99's mother seems to believe that Max, 99, and the Chief really are employees of a greeting card company. However, in a previous episode it was strongly implied that she knew all three were spies.
When KAOS is torturing 99's Mother on the rack, the chains obviously have no tension on them and the shackles are loose on her wrists and ankles.
After the KAOS agent puts Max's mother-in-law in shackles on the rack, her hand can be seen down at her side, then in the next shot it is again past her head in the shackles.