Short Straw, The

The Short Straw

by SvenSvenson
©2020

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Disclaimer: Naughty, inflatable themes herein.
For mature audiences only.
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So far, it had been a quiet evening.  There had only been a single call. With the shift almost over, she sat on the couch in the Ready Room, legs crossed with one high-heeled shoe dangling from her toes. She scrolled through her social media feed on a tablet and occasionally looked up to check the clock above the white board that hung from the painted masonry wall. She mentally crossed her fingers; almost time for passdown.

A crackling buzz echoed out of the cavernous room on the other side of the big red metal door opposite the couch. "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY" was stenciled on it in big yellow letters. A folding conference table sat between her and the door. Accompanying the sudden noise was an intense electrical arc that flashed through the security glass of the observation window next to the door. The bright light projected a big bluish-white rectangle on the wall above her head.

After a  brief silence, from out of the other room a man's voice called out. "YEAH, BABY!!"

She set her tablet down in her lap and slowly blinked with a heavy sigh.

The big red door suddenly swung open with great force, almost slamming into the stop, and her muscular partner stepped through before stopping in the middle of the linoleum floor with outstretched arms. "Now, THAT'S what I'm talkin' about!" he announced in a loud, boisterous voice.

The collar on one side of his knit polo shirt was flipped up and the buttons were either ripped off or dangling by mere threads. The bent frame of his designer sunglasses was flipped up on top of his head and held firmly in place by his tussled, blonde hair. Lipstick in several different shades smeared his face while multiple trails of it led down the front of his shirt and converged at the hem.

The big red door slowly closed with a quiet hiss. The hydraulic damper hesitated a moment before the latch bolt and striker plate finally connected with a loud ka-chunk.

"Beer me!"

Looking at him over her reading glasses, she raised a hand and flicked her wrist toward a white refrigerator sitting in the corner. Its lower door opened. Other than some old take-out containers and an opened 12-pack of cheap beer, it was empty. She flicked her wrist again and a can of beer flew out of the cardboard box and arced across the room towards her partner. With a dismissive wave of her hand, the fridge door re-closed.

Without flinching, her partner caught the can and in a quick series of moves popped the top and chugged its contents. Quickly finishing, he crushed the now empty can and tossed it over his shoulder and into the plastic waste basket by the door. "Dude!"

She sighed again and rolled her eyes. "I do not want to hear about it."

"It was awesome."

"Yeah, whatevs. Keep it to yourself." She picked her tablet back up and began searching for where she had left off.

Almost as if on cue, the alert buzzer sounded and went silent. The two partners expectantly looked up at the assignment annunciator panel next to the clock. There was a brief pause followed by a chime.  The blue lamp remained dark but the red lamp illuminated. She pulled off her glasses and put a hand up to her face. "Fuck!" There were just fifteen more damned minutes to go, too.

"Ha!" he snorted, tossing his head back.

She put her shoe back on, leaned forward, and stood. "Fuck off."

He smiled broadly. There was a menacing twinkle in his eye.

She placed the tablet and reading glasses on the table and then with her hands, brushed the wrinkles of her slinky red dress smooth. Straightening her spine, she breathed in deeply, exhaled, and began walking toward the big red door. This wouldn't even count as overtime.

"Whoa, don't forget this."

She stopped in mid-stride and turned to look at her partner. He was holding out a set of Halloween-style costume devil horns to her.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks." She took the flimsy plastic headband and continued out the door.

"Have fun."

She held a fist out to the side and raised a middle finger as the door closed behind her.

In the center of the darkened room was a carpeted circular dais. The spot light illuminating it was the only source of light. Her heels clicked on the concrete floor and as she walked towards it she brushed her hair back and donned the costume trinket. Once up on the platform, the carpet muffled her footsteps.  She stopped in the center and paused a moment to mentally prepare herself and get into character.  Then, raising a hand, she snapped her fingers and with a loud crackle and a flash of light, disappeared into thin air.

***

CRACK!

With the hand still raised, she popped back into existence.

She was in the middle of a forest, this time. Above, the stars backlit the dark canopy. Nearby was a campsite and a fire ring with glowing embers next to an arcane circle. "Whoa, okay." she thought. "They actually put some effort into it, this time."

Remaining in character, she looked around. "Who summons me?" she sternly commanded.

"Like, oh my god, it totally worked!" came a female voice from out of the darkness. A woman, dressed only in her underwear and an opened blouse draped down below her shoulders, stepped forward.

The succubus narrowed her eyes and focused her attention on the woman. "Speak."

"Wow! Would you, like, you know, inflate my boobs really huge?"

She broke character. It was unprofessional but she just couldn't help it. With another big, heavy sigh, she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose with one hand while dismissively waving at the summoner with the other. "Whatevs."