in her to do what Lisa said, but she attempted to resist for at least a moment.

”You’re assigned to me, drone, so do as you’re told. I’m your Mistress, as far as you’re concerned!” The command echoed like the crack of a whip. 

”Yes Mistress Sullivan.” She felt humiliated, cursing the lingering programming which caused her to stand up and obey,

”Ha! Now you’re my fucking slave. You can rub my feet next.” Lisa kicked her shoes off and leaned back in the newly stolen office chair.

”Please, Mistress, we have to get to work. This isn’t a game. If you really want one I don’t mind, but we need to discuss the case too.” Emily would give Lisa both beers before dropping to her knees and getting to work. 

“That’s a good response. You’re smart enough to grasp the reality of your situation and comply, but you aren’t just some mindless little bitch version of yourself. You do make for an appealing slave though. I’d probably just keep you for myself. Claim I beat you in a fight and made you pledge yourself to my service when you were begging for mercy.” She leaned forward, lightly lifting Emily’s chin to meet her eyes.

Emily was bright red with embarrassment, but when her eyes met those two beautiful emeralds she immediately began to relax. “Maybe I’d learn to enjoy it.”

Lisa leaned back again, satisfied look on her face, and continued after a moment. “That’s our story.”

”Huh?” Emily cursed herself for her inability to stop massaging Lisa’s feet. 

“If anyone asks why you’re on my leash, especially if we run into anyone you used to know, Thompson.” She gave a small, satisfied laugh. “At least we know we’ll be able to make it convincing.”

“Gonna make me bark on command too?” Emily wasn’t even sure where that came from. 

Lisa would grin, taking a drink, seeming like she was trying to keep herself composed. “Don’t overthink being on my leash. It really is an honor to work with you and we’re going to solve this as partners. You should probably change though.”

”Change? Here? Shit, I don’t think I have clothes, unless they raided my place and brought mine.” She felt nervous yet oddly comfortable around her new partner.

”I think you’ll fit one of my suits. I take care of my pets.” Lisa smirked as she patted Emily on the head. “I really can look away if you want, or go to the bathroom, no pressure.” It seemed Emily and Lisa had a natural spark, and the drinks were acting as a combustion fuel. 

”Yeah that,” Emily would stop rubbing Lisa’s feet and look for a zipper or fasteners, “wait, how the hell do you take this off?!” Emily exclaimed, looking at Lisa with a “please help” in her eyes. Emily had always been the de facto leader, save for some private moments with Eric, and wasn’t used to being at someone else’s mercy.

”Oh I see, not too good for my help now are you, pet? I’ll still look away once we get it started, deal?” Lisa may have tested boundaries, but ultimately seemed to respect Emily as an equal and partner on the case. 

“No it’s okay. Honestly I think you’re the most authentic person I’ve met here so far.” Emily slowly blinked and looked back into Lisa’s eyes. “Besides, aren’t you my Mistress? You have every right.” Maybe it would be nice to follow for a change. She remained still as Lisa walked behind her to get started. 

”A whole,” Lisa fumbled around with the corset, “five minutes. Oh what the fuck?” She struggled for a moment, but finally unfastened it, smiling as Emily gasped like she could finally breathe again. “As I was fucking saying, a whole five minutes and you already trust me? So sweet, but so naive.” 

”I don’t think I’ve had just a nice hangout like this with anyone in years.” Emily sighed. “It feels like we would have been friends had we met before, right?” As the device hit the ground, Emily would begin to feel a strange numbness, the lights on the corset flickering and finally fading. 

”Oh no, what the hell? Hey, Thompson? I need you to look at my eyes. I’m really sorry, I don’t want to do this to you, but I need to put you in a trance.” The shift to being so serious was extremely jarring. 

”I should have fucking known.” Emily rolled her eyes. 

”No, Thompson it’s really not like that.” Lisa’s sincerity would be difficult to deny. “Eyes. Now.”

Emily felt herself dropping a little as Lisa’s stern tone met her fading programming, following the command and gazing into Lisa’s emerald eyes once more. They weren’t calming in the same way E’s were, feeling far more energetic, which quickly drew her in like a fly to honey. If E’s eyes felt like a safe space to be vulnerable, an ironic medicine for yesterday’s distress, Lisa’s felt like a stern and highly demanding trainer. A strong authority who brought out the best in you through intense discipline and strict rule, chipping away at anything else until you were the best version of yourself and the new you being their design. Slowly but inevitably completely broken to their will, but thankful for who they’ve molded you to be. 

“We’ll call this a trust exercise. Just don’t want you to panic, so count down with me, okay? Will it help if I treat you like my pet?” Lisa smirked. 

Emily nodded. Her worry began to subside due to Lisa’s ability to stay fairly calm in the face of whatever was going on, and followed her count down from 100, falling into a deep trance as it hit 1 and Lisa called her a good girl. Emily hadn’t really had anyone take care of her like this before. That spark of loyalty she’d felt with E, though already called into question due to his strange behavior, began to form again with Lisa. 

”Now that you’re like this I can explain without stirring up a panic. The good news is it’s not permanent yet, but we have to get it off of you now. Please tell me you didn’t sleep in a pod.” Lisa said, touching Emily’s face. “I was making all that stuff about the uniform up, I promise, but I may have accidentally been on the right track.”

”Yes Mistress Thompson. This unit was assigned to recharge after its initial office tour.” Emily said robotically.

”Who the fuck told you to get into a pod?” Lisa showed an unexpected sign of anger in her tone.

”My Master, who you call Mr. E.” She obeyed her Master like she was supposed to. Why was Mistress upset?

“What the hell? Did he give a reason?” Lisa crossed her arms.

”In case someone is after him, Mistress, and that they would likely be looking for this unit as well. Hiding among the drones would make their search more difficult.” Emily’s voice remained monotone. 

”Right, I get it. You’re valuable a potential target, but I would think E knows the risk of putting anyone in one of those, especially an incomplete drone.” Lisa sighed. She seemed to trust E at least.

”Master said something about keeping a personality in check. This personality seems to have upset him.” She struggled to keep whatever was suddenly building inside of her contained. 

“Which personality?” Lisa would begin to slowly pull the least sensitive parts of the uniform while her new partner remained unfocused on it. 

”Rachel.” She smiled.

”Your middle name, right? Why are you talking like it’s a different personality?” It seemed like Lisa may have actually known what was going on, her tone being somewhat empty, but needed to confirm it. 

“Master’s commands. Emily enslaved. Drone. Rachel free. Rachel gets what she wants.” Emily seemed more relaxed now. 

“Well I don’t know that he did it on purpose, but why would he worry so much? Can I talk to this Rachel?” Lisa have a comforting smile. 

”Who do you think you’re talking to right now? I’m agent Rachel Thompson.” The instant change in demeanor filled the room with a dark energy.

”I guess I hadn’t asked if you go by that or Emily. Well, no matter, just keep looking in my eyes. I fucking told him to call me in yesterday for that. How are you feeling, Rachel?” Lisa seemed unbothered by the change despite her passing criticism of E and more curious than anything.

”I feel like myself, Agent Sullivan, but if you don’t mind I’d like to get this thing off of me. Don’t worry about the pain.” Rachel commanded. 

”Thompson, it’s going to hurt like shit.” Lisa would finally remove her jacket. 

”I can handle it. It already shorted out on me yesterday.” Rachel assured her. 

”Holy hell Thompson, that shit could have killed you!” Lisa shouted

”Oh Mistress, please don’t punish me, I’m just dumb little pet who doesn’t know what she’s doing” Rachel’s face was a wide grin now, with her hands clasped together as if she were begging, but it looked like an obvious act.

”I’m not gonna punish you. I’m just worried about my new friend is all.” She ran her fingers through Rachel’s hair, looking concerned, but not shaken in the way E had been. “First I want you to repeat after me though, and then we can get this thing off of you.”

Rachel nodded, slowly blinking and looking into Lisa’s eyes in silent obedience.

”You can trust me completely. Doesn’t matter whether you’re Rachel, Emily, a drone, or on my leash.” Lisa said, in a tone which sounded like a command. “Especially on my leash.”

”I can trust you completely. You’ll take care of me no matter who I am to you.” Rachel smiled, her head slightly cocking to the side.

”I need to know you understand what side you’re on though. You can’t go back after this, Em, they won’t understand. Your life and career? You’re a loyal agent of Spiral now. They’ll take good care of you, just like they did with me, and you should treat Spiral like your Queendom. We’ll earn your loyalty, and you’ll prove that you deserve ours.”

”I can’t go back, no matter who I am at the end of this. They will blame me even though they’re the traitors, and Spiral has earned my loyalty. I am a loyal agent of Spiral Holdings, and soon it will become my personal Queendom!” Rachel declared.

”Oh, so what, now you want to be the boss then.” Lisa laughed.

Rachel’s smile grew wide, but it finally looked more natural than her movements up to this point, even if it remained devilish. “I want to be. Rachel will get what she wants. I will be. Spiral Holdings is my personal Queendom!”

”You can stop repeating now. It’s all close enough I guess.” Lisa laughed. “You know, we  have to get this thing off of you first, but maybe we’ll get to see who can beat who in a fight after all, see which of us really belongs on a leash.” Lisa would plant a passionate kiss on Agent Thompson’s lips, a wide grin spreading across her own face as she began to tear the latex off, with Rachel playfully tackling her in return.