Kate trembled, drool forming around a ball gag, her naked alabaster body hung from ankle and wrist restraints on a large X-frame. Beside her, the light brown figure of her hated rival, Moana, shared the same pose.
The stage was dark, with two heavy curtains, one in front of each woman, separating them from the auditorium.
They had a history of opposition on sensitive political issues. Recently, the incendiary language had reached a level that left their more moderate supporters very uncomfortable.
Gareth had arrived in their lives a week back with an opportunity to end the political career of the other. Neither woman had been thinking clearly when signing the contract, especially as Gareth chose the heated moments after a particularly vitriolic debate to present it.
Gareth now stood on the other side of those curtains, delivering a speech on "bridging the gaps". Kate and Moana were spread-eagle and naked, still hidden. Neither could hear Gareth speak. Each wore noise-cancelling headphones to heighten their remaining senses.
Both held a clicker in their right hand. The clickers would activate during Gareth's speech, and each would drop their opponent's curtain, disabling the other clicker to block retribution. In addition, both curtains would drop in one hour if neither woman pressed their clicker. Gareth had been coy on how long his speech was, leaving them wondering if, when the hour expired, they'd be exposed to a large crowd or an empty hall.
As a final measure, the contract they'd each signed, unwittingly agreeing to this, was taped to their stomachs.
At the start, both had silently vowed to press the clicker the second it became active to humiliate the other and save themselves.
Yet, as the seconds turned into minutes, neither had quite found the seething hatred to drop the other's curtain.
Hanging naked, they relived past disputes in their minds. Feelings of antipathy and anger at the others' political views swelled up, yet it didn't translate to curtains dropping.
So many lines had been crossed in their fights, surely there wasn't one more line that couldn't be crossed? Yet the curtains stayed up.
Kate and Moana shivered at the thought of being at the other's mercy. They expected the other to trigger their humiliation at any moment. Yet both refused to launch the pre-emptive strike.
Time crawled by, taunting their helplessness.
Then, from high in the ceiling, there were two loud clicks. The heavy curtains succumbed to gravity, falling in large heaps with a dull thud.
