Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. ï>¿Mailgirls On The Run by eltree Chapter 1 Megan Brooks looked up from the papers on her desk to see a naked woman standing in front of her, head bowed, right shoulder thrust slightly forward. Megan sighed and lifted her company cell phone, tapping it against the cell phone strapped to the woman's right arm and listened to the soft chime signifying that a message had been transferred. "Thank you, Five. That's all now." The naked woman recited in a monotone, "Mailgirls are not to be thanked for doing our jobs. Mailgirls exist to serve." But she said it with a grin, knowing that Megan would only sigh at the familiar litany. Megan had spent two years of her life as Mailgirl Number Two at Sloane Guaranty & Trust. The previous Five, a tall, willowy brunette, had been Megan's best friend among the other mailgirls; the new Five was a short, somewhat chunky redhead. Megan couldn't understand how this Five managed to maintain her roundness after nearly a year of a carefully controlled diet and a steady regime of twelve to fourteen hour days of racing about SG&T's Maryland campus delivering parcels and messages. Five turned and left Megan's office. Megan knew that Five's immediate destination was a mat next to the receptionist's desk. There she would wait kneeling until the phone on her upper arm, known as a Mailgirl Management Unit or MMU, directed her to her next task. Megan read the message on her cell phone. It was from Jeremy Digness, the Assistant Director of SG&T's Community Relations Department: Megan, can you meet with me about the Corporate Challege 10k. Jeremy. Megan wondered why he just hadn't called her or requested a meeting via SG&T's calendaring program. His sending a message via mailgirl had to have some meaning. Megan knew Jeremy because of last year's Corporate Challenge 10k. It took place just six weeks after the end of her contract as a mailgirl and she had still been adjusting to a normal life. Jeremy was the stuckee to recruit SG&T's team for the Corporate Challenge. When one of the women running for SG&T sprained her ankle the week before the race he had called Megan and persuaded her to run. Megan had run track in college and competed in road races when she worked as a financial analyst for SG&T in Chicago, but had no opportunity to race after transferring to Maryland and then becoming a mailgirl. SG&T's mailgirl program was a 24/7 commitment which didn't allow an outside life. Still, running between offices on SG&T's sprawling suburban Maryland campus had probably put her in the best shape of her life. In the race she'd been hampered by the unfamiliarity of wearing shoes to run in - mailgirls wore neither clothes, nor shoes - but her 4th place finish among the women was number one for SG&T and she'd even beaten a number of SG&T's male runners. She decided Jeremy would explain in his own time and used the calendar app to set up a nine o'clock meeting on Wednesday. She put consideration of what Jeremy wanted out of her mind and focused on finishing up her current task. She was determined to leave on time today. If she managed that she could stop home and change before meeting Sam and Sarah for dinner in Columbia. The idea of going home and then out to dinner with friends was still faintly unreal to her. As a mailgirl her off-duty hours were spent in the Mailgirl Lounge and the Mailgirl Dormitory in the basement of the main SG&T building. She now slept on a queen-size bed in a spacious two bedroom condo; as a mailgirl she slept in a niche in the wall of the dormitory. She did miss the simplicity of not worrying about what she was going to do (whatever she was told) and what she was going to wear (nothing) that defined a mailgirl's life. She could somewhat understand the four SG&T mailgirls who had signed up for a second two year stint; four of the eleven who had thus far completed their mailgirl contracts. There was also the sexual buzz brought on by the enforced nudity and non-stop humilation of the mailgirl life. Megan's current lifestyle was strangely flat. She expected that Sam and Sarah would be accompanied by a friend. Sarah kept trying to fix her up, but Megan didn't really know where she wanted to be. * * * * The traffic on Rt 29 heading north was kind thanks to a lull in the seemingly never-ending road construction. Mailgirls didn't commute or get stuck in traffic, a big plus in Megan's mind. Her re-entry into the daily grind of driving on overcrowded roads rife with impatient motorists was a downer. Maryland drivers were no better than those in Chicago. Sam and Sarah had snagged an outside table at the Columbia Ale House and yes, there was a tall, slender stranger sitting with them. Sarah stood up and hugged Megan and said, "This is Brendan, he works with Sam; he runs too." Brendan saw a petite, snub nosed woman with soft blonde curls. He stood and put out his hand "Sarah tells me you used to work together." "That's right, I'm a financial analyst at SG&T in Rockville. Sarah moved on, but I expect to stay at least the next few years." Megan hadn't known Sarah during the short period she had occupied a cubicle in SG&T's East Coast headquarter complex after transferring from the Chicago office, lured by the exciting prospect of being part of SG&T's new corporate stand-up. The women met when they became two of SG&T's initial cadre of six mailgirls, specifically Mailgirls Two and Five. They went through the mailgirl training program at Dumpster Dawg Enterprises together and then spent two years living together along with sixteen other naked women in the mailgirls' dormitory. They had really gotten to know each other when they became the initial participants in the Mailgirls' Holiday Program, spending a week at the Juniper Resort. That's where Sarah had met Sam; Megan had been the one to comfort and support Sarah during the ten long months of separation while Sarah finished up her mailgirls contract and Sam continued to do something at Fort Meade. The two lovers only contact was via infrequent Sunday phone calls and Sam's access to the Mailgirl app where he could keep tabs on all eighteen (now twenty-four) SG&T mailgirls. Once Sarah's mailgirl contract was up she lost no time doing two things - moving in with Sam and finding a new job. She felt she had no credibility in SG&T's legal department, feeling that the whole legal staff still saw her as a naked, kneeling menial. "My degrees are in math, but these days I spend more time working as a computer geek." Sarah broke in, "Sam had Brendan check over the Iphone with the Mailgirl app for malware." Megan blushed, thinking this stranger had seen the nude photos and video of her as well as the log of mailgirl life: deliveries, demerits, punishments, orgasms ... Brendan said, "He just had me analyze the software, he wouldn't demonstrate the app for me. So, I know all about how the app works and how it builds a VPN to connect with a server, but I was strictly enjoined not to run the app or try to break into the server. Since it's an American company on American soil that would be legally very questionable for me, even working from home as a favor for a friend. I didn't even need to consult a lawyer," he glanced over at Sarah, "to figure that out. "Sam tells me you're a runner, I don't remember seeing you at any of the local races." "I run, but I've only run one race since I moved here from Chicago almost three years ago. I did okay there, but haven't felt the need to compete. I think they've going to try to talk me into running the Corporate Challenge 10k again; Sam also ran that last year." Sam chimed in "SG&T is hosting the Corporate Challenge this year. I'm sure they'll want to make a good showing and since you were their top finisher last year they'll want you to run again." Conversation became more general, food and beer were ordered and consumed; there was no talk of mailgirls. At the end Brendan asked if he could see Megan again and they exchanged phone numbers. It was a very normal meeting of four young professional people. Megan noted that Brendan split up from Sam and Sarah when they all headed out to their cars so she called Sarah as soon as she got onto the road. "You made me lose my bet, I told Sam the phone would ring before we left the parking lot. Now, I'll have to pay up." "I don't want to hear about your perverse fantasies. What does he know about you, us, me ... mailgirls?" "He knows that I was a mailgirl at SG&T when Sam met me. He knows that we worked together at SG&T. He could guess that you and I were mailgirls together and your reaction to my comment about the Mailgirl app should have confirmed it. Brendan may be a bit of a math nerd, but he's not completely clueless. He has however never asked me about mailgirls, or made allusions about mailgirls to me. I got enough of that in the SG&T legal department before I left." Megan responded, "I thought maybe I'd like to see him again, but when a guy knows I spent two years running around naked it just makes me feel so vulnerable." "You could leave SG&T. You've spent enough years there for a decent resume and from what I know the HR department has been good about papering over the mailgirl years when providing references." "Sarah, you know I'm stuck there as long as Sam is there - my Sam, not your Sam." "I still can't believe Ms Barnes hired your sister as a mailgirl right out of college." "Better Ms Barnes at SG&T than the Juniper Resort - Ms Anderson was just plain scary. (As told in "Mailgirls' Holiday.) And seeing that Samantha signed up as a mailgirl without being pushed into it, I'm afraid of which way she would have jumped with Ms Anderson." "True. Why don't you plan to meet up with Brendan at a race? That should be a low-key get together and you'd both have the same skimpy running togs on." Megan could hear Sam snort in the background. "That's not a bad idea, maybe I'll do that. Anyway, thank you for a nice dinner and a not too awful guy. We'll talk later. I'll let you know what Community Relations wants." When Megan arrived at home she went down to the fitness center and got onto the treadmill. After a brief warmup, she cranked up the speed and settled into a steady pounding. As usual she ran barefoot, a legacy of two years of running about SG&T bare everything. SG&T had a state of the art fitness center, but Megan hadn't been able to change in the locker room since the day she stripped down to begin her life as a mailgirl. The one time she had attempted to work out at SG&T after returning to the Investment Group, she had what she later realized was a panic attack and had just driven straight home, not even calling in sick until she was safely back in her condo with the door locked. She thought about Brendan and was she ready to try and resume that part of a normal life An hour of sweat later she still wasn't sure, but thought Sarah's suggestion had some merit. And at a race she could meet plenty of men (and women) who wouldn't know her as Mailgirl Two. Chapter 2 Wednesday morning Megan ran an easy four miles before driving in to work and then spent an hour reviewing her current projects before heading off to Community Relations and Jeremy. Once she would have taken the stairs just as a matter of course, but now took the elevator, avoiding crossing paths with mailgirls. The receptionist, a plump, middle-aged motherly type - not mailgirl material Megan reflexively noted - waved her back to Jeremy's office. "He's expecting you." Megan walked into the office and Jeremy stood and walked around his desk to greet her. Jeremy was a gregarious man in his early 30s who just never stopped moving. "Megan, it's good to see you. I hear that you're doing well up on the fourth floor. I hope they're treating you right." "Jeremy, I have no complaints about my work assignments and Mr Bratz has been thoroughly professional. However, there are entirely too many people who look at me and think "naked slut." The new folks can be the worst. There are two who joined my division since I returned to the fourth floor; one a new hire and the other a transfer from the West Coast. They both got filled in on my history pretty quickly and from the woman I got the 'How could you? You're a traitor to your sex' lecture and the man has several times mentioned that he wishes he could have met me earlier. "If not for my sister I would have banked my bonuses and back pay and caught the first plane back to Chicago. But I need to be here for her and I know I couldn't face my parents if I abandoned her at SG&T. So I just do my job and get through each day. It's not as bad as being a mailgirl or maybe it is just as bad, just different. And I can't go to Mr Bratz or HR and say this and I will deny unloading on you." Jeremy sat down. "Whew." He looked up and looked Megan in the eye, "I had no idea you felt that way. You seemed to handle it just fine last fall when I asked you to run and you did so well." "Yes, I can succeed professionally and athletically - it's living life that's hard." "Well, let me tell you why I asked to meet with you. SG&T is hosting the Corporate Challenge 10k this fall." "I heard that last night at dinner from Sarah Stevens' fiance; Sarah, formerly Mailgirl Five." "Corporate thinks this is a good opportunity to show we're part of the local business community. Also, the people at the top, being ever competitive, passed down word that we are going to do well. I've heard rumors that they plan to transfer in some folks from both the Chicago and San Francisco offices to bolster the men's team. And someone on the fifth floor looked at last year's results and saw that our top woman was Megan Brooks and was informed that you had been Mailgirl Two." Megan looked at him in horror. "Yes, he thinks we can do very well if we have mailgirls run the 10k. It's also been suggested that this would show the local business world that mailgirls are just regular employees at SG&T. And, of course, there was no suggestion of relaxing of the mailgirl uniform for any training sessions or the race." "Is the fifth floor stark, raving mad? I ran in college, my race last fall wasn't just a product of running parcels and messages through the halls. I don't know that any of the other girls had run before. Distance runners are notably thin and I heard often enough about my disappointing tits for a mailgirl and what or who did I have to do to get such a job. Are the SG&T women are going to run through Columbia naked??" "No, we're hosting the race on the SG&T campus. Someone has been playing with Google Maps and laid out a 3k loop on campus and though the parkland to the north. As for the other point he believes that your performance showed that mailgirl performance translates into athletic success. "Mr Bratz has been notified that you will be selecting and training our mailgirl team. You are not being asked to volunteer, this is an officially assigned project through race day. You will coordinate with Ms Barnes and Ms Wilhelm." "Who?" "Ms Wilhelm, or as you know her Mistress V." "Jeremy, this just keeps getting better and better. I've read that during the Cold War, athletes from Communist countries would defect to the West at the Olympics What's the Fifth Floor going to say if some mailgirl just keeps running?" "They believe that the Holiday Program shows that mailgirls will stay. With the race here on campus no one will be shipped as freight, they can just jog back to the dorm. HR will set up your appointment with Ms Barnes and Ms Wilhelm. And good luck, I'll be rooting for you." * * * * Mailgirl Twenty-two was kneeling on the mat by the receptionist's desk at the entrance to Support Services. This was her first bit of down-time this morning. The first two plus hours she spent delivering packages and office supplies which she found boring. It was hard to work up a thrill lugging a box of printer paper, naked or not. Well, she could do a nice display bending over, but she felt it was wasted on the admins, who after nearly three years of naked deliveries largely ignored the mailgirls. Twenty-two much preferred her last run, delivering a message to the vice president of Information Technology. She would describe his response to her as undressing her with his eyes except, of course, she was undressed. Twenty-two was a bit of an exhibitionist and enjoyed being a mailgirl. The food sucked and she missed hot water, but the lustful glances and plentiful attention during the long working days kept her on a high. Occasional paddlings and other punishments by Mistress V were a negative for her though some of the mailgirls even got off on that. Twenty-two did wonder how her strait-laced older sister had managed. She had talked with Megan when Megan's calls home coincided with her college holidays, but Megan had been very circumspect about life as a mailgirl. Twenty-two had been intrigued enough to find out what she could about mailgirls and almost as a lark had filled out the application to be a mailgirl on both the DDE and SG&T employment pages. She was tired of school and not sure what she wanted to do with her life; spending two years as a mailgirl didn't seem a bad place-marker. The pay was only minimum wage, but with sixty plus hour weeks and no living expenses, it would add up to a tidy sum over the two years, plus the completion bonus. Her new friend, Mailgirl Two, a stunning black girl just a year out of high school, figured she could make enough to provide a financial cushion when she returned to trying to follow her dream of dancing. Twenty-two was still kneeling on the mat when her sister walked by, looking every inch the young professional woman. She could see the moment Megan realized which mailgirl she was passing by. "Samantha, how are you doing?" "Per Human Capital directive I can only respond when addressed by my mailgirl designation. Also, per Human Capital directive there is to be no social interaction between mailgirls and other SG&T employees." Twenty-two, aka Samantha Brooks, enjoyed tweaking her older sister. "And how many demerits would you like me to add to your total. That's even more effective than complaining about you to Mom." Twenty-two just looked straight ahead, knowing this to be an idle threat. She received plenty of demerits, but so far none from her sister and none of the other mailgirls ever mentioned getting demerits from the former Mailgirl Two. "Okay, little sister, I'll mention your attitude when I meet with Ms Barnes and Mistress V." The little sister comment was wide of the mark since Twenty-two was six inches taller and two cup sizes bigger than her older sister, but a meeting with the Mailgirl coordinator and supervisor could be worrying. "This mailgirl apologizes for giving any offense and was totally in the wrong. My conduct was inexcusable and I will report my transgressions to my supervisor who will take corrective action. You may request to be notified of any punishment that I will receive for my behavior." The rote apologies were nauseous, but they came straight out of the mailgirl manual. There were no shortage of SG&T employees who seemed to get off on the whole punishment thing. Reportedly some employees set triggers in the Mailgirl App to notify them when certain mailgirls were thrashed; nobody had the time to view every punishment dealt out, they had to work sometime. Megan grimaced and said, "Well, you'll be seeing me downstairs." and headed off to the elevators. Chapter 3 Megan's meeting with Ms Barnes was scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday; they weren't wasting any time getting to this project. The last time she had been in the Human Capital office was for her exit interview from the Mailgirl Program. She noted that the photo and panties of the new Mailgirl Two had replaced hers on the wall and she deliberately did not check out the frame for Mailgirl Twenty-Two. The receptionist waved her through to Ms Barnes office. Ms Barnes, Mistress V, and an older man that she didn't recognize were already there: Ms Barnes behind her desk, the unknown man sitting in an arm chair, and Mistress V ramrod straight against the wall. The man stood as she entered and said "Ah, you must be our Ms Brooks. I'm Bob Starnes from Commercial Accounts. I'm here because I play tennis with a senior VP and I ran Boston some thirty years ago. He feels that makes me an expert and has directed me to oversee our running team. Come, take a seat and we'll bring you up to speed so to speak. "As Jeremy told you yesterday we've transferred in a couple of men that are respectable runners, both have run inside thirty-three for the 10k - not pro runners, but quicker than anyone who ran for us last year. It's not hard to recruit young, single males from other SG&T locations to work in the Maryland office. Conversely, it's tough to induce young women to transfer here. So, Mr Dawlish believes we can leverage the Mailgirl Program based on your performance last year." "Mr Starnes, I ran cross country and track in college and continued to run while I worked for SG&T in Chicago. I don't know that any of the other mailgirls have a running background and most mailgirls are not ectomorphs. I spent two years hearing that I was flat-chested and in comparison to the other seventeen mailgirls that was true. Most of these women are not built for running." "But they are all in excellent shape and spend up to fourteen hours a day running and walking through the halls and up and down stairs six days a week. I've looked at their resumes and we have former college soccer and lacrosse players and swimmers on the roster. There's also one aspiring professional dancer. Those kind of athletes often take up running after college because it's a lifetime sport which doesn't require special venues, equipment, or leagues. We've got three months to find and train our female runners." Ms Barnes broke in, "Mr Starnes has planned a series of time trials over the next few weekends to pick a team and then set up a training program several evenings a week and on the weekends for the girls. We expanded our program from eighteen to twenty-four mailgirls in the past year, we can ease back on the work day for the six girls on the team for those days they have training. And to spur on the competition there will be punishments for those girls who do not run well in the trials. The fifth floor says this is an important project and Human Capital will take it seriously." Mr Starnes continued "Our plan is to run heats of eight girls the next three weekends to select a team the way you would advance to the finals in a track meet, based on place and time so that they will each have to give their best and not just jog in twenty-four abreast." Megan asked, "So, we'll have eight girls run each of the next three weeks?" "No, the eight girls who aren't on duty Saturday will run on Saturday; the other sixteen will be split between two heats on Sunday. We'll repeat the following two weekends with different lineups in each heat. We'll have them run 6k this weekend, 8k the next, and the full 10k on the third weekend. Then we'll sit down and select six girls to train for the race." Ms Barnes added "You will present this program to the girls before their duty day starts tomorrow. The graphics department is printing out maps of the course to post in the Mailgirls Lounge and on the appropriate Employees' Notice Boards. Mistress V will expect you downstairs at 6:30 tomorrow morning." "Buildings and Grounds is painting a blue line the length of the 3k loop and a yellow line for the 1k loop so that no one goes astray when running," Mr Starnes finished. "The course starts and finishes in front of the main entrance to this building. You probably want to jog the loops tomorrow before leading the girls out this weekend." * * * * This was Megan's first trip to the Mailgirl Lounge since she ended her stint as a mailgirl ten months previously. The door only opened to mailgirls and select personnel. Every morning there was an audience looking down from above through the glass walls (mirrored on the inside) gawking at the naked mailgirls preparing for their workday. A mostly male group drank their morning coffee seated at tables with a clear view of the women showering, shaving, putting on makeup, and just waiting around for Mistress V to parcel out their initial assignments and make any announcements. Megan swiped her id badge and the door opened; she had returned. Multiple heads swiveled in her direction as it was about fifteen minutes before Mistress V normally made an appearance. Tours of the Mailgirl Lounge were a fairly common occurrence, but not by a single unfamiliar woman and not at that hour of the morning. The mailgirls looking at her hastily lowered their eyes as deference to all other employees and visitors had been drilled into them. Megan decided to get started, thinking it would be easier without Mistress V hovering over her shoulder with her ever-threatening presence. "Ladies, I'm Megan Brooks from the Investment Group, formerly known as Mailgirl Two." That brought the eyes right back up to look her over. "The fifth floor has come up with a new job duty for select mailgirls. SG&T is hosting this year's Corporate Challenge 10k, which is a race for teams representing corporations and agencies throughout Maryland. The fifth floor wants to win and last fall I was our only finisher among the top fifty women in the race, held a month after the end of my mailgirl contract. They are transferring in some men to bolster the men's team, but they believe they can find some fast women right here." There were multiple exclamations of derision from the assembled mailgirls, but they immediately quieted and eyes went back to the floor when the door opened behind Megan and Mistress V walked in. Megan continued, "The race will be on the SG&T campus in three months time which leaves us one month to select a team and two months to train. As with any task assigned to a mailgirl, your enthusiastic participation is taken as a given." Feeling Mistress V looming behind her she went on, "You will be running trials the next three weekends to determine who makes the team. Ms Barnes decreed that slacking will be punished. You will be running in groups of eight, the mailgirls who work Sunday will run on Saturday and the rest of you will run on Sunday. This weekend we'll be running 6k, that's about 3.7 miles. Heat sheets and a map of the course which consists of twice around a 3k loop will be posted on the wall today. Mailgirls will run in full mailgirl attire." Mistress V broke in, "Thank you Ms Brooks. The slowest runners from each group and overall will be appropriately chastised. You will do your best. Security will monitor the course to ensure your safety. Now it's time to get to work." Multiple MMUs began to chime as the initial delivery assignments were downloaded from the Mailgirl server. Megan had been prepared to ask if there were any questions, but decided that would have to wait until the girls were lined up for the start of each run. She picked her sister out of the crowd, but Sam wouldn't return her gaze and Megan decided that would wait until tomorrow as well. * * * * Mailgirls were on two different salary schedules at SG&T. Those mailgirls who were co-opted from the professional ranks were salaried employees and as such not entitled to overtime. Ten hour days, twelve hour days, fourteen hour days - they were all the same as far as the Finance people were concerned. Mailgirls who had been hired on directly as mailgirls were hourly employees working for minimum wage, but they were protected by Fair Labor Laws and were paid overtime. Since the normal mailgirl week started at sixty hours, they earned a lot of overtime. The salaried mailgirls still outearned the hourly crew, even with generous dollops of overtime pay, but where it came into play was in the decision as to which mailgirls worked truly insane schedules - the record was somewhere north of 120 hours in a week - and which ones were sent down to the Mailgirl Lounge early on a holiday or slack Friday afternoon. Mistress V had firm guidance from the Finance people to minimize paid overtime so it wasn't a shock that Twenty-two got sent "home" as it were, early that Friday afternoon. Summer Friday late afternoons in Maryland for non-mailgirls are for driving to the beach or eating crabs in the backyard. Twenty-two got up from the mat she was kneeling on in Commercial Accounts and made her way through the office to the service stairs at the back. She duitifully kept her eyes lowered as she made her way through the nearly empty office. Then down three flights to the basement, emerging in a back corner by the actual mailroom and then around to the lower lobby where she could look through the glass wall into the Mailgirl Locker Room (though there were no lockers) where Four was showering and Twenty-three was toweling off with a much too small towel that was standard for mailgirls. Not only was a mailgirl not allowed to wrap herself in a towel, it wasn't possible anyway. Twenty-two pressed her MMU against the door and it opened letting her in to the Mailgirl Locker Room. The RFID reader in the door read the tag on her metal choker, the only thing mailgirls wore besides the armband for their MMU. Everytime a mailgirl passed through a doorway her location was updated and logged. Software akin to what credit card companies use to monitor spending to combat fraud analyzed mailgirl movement and reported anomalies to Human Capital. When the orginal Seven was caught having sex with a mortgage broker on the second floor the tipoff was an unexplained pattern in her movements; Ms Barnes and Security walked in on them in action. The mortage broker was summarily fired; Seven was severely thrashed, Mistress V shaved her head, and she spent the next month making deliveries with her hands cuffed behind her. Twenty-two was now locked into the Mailgirl Locker Room/Lounge complex until the beginning of her shift on Saturday. She was scheduled from 1-7 on Saturday and then was off Sunday - that is locked into the Locker Room/Lounge, unless summoned to work. She waved hello to Four and Twenty-three and walked over to the toilets to relieve herself. The toilets along with the rest of the locker room area were in clear view through the glass wall of the locker room.The wall was mirrored on the inside so the mailgirls couldn't see or interact with the voyeurs above. While you would expect the lobby to be largely empty late on a Friday afternoon, Twenty-two had heard that young single guys working at SG&T would have their buddies meet them in the lobby for some mailgirl watching before heading out to their bar of choice. She got down onto the floor and lapped water from one of the bowls in front of Mistress V's desk, both slaking her thirst and playing to the unseen audience. Four came over behind Twenty-two, "I'm not sure I got completely clean, could you scrub my back?" Twenty-two swiveled her head and back to look at Four who leaned over. They exchanged a chaste kiss. Mailgirls were not allowed to have sex in public, but handholding, modest kissing, and scrubbing each other's backs were tolerated. Full blown girl-on-girl sex was restricted to the Mailgirls' Lounge which was not on view except to those employees who had access to video from the security cameras, two of which provided full coverage of the Lounge. Four and Twenty-two put on a good show in the shower and then toweled each other off before disappearing into the Lounge. Chapter 4 Megan ran the 3k and 1k loops early Saturday morning, looking to beat the heat and also avoiding changing in the women's locker room at SG&T. The 1k loop was essentially just around the main SG&T building, the 3k loop left the parking lot on a walking trail into the woods for a stretch before meeting up with a road that that ran to the back entrance to the parking lot, and then looped around to the starting line. The 10k race would be an initial 1k loop and then three times around the longer run. Given the wide spread in ability in the Corporate Challenge, there would be lapping - not her problem. This weekend the mailgirls would run the 3k loop twice. After finishing the 3k she toweled off at her car and then grabbing a bottle of water headed into the building. At most corporate offices a young woman walking in wearing just running shorts and a sleeveless top would merit focused attention from any males in the lobby, but with twenty-four naked women running about SG&T every day Megan failed to stand out. Mr Starnes was waiting just past the security desk for her. "I'll time the girls this morning. I suggest that you lead them around the course at least for the first lap. Mistress V has stenciled numbers onto their hips so that we can positively identify them. I believe that's also the plan for race day since there is no where to pin a number on them without drawing blood..." Megan walked down the stairs to the lower lobby. Looking through the glass wall of the mailgirl lounge she could see a group of mailgirls standing before MistressV, probably her first group of runners. For the second time in two days she swiped her id at the door and entered. Mistress V turned and faced her. "These are your eight mailgirls for this morning. You are responsible for getting them back here immediately after this exercise. You will also let me know which girl finished last so that I can apply corrective action. Now go girls. You have a job to do." Megan told the group "Up the stairs and out the front door. Mr Starnes from Commercial Accounts is outside waiting for you. I'll lead you around the course and he will time you at the finish." Eight naked women filed by Megan on their way out the door: One, Four, Eight, Ten, Fourteen, Eighteen, Twenty, and Twenty-three. Mailgirls at SG&T signed the industry standard two year contract and SG&T had brought the girls on in groups of six. Megan and her friend Sarah had both been part of the first cohort and had completed their contracts and moved on. This One and Four had replaced the original mailgirls who completed their two years. The original second cohort - Seven through Twelve - had also finished their two years, but Ten had signed up for another two years and Eight had replaced a girl who had quit the program prematurely. Fourteen and Eighteen were both from the original third cohort and their contracts would be up in two months - before the race; Megan wondered how that would factor into selecting a team. Twenty and Twenty-three were in the fourth cohort along with Megan's sister and they had started work just before the end of Megan's time. So she knew four of these women well, two only briefly, and One and Four not at all. The nine women, one in skimpy running shorts and a thin sleeveless top, the other eight bare-ass naked, filed up the stairs and through the front door. The mailgirls rarely used that door. When running messages or parcels to the two other buildings on campus they habitually went via the loading dock as befitted their status. Mr. Starnes was standing in front of the entrance chatting with one of the security guards sitting in his sedan. He told Megan "Phil will trail the field in his car and keep an eye on the back of the pack. We're putting water out on this table and you'll be able to get a drink or douse yourself at the end of the first lap and at the finish. It's hot out here and the girls probably haven't had a chance to to acclimate to the heat. The good news is they are not overdressed." Megan did not laugh. "Ladies, I'll lead you through the first lap at a pace I think you all can manage and then your speed is up to you. I'll try to set the same first lap pace for all three groups to start you all on an even footing. I know Mistress V told you that the last finisher in each group and the six slowest overall will be chastised. She will punish the last finisher as soon at the end of the run, those among the slowest six who do not finish last will provide entertainment for the Monday morning gawkers. That being said, take care yourselves in this weather. Collapsing from heat exhaustion will guarantee you a spot in the bottom six. "Okay, ready, steady, go." Megan started off at little more than a trot, looking around to make sure all eight women were with her. She could hear the security car keeping pace behind. She found herself unconsciously opening up her stride a bit as she settled into a rhythm. They exited the parking lot onto the trail and moved into the trees. The shade was welcome in the early morning sun. Four drifted into the lead, Megan admiring her tight ass and well-toned legs. She was a tall, leggy brunette who didn't look to be working hard. Four ran with a relaxed stride and looked to be comfortable. Megan could hear some heavy breathing behind her. They came to a road and the blue line went to the left. Megan could see a car approaching; it would have to swing wide as they were running against traffic and there wasn't much of a shoulder. She called out "stay to the left, ladies." The car slowed, and then slowed some more, and then stopped as the driver stared open-mouthed at the line of naked women running along the road. Megan gave a little wave as she ran past. Another few hundred yards and they turned left again at the next intersection and headed towards the SG&T complex. They emerged from the trees and Megan could see the five story building ahead of her and off to the left. There were a number of cars sitting to the side as they ran up a slight grade - Megan closing ground on Four on the rise - and returned to the vast SG&T parking lot. Several men stood by their cars using their cellphones to video the mailgirls running past. The course hugged the perimeter of the parking lot and then curved left to go around the main building. Mr Starnes was standing to the left of the blue line in front of the building and there was a cluster of men on both sides watching appreciatively as the women approached. Mr Starnes called out "Twelve-fifteen, sixteen, seventeen..." as Megan passed him. She veered right to grab a cup of water off the table and dumped it over her head. Four also grabbed a cup in full stride, Megan taking that as proof that Four was an experienced runner. Megan ignored the suggestions from the crowd to "Take it off." Megan and Four headed off onto the second lap and Fourteen came up onto Megan's shoulder as they were exiting the parking lot again. Fourteen was another brunette, but she was a divorcee in her late 30s who had been dumped by her lawyer husband for a younger blonde. Fourteen had dropped out of college to marry her ex when he finished law school and found herself adrift following the divorce. The story was that a law school roommate of the husband was well up in the heirarchy at SG&T and had brokered a deal where Fourteen got access to a computer in the law library on weekends and took college courses on-line working towards a degree in accounting. Megan thought she would prefer a more traditional alimony arrangement. As they plunged into the woods for the second time Megan began to worry about the stretch of road where they'd passed the car the previous lap. The mailgirls had been bunched up that time providing safety in numbers; they would be more strung out this time around. She glanced behind her and saw three mailgirls, leaving three more that were back around the last curve. The security car should have them in sight so it should be okay today, but in two weeks on that third lap they would likely be well spread out - she would talk to Starnes about arranging for spotters, maybe recruit from that crowd by the finish area. Four and Fourteen were running together a few yards in front of her. They were a well matched pair from this vantage point, nearly of a height with long brown ponytails streaming behind. Megan could feel the sweat from the two of them flying back toward her. The trio made the left turn onto the larger road and Megan could still see three mailgirls when she looked back over her shoulder. This time a car came from behind and she could hear it slow behind her as the driver eased off the gas to take in the sights. It still hadn't caught up to her when they made the next left turn, but Megan could see that the car was still on the other side of the center line and now had two more vehicles dawdling behind it. She could now see all six of the trailing mailgirls and the security car which was keeping pace with the last of them. Megan opened up her stride and accelerated past the two mailgirls. She wasn't exactly racing, but starting that long push towards the finish was ingrained from years of competition. Four responded and pulled up even with Megan as they entered the parking lot past even more cars and cellphones than on the last lap. The two of them finished together with Starnes calling out "23:21", then "23:27" as Fourteen crossed the line. Ten strolled in at 23:45 followed by Twenty and Twenty-three both looking hot and tired. Some of the more forward spectators at the finish were picking up cups of water and handing them to the mailgirls. Normally mailgirls ate and drank from bowls on the ground and were not allowed to use their hands while in public, but both Starnes and Megan had forcefully argued that this was a health risk when running in a Maryland summer. Four was on her toes in front of Smithers from Marketing who held a cup up to her lips. A short guy that Megan didn't recognize was feeding orange slices to Fourteen. Others moved towards Ten, Twenty, and Twenty-three. Starnes called out "24:17" and Megan turned to see Eighteen finish looking totally wiped out. One was about five yards back and looked no better. The security car hadn't yet come around the corner of the building and Eight was nowhere in sight, so Megan started jogging back along the course. She made it about halfway to the edge of the parking lot when she saw Eight hobbling along with a decided limp, the security car staying a few yards in arrears. "Are you okay? What happened?" "I rolled my ankle when I moved to the side of the road because of an approaching car. There was an instant shooting pain and I came to a stop. I tried to start back up again, but can't manage anything better than this and the jerk in the car wouldn't just give me a ride in." "We'll have the Med Center take a look at your ankle. Let's just walk straight to the front door and go to the Security Desk. I'll bring you a cup of water." Megan left Eight kneeling in front of the Security Desk waiting for a wheelchair to take her down to the Med Center. She refilled Eight's cup from the water fountain in the lobby and then went out to collect the rest of the mailgirls. When she led them back into the building Mistress V was standing in the lobby holding a long, thin paddle. "Who was last?" Mr Starnes responded "Eight did not finish because of a twisted ankle, One was last across the line." "I will deal with Eight at assembly on Monday morning. One, ankles." One, a slender redhead who had been hired away from US Financial a year previously and then induced to sign a mailgirl contract, went pale, then bent over to grasp her ankles, her hair tumbling down to the floor as she looked back through her spread legs. "Six strokes, you will count them." The other six mailgirls walked to the back of the lobby to take the service stairs down to the Mailgirls' Locker Room. Most of the men who had been outside watching the finish formed a semi-circle behind Mistress V, jostling to get the best view of One's ass, thrust out to receive her punishment. Six strokes later with her ass reddening from the blows One swayed in pain. "Stay in position until summoned, then you will report to my desk." Mistress V concluded. "No," Megan interjected. "I'm taking her down to the Med Center. She looked bad coming in and I want the nurse to look at her for heat issues. She can hold position here while I take the results downstairs; then she comes with me. The nurse will send her down when she's cleared medically." Mistress V glared, but Mr Starnes silently handed Megan the list of finishers. Megan rode the elevator down to the lower lobby, then entered the Locker Room and posted the sheet on the wall. Four, Ten, Fourteen, Eighteen, Twenty, and Twenty-three were showering - they had the rest of the day at leisure in the Mailgirl Lounge. Megan left to collect One and then to the Med Center to check on Eight. "Okay, straighten up and we'll walk down to the Med Center and see how Eight is doing. I checked the duty roster for the Med Center last night and Susan Allen is on duty today; I knew her better as Mailgirl One." The two women walked slowly towards the back of the building where the Med Center was located. Most of Megan's visits there had been as Mailgirl Two as SG&T provided primary care for mailgirls on site. Only healthy young women were selected as mailgirls and the lifestyle was generally conducive to staying healthy, sore bottoms notwithstanding, and since no SG&T mailgirl as yet had managed to get pregnant, the Med Center had so far been sufficent for their needs. Susan was a diminutive blonde who had an easier time than most as a mailgirl since her old office had been largely suportive and welcomed her back at the end of her mailgirl contract. Megan pushed open the door to the Med Center and called out when she found no one in the outer office. "Come on back, we're in Exam Room 2." Megan and One followed Susan's voice and found Eight lying on an exam table with Susan standing beside her. The Med Center was the only place at SG&T where mailgirls were allowed on the furniture. The mailgirls had the added bonus of not having to wear hospital gowns - the consensus was that naked was better. "She didn't break anything; it appears to be a mild sprain. I've given her aspirin and will wrap her ankle with an elastic bandage before returning her to the basement." "Susan, this is the new Mailgirl One. She looked dreadful at the finish line; I'm worried about heat exhaustion." "I hadn't realized that it manifested in a reddened bottom." "That was her award for being the last to cross the finish line." "I thought I recognized Mistress V's work. Come on around to Exam Room 1 and I'll check your vitals and if nothing life threatening let you lay on the table for a while. We even have some cookies from the last blood drive. "Maria, just lay there for a while longer; I'll bring in juice and cookies for you as well." As a mailgirl's diet largely consisted of Mailgirl Chow and water, this was a high treat, indeed. Susan was contravening company policy by providing snacks and calling a mailgirl by her given name, but she had experienced life as a mailgirl and gave comfort where she could. Megan left Susan with her patients and went to find Mr Starnes to talk about tomorrow's trials. She thought that running off both heats even earlier in the morning would be prudent. When she tracked him down in his office he agreed and said that he would arrange for a bicycle to lead the way allowing Megan to range through the field. Tomorrow's runs would be at 7 and 7:30 a.m. * * * * Fourteen, once Mrs Francis Briggs, made her way up to the law library on the fourth floor after showering and cooling down from her run. She was taking two on-line courses during the summer term. She planned on taking two more during each of the two fall terms which would allow her to finish up with a semester on campus the following spring after her mailgirl contract completed. Then with a BS in Accounting she could either take the position at SG&T as guaranteed in her mailgirl agreement or find a job elsewhere. She planned to work the job placement program at the college hard, returning to SG&T was definitely a fallback strategy. Fourteen had dropped out of Mt Holyoke after her sophomore year to marry her recent law school graduate fiance and follow him off to a law firm in San Francisco. Several moves, thirteen years of marriage, and five miscarriages later she was in a severe depression after the latest miscarriage when she physically lashed out at Frank who was cruelly taunting her failure. One assault charge later, she was divorced and he was remarried to his pregnant, blonde girlfriend. Fourteen got a small settlement, modest alimony until she was self-supporting, and financial support to finish her education. Frank's old buddy from the San Francisco firm was an in-house counsel at SG&T and before Fourteen knew what hit her she had signed a mailgirl contract with SG&T. Nearly two years as a mailgirl had left plenty of time for introspection and a burning desire to get her life back on track. Life as a mailgirl sucked, but she could have still been Mrs Francis Briggs and on the whole she preferred being a mailgirl, especially a mailgirl who was within sight of getting her degree and moving on. And being able to hold her own, in looks and performance, with the mostly twenty-somethings that were her fellow mailgirls was a boost to the ego. She pressed her MMU against the scanner by the door to the law library and pushed the door open when it clicked. She didn't see anyone as she entered the room which was all to the good. She walked over to the computer she used, sitting on a low table against the wall and knelt on the mailgirl mat in front of it, since of course she wasn't allowed to sit in a chair to use one of the other computers, nor did she have an account on the SG&T intranet. Computers used by mailgirls - this computer in the law library, one in the Human Capital offices, and three in the Mailgirls' Lounge - were on a physically separate network which did have (filtered) access to the Internet. Fourteen logged into her computer, then into the distance learning portal on the UMUC website and started working through the latest class session. She pointedly did not look towards the web cam mounted on the wall aimed at her mat; Frank's buddy, Mr Fforde, liked to keep an eye on her progress or naked presence, really. * * * * Megan arrived at SG&T shortly after six Sunday morning. When working on major deals Megan and the rest of the Investment Group could work truly insane hours as they were carried along in the excitement and pressure of the process - as yet training mailgirls for a 10k just didn't rise to that level. But here she was. Mr Starnes was out in front of the entrance again with a line of tables and a teen-age boy with a bike. "Megan, come meet my son. Tad, this is Megan Brooks, a valued member of the Investment Group. Tad normally lives with his mother, but I have him for a few weeks this summer before he goes off to college." Tad eyed Megan appreciatively; he was a teen-age boy. "Does his mother know about this?" Megan hissed. "Well, we haven't discussed it, but she is fully conversant with the Mailgirl Program and she knows her son. She knows you as well. You worked for her in Chicago. I believe she was a key player in getting you transferred to Maryland." "His mother is Ms Aldridge?" "Yes. She reverted to her maiden name after we divorced and has kept it through the two subsequent marriages. My understanding is that she wasn't happy with the attention her now current husband was showing you and got you out of the way. "Ms Brooks used to work for your mother. Say, hello." "Good morning, Ms Brooks, it's good to meet you. Isn't it about time for the mailgirls to come out and start warming up? My high school coach was all about a proper warmup." Megan grew flustered, "I'll get them about fifteen minutes before the start. Right now, I'm heading inside to make sure that they're all properly hydrated. They don't spend a lot of time outside and are unused to the heat." Megan entered the SG&T building and took the sweeping stair case down to the lower lobby where she entered the Mailgirls' Locker Room. Four of the mailgirls who had run yesterday were preparing for the morning shift, the other four would come on duty at one p.m. Mistress V had the eight mailgirls who were to run at seven kneeling in front of her desk. Megan asked, "Have they all had enough to drink? They're not running very far today and it's early, but we don't want any dehydration problems." Mistress V replied, "I had them put out extra bowls of water. They've all had a chance to lap up as much as they wanted to." "Ladies, as I told yesterday's group, I'll set the pace for the first lap trying to run about the same time we ran yesterday morning. The second lap you're on your own. We have a bike to lead the way today and I'll likely stay to the front for both laps; there will be a car from Security following the last runner. We had some traffic on the park road yesterday, stay to the left and keep an eye on any car - they'll be watching you. We'll head outside about quarter of and start promptly at 7. Good luck and stay safe." At twenty of Megan told the mailgirls to stand up and stretch. "Mistress V, you'll need to get the next group ready and send them out about 7:15; they'll get out there in time to see the finish of this heat." Then, "Okay ladies, it's time." Two, Six, Seven, Nine, Thirteen, Sixteen, Nineteen, and Twenty-four headed up the stairs. Megan realized that Sam would be in the last group. Mr Starnes and Tad were standing by the starting line, Tad gaping at the eight naked women filing out of the building and moving towards him. There were two tables with cups of water already sitting on them. "There's more water if you want it" Megan said. "You can also grab some on your way by to start the second lap - and you can pick up the cup yourself, a special dispensation from Human Capital for race training. "Tad, we're following the blue line today and doing two laps. I suggest that you keep your eyes on the road in front of you, I'll let you know if you're getting too far ahead." A few of the mailgirls did pick up cups and drink. Two and Sixteen jogged easily across the parking lot and then jogged back. Tad's gaze flitted from naked woman to naked woman trying to take it all in. Mr Starnes called the mailgirls to the starting line and said "Go." This run played out pretty much like the previous day. Tad proved to be a competent leader on the bike though he did take advantage of every turn and curve in the course to look behind. They met no cars on the first trip through the woods and just two parked where the course returned to the parking lot. Megan led through the first lap in 12:13, grabbing a cup from the table as she passed. Realizing that she would be repeating this effort with less than ten minutes recovery time, Megan did not press the second lap the way she'd done on Saturday. None of the mailgirls mounted a challenge and she finished in 23:42 with Two, Six, Nine, and Sixteen in a cluster just a few steps back. Thirteen followed in 23:48, then Twenty-four outsprinted Seven, and Nineteen came across last in 24:07. The next group of mailgirls was standing to the side watching their colleagues finish up. Nineteen had just picked up a cup of water when Mistress V called out "Nineteen, ankles." Nineteen put down the cup and stepped back from the table before bending over. "Six strokes. Count them." Mistress V brought her paddle down on Nineteen's upthrust ass. "One" she gasped. Tad stood with his mouth wide open watching Mistress V crack the paddle over Nineteen six times with only the sound of the paddle striking flesh and Nineteen's tortured count breaking the silence. "Straighten up and get something to drink. You next lot, let this be a lesson." Megan took a quick survey of the finishers and decided that no one looked to be in distress, not even Nineteen really - six strokes of the paddle was little more than a reminder; they had all suffered much worse. * * * * Twenty-two was not excited about being forced to get up early on her day off. It's not like she had a late night on Saturday; it was the principle of the thing. Also, running was Megan's shtick, not hers. Still, it was a break in the routine and that was a plus. Breakfast was just toast and water - meals eaten out of sight in the Mailgirls' Lounge weren't Mailgirl Chow and water from bowls on the floor, but they were never exciting. The first group of eight went out to the locker room with the four mailgirls on duty that morning. Twenty-two and the other seven emerged when everyone else cleared out. They'd all had a chance to talk to the eight women who had run the day before and thus understood what would happen. Twenty-two wasn't surprised that Four had done well, she was obviously a jock, but Fourteen was old, how had she run so quickly. Twenty-two's goal was to finish in the middle of the pack - escape punishment, but not get herself drafted to race. Mistress V led the eight mailgirls up the stairs and to the outside at 7:15. Twenty-two saw a cluster of men standing by a pair of tables that had cups standing on them. The men were looking off to the right waiting for the runners to appear. An older man standing in front of the tables saw the new group of mailgirls and called out "It will be another five or so minutes, anyone who wants some more water just grab a cup off the table." The other men now turned and gazed appreciatively at the mailgirls, gesturing them to come right up and get a drink. Twenty-two walked up to the table and picked up a cup and started sipping slowly while waiting for her sister and the mailgirls. While she looked off to where the runners would be coming from, the men standing around the table were looking at her - well, her and the other seven mailgirls right there, right now. The man to Twenty-two's left leaned into her and asked, "How fast are you?" She pretended to misunderstand and replied, "I'm just hoping not to finish last. My sister is the runner." A bike appeared in the distance followed by a cluster of women. "Oh, there she is." "Your sister is a mailgirl?" "She was. She's the one in the blue top." They both watched the runners approach. The unknown man placed his hands on Twenty-two's hips. "Do not touch the mailgirls." The man stepped back and a line of fire etched itself across the top of Twenty-two's bottom. Mistress V was on duty. The crop hurt when applied forcefully as she just demonstrated. "Get over with the rest of the girls." Twenty-two moved off to the side and watched her sister lead a pack of mailgirls in to the finish. There were four just a step or so behind and then the other four strung out in arrears. She saw Twenty-four just nip Seven at the line and then Nineteen struggle across about ten yards back. Twenty-two heard Mistress V call out to Nineteen and then apply six strokes of her paddle to the curvy blonde's ass. Well, better the paddle than the crop with which she'd admonished Twenty-two, but still Twenty-two resolved not to finish last. The older man at the finish line cried out, "Next heat on the line." The eight mailgirls walked up to the thick blue line painted on the asphalt at right angles to the thinner yellow and blue lines stretching out across the parking lot. Megan was still at the table sipping a cup of water, her blue top clinging to her scant curves, her nipples pushing hard against the damp fabric. She was garnering as much attention as the sixteen naked women standing in the sun. "Ms Brooks, if you're ready." Twenty-two was checking out the cute boy on the bicycle. She assumed that he wasn't jail bait and he was a bit skinny, but he had possibilities and he certainly looked like he approved of what he was seeing. Megan walked up next to her and the older man called out "Ready, steady, go" and off they went following the boy on the bike. The run started at a fairly relaxed pace. They were moving quicker than the normal stroll through office space, but certainly not at the dead run that a mailgirl might be forced to as the seconds ticked down on a delivery. Twenty-two settled in near the back of the pack running alongside Eleven, a short, thin Oriental girl with a surprisingly large pair of tits which bounced about as she ran. They strode across the parking lots and ducked into the woods on an asphalt trail. So far, Twenty-two wasn't having any trouble keeping up and no one looked to be in distress. Well, they did spend their days dashing about SG&T and they were all a lot fitter than when they signed their contracts and became mailgirls. Megan led the way through the trees and then left onto a road. Megan called out "stay to the left, there may be cars." Twenty-two didn't see any cars, but there were a line of bicycles on the road heading in their direction. The leading bike swung out wider and then braked to a stop as the cyclist exclaimed "What the hell!" The other bikes also came to a stop and heads swiveled to watch the line of mailgirls run by. Megan turned to the left again at the first intersection, followed by the field. All eight mailgirls were still clustered behind her as they emerged from the trees and could see the SG&T building across the parking lot. Just as yesterday's runners related there were several cars parked at the edge of the parking lot and a couple of men videoing the approaching women. As they started up the slight grade Five and Twenty-one began falling back; Twenty-two was still feeling relaxed. The now strung out field ran across the parking lot and around to the front of the building. The crowd of spectators had grown since the mailgirls started off. The man at the finish line called out Twelve-eleven as Megan passed, Twelve-fourteen for Twenty-two. Megan grabbed a cup of water off the table and dumped it over her head, Twenty-two followed suit, figuring that her sister had done this before. As they started across the parking lot to begin the second lap Megan was leading followed by Twelve and Twenty-two. Twenty-two was feeling relaxed and strong, but she had no interest in racing for SG&T so she eased off and let Three and Fifteen go past. She knew herself to be thoroughly heterosexual, but appreciated the boucing boobs and tight asses on display under a thin sheen of perspiration. They exited the parking lot back into the woods and she wondered if the bikes were still hanging about. Megan had opened up her stride and was now twenty yards clear of Twelve as she turned onto the road. No, no bikes in sight, but Twenty-two could hear a car approaching from behind. "Looking good, ladies. Anyboday need a ride?" Twenty-two refused to look, keeping her gaze focused on Three's ass five yards in front. The car had slowed to keep pace with the mailgirls and Twenty-two continued to look straight ahead. Megan made the left turn heading back towards SG&T, looking back over her shoulder to check on the mailgirls trailing her. Twenty-two could see her sister slow as she continued to look back. Then Megan picked up the pace pulling away from the mailgirls trailing her as she headed for the parking lot Twenty-two was beginning to struggle a bit, but saw that she was slowly gaining ground on Twelve and Fifteen. There were even more cars parked by the entrance to the parking lot this time through. They cheered for the mailgirls by number, encouraging Three to catch the "overdressed blonde." Three eased off as they rounded the SG&T building and Megan finished with only the bike for company. Three crossed the line about twenty-five yards in arrears, then Twelve, Fifteen, and Twenty-two came across together as the man at the finish line called out "Twenty-three twenty-six." There was a long gap before Eleven and Seventeen came in and another equally long way back to Twenty-one. Five finished all alone looking thoroughly exhausted. Twenty-two was alternating gulps of water from cups held by two men that she thought looked familiar, but couldn't quite place. Mistress V called out, "Five, ankles." The plump redhead bent over, but when Mistress V cracked her paddle over Five's ass for the first blow, she stumbled and barely caught herself before straightening up and then back into position. Megan said "No. You'll have to postpone that until tomorrow. I'm taking her down to the Med Center." Twenty-two was shocked that her sister defied Mistress V. She had certainly learned that she could not do so. She watched Megan lead Five through the doors into the building. Mistress V then called out, "Mailgirls. Inside, now!" Twenty-two and the other six mailgirls streamed into the building and then down the stairs to the lower lobby and the Mailgirls Locker Room. * * * * Megan walked Five down the hall to the Med Center. She had made sure that Susan would be on duty again this morning. "I've got another overheated mailgirl for you." Susan took Five into one of the exam rooms and told her to lay down while Megan got her some water. When Megan returned she reported "She's mildly dizzy, but doesn't look to be in any great distress. I'll keep her here for an hour or so making sure that she drinks and then down to the Mailgirls Lounge for her. Megan went back outside where Mr Starnes was supervising the post-race cleanup. He asked about Five and handed Megan the results of the two runs that morning. "Between the IT folks and Security the stretch of the course outside the parking lot is entirely covered by wifi and web-cams. They were keeping an eye on the car that was following along in that last lap. He zoomed off when the Security car pulled up onto his bumper." "It might be safer to have Security block that section of road while we're running on it. I don't want to have an accident because the drivers are staring at naked women instead of paying attention to the road." Megan responded. "I'll have Community Relations talk to the Montgomery County Police about it. Traffic control for the runs would be a popular assignment I'm sure." Tad walked up to Megan and asked, "Which of the mailgirls was your sister?" "Samantha is Mailgirl Twenty-two, she ran in the last race. You can look at the mailgirls, but you can't touch." She looked back at Starnes, "I'll post the results in the Mailgirls' Locker Room and then I'll check on Five. When they send her back from the Med Center, I'm heading home. We can meet with Jeremy tomorrow to make plans for next weekend."