Lockworth Industries
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		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Human Solos =&gt; Topic started by: Rescate on 02-08-2009, 21:47:13</h2>
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				Title: <strong>Lockworth Industries</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rescate</strong> on <strong>02-08-2009, 21:47:13</strong>
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				<span style="font-family: georgia;" class="bbc_font">Lockworth Industries lay in the stillness of downtime; that period between late evening and early night in which most people are either tucked up away in houses, or staggering around wailing drunkenly. Alcohol was expressively forbidden to the residents of the Director’s live-in-laboratories. As he himself had stated “It rots the brain, my good workers- and that is something that we certainly cannot afford”. Of course- that didn’t mean that it didn’t find its way into the hands and bodies of those countless individuals who toiled ceaselessly from dawn ‘til dusk, attempting to work on new serums and formulae. None of them knew what they were working on- they knew only what their research discovered, what they spoke of together in their laboratories or across the canteen tables (although departments were restricted from speaking to one another of confidential matters and were under nearly constant surveillance) or what the research briefs ordered them to find. Rumours were rife, naturally, ranging from suggestions of beauty products to medicines, to government weapons and biological terror pieces. <br><br>Alcohol was often a necessity in this place, even though it was ‘forbidden’.<br><br>One such bottle of alcohol was currently being swigged from in utter frustration. The stillness of the stark, white area was interrupted by violent tappings; computer keys being smashed repeatedly into the keyboard by aggravated fingers.<br><br><strong>-Tap…tap tapitty tap…taptaptap…tapt-…Bleeeeeeep.-</strong><br><br>“Is that what I <em>told</em> you to do!? No! Did I ask you to delete the file!? No!” An irate voice sliced through the relative calm, accompanied by a few more heavy key-smashings.<br><br><strong>TAPTAPTAP</strong> <br><br>“Scrap metal!” The voice snarled. This was then followed by a heavy thud- a vicious kick to the computer’s base units with uniform steel-toed boots. The computer gave out a loud klaxon call and a deep, metallic voice echoed out.<br><strong>‘Attention User ‘DrVSyk00032’. If you do not stop the following actions, the system will be forced to ta-’</strong><br>“Give me back my files, you glorified calculator!” Dr. Sykes responded angrily, but nonetheless halting her physical abuse of the computer and standing up sulkily to glare at the screen. Her labcoat trailed on the floor behind her and her hair was beginning to escape the constraints of its required tight bun, looking sloppy.<br><strong>‘Files cannot be found.’</strong> The deeper voice responded.<br>“I know!” Dr. Sykes shouted back, one green eye twitching slightly. “That’s why I’m angry! I didn’t tell you to delete them- so where are they!?”<br><strong>‘Files cannot be found, User ‘DrVSyk00032’</strong> The computer repeated expressionlessly.<br><br>Dr. Sykes made a noise of fury and swept her bottle of vodka off of the table; she’d grown quite fond of the drink and now it was the only thing that was going to keep her from dismantling her computer and burning each separate piece. The Director wanted the new reports on their individual projects tomorrow morning- and now her files; her essential, perfectly organised and presented files; were gone.<br><br>Just like that. <br><br>Dr. Sykes groaned leaning against the wall, muttering ‘Whyyyyy…?’ over and over again and swigging from her bottle. She raised one hand to her face- rubbing her aching eyes soothingly; all the work- all the effort. Ruined. Gone without a trace…and The Director’s departmental head, Dr. Matthews, was going to be on her like irritating on the interns.<br><br>Interns…<br><br>Dr. Sykes snarled; it was probably one of the little bastards who took her files to use as their own research or something of the like. …Then again, her research partner could have done it much more easily. She’d wanted Vanessa’s project so badly…and she knew the other’s passwords…What if she’d put one of the interns up to the task to take the fall for her? Vanessa slid down the wall slowly, her legs just giving out from fatigue and disbelief. The other woman was clever, certainly- but lazy…it would have been the easiest option…<br><br>What a complete and total, godawful, evil thing to do!<br><br>…Yes…that was most certainly something her research partner would have done…<br><br>Granted, she’d been rather short and snappy with her lately as fatigue and the stress of deadlines set in, but that was entirely her fault for being cocky and obnoxious, doing the barest minimum of work!<br><br>Dr. Sykes moaned wearily and slid further down the wall- until she was lying on her back with one arm draped over her eyes and the other clutching the half-full bottle. She was too damned tired to try and fight The Director’s computer system any more; at least she was more popular with Dr. Matthews than her research partner- Matthews might believe her story. She’d have to just corner her partner and bludgeon the other woman to death using her now-incomplete-367-page-long-report.<br></span>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Lockworth Industries</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ms Mad Hatter</strong> on <strong>18-08-2009, 00:01:50</strong>
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				Dr. Morgan entered the laboratory after swiping an intricate ID card, and providing an iris scan. The doors permitted her entrance after searching the database and matching her eye with one on file. She strolled through the doors, noticing the faint scent of alcohol in the room. "I see you're breaking protocol again, Dr. Sykes," she said, a light undertone indicating she didn't approve. After being partners with the woman for so long, Leah knew when Sykes was at her breaking point. "Troubles with the computers again?" She asked, keeping the sneer out of her voice.<br><br>If Vanessa knew what she'd done, there would be Hell. Leah knew the woman wouldn't be able to do anything, however; she was tough-skinned and knew how to handle herself. Sykes would never have the proof, though. Leah would never admit to such a thing, and she had most of the interns' favor, as well. Leah was highly confident that she wouldn't get caught for what she had done. Taking Vanessa's research, it would be simple to either rewrite it as her own or destroy it so Vanessa looked incompetent. Either way, Leah was sure she'd come out looking like a better scientist. She knew Vanessa hated how little work she did, but Leah knew what was required and didn't consider it necessary to do more.<br><br>"You may want to get rid of that bottle and try to salvage what you can. Matthews is in a bitter mood today, and has been for a while. I think his needs are unsatisfied, if you know what I mean," she winked playfully, knowing that her attitude and general personality grated Dr. Sykes' nerves to no end.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Lockworth Industries</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rescate</strong> on <strong>18-08-2009, 00:43:20</strong>
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				<span style="font-family: georgia;" class="bbc_font">As Vanessa resigned herself to a night of wallowing in rage and self-pity, by herself, who should chose the most inopportune moment to come and rub her face in it, but Leah Morgan? <br>"Oh goody," Sykes replied with a flippant, hyperbolically joyous tone. "If it isn't the parasite herself in question. Do you know, I was wondering how this moment could be improved tenfold- and oh, how perfect."<br><br>She threw Dr. Morgan a withering glare and swigged from the bottle again, unable to bring herself to cut back with one of her usual biting remarks or witty retorts. Damnit all, she was far too depressed and exhausted to muster the energy to be vicious towards Morgan, as much as she'd have liked to. When the comment about breaking protocol was made, Sykes snorted; she knew Morgan wouldn't rat her out- after all, she was the one who spent most of her nights ingesting an inhuman amount of alcohol and flirting with Johnson from genetics, or bullying interns who didn't throw themselves at her feet to refill her chemical supplies. <br><br>Sometimes, she wondered how Leah Morgan had ever achieved her doctorate...and other times, she supposed that she knew exactly how she'd done it.<br><br>"Don't you think I've tried?" Sykes growled, grinding her teeth loudly. However, the sudden thought struck her that as she'd only saved the files this morning...and as she'd only seen Morgan as she'd left to check out Subject #269...<br><br>How had Leah known that the files were damaged...?<br><br>Vanessa felt rage flare up, lending energy to her weary mind and her aching muscles. However, what proof did she have until she could hack into Leah's account and locate her recent technological activity; the Director's system made a complete log of every single action taken, and Vanessa was fortunate enough to know how to retrieve actions that had been wiped from the history. She resisted the urge to throw the half-empty bottle at the younger woman.<br>"Get what you can, Morgan." She said simply, gesturing at the computer beside her own. "Tell me you actually managed to complete the minimal tasks you were assigned."<br><br></span>
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				Title: <strong>Re: Lockworth Industries</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Ms Mad Hatter</strong> on <strong>18-08-2009, 01:05:33</strong>
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				Leah couldn't help but feel smug that Vanessa was so lost and helpless. The best part? Leah herself hadn't even done it. One of the interns had done it for a night of passion, something Leah knew how to use and use well. It had taken precise and careful planning, and indeed the plan had almost gone horribly wrong, but it was quite obvious the intern had succeeded.<br><br>"Don't flatter me, Vanessa; I can't take all the credit for annoying you," she smirked, settling down at her work station. All of her notes were neatly arranged on paper and placed in the computer for safe-keeping. Leah was devious and ingenious and had been that way most of her life. The sound of Vanessa swallowing another mouthful of alcohol was much like music to her ears. Vanessa's pain was Leah's pleasure. She knew what Vanessa thought of her; so what? A blonde woman was entitled to her fun. Men used their assets in business all the time, and in Leah's eyes, women should have the same right.<br><br>"On the contrary; I'm sure you tried," Leah murmured, focused on pulling up her documents. She was satisfied they were all complete and there. She sent them in an email to their boss and then printed them, as well, just to be on the safe side. "How <em>did</em> your project turn out? I haven't been able to catch up with you," she said, her voice sickeningly sweet with fake empathy.<br><br>Leah briefly considered the fact that Vanessa could use her looks to weasel information out of the interns. She knew Vanessa had ways into everyone's action history, and yet even if she did, the intern was loyal to her and wouldn't breathe a word. He would rather take the fall and get fired, and his scientist reputation destroyed, than risk Leah's wrath. The extra security blanket helped to calm her pulse and lower her anxiety about the situation, for she knew it was possible - however unlikely - that Vanessa find out.<br><br>"Oh, my project was finished weeks ago. I just enjoyed watching you struggle so hard to put together the perfect report, and all to please Matthews," she smirked, retrieving the papers from the printer. They were warm and smelled like ink, which was something she loved. "So what are you going to tell him when he calls us in?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. She leaned against the wall and looked down at Vanessa, curiosity getting the better of her.
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				Title: <strong>Re: Lockworth Industries</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Rescate</strong> on <strong>18-08-2009, 17:24:08</strong>
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				<span style="font-family: georgia;" class="bbc_font">Every time those perfect, heart-shaped lips contorted into a smile, or opened to release poisonous comments, Vanessa felt the urge to punch the smirking little bitch's face in. That was a talent Leah had, surely; Vanessa Sykes went through her life as a pacifist and tended to keep herself mostly to herself in work contexts. Leah's presence seemed to invoke the hormonal fury of her teenage years- she hadn't gotten into a fistfight since then, but damn it all, she could see herself heading that way. <br><br>Besides, Vanessa didn't cat fight as she assumed Leah and other women of her kind most likely would. Oh no, Vanessa punched with the strength and accuracy of six years of boxing classes and, if she had the opportunity around Leah, with a fistful of coins.<br><br>"Check the now-incomplete report to your right." Vanessa growled, massaging her eyelids with one hand, gripping the bottle with the other. The heavy wedge of paper was mocking her every time she looked at it, but it was considerably less aggravating than looking at Morgan. "Up until yesterday, I was ahead of schedule and on the verge of a breakthrough."<br>She glanced up to look at the security camera, wondering if it had recorded any nefarious activity in the lab. Naturally, it wouldn't be suspicious for Leah to have been in here, but if anyone else had...then at least she would have some idea of who to lynch after Matthews gave her the yellow slip of death. <br><br>The noise of the printer alerted Vanessa to a new idea; she'd read through Leah's reports not two wees ago...and she knew that Leah was intrinsically lazy despite being deceitful and distressingly clever at manipulation...What if Morgan's documents weren't all paraphrased? She knew her own style of writing differed immensely from Leah's halfhearted scrawlings, so could recognise it immediately. She just needed to check...and if she found so much as a single paragraph, or a diagram that she'd drawn, or a formula that she'd constructed- or even a table that had been drawn to her exact specifications...then she would know.<br><br>The issue lay in how to get to them.<br><br>"What am I going to tell Matthews?" She repeated, getting to her feet awkwardly as she considered this. "Most likely 'fuck off and die, four eyes.' He's going to fire me anyway and give me a terrible reputation...why not give him a different reason? I'd much rather be fired for stress-related breakdowns than incompetance, after all." <br>As she moved towards the two computers, Vanessa was pleased to see that Leah had logged herself on still. Stupid woman; she half expected that Leah would have copied and pasted, then re-written to save time before deleting the originals...or whatever idiot that transferred her files to Leah's account would have done something similar; the interns weren't all that smart when it came to the system...<br><br>Vanessa felt a small twinge of hope and looked over at the smirking blonde, gesturing to her own computer.<br>"Morgan, you're better with computers than most people I know." She said, hiding her sneer and her sarcasm. "Hit some keys and tell me I'm not just going insane. Actually, I think I might prefer it if I <em>was</em> going mad and just not seeing them when they're obviously there. I could use the second opinion."<br>She was not letting Morgan touch the computer she was still signed into; oh, no- Vanessa was already working on her last hope that there was something there...and she would know by Leah's reaction.<br><br>If it came to forcibly restraining the younger woman to stop her interfering, then Vanessa was going to do it with relish. She knew where the camera's blindspots were.<br><br>...Now, she half wanted Leah to try and stop her looking, just for that idea.<br><br>&nbsp;</span>
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