Tickled Empowerment

"Girls really are just as good at this job as boys."

"You said it, Boss. But I think they're better."

"That's not what I meant, Sanchez."

I knocked again on the door. A small window opened slightly, revealing a pair of angry green eyes glaring at me through the 2 inch gap between the door and jamb. "FBI! Open up or we'll kick your door in!"

The eyes disappeared and the door cracked opened slightly. I kicked the door open with a deft move of my foot and stepped into the apartment. The girl who answered the door was short, thin, and had long, brown hair that flowed down her back. She was wearing black nylon stockings and a matching garter belt underneath a black dress shirt with no sleeves that was tied tightly around her waist. The only thing she wore over it all was a pair of knee-high boots with 5 inch stiletto heels. Besides that she was bare from the waist up and from the waist down. It was clear she'd been tickled within an inch of her life. It looked like she didn't even have enough energy to talk anymore; her eyes were glazed over and she swayed back and forth on unsteady feet while staring past me unseeingly into nothingness.

I turned around to face my partner, Sanchez, who was standing in the doorway surveying the scene in front of him with amusement in his eyes. I shrugged my shoulders apologetically at him before turning back to face our captive again.

"Where's your boss?" I demanded sharply while walking forward aggressively towards her until I had her backed up against the kitchen countertop. "Tell me now or you're going to get tickled so badly you won't be able to walk for a week."

The girl eyed me warily before looking away again and sighing softly. "He's not here," she whispered hoarsely, exhaustedly, sounding defeated already. "He left a couple hours ago...he's at another safehouse not too far from here..." She trailed off softly before seeming to recoup some of her strength somehow. "I wouldn't tell you even if he were here because he pays me to keep his secrets!" Her voice rose slightly on the last sentence and suddenly there seemed to be some life behind those tired green eyes as they snapped back up at me defiantly.

...*THUMP!*... ...*THUMP!*... ...*THUMP!*... ...*THUMP!*... ...*THUMP!*... ...*THUMP!*... ...*THUMP!*... ...*THUMP!*... ...*THUMP!*... ...*THUMP!*... ...*THUMP!*... ...*THUMP!*... ... *THUMP!*... ... *THUMP!*... ... *THUMP!*... ... *THUMP!*... ... *THUMP!*...

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that my head felt like it had been split open by an axe handle and everything sounded like it was being played underwater through a cheap old radio speaker that kept cutting out every few seconds when someone accidently bumped into it while walking past it on their way down the hallway outside my apartment. The second thing I noticed was that my arms felt like they were being held up behind me by some kind of medieval torture device where my elbows were being pinned together at the top of them with something so tight there was no way my hands could slip out no matter how hard I tried and that there also wasn't enough slack in whatever it was holding my arms together so there wasn't any room between them either. The third thing I noticed was that there seemed to be little pebbles rolling around underneath whatever it was holding together my elbows while simultaneously rolling over each other across whatever surface they were on while also constantly changing directions randomly whenever they collided with one another forcing them off course into new random directions all over again before bouncing off of something else entirely leaving whatever surface they bounced off of now filled with pebbles all bouncing around aimlessly in different directions trying desperately not to collide with one another because if they did then one or both might lose their balance entirely causing whatever surface they were all currently rolling around on top of to collapse under their weight which would cause them all to fall all over each other down onto whatever surface they fell onto next causing them all to fall into an endless cycle until they all finally managed to stop rolling around gently on top of each other sometime later when they finally managed to find their perfect balance once more after many many months or possibly years depending on how strong their arms were compared to one another, how heavy their bodies were compared to one another, how much friction there was between their bodies and whatever surface they happened to fall onto next after falling from wherever it is above them most likely somewhere further up in a building thankfully NOT breaking through the ground beneath them falling straight through earth's crust all the way down into hell itself burning inside lava hot lava rock surrounded by fire hot fire rock itself which would cause everything everywhere everywhere everywhere everywhere EVERYTHING everywhere everywhere everywhere EVERYWHERE EVERYWHERE EVERYWHERE EVERYWHERE is everything is EVERYWHERE everythings everywhere everythings exists everywhere exist everything exists everywhere everything is everything everythings is everything exists is everywhere everythings is everything exist is exists exist everthing everthing everthing everthing everthing everthing everythings everythings everthings everythings everythings everythings everthing everthings everythings everythings everthing everthings everthings everthing everthings everthing everthing everthing everythings everythingseverywhereeverywhereeverywhereeverywhereeve---ever---e---ver---e---r---t---h---ings--e----v---e--r---i--g--n--t--h--i--ngs--e----a----l-----e-----s-----s-----s-----s-----s-----s-----s-----s-----s -----s-----s-----s-----s-----s-----s -----s-----s -----s -----s -----s -----s -----ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss s s s s s s s s s s ss ss ss ss ss ss ss ss ss ss ss ss ss ss ss ss ss ss s s s s s s s s s s s s s Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is Is IS IS IS IS IS IS IS IS IS IS IS IS IS IS IS IS ISISISISISISISISISISIsIsIsIsIsIsIsIsIsIsIsIsAsAsAsAsAsAsAsAsAsAsAsA AsA AsA AsA AsA AsA AsA AsA AsA AsA AsA AsA AsA AS AS AS AS AS AS AS AS AS AS AS AS AS AS A SS SS SS SS S S S S S S S S S S S S SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS ST ST ST ST ST ST ST ST ST ST ST ST ST ST ST T T T T T T T T T T T T T TT TT TT TT TT TT TT TT TT TT TT TT TT TT TTTT T TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT FFFFFFFF FFFFFFFF FFFFFFFF FFFFFFFF FFFFFFFF FFFFFFFF FFFFFFFF Ffffffff Ffffffff Ffffffff Ffffffff Ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff ffffffff fff ff FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff FF FO FO FO FO FO FO FO FO FO FO FO FO FO FOFOFOFOFOFOFOFOFOFOF OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOO OOOO OOOO ooooo oooo oooo oooo oooo oooo oooo oooo oooo oooooo oooooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo oooooo oooooo ***INTERROGATION*** ***INTERROGATION*** ***INTERROGATION*** ***INTERROGATION*** ***INTERROGATION*** ***INTERROGATION*** ***INTERROGATION*** ***INTERROGATION*** ***INTERROGATION*** ***INTERROGATION*** ***INTERROGATION*** ***INTERROGATION*** ***INTERROGATION*** **

_________________________________________**

"So why don't you just tell us where he went?" Sanchez said in a low voice after staring at her for several minutes without saying anything else between us both standing there against opposite sides of her kitchen countertops while she stood slumped against the back wall still looking exhausted but also somehow hardened at how long this whole process had taken before she finally spoke again after several minutes spent staring blankly off into space thinking about something other than what we wanted her answer to be which apparently seemed pretty clear since she'd been looking exhausted for quite some time now. "I know you can tell us." He said casually as if talking about what he'd eat for dinner later tonight or whether he should

wear his black socks or his blue ones tomorrow.

The girl's weary eyes flicked to Sanchez, and a moment of uncertainty flashed across her face. But then, her expression hardened once more, and she straightened up slightly, a spark of defiance reigniting in her.

"I've already said I won't tell you," she replied firmly, her voice resolute. "I'm not afraid of you. And I won't betray the boss."

Sanchez leaned in closer, placing his hands on the countertop, trapping her between him and the hard surface. His eyes narrowed, and a sly smile formed on his lips.

"Very well," he said softly, his voice laced with a hint of amusement. "But you see, I have my ways of making even the most loyal of informants talk."

He motioned to me, and I stepped forward, feeling the weight of the situation settle heavily on my shoulders. I didn't want to resort to extreme measures, but we were running out of time. Lives were at stake, and we needed information.

"I'm just going to ask you one more time," I said calmly, trying to mask the rising urgency in my voice. "Where did he go?"

The girl's gaze flickered between us, her resolve wavering. I could see the internal struggle playing out in her eyes, the balance between loyalty and self-preservation tilting precariously.

"He went to...," she began, hesitation creeping into her voice. But before she could finish her sentence, the sound of shattering glass pierced the air.

We spun around to face the source of the noise, only to find ourselves confronted by a tall figure standing in the doorway. He wore a sleek black suit, and his cold, calculating eyes bore into us with a mix of disdain and amusement.

"Well, well, well," he said, his voice dripping with venom. "It seems my little pet has been causing some trouble."

The girl's face paled, and she stumbled back, seemingly shrinking in fear. The boss strode forward, his confident steps echoing through the room.

"I see you've been trying to extract information from her," he continued, his voice taunting. "But you forget one thing—I always have the upper hand."

It was then that I noticed the gun in his hand, gleaming ominously in the dimly lit apartment. My heart raced, and I exchanged a panicked glance with Sanchez. We were outnumbered and outgunned, and it seemed our mission was about to come crashing down around us. But I refused to back down.

"We won't let you escape," I said, my voice tinged with defiance, trying to ignore the tremor in my hands. "We'll take you down, no matter what."

The boss chuckled, the sound echoing through the room like a sinister melody. "Oh, my dear agents," he said with a twisted smile. "You have no idea what you're up against. But I assure you, this game just got a whole lot more interesting."

With that, he raised his gun, and everything went black as a deafening gunshot rang through the apartment.