Nothing Personal - 4 (F/F)

Stories that have little truth to them should go here.
User avatar
mrjones2009
Centennial Club
Centennial Club
Posts: 612
Joined: 5 years ago
Contact:

Nothing Personal - 4 (F/F)

Post by mrjones2009 »

Prologue

Paris, France

Having spent the last twenty minutes working it intensely on the dance floor Kendall decided that it was time for a drink and expertly slalomed her way back through the heaving mass of gyrating bodies from the dance floor to the table where she found a group of her friends. They had obviously been to the bar as several full glasses were sitting on the table. She couldn’t believe that her friends just sat at the table, trying to look cool and get noticed rather than enjoying themselves in one of the best clubs in Europe. Kendall picked up one of the full glasses, sat on an empty stool and looked at her phone lying on the glass topped table. It was vibrating to tell her that a call was about to arrive. Kendall had a good idea of who would be calling and was proved correct when an image of the Wicked Witch of the West appeared on the screen. It was indeed her mother who was calling, the total killjoy. The ringing was inaudible over the loud music in the club, not that Kendall would have answered it anyway. To say that they did hot see eye to eye was an understatement. In Kendall’s view her mother only cared what happened with her fancy bank and high powered clients and was probably only calling to shout at her for some minor perceived indiscretion of Kendall’s that her mother had decided to blow out of all proportion. With a bit of luck she would still be asleep when her mother left in the morning, or even better perhaps she could stay at Pandora’s place tonight and therefore avoid her mother completely.

Kendall finished her drink and scanned the club trying to find something that would take her mind off her mother, eventually through the slight haze of smoke and the lighting that was timed to change with the beat of the music a woman caught her eye and held her gaze. It was the way the woman walked through the club that held Kendall’s attention. Walking upright, confident and scanning the room as she moved, taking everything in effortlessly moving through the crowd without bumping into anyone. The woman had long dark hair, tightly pulled back in a ponytail and was wearing a form fitting black dress. Even from this distance through the crowd in the club Kendall could tell that the woman was in great physical condition, the toned muscle in her upper arms clearly visible. As if entranced Kendall’s gaze followed the woman to the bar where she ordered a drink. Although she couldn’t tell what was being said between them Kendall guessed by the body language a man at the bar had offered to buy the drink and the woman had politely declined, grabbing her bag and mobile Kendall decided to head to the bar. As she made her way to the bar Kendall lost sight of the woman in the crowd but guessing where she would be wasn’t that hard and Kendall burst through the crowd just in time to come face to face with the woman, blocking her exit from the bar having being served her drink. For a couple of seconds Kendall just stood and stared silently at the woman. “Excuse me,” the woman said before squeezing between Kendall and the man to her left hand side who Kendall now had a sheepish look on his face. Great Kendall! Way to go and make a first impression.

Slightly disappointed in the way that encounter had gone it took Kendall a minute to regain her composure and look around again to search for the woman, quickly seeing the ponytail heading for the exit whilst finishing her drink and depositing the glass on a table as she walked bye. Kendall rushed across the club, waving at the table her friends were at to indicate that she was leaving; Kendall doubted that any of them noticed. Having made her way through the mass of bodies to the exit door Kendall crashed through into the darkness of early morning. Searching left and right Kendall caught sight of the woman as she turned onto the main road from the side street where the Club Dormir entrance was situated. Although she knew it wasn’t the best idea for a young woman alone to follow someone Kendall decided that this is what she was indeed going to do, this woman had an alluring quality that fascinated Kendall and drew her in. Making her way to the main road Kendall saw that the woman was walking at an easy pace down the sidewalk. Settling in at a pace that would keep a decent gap between them Kendall continued to follow, her sense of excitement only increased by having now having to follow the woman like a detective. Eventually the woman disappeared round a corner and into an alley. Kendall knew that she shouldn’t really follow someone that she didn’t know down an alley this late at night but for some reason she was drawn to this woman and decided to follow the woman into the alley. Kendall didn’t just barrel right into the alley; she paused at the entrance and took a couple of deep breaths before swinging into the alley and finding that the woman was nowhere to be seen. Kendall could see all the way to the far end of the alley where it met the street beyond. There were dumpsters, pools of light, a panel van, piles of rubbish, fire escapes, in fact all of the things that you would expect to see in an alley but no woman. As Kendall cautiously made her way down the alley a shape stepped out from the shadows and blocked her path. “Why have you been following me?” the shape asked. As Kendall regained her composure from the shock she realised that the shape was the woman from the club. Kendall noticed that the woman was very calm, as if totally in control of both herself and the situation.

“I um…just saw you in…..in the club and well……” Kendall stuttered as she knew how daft the explanation would sound.

“So you decided to follow me. I think that is a bit dangerous, especially for a young lady.” Kendall nodded in agreement. “I am glad that you agree. Let’s just make sure this is the last time that you do anything like this.” Kendall nodded again. “Well my name is Kirsty Black.” Suddenly Kendall heard a noise behind her and turned her head to see the side door of the van that had been sitting in the alley open and a woman jump from the van onto the ground. This woman wasn’t dress for a night out; she was wearing a long black, down coat, a black roll neck sweater, dark cargo pants and functional boots. The woman’s auburn hair was held back by a headband.

“Now Kendall, you must be tired from all that dancing and following me around. Why don’t you take a little nap? My friend Nicole here has something to help you with that. She is going to place a cloth over your nose and mouth. It has something on it to help you go to sleep.” Kendall took a pace back, suddenly confused and frightened, realising that she had made a serious error of judgement in following the woman.

“I actually feel fine. Now if you just get out my way I will be heading home.” Kendall spun round and came face to face with the woman who had jumped from the van. The woman slipped her right hand into the outside pocket of her long down coat and pulled out a white cloth, the contrast against the almost all black ensemble worm by the woman was stark. The woman was in her early thirties Kendall guessed and now that the woman was close Kendall could tell that the woman was best described as voluptuous and had perfect, porcelain white skin with pouty lips and ice blue eyes.

“Please don’t resist and take nice deep breaths for me.” Kendall turned back to face Kirsty.

“How do you know my name? What are you taking abo…MMMPPPHH” Kendall’s question was cut off as the cloth was indeed pressed firmly over her nose and mouth from behind, at the same time the woman wrapped an arm around Kendall’s waist and pulled her in tightly against her body. Before Kendall could react the woman that she had been following pounced and grabbed both of her wrists, rendering them useless to fight against the woman that had placed the cloth over the lower half of her face. Kendall struggled against the two women but was no position to win, it was then that Kendall noticed that the cloth was damp and that there was a strong, sweet smell coming from it. Kendall must have reacted to this realisation as the woman in front her smiled and nodded her head.

“The smell from the cloth is chloroform. Just something to help you relax, put you to sleep for a while.” As Kendall fought in vain to fight the effects of the chloroform, her eyes darted and searched frantically for any sign of help, a face at one of the windows overlooking the alley, a fellow reveller walking past, a police officer out on patrol. But it was all growing hazy, her field of vision narrowing as darkness crept in from the corner of her vision and her urge to fight stilled with every breath, her body growing heavy. “That’s right, just let the chloroform do its job.” Kendall stopped struggling, not because she gave up, but because the chloroform sucked away her ability to fight.

The young woman slumped down to the ground. “Nicole, get her into the van.” Kirsty said releasing Kendall’s wrists. Nicole nodded and easily picked up the unconscious young woman and deposited her onto the rear of the van, jumping up afterward and closing the door. Kirsty made her way around the van and jumped into the passenger seat and indicated to the driver that with their package secure they should head off.
Last edited by mrjones2009 4 years ago, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
TamatoaShiny123
Millennial Club
Millennial Club
Posts: 1452
Joined: 6 years ago
Contact:

Post by TamatoaShiny123 »

Yay! It’s back!!!
Check out my DeviantArt page!
https://www.deviantart.com/empoleon666
Caesar73
Millennial Club
Millennial Club
Posts: 4739
Joined: 5 years ago

Post by Caesar73 »

Glad, that you are back, @mrj[mention]mrjones2009[/mention]! This will be fun!
Image
User avatar
mrjones2009
Centennial Club
Centennial Club
Posts: 612
Joined: 5 years ago
Contact:

Post by mrjones2009 »

Chapter 1

The previous twelve months had been kind to the King Detective Agency. Hayley supposed that the publicity of being involved in taking down part of an international criminal enterprise didn’t hurt. Alright so her main involvement was being kidnapped and held captive by that international criminal enterprise but fortunately the press coverage hadn’t lingered on that element of the story. This increase in publicity had led to a bundle of new clients beating a path to her office door. Some of these new clients were wealthy individuals; others were corporations and some were insurance companies. In fact the case that Hayley was currently working on was an instruction on behalf of a large and well known insurance firm. The King Detective Agency had been hired to investigate the disappearance of a valuable painting owned the De Havilland sisters, who were wealthy socialites. The loss adjustor appointed to investigate the claim believed that the sisters were committing fraud by submitting a false claim relating to the alleged theft of two high valued paintings. He had shared his suspicions in Hayley’s office last week and had tasked Hayley with finding some proof. The De Havilland family were one of the oldest and well known in the area and had made their fortune generations ago in transport and then diversified into hotels, although the rumours were that the company had recently hit hard times and was losing money. Hayley had guessed that this could be the reason behind the false insurance claim and why she currently found herself in the lobby of The Grand Bay Hotel, the oldest and most prestigious hotel in the De Havilland portfolio. Hayley had been in the hotel before, mainly for functions in one of the vast halls with her father, the Commissionaire of the local Police force.

Hayley strode purposefully across the entrance foyer toward the reception desk, “Hayley King for Ms De Havilland.” The concierge looked up from the computer screen and looked at Hayley.

“Do you have an appointment?” the young man asked.

“Yes.” Hayley had always favoured the direct approach. The concierge paused for a moment, staring at Hayley. They both knew full well that neither De Havilland sister would ever arrange an appointment at the hotel; business was always conducted at their downtown offices. The concierge picked up the phone handset and dialled an internal number before walking away toward the end of the desk so that Hayley couldn’t overhear the conversation. During the conversation with whoever was on the other end of the phone the concierge took several furtive glances toward Hayley who just tried to look confident, like she belonged. The concierge eventually ended the call and walked back toward Hayley.

“Ms De Havilland will see you shortly. Please take one of the elevators to the top floor and one of my colleagues will meet you.”

“Thanks you” Hayley replied before making her way to the bank of elevators taking in the foyer at the same time. If you just glanced the interior it looked great but if you took a closer look you could tell that the place was tired and in need of decoration. It wasn’t exactly being caught red handed but every little detail help you to build the picture Hayley thought. The centre of the three lifts was lying open and without hesitation Hayley entered and pushed the button for the top floor.

During the elevator ride to the top floor Hayley had the chance to admire her outfit in the mirror that took up the entire rear wall of the car. Hayley had decided to have a change of her usual work wear. She was wearing a light blouse with a skirt and dark boots rather than her usual dark blue jeans and tight sweater combination. The lift stopped at what Hayley took to be the top floor. The doors slid open and Hayley found that she was face to face with a smartly dressed young woman of about twenty five, the nameplate read Julie. “Please follow me Ms King” the woman said before setting off at a brisk, businesslike pace down the corridor with Hayley struggling to keep pace behind. They reached a door that was almost hidden in the wall. The young woman opened it with a key and beckoned for Hayley to go through it, after a slight pause Hayley stepped through the door and into a small landing and found a set of steps in front of her. There must be another level that the paying guests didn’t have access to. As they walked up the steps the Julie explained as if reading Hayley’s mind. “This leads to the private quarters of Ms De Havilland.” There was another door at the top of the flight of stairs and there was an awkward moment as Julie had to squeeze past Hayley in order to open the door. Once Julie had opened the door she entered with Hayley following close behind into a large living space that was tastefully and expensively decorated. Julie escorted Hayley toward two large settees and a coffee table located in the centre of the room. “Please take a seat. Ms De Havilland will be with you shortly.” The smartly dressed hotel employee bid Hayley farewell before turning and leaving the room, leaving Hayley to her own devices. Hayley placed her bag on the floor and spent the next couple of minutes either checking her phone or glancing at her wristwatch. Eventually she couldn’t resist and started to snoop about and started to look behind the various doors that led off from the living room.

“Bingo!” Hayley said quietly once she had opened the fourth of the five doors. The previous three doors had hidden two bedrooms and a kitchen, behind door number four was an office. Hayley looked round and seeing nobody was about slipped between the door and the frame, leaving the door slightly ajar. It was slightly dangerous and she was taking a chance but these were the decisions that you had to make at times as a Private Investigator. Knowing that she wouldn’t have much time Hayley went straight for the wooden desk on the far side of the office and started sifting through the papers lying on the desk with her back to the door, scanning them for any useful information. Hayley didn’t expect to find a receipt for the sale of the paintings or something similar but at the bottom of the pile were invoices from an international shipping company that may be interesting. Cursing that she had left her phone in her bag so couldn’t take a photograph Hayley went back to snooping through the paperwork. Totally engrossed in searching through the pile of papers lying on the desk Hayley failed to notice the door swing open further. Hayley continued to look through the papers and came across a shipping manifest from the same company for something to the Emirates. Hayley thought that this was strange as during her research she had not found any business dealings that the De Havilland company had in that part of the world. Then on suddenly hearing a noise close behind her Hayley spun round and found two women standing side by side. “Apologies,” one of the women said.

“That’s alright you just startled me a bit is all,” Hayley said regaining her composure. After that initial surprise Hayley’s brain had kicked into gear and she recognised the two women as Louise and Judith De Havilland. Louise, the older of the two with blonde hair stood to Hayley’s left and Judith, dark haired and taller and broader than her sister was to the right.

“No not for that, for this,” Judith said before clamping a cloth over Hayley’s nose and mouth. Louise stepped slightly to the side and flung both arms around Hayley, pinning her arms to her side to stop Hayley using them to fight off the cloth wielding attacker.

“Now relax and go to sleep like a good little nuisance….we can’t have you causing a kerfuffle dear.” This prompted a muffled grunt from the girl detective, who had instantly recognised the sweet smelling odour coming from the cloth. As Hayley fought in vain to fight of both her attackers and the effects of the chloroform, her eyes darted and searched frantically left and right for help or something that she could use to break free. There was nobody and nothing close enough to aid her in her fight, which Hayley knew from experience that she was in danger of losing. Hayley could feel her muscles start to relax, the light tingling sensation spread over her body and then her vision started to blur. Once that happened Hayley knew she was going out, eventually Hayley’s eyes rolled up in her head and her eyelids slammed shut.

“A kerfuffle; how quaint.” Louise De Havilland commented as she released the unconscious Hayley and allowed her to slump to the luxuriously carpeted floor. As both women stood over Hayley lying motionless in the centre of the room Louise asked “Why did you use the chloroform on the detective?”

“What did you want me to do? Hit her over the head with a club. I’m not a brute Louise, I've always preferred to use chloroform on women. Simple, easy to come by, has minimal after effects and is far more refined. Beside, I asked some questions about our friend when after I spoke with the concierge and she had a reputation for feistiness, better that we take no chances. Knock her out and then deal with her when she is sleeping.” Louise nodded in response to the explanation of her sister before asking.

“What shall we do with her?”

“Let’s get her to my bedroom first. There are plenty of scarves to tie her up with. It will give us time to decide what to do. We need her to disappear…. I just need to work out how” Judith stole a glance at the unconscious woman lying at her feet taking in her curvaceous 5ft 9” frame. The woman had a killer body that made other women jealous and no doubt made her popular with the male of the species. Hayley also possessed sharp features, deep blue eyes and luscious long dark blonde hair. After a couple of seconds eyeing up the woman the sisters bent down and picked Hayley up from the floor, Judith lifting from under the armpits and Louise grabbing the ankles.

[align]--------[/align]

Hayley came to sitting on a hard backed chair, well sitting was probably the wrong description; she was practically attached to the thing using scarves. Starting from the bottom the sisters had tied a scarf around each of her ankles to secure them to the legs of the chair; there were also additional scarves just below her knees which were also tied to the chair. Long silk scarves have been used across her thighs and around her stomach to further secure her to the chair; finally her wrists and arms were tied to the chair with even more scarves. There was a dull ache at the back of her head and her mouth felt rough, yes definitely chloroform on that cloth. It had been almost a year since she had had the pleasure of that particular drug being used on her and her body must have lost some of its resistance. Looking around the room it was clear that she had been moved from the office into one if the bedrooms that she had seen behind the doors off the living room.

“I see sleeping beauty is awake” said a voice from behind her. Hayley turned her head and followed as the two women walked round and stood in front of her, the De Havilland sisters Judith and Louise. Although the younger of the sisters by two years it was rumoured that Judith was in charge. She had jet black hair and wore simple black rimmed rectangular shaped reading glasses. Both were dressed in a slightly old fashioned way, sensible dark coloured dresses with cardigans over the top. Both sisters had been married and widowed.

“What are you mmmmm” Hayley got half way through that sentence before realising her mistake. Opening her mouth allowed Judith who was standing on the right of the two to cram a white wad of cloth in her mouth. Hayley tried to turn her head, but the woman’s free hand grabbed her chin and pressed Hayley's cheeks forcing her mouth open to accept another wadded up piece of white cloth. “Don’t worry they are nice, clean ladies handkerchiefs.” At this point Hayley didn’t care if they were clean, she didn’t want them in her mouth. The large wad of handkerchief was forced deeper into Hayley's mouth. Hayley retched, but the wad was pushed in further expanding into her cheeks, cotton and hint of lavender flavor filled her mouth. "Just a little more my dear, you have a big mouth and it requires a lot of stuffing to keep you quiet. So I'm sure we can find some more room in there somewhere.” Hayley thought that she was going to choke for a second, but was helpless to prevent what was happening. Finally after more prodding and probing the handkerchiefs were stuffed in place and Hayley found that her mouth was completely filled with cotton. Hayley watched on as the other sister picked up a silk scarf from the large pile sitting on top of the chest of drawers and carefully folded the triangle into a band and pout a knot in the middle of the silk. The woman forced the knot into the soft wad of cotton that stuffed Hayley’s mouth, Hayley wretched and groaned at the same time. The ends of the scarf were pulled behind Hayley’s head and a knot tied, the knot compressed and forced the cotton was deeper into Hayley’s mouth.

To Hayley's dismay she realised that they hadn’t finished gagging her yet. Judith took a pink chiffon scarf from the assortment on the table, and shook it out to confirm that it was a large square before folding it in into a three-inch rectangular band, they grabbed a couple of large white handkerchiefs and folded them into a pad just big enough to sit over someone’s mouth. Hayley hated being gagged and she shook her head defiantly as the woman approached. But in the end she sat still as she could do nothing to stop the unpleasant procedure from continuing, and she knew that it could be worse if she struggled. The woman went behind Hayley after placing the folded handkerchiefs over Hayley’s stuffed mouth tied the scarf over her mouth, pulling it very tight. The soft material moulded itself around Hayley's face and compacted the knotted cleave gag and the packing in her mouth. Finally they took another large silk scarf folded into a band and used it to blindfold the bound detective. With that last flourish completed the sisters stood back to admire their handiwork. Hayley started to wriggle around in the chair. “Now don’t struggle. You brought this on yourself by snooping around. When we heard that there was a young woman going round asking questions we had to take some action.” Judith said as she made her way out of the room with her sister trailing just behind, leaving Hayley alone with her thoughts. Hayley couldn’t believe her bad fortune, due to fly out to Europe in two days and here she was being kidnapped by a pair of middle aged women. Hayley tried to cry out, more out of frustration than anticipation of getting help but the gag was just too effective. The gag kept Hayley quiet in many ways. By holding her mouth open, it made sure that she could not form words. By plugging her mouth with cloth, it made sure that she was muffled such that very little sound got through. Hayley did not try to fight it, though her arms strained involuntarily, wanting to pull the gag off with her hands. But her hands were useless, secured to the chair with silk scarfs that were tied so securely they may well have been metal cuffs. She couldn't even move her mouth and working the gag with some hope of dislodging it was simply impossible. All only thing that she could do was relax and wait.

A couple of hours later

The door opened and Hayley heard footsteps approach. “I think that we will move you onto the bed where you will be more comfortable.” Hayley nodded her agreement; that did sound like a good idea. What came next was totally unexpected. A soft cotton cloth, probably a handkerchief similar to those that had been stuffed into her mouth, was placed over Hayley's nose. Instantly, she knew it was chloroform. She squirmed and tried to avoid the inhaling the fumes, but the woman easily held it in place. "Please stop fighting the drug. It will do no good to resist. When you wake up we will discuss what we do next. Until then it's better if you sleep. So breathe deeply and let the chloroform do its work, again" Being blindfolded and gagged, Hayley couldn't see her vision get blurry, but she felt the weakness in her arms and legs before slipping into unconsciousness.

The pounding at the back of her head told her that she was awake and the stinging sensation of the light on her eyes told her that the blindfold has been removed whilst she was out. Hayley was lying on her stomach on a large double bed. Quickly assessing her bonds Hayley discovered that she no less securely bound than she had been earlier on the chair. Hayley rolled over onto her back and glanced down, her legs where after noting that her boots had been removed were secured in four places by scarves and there were two further scarves around her torso securing her arms to her body. There was also what Hayley assumed to be a scarf tightly binding her wrists together and the mouth silencing gag remained welded in place. Deciding that she had to at least try Hayley twisted this way and that on top of the bedding trying to get free of the scarves but after an exhausting five minutes and with her chest heaving with the effort discovered that the knots were not for coming loose. Her experiments in calling for help through the gag also came to nothing. She could not form words because handkerchiefs wadded in her mouth, tangled her tongue and helped to reduce resonance. It was difficult to move her jaws, and the padding covering her mouth muffled the sounds that did filter through. She could hear herself, and the faint strangled mewing that came out she knew would only be heard by someone in the room. Anyone in any adjoining room, never mind the hotel corridor would be totally oblivious to her cries.
Not long after she had finished struggling Judith De Havilland entered the room and sat on the bed next to Hayley. “Looks like you have been having a struggle. Your reputation for spunkiness seems to be true but I could have told you that there was no way to get loose.”

“MMMRRRPPPHHH” Hayley tried to shout from behind her gag but very little noise escaped. Judith De Havilland clamped her right hand over Hayley’s severely gagged mouth and placed the index finger of her left hand to her lips in a be quiet gesture. Hayley blew out loudly through her nose in frustration as Judith picked up the old fashioned phone from the bedside table and punched a button before putting it to her ear, all the while continuing to keep her right hand firmly clamped over Hayley’s gagged mouth.

“Front desk, this is Judith De Havilland. Please mark Ms King as having left the hotel.” There was silence as whoever was on the front desk responded. “Yes, she will be leaving with us through our private entrance.” Another silence before Hayley heard Judith sign off by thanking the person on the other end of the line. Judith then hung up the phone and removed her hand from over Hayley’s mouth. “You will note that we have used the finest silk scarves to bind you dear. We believe in being civilised and that women; especially one as alluring as you should be bound with a woman’s touch.”

“MMMPPPHHH” Hayley screamed in frustration from behind her gag whilst writhing in her bonds on the bed.

“Now don’t go getting upset young lady. It won’t do any good. I can assure you the knots on those scarves are quite secure. If you keep that up I will be forced to use the chloroform again, purely to stop you from injuring yourself” Judith said as she got up from the bed. “Anyway I suspect that you are wondering what we are going to do with you. Well I like surprises so wouldn’t want to spoil it for you.” Leaving that statement hanging in the air Judith left the room, closing the door behind her. Hayley had another attempt at loosening the scarves that encircled several parts of her body but found that Judith De Havilland was correct in her assessment of the knots. Hayley was unsettled at some of the things the woman had said during that exchange, especially the hint that she had experience of dealing with binding women. Hayley did have to wonder how you got that experience and decided that it wasn’t something that she wanted to find out.

A couple of hours after Judith De Havilland left the room the door opened again, Hayley lifted her head off the pillow far enough to see both sisters enter the room. They both had on coats, scarves, pairs of gloves and carried bags. Obviously they were planning on going somewhere. “Right Hayley lets make a move” Judith commented. With the assistance of the De Havilland sisters Hayley managed to squirm over to the edge of the bed and into a sitting position where Louise untied three of the four scarves binding her legs and then slid Hayley’s boots back on. They then helped Hayley into a standing position, Louise knelling down in front of her.

“Don’t worry this isn’t what you think” Louise said before she hiked up Hayley’s skirt and fiddled around with the scarf around her thighs. Hayley looked down not knowing whether to be offended that Louise had assumed that Hayley would have jumped to that conclusion. Once the scarf had been adjusted Hayley realised that Louise had altered the bindings so that she could walk but her movement was restricted, effectively hobbled.

“Hayley behave and we won’t have to get rough with you.” Judith said. “Or we can get the chloroform out again. I if didn’t know better I would say that you even enjoyed being chloroformed.” Hayley knew that they wouldn’t get rough but she had no interest in being chloroformed again so that threat did work. Hayley nodded to confirm that she wouldn’t be difficult, well at least for now, she would obviously have to bide her time before looking for a opportunity to escape. Judith grabbed her arm and led her towards the door that Louise was holding open. Once through that door Judith encouraged Hayley across the large main room, Louise scurrying past them to open another door on the other side of the room that the small group passed through into a narrow corridor. They tuned left and walked down the corridor, stopping in front of a set of elevator doors, Judith pushed a large button on the wall. “This is our private elevator.”

“Nobody has the code to use it but us” Louise added. Hayley had a quick look around and also noted the lack of cameras in the area. The three women waited on the elevator to arrive, once it had the sisters’ hustled Hayley into the car, Louise punched a four digit number into a keypad before selecting basement level on the control panel. As the group rode silently downwards Hayley was starting to give more credence to those rumours about what had happened to the husbands of Judith and Louise De Havilland. Both sisters had married in their early twenties, both to men in positions of power within businesses that were seen as competitors to that of their own families. It seemed that both marriages were happy, children followed not long after but soon tragedy struck. Judith’s husband was killed in a skiing accident and Louise’s husband eighteen months later in a diving accident. At the time of the incident both deaths were officially declared as accidents but the rumours continued to circulate. Hayley made a note to get Natalie to look at both cases when she got out of this situation.

The lift doors opened to give a view out into a basement car park. Hayley could see concrete pillars and a ramp that she assumed lead to an exit at street level. Judith held up her hand before stepping out into the car park, taking about ten paces before looking around, checking for prying eyes and then beckoning for Louise and Hayley to exit the elevator. Louise nudged Hayley and she started to walk, well with the way the scarf was bound around her thighs it was more like a shuffle. They arrived at where Judith was standing, still scanning for prying eyes and then all three made there way toward a large black SUV parked in the corner of the car park, Hayley noted that the vehicle also had tinted windows. When they were about ten paces away Hayley saw the lights blink as the locks were disengaged. Judith opened the near side rear door and with a little help Hayley managed to get up into the vehicle and seated, not comfortably with her arms pinned behind her against the leather upholstery. Judith engaged the child lock before closing the door. Hayley was briefly alone in the back seat before Louise jumped in the other side, wasting no time in tying Hayley’s ankles together with a scarf and putting the seatbelt in place. From the front seat Judith said "Louise, Miss King needs to be sedated for the journey. Would you care to do the honors?” Louise nodded and took the proffered dark bottle and white handkerchief that Judith held over her shoulder. Come on ladies, not again! Hayley thought as the sweetly scented handkerchief loomed in on being placed over her nose.

The suspension in the SUV was getting a decent work out when Hayley regained consciousness. Then once she had recovered most of her senses from being chloroformed for the third time that day she had a look out the window in an attempt to determine where they were. The vehicle was making its way down a dirt road along the side of a small airfield. “Welcome back Hayley.” Judith said, Hayley looked round and made eye contact with Judith via the rear view mirror. “We have almost arrived at our destination.” Hayley tried to relax as there wasn’t much that she could do anyway. At the end of dirt road Judith De Havilland turned the large SUV through an open gate and onto smooth tarmac, as they passed through the gate Hayley noted the man standing guard. If she didn’t know better she would have sworn that the man had a gun shaped bulge under the light jacket he was wearing. Judith De Havilland obviously knew where she was going as she manoeuvred the SUV toward a hanger in the furthest away and most private corner of the airfield. The SUV stopped next to a door in the side of the hanger. The De Havilland sisters both exited the vehicle and after unlocking the seatbelt and untying the scarves around her ankles and thighs assisted Hayley in getting out of the vehicle. Judith approached the door and knocked on it, a strange pattern of knocks. Obviously some kind of pre-arranged signal Hayley surmised. The door opened and Judith entered, Louise pushed Hayley to encourage her to enter, which she did. On entering the hanger Hayley found that Judith De Havilland was in conversation with two people, a man of average height and build wearing grey cargo pants and a black t-shirt and a blonde woman wearing the exact same outfit. Perhaps it was a uniform Hayley thought, or they got it buy one get one free. Hayley also noted that both carried guns in shoulder holsters. “This is package that I was telling you about on the phone Fabien” Judith said indicated toward Hayley.

“Well you were right Judith, she is indeed an alluring proposition” Fabien said. “Heather, can you show Louise where to the stash the young lady at the moment. They we can discuss business.” The course of action seemingly agreed Hayley was roughly grabbed by the woman named Heather and dragged toward the back of the hanger with Louise De Havilland trailing a couple of paces behind.

“Don’t mess with me lady” Heather hissed into Hayley’s ear. There was a definite hint of a South African accent Hayley thought. She was led to a small room that contained several items of furniture, wooden desks, chairs, cupboards, metal lockers and a couple of army cots with bare mattresses. “Tie her on one of the cots. Make sure that she can’t get loose. I don’t want to have her running around.” Louise led Hayley to one of the cots, Hayley looked around to find that Heather had taken position, arms crossed and jaw set blocking the door. Perhaps it still wasn’t the time to make that move Hayley thought. Without being asked Hayley sat on the bare mattress on one of the cots, Louise delved into her bag and removed a selection of scarves which she used to bind Hayley’s at the ankles, just below the knees and around the thighs. Hayley, with experience of being abducted and bound knew without being asked what her captor would want so swung her legs onto the bed and lay down, getting as comfortable as possible. “Nice and submissive, keep that up and you will be fine” said Heather. Louise took another scarf and tying one end to the scarf around Hayley’s ankles and the other to the metal cot.

“Are there any pillows in here?” Louise asked Heather.

“It’s not a bloody hotel!” was the response. “Take a look for yourself. If you are going to hang around make sure and lock the door behind you and bring the key.” After issuing that order Heather turned and stormed out of the small office. From her position lying on the cot Hayley watched Louise search through the various cupboards and lockers before she found a pillow.

“Sorry it’s the best that I can do” Louise said almost apologetically as she slipped the pillow under Hayley’s head. “Better than nothing I suppose.” Louise dumped Hayley’s bag on a desk in the middle of the room before exiting the room and as instructed locking the door behind her, leaving Hayley alone with her thoughts.

Hayley was lying down on the cot bed trying to work out if there was any way that she could reach her bag that the Louise De Havilland had tantalisingly left on the desk in the centre of the room. After around an hour of lying uncomfortably on the cot bed, at least when she had been abducted and held captive by Elizabeth Crawford and her gang she had been bound in relative comfort the door opened and the De Havilland sisters came back into the room. “Louise, remove the gag from our young friends mouth. Even if she does scream her pretty head off there is nobody around to hear.” Judith said. “Well nobody that will care.” Hayley was really starting to dislike Judith De Havilland very much. Anyway Hayley was not going to object to the gag being removed, her jaw ached and so she sat still and let Louise play with the knots holding the scarves in place until they were both free of her mouth which allowed her to spit out the now saliva sodden was of cotton in her mouth. “Don’t worry we have brought plenty of fresh handkerchiefs and scarves to gag you with.” Louise held a plastic water bottle to her lips and Hayley drank gratefully. She whispered a scarcely audible “thank you,” her mouth parched from hours of wearing the gag. “Now, would you like to tell me what you have planned for me?”

“Straight to the point,” Judith said. “Then I shall do you the same courtesy. A woman of your beauty will make a fine prize in certain parts of the world. It will compensate us for the trouble that you have put us to.”

“Trouble!” Hayley said. “So far al you have done is put me out and tie me up!”

“I am not saying that I didn’t enjoy certain parts of it but it was still not what I had planned.”

“So I am to be sold to the highest bidder then. Thanks, awfully," said Hayley, sarcastically. Hayley made the statement as fact rather than asking as a question. “My friends and colleagues will come looking for me Judith.”
“I am sure that they will” Judith responded “but by that time you will be safely out of the country.”

“Can I ask where?”

“I didn’t ask. Our friend Fabien, in addition to being a top class forger and mover of how shall I phrase it………. slightly warm paintings and antiquities has a side line in transporting pretty young ladies to those that have contacts to pass them further on.” Hayley, concentrating entirely on Judith failed to notice Louise who was now sitting beside her produce a large white handkerchief which she then poured some liquid onto from a dark bottle. Hayley’s nose wrinkled as she caught the scent a split second before the handkerchief was clamped over her nose and mouth. Hayley started writhing frantically, trying to escape from the fumes that would render her unconscious, Louise unprepared for that kind of reaction was thrown off the cot and onto the floor, relief was short lived though as Judith pushed Hayley down onto the cot, her head landing on the pillow. “Quick Louise hand me that handkerchief.” Louise, now back off the floor did as instructed before grabbing hold of Hayley’s legs, leaning on them with all her weight to prevent Hayley from kicking out.

“Wait you don’t have to so do this” Hayley pleaded, staring at the handkerchief that Judith De Havilland had hovering with menace above her head. Judith just smiled before placing the handkerchief back over Hayley’s nose and mouth.

"This is the best result you could hope for, my dear. The only other alternative was…well…not very pleasant. Breathe deeply; close your eyes and go to sleep.” Hayley could not believe it, about to be knocked out again. This would be the fourth time in a single day, surely a record. Even for her! “When you wake up this time we can put you in the specially designed casket for transport.” Hayley had no real wish to find out exactly what that was but try as she might she could not shake off the De Havilland sisters and the exertions only meant that she inhaled more of the fumes from the chloroform soaked cloth clamped over the lower half of her face. Hayley quickly realised that resistance was futile and stopped struggling, resigned to her fate. Taking deep breathes the end came quickly and everything went black.

The sun had set about half an hour or so again by Hayley’s reckoning as she lay on her side on the cot. Hayley was once again bound to the cot and her gag had been replaced. At least they had used fresh handkerchiefs and scarves, small mercies Hayley thought. When she had first come round there has been a lot of noise coming from outside the room, the sounds of preparations being made, heavy items being moved, orders being issued, people moving around but everything had been quiet for a while now. Hayley guessed that the preparations had been completed and they were now just waiting for the correct time to leave. Suddenly a loud bang came from the main hanger followed by the unmistakable sounds of a commotion, then there was a creaking noise and then Hayley heard the sound of wood splintering and wriggled on the cot into a position where she could see the top of the door over the desk in the middle of the room. “Anybody in here” said a familiar voice. Hayley moaned and groaned into her gag, the De Havilland sisters having kindly reapplied the same severe gag as earlier and thrashing trying to make as much noise as possible to attract attention. The sound of the footsteps got louder as they rounded the desk, a set of legs appearing in front of Hayley.

“MMMPPPHH” Hayley moaned into her gag, relief flooding through her body.

“Aren’t you glad that I put that tracker application on your phone Hales.” Natalie Twain said, looking down at her bound and gagged friend. “Now let’s get you untied.”

Half an hour later


“I can’t thank you enough Natalie. I thought that I was in real trouble this time” Hayley said to her friend as they walked back into the main hanger. Looking round Hayley took note of the multiple Police officers searching the premises; she also noted Judith and Louise De Havilland, their friend Fabien and several other men being led toward two waiting Police vans in handcuffs. “Did you round them all up Natalie?”

“We think so. Managed to take the guard at the gate without alerting the rest and caught them on the hop. It looks like we arrived in time as they were just putting the final crate onto the plane.”

“Not quite the last crate. They were planning to take me with them and sell me to the highest bidder.”

“Well then we can add human trafficking to the list of charges when we work them out.”

“There was a woman with a South African accent, around five feet eight, long blonde hair, grey eyes, mid to late thirties, black t-shirt.” Natalie shook her head and gestured for a nearby uniformed colleague to who walked across. Natalie gave him the description and asked that he put out a call so that all units in the area looked out for women matching that description. Then Natalie walked towards the crates that some uniformed officers had removed from the hold of the plane sitting in the centre of the hanger. Hayley decided to tag along a couple of steps behind. Natalie nodded to a large Sergeant who picked up a crowbar. “Shall we see what is in the box?”

The following morning

Hayley was sat in the coffee house round the corner from her flat with the paper spread open across the table in front of her. Leafing through the pages Hayley found the story on page 7, the reporter had a crush on Hayley so had worded the story so that she was portrayed in a slightly better light. He had done a good job. As Hayley read the article it came across like she had made a genuine contribution toward the discovery of the missing pieces of art rather then being chloroformed, abducted and tracked using a phone application. Just as she was about to flick toward the sports pages her phone vibrated, checking the screen Hayley noticed that it was the office and snatched it up from the table, “Hi Lori” Hayley said cheerfully greeting her receptionist who had replaced Michelle about three months previously. Michelle had left and moved away after a whirlwind romance with a finance executive. Being honest Hayley was glad that Michelle had left as it saved her a difficult decision. As the business has grown it had become clear that Michelle didn’t have the required skills to run the office, her leaving had allowed Hayley to employ somebody with a bit more experience.

“Lucas called to confirm if you were going to be coming in today.” Hayley suddenly remembered that she had agreed to meet with Lucas to go over cases and other issues that may arise when she took her trip to Europe.

“Yes” Hayley replied looking at her watch and calculating how long it would take her to get to the office, “I will be in around half past.” She quickly finished her coffee, folded the paper and put it back into her bag. Making sure that she had everything Hayley started walking toward the office.

The offices of King Investigations

Sitting in her office Hayley heard a rap on the frosted glass pane in her door. “Come in Lucas” she shouted, the silhouette gave it away. The door opened and in entered her latest employee, Lucas Walker. The increase in the amount of work that the firm had taken on had necessitated that Hayley take on another investigator to help out. After interviewing several applicants she had decided to employ Lucas Walker. Although he didn’t have a lot of experience he was enthusiastic and they clicked both things Hayley put high on the list of things that she looked for in someone that she worked with. Lucas took the seat on the other side of the desk and smiled; Hayley returned the smile and pulled up a file on her laptop. “Let’s get started shall we.” Lucas nodded and they two investigators spent the next hour going through Hayley’s current cases and anything that needed followed up or could come up whilst she was away. The meeting finished Hayley closed her laptop after e-mailing a copy of her notes and itinerary for her trip to Lucas.

“Thanks for taking the time to brief me, especially after what happened yesterday.”

“That’s fine and believe me I have been in worse situations” Hayley replied. “If there is anything urgent then call me but I will be checking the e-mails occasionally whilst I am away.”

“When do you head off chief?” Lucas asked getting up from the seat.

“Tomorrow evening. And don’t call me that. That’s what the officers on the force call my dad.”

“Okay chief. Take care” Lucas responded with a smile before heading out the door. Hayley leaned back in her chair. Take care, she thought. It was a three week holiday in Europe. What could possibly go wrong?
User avatar
TamatoaShiny123
Millennial Club
Millennial Club
Posts: 1452
Joined: 6 years ago
Contact:

Post by TamatoaShiny123 »

“What could possibly go wrong?”

Famous last words, indeed!
Check out my DeviantArt page!
https://www.deviantart.com/empoleon666
Caesar73
Millennial Club
Millennial Club
Posts: 4739
Joined: 5 years ago

Post by Caesar73 »

TamatoaShiny123 wrote: 5 years ago “What could possibly go wrong?”

Famous last words, indeed!
Knowing the luck of Hayley and Company a lot could Go wrong :D And I think, it will. I'm sure, Hayley is in for a unpleasant surprise. Some Kidnapping will happen, I imagine.
Image
Caesar73
Millennial Club
Millennial Club
Posts: 4739
Joined: 5 years ago

Post by Caesar73 »

Well, let me think .... Hayley is away three weeks. Lucas should not call her. So, if anything happens to Hayley .... it will take a while till anybody suspects foul play.
Image
User avatar
mrjones2009
Centennial Club
Centennial Club
Posts: 612
Joined: 5 years ago
Contact:

Post by mrjones2009 »

Chapter 2

Sophia Rousseau sat on the hard backed chair, obviously designed to make the person sitting in it as uncomfortable as possible. Her comfort was not aided by the fact that her arms were currently positioned behind the back of the chair, secured at the wrists by a set of steel handcuffs. Her ankles were secured to each leg of the chair by a set of steel shackles. The chair itself was bolted down to the floor as was the table in front of her. There was nothing else in the room except a set of dull fluorescent bulbs in the ceiling and a one way mirror directly in front of her. Sophia believed that all of this was definite overkill and designed to intimidate suspects and people that they wanted to get answers from. It shouldn’t have been used on her she felt. After all she had been working for these people for the past four years, ever since the incident in Monaco by slipping them information from various underworld sources when she could. As Sophia heard the unmistakeably sound of heels approaching from the other side of the door her mind drifted back to earlier this morning and how she found herself in her current situation.

The small private jet touched down and the jolt roused Sophia Rousseau from a light slumber. After being tipped off about the raid on her premises by Federal Authorities she had made her way to Canada using an assumed identify procured for just that eventuality. From there she had managed to make her way back across the Atlantic, eventually making the last leg of her trip by jet from Spain to central France where she had a small estate. It would never be traced back to her as she had employed the best financial experts and lawyers possible to make sure that the fruits of her illegal endeavours could not be traced. The plane taxied towards a hanger at the far end of the airport and stopped, the pilot killed the engines and the plane fell silent. The crew busied themselves with post flight checks whilst Sophia sat and contemplated her return to France after the best part of four years away. “Miss Rousseau” said the co-pilot “it’s time to disembark.” Sophia noticed that the cabin door had been opened.

The airport was small and Sophia had hoped to slip in unnoticed but that wasn’t to be. As she descended the inbuilt stair she was met by a short, officious looking man wearing a pristine blue uniform and matching cap. “Madam” he began in French, “sorry for this small inconvenience but would you be able to accompany me to the terminal where I can ask you some questions?”

“What exactly do you want?” Sophia replied. The man just smiled. “Well how long will it take?”

“Purely procedural, it shouldn’t take too long.” Deciding that it was probably better not to create a scene having just touched down Sophia turned and headed toward the small terminal building about one hundred meters away from the hanger.

----------

Sophia was starting to loose patience as she sat drumming her perfectly manicured nails against the top of the table, waiting for the official to return and give her the all clear to leave. Assuming the clock on the wall was correct she had been sitting in the small room for twenty minutes. When the door opened it was not the airport official that entered but two figures wearing full length black raincoats and hats, one man and one woman. A smile broke across Sophia’s face. She should have known that the French secret service would have something to do with this. The man closed the door behind them then joined his female colleague who had taken a position across the table that Sophia had been drumming her fingers on. The raincoats of both were lying open so Sophia could see that both wear wearing black suits, white shirt; blouse for the woman and leather gloves. The woman was holding a small bag which she placed on the table. “Mademoiselle Rousseau I think that you know where we are from” the woman said. Why they didn’t just admit who they work for Sophia thought. “Our boss requires your presence for a conversation and we have been sent to retrieve you.”

“Sorry but I have no interest in having that conversation.” With that Sophia picked up her handbag that she had left on the floor, stood and made for the door. Before she could get there however the man took a step to his right, effectively blocking the way to the door. The man was large, comfortably over six feet in height and almost as wide so it was a long way round. Sophia paused and looked at the woman as she had decided that the woman was in charge.

“Unfortunately our orders are quite clear on this matter. You are to accompany us.”

“Even if you had to drag me kicking and screaming” Sophia replied hands going to hips.

“That wouldn’t be necessary we were provided with a sedative to use should you not comply. I would be happy to administer the drug if you wish.” The woman opened her bag and produced a thick white cloth and a bottle. Sophia guessed from her recent experiences with Elizabeth Crawford and her associates that the drug in the bottle would be chloroform or some another similar anaesthetic. Sophia hadn’t: well how had Elizabeth Crawford phrased it, the pleasure of being rendered unconscious with chloroform and had no interest in experiencing it now. Sophia decided that the large man was an impenetrable barrier to the door and freedom so had no option but to comply.

“On second thoughts I haven’t seen Monique in years so let’s catch up.”

“A wise decision” the woman replied. Sophia could sense the man relax a little as well as the situation was defused. Sophia looked on as the woman replaced the cloth and bottle into the bag and then removed several other items and placed them on the table. Sophia recognised most of them instantly and suddenly thought about making a break for the door. “Now if you will just put your hands behind your back we can get on with this.”

“Is this really necessary?” Sophia asked whilst complying with the instruction. The woman picked up the handcuffs from the table and placed a steel ring around each of Sophia’s wrists and locked them in place. Sophia winced as they were tightened against her skin, the steel cold against her skin.

“These are our orders Miss Rousseau. You are considered dangerous and a flight risk.” Next the woman produced two thick leather straps and used them to tightly secure Sophia’s arms to her body, very tightly Sophia thought as she grunted as she was being secured like package.

“No need for them to be so tight” Sophia commented.

“I am always professional Mademoiselle Rousseau” was the curt reply. Sophia could have sworn that the large man sniggered at that exchange. “Open wide” Sophia startled as the woman started moving a large padded gag toward her mouth. The gag had a large leather ball in the middle with two leather strap at each end and was secured with a buckle.

“Why do you need aaaatttt….” Sophia’s protests were cut off as the pad was forced into her mouth; Sophia groaned as gag was forced deeper into her mouth as the leather strap was placed through the buckle and tightened. Once the woman was satisfied that the gag was as tight as it would go she secured the buckle. Finally the woman produced a thickly padded leather blindfold and placed it over Sophia’s eyes, completely blocking out the light.

“Laggard you bring Mademoiselle Rousseau’s bag and I shall assist her to the car.” Sophia heard the door open and felt a hand grab her just below the elbow. Not really having any choice in the matter Sophia let herself be led out of the door where they turned right. On the way in the airport worker has brought her from the other direction, Sophia was sure of that. The group walked along a corridor then made a left turn. Soon after that turn Sophia felt fresh air on her face and shortly after the sun. The change in the sound from her footsteps told her that she was now walking on tarmac and was therefore outside. After a brief walk they stopped. “I will sit in the back seat with Mademoiselle Rousseau and you can drive.” Sophia heard a door open and then felt a hand pushing down on the top of her head guiding her into the rear seat of the car and with her hands bound and blindfolded she needed all of help that she could get. “Sit still.” Sophia did as she was told and felt the sir move as the car door was closed. The door on the other side of the car opened and then closed, shortly after Sophia heard the car engine splutter into life felt the vehicle move off. Sophia was surprised when she felt a pair of cuffs clipped around her ankles. That was definite overkill, where did they think she was going to go. Sophia settled back to get comfortable for the ride. It shouldn’t take that long Sophia thought as she assumed that they would be heading directly for Paris. Not long after the car started Sophia noticed a pungent smell, like a sweet perfume. Before she could process and identify the smell something soft, thick and damp was clamped over the lower half of her face. The pungent smell became more intense and invaded her nostrils, instantly Sophia thrashed her head from side to side to shake free of the cloth but it was a fruitless exercise. Assuming that the drug was chloroform Sophia stopped fighting, what could she hope to achieve bound as she was and relaxed and took normal breaths. Eventually the drugs fumes took full effect and Sophia slipped into unconsciousness.
User avatar
TamatoaShiny123
Millennial Club
Millennial Club
Posts: 1452
Joined: 6 years ago
Contact:

Post by TamatoaShiny123 »

Can’t wait for chapter 3!
Check out my DeviantArt page!
https://www.deviantart.com/empoleon666
Caesar73
Millennial Club
Millennial Club
Posts: 4739
Joined: 5 years ago

Post by Caesar73 »

Me too :D
Image
User avatar
mrjones2009
Centennial Club
Centennial Club
Posts: 612
Joined: 5 years ago
Contact:

Post by mrjones2009 »

Chapter 3

London, England

Hayley King looked around the stylish interior of the building and was again astonished at her good fortune. Her friend Natascha had somehow managed to obtain tickets to this huge fashion event on the first leg on their trip around Europe. Not just tickets but VIP tickets and not just any fashion event but the reveal of the new range by the hottest young designer from the Almost Famous fashion house, the hottest new label in fashion. The show itself had been fantastic and now Hayley and Natascha were enjoying the multiple benefits of VIP passes to the after show party including a free bar, buffet and the chance to mingle with the great and the good of the celebrity circuit. Hayley was determined to make the most of all three. Scanning the room as she made her way back to their table from the bar, a large cocktail in each hand Hayley swore she spotted several stars of both small and big screen, pop stars aplenty plus a recent Grand Slam tennis champion. Sitting down at the table Hayley deposited both drinks down safely before sliding her bag under the table. Picking up her glass Hayley offered it up in a toast; Natascha picked up her glass and tapped it against Hayley’s. “Good times” Hayley offered then seeing the look on Natascha’s face asked “What’s up?”

“Hayley, sorry but I have to meet with a client contact in a room upstairs” Natascha said, using her index figure to point up the way just in case Hayley didn’t get the full sentence over the loud music.

“Do you want me to come along?” Hayley asked leaning close to her friend so that she could be heard. Natascha shook her head in response and picked up her bag from under the table.

“No. But thanks for the offer. You stay and enjoy that drink, in fact finish mine as well” Natascha nudged the tall glass over toward Hayley. “Mingle, try and pull one of those hot European models” Natascha said with a smile. Hayley responded by raising her glass and returning the smile. Natascha turned, left the table and Hayley watched as her friend slalomed her way through the crowd, noticing how the cut of the classy blue dress that Natascha wore highlighted the natural curves of her body. Eventually losing sight of Natascha within the crowd, Hayley turned to one of her favourite pastimes, people watching and before she knew it both glasses were empty. Hayley then decided to take her friends advice and headed to the bar for another drink. In addition to the tickets Natascha had also arranged for beauty treatments and professional makeup application before the event so Hayley felt very confident on making an impression should she meet one of those European models.

----------

Meanwhile the feelings of another guest at the event couldn’t have been any more opposite from those of Hayley King. Elise Rodgers stared at the people moving around her but didn’t really take anything in, her mind drifted back to the conversation she had with her editor, Vera Jamieson that morning. Well she described it as a conversation but it was more of an argument. VJ, as her editor insisted on being called had pulled her into her office this morning and informed Elise that she would be covering tonight’s Almost Famous event for the paper. Elise had protested vociferously seeing herself as a serious journalist who wanted to cover hard hitting news stories rather than entertainment pieces for the pull out sections of the paper. VJ had sternly advised Elise who paid her wages and that in addition to attending the event Elise would be submitting a piece showering praise on the event before close of play the following day. “Now you better head off home and get changed. You won’t get past the front door looking like that.” VJ held out an envelope whilst eyeing Elise up and down. Elise snatched the envelope from the outstretched hand and stormed out like a petulant teenager, closing the office door forcefully behind her.

Elise stalked through the main office toward the staff break out area, as she walked Elise was aware that of the eyes of her colleagues were on her as she passed the various cubicles. They had obviously heard the exchange that she had just has with VJ. Once Elise had reached the relative safety of the break out area she opened the envelope to find an invitation to tonight’s event, classy red and black lettering embossed onto thick, quality card. There was also a folded sheet of paper along with the invitation, opening the paper up Elise found that it contained instructions for the night, including a separate section for press and a dress code. Elise quickly scanned through the contents and swore under her breath. The dress code was strict and Elise’s standard tomboy chic was not going to cut it, the shops beckoned but first she had to e-mail her details and a photograph to the event security. Elise couldn’t stand feeling the stares of her colleagues again so grabbed her bag, containing her laptop and her jacket and made her way toward the exit, slipping her jacket on as she went. Waving to the receptionist without turning round Elise barged through the large glass door that marked the entrance to the paper’s office and headed for the bank of elevators. Before stepping into the elevator and losing signal she scanned through her mobile and found the entry for her flatmate Lisa. Typing the text message quickly she explained the situation and asked whether Lisa had anything that she would be able to borrow to wear to save her the time and expense of that visit to the shops. Slipping the phone back in her pocket Elise hoped that Lisa would as she really couldn’t be bothered having to purchase something just for the evening’s events.

Sitting at the kitchen table in her flat an hour later Elise read the e-mail a third time making sure that it contained all of the information requested and that her photograph was attached. She did not want to face VJ the next day if she had been refused entry to the event. Satisfied Elise hit send and watched as the e-mail disappeared into her sent items and away to the security team for the Almost Famous event. Just as she finished that task she heard footsteps behind her and spun around to find Lisa holding up a black dress in one hand and a pair of high heeled shoes in the other. “Now we will have to accessorise properly but this number should do the business.”

“This is great. Thanks Lisa. I owe you one.”

“No problem. It is just lucky that we are the same size.”

----------

After queuing to pick up her credentials and getting into the event Elise has spent most of the evening feigning interest in what was going on, making occasional notes the old fashioned way with a pen in a small spiral bound notepad that she had put in her bag. Elise had caught sight of herself a couple of times in one of the full height mirrors that were scattered around the place and had to admit that she looked good, the black dress accentuated her curves very well and Lisa had managed to get a last second appointment with a hairdresser to sort out Elise’s floppy fringe. The man had taken a lot off the length of her hair but Elise had to admit that she did like it. Elise was standing having a conversation with a photographer that she knew when she suddenly recognised a face in the crowd making their way toward her, one that she didn’t expect to see at an event like this. It was Emily St Clare, a one time supermodel and environmental activist who had married a European billionaire ten years ago and who had hardly been seen in public since. Rumours about certain business connections of St Clare’s husband were rife at the time and there was little surprise when he met an unfortunate end four years ago. Elise probably wouldn’t have recognised St Clare if her mother hadn’t been the photographer at the final photo shoot of St Clare’s modelling career. Despite being viewed as a strange recluse by most of the world Emily St Clare was one of the most discussed and speculated about people on the planet. Elise wondered what the woman was doing here. Perhaps St Clare had a financial interest in the fashion house. If Elise could secure an interview with or some comments from St Clare it might take her article from entertainment section to near the front of the paper. If not it would at least make this job fell like less of a waste of her time.

Having not been really paying attention for the last minute Elise politely excused herself from her conversation with the photographer and headed off on an intercept course for Emily St Clare. At points Elise had to weave and at points she had to force her way through the throng of people dancing, drinking and generally enjoying themselves. Elise tried to keep an eye on Emily St Clare to confirm that she was still on the right course but lost track in the crowd. However sensing movement off to her right Elise took a couple of steps in that direction and bumped straight into Emily St Clare who spilled her drink; Elise stared in shock as a splash of liquid from the glass landed on the skirt of the no doubt ridiculously expensive dress that Emily St Clare was wearing. Emily St Clare looked down at her skirt and back at Elise. “Sorry about that” Emily St Clare said with a smile before being hustled away by her entourage.

Now Elise was confused, Emily St Clare had a reputation for a fiery temper that didn’t suffer fools gladly, especially those that bumped into her causing a spillage onto her no doubt very expensive clothing. The stories had been legendary within the fashion world. Unless the woman had undergone a personality transplant something was off. Elise couldn’t quite describe what that something was but couldn’t shake the feeling from her mind. So she set off in pursuit of the small group of people surrounding Emily St Clare. After all she was a reporter so why not ask a question. The group stopped at the edge of the room whilst someone fumbled for the passkey for the private lift allowing Elise to catch up just as the doors opened. “Ms St Clare you may remember me from your final professional fashion shoot. My mother, Ophelia Rodgers was the photographer” Elise shouted over the heads of the security guards as they hurried Emily St Clare into the lift car. Before the doors closed Elise looked deep into Emily St Clare’s eyes and Elise could tell that the woman had no idea what Elise was talking about.

The encounter with Emily St Clare was strange and had seriously piqued her interest. The photographs from that shoot had never been published. They were solely for Emily St Clare’s personal collection so only a handful of people, perhaps six or seven, ever knew about the shoot. Something wasn’t right and as any good reporter would, Elise decided to investigate further. Perhaps this night wouldn’t be such a waste of time after all. Now all she had to do was find a way upstairs.

Ten minutes later

Access to the upper floors was restricted to staff and the stars but Elise had slipped a security guard some cash and whilst keeping his eyes scanning the room the muscular young man had surreptitiously slipped off the rope between the two metal poles that had been blocking access to the stairs leading to the upper floors. Elise had hurried through without acknowledging the guard and was making her way to the first floor when she heard footsteps from around the curved staircase. They were getting louder so the person, a woman judging by the weight of the steps was coming toward her. With nowhere to hide Elise decided to brave it out and continued to climb the stairs. As the two women passed Elise stole a glance at the woman and noted that she had long light brown hair and was wearing a dark blue dress with matching heels. The woman was either totally focused or lost in thought as she didn’t notice Elise and continued hurrying down the stairs toward the main hall. Continuing on Elise came to the landing at first floor level but having noted that the elevator went to the second floor headed for that level. Reaching the second floor landing Elise found another rope barring her way, except this time there was no security guard standing next to it. Taking this as an invitation Elise removed the rope and went through, being careful to replace the rope behind her. Pausing to take in the surroundings Elise found herself at the end of an L shaped corridor with a number of doors on either side. There was no noise coming from further along the corridor which Elise found strange as she had expected some hustle and bustle that would be associated with putting on such a large event. As she had made the effort and spent the money to get here she decided that she may as well do a bit of snooping around. Working her way along the corridor Elise tried each door as she passed and found that they were either locked or contained nothing of interest, unless your thing was large cardboard boxes or unused furniture. Just as she was approaching the final door before the turn in the corridor Elise heard the noise of footsteps coming around the turn in the corridor and looked around for somewhere to hide as suddenly she didn’t really know why but Elise had the feeling that she shouldn’t be found in this area. Quickly Elise went back to the last room that she had found unlocked, opened the door, slipped inside and quietly closed the door behind her.

This room had obviously been used by staff at some point as there was a small kitchen, lockers and some chairs arranged around a low table. Looking around there looked to be no obvious hiding place until her eyes lingered on a large wardrobe in the back corner of the room. Elise hurried across the room and flung open the doors to the wardrobe. There were some coats hanging in there but thankfully more than enough space for Elise to climb in beside them, which she did. Taking deep breaths Elise admonished herself for panicking, after all what were the chances that whoever belonged to the footsteps would come into this room. Also, if they did find her would they care about her being on the second floor? Elise was about to exit the cupboard, embarrassed when she heard the door to the room open and a couple of seconds later close and decided to stay where she was. “Is it safe to talk in here?” said a female voice.

“Yes I had my security team sweep the entire floor” replied another female voice.

“How long did Sokolov say that the conditioning would take?”

“Xenia reckons just under a week. She is confident that the procedure Schmidt and her have come up with should only take that long.” Kirsty felt a shiver run down her spine and knew that she couldn’t hide it from her colleague.

“Is there something wrong?”

“It is just that those two give me the creeps when they are together, the way that they talk, the way that they act.”

“I know what you mean Kirsty but I wouldn’t let the bosses hear you talking like that. Anyway getting back to business our substitute should be able to keep up appearances until the time is right to make the switch back.”

Huddled in the wardrobe Elise listened to this bizarre conversation between the woman with a French accent and the woman with the North American accent, who was called Kirsty. The two continued the strange discussion; it was like something out of a pulp nineteen sixties spy novel. The conversation lasted another couple of minutes before Elise heard footsteps and the sound of a door opening. When the door closed Elise and counted to thirty to make sure that the women wouldn’t be coming back before extracting herself from the cupboard and started to walk in circles around the room trying to make sense of the bizarre conversation that she had just overheard. First thing first Elise said to herself. Get the hell out of here!

----------

“I left my phone in the room” Kirsty said to her colleague as she spun on the spot and headed back up the stairs toward the second floor landing. As soon as she got to the landing Kirsty froze, seeing a young auburn haired woman closing the door to the room where she had just had an operationally sensitive conversation. Cursing her mistake Kirsty quickly put two and two together and knew that she couldn’t let this young woman get away and picked up the radio that was attached to her belt to call for assistance but just as she raised the radio to her mouth the young woman seemed to sense her presence and turned to face her. The two women locked eyes for a split second before the young woman turned and ran in the opposite direction. Depressing the button on her radio Kirsty called for back up before taking off after the young woman. Fortunately she had on flat shoes so would have an advantage over her quarry.

At the end of the corridor was a door with Fire Escape over it Elise approached it and burst through before pausing long enough to get her bearings and remove her heels. What she wouldn’t give for a pair of sneakers at this point in time. Making her way down the stairs Elise entered a well lit corridor which was great in terms of Health & Safety but was certainly not in Elise’s favour as she charged along it, bag in one hand and heels in the other. After locking eyes with the woman Elise had ran, something at the back of her mind told her that was the best option and she took it. Thankfully there had been a fire escape staircase at the other end of the corridor. There was a ninety degree turn to her right coming up and Elise slowed slightly in order to take it, rounding the corner Elise saw another fire escape door around thirty yards ahead of her. Hitting the door at full speed Elise exited the bright lights of the corridor into the darkness of an alley behind the building where the fashion event was being held. Elise wasn’t familiar with the area so had to guess on the best direction, looking left and then right Elise decided on left and headed off again at full pace.

Not long after Elise disappeared round the corner of the building the fire escape door burst open and Kirsty exited the corridor closely followed by the muscular young security guard from the bottom of the stairs. The guard caught the door so that it wouldn’t automatically close behind them. Kirsty held up her hand. “Wait we can’t continue to chase her outside, too many people around, maybe even some cameras.” The man nodded his agreement and signalled for the woman to go back through the door.

“Do you know who that was?” asked the man, taking deep, controlled breaths after the exertion of running up two flights of stairs and through the corridors chasing the woman.

“No but I got a decent look at her Damon” Kirsty responded hardly breathing at all, “and she had press credentials around her neck.”

“Good. It shouldn’t be that difficult to track her down. I will get Novak’s assistant to collate all of the photographs of the members of the press that attended tonight and send them through to you.”

“Thanks Damon” Kirsty said to the security guard. They were almost back at the main hall and judging by the noise the party was now in full swing.

“Will you be alright ma’am?” Damon asked Kirsty.

“Yes. Please arrange for those photographs to be sent to me as soon as possible.” With that the security guard nodded and went off to complete the task. Kirsty heard the conversation in her earpiece and decided to take charge of the situation. Lifting the microphone to her mouth Kirsty issued the instruction. “It is time to leave. Take St Clare back to the hotel.” The priority now was to identify their new friend and track her down. They had invested too much in this plan to let some nosey young reporter get in the way.

The main bar

Unaware of events unfolding elsewhere Hayley finished her drink at the bar and was about to order another when Natascha suddenly burst through the crowd and nudged her way in. Natascha caught the eye of the barman, indicated Hayley’s empty glass and held up two fingers. After the barman nodded his understanding Natascha turned to face Hayley. “How did the meeting go?” Hayley asked.

“Unsuccessful, a bit of a waste of time if I am being honest” was the reply, followed by a shrug. A silence followed until Hayley asked.

“So where are we going next?”

“Paris,” Natascha replied raising her glass. Hayley picked up her drink and clicked glasses.
Caesar73
Millennial Club
Millennial Club
Posts: 4739
Joined: 5 years ago

Post by Caesar73 »

Very good story telling as usual. I like the measured pace, the Story develops. Every small piece will fall at its place. I'm curious, who wants to talk to Miss Rousseau.
Image
User avatar
mrjones2009
Centennial Club
Centennial Club
Posts: 612
Joined: 5 years ago
Contact:

Post by mrjones2009 »

Chapter 4

There was the sound of locks disengaging and the heavy steel door opened. Sophia looked on as Monique Moreau entered the room and gracefully made her way across the room and took the empty seat that was sitting across the table from Sophia. Moreau placed a file on the table and began to flip through the sheets of paper contained within, ignoring Sophia on the other side. That was fine with Sophia, she wasn’t going anywhere. Sophia had met Moreau only twice and didn’t get much of a reading from her on either occasion but I suppose that was par for the course with a spy. Sophia had heard the stories about Moreau and as always knew that sometimes they got exaggerated but Moreau had managed to rise to a top position within the French Secret Service so at least some of them were true. Sophia had to admit that Moreau was one of the most alluring women she had met. Almost six feet in height and with a slender build it was claimed that nobody knew her exact age. Sophia had heard anything from thirty five to fifty five. Looking now if Sophia had to guess she would put Moreau’s age at a well preserved forty five.

“I need your help with something Sophia” Moreau said whist still flicking through the sheets of paper.

“You could have just asked without all of this” Sophia replied, jutting her jaw out to make her point. Sophia would have waived her arms around but they were currently handcuffed behind her back.

“Given your recent record and position as a fugitive from American justice I couldn’t take any chances.”

“What do you need then?” Sophia decided to get straight to the point. The implied and unspoken threat of being handed over to the American authorities not that subtly hinted at did help.

“An introduction to someone that you known through your previous” Moreau paused as if trying to find the correct phrase. Sophia knew that this was just for show; Moreau planned everything down to the last detail “business enterprises.” Sophia paused to consider her options and what Moreau actually knew about her previous dealings.

“And what business enterprises would they be?”

“Now don’t be coy Sophia. You surely know what organisation I am referring to. My agency has been trying to get someone inside this particular criminal organisation for a while now.”

“Even if I could make contact with this organisation…..what’s the plan?” Sophia asked. “I pass you information?”

“No. You would introduce one of my agent’s to your contact. My agent will pose as an American spy who is prepared to trade information.”

“Sounds a bit desperate if you ask me” Sophia replied.

“Not desperate. We have information that an American spy has just landed in Paris. So we grab her and have somebody take her place. Save us the trouble of having to make up a false identity and background.”

“Should you really be telling me your grand plan Monique?”

“There isn’t any issue with that. Either you agree to help us or……..” Moreau left the sentence unfinished.

“I disappear for a while?”

“Longer than a while I would think Sophia” Moreau finished, standing and pacing across the room. Sophia played the situation out in her mind and seeing any way out of this but to agree. Which Sophia did with a nod of her head.

“What exactly is Elizabeth Crawford up to that you would need to know about?”

“That you don’t need to know Sophia. Now I think that after all of this excitement you could do with some rest until I need you.” Without seeming to make any gesture the door opened and two of Moreau’s people entered. “Take Miss Rousseau to one of the holding cells.” Moreau glanced at Sophia as she said this and saw that statement hadn’t gone down well. “One of the nicer ones,” Moreau made a ‘Look, what more do you want gesture.’

Chapter 5

The taxi driver thought that it was a strange request, he had never been asked to take the long way to a drop off address before but the young woman had given him a twenty pound note when she got in the taxi so he did as asked. Looking in the rear view mirror as he pulled into the street where he was going to drop off his fare he again noted that his passenger glanced nervously through the rear window. As he stopped the taxi he asked. “Are you alright love?”

“Um….yes thanks” Elise replied before exiting the taxi and anxiously checking in both directions before fumbling around in her handbag for the front door key and heading for the communal door into the stairwell to her flat. After watching the taxi turn left at the end of the street Elise unlocked the front door and made sure to close it properly behind her. Taking a deep intake of breath Elise took a second to compose herself before heading up the stairs to her second floor flat.

Elise locked the door behind her and as always dumped her keys, purse, phone and other items into a large dish on the table in the kitchen / dining area of her small flat. Elise slumped into one of the chairs at the table and crossed her arms across her chest, flinging her head back to stare at nothing on the ceiling and think about what to do next. There was a great story here if she could actually work out what was going on. Then it hit her like a hammer to the forehead. The press credentials, Elise thought, it had a photograph on it. She had to give them formal identification for their records, which will mean that they have my home address. Elise ran through the events of the evening in her head and was sure that at least one of the people pursuing her got a very good look at her face, well at least a good enough look to indentify her from a photograph. Assuming they recognised her as a reporter.

Elise reckoned that she couldn’t afford to take the chance that they hadn’t so had to make plans. Sitting in the silence of the kitchen she ran through the options. The first was to go to the police and tell them what she had overheard. To be honest even she didn’t believe what she had heard, it sounded bizarre like a plot from an episode of the Man from U.N.C.L.E or Mission:Impossible. Without solid proof the police would probably assume she had been drunk or was mad. No without proof she couldn’t go to the authorities. Also she couldn’t stay at this address as they would surely come to find her. That left two options, run and hide or try to gather that evidence and take it to the authorities. She decided on the later and headed for her bedroom to pack a bag. One of the women was French and as Milena Novak, the head of the Almost Famous fashion house was based in Paris that was where she would start.

Deciding to pack light Elise threw some underwear, a pair of jeans, a jumper and some t-shirts into a holdall and followed that with a pair of trainers and her toilet bag. After changing out of her borrowed dress she grabbed a very quick shower and put on comfortable travelling clothes. Having one final check that she hadn’t forgotten anything important Elise grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled a quick note for her flatmate. Grabbing one of the snow globes that her flatmate collected she used it to hold down the note on the dining room table. If she hurried she could just about make the final Eurostar of the evening to Paris.

Chapter 6

Special Agent Sasha Conteh looked at the buff coloured folders spread over the desk in her small studio apartment in a fashionable suburb of Lyon. The files contained notes, her personal notes rather than any official reports on a recent spate of burglaries across central Europe. The list of cities where the crimes had occurred read like a travellers wish list; Milan, Budapest, Vienna, Prague, Geneva, Amsterdam, Cologne and Brussels. The items taken were your usual list of cash, jewellery and other small but high value objects. The perpetrator or perpetrators certainly knew what they were doing as they left no clue to their identity; no forensic trace or CCTV images. The slightly strange occurrence that linked each of these crimes was that on each occasion there was a single, female occupant in the home who had been drugged then left bound and gagged whilst the perpetrator ransacked the property. Once the intruder had completed searching the house they returned and drugged the occupant again, leaving them free to make their getaway. Conteh supposed that the houses were targeted when there was one person left in the house to avoid having to deal with the alarm systems that were installed. Nobody seemed to be interested in investigating the crimes, whether that was the lack of evidence of the geographical spread of the locations so she had picked up the files and decided to look into them.

Conteh finished going through the last file for what must have been the third time and reached for the wine glass, only to find that it was empty. Conteh considered having another glass but given what she had planned for the evening decided against it. Getting up from her desk she turned on the stereo and selected her favourite late evening station and headed for the kitchen. Conteh liked to get into the mindset of both the perpetrator and the victim when investigating a crime. To this end she had investigated on the internet and found a way to replicate a bit more accurately what the victim went through. Conteh went to the freezer and pulled out the ice cube maker. Selecting the only block in the tray Conteh held it up to the light and looked at the key to her handcuffs that had been frozen at the centre of the cube of ice.

Making her way across to the king size bed at the far end of her apartment Conteh placed the ice cube on the stand beside the bed and looked at the other items that she had carefully placed on the bed earlier. Conteh picked up the white ladies handkerchief that was lying on the bed and proceeded to stuff it carefully into her mouth. The handkerchief fit comfortably in her mouth then Conteh picked up the silk scarf and after folding it into a band placed the centre over her mouth and tied it in place, tightly at the back of her head until she could feel her lips compress. Conteh took a look at herself in the small mirror that was on her bedside table. She could see how the gag looked on her, slightly bulging checks, some pieces of white cloth protruding from behind the silk band over her mouth. To be honest Conteh didn’t think that it looked that bad. Then she tried shouting to test its effectiveness. It didn’t completely silence the words coming out of her mouth but it was sufficient for its task, keeping her quiet enough that she would not be heard outside of her flat. Not that she had any experience but she supposed that no gag would necessarily keep you absolutely silent. But if a gag keeps you quiet enough that you can't be rescued or you can't warn people, it would serve its purpose adequately. Then she sat on the edge of the bed, picked up a length of rope and used it to tie her ankles together. Finally she picked up the cuffs, this was the point of no return, well at least until the ice melted and she would get access to the key. Conteh quickly snapped one cuff onto her left wrist then holding the other in that hand placed both of her wrists behind her back. With minimal fuss she managed to place the other cuff around her right wrists securing her arms in place behind her back. She then struggled to get into a position where she was lying fully on the bed with her head on a pillow. From then it was just a case of waiting.
Caesar73
Millennial Club
Millennial Club
Posts: 4739
Joined: 5 years ago

Post by Caesar73 »

Interessting developments :D What I do not get: Who is the American Spy? Is she referring to Hayley? Why I´m not surprised, that Elisabeth Crawford is back in business? Well, she has to settle a score with some old friends ;) Very intriguing indeed!
Image
User avatar
mrjones2009
Centennial Club
Centennial Club
Posts: 612
Joined: 5 years ago
Contact:

Post by mrjones2009 »

Chapter 7

4 days earlier at an exclusive health spa in Austria

The sun was starting to drop behind the mountains as the gleaming Bentley turned from the main road, through the gates and up the private driveway toward the secluded spa. As soon as the car had got through the gates they swung shut behind it, keeping out anybody who didn’t have a formal invitation. There were no signs on or near the gate to advertise what was behind them. This location was one of the most exclusive in Europe; memberships were expensive and hard to come by, you couldn’t just turn up and fill in a form to apply. Any potential members had to be put forward by an existing member, seconded before a vetting process could take place and membership was granted.

Katie Sheridan couldn’t believe that she had landed the job as personal assistant to Emily St Clare. She stared out of the car window taking in the beautiful scenery which was like something from The Sound of Music. Since taking the job Katie had only left the massive St Clare estate three times in two weeks. The rest of the staff at the estate had mentioned that nobody else that has taken the job had lasted more than six weeks. The gardener had been honest and told Katie that they were running a book on how long that she would last. The gardener had three weeks and seemed sincere enough when he said that he hoped that he didn’t win the pot. Katie had heard the rumours about Emily St Clare and how she was almost a hermit now but during the interview her new employer had assured her that due to new business interests St Clare would be taking a more visible, public role with these ventures.

The car completed its journey along the driveway and broke gently to a halt so that the rear door was perfectly lined up with the stairs leading to the main door of the spa. The driver killed the engine and smartly jumped out to open the door for Emily St Clare to exit the car. Katie had to open her own door but that didn’t bother her but before she could make her way round to join her boss she noticed that Emily has turned to look at her. “You two can wait with the car. I shouldn’t be longer than an hour, perhaps two if I am really enjoying myself.” With that she turned and strode off toward the entrance of the spa. The driver turned to Katie and shrugged his shoulders.

“Don’t take it personally. Jump in the passenger seat, I have a great spot to while away the time.”

Around thirty minutes earlier


Elizabeth Crawford sat in the back of the large German built car and ran through the plan again; it was complicated and would take some time to play out but was sure that with a bit of luck it would work. If things did indeed play out the way that she hoped then it would certainly be worth the investment, in time, planning and funding. The car was being followed by a large white panelled van emblazoned with Private Ambulance on the side. Inside the van sat the team that Kirsty had picked for this particular mission, the first and perhaps the most important part of the plan.

The car pulled up at a barrier that sat across the road, blocking the entrance to the rear of the facility and Vernie, Kirsty, Elizabeth Crawford and a fourth occupant waited as the guard came out of the small cabin at the roadside. The guard walked lazily toward the passenger side of the car as Kirsty buzzed down the window. As the guard got to the window there was a small popping noise and the guard staggered back, a hand, by reflex clutching at his throat. The guard spun round and started to head back toward the cabin but barely made it halfway before the fast acting sedative took full effect and he collapsed face first onto the road. Kirsty calmly handed the dart gun to Vernie in the driver’s seat, opened the door and stepped out of the car. Kirsty casually walked to the cabin and pressed the button that raised the barrier. As Kirsty did this two of her colleagues from the van dragged the guard into the cabin and dumped him on the ground. Kirsty quickly patted down the guard and found the set of keys and security card that would grant them full access to the spa facility. “Make sure you bind him securely. The drug should keep him out for quite a while but let’s not take any chances.” As Kirsty left the small cabin she heard the distinctive sound of tape being peeled from a roll.

After Kirsty was safely in the passenger seat of the car she signalled for Vernie to take the car to the back door of the health spa. The vehicle’s engine purred quietly as it made the short journey, pulling up close to a set of double fire escape doors. Kirsty leaned so that she could check in the wing mirror that the van was in position behind them. It was. Taking a deep breath Kirsty grabbed the door handle; let’s get this show on the road she thought. After all of the planning that had taken place it was now time for action. Kirsty nodded to Vernie and they simultaneously opened their doors and exited the car. Vernie made her way around the hood of the car and stood beside Kirsty, they were soon joined by Christine, Annika and Nicole who had crossed the short distance from van. Christine and Annika were dressed in the same light blue hybrid nurse-paramedic uniform augmented by a waist length white down jacket. Annika carried two large compression sacks and Christine a single, even larger compression sack. Kirsty made brief eye contact with each in turn before heading toward the double doors. On reaching the door Kirsty was slightly taken aback as she was expecting the door to be secured by a digital lock but found that it was operated by a more traditional key. Kirsty removed the set of keys that she had procured from the security guard from her pocket and after trying two keys she found the correct one on the third attempt and felt the lock disengage. As quietly as possible Kirsty opened the door wide and slipped inside closely followed by Annika, Christine, Vernie and Nicole who carefully closed the door behind her.

The group made their way steadily along the internal corridor, slightly crouched and close to the wall. They didn’t expect to come across too much resistance. Their careful planning and information gathering before told them that the target would not arrive for another thirty minutes which gave them plenty of time to subdue the four members of staff that would be on-site. Their target had enough clout that they could demand a very early appointment, at a time two hours before the spa officially opened for the day. Not that Kirsty was going to criticise the person for that. After all it made her job easier. Kirsty had carefully studied plans of the spa and led her team toward the staff room, paused at the door and listened. Kirsty heard two voices behind the door and indicated that to Annika and Christine by raising two fingers. Kirsty watched on as her two colleagues prepared cloths by pouring a liberal amount of chloroform on them. Once that job had been complete Kirsty grabbed the door handle with her right hand and held the dart gun comfortably in her left. Swinging the door open Kirsty gracefully avoided the door and stood just inside the room with the dart gun pointed at the space between the two women in the room, both of whom stared dumbfounded in shock at the sight that confronted them before meekly holding up their hands. The tall, dark haired woman exuded an aura of ‘Don’t mess with me’. Kirsty looked at what the two women wearing and thankfully it matched the outfits worn by her two operatives. Annika and Christine briskly walked into the room and took up positions directly behind the two staff members, who stole a glance at each other as if asking each other what to do. Kirsty thought that it was strange how often this happened. Just the shock of something that you are unprepared for can leave you dumbfounded and unable to react in a rational manor. It was at this point that Annika and Christine clamped the large, white chloroform soaked cloths over their mouths and noses. The women start to struggle, but Kirsty wagged her dart gun at them, telling them in German that they would be shot if they struggled. The two women obviously didn’t know the difference between a gun that fired bullets and a gun that fired darts. The guards put their hands back up and allowed the two women to finish chloroforming them. Soon their legs became like rubber and they could no longer hold their hands up. They slowly slumped to the floor. The two women behind them knelt down to keep the chloroform cloths pressed tightly to their faces. About thirty seconds after they had slumped to the floor the women’s eyes fluttered and closed. “Bind and gag them securely whilst we round up the remainder of the staff.”

----------

Closing the door behind her as she exited the room Kirsty found Vernie and Nicole waiting for her, backs pressed against the corridor wall to reduce their silhouettes. Kirsty held up two fingers to indicate the number of staff members that had been neutralised, earning a nod of understanding from her two colleagues. The three women made there way through the building toward the main entrance where they would find the reception desk.

----------

Annika and Christine went to work, quickly securing the unconscious women with custom lengths of cord. It was preparation like this that saved time during an operation, which was crucial in a situation like this where time was of the essence. The woman’s wrists were bound behind their backs and then their legs were also bound at the ankles and just above and below the knees. The two operatives then assisted each other as used longer lengths of cord to secure the unconscious woman’s arms to their bodies. Annika and Christine assisted each other with moving their respective victims into a position where they sat with their backs against the wall. Finally Annika and Christine they each pushed a scrunched up cloth into the unconscious women’s mouth before folding a scarf into a band and securely tying it over the women’s mouths, using it to hold the cloth in place.

Once the two women had been secured Annika and Christine slipped of their down coats and carefully hung them up. Annika then opened the door and retrieved the three large compression sacks that they had left in the corridor. The two operatives quickly extracted the down filled contents and left them lying to loft up. After that job was completed the two operatives relaxed and waited for the next phase of the operation that they were involved in.

----------

Kirsty, Vernie and Nicole found themselves standing backs against the wall of the corridor that led to the main entrance and large, open plan reception area of the facility. “You two take care of the receptionist and I will head to the manager’s office. Once you have her secured strip her of her uniform and choose whoever you think it will fit best. They get to play the part” Kirsty whispered before turning away and leaving the two operatives to carry out her instructions. Vernie and Nicole watched Kirsty walk away and then turned and looked at each other, each thinking how they were going to get across the open space and get to the desk before the receptionist spotted them. The receptionist would be bound to question who they were and why they were arriving from the rear of the facility, which should have been reserved for staff, especially when the facility was technically closed. This could lead to the receptionist making a split second decision to call for help. That was an outcome that they couldn’t risk. Both women considered the situation both Vernie mouthed San Francisco. Nicole nodded her agreement. They would pull a San Francisco.

----------

Vernie chapped the wall quite loudly to attract the attention of the receptionist who turned toward the direction that he noise came from. “Hello” the receptionist called out. Vernie and Nicole retreated and chapped the wall again. This time the receptionist didn’t say anything. Vernie chapped again. “Girls, quit playing games.” Vernie chapped again and then she heard footsteps heading toward their position. “I mean it. This isn’t funny.” The receptionist rounded the corner into the corridor and got five paces in before stopping short when coming face to face with Vernie. The slight pause whilst the receptionist processed what was going to allowed Nicole to get behind her and clamp a leather gloved hand tightly over her mouth whilst also wrenching the receptionists left arm behind her back. Using just enough leverage to leave the young woman in no doubt who was in charge.

“Listen,” Vernie said glancing at the name tag on the receptionist’s uniform, “Monika we have no intention of hurting you if we don’t have to but be under no illusion that we are in complete control of this situation.” To emphasize the point Nicole put more pressure on the receptionist’s left arm. Vernie could see the woman’s eyes widened slightly above the hand that Nicole had clamped over her mouth. “Now as you do as we say nothing bad will happen to you. Nod if you understand,” Vernie continued a hint of her southern drawl peaking through. Monika nodded slowly. “My colleague is going to remove her hand but do not make a sound and open your mouth.” Monika obviously intimidated by the sudden appearance of these two women nodded again. Nicole slowly removed her hand, ready to clamp it back in place should the receptionist decide to scream. Thankfully she didn’t and Vernie was able to force a scrunched up cloth fully into her mouth. The receptionist coughed almost silently in shock at having the soft fabric filling her mouth. Vernie then tied a folded silk scarf over the receptionist’s mouth, tightly knotting it at the nape of the woman’s neck. “Don’t worry we know what we are doing Monika. Now get into that cupboard over there.” Vernie indicated a door about ten paces along the corridor and the receptionist reluctantly made her way toward it with the two operatives in close enough attendance to make sure that she didn’t decide to make a break for it.

----------

After leaving Vernie and Nicole to their task Kirsty walked through the building toward the office that belonged to the manager. Using the schematics that she had committed to memory Kirsty turned left and right, confident that she would not meet any other staff members. Their intelligence stated that at this time of morning the facility would have minimal staff levels, the two therapists that had been neutralised first, the receptionist that Kirsty had tasked Vernie and Nicole to take care of and the manager plus the security guard on the gate. Kirsty had decided to take care of the manager herself. Finding the correct door Kirsty flattened against the wall, pulled back her long down coat and removed the dart gun from the holster. Grabbing the handle Kirsty silently counted to five then burst through the door swinging the dart gun up to aim at a point just above the middle of the desk. To her surprise the large leather chair behind the desk was empty. Suddenly Kirsty heard movement from her right but couldn’t react before something heavy struck her forearms, forcing her arms down and making her drop the dart gun which slid away across the wooden floor. As Kirsty stared after the gun something barged into her side, knocking her to the floor and then something heavy fell on top of her. After hitting the floor Kirsty spun round to find that she was looking at a mop of curly dark hair which identified her assailant as the manager of the facility. Kirsty processed this information quickly and immediately switched modes as the manager got up and lunged toward her screaming, nails extended like the talons of a bird of prey. Kirsty dodged the nails but the two women collided again and they rolled over a couple of times, arms and legs everywhere. The manager flailed her arms at Kirsty and trying to make contact but Kirsty was able to easily deflect the blows using experience and the skills gained during years of training. The women grappled but Kirsty was in better physical condition, she worked out regularly and prided herself on her fitness levels. She let the manager continue to strike out, wasting energy and tiring herself out before picking the correct time to land a blow of her own, a short, sharp jab into the ribs which took the wind out of the manager. The woman audibly groaned and collapsed on top of Kirsty who easily flipped the manager off her and onto her back which allowed Kirsty to get up and retrieve the dart gun. Kirsty levelled the gun and looked down the sight at the manager. “I’ve called the police. They should be on the way” the manager said in between taking deep breaths.

Kirsty responded to this comment by retrieving her phone from the inside pocket of her down coat and quickly finding a number before selecting the speaker function and holding it up toward the woman lying on the floor. “Good morning. Emergency services, how can I direct your call?” Kirsty saw the woman physically slump as she recognised the voice. It was the same voice that the manager had spoken to when she had made the call to the police. Elizabeth Crawford had planned this to well to let the chance of a call leaving the facility ruin everything. They had left Horace to splice into the telephone lines at a nearby junction box. All calls had been diverted back to base.

“Now that help isn’t coming please give me the codes for safe.”

----------
It was tight in the cupboard but all three women managed to get in with some room to spare. “I think that they would fit you better” Vernie said to Nicole, not taking her eyes off the receptionist standing before them. The receptionist looked from Vernie to Nicole and back again, eyes wide and worried above the edge of the silk scarf and packed mouth. Nicole nodded. The receptionist was bigger than average and the uniform would probably fit the voluptuous Nicole better.

“I need your uniform Monika. Please take it off.” The receptionist stared at Nicole for a couple of seconds but made no move to obey the instruction. “You heard. It wasn’t a suggestion, now hurry up or we do this the hard way.” Monika could tell from the tone of voice that the woman with the auburn hair meant business so decided to comply. Slowly Monika undid the buttons on her pastel blue blazer and slipped it off, hanging it on a handily placed peg. Monika followed this by then taking off her similarly coloured blouse, skirt and heels before standing sheepishly trying to cover her modesty with her arms. At the same time Nicole had been slipping off her own clothing and piling it neatly on the floor. “I’ll need the stockings as well.” Reluctantly Monika unclipped the stockings and slid them down her legs before balling them up and throwing them at Nicole who caught them with one hand. “Getting feisty?”

“Just get dressed partner.” Vernie said, her southern accent once again peeking through the carefully practiced neutral one that she had worked on over the years. “Now Monika just spin round and put your hands behind your back.” Should Monika be under any illusions about what was going to happen next Vernie produced a length of cord and played it around in her hands. Monika winced as the cord was tightened around her wrists and then looped around her wrists several times and then knotted tightly, binding them together. Vernie placed her hands on Monika’s shoulders forcing the receptionist onto her knees. “Lie down.” Monika complied and Vernie used several other lengths of cord to bind the woman’s legs together at several points before Vernie finished securing the receptionist by using a short length of cord to tie Monika’s wrists to her ankles, hogtying her. “We can’t have you rolling around and making some noise and causing a distraction.” That comment got a mumbled response from the bound and gagged woman lying on the ground. That job completed Vernie turned round to find that her colleague was almost finished putting on the receptionist’s uniform, with only the blazer remaining.

“You better head off Vernie. Can you take my clothes?” Vernie nodded, grabbed the clothes and exited the cupboard. Nicole took a quick inventory to ensure that she had everything that she needed before slipping on the blazer and heading for the door to take her position at the reception desk.

----------

“Well Frau Berger thanks for giving me the codes. Much appreciated.” Kirsty said to the manager of the facility who was currently sat on the floor of her office looking up at her. Without warning Kirsty squeezed the trigger and sent a dart from the barrel of the gun into the thigh of the manager. The woman grabbed at her thigh with both hands, staring bewildered at the small item protruding from her thigh before looking at Kirsty.

“What is that…” the manager asked before Kirsty saw the woman’s eyes start to lose focus and she slumped backward to the floor. Kirsty walked across to the woman and lifted one of the manager’s eyelids to make sure that she was deeply before retrieving the dart from the woman’s thigh. No point in leaving any evidence than required. Kirsty would send one of her team to secure the woman later on. The strong sedative in the dart would keep her out for at least a couple of hours.

----------

At that point to the rear of the spa Elizabeth Crawford sat impatiently in her car tapping out a steady rhythm on the dashboard. Elizabeth felt that should they need a quick getaway it would be prudent for her to be in the driving seat so had moved after her team had entered the building. Then there was a low thrum and Crawford slowly reached for the mobile that she had left further up the dashboard. Unlocking the phone she quickly read the contents of the text from Kirsty. Making eye contact with the person sitting in the seat behind her via the rear view mirror Crawford said “Looks like you’re up.” The figure in the rear seat, hidden behind large sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat simply nodded before getting out of the car.

----------

Emily St Clare didn’t so much open the front door as burst through it and strode toward the desk and the recently seated receptionist. “Good morning Ms St Clare” Nicole said followed by a beaming smile.

“Are you new? I haven’t seen you before.” Emily St Clare replied curtly ignoring the question, removing her sunglasses and studying Nicole’s face.

“Started last week Ms St Clare” Nicole responded, turning her smile up to full wattage.

“Is that a trace of Italian in your accent?” Nicole nodded a response.

“But it will be the usual staff and room for my treatment?”

“Yes it will be.” With that confirmed Emily St Clare spun round and hurried toward the corridor, quickly disappearing around the corner. Nicole watched her disappear round the corner and smiled. The rumours about the women were true but she was about to get a bit of a shock. Emily St Clare made her way through along the corridor with purpose, heading toward the largest of the personal changing rooms to prepare for her treatment.

----------

The door to the private treatment room and Emily St Clare entered then stood stock still, frozen in astonishment by the sight of the woman standing in the middle of the room. It was as if someone had placed a full length mirror behind the door. Her shock was only disturbed when a set of hands grabbed her from behind and pressed a cloth over the lower half of her face. The shock quickly wore off and instinct took over as she began to fight and squirm against whoever had grabbed her. A second woman that had been standing off to her left hand side joined the attack, grabbing her wrists so that she couldn’t use her arms to fight off the assailants. Emily frantically searched the room for help and noticed another woman leaning against the wall, one with long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail and wearing a full length black down jacket. Emily made eye contact, hoping to communicate the need for assistance but the woman just looked her right in the eye and smiled. It was then that the Emily noticed the sickly sweet odour in her nostrils. It was coming from the cloth! What were they doing? Her mind flashed to those old black and white detective films that she had been forced to watch with her former husband. The heroine in the story would often be kidnapped by the bad guys, usually when the heroine was nabbed they would use a sedative to knock them out. This must be what was happening to her at the moment. Emily started to thrash against the two women but it was useless, they were too strong. She could fell her arms and legs start to feel heavy, the drug on the cloth was starting to have an effect. Her ears were ringing and her eyelids were getting heavy. She fought to keep them open but eventually succumbed to the fumes, closed her eyes and slipped into unconsciousness. Between them Annika and Christine eased her down onto the floor of the room.

Shortly after that the door opened and Vernie entered carrying Emily St Clare’s clothes and other belongings that she had left in the changing room and dropped them onto the treatment table sitting at the edge of the room. The woman that had been standing in the centre of the room, the one that had so shocked Emily St Clare casually picked up the bag that Emily St Clare had been carrying and rummaged around in it. Finding the mobile phone she tossed it to Kirsty who connected it to a device that would unlock the phone and allow them full access. The process took ten seconds and Kirsty tossed the phone back to the woman. “Put in a new code.” The woman caught the phone and did so. Putting the phone back in the bag the woman slipped off the ill fitting clothes that she had been wearing, dumping them next to the sunglasses and hat that she had just removed and started to dress in the clothes that had been liberated from Emily St Clare’s locker.

Whilst the woman was getting dressed Kirsty turned her attention to what Annika and Christine were doing with Emily St Clare. Kirsty watched with a professional detachment as Annika and Christine removed what St Clare had been wearing and applied a diaper before slipping her into a down suit, which had come out of one of the compression sacks. Next were the finger control mitts and bindings for the wrists, arms, ankles and legs. “Be careful with her” Kirsty cautioned her team, she didn’t want to think what Elizabeth Crawford would do if something happened to Emily St Clare at this point. To that end Elizabeth Crawford had designed and commissioned a special, one off restraining bag to transport her prized asset. It was a gargantuan, massively overstuffed bag designed to provide maximum protection for the person inside in addition to being escape proof. Annika and Christine carefully slipped St Claire into the smaller of the two restraining sacks before, lifting up the package and allowing Kirsty to slip the massive bag under the encased form of Emily St Claire. Annika and Christine gently lowered the package into the larger bag, positioned her carefully and sealed it up. “Well done ladies. Now go and get the trolley from the van.” Instructions given Annika and Christine headed off and Kirsty turned to the other woman in the room. “Last chance to change your mind?” The woman gave Kirsty a confident smile in response followed by a fist bump. Kirsty nodded, picked up her phone and called Nicole.

“Hello boss” said the voice at the other end of the line.

“I am sending Vernie to you with the keys and security codes. From there make your way to the manager’s office. Remember we have to make this look like a robbery so grab anything that looks valuable and the recorder from the CCTV system. Make sure you remove all entries for Emily St Clare’s appointment from the diary. We will meet back at the vehicles in twenty minutes.”

“Understood boss.”

“And Nicole.”

“Un-huh” was the reply.

“I left the manager sleeping off the effects of a sedative. Would you make her comfortable?”

“No problem.” With that reply the connection dropped. Kirsty allowed herself to relax a little as this phase of the plan seemed to be progressing smoothly. The next call went to her boss. “Package secure.”

----------

Katie drained the final mouthful of fizzy drink from the can that the driver had offered from cooler in the boot. The driver explained that having done this several times before he had come prepared for the wait which could sometimes last three or four hours. Katie started to feel the need to use the facilities having drunk that can far too quickly and asked the question of the driver. “Well I usually use nature’s toilet” was the reply as the driver indicated the forest in front of the car with his head. In response Katie shook her head.

“Think that I will try in the spa.” The driver nodded in a way that this was the greatest bit of thinking since the invention of the printing press. Katie opened the passenger door and headed toward the main entrance. It took a while to reach the entrance and once through Katie made straight for the reception desk and was surprised to find it unattended. Something deep within her brain told her that something wasn’t quite right as the hairs on the base of her neck stood up. Carefully, trying to make as little noise as possible Katie made her way down the corridor just off the reception area. Getting around half way down and realising she had no idea where she was going Katie called out, “Ms St Clare is everything all right?” In the treatment room Kirsty raised her hand and everybody paused and looked to her. The two members of the team securing the down encased Emily St Claire to the trolley were half way through the straps when they heard the noise. Kirsty glanced at her boss who had entered the premises along with the team members with the trolley.

“That will be the personal assistant.” Kirsty said.

“I was hoping to avoid this.” Elizabeth Crawford said quietly. “Take her. It might work out in our favour if we get someone to play the part of a personal assistant later on.” Kirsty nodded and signalled to Annika and Christine to make the snatch by miming pouring liquid onto an imaginary cloth and then moving her hand over her own nose and mouth. The two women nodded in understanding and slipped away. Kirsty then turned to the remaining members of her team and signalled that they should wait until the threat had been neutralised before proceeding.

As she continued to walk down the corridor a door opened and Katie saw two women in what she assumed were staff uniforms exit a room and make their way toward her. Katie raised a hand in greeting but the pair of women acted like they hadn’t noticed her as they walked towards her. As they got closer they split so that one of them would walk either side of her. Katie noted that the woman on her right held a large white cloth in her right hand. They as they got level with her the women suddenly lunged at her, Katie found the cloth clamped over the lower half of her face and other hands grasping at her, restricting her movement, pinning her arms to her side. Shocked at the sudden attack Katie suddenly realised that there was a sickly sweet smell coming from the cloth. Initially Katie had thought that the cloth was just being used to muffle any calls for help but she had watched enough old movies to know that she was actually being chloroformed. As Katie fought in vain to fight the effects of the chloroform on the cloth that had been clamped over her nose and mouth, her eyes darted and searched frantically for any sign of help: a member of staff, another customer, the driver, anybody . But it was all growing hazy and her urge to fight lessened with every breath, her eyelids growing heavy. “Mmmmmppphh…Mmmmmhmmm.” Katie cried in muffled tones into the white cloth that covered her mouth and nose. Still struggling, she tried in vain to stand, but instead, found herself slumping to the floor as dizziness overtook her, the woman behind skilfully keeping the cloth expertly in place, making sure Katie continued to inhale the fumes until everything went black.

The two women picked up the unconscious Katie and draped one of her arms over each of their shoulders and carried the young woman, the toes of her sandals dragging along the thick carpet toward the rear fire escape. Manoeuvring through the door the two women carried Katie toward the back of the van marked Private Ambulance. Kirsty opened the door to the treatment room just as the Katie was being carried passed. Turning back into the room Kirsty signalled that it was safe to exit and Elizabeth Crawford led the way, followed by the team members at each end of a trolley containing Emily St Claire and then the woman whose appearance had so shocked the woman on the trolley. As she walked past Kirsty the two women fist bumped again. Kirsty watched as the woman strode purposefully down the corridor passing Nicole and Vernie, coming in the opposite direction carrying large bags of loot.

----------

In the rear view mirror the driver noted the door to the facility open and a figure exited. He quickly started the large silver vehicle and got it into position as quickly as possible. Then almost jumped from his seat and hurried round to open the door. The woman gracefully got into the back seat. The driver looked around expecting two women and continued to hold the door open. “What are you waiting for Jarvis? Let’s go.” The woman snapped. Jarvis closed the door and made his way back behind the wheel. Once the car pulled onto the main road Jarvis had plucked up the courage to ask.

“If you don’t mind me asking ma’am, where is your assistant?”

“She won’t be joining us again” Emily St Clare replied. The driver fist pumped at low level, out of sight of his employer. He had two weeks in the book.
Caesar73
Millennial Club
Millennial Club
Posts: 4739
Joined: 5 years ago

Post by Caesar73 »

Well, everything seems to go according to plan for Elizabeth Crawford. Well, I wonder why Crawford did this? I also wonder, if we will see Natalie more often? And other members of the old gang? Very very good story telling by j[mention]mrjones2009[/mention]! :D :D
Image
Caesar73
Millennial Club
Millennial Club
Posts: 4739
Joined: 5 years ago

Post by Caesar73 »

Good to see the Advanced Restraining System in Action again :D I'm sure it will be put to good use in the near future again ;)
Image
User avatar
mrjones2009
Centennial Club
Centennial Club
Posts: 612
Joined: 5 years ago
Contact:

Post by mrjones2009 »

Chapter 8

The electronic lock disengaged and the heavy steel door slowly slid open which allowed Christina Howard to enter the corridor. Christina noted that the door and been changed and upgraded, which was just one of many security improvements that had been made since Christina had led a small team that had broken into the same facility last year. Christina strode confidently along the corridor wondering why she had been summoned to the facility by Jaclyn Sanders the recently recalled head of Section 12. No doubt she would find out in due course. Maybe they were finally going to thank her for exposing the flaws in their security. However she very much doubted that. On entering the main waiting room Christina found a familiar face waiting to greet her. Gillian opened her arms and the two women embraced. Which wasn’t as easy as it sounds as Gillian was currently on duty and therefore wearing standard uniform for the recently rechristened Section 12. That consisted of a formal dress with a voluminous skirt with a down jacket on top. “You look great Gillian. That holiday must have been relaxing?” Christina enquired.

“Indeed, it was wonderful,” Gillian replied with enthusiasm.

“Where were you?”

“Cancun, Mexico.”

“So what did you get up to? Did you go with that new man of yours?” Christina asked. As she looked at Gillian a strange look passed across the woman’s face like she was searching for an answer.

“Well…nothing that stands out……it was a bit of a blur, just sun and sand,” Gillian replied. The moment was that awkward that Christina immediately changed the subject.

“Do you have any idea what this is about Gillian?” Christina asked taking a couple of steps back.

“Absolutely no idea” Gillian replied shaking her head at the same time. “I was just asked to come down and escort you upstairs.” The plot thickens Christina thought. It was during this period of thought that Christian noticed that Gillian had produced several items from the pocket of her down jacket. A set of padded leather cuffs, a thickly padded sleep mask and what to Christina looked suspiciously like the two parts of a gag. “Are you serious Gillian?” Gillian nodded in response.

“You know the rules Christina. Anybody not employed by the agency is subject to restrictions beyond that door.” Gillian nodded to the secure door into the main facility that housed the sections where captives were held, staff stayed, supplies were stored and missions were planned.

“I would have hoped that as a former employee I might be spared that particular embarrassment.”

“And also a former guest……..” Gillian retorted, letting the implication unfinished whilst a broad grin spread across her lips. Christina let out a long sigh before turning round and placing her wrists in the small of her back. Gillian went about her business quickly and precisely, securing Christina’s wrists together with the padded leather cuffs. To Christina’s mind Gillian tightened the cuffs a little too tightly, after all Christina has no intention of trying to escape from whatever bindings were applied. “Open up” Gillian instructed and as soon as it was opened Gillian rammed a wadded up cloth deep into Christina’s mouth before using a folded up silk scarf tied over the mouth to keep Christina from expelling the cloth. Christina also noted that the silk scarf was so tightly tied that it was almost welded to her face. Gillian certainly seemed to be taking this seriously and perhaps enjoying the process. Christian was going to check for a smile when Gillian finally got in front of her but that wasn’t going to be possible as Gillian applied a thickly padded sleep mask over her eyes. “Just relax and let me guide you” Gillian whispered in Christina’s ear before grabbing the top of her left arm and suggesting that they move forward. Christina starting walking forward and had to admit that there was some part of her that was worried that this was all some sort of ruse and that once they had her upstairs there would be a chloroform soaked cloth with her name on it and she would wake up fully restrained in a deeply filled down cocoon.

In an upstairs office

The blindfold was removed and once her eyes adjusted to the lighting in the room Christina found herself standing across from Jaclyn Sanders who was sitting in a chair behind a large desk. Christina had met Sanders years before when Elizabeth Crawford had recruited Christian to Section 10 as it was known back in the good old days. Elizabeth had told Christina the story of how she and Jaclyn whilst working together in another government department had seen an opening for an all female organisation with a speciality in undercover operations and pitched the idea to their boss. Much to their surprise their boss agreed and after it had gone through the necessary channels and rubber stamped at every level the two women were given a budget and stated to build Section 10. Shortly after they were given a first assignment and the rest as they say is history. After entering the room Gillian and changed the position of Christina’s wrists so that they were now cuffed in front rather than behind, although did note that the cuffs were not removed altogether. Sanders smiled at Christina before shifting her eyes to Gillian who was standing slightly behind and off to the left. “Gillian you can leave us now. I am sure that if there are any issues then I will be able to deal with them.”

“Well if you are sure Agent Sanders.” Christina could tell that Gillian wasn’t entirely happy with the suggestion.

“Yes and please put out call for Agent Warwick to come to my office.” Once Gillian had left Jaclyn Sanders opened the top drawer of her desk, pulled something out and flung it onto the desk in front of Christina. It was a thin leather wallet.

“Is this what I think it is Sanders?” Christina asked. There was just silence from the other side of the desk. Christina picked up the wallet cautiously as if there was something inside that could hurt her. Looking inside Christina’s suspicions were confirmed, it was formal government identification. She placed it back on the desk.

“I would like you to come back in Christina.”

“There is nothing like getting straight to the point.”

“I have neither the inclination nor time for beating about the bush. It hasn’t been the easiest of periods since I came back.” Despite what she had said Christina saw the smile that broke out across Sanders lips.

“I bet that was a popular decision” Christina commented. It did help to explain Gillian’s earlier attitude.

“You could say that. However it is my decision and I made it a condition of coming back to head up the agency that I had final say of recruitment. I know what you can do from past experience as I did recruit you.” Christina thought that was laying it on a bit thick and then something changed in Sanders expression and she locked eyes with Christina. “Plus I really need your help.” There was an uncomfortable silence for a couple of seconds that was interrupted by a knock at the door. “Come in.” The door opened and a young woman entered. “Christina met your partner Jessica Warwick.” Christina turned back to look at the woman who had just entered the room. Jessica just nodded in acknowledgement. Christina leaned over the desk and picked up the thin leather wallet.

“Is it her first day?” Christina asked almost jokingly.

“Third actually,” Jessica said confidently. Christina looked at Sanders and raised an eyebrow.

“Agent Warwick would you be able to release Agent Howard’s wrists?” Christina held up her wrist to allow Jessica east access to the buckles on the cuffs.

“Why us Jaclyn?” Christina asked rubbing her wrists. “You have an organisation full of agents and yet you call me back. I shouldn’t have to explain that I am hardly little Miss Popular around here. And then you partner me with the work experience kid.”

“That is exactly why I picked you two.” Sanders said with a deep sigh, leaning back in her chair. “What I am about to tell you goes no further than these walls.” Jessica and Christina nodded. “Since I have come back to head this organisation some missions have failed or not been successful for unexplained reasons. I fear that there is a mole in Section 12.” Sanders paused to let that statement sink in.

“And an outsider and the new start are clear of any suspicion?” Christina said. It was half a question that was answered in the affirmative as Sanders nodded her head in agreement. The awkward silence descended again before Sanders took a thin brown file from a tray on her desk and opened it to show Christina and Jessica a large glossy photograph. “This is Milena Novak.”

“The head of the Almost Famous fashion house,” Jessica said. It was a statement more than a question.

“Yes. However there seems to be a correlation between criminal activity and Novak being in the vicinity. A museum robbery in Vienna, a missing scientist in Moscow………the list goes on. There is a full breakdown in the file. I don’t like coincidences.”

“That name sounds familiar and I don’t have any interest in high fashion,” Christina commented.

“Well there are also rumours that certain people that you are aware of from your last career have an interest in Milena Novak, both legal and illegal.” Sanders replied. Christina knew who Jaclyn would be referring to with that comment.

“So you want us to investigate Novak and substantiate these rumours?” Christina asked. Sanders nodded.

“Yes. The plan would be get close and gather information. I don’t know if Novak is directly involved with criminal activity or just a facilitator but there is no doubt in my mind that she is wrong.”

“What makes you say that?” Christina asked; leaning back in her chair, sensing that something was coming.

“Correct. There are rumours that Novak has a close relationship with a certain criminal organisation and plans to make contact during a fashion show at the weekend. But not only Crawford, there have been rumours of others such as The Broker and elements of Russian organised crime.”

“Elizabeth Crawford I assume.”

“One that you will be familiar with, I will leave it at that for now. I wouldn’t want to influence your investigations in advance.” Sanders tone confirmed that this portion of the conversation was over. Christina had to admit that she wasn’t surprised. The woman had a knack for surviving. After they had left Elizabeth Crawford restrained on the island and in the hands of her business partners there had been no confirmable reports of what had happened to her. There were various rumours about what had become of her, sold to the highest bidder, left stranded on a desert island, living as a hermit in northern Sweden but nothing could be confirmed. Christina has no doubt that she could have talked her way out of whatever trouble her business partners had in store for her.

“Did you hear me Christina?” It wasn’t until Sanders asked the question that Christina noticed that she had drifted off into her own head.

“Sorry Jaclyn.”

“As I was explaining we went for the direct approach and spun Novak a story about investigating something within the fashion industry and asked if you could tag along, using her as cover.”

“And she agreed to have us along?” Jessica asked. Christina looked from Warwick to Sanders. It seemed like a sensible question.

“It does seem strange” Christina echoed the sentiment.

“Agreed but I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe she thought that it would raise suspicions to say no, maybe it’s a case of keep your friends close but your enemies even closer or maybe she is just that arrogant that she thinks she can do anything under the noses of international criminal investigation agencies.”

“Alright then. You can count me in then.” Christina said with a smile.

“Will we have local help?” Jessica asked.
“No. I want to keep who knows about this down to a minimum. You will be heading to France and their agencies tend to leak like a sieve so I haven’t flagged up your arrival. Plus as noted I am worried about leaks from our own agency so you will report to me. Apart from that it will only be Danielle Snow and my assistant Gates that know about your operation.” Jessica and Christina both nodded.

“Is Danielle Snow a European based asset?” Jessica asked.

“No, Danielle Snow is in our technical department. I have asked her to run you through a couple of things. She will be expecting you.” That said Jaclyn Sanders turned her attention to the computer screen sitting on her desk. The conversation was obviously over so Christina and Jessica headed for the door. “Ladies remember that this operation does not get discussed outside of the people on this office. Even Danielle doesn’t know the full scope.”

Technical Department

Walking side by side down the corridor the two women fell into an awkward silence, with no obvious common ground there was nothing to break the ice in the conversation. “So do you want to tell me your history? I mean I have heard the rumours and stories but it would be nice to hear it from the horses’ mouth so to speak.” Jessica asked with her eyes still focused ahead.

“Maybe later” Christina replied, not surprised that Jessica had asked the question. “Lift or stairs?” They reached the end of the corridor and needed to go up a level to their destination. Jessica answered by pressing the call button on the lift controls. As they had walked to the lift they had passed the guard station on that floor, Christina had noticed that some of the operatives gave her cold looks. In addition she also notices some familiar names on the list of current inmates, Martinez and Williams looming large.

“I wouldn’t mind hearing that as….”

“You need to know if you can trust me.” Christina stated. Both of them still hadn’t made eye contact with each other.

“Well when you put it like that. Yes.” Jessica replied. The lift arrived and the doors opened.

“For the time being you can believe the rumours” was Christina’s response before entering the lift. Jessica followed a second later and hit the button for the floor above. The whole trust thing went both ways for Christina.

-----------

After exiting the lift Christina and Jessica headed silently toward the large double doors that were the entrance to the technical department. Once they reached the doors Christina tried the handle but found that it was locked. Christina shrugged then gave it a mighty wrap with her clenched right fist. There was no response after ten seconds of Christina gave the door another thump. This time there was a response from within, Christina was sure that she heard a voice from within. “Did you hear that?” Jessica asked. Christina nodded and then there was the sound of a lock being tuned and one of the doors opened wide enough for a head to appear.

“Can I help you?” asked a bespectacled young woman, long light brown hanging across the left hand side of her face.

“We are looking for Danielle Snow,” Jessica replied. “Sanders sent us.”

“Ah, the operatives for the secret mission,” said the woman whilst at the same time using a hand to sweep the hair that was hanging across her face behind her ear. Christina and Jessica stole a glance at each other before turning back to find that the door had been thrown wide open. “Well you have found her ladies,” and with a wave of an arm invited the pair to enter. After Christian and Jessica had entered the woman, who they now knew was Danielle Snow closed and locked the door behind them. Christina looked around the large open plan space that they found themselves in. The space was full of counters with various bits of equipment scattered over them; a computer here, other electrical equipment there, buckles and items of clothing scattered in between. As Danielle walked past her Christina noted that the young woman was wearing a long white lab coat, it was like a scene from a Bond film. This day was getting a more bizarre by the minute. “Follow me ladies and please resist the temptation to touch anything,” Danielle put added emphasis on the last four words as she strode passed Jessica and Christina and beckoned them to follow deeper into the room. As the group walked along Christina picked up a padded pink item and moved it around in her hand. It was soft and smooth “Be careful with that Agent Howard,” Snow said taking the item from Christina.

“May I ask what it is?”

“It is a single use all in one sedation device” Danielle said with a hint of pride. “You couldn’t tell could you?” There must have been a puzzled look on Christina’s face as Danielle continued. “The outside material is smooth and breathable with a layer of absorbent gauze behind. There is a vial of chloroform in there. If you crush the vial the chloroform will soak into the gauze and the fumes will penetrate the outside fabric. Then you just clamp it over the subject’s nose and mouth.” Danielle hovered the pad over the lower half of her face as a visual aid. “And it looks so innocent. Clever design, even if I do say so myself.” Christina looked Danielle pushing her spectacles and noticed a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“Is this one of your ideas?” Jessica asked. Danielle nodded in response. The small group continued to the next table where Danielle Snow continued the tour. “Ladies please pay attention” Snow encouraged as she picked up a small glass bottle and held it up to both agents. “Now this may look like a normal bottle of perfume however there is a clever design feature that means that anyone thinking that would be wrong. There is a thin film that splits the liquid into two halves, the top is perfume and the bottom is actually chloroform” Snow could see from the blank expressions that she had lost both of the women. “Look just remember this ladies; if you turn the spray nozzle to the left it sprays perfume and to the right it sprays chloroform. The chloroform is quite concentrated so if you deploy as a mist then it will have a decent effect but as always more effective if you apply to a cloth and hold over a target’s nose and mouth.” Both Christina and Jessica nodded their understanding and took the bottle that each was offered by Snow.

“Wait isn’t chloroform a dangerous substance?” Jessica asked. Snow looked at her like she was a first grader asking a daft question. Christina also looked at Jessica as well. Just how new was Jessica Warwick? Christina assumed that she would have gone through basic training.

“Well back when the drugs usefulness as an anaesthetic was discovered it did have side effects. However medical science and research undertaken by various agencies has moved its properties on dramatically since then. Developments with the drug have managed to remove most of the side effects and enhance the effect it has as a sedative.” Jessica looked quizzically at Danielle. “Basically, it doesn’t take as much exposure to render someone unconscious and the effects of said exposure last after direct exposure to the drug has ended.” Jessica glanced at Christina.

“You don’t have to inhale the fumes for as long to go out and when the cloth is removed you stay out for a decent amount of time.” Jessica looked at both women like they were members of some bizarre cult.

“Perhaps if we had a demonstration of the drugs properties” Danielle said looking around for something. Christina assumed that is was a cloth and decided that is would be best to keep things moving.

“No need Danielle, just continue with the briefing.” Danielle nodded and headed deeper into the room before stopping in front of another large table.

“Now let’s move onto the restraining bags” Snow leaned across the table to where several different sizes of sleeping bag like contraptions were lying. “I have to thank you Christina and the rest of the girls for the samples that you brought back belonging to that criminal organisation. I hate to admit this but they were technically more advanced than what we had.”

“No need to thank me” Christina said awkwardly.

“Well to be honest we just stole what the other side had been doing. Their technology has allowed us to increase the amount of soft thick down filling used with nylon fabric on both the inside and outside surface of the bags. Feel free to pick them up and familiarise yourself with them.” Christina and Jessica did as instructed and ran their hands across the bags. “We have also developed a single bag restraining system that is smaller and can be compressed for ease of storage and transport” Snow continued picking up a compression sack and extracting the bag from within. Snow put it on the table and allowed it to loft up slightly. “As you can see the cut is more streamlined to be tighter around the torso. The collar is like one of those sixties style shirts and there is a centre zip that goes from the middle of the bag all the way to the top. There are two zippers that clip together to prevent the person within from escaping.” Jessica and Christina didn’t really know what to say about this so just made do with examining the various pieces of equipment, especially given Danielle’s obvious enthusiasm for what she was telling them. Tour over the group made their way back to the door.

“Thanks for the tour” Jessica said.

“No problem. I will put together a pack for your mission.”

“How are we going to get all of this past airport security without using diplomatic means?” Jessica asked.

“Jessica is right. I can’t see Novak allowing this kit on her plane anyway.”

“Didn’t Sanders mention that I am actually flying out to Paris to meet you; sort of delivery woman and back up.” Great Christina thought. Someone else to babysit.

“Finally there is a rumour that the French have developed a new form of truth drug” Snow said as she crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall.

“I thought that there was an informal agreement between international agencies that intravenous drug use had been banned” Jessica replied.

“There was but this drug is administered using a cloth and is inhaled much like chloroform so they are saying that this circumvents the prohibition” Danielle answered whilst pushing her glasses back up to the bridge of her nose again. Christina shook her head. What would they think of next!
Caesar73
Millennial Club
Millennial Club
Posts: 4739
Joined: 5 years ago

Post by Caesar73 »

Nice to see Christina again :D
Image
Caesar73
Millennial Club
Millennial Club
Posts: 4739
Joined: 5 years ago

Post by Caesar73 »

And I do have the feeling, that we will see some of the new Equipment in use :) Preferably Elizabeth Crawford :D
Image
User avatar
mrjones2009
Centennial Club
Centennial Club
Posts: 612
Joined: 5 years ago
Contact:

Post by mrjones2009 »

Chapter 9

She had really tried to go straight but the lure of her previous profession was too great. She appreciated the efforts of Hayley, Natalie and the rest of the women but they would never understand the thrill that she got from breaking and entering. It was the adrenaline rush more than the money that had drawn her back into the life, even if she had to admit that the money couldn’t be ignored. Although the events of last year had given her some new friends plus a new set of skills that she could use she had decided that if she was going to continue with a life of crime she had better leave the States and head somewhere else. This is how Jane Robbie and come to find herself on mainland Europe for the past six months. The noise of a car passing on the nearby main road brought her back to the present where she crouched on the floor of a heavily forested area across from a row of large houses in a very exclusive area of Brussels. Jane had been casing the house for almost a week since arriving in the area. It was owned and occupied by a historically wealthy family, enough money to be well off but not enough that they had personal security in the house or employed bodyguards.

The front door of the house opened and Jane looked on as four members of the family stepped out onto the gravel driveway, one after the other; first was dad, then mum, then the two youngest children. They all got into a large black vehicle driven by a man wearing a grey suit and matching hat. By Jane’s calculations that left the eldest daughter, Danica alone in the house. Jane knew that the rest of the family were attending a concert followed by a reception this evening and wouldn’t be back until after midnight. As the car pulled away Jane made preparations for her nights work. Jane had learned some tricks from her recent experiences and had ordered a long, black down filled coat that she used exclusively for jobs. She was already wearing this over black leggings and a skin tight top, also in black of course. Jane slipped on a pair of black leather gloves, followed by a balaclava then slipped on her backpack that contained the tools of the trade and made her way across the road and hunkered down against the wall before scooting round to the rear of the house. Jane athletically vaulted the wall and landed almost silently on the lawn below. Because she had scouted the house thoroughly beforehand Jane knew her way to the rear door in the kitchen and made her way there without activating any of the security lights. Jane slipped off her backpack and took out the tools required to gain entry to the house and set about the task with relish.

Once inside the house Jane paused, her senses heightened, trying to get a feel for what might be happening in the stillness of the ground floor of the house. Despite studying the plans of the house for days she always liked to do this. The main obstacle in her way was obviously Danica and she set about locating the young woman. Thinking back to her own late teens Jane surmised that Danica would be in her room, perhaps listening to music or reading a book. Creeping through the house Jane made her way upstairs. At the top Jane stopped on the landing and peered round the corner. There was a sliver of light coming from an almost closed door at the end of the corridor. Unless she was mistaken there was also muted music coming from the room. Anyway before she could process this information the door opened and Danica stepped into the corridor. Jane slowly retreated to cover behind the wall and waited, hearing the sound of bare feet on wooden floor until the sound of a light switch then an extractor fan. She went to the toilet Jane thought to herself. Jane set her backpack down on the floor and removed a small plastic bag from the main compartment and held it up, studying the contents. Opening the bag Jane removed the two items within it, a small bottle and a large, thick, white cloth. Jane unscrewed the lid from the bottle and putting the cloth close to the bottle poured a healthy amount of the liquid onto the cloth. Whilst performing this operation Jane got a whiff of the smell from the cloth, causing her to scrunch up her nose.

The door to the toilet opened and Danica stepped out of the toilet and into the corridor remembering to turn off the light. She was making her way back along to her room when she was suddenly grabbed from behind and a cloth clamped over her nose and mouth. “Mmmrrhhpmrphpmrhppm!" Danica tried to yell out from behind the soaked cloth but it reduce all of her pleas too useless, almost incomprehensible moans.

“Don’t panic, what’s going to happen right now, Danica, is that you’re going to be going to sleep for a little while. When you wake up, you’ll be in your bedroom bound and gagged. I just need to keep you out the way whilst I have a look around your house.” Jane whispered into Danica’s ear, trying to reassure the young woman. Jane had no interest in scaring her in any way. Eventually the young woman succumbed to the chloroform’s fumes and slumped unconscious into Jane’s arms. After easing the young woman to the floor Jane went back to retrieve her backpack from where she had left it.

Picking up the young woman under the arms Jane dragged Danica along the corridor toward what Jane now guessed was Danica’s bedroom. Jane backed toward the partially closed door, opening it with her hip before pulling Danica through the opening and depositing her on a rug that had been handily positioned at the centre of the room. Jane paused before having to exert herself lifting the young woman onto the bed; despite being petite Danica was still going to be dead weight. Now that the young woman was unconscious Jane was able to remove her balaclava and was glad to do that. Taking a couple of deep breaths Jane hefted Danica from the floor and onto the bed. Once again slipping off her backpack Jane opened the largest compartment and removed several items, four evenly cut lengths of rope, a thickly padded sleep mask, a large handkerchief and a red silk scarf. Firstly Jane used the lengths of rope to secure Danica’s wrists and ankles to the corners of the bed, spread eagling the young woman. Next Jane slipped on the blindfold before stuffing the cloth carefully in Danica’s mouth before tying the scarf over her mouth to keep the cloth in place.

With Danica now securely bound, blindfolded and gagged on the bed Jane was able to get on with searching the house for items that she could take. Jane pressed several buttons on her wristwatch and set the alarm function to vibrate and for it to activate in three hours. That should give her enough time to thoroughly search the house and have a healthy head start before the family returned. Jane knew what she was looking for, cash, jewellery, small antiquities that could carried and moved on quickly.

Jane made her way through the house expertly searching drawers and nooks where someone may hide valuables and had found herself a nice little cache of items. Jane was back at the top of the stairs when she heard the sound of a knocking coming from the front door. Jane had been careful, not turning on any lights, not making any noise and was pretty sure that there weren’t any hidden alarms that she had tripped. Then came another knock followed by the sound of a key in a lock. Jane looked around for somewhere close to hide and started to back down the corridor. Just as she retreated from direct view from the front door it burst open and she heard a young man’s voice shout a greeting. Danica must have arranged a little rendezvous with a gentleman admirer whilst her family were out. Jane didn’t know whether to admire the young woman or curse her. The young man shouted Danica’s name and Jane could tell from the sounds that he was bounding up the stairs. The accent of the voice was not local, Jane guessed somewhere in the American mid-west. Jane took a couple of steps backwards, deeper along the corridor and bumped into a table, she spun round just in time to see an ornament tip off the edge and land on the wooden floor. It didn’t shatter but the sharp thud echoed through the house and Jane knew that the young man had heard it as he became silent. “Are you playing hide and seek?” The young man shouted. “Well ready or not, here I come.” Not a great development Jane thought to herself. Time to find somewhere to hide and then sneak out, discretion being the better part of valour and darted toward the nearest door. Hearing the young man’s footsteps heading toward her location Jane backed away until she found the door handle, keeping her eyes and attention on the door from the corridor Jane backed into the room and stumbled over something lying on the ground. Unable to keep her balance Jane felt herself falling, out of control, suddenly there was a sharp pain at the back of her head and everything went black. Jane was unconscious before she hit the floor.

----------

“Looks she’s starting to come round.” Jane heard a voice say through the fog in her head. Once Jane managed to get her eyes to focus again she could see Danica and a tall, skinny young man wearing jeans and a red t-shirt standing over her. “Would you like to have her Hanson?” Jane’s heard hurt but she could take a guess at what they had been discussing when she had been unconscious.

“She is beautiful.” Jane didn’t like where this was heading and went to get up. That was when she noted that both her wrists and ankles were tied together.

“Sleeping beauty is fully awake Hanson, probably a bit too soon for my liking.” Danica commented. Jane watched on as Danica picked up the bottle of chloroform, unscrewed the cap and wafted it under her nose. “This is the stuff that she used to knock me out Hanson. Get me a cloth or something else to pour it onto and I will use it on her. Make it easier to get her back to my room.” A wicked grin spread across Danica’s face. “I think she would be pretty feisty otherwise.” Jane started to struggle against the ropes binding her wrists and ankles.

“Wait you don’t want to do that” Jane blurted out now frantically struggling against the rope around her wrists. She could feel that the knots weren’t the best and that given enough time she could get free but it was a matter of would she get the time.

“Maybe she is right Danica. Perhaps we should call the police.” The young man called Hanson said. That was another outcome that Jane didn’t want.

“Hanson!” Danica almost screamed. “She is a criminal. She broke into my house, used a chemical soaked cloth to knock me out and then tied me up. She isn’t going to tell anyone about this.” Jane had to admit that whatever else Danica was she was right about that. Hanson disappeared through a door which Jane guessed was an en-suite bathroom. “I’ve always wanted to try it with a woman” Danica said almost to herself. Jane was still frantically working to loosen the ropes around her wrists when Hanson returned and handed Danica a purple facecloth. Danica locked eyes with Jane as she poured the chloroform onto the cloth. “So exactly how much of this should I use?” Jane didn’t know whether the question was directed as Hanson or herself but wasn’t going to offer an answer. Danica handed the bottle to Hanson and then started to lower the cloth towards Jane. As the cloth made its way slowly toward her Jane couldn’t help but wonder how she had managed to get into this position. With the cloth now clamped over her nose and mouth Jane was forced to breathe in the fumes until she could no longer keep her eyes open and slipped into unconsciousness.

----------

The light above her head seemed very bright when she opened her eyes and the back of her head was thumping even more when Jane regained consciousness for the second time. A quick check informed her that her situation had not improved. Looking around she recognised Danica’s room from earlier, however she was now bound spread eagled to the bed like she had left Danica earlier on. Jane noted that she had also been gagged; the taste and texture of whatever was in her mouth confirming that something silky had been stuffed inside and she could tell that her own red scarf had been tied over her mouth to keep the stuffing in place. Finally she had been stripped to her underwear. Fortunately Jane had decided to put on a nice set of underwear for this particular job. In turn Jane tested the strength of the ropes holding her in place and decided that with a bit of persistence she could get her left hand free. She started to go to work, but would she get enough time. Not long after the door opened and Danica walked in wearing a silk robe and carrying a box which she placed on the chest of drawers next to the bed. Although Danica didn’t look at her directly Jane stopped working at the rope for minute.

“My mum thinks that nobody knows that she is banging Hans the gardener but she isn’t that subtle. She keeps this box of special toys around, hidden away for there little sessions,” Danica said. There was a rattle as the box was dumped onto the bedside table. Jane watched on as the young woman rummaged in the box and produced a pair of handcuffs which she held up. “Might keep these close by….just in case.” A smile played across Danica’s lips. “See you soon” Danica said before she turned and left the room again. Once the coast was clear Jane returned to working at the rope holding her left wrist. Danica was obviously the enthusiastic amateur rather than the professional that Jane had dealt with in the recent past as Jane was able to feel the knot on the bindings on her left wrist start to loosen and with a bit more work it gave way and her arm was free. Quickly Jane moved to release her right wrist and then the ropes holding her ankles to the bed and was about to remove her gag but heard soft footsteps approaching. Jumping off the bed Jane frantically looked around the room for her bag, locating it sitting on a chair Jane quickly opened it and searched inside; finding what she was looking for Jane opened the bottle and poured the last of her remaining chloroform onto the cloth to refresh it before slipping into position behind the door just in time before it opened. Danica took a couple of paces into the room before her brain told her that Jane was not where Danica expected her to be. That was all the opportunity needed for Jane to pounce grabbing Danica and clamping the chloroform soaked cloth over the lower half of the young woman’s face. Having been the victim of a similar attack earlier the same night Danica instantly recognised the scent from the cloth and struggled frantically but Jane had the element of surprise and experience on her side. With the gag still in place Jane was struggling with the effort of keeping control of the thrashing Danica but held the cloth firmly in place forcing her victim to inhale the fumes from he cloth. Danica tried to shake her head to free herself from the fumes that were sapping her energy, but Jane held the cloth firmly in place. Eventually the fight went out of the young woman and Jane knew that it was over, soon after Jane felt the woman slump into her arms and let her fall unconscious onto the floor. It was only then that Jane allowed herself to untie the scarf holding the packing in her mouth and then remove that; bundle them both into a ball and threw them into her backpack.

Whilst she was retrieving the ropes from the bed Jane took a quick glance in the box and decided that she had gotten free just at the right time. Jane quickly found where Danica had left her clothes and slipped on her trousers, sweater and boots then grabbed her backpack and down jacket and headed for the bedroom door, stepping over the slumbering Danica as she went. As she made her way down the corridor Jane saw Hanson reach the top of the stairs. The young man stopped when he noticed Jane. She could see a look of surprise on his face as she strode along the corridor and paused beside him. “Hanson.” Jane stared straight at the young man. “Let’s pretend that this never happened.” The young man nodded his head in agreement then turned and headed for the front door. Jane was a bit confused. “Aren’t you going to check on your girlfriend?”

“No. I don’t think I really want to go out with her anymore.” Probably the best decision of the young man’s life so far. Jane watched him leave and then decided to leave the same way that she entered, even taking the precaution of putting the balaclava back on. Whist she made her way through the forest back to the track where she had left her vehicle Jane ran the events of the night back through her head knowing that she would have to change her plans for any future job. After all she had now run out of chloroform and it wasn’t like you could get the stuff at the local supermarket.
Caesar73
Millennial Club
Millennial Club
Posts: 4739
Joined: 5 years ago

Post by Caesar73 »

Nice, to see Jane again too! She was definitivly in a tight Spot. Lucky she was, dealing with an amateur ;)
Image
User avatar
mrjones2009
Centennial Club
Centennial Club
Posts: 612
Joined: 5 years ago
Contact:

Post by mrjones2009 »

Caesar73 wrote: 5 years ago Nice, to see Jane again too! She was definitivly in a tight Spot. Lucky she was, dealing with an amateur ;)
With maybe tighter her spots to come
Caesar73
Millennial Club
Millennial Club
Posts: 4739
Joined: 5 years ago

Post by Caesar73 »

mrjones2009 wrote: 5 years ago
Caesar73 wrote: 5 years ago Nice, to see Jane again too! She was definitivly in a tight Spot. Lucky she was, dealing with an amateur ;)
With maybe tighter her spots to come
Yeah, that thought crossed my mind too :D I wrote that already more than once, but once again: Nice story telling! I like your attention to detail, your ability to hold all strings together!
Image
User avatar
mrjones2009
Centennial Club
Centennial Club
Posts: 612
Joined: 5 years ago
Contact:

Post by mrjones2009 »

Chapter 10

Having already cleared security quickly using their government identifications Christina and Jessica followed the directions of the airport staff and headed toward the section reserved for private jets. The two women entered the private lounge and enquired at the desk after where they could find the jet called The Silent Lady. “Miss Novak’s jet” said the immaculately attired young man behind the desk. “It is out on the apron prepared for take off. Just through the doors at the end of the hall. It is the large black jet on the right. You can’t miss it. I believe that the rest of the passengers are onboard.”

“Thanks for your help” Jessica said and led the way along the corridor. Christina drifted off into her own world as they walked to the jet. After they had left Danielle Snow she had headed to the tailoring department to get measured up for the large dresses that she would wear whilst on duty at headquarters. Christina had to admit that she was glad that the measurements were the same as when she was first recruited as a twenty year old what seemed like a lifetime ago. They went through a set of heavy double doors and onto the apron. It didn’t take long to indentify the jet that they were looking for. The young man behind the desk was correct, you couldn’t miss it. A large, sleek, black private jet stood glistening in the early morning light.

“How the other half lives” Christina commented as they made their way across to the jet. They paused at the bottom of the steps leading to the door where a slight young woman was waiting for them.

“Good morning Agent Howard and Agent Warren” Christina noted that the young woman got the names correct so guessed that she must have seen photographs of the agents in advance. “My name is Holliday Conroy. I am Miss Novak’s Personal Assistant. Please come aboard.” Holliday beckoned them up the short flight of stairs and into the main body of the jet. Christina tried to place the young woman’s accent and guessed at French Canadian. Once they had climbed the short set of stairs and entered the fuselage of the plane they were both struck by the almost opulent decoration inside the main cabin. The door to what they assumed was the cockpit opened and a tall, stylishly dressed woman with shoulder length, straight black hair appeared. Having read the file last night both agents knew that this woman was Milena Novak.

“How are we doing? Looking forward to the trip?” Novak asked both agents.

“Yes ma’am” Jessica replied. Christina just nodded and continued to take in the interior of the plane. What attracted her attention the most were what looked like fold down beds in the main cabin.

“Holliday why don’t you take our guests bags and stow them away whilst I have a chat about the rules of being aboard the Silent Lady,” Novak swept an arm around to indicate the interior of the plane. Holliday nodded with enthusiasm and took the bags that were offered by the agents before scurrying off to the rear of the plane. Just as Holliday passed by it a door opened and out stepped a stern and severe looking woman in her late forties with blond hair tied back in a bun. The appearance of this woman was slightly off putting for Christina and Jessica, especially as she wore the white coat associated with a doctor and had a stethoscope round her neck.

“What rules?” Christina asked, starting to get a bit nervous. Novak sighed.

“I am going to let you into a secret. Ladies unfortunately I do not like air travel and it is something that I have to do frequently for both business and pleasure” Milena Novak explained. “To make things easier I choose to be sedated through most journeys. That is where Doctor Schmidt comes in. She ensures that I am both comfortable and safe when travelling.” Novak indicated the woman in the white coat who showed no indication of being recognised. “As a rule I make all guests join me.”

“Just so I understand this Ms Novak. You mean knocked out?” Christian asked. Novak nodded the affirmative in response.

“I don’t have any issues with flying so I will just take a seat. I don’t know about Agent Howard” Jessica responded looking round to check the expression on Christina’s face.

“I am fine as well. Just keep the drinks coming” Christina said with a smile after nodding at the bar.

“I am afraid that it is non-negotiable ladies. Either you are both sedated for the duration of the flight or you can find another way to Paris. I don’t like people I don’t know running around my plane.” With that Novak crossed her arms and waited for a response. Jessica and Christina looked at each other, both puzzled and worried by this turn of events.

“This wasn’t discussed as part of our briefing” Jessica eventually piped up. Novak’s expression was firm and her posture didn’t change.

“Not my problem ladies. Those are the rules on my plane. Take it or leave it.” Christina and Jessica once again looked at each other. They both knew that this mission was important in restoring the reputation of their agency and didn’t want to jeopardise it that such an early juncture. They both turned to Novak and nodded their respective agreement despite both having serious misgivings. “Excellent!” Novak exclaimed raising her hands almost to the ceiling. “If you go into the bedroom cabin at the rear of the jet you will find silk pyjama’s lying out for you, hopefully I got the sizes correct.” This comment struck a chord with Christina. How on earth could Novak know their sizes unless she had been given information on the Agents in advance? Christina’s sense of unease crept up a level. “They will be tight and padded around the groin area. Don’t worry that is just the inbuilt diaper.”

“Diaper!” Jessica exclaimed.

“Yes. I don’t want any mess to clean up” Novak responded. Christina put a hand on Jessica’s forearm to calm her down ands the two Agents made the short walk to the cabin, closing the door behind them.

--------

The two Agents emerged from the cabin each wearing a pair of silk pyjamas with the inbuilt diaper and headed toward the sleeping pods. Jessica and Christina looked at the two forward pods where Novak and her assistant were currently lying. Novak raised a hand in greeting and called, “just choose any of the available sleep pods.” Christina could see that Holliday was already unconscious, eyes closed and a black mask over her nose and mouth. That answered the question on how they were to be knocked out. Then Doctor Schmidt appeared behind them which caused them both to start. “So who is going first?” Christina just shrugged and lay down in the middle of the nearest pod, resting her head in the centre of the large, soft silk covered pillow. Christina had noted the heavily padded leather straps on and also hanging off the edged of the sleeping pod before she lay down so it was no surprise when Schmidt picked up her left arm and slipped it through a loop. Schmidt then tightened the loop around Christina’s left wrist and fixed the strap in place using a buckle. The good Doctor moved swiftly to undertake the same procedure with Christina’s right arm then swung a strap over Christina, laying it just below Christina’s breasts and then secured it in place, pinning Christina in place. Schmidt then repeated the trick with further straps over Christina’s hips and thighs, finishing with a second set of loops around both ankles. After Schmidt had completed the task Christina, out of habit, gave the straps a test, quickly concluding that she was held steadfastly in place.

“Purely for your own safety during the journey Agent Howard” Christina heard Novak’s voice from behind her. “Should there be turbulence or sudden manoeuvring during the flight.” Christina could see that this made sense but it did nothing to ease her sense of unease at this development. As she turned her head from where Novak voice was coming from and back to Schmidt she noted that the doctor now held a black rubber mask in her hand. Christina then realised that there was no tanks lying around so the system had to be built into the interior of the plane. As the doctor lowered the mask toward her Christina asked.

“How long will it take before I am out?”

“It isn’t a very strong or fast acting sedative in the gas so it will take a couple of minutes, just relax and breathe normally. However once you are unconscious you will be in a deep sleep. To answer your next question it will take fifteen or so minutes for you to start to come round once the mask is removed after this length of exposure.” Christina nodded and Schmidt lowered the mask toward Christina. There was nothing that Christina could do now to avoid the forthcoming nap. As the mask was lowered toward her Christina could hear the hiss of the gas start as Schmidt activated the pump. Schmidt gently placed the mask over Christina’s nose and mouth blocking out the fresh air, now Christina was forced to breathe in the gas. The first thing that hit Christina was the fact that the gas smelt of lavender and camomile, it must have been scented, no doubt a request from Novak to relax the person being sedated. Christina raised her head which allowed Schmidt to secure the mask in place. Christina could feel the pressure around her nose and mouth increase as the rubber mask pressed against her skin as the buckle was tightened. “Don’t want any of the gas leaking.” Schmidt said as she straightened up and admired her handiwork. “Now just relax and breathe normally, the gas will do the rest and when you wake up we will have landed in France.” Christina nodded and did as the Doctor suggested. Next the good doctor produced a thickly quilted, silk covered duvet from a drawer below the sleeping pod, placed it over Christina and secured it in place using clips. Christina could feel it press down lightly onto her body. “Don’t want you getting chilly during the flight.”

Schmidt turned and gestured to Jessica who had been watching on with a combination of interest and increasing dread at what her new partner had just had done to her, that she should make her to the final pod. Jessica had made her way over to the pod and was lying there awaiting her fate after watching what had happened to Christina. Jessica had to admit that she was nervous. Who was to know what fate they would find themselves in when they woke up? But it was too late for that now as she felt the jet begin to taxi from the hanger. “Eight minutes until take off” said a female voice. Must be the pilot Jessica thought. She glanced at Christina again and noted that her partner was losing the fight to keep her eyes open as her eyelids crashed shut.

“We had better hurry” said Schmidt as she suddenly appeared in Jessica’s vision. Jessica just lay still and stared at the ceiling as Schmidt secured her in place with the various heavy, padded leather straps, Once the doctor had finished Jessica tested the security of the straps but found that she couldn’t move. They certainly did the job. Then seemingly out of nowhere a black rubber mask was thrust over her nose and mouth. “Raise your head” Schmidt commanded and Jessica complied. She could feel the gentle breeze of the gas against her lips as Schmidt secured the mask in place. After a short period Jessica started to feel woozy, her head spinning and found it hard to concentrate. She could feel the movements of the plane but is seemed to be happening to someone else. Her eyelids were becoming very heavy and then darkness appeared at the edge of her vision, getting larger, moving toward the centre of her vision and then everything went black.

----------

Once the plane was at cruising altitude Schmidt undid her belt and walked across to the two agents lying on the pods. In turn she raised an eyelid to confirm that they were both deeply under and then released Novak from the straps securing her in place. Of course Novak had no issue with flying she just used it as a ruse to ensure that she could get everyone on the flight unconscious if she had to, which in this case she did. Novak got up and headed for the bar. “Thanks Herr Doctor. Can I interest you in a drink?” Novak asked pouring herself a generous measure of vodka before topping it off with mixer, ice cubes and a slice of lime. Schmidt just shook her head and removed a small metal case and a leather bag from one of the overhead lockers. “Doctor how long will it take to inset the tracking chips on the Agents?” Novak asked as Schmidt opened the case and began to place its contents on a table.

“Only a couple of minutes, I have prepared the administration gun in advance.”

“Will the wounds heal before we land in France?” Novak asked.

“They won’t be an issue. There will be a slight inflammation but that should have almost died down by the time that we have landed.” Novak nodded for Schmidt to carry on. The Doctor opened her bag, removed some wipes and a bottle then set about her work. Novak picked up her glass and made her across to a large seat and got comfortable.
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic