The Best Laid Plans (Patreon)

"Looking for her?" 

Immediately pangs of anxiety, dread, anger, all thrust into my skin like a thousand needles. Elle must have discovered our plan... but how?! She was just some twenty-something brat! The damn nepo-baby-slash-intern at the lab for god's sake!

"She knows." Came the deflated voice of Harriet. She was tiny - and bound!

I went to speak, to try and explain but Elle cut me off.

"You two really should be more careful about locking your work laptops. It was a decent enough plan, I suppose. Take that shrink device, zap me with it, then blackmail mum - your boss - anonymously for all she's worth."

There had to be a way out of this... Something I could say that would defuse or turn this situation around... surely I'm smarter than her!

"You look flustered. Harriet was the same. You were both so easy to lure to the break room after hours too. Also, who would have thought hair ties would be so good at tying someone up." Her voice was coated with condescension as she gestured to the restrained, shrunken woman.

Anger rose in me. Elle was right. I was flustered. I felt hot... I felt... Wait...

"How're you feeling? You're looking a little... well, little."

My jaw clenched. Sweat traced down my forehead. No way.

"Yeah, the device was set to zap you as soon as you entered the room, stupid."

Harriet looked resigned to all of this. "Sorry... she ... made me agree not to say anything."

Fear and terror swelled within me, just as the room rose around me. I turned and saw the infamous device resting on a chair pointed directly at me.

"Looks like you two will be taking some time off..."