Revenge - Chapter 17

Revenge

By Karen Singer

Chapter 17

Susan sat with her early morning coffee and considered what she needed to do.  Steve was finally home now and she had no doubt that he needed time to recover.  She needed time too.  As difficult as it had been for Steve, Susan had been both thrilled over it and worried about him at the same time. 

But now it was time to consider the future.  Her plans for Steve had one major obstacle – Monica.  She had thought that Monica was finished with Steve.  But after Steve pulled his little prank with letting the air out of her tires, the darn woman had suddenly been back again.  And it didn’t look like she was planning to go away again any time soon. 

Interestingly enough though, she found it almost amusing the way that Steve totally blamed his problems on Monica.  Steve really believed that Monica was a witch.  In a way, it added a new level of security between her and her connection with Steve.  And Steve now feared Monica – which in a way, Susan considered to be a good thing.  Steve was all too prone to pull his own little vengeful pranks.  Hopefully, now he’d think twice before ever doing anything like that again.  And hopefully, Monica should be safe from Steve’s retaliation.

But the question still remained, what could she do about Monica?  She had no doubt that Monica’s little games with keeping Steve in panties all the time wasn’t over.  In fact, since Monica now had her friends involved, Susan had no doubt that they were about to escalate.  While Susan was thrilled over Monica humiliating Steve, it also got in Susan’s way.  Susan wanted Steve to herself. 

She had a lot of misgivings about doing it, but she saw no way around it.  She’d have to contact Monica directly.  She’d have to present her case and politely ask Monica to leave Steve alone.  It was a dangerous move, but it was the only avenue she could see to get Monica to go away. 

Susan began planning what she would need to do.  Steve thought Monica was a witch….  Hmmm.

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Steve flexed his fingers.  He made a fist, then opened his hand, then made another fist.  Freedom!  The stupid long nails were gone.  He could finally move his hands normally again.  He looked at his reflection in the mirror.  He looked fine.  He was suntanned, but he was back to his old normal self.  Of course the clothes he was wearing completely covered up the embarrassing bikini tan lines that were now so prominent on his body.  And of course, he was stuck wearing panties since he had no other underwear just then. 

What was he going to do about Monica?  He needed to get back on her good side.  He needed a way to apologize for what he had done.  But he still couldn’t just come out and admit that he was the one who had broken into her apartment.  Maybe flowers would help.  Yeah, flowers were always good.  Or at least a good start.

Finally ready to face the world again – as himself – he went outside to bring in all the stuff from the trunk of his car.  He toted his fishing gear up first, wishing all the time that he had been able to go fishing instead of winding up in Saint Thomas.  Fishing would have been great.  Then he came back and grabbed the two suitcases full of women’s clothes.  What was he going to do with them?  He stuffed Monica’s laptop that he had stolen from her apartment under his arm and closed the trunk of his car.  He glanced down the parking lot toward the dumpsters there.  He could just throw the suitcases directly in the trash right now instead of carrying them upstairs with him.  But something in the back of his mind was protesting the idea.  Why?  He decided to trust his instincts and carry the suitcases upstairs first, then maybe he’d bag the clothes and take them directly out to the trash. 

But when he got upstairs, the thought of throwing away all the things in his suitcases began to worry him, like there was some part of him that felt he needed to keep them.  Why?  So instead, he quickly pulled all his panties out in case he needed them for Monica’s little panty games, then he put both suitcases away in the back of his closet, leaving all the rest of the clothes still in them.  He’d have to sort out what to do with them later.

When he was finished, he picked up Monica’s laptop and took it out to his desk.  He looked at it carefully.  It was an older model and fairly cheap.  Not nearly as good as his.  But was there anything in it about her witchcraft?  There had to be! 

He opened the lid and turned it on.  It booted up slowly, but it didn’t require a password which was good.  He didn’t think it would.  He got the impression that Monica didn’t know all that much about computers.  While he waited for the computer to finish booting up, he noticed the low battery light flashing.  The darn thing was old and had been sitting in his trunk for a week.   What else could he expect?  He’d probably have to hurry.  He checked to see if the power unit from his own computer would fit, but it wasn’t even close.

As soon as he could, he went into her file system.  Everything seemed to be in her My Documents folder.  As he had guessed, it looked like she wasn’t very computer savvy.  He scrolled through the list of files.  By their titles, they looked like all junk.  Nothing that interested him…until he came across one titled, “Steve’s Punishment.”

With his heart racing, he opened the file.  The program opened slowly.  He noticed the low-battery light flashing continuously now.  The computer finally displayed the file – briefly, then closed it again and the computer began shutting down.  He had only seen the title and the first item on the list – panties.  There had been more, but he hadn’t had enough time to read any of it.  He really wanted to know what else had been there.  He’d have to try to find some way to get a power unit for the computer.  Sighing, he closed the lid and hid it in the bottom drawer of his desk. 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

“So what are you going to do about Steve?” Diane asked Monica when they got to work Monday morning.  “He should be back today.”

“I know,” Monica replied as she stowed her purse in one of the desk drawers.  “It just seems like what he did was such a petty little prank compared to what they did to my apartment.”

“So do you want to continue with your plans for him?”

“I don’t really know.  I hadn’t really thought about it.”

“What should I tell Carla and Ruth then?”

Monica shook her head.  “Tell them to lay off for a while.  I’m just not ready to deal with Steve again.”

Diane was disappointed.  She had rather enjoyed the game they were playing, but she completely understood.  She left Monica and phoned Carla and Ruth.

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Steve was buried in work.  Being out of the office for a week had given time for the pile of things he had to do to build up terribly high.  But a few of the things meant that he had to leave his desk and walk to another part of the building.  He dreaded it, but he had no other choice.  But not once did any of the girls stop him for one of their panty checks.  He saw Carla once and all she did was smile at him.  He passed Ruth later and all she did was to smile and nod at him too.  Were they finished with their game?  He could only hope. 

At the first chance he got, he phoned one of the local florists and ordered a big bouquet of flowers to be delivered to Monica.  The note he had included only said, “Sorry!  Steve.”  He was still terrified over her witch’s power.  Maybe now she’d leave him alone. 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

“Oh my God!  They’re beautiful!” Diane gushed over the big bunch of flowers that had just been delivered to Monica.  “Who are they from?”

Monica smelled the bouquet again and opened the note.  “Steve,” she replied.  “He just says sorry.” 

“Well, he should be.  God, I wish someone would send some flowers to me.  For any reason!”

Monica smiled, it was nice to get the flowers.  Even as an apology.  Maybe she should let up on him again.  Was what he did really so bad?  Yeah it was, but still….

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

It was almost lunchtime when Monica took a break and checked her email.  There were several, but none from Steve like she expected – especially after the flowers.  But there was one that really surprised her.  She wouldn’t have opened it, except for what the Subject line said:  “I punished the person who robbed your apartment!”

Monica had no choice.  She opened the email. 

Dear Monica,

I know who robbed your apartment and exactly what was done to it.  I have thoroughly punished that person now and I doubt he’ll ever do anything like that again.

A week earlier, I also punished Steve for letting the air out of your tires.  I know that you already found the proof of that punishment on the internet. 

Because of the way I punished Steve, he has erroneously started to believe that it was you that did it to him.  He now firmly believes that you are a very powerful witch.  As long as you let him believe that, you should never have any problems from him again.

In return for what I’ve done, I’d like you to leave Steve alone.  Don’t play your little panty games with him anymore.  He’s mine to control, not yours.  Besides, I’m the one who is responsible for him wearing the panties and stockings the night of your date with him.  He really didn’t know he was wearing them.

Please do me this courtesy and leave him to me.

The Sorceress

The Sorceress?  Monica was thoroughly confused.  Suddenly everything seemed all mixed up.  Steve had been punished?  Leave Steve alone?  He didn’t know what he was wearing?  It didn’t make sense.  And twice this person had punished someone for what they had done to her.  Steve for her tires and now someone else for her apartment.  Did this Sorceress think she was some kind of guardian angel or something? 

But the thing that got her attention the most, was that this…Sorceress…claimed to know who had robbed her apartment.  She wasn’t really interested in anything else except that.  She quickly wrote back:

Sorceress - I want to know who robbed my apartment!  Tell me!

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Susan read Monica’s quick reply.  She had no intention of telling Monica that it was Steve who had robbed her.  She just wanted Monica to stop messing with Steve.  She wrote back:

Monica,

I won’t tell you that.  Just please take comfort in the fact that the person who did it has been punished.

The Sorceress

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Monica wasn’t the least bit happy to read the reply from the Sorceress – what a name!  She wasn’t interested in that fact that the person who did it had been punished.  She would do her own punishing, or let the police do it, as worthless as the police usually were.  It wasn’t right. 

She wrote back again:

Sorceress – whoever you are,

I can take care of myself!  Stay out of my life! 

Tell me who robbed me.  And do you know where my wedding ring is? 

Monica

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Susan wasn’t happy with the reply she got from Monica.  And her wedding ring?  Karen hadn’t mentioned anything about that or about Monica being married – or divorced for that matter.

She pondered carefully about what she should do.

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Karen logged into Steve’s computer while he was sleeping and was happy to see an email already waiting for her from Susan.  Susan was asking about Monica.  Was she married or divorced?  And did Steve take a wedding ring from her apartment? 

There wasn’t much that Karen could reply to those questions.  So all she could say was that she didn’t think that Monica was married and that Steve hadn’t spent enough time with her to find out if she was divorced.  And as to a wedding ring, Steve only took the laptop computer from Monica’s apartment and nothing else.  But then she had a tiny flash of memory.  Just before Steve and Chad had left Monica’s apartment, Chad had pulled a small ring out of his pocket, then quickly put it away again.  Karen quickly added that thought to her reply to Susan.

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Monica,

There were two people who broke into your apartment.  I believe the second one was the one who took your ring.  I have no power over that person to either punish him or to find out more about him.  The other person however, I already punished – as I told you.

I’m afraid your wedding ring is now lost forever.

The Sorceress

Monica read the email twice, searching for any clues that might help her.  There was really nothing.  All she knew was that there was someone out there who knew the truth – who knew who had robbed her.  It wasn’t right for this – Sorceress – to keep that knowledge secret.  Finally, she wrote back:

Sorceress – How did you punish the other person?

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Susan was slightly happier with Monica’s latest email than she had been with the others.  Was Monica finally going to let it go – along with Steve?  According to Karen, Monica had stopped her little games now.  There should be no harm in telling Monica just a little bit.

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Monica was becoming obsessed with checking her emails for any replies from the Sorceress.  The only thing really on her mind, was finding out who had broken into her apartment.  And this latest email didn’t help much:

Dear Monica,

The person I was able to punish has had the most embarrassing and humiliating experience possible.  I stranded him in St. Thomas for an entire week and forced him to humiliate himself constantly by wearing only women’s clothes everywhere.  I never once allowed him to even touch any male clothing until after he got home again.

Trust me when I tell you, he was quite upset over the entire episode. 

Thank you for now leaving Steve alone.  I hope that this will satisfy you and our dealings together can be concluded.

The Sorceress

Monica took her time and mulled over what the Sorceress had said for most of the day.  The punishment the Sorceress had inflected didn’t sound all that severe to her, although she had to admit, it was certainly imaginative.  She almost laughed once as she thought about what the crook might have experienced.  But she didn’t know any details. 

The bottom line for her was that this Sorceress still knew who had done it and wasn’t telling.  She would have to find a way to force the issue. 

It was late in the day when Monica finally talked with Diane about it.  She had told Diane only a tiny bit about the Sorceress.  Now she told her about, and showed her, all the emails.  But when she was finished, Diane saw the glow of intent in Monica’s eyes.  There was no doubt that Monica had something in mind.  

“So what are you planning?” Diane asked.

Monica didn’t laugh or even smile.  Her face showed nothing but determination.  “The Sorceress wants me to leave Steve alone and I want what she knows.  Starting tomorrow, we begin making Steve very unhappy again.  And we make sure that this Sorceress knows it!”

“All right!” Diane replied excitedly.  She had missed the little games they had played.  They had been the source of much amusement for her.  Now the games would be continuing again.

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Steve drove home from the mall happily.  He had just purchased two weeks’ worth of men’s underwear.  He couldn’t wait to put a pair on as soon as he got home.  Freedom!  It had been several days now since Monica and her friends had “pestered” him.  Perhaps the bouquet of flowers had done the trick.  Either way, he felt free again at last.  He decided however to make it a point to never ask Monica out on a date again – even if she was good looking.  The witch and her power were more than he ever wanted to think about again.

When he got home, he happily changed his underwear and logged into his email program.  He was a bit surprised to see an email from Mandy.  Unfortunately, her only reason for emailing him was to pass on some copies of the pictures they had taken of him.  Curious, he opened each of the pictures.  They were all more than a bit embarrassing.  Pictures of him in his bikini at the beach (when had she taken those?), pictures of him on the tour, and a picture of him out shopping.  Each one seemed to be more embarrassing than the last.  As he looked closer, he could see how ridiculous he looked.  Not at all passable.  And unfortunately, in most of them, he could recognize that it was him in the pictures.  The pictures that held his interest the most though, were the ones from the tour that showed Mandy and Ellie in them.  He was especially glad to see Ellie again, if even just her picture.  Something deep inside of him really missed her.  The rest of the pictures he’d rather not have seen at all.

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

It was like a gift from heaven.  Susan ogled over each and every one of the pictures that Karen had forwarded.  It was a bonus she had never expected. 

Things had finally worked themselves out.  Steve had been horribly humiliated and his friend Monica had finally backed off again, leaving Karen the total freedom to inflict her will over Steve. 

She took a long time falling asleep that night because she kept laughing over the pictures that Karen had sent.

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

“Oh Steeeviiee.” 

Steve cringed at hearing the singsong voice of Monica over his office phone.  “Good morning, Monica,” he said as politely as he could.  She was one person he didn’t want to have angry at him.  Her magic was just too powerful.  “Did you get the flowers I sent you?”

“Yes I did, thank you.  They’re absolutely gorgeous!  Of course, they should be!”

Steve inwardly cringed again.  He was more glad than ever that he had sent them.  “What can I do for you Monica?” he asked, trying to move things along.  Just talking to her made him nervous.

“Why Stevie,” Monica replied once again in her taunting, singsong voice, “you can come down and visit us.  I want to thank you in person for such lovely flowers.  And, I think we’ve been neglecting you for way too long.”

“Now?” Steve asked, suddenly afraid and not at all wanting to go down to the shipping department.

“Now!” Monica replied, leaving no doubt she expected to see him immediately.

“Uh…sure.  Okay,” Steve answered.  Did he sound too nervous?  It didn’t matter, he was nervous.  Very nervous!

Diane was waiting in the Shipping Department when he got there.  She led him back to the tiny office where she and Monica had their desks.  Monica and Carla were there waiting for him. 

“Stevie…” Monica gushed as soon as she saw him.  “Thank you so much for the flowers.  They were beautiful.”

“Uh, you’re welcome,” Steve replied, unsure about what else Monica might want.  He didn’t have to wait long to find out. 

“Well?” Monica began.  “Show us.”

Steve was confused.  “Show you what?”

“Your panties, of course.”

“My p….  I thought you were done with all that.”

Monica shook her head.  “Oh Stevie, why would you ever think something like that?  Did I tell you we were done?  Hmmm?”

“Uh…no,” Steve admitted.  “But…”

“Stevie, don’t tell me you’re not wearing panties again.”

“Umm, no.  I thought you didn’t care anymore!”

“Well obviously I do!”

“I didn’t know.”

Monica shook her head.  “So no panties today, huh?”

Steve shook his head no.

“Then you’ve got until after lunch to get some, because that’s when the panty checks start again.”   And Stevie, don’t even think about disappointing me, because you know how miserable I can make things for you if you don’t do what I say.”  She had added the last thought only because the Sorceress had told her that Steve believed she was a witch and was afraid of her.  And judging by Steve’s suddenly frightened expression, she had been correct.

Steve’s eyes almost bulged out of his head.  The woman had practically admitted she was a witch.  He also knew that he would once again have no choice.  “Uh…okay,” he finally stammered.  His frustration was building.  Would these torments never end? 

“Oh, and Stevie…expect some company tonight.  Don’t even think about not being home.”