Alicia squirmed in her seat. Before boarding the bus, she had consumed two grande coffees at Starbuck's and they were beginning to make their presence felt. If she had known that the bus journey would take one and a half hours, she would have never consumed all that coffee. Now she would have to get off the bus and hurry to the loo, not merely because of the urgency of the situation, but also because she feared she would be late.

      Alicia was tall, brunette, started and she car began to brown Where they they taking her used these to great effect in her job as a pharmaceutical sales representative. Today, she was headed for the most important deal of her life. She was on the verge of establishing a contract with an important government agency and she knew that her appearance had to be perfect. With this in mind, she put on a pale pink suit.

      Finally, the bus reached her stop and as soon as she had alighted, Alicia began to look for a cafe or a restaurant. Nothing but office buildings. She was running out of time. Only fifteen minutes to go. Then she spotted a cafe out of the corner of her eye and hurried in its direction. As she entered, she began to look around for a loo. It proved to be difficult. Just then she heard a voice behind her. She turned to find a young waitress with a friendly face. She was reassured.

      "Can I help you?" the waitress asked.

      "Yes, Can I use your toilet?"

      "I'm sorry, but the facilities are for customers only," the waitress said.

      "Please, it's an emergency. I'd buy something if I had the time. Do I look like the sort of person who would dirty your bathroom or use it for something other than having a wee?" she asked pleadingly.

      The waitress saw the wisdom of her words. Reluctantly, she handed Alicia a key and told her "You will have to hurry. If my boss finds out, he can sack me."

      Thanking her, Alicia hobbled in the direction of the loo, holding on for dear life. Just then her cell phone rang. "Oh no. Not now, of all times."

      It was her boss. Alicia tried to put on the friendliest tone she could manage. She paced around the toilet, often bending at the knees, often crossing her legs. The boss seemed to blurt out all forms of last minute instructions. "Special introductory rates... Focus on clinical study in the New England Journal of Medicine and the Lancet....Tell them of the ability of the drug to send cancer into remission..."

      Alicia listened, while staring frantically at the loo. The call seemed to take forever. Here she was on the verge of relieving herself and now she couldn't. And then, the worst happened. An old lady walked into the loo right in front of her eyes.

      "Oh no. And the meeting starts in five minutes," she said.

      No choice but to hold it. She pressed her legs tightly together, bent at the knees and at the waist. She was still desperate, but these manoeuvres ensured that she would be able to hold it till she reached the building.

      Frantically , she looked for the building. Only two more minutes to go. And then she spotted it. It was the building in the corner. The fact that she only had two more minutes seemed to take her mind of her bladder for the time being. She concentrated on reaching the building on time. Frantically she ran, and stood in front of the elevator, hopping from foot to foot. Luckily there was nobody around to see her.

      And then to her dismay, Harold Snow, the man she had come to meet turned up. Recognising her he smiled and said, "Oh, hello, Alicia. I can see that you got held up as well. It's been nasty traffic all morning. I wouldn't be surprised if no one's turned up."

      She could not afford to let him know that she was bursting. It was not proper. So she bent slightly at the knees and faced him with her legs pressed tightly against each other, determined to stem the tide.

      "Oh hello, Mr. Snow," she said trying to sound cheery, "I have a presentation that should impress you considerably."

      Snow noticed that she sounded a little flushed and sneaked a peek at her legs. As he suspected, they were pressed tightly together. But he did not make too much of it. He just wanted to complete the deal and try to get as good a price as he could manage. Together they entered the lift, Alicia walking with a noticeable stiffness.

      The office was on the tenth floor and Alicia strained every muscle to avoid breaking into a pee-pee dance. The meeting would be over soon and she would find her relief. She gritted herself and tried to take her mind off her bladder by making small conversation.

      "The stock market has been awful, hasn't it? They say that the new trials published in the New England Journal of Medicine and the Lancet will revive it."

      "Oh, will they?" he asked.

      "They say that this drug will be the wonder cancer drug everyone has been looking for," she replied.

      "But won't it be costly for public health?" he countered.

      "I believe that in the long term, the money saved will be tremendous," she said.

      As they disembarked from the lift, he led her into a waiting area. Alicia was delighted to finally find a seat. The moment he left, she crossed her legs tightly and squirmed. She felt better now but knew that it was only temporary comfort. And she would have to make a standing presentation.

      Just then she heard voices coming through the thin wall. One of them was Mr. Snow's. "I wasn't expecting you this early. No one is here. I'll have your money ready by tomorrow."

      The other was more harsh. When combined with a snigger, it sounded positively menacing. The exchange deteriorated into blows and then a gunshot. Alicia was terrified. Someone had been murdered. She still needed to pee, but there were bigger issues on her mind. She quickly fished out her cell phone to call her boss. "Tony," she said frantically, "Something terrible has happened. I just heard gunshots in Mr. Snow's office."

      Just then, she felt a hand on her mouth. On the hand was a small cloth and on the cloth was a smell that she was unfamiliar with. Her universe went dark as she slumped into unconsciousness.

      When she awoke, she found herself lying in the back of a car. She tried opening her mouth but she couldn't. Something stopped her. She tried moving her hands but they were securely tied behind her. Even her legs were properly secured, and unfortunately she still needed to pee.

      Her desire was intensified by the fact that she had been out for hours. Her body's anti-diuretic machinery had taken over as it always does when one is asleep or unconscious. But when she regained consciousness, her pent up pee combined with the new pee that was generated by her kidneys when she was asleep. She was desperate and squirmed around. It was impossible for her to stay still.

      Two men approached, and she saw that one of them was Mr. Snow. Alicia tried to speak to him through her gag, but to no avail. "We'll have to see how much she knows," Snow said to his companion. "Take her to the safe house."

      Alicia felt a wave of despair. Clearly, Snow was the murderer and not the victim. She was done for. She had been hoping that her boss had phoned the police in her absence, but apparently no one had come to rescue her.

      Even more pressing at the moment was her desperate need to pee. How was she to convey to Mr. Snow that she simply had to go? Now!

      Another voice joined in. It was female. "Whether she knows anything or not, we can't let her go. Our whole operation would be in tatters."

      Mr. Snow said, "Alright. Let's keep her under wraps for a while, and then we'll decide what to do with her."

      All this time Alicia was fidgeting and squirming. "MMMmmmmmmmm."

      "Keep quiet, will you? It will only improve your chances of survival."

      Alicia let out a stifled moan and resigned herself to her fate. At least, Mr. Snow isn't a rapist, she thought. But she really had to pee and needed to get this message through to her captor. But the gag was immaculate. Nothing escaped it. "MMMMMMMM," she continued to squirm and moan and fidget, but her captors merely ignored her.

      Then Snow approached the back of the car. Hope surged in Alicia's mind, only to be quashed a moment later when Snow picked up a duvet and threw it over her bound form, then slammed the car's hatch door shut. A minute later, the engine started and she car began to move. Where were they taking her? How long would she be tied up back here with a full bladder? And dressed in her best suit. It had cost her a whole month's salary. She had to keep it dry.

      Alicia whimpered in mounting distress. She could not cross her legs, so she had to do the next best thing. She squeezed them together. As hard as she fought to control her muscles, however, she could not prevent a spurt of pee escaping into her panties. And the spurt led to another bigger spurt. And soon, she was wetting herself uncontrollably.

      The air was filled with the stench of urine with a slight whiff of coffee. Despondent now, Alicia slumped and burst into sobs. As the urine began to dry, she felt wet and sticky, and her thighs began to chafe. The thought that she would have to lay here in this condition added to her despair. But she was too exhausted to think and sank into a fitful sleep.

      Article in a major newspaper the next day:

      Harold Snow, an important official of the Ministry of Health has been arrested in connection to a corruption scandal. Also facing charges is his secretary Polly Phillips. Snow has been accused of accepting bribes from pharmaceutical companies for months. The police were tipped off after a pharmaceutical sales representative Alicia Smith phoned her employer from Mr. Snow's office and said that she had heard a gunshot. Ms. Smith's employer immediately alerted the police, who were then led to a large paper trail of corruption and intrigue. Ms. Smith's whereabouts, however, remain unknown.