Nothing Personal 5- Spies Like Them Part 2 (F/F)

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Over 5,000 views! Much appreciated. Hope that you are all enjoying the story.
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Post by Caesar73 »

The build up of this story reminds me of a movie in its complexity;

Frequent changes of place and scenery. Like cuts in a movie. We do not know in which way the story will go, but all pieces will fit together like a perfect puzzle.

In the last chapter Alessandra saved Natascha from a much darker fate, her imidiate execution. It remains to be seen, what Alessandras Plans in the end are? Maybe she will help Natascha, after interrogating her? Maybe she has a secret agenda on her own.

In the Spy game only one thing seems sure: That nothing is as it seems :)

Only a few things seem fairly certain at the moment:

Crawford plans to retire,
Natalie and her friends plan to rescue Hayley.
Hayley made the concession to stay on the Island as Crawfords wants her too.

The list of things, we do not know, is much longer, just a few for starters:

What are Crawfords Plans with Hayley?
Which Coup is Crawford planning now?
Where is Fallon Bennett?
Will Crawford let Gayle go?
What role will Natascha play?

I guess, we are in for a ride with lots turns and twists :)
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Post by Caesar73 »

Caesar73 wrote: 3 years ago I guess, we are in for a ride with lots turns and twists :)
And frequent use of chloroform, scarfs and gags and lots of downfilled goodness - I do like Crawfords restraining system :)
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Post by Caesar73 »

So far, we met only two "guests" of Crawfords Hilton Hotel for Damsels in Distress: Hayley and Kristy, and heard about Gayle. Despite all the Pretence there is no doubt, that all "Guests" of Elizabeth Crawford are in fact prisoners. No amount of sugarcoating changes that. There are compensations if you follow the rules. Tennis Court, Spa, a nice view and so on. But the fact remains, that Mystery Island is a Prison. Who are the other "guests" on the Island:

There is the young Journalist, captured together with Hayley and Gabriella. Then the daughter of one of Crawfords associates, then the Wife of a Russian Magnate, and Raquel English, the rogue Agent, who captured Kristy, but was betrayed by her employer - and the latest addition: Crawfords new Lawyer, you remember the Prologue? :) I can imagine that Raquel could be an asset, if Kristy and Hayley will try at some point to plan an outbreak.

But there is a slight problem here: None of the Captives knows the exact location of Mystery Island, with one exception: Kristy. But that knowledge is of no use so far, if you think of the security net and it is a fairly certain assumption that Crawfords Guests are kept seperated. And the first step for a succesful escape would be, to find a way, to establish communication channels, which are not being watched. Which seems highly unlikely without any help from the inside. Constance may be an asset in the future, but all that lies in the future ....

P.s: Regarding the location of the Island, let us speculate: Crawfords Train, after capturing Haley in France, seemed to have made a halt in Austria to take Eloise on Board. What do we know for sure? When Hayley and Gabrielle escaped, they called Natalie from Switzerland. So if I have to guess, the Island lies somewhere near the Italien coast, not to too far from France, somewhere near Genua? Maybe at some point we learn more, from Kristy? And then is that trip to Slowenia, if I remember correctly :)

P.p.s: At some Point in Nothing Personal 4 we learned, that Hayley and Gabriella watched a soap opera in Spanish. That could mean, the Island is situated at the French Coast, near northern Spain? But why should they have travelled then to Switzerland, when they escaped, so my bet is somewhere near the Ligurian Coast.
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Chapter 10

An island in the Mediterranean

The door opened and Elizabeth Crawford entered the room wearing her large black dress to find that Tahani had just finished removing Naomi Van den Burgh from the restraining bags. It didn’t take an expert in body language to tell that the woman was not amused, although Elizabeth was interested to note that Naomi was angry rather than frightened. As far as she was concerned that was a good thing.

“Where am I and who are you?” Naomi asked as she wandered around the room. Tahani looked at Naomi warily like the woman may start something at any point. Elizabeth caught her eye and made a hand gesture that told Tahani to stay calm, after all they were in complete control of the situation.

“Tahani would you be so kind to wait outside so that Miss Van den Burgh and I can have a private discussion.” Tahani looked straight at Elizabeth who nodded to confirm the instruction. Once Tahani had left the room, closing the door behind her Elizabeth looked at the two large, comfortable chairs that she had brought into the room earlier that day. “Please take a seat and I will explain why you are here,” Elizabeth responded and pointed toward the empty chair that sat opposite her. A little reluctantly Naomi walked across and took the proffered seat. The down suit that she was wearing crumpled and There was a silence whilst both women sized each other up. “I need a lawyer.” It was a statement from Elizabeth.

“I should say so,” Naomi responded.

“No let me explain in a more detail,” Elizabeth said smiling, carefully adjusting her flowing dress as she took the seat opposite. “I am currently; now I don’t use this phrase lightly, part of the criminal underworld, but I suspect that you are aware of that already.”

“What makes you sat that?” Naomi asked.

“Well, you seem calm and measured given your current situation, most people would be panicking, running around and shouting.” Naomi leaned back and crossed her arms. “I know that you asked who I was when I first walked in but I would place a sizable wager that if you are not totally sure who I am then you at least have made an educated guess.” Both women sat in silence for what seemed like an extended period of time.

“What did you mean when you said that you needed a lawyer?” Naomi asked breaking the silence.

“Let’s start with a formal introduction. My name is Elizabeth Crawford and you are currently as my secret base of operations.”

“Secret base of operations?” Naomi asked raising an eyebrow. Elizabeth had to admit that the woman was as impressive in real life as the reputation that proceeded her. Despite her situation Naomi was calm and acting as if she was in control. It looked like she had made the correct choice. All that she had to do now was convince the lawyer to represent her. Elizabeth was confident that she could do that. After all there were several options on that score.

“I appreciate that it all sounds a bit Bond villain but I am trying to impress here,” Elizabeth said with an easy smile, trying to make the situation as relaxed as possible.

“You said that you were part of the criminal underworld,” Naomi made that statement sound natural and encourage Elizabeth to continue.

“We can go into full details later on, should you decide to represent me, but to summarise I was an American government agent who decided that there was a better, more enlightened way forward so I switched track. Over the years I have built an organization that undertook some criminal activities, made lots of connections and a fair amount of money. However, I am now looking to broker a deal, or more accurately deals that would allow me to trade information for clemency for previous crimes.”

“You want to go straight?”

“Essentially, in order to expand my legitimate business interests.”

“Why now?”

“Well, I now have sufficient funds to expand my legitimate business interest and…..well to be honest part of the reason that I started this little enterprise all those years ago was the excitement but now…..that has started to wain. I would like the opportunity to travel freely without the fear of being detained in most of the countries that I visit.”

“That is understandable I suppose,” Naomi commented.

“Plus, I have recently come into some information that should tip the scales of any negotiations in my favour,” Elizabeth smiled when she said this and Naomi raised a questioning eyebrow. “Sorry,” Elizabeth said raising a hand, “I can’t go into more detail on that at the present time.”

“You would like me to represent you in these negotiations?”

“Yes, to ensure that the agreements are watertight. I have done my research and your name was mentioned several times as the best. I make it my business to only employ the best. Your fees would not be an issue.”

“Well I suppose that I should be flattered,” Naomi responded. “Could you not have made an appointment like any other prospective clients?”

“Unfortunately, I cannot make an appointment. I am wanted in most European countries so it is hard to travel. Much better if you come here.”

“Better? As in abducted, drugged, bound, gagged and held against my will.”

“If you only put a negative slant on it then I can see where you are coming from.”

“What if I turn this opportunity down?” Naomi asked. A smile played over Elizabeth’s lips.

“I don’t think you want me to answer that question.”

“Well perhaps I do,” Naomi responded. Without saying anything Elizabeth picked up a tablet that was in a pouch on the side of the chair that she was sitting in and began to work on it. After thirty seconds Elizabeth flipped it over so that Naomi could see the screen. A look of shock spread across Naomi’s face; it was the first time that Elizabeth had seen the woman’s façade crack even a little.

“That is you Naomi?” Elizabeth asked as the video played silently. “Would you like me to turn on the sound?” Naomi shook her head slowly from side to side. It certainly was her in the video. “Now I believe that is you taking payment for services rendered in precious gems from another member of the criminal underworld?” Naomi just nodded her head.

“Wh…where did you get this?” Naomi asked. The video was taken years ago when she was just starting to gain some traction in international law. The client was indeed a member of the criminal underworld and a very nasty individual. Naomi had helped him avoid extradition on a legal technicality and the man had been grateful, to the extent of a about half a million dollars in diamonds. It was how Naomi had managed to buy into her firm.

“Now that would be telling. I will leave you alone for a while to consider my proposal. If you decide to come on board then just ask one of the guards to get my colleague Harper, she will make the initial arrangements and to start with get you properly attired.” Elizabeth Crawford got up from the chair and with the tablet tucked under her arm exited the room and left Naomi to her own thoughts. Now Naomi pondered her choices, not that she had much of a choice from what she could work out. In the seas that Naomi swam in and the clients that she represented she had heard of Elizabeth Crawford and her reputation. The woman had a reputation for obtaining information and rare items, transportation and people trafficking. Apparently, her main skill was making people disappear. There were rumours of other things as well and a shiver ran down Naomi’s spine. It looked like there were three options on the table for her at the present time. There was accept the other and represent Elizabeth Crawford in her quest to go legitimate or turn the opportunity down and either disappear forever. The third option being Elizabeth Crawford let’s her go but releases that video and Naomi’s reputation and career is ruined. In addition to that there may be several former clients that are worried about that situation to take extreme action. In the end there was no real choice to make, it was either represent Elizabeth Crawford or…..disappear. Then again perhaps the challenge could be worth it.
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Post by Caesar73 »

The curtain is lifted a little more. Another piece of the puzzle falls into place :)

Naomi is a very interessting character, she is not intimidated by Crawford. Strength an resilience. It is fairly certain, that she will represent Crawford, not wanting to disappear herself. Not that Crawford left her any choice though :)

This Conversation gives the reader a good glimpse of her Character. Elegant, commanding, polite on the surface, and a core of steel beneath and totally in control of the situation. Appeareance, style, elegance, Courtesy, good Manners in general are most important to her, as her last remarks clearly show: Harper will take care that Naomi is properly atttired. You can be sure, the proper attire will not be a downfilled suit.

So Crawford wants to get clean. The information that could change all, she talked about? Without any doubt, she refers to the Material she obtained from the Broker in NP 4. That gives her a certain leverage.

What do Crawford plans mean for her Crew and her "guests". The first is simple. Crawford discussed that point with Kristy in NP 4: They will be paid of or could still work for her. The second is more complicated, especially for Kristy and Halyey. To assume, that Crawford has some special plans for Hayley seems certain. More than a person she just likes having around, for her amusement. Crawford went to considerable lenghts to get Hailyey in her grasp: First the abduction in Paris, then the ruse to get Hayley back to the island. That says a lot.

But for what purpose is still in the fog. And why should Hayley stay, if Crawford ends her criminal career? Sure, she went to a lof ways, to convince the world, that Hayley became part of the dark side of the force on her own free will, but would that be enough? What could Crawford do to "persuade" Hayley to stay - Crawford strikes her deal and retires?

Kristy is a another special case: She has intimate knowledge of Crawfords Operations. Letting her go? I doubt that. Offer her a position in her new legal enterprises maybe. Making her disappear? Still an option. The same Problem applies to Louise Williams: She too knows a lot about Crawfords businesses.

One thing seems certain though: Crawford has a plan, she always has. Interessting was Crawfords comment that she seems somewhat tired of the life she leads at the moment. Maybe she longs for a companion, deep down?


As for Crawfords other guests: Solving that problem is a lot easier. Buy them, offer them compensations, blackmail them. Something like that.

So a lot of questions and ifs and whens. I guess we are still at the beginning of this story, the introductory stages, where all the stones are set, a game of chess, a game of spies :) Impressive [mention]mrjones2009[/mention] - as always :)
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Post by Caesar73 »

One strenght of [mention]mrjones2009[/mention] is his ability to create characters which we readers can relate to, in my opinion, even if we do not sympathize with them, Liz Crawford is a fine example. She is a villain, but a complex character not just bad and evil. And as character she is very credible. I find it very interessting to see the development of a character since its first appearence in this Saga. Crawford was introducted in Volume 2 of Nothing Personal. At this point of the story everything seems to be going her way,, nothing seems to stop her. Personally I hope, it does not stay that way :) But that is, because I have a soft spot for the good guys. In that regard, I´m a hopeless romantic :)
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Chapter 11

South coast of France

Natasha opened her eyes for a third time then quickly closed them again. Her head was throbbing from the chloroform and not being helped by a bank of bright lights that were hovering overhead and shining directly in her face. It would take time for her eyes to adapt in addition to having to recover from the sedative. While Natascha waited for her body to return to normal she considered her situation. She was lying on her back on some sort of padded surface. No, the padding was too thin so probably a table. Her arms were at her sides and her feet about twenty inches apart. She raised her head to confirm that she was still fully clothed except for her shoes and silk scarf that had both been removed. There was something stuffed in her mouth and a broad strip of tape sealed her lips. Some sort of padded cuffs encircled her wrists and ankles. Stout straps stretched across her upper arms and torso, just below her breasts, and across her thighs, pinning her down. Avoiding the glaring lights directly overhead, Natascha opened her eyes a slit and lifted her gagged head. Her restraints were old-style medical restraints, medium-brown leather with off-white, nylon padding. The sort of things that might have been common in a hospital or mental health facility a few decades in the past, but had long since been replaced by more humane canvas or nylon restraints. Taking a risk by turning her head to the left and then the right to see if she could make out anything, however apart from some piles of boxes at the edge of the light cone projected by the lights directly overhead everything else was in darkness. As the minutes ticked by, Natascha's heart hammered and she drew deep breaths through her nostrils. Then her training kicked in and Natascha began systematically examining her restraints, as she had been taught in counter interrogation class. She twisted her wrists and tugged on the padded cuffs. Extracting her hands would be impossible, even at the expense of damaging her skin. As for the rest of the restraints, struggling was pointless. There was no way she was going to wiggle out from under the horizontal straps or somehow slither and slide her way off the table. “UUAARRGGHH!” Natascha moaned in frustration at her current situation and threw her head back and knocked it on the table, she had forgotten that there was no pillow to cushion the blow. That would never have been the case with Elizabeth Crawford who did want all of her captives to be comfortable. That was obviously not a concern for Chernov and company. Natascha decided to try and relax and then suddenly, Natascha realised she wasn't alone. Someone was standing in the shadows at the head of the table. She lifted her head and looked back over her left shoulder, as best she could. Whoever was there, they were female, tall and had long hair. It was obviously Alessandra and that was confirmed when the figure stepped forward into the cone of light. The two women fixed eyes for a moment before Alessandra got down on one knee. Natascha was slightly unnerved by that as it took the woman out of her field of vision.

“Stupid bitch I can’t believe that you were careless enough to get caught snooping around,” Alessandra hissed into Natascha’s ear. On hearing this Natascha’s eyebrows shot up in shock. “This has really put me into a difficult position. I was tempted to let them dispose of you.” Natascha mind was boggling at what Alessandra was saying and what it meant. “I am going to take that gag off but no complaints when it has to go back on.” Natascha nodded her head to confirm that she agreed. Alessandra picked at a corner of the tape before she had enough to take a firm grip and carefully peeled it off before leaning in and removing a balled-up handkerchief from Natascha’s mouth.

“Thanks for taking off the gag,” Natascha said.

“The relief will be short term. I can assure you,” Alessandra replied already ripping another piece from a roll of white micro foam tape. Natascha heard

“Who are you and what are you doing?” Natascha asked.

“Unfortunately, I can’t tell you that at the moment. I can’t take the risk that Chernov decides to have someone else interrogate you agent Natascha Taylor of British intelligence and you end up spilling something that I tell you.” Now Natascha was shocked and she knew that she couldn’t hide the fact.

“How do you know…….” Natascha paused as she realised that she had made the rookie mistake of admitting who she was.

“Well you are kind of famous in our world Natascha,” Alessandra replied. “Plus, unlike you I take pride in my preparation.”

“What do you mean?” Natascha asked. However, before the women could continue their conversation the sound of a door opening and then footsteps on stairs interrupted. Alessandra quickly shoved the handkerchief back into Natascha’s mouth before plastering the fresh piece of tape over Natascha’s mouth to prevent it being spat out.

“I see our little snoop is awake.” Sergei Chernov stepped into the pool of light at the end of the table that Natascha was strapped to with the large silhouette of Ivan just behind and Austin Schwarz hovering to the left. “I don’t suppose she is talking yet? Telling us who she is?”

“I removed the gag for a bit but she is persisting that she just got lost and wandered into the warehouse and being at the restaurant was just a coincidence,” Alessandra replied.

“Is there any point in keeping her around?” Austin asked.

“Sorry, I didn’t see you there Austin,” Alessandra said, not making the effort to disguise the distain in her voice.

“He might be right babe. There are certain risks involved. Even if she wasn’t up to anything, which I seriously doubt, now she can report us for false imprisonment or something,” Chernov stated.

“I have the ways of making women talk.” Alessandra said turning the heat up a little in her voice whilst running a finger along Chernov’s jaw, down his neck and onto his chest. “I can even set up a camera so you can watch….and she is an attractive woman.” Alessandra moved across to the table and ran a finger up the inside of Natascha’s thigh. A broad grin broke out across Chernov’s face.

“I can see the benefit of finding out what this woman was doing following us around. We will take her along with us to the yacht when we leave in a couple of hours. I suggest that you give her more of that sleeping medicine to keep her placid.” The decision now been made Chernov turned and headed away and headed up the stairs closely followed by the seemingly ever-present Ivan.

“Well you heard the man,” Alessandra said to Natascha once Chernov had left. “The young lady needs another soothing dose of chloroform.” Despite being heavily strapped down Natascha started to fight in a vain attempted to avoid what was coming. “Breathe this in gently babe….” Alessandra said putting on a Russian accent, clearly mocking Chernov. Then Alessandra applied the chloroformed soaked handkerchief back over Natascha’s nose. Natascha’s eyes widened in panic and she turned her head one way then the other as the sleeping agent was applied. Although Natascha did note that the handkerchief wasn’t applied with a much force on this occasion, probable because there was no need as bound as she was Natascha had no way of resisting. The familiar fumes hit Natascha immediately and she struggled, trying not to breathe, but finally, she had to inhale. Natascha continued to squirm against the heavy straps, but her efforts slowly subsided and she succumbed quite quickly to the chloroform and slipped into darkness.
----------
The light started to appear at the corners of Natascha’s vision. That along with the sensation of motion told her that she was slowly starting to regain consciousness. After taking a bit of time to get her thoughts together Natascha raised her head and looked around and found that she was sitting in the back seat of a large four-wheel drive vehicle wedged in between Luba and Ivan, Austin sat in the front passenger seat and a man that Natascha didn’t recognise was driving. “I see Sleeping Beauty is awake,” Austin commented from the front seat. Natascha was going to reply but realised that her mouth remained packed and the tape remained pressed over her lips, although on the plus side she was not bound in any way. “Don’t worry; the windows are tinted so nobody can see in.” Natascha couldn’t see Austin’s face but was sure there was a massive grin on it. Looking through the front windscreen Natascha noted that they were following another large, black four-wheel drive vehicle. The remainder of the journey was short and taken in silence before the short convoy made a turn through a gate and into a marina. The vehicles made several turns through the marina before stopping next to a very large yacht. All of the doors opened on both vehicles, apart the drivers and everyone exited the vehicles, Natascha basically dragged by Ivan. The group from the other vehicle, Chernov, Alessandra and Victor walked up the gangway to the deck of the yacht. Natascha felt a heavy prod in her back and decided that was her cue to board the yacht. At the top of the gangway everyone congregated and a young man in a sailor outfit pulled the gangway up onto the yacht as the crew prepared to disembark from port. “Take her to my private cabin,” Alessandra instructed Ivan and Luba handed the latter a key. “I shall along shortly to set up the camera and prepare the interrogation.” Luba glanced at Chernov who nodded his agreement. The two siblings each took an arm and led Natascha through a hatch and along a corridor without any conversation. They pulled Natascha to a stop outside a door which Luba opened and shoved her through. Natascha stumbled into the room and took a couple of steps before hearing the door slam shut and lock behind her. Alone, conscious and unbound the first thing that Natascha did was carefully peel the tape from over her mouth and remove the sodden handkerchief from her mouth.

“What the hell is going on here?” Natascha said softly as she balled up the handkerchief and tape before depositing it in a waste basket that was sitting next to a dresser table. There was a stool at the dresser and Natascha pulled it out to sit down to assess the situation and it didn’t take long to come to the conclusion that it wasn’t great for her. It seemed like her immediate fortunes were in the hands of the stunning and mysterious Italian, Alessandra. The cabin was well proportioned with a double bed sitting at the centre covered in what were no doubt luxurious and expensive silk bedding, pillows and cushions. Suddenly the floor lurched and Natascha guessed that was the yacht leaving the dock and heading for open water, now that seriously narrowed her option for any kind of escape. Getting up from the stool she noticed a small fridge in the corner and suddenly realised how thirsty she was and decided to take one of the bottles of water and drank it in two gulps. It was then that the door opened and Natascha spun round to see Alessandra stride through the door. “How did you know who I am?” Natascha asked but the response was a finger pressed to her lips.

“Let’s keep it to a whisper,” Alessandra said getting very close to Natascha and speaking directly into her ear. “You never know who is listening.” Natascha nodded that she understood.

“At least tell me why you seem to be helping me?” Natascha asked. Alessandra turned and looked off as if staring at something that only she could see for a couple of seconds.

“Let’s just say it’s penance for past actions and leave it at that,” Alessandra replied. “I have something personal going on here and you have stumbled into the middle of it.”

“I haven’t stumbled anywhere,” Natascha hissed back, not liking the tone. “I am investigating your boyfriend Chernov’s potential involvement in illegal activity and from what I have seen so far he is involved up to his neck.”

“He is not my boyfriend,” Alessandra said fire in her eyes before turning round and taking a couple of steps away, her back now to Natascha. There was an awkward silence as both women contemplated who would make the next move. Natascha decided to take a couple of steps forward as Alessandra seemed to be adjusting something with her bra. “Sorry about this but I don’t think that you are going to like what happened next but no need to worry the chloroform will remove any objections.” On hearing this Natascha stopped and with perfect timing Alessandra spun round and slapped a soft, thick cloth over the lower half of Natascha’s face. Although Alessandra had mentioned chloroform the shock of the attack and initial jolt of the fumes from the cloth made Natascha rock back on her heels which was exactly what Alessandra wanted as she used that momentum to force Natascha onto the bed and onto her back, giving Alessandra a huge advantage on leverage. Natascha made muffled noises of mingled dismay and disbelief as Alessandra moved to straddle her, pinning Natascha’s arms above her head with one hand while keeping the chloroform saturated cloth over Natascha’s face with the other. Natascha tried without success to get the drenched cloth away from her face before the sweetness soaking it managed to work its will on her. Natascha knew all too well what would happen if her efforts failed, and it was already starting: the fuzziness forming around the edges of her sight and the buzzing in her ears, it frightened Natascha how well she knew the process now. Her mental processes were slowing to a halt as her muscles turned to jelly, her lungs automatically drawing more and more of the tainted air and accelerating her downward spiral. Natascha slumped into the bed knowing the end was near. Then her eyes slammed shut and she lay there silent and still, even as Alessandra continued to administer the drug. Alessandra had to ensure that Natascha was out for some time to allow her to prepare for what happened next.

The light appeared at the corner of Natascha’s eyes as she struggled to open then. It was as if someone was playing drums at the back of her head. “That will be the cumulative effects of all of the doses of chloroform kicking in,” Natascha heard Alessandra said from somewhere over to her right. Cautiously Natascha moved her head in that directly as looked on as "Alessandra was finishing setting up a video camera. Tearing her concentration away from her captor Natascha discovered that noted only was she now completely naked, she happened to be bound spread eagled on top of the silk bedding. There was a padded cuff around each of her wrists and ankles and each was secured to the corner of the bed with strong black rope.

“I don’t suppose you want to explain what is going on here?” Natascha slurred, willing her brain to get back into a fully functional state.

“It is time to have that discussion that we talked about earlier,” Alessandra replied. “There is going to be an audience so we had better make it look good.” Noting that all Alessandra was wearing was a silk gown that was not tied tight enough to cover her ample bosom and the sexy, skimpy, white bra that she was wearing. “This is going to be a pleasure and pain kind of event Natascha but trust me and we might both get out of this alive.” Without further explanation Alessandra turned and faced the camera and struck a pose before leaning over and turning it on. A red light appeared on the top of the camera and Alessandra waved. “Hello babe and welcome to tonight’s show. I am sure that you are going to enjoy it.” That line delivered Alessandra slipped off the gown and posed with hands on her hips for a couple of seconds before turning round. That was when Natascha noted that Alessandra was wearing a strap on dildo.

“Erm…..I don’t think you want to do this,” Natascha said suddenly fully alert and straining for some slack in her bonds.

“Last chance before the gag goes on Little Snoop,” Alessandra said mounting the bed. “Tell us who you are and what you were doing at the warehouse?”

“I told your creepy boss that I just got lost….I was…What are you going to do with that?” Natasha asked as Alessandra pulled a cloth and her own silk scarf from the pocket of her silk gown. Alessandra responded by stuffing the cloth deep into Natascha’s mouth, the force pushing her head deep into the luxurious pillow. The cloth was followed by a silk scarf folded into a band and tightly tied over Natascha’s mouth to prevent the cloth from being expelled. Alessandra got back off the bed and slipped off the silk gown.

“Now, time to have some fun,” Alessandra stated. Natasha doubted that it was going to be fun and for what seemed like hours it was a real mix of well, not pain but discomfort and pleasure. Natascha had to hand it to Alessandra the woman knew her way round the female body and all Natascha could do was lie back and moan deeply into the cloth in her mouth. Eventually Alessandra relented with her assault and peeled down the scarf over Natasha’s mouth to let in hang loosely around her neck and picked the cloth from Natascha’s mouth. Alessandra got off the bed and retrieved a bottle of water from the fridge. “So, are you ready to talk now?” Alessandra asked. Natascha continued to take deep breaths both trying to regain her composure and play for time. “I can do this all day. Can you?”

“Look lady I don’t know what to tell you, you pair of freaks. I was on holiday and took a wrong turn….” Natascha replied with some venom. “Then ended up being abducted by you…you…you …I don’t know who or what you are. If you could just let me go then…..”

“Look,” Alessandra interrupted. “It has gone beyond letting you go. If you are a sweet innocent little girl like you claim then you will go to the police and we cannot allow that. Now if you were to have something to trade then perhaps, we could come to an agreement.” Natascha knew that the woman was now out of sight of the camera’s lens and Alessandra was looking at Natascha with an encouraging smile whilst slowly slipping from the bottle of water.

“I hate to labour a point but I am really scared here so just tell me what you want me say….”

“We need the truth. Your real name and who you work for? Is it a government or did one of Mister Chernov’s business adversaries employ you to look around?”

“I don’t know………” Alessandra held her hand up and walked back toward the bed whilst grabbing a cloth from the dresser.

“I told them that I could get you to talk and I have to deliver so….” Now straddling Natascha with a knee on either side of her ribcage Alessandra stuffed the cloth into Natascha’s mouth and then leaned over and picked up one of the large, fluffy pillows that were scattered across the bed. “I had hoped to avoid doing this,” Alessandra said as she tightened her grip on the far edges of the pillow.

“MMMUUURRRPPHH,” Natascha screamed into the cloth as the pillow was lowered toward her face. Natascha started to thrash and buck to try and throw Alessandra off but the restrains prevented her from getting to much leverage. Panic set in and Natascha started to take short, sharp intakes on breath but there was nothing to fill her lungs. Just as Natascha thought that she was in real trouble the pillow was removed and Natascha found that she was looking directly into Alessandra’s eyes and was sure that the woman was trying to communicate something silently. Alessandra then leaned in and removed the cloth that has been stuffed in Natascha’s mouth.

“Are you ready to talk yet?!” Alessandra shouted. Natascha shook her head and the cloth was stuffed back in place and the pillow reapplied. Once again it was a struggle for breath and the natural reaction to fight and resist only made that worse until the pillow was removed again. This time Alessandra didn’t bother to remove the cloth in Natascha’s mouth before reapplying the pillow. When the pillow was removed for the third time and Natascha took rapid, deep breaths through her nose, her chest rising up and down. Alessandra put the pillow down at the side of the bed and leaned down and plucked the cloth from Natascha’s mouth which she was thankful for as it allowed her to inhale through her mouth. “Now, this is your last chance to tell me who you work for and what you were doing following is?”

“Sorry……..but………..I have no idea what you are talking about you crazy bitch.” Natascha replied genuinely fearful if what was going to happen next. Natascha had put her trust in this woman and it seems like it was a serious misjudgement and it could be her last.

“Look just tell me and we can stop this unpleasantness,” Alessandra looked deep into Natascha’s eyes and then flicked them to the right. Natascha followed them and landed on the pillow. Where Alessandra had put the pillow, it was hidden from view from the camera by Alessandra’s body and she was currently pouring something from a small glass vial that she had slipped from her panties onto the pillow. “Once the cloth goes in this time it doesn’t come back out.”

“I was on holiday……I don’t know what else you MMMPPPHH,” Natascha was cut off as Alessandra stuffed the cloth back into Natascha’s mouth.

“This is your own fault,” Alessandra said as she once again grabbed the pillow and lowered it toward Natascha’s face. “If you told us the truth we could have come to an understanding.” Alessandra thrust the pillow back over Natascha’s face blocking out all fresh air. Under the soft, smothering thickness of the pillow Natascha instantly recognised the scent of chloroform coming from the pillow. It seemed that Alessandra did have a plan after all so this time Natascha took rapid breaths to inhale the fumes and this time welcomed the darkness when it arrived.
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Post by Caesar73 »

Pretty intense chapter, especially the "interrogation" of Natascha :) So the mysterious Alessandra is indeed an Ally of sorts, but with an agenda on her own. She knows who Natascha is. Her answer why she is doing what she is doing is interessting: Alessandra obviously wants to atone for misdeeds of the past. Which leads us to the question of her true identity. If I see her interrogation technique, the gagging materials, the use of chloroform, she reminds me of Elizabeth Crawford ... or someone familiar with her methods. If I had to hazard a guess, I would be so bold, going out on a limb here: Maybe Alessandra is the elusive, mysterious Fallon Bennett? That would explain some things: And obiously Alessandra is a member of the community of the spies and secret agents, because she knows about Nataschas real identity. So this conclusion seems at least plausible, [mention]mrjones2009[/mention] :)
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Post by Caesar73 »

The architecture of this Story reminds me of a movie. Frequent cuts, lots of different locations. It is always interessting to guess, where the next chapter plays. Will the next chapter tell what happens, when Natascha wakes up after her chloroform induced napp? Or will the journey take us to a totally different place? There are some characters which played a role in Nothing Personal 4 did not make their entrance to far. The female Inspector from Interpol, which had the dubious pleasure of being Elizabeth Crawfords Guest for a spell :) for example. And then there is Christina of course. One Character I really would like to see again at some point is Gabrielle, Hayleys Room Mate on Mystery Island. So far, the rescue mission for Hayley is not really under way ... :)
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Chapter 12

An island in the Mediterranean

The door opened and Elizabeth Crawford spun round in the large leather chair behind the desk to find Louise and Harper entering the room. She had been lost in thought gazing at the view from the large bay window before the knock at the door. As always Harper resisted the usual rules and wasn’t wearing a large dress but Louise had decided to take up the practice since her return to the organisation. The seamstress had produced a pair of stunning dresses in light blue and green for Louise, it was the light blue options that Louise had chosen for this evening’s meeting. Elizabeth Crawford nodded to the three chairs arranged in a loose semi-circle sitting on the opposite side of the desk. Louise carefully lowered herself into the chair on the left-hand side as Elizabeth looked whilst Harper, in standard grey pant suit and black blouse, took the chair in the centre. “Ladies, thanks for coming along this evening. I just wanted the chance to run through things and get your thoughts on where we are with the current long-term operation.” There was a moment of silence from the other side of the desk before Harper stepped in.

“Well, from what I can tell everything seems to be going well. As far as I am aware nobody outside this room has managed to put everything we have been doing together and make any moves to prevent it. There have been some issues and what could be described as setbacks, obviously with Rousseau, Novak, Dubois, Linda, Schmidt and Martinez all currently in the hands of the Section there is a chance that they may divulge something, even a small morsel of information that may prove critical at this point in the process.” Elizabeth Crawford raised a hand to stop Harper at this point.

“Louise, have you been brought up to speed?” Louise nodded an affirmative. “Sorry, carry on Harper.”

“There was the issue when the reporter discovered that we had pulled a switch with Emily St Clare but that was mostly bad luck…”

“Mostly bad luck?” Louise asked.

“Yes, the reporter Elise Rodgers was sent to cover an event that our Emily St Clare attended and they literally bumped into each other. Emily St Clare had almost been a recluse since her retirement from the modelling game but it turns out the Elise Rodger’s mother was the photographer at St Clare’s last shoot and took her daughter along,” Harper shrugged and continued. “The reporter got curious and decided to investigate….it didn’t help Kirsty ran her mouth off at an unsecure location.”

“Alright Harper, this is not the time to discuss the Kirsty situation as we have that managed at the moment.” The tone of Elizabeth Crawford’s voice confirmed that the topic was closed.

“Anyway, we managed to neutralize the reporter before it was an issue and she is now enjoying the delights of a stay on the island,” Harper concluded and sat back in the chair.

“How can we control everyone else that the other side have?” Louise asked as she flattened and rearranged the skirt of her dress.

“I am not worried about Rousseau, she has no credibility, nor Dubois or Martinez, they don’t know enough about the organisation in general of about this operation specifically to cause any issues. Linda and Elsa are both granite so they are solid,” Elizabeth smiled when she said that, “but Novak could have been a problem, if she talks. More of what she might tell them in general terms rather than specifics. We have managed to compartmentalize this operation well enough.”

“That is why you snatched her niece?” Louise asked although she already knew the answer. As always Elizabeth Crawford seemed to be two steps ahead. Elizabeth just smiled at the question. “There are others out in the world that could cause a problem.” Louise commented. Harper gave her a look but having not been with the organization as long as Louise had and wasn’t fully aware of its history.

“Well they haven’t seen the need to get involved so far so let’s not complicate things any more than they are already but trying to figure in total unknowns.”

“How did your talk with the lawyer go?” Louise asked slightly changing the topic of conversation.

“I hope to have some positive news on that front very soon,” Elizabeth responded. There was a moment of silence before there was a knocked at the door. A second later Perrie opened the it and in walked Naomi Van Den Burgh. Naomi was no longer wearing her down suit but the clothes that she been wearing when snatched from her office, freshly laundered of course. “Naomi. Please come in at sit down. We were just talking about you as it happens.” A concerned look crossed the lawyers face. “Nothing to worry about. I was just telling the ladies that I was confident that you would take on our case.”

“I have thought about it and I can confirm that I have agreed to take on your case. I am intrigued at taking you on as client and delivering what you want.” Naomi replied after taking the vacant chair on the right-hand side of the desks.

“Glad to hear it. To complete the formalities Naomi Van Den Burgh please meet Harper and Louise. These two women are effectively my lieutenants and help with the day to day operational requirements of my organisation.” Naomi looked at the two women in turn, Louise offered a warm smile but Harper was stony faced.

“I assume that you confirmed receipt of your fee?” Elizabeth asked getting down to business.

“Yes, Tahani did let me check with my firm and interestingly they asked how I was enjoying my holiday,” Naomi commented. “Apparently the photographs look great on social media.”

“We had to come up with something to explain your absence and a last-minute holiday seemed the logical way to go,” Harper jumped in. “Our tech department is very good at what it does.”

“What if I had turned Elizabeth down?” Naomi asked.

“Well, accidents happen,” Harper said staring straight into Naomi eyes.

“Anyway,” Elizabeth said, trying to lighten the mood. “The tech team will supply you with a mobile and laptop with impenetrable security before you leave.”

“Will it also contain software that allows you to monitor my communications?”

“Of course,” Elizabeth said getting up and heading toward the drinks’ cabinet. “Can I get everyone a drink to celebrate our new partnership?” All three of the women nodded and Elizbeth prepared four drinks, she knew each woman’s preference and handed then out before raising a toast. There was a couple of minutes of almost silence as they all enjoyed their drinks as the sun coming through the large bay window. Naomi had to admit that the setting was stunning and under different circumstance she would be more relaxed and enjoying it but something told her that she couldn’t trust Elizabeth Crawford fully just yet. “Sorry to break the mood but I fell that we should get down to business. Now, is there anything that you would rather we did not discuss with you in the room?” Elizabeth asked. Naomi shook her head in response.

“As your lawyer it is best that I know everything. Especially with this type of negotiation. I cannot afford to be tripped up.”

“Everything?” Elizabeth queried, raising an eyebrow. “From the start?”

“In broad strokes. I don’t need the exact details about what you had for breakfast or every small crime that you may or may not have committed but…”

“What generally has gone on?” Elizabeth asked. Naomi nodded “We had better get a another drink and get comfortable then.”

“Let me get this round,” Louise said getting up with a swish of fabric and collecting the four glasses.

“I started out with the American Intelligence community and worked happily in that environment for a number of years. I started off with the Central Intelligence Agency and then my particular set of skills were noted and I was headhunted for recruitment into another arm of the Intelligence known as the Section.” Elizabeth paused, trying to find the correct word or phrase. “Well, until I was made a better offer.”

“A better offer?” Naomi asked.

“A story for the end of the evening rather than now,” Elizabeth responded taking the glass that Louise offered. “The Section was a black operations unit set up specifically as an intelligence gathering unit, specializing in industrial espionage, undercover operations and international criminal networks. Occasionally the Section would be called upon to make people disappear.”

“Disappear?” Naomi asked with a worried look on her face.

“Don’t worry, not in a Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci in a Martin Scorsese movie kind of way.” Elizabeth could see the tension leave Naomi’s body. “In the same way that you have disappeared for a week. It was all very civilized.” That was one way to describe it Naomi thought before switching her professional head back on. “Everything that you need will be loaded onto the laptop that we will supply you with before you leave. It will allow you to read it at your own leisure.”

“Thank you,” Naomi replied. “And if I have any questions……….”

“Just set up an appointment and we can either meet or have a conference call.” Naomi nodded.

“Now what about this current operation that you are running?” Elizabeth Crawford nodded at Harper to take up the story.

“When the boss first raised the possibility of going straight, we knew that it was going to take a lot of planning, hard work and some luck. So, we sat down and devised a strategy about how to go about it and we realized that what we need was leverage.”

“Leverage?”

“An object, or in this situation, information that can be used to exert a force over an individual,” Harper said flatly.

“Yes, to explain we had to have leverage on certain people to make this happen,” Louise interjected.

“Anyway,” Elizabeth Crawford decided to jump back in. “There were a lot of stories and rumours going around in some circles that there was a cache of information held somewhere that would contain a lot of things that could be used as leverage against a lot of influencial, powerful people. People that could make it easier to get an agreement for clemency.”

“As an example; it could be a certain official having an affair, or a top executive taking money from a criminal organization. I could go on but I am sure that you get the idea.” Elizabeth Crawford gave Naomi a pointed look and Naomi now knew where this woman had found out about her past transgression. “So, after a bit of digging around we confirmed that the Broker and Marcus St Clare had indeed collected a large amount of information that would help us so we went about getting it.”

“You will have heard of the Broker?” Harper asked Naomi between sips of her drink, bourbon and coke with two cubes of ice. The solicitor nodded her head. There wasn’t anyone that moved in their circles that would not be aware of the Broker, at least by reputation.

“I assume that obtaining this information wasn’t easy?” Naomi asked.

“No, indeed it was not. To kick things off we made contact with Milena Novak,” Elizabeth Crawford said.

“Milena Novak of Almost Famous Fashions?” Naomi asked.

“The very same. Let’s just say that some of her income isn’t from totally legitimate means. Anyway, there were two reasons for getting close. Firstly, it gave us another way into a legitimate business allowing us to diversify and expand that side of the operation and secondly it gave us a way to make contact with Emily St Clare.”

“Emily St Clare, the former model?”

“Yes, it turns that she is Marcus St Clare’s widow and is now a silent partner in the Broker’s extortion business,” Harper took up the story. “Now, whatever rumours you have heard about St Clare are true, he was a nasty and vindictive piece of work. Heaven knows how he managed to attract and keep a woman like Emily St Clare. However, I digress. Marcus was not the nicest person but he had the knack of getting people to divulge their worst secrets or submit to their innermost desires and when he teamed up with the Broker it gave them both a partner to work with to build their dossier of sin.”

“Which they did with relish,” Elizabeth chipped in.

“Now it took some time but we managed to confirm where this was kept. It was in a private Swiss bank in Bern. Now, that was the easy part. The vault where the dossier was kept could only be accessed by either the bank’s staff or customers and was protected a biometric security system.”

“So, did you use leverage to get access?” Naomi asked with a smirk whilst at the same time scribbling notes on a pad that she had taken from the desk.

“Not in the way that you probably think. No, we had to abduct Emily St Clare and brainwash her.” A look of surprised spread across Naomi’s face and the other three women smiled. “Don’t worry, we took very good care of her and there are no lasting effects from the treatment. My colleague Elsa Schmidt assures me and she is an expert in such things.”

“We grabbed during a visit to her health spa and brought her here for treatment.”

“Then in a week she walked into the bank’s vault and handed over the dossier,” Elizabeth Crawford said as if it was as easy as picking up the Sunday papers from the corner shop.

“What about personal appearances?” Naomi asked.

“We replaced her with a double,” Elizabeth said, clearly relishing the whole explaining the evil plan bit of the evening.

“My God!” Naomi exclaimed. “This is all getting a bit Bond villain. Remote, exotic lair, beautiful women, doppelgangers…….”

“I know, interesting. Isn’t it?” Elizabeth interrupted. “That reminds me. How is Keira getting along?”

“Fidgety would be the best description. I think that it will soon be time to make a decision,” Louise said before Harper could get in.

“Do you mind if I ask who Keira is?” Naomi asked.

“Our doppelganger,” Elizabeth replied.

“And you still have her on the island?”

“Yes, in the interests of operational security. However, unlike the guests she is free to roam and is never subject to bondage.”

“Out of interest. Who are the other guests?

“Shonali Shelpa Khan, the Bollywood star, Elise Rodgers, the reporter, Lara Sanchez, that is Novak’s niece and Raquel English who is an independent operator hired by….well no need to go into that story at the moment.”

“Gayle Hutton as well boss,” Louise added.

“Yes, I had almost forgotten about her. Remind me tomorrow and we can make the arrangements to get her off the island.” Louise and Harper exchanged what could have been termed a worried glance.

“Plus, Hayley and Kirsty,” Harper chipped in.

“They are completely different,” Elizabeth said with a hint of irritation.

“How would you plan to make a start on this?” Louise asked trying to change the subject.

“I suppose it would be to contact the relevant authorities in the jurisdictions that you are wanted and take their temperature about agreeing to some kind of deal that would include clemency.”

“Do you think that the U.S would agree?” Elizabeth asked “I have a lot of history with certain individuals and government bodies….”

“I had better start there then,” Naomi answered placing the pen between her teeth and slipping into deep thought. The three other women waited for Naomi to continue but she was obviously lost in her own head at the present time. No doubt thinking through the strategy on how to make Elizabeth Crawford’s plan possible.

“Our source confirms that Christina Howard seems to have disappeared from official duties.” Harper continued.

“I thought that Jaclyn may try something off the books. We just need a strategy to neutralise Christina.”

“Track her down and take her off the board?”

“No, something a bit more interesting might come along….”

“There is one major stumbling block,” Harper began. “In the US the heads of all federal law enforcement agencies have the right to object to these kind of deals….”

“And Jaclyn Sanders will never sign off on it,” Elizabeth Crawford said.

“And Jaclyn Sanders will never sign off on any deal for you,” Harper echoed.

“Well, in that case we will just have to do something to remove Jaclyn Sanders from the decision-making process.”

“Leverage?” Naomi questioned hesitantly.

“Unfortunately, she is the one person that we do not have any dirt on, and trust me I have tried to find it,” Elizabeth said with a sense of frustration as she slumped against the back of her large chair. “Jaclyn is the proverbial Boy Scout, clean as a whistle….”

“What about the other option?” Louise asked. Elizabeth knew exactly what Louise meant but she was trying to be coy in front of the lawyer.

“Another dead end I am afraid. No surviving family members and nobody close enough to use. We have burnt bridges with Hayley with our efforts to discredit her.”

“Where does that leave us?” Louise asked.

“In having to make some moves to take the Queen off the chessboard in addition to some of her Knights,” Elizabeth Crawford said somewhat cryptically. Naomi looked quizzically between the two women knowing that there was subtext but it going over her head completely.

“What about Miss Khan? Where does she fit in?” Naomi asked checking her notes.

“Well I was coming to that? It is a bit of a long story so I will pour another round of drinks first.”

Off the South Coast of France

The door to the cabin opened just as Alessandra finished wrapping Natascha’s body in the duvet. After turning off the camera Alessandra had quickly untied and redressed Natascha before pouring a lot of chloroform on the duvet as she couldn’t afford Natascha coming round any time soon and hoped that the fumes from the duvet would help to keep her in sleepy land. “Seems a shame to throw out a good duvet with the rubbish,” Chernov commented.

“I would have to change it anyway so best to dispose of it now.”

“Dump her body into the sea,” Chernov said to Ivan.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea.” Chernov raised an eyebrow at Alessandra’s suggestion. “I would put her body in one of the dinghies and let it be found. If she is reported as missing, the authorities might search for her. The tide will take the dinghy miles away from our course anyway.”

“That sounds sensible. You certainly are more than a pretty face,” Chernov ran a hand from her cheek to her chin, “Put her in one of the dinghies and make sure there is nothing that could identify it as coming from the yacht. Ivan nodded before hoisting the duvet and Natascha onto his shoulder like it was nothing and slowly carried her out of the cabin.

“Wait till I come along and check before you let the dinghy loose,” Alessandra shouted at the big Russian. “Can I get some time to tidy up and collect my thoughts?”

“Of course, babe,” Chernov responded and exited the cabin. After the door had been locked Alessandra quickly dressed, putting on a heavy coat from her wardrobe and grabbing a satellite phone and a bottle of water which she deposited in the inside pocket of the coat. Holding the coat closed around her body Alessandra made her way to the rear of the yacht were Ivan had already deposited the duvet containing Natascha in a bright yellow dinghy. Alessandra leaned down and managed to slip the satellite phone and water into the folds of the duvet.

“Goodbye Little Miss Snoop,” Alessandra said and nodded to Ivan who with one heave lifted the dingy and slid it off the deck and into the darkness. Alessandra couldn’t see the dinghy once it left the deck but heard the splash as in entered the water and hoped the Natascha would be alright. She had done as much as she could and the woman was no longer her problem.
----------
Off the South Coast of France

The rocking motion of the dingy did not help how Natascha was feeling at the moment, although she was alive so that was a positive. It had taken a while so her to work out why her head was thumping, the duvet that she had been wrapped in was drenched with chloroform and she had been constantly breathing in the fumes for who knew how long. Thankfully after sitting feeling sorry for herself about the situation she was in for around half an hour Natascha had found the bottle of water and satellite phone that she assumed Alessandra had stashed in the folds of the duvet. Natascha silently thanked the Italian and left it until later to try and figure out what the woman was doing and how it may impact her investigation. Now to make a call that she didn’t really want to make. Picking up the satellite phone Natascha checked for reception and punched in the number from memory. “Monique? It’s Natascha Taylor.”

“How are you doing?”

“Not too well to tell you the truth. Actually, that is what I am calling about. I need a big favour. I need to be picked up.”

“Sure, I am sure that I can arrange that. Where are you?”

“Well, that is the thing, I am not sure exactly, somewhere in the Mediterranean….I think.”

“Sounds like you have had an interesting night. I can’t wait to hear about it. We can track the signal from your satellite phone and find you that way.”

“That would be great. Much appreciated,” Natascha replied finally relaxing for the first time in what seemed a couple of days.

“When we have tracked you down and made the arrangements. I will call you back with an estimate of when I can get someone out to you.” Then the line went dead and Natascha set the phone down beside her and picked up the bottle of water. All she could do now was wait.
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Post by Caesar73 »

Among the first 12 Chapters the last one has a special significance. Why is that? The Curtain is lifed some more and the Game Board revealed. We learn, what Crawfords Goals are and what steps she deems necessary to reach her goals. If you read the conversation between the four Ladys you really doubt, that the opposite Team will be able to do anything about it. Everything is well planed and organized. And considering the vast ressources there is little doubt that Crawford will prevail in the end. Everything seems to be going as planned.

If there is any problem at this stage of operations it is Crawford herself, or to be more precise her feelings for Kristy and Hayley. Crawfords reactions, when Kirsty is first mentioned by Harper and later Hayley and Kirsty Crawford shows some irrititation. She regards Kristy and Hayley not as her normal "guests" but as "totally different. Obviously Harper and Louise are not happy with Crawfords decision to let Gayle go: They share a concerned look, as we are told. Why is that? Clearly they think, that Hayley and Kirsty may distract Elizabeth and endanger her plans. Her Lieutenants know, that in some ways Hayley and Kirsty are beyond their control. And they fear their influence on Crawford. Which they have, in some ways. Even if Crawford maintains control on the outside.

Correctly Harper and Louise see Hayley and Kristy as liabilities. Both are ressourceful, resilient and highly capable. If they join forces, they may cause trouble in Paradise, if they see any chance, they will act - and there are the conflicts in Crawfords teams, which they might exploit.

And obviously Kristy has still a special place in Liz´heart. I think she is disappointed by Kristys bevaviour. At the moment she is in a Limbo. She cannot forgive Kristy her betrayal - till now - but regards her as special nevertheless. From Harpers and Louise Perspective this bodes problems. Excellent Chapter! More about the second part of Chapter 12 later :)

All in all we can state: "There are no perfect plans, but only perfect intentions." I guess, Crawford will learn that :)
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Post by Caesar73 »

The second part of Chapter 12 is interessting as well: Clever, how the mysterious Alessandra convinces the Russian to let Natascha Taylor life. Still we do not know, who she really is, or what her misssion is. But I guess, we will see her again. For her part Natascha was lucky. She is still alive, but failed to fullfill her mission, but considering the alternatives this is the best possible outcome. To life and continue the fight another day.
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Chapter 13

25 Years Ago – North West India

As they descended the stairs toward the concourse both Elizabeth Crawford and Jaclyn Sanders could tell that the temperature in the northern Indian city of Shimla was several degrees lower than in the south of the country where they had been for the preceding three days gathering intelligence for their current operation. The two women easily fell into stride side by side, they were almost the same height and build with long dark hair below the hats that they wore and dark eyes behind the dark glasses. They scanned the tarmac as they crossed toward the terminal taking everything in and checking for potential threats. It wasn’t their first mission but they weren’t that experienced and naturally they were both slightly nervous, on an operation with backup hours away. It took a bit of time to negotiate the throng of people, grab their bags and make their way through the terminal toward the front where they were told that they would be met be a representative of Virat Khan, the mastermind behind one of India’s biggest technologically firms and the target of their investigation now that they had arrived in the foothills of the Himalayas. They were halfway toward the door when Jaclyn noticed a man wearing a white suit holding a sign with the name of their company on it, well a large American technology company that they were allegedly representing. The back stories had been worked out with the company over the past copy of weeks and they had all of their documentation with them. Jaclyn and Elizabeth were posing as sisters that worked for the company and were here to discuss how their company and Virat Khan’s could work together in the future. All very reasonable, or so they both hoped. Jaclyn tapped Elizabeth on the arm and indicated the man with the sign. They changed direction and approached the man who as they got closer was about six feet in height and around forty years of age. “Hello,” Jaclyn said offering a hand. “I am Jaclyn Hastings and this is my colleague, well sister, well…… both Elizabeth.” The sisters cover wasn’t a stretch as Jaclyn and Elizabeth looked very alike and were just under two years apart in age.

“Good evening ladies, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Mister Khan sends his apologies for not being able to meet you in person but please be assured that he will introduce himself at his earliest possible convenience. My name is Rohit and if you need anything please do not hesitate to contact me.” The man slipped two business cards from his pocket and handed them over. Jaclyn and Elizabeth glanced at the card before putting it in a pocket. “Let me take your bags,” Rohit offered and wheeled there bags away toward the main door of the terminal. The women exchanged glances and set off after their bags. They caught up with Rohit just as he was loading the bags into the boot of a large car before running round and opening the rear door and gesturing for Jaclyn and Elizabeth to get in. They did and Rohit closed the door behind them before running around the front of the car before jumping in the front passenger seat beside a hulking driver with massive hands that made the steering wheel look small. The driver said nothing as he nudged the car into the flow of traffic and found a nice cruising speed. “How was your flight?” Rohit asked.

“It was fine,” Elizabeth replied. “I think that I will enjoy the climate better up here in the north of the country.”

“It is milder,” Rohit replied with a nod. The journey continued with the usual bland conversation between Rohit and Elizabeth but Jaclyn tuned out and watch the street and building pass by out the window as they moved from the suburbs toward the centre of the city.

“We are booked into the Continental hotel. Would you be able to take us there?” Jaclyn asked from the rear seat breaking into the conversation.

“No, no, no. Mister Khan would not tolerate that. When he heard of this, he had me cancel the booking. He insists that you stay at his humble residence for the duration of your visit.” Jaclyn glanced at Elizabeth with a look that said that this was not part of the plan.

“We would not want to impose on Mister Khan and his family,” Jaclyn commented.

“Mister Khan would consider it a personal insult if you didn’t stay at his home.” Looks like the decision had been made for them.

“How can we turn down such a generous offer,” Elizabeth replied. The rest of the journey was conducted in silence as the wound their way through the city. The excellent drive quality of the car and air-conditioning making the journey a pleasant one. As the car travelled Jaclyn noted that the houses started to have more space and they got larger, the streets more manicured and the traffic thinned out considerably. It wasn’t long until the houses got very large, well they basically became mansions that were set back from the road behind high, well maintained walls. “Humble residence,” Elizabeth whispered into Jaclyn ear with a sense of awe. “What size do you reckon this place is?” The car swung through a set of large gates with a guardhouse on one side and onto a private driveway. Jaclyn didn’t say anything in response but sat back and took in the manicured lawns and luscious flower beds. The car continued until it stopped under the portico that meant the car was now in shade. Before either Jaclyn or Elizabeth could move the doors were opened by two women wearing traditional Indian dress. They nodded thanks as they stood outside and took in the majesty of the grounds and house.

“Ladies, a pleasure to meet you at last,” a booming voice said. Jaclyn and Elizabeth turned to find the source of the voice and saw Virat Khan bounding toward them from the main entrance. He was a young and trim forty-three years old, standing exactly six feet tall. There was a hint of grey in his hair and stubble but that seemed to enhance his natural good looks. As he got closer, he thrust out a hand and shook that of Jaclyn and Elizabeth enthusiastically with a wide smile across his lips. “Sorry that I couldn’t make it to the airport to greet you in person. I hope that Rohit took good care of you and explained the situation with you staying at the house.”

“Yes, he did,” Jaclyn answered.

“I must say Mister Khan you have a stunning house,” Elizabeth chipped in.

“Thank you, thank you. It is nice but not a patch on my main residence, Also, please, call me Virat. Let’s have no formalities here. Now I must apologies again as I have to rush off an pick up my wife and daughter. But I will leave you in the very capable hands of Nisha,” Khan nodded to one of the women who had opened the door for Jaclyn. “Nisha will show you to your rooms and take care of anything that you might need, food, drinks or something else.”

“Thanks,” Jaclyn said.

“Just relax for the rest of the day I am sure that you have had a tiring journey. Tomorrow my wife will give you the full tour, she will be able to explain the decoration. I just pay for it!” With that Khan headed toward the rear of the car. “We can pick up on the business chat tomorrow during lunch.” A raised hand was the last that they saw of Khan as the door closed and the car pulled away back down the drive.

“Would you like to follow me ladies,” Nisha said and headed toward the door. Jaclyn and Elizabeth followed her with Rohit bringing up the rear with their bags.

Two days later

Khan’s wife Sonam had indeed given them the full tour later that afternoon. In fact, the house was that large that the tour extended into evening with the setting sun adding to the views across the stunning garden as Sonam finished the tour. Once back in Jaclyn’s room they two women discussed the house with barely disguised awe; the size of the house was impressive but the design and decoration more than matched it. Everything was subtle, classy and no doubt expensive. Elizabeth in particular was impressed. After they had finished with the house the conversation turned to their guide. Sonam Khan. They both agreed that whilst pleasant she seemed cold and slightly distant as if she had something better to do than show two guests around the house, which was a surprise given that her husband was completely the opposite. It was as if Sonam was playing at being the good host rather than being something that came naturally to her, the woman certainly didn’t seem to enjoy playing the hostess. Which made the events of the next couple of days something else that Jaclyn found strange. During all of their business negotiations over the past two days with Virat Khan, Sonam had sat close and seemed to be listening intently. There would be regular breaks where they would retreat to where Jaclyn and Elizabeth couldn’t overhear them and then get into what looked like intense conversations. They had assumed that Sonam would have been away shopping, meeting friends or whatever else the wives of multi-millionaires did with their spare time. Anyway, they had managed to bluff their way through the business chat convincingly and had gotten through that bot of their assignment with relative ease. It was supposed to be their final night in Shimla and to this point they had not come up with anything that could link Virat Khan to any kind of illegal or even slight dodgy activities. That evening the Khan’s were due to host a large charity ball at their home and they had invited, no insisted that as their guests Jaclyn and Elizabeth should attend. Both women had originally declined citing both the following day’s journey and the lack of anything suitable to wear. The Khan’s had refused to take either excuse as a reason not to attend and had offered accommodation for another night plus Sonam had rustled up two exquisite traditional Indian dresses for them to wear. “These are beautiful,” Jaclyn said admiring the fit of the garment in a full-length mirror.

“I know. I can’t believe that Sonam said that we could keep them,” Elizabeth responded. As they discussed the forthcoming festivities Jaclyn decided that they would have to be more proactive during tonight’s charity gala. They would use the disruption of the event to search those areas of the house that they hadn’t yet been able to access for information, with the main prize being Khan’s private office. They would have to slip away from the event without being noticed but as they weren’t likely to be the main attraction or be someone that the other guests would be anxious to talk to. Then there was a knock at the door. Elizabeth opened it to find Sonakshi, one of the staff, standing in the doorway.

“Good evening,” the woman began. “May I say that you look stunning.”

“Thank you Sonakshi. I will take all of the compliments going,” Elizabeth responded with a small curtsey.

“Tonight’s entertainment is about to begin and Mister and Misses Khan have asked that you make your way to the main hall.” The invitation delivered Sonakshi turned and headed back along the corridor.

“Jaclyn, time to go. We have been summoned.” Jaclyn motioned with her arm for Elizabeth to lead the way toward the festivities.
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25 Years ago-North West India

The party was in full swing when Jaclyn nodded to Elizabeth and the two of them slipped unnoticed away from the main crowd and into a quieter corridor. They walked against the crowd as it thinned pretending to head toward the toilet before slipping through another door into the hall where the main stairs were located. It was empty. Elizabeth had to admit that part of her was sad to have left the party she was having a good time. The food and drink had been sensational and the people were not what she expected, they were mostly fun and welcoming, full of funny stories and anecdotes. Elizabeth also picked up some interesting pieces of information of business dealings as she mingled during the evening. “Are you listening?” Elizabeth heard Jaclyn say.

“Sorry, just drifted away for a second,” Elizabeth responded.

“Well, you had better get your game head on now,” Jaclyn said with a harsh tone to her voice. “As I was saying I will head or Khan’s office whilst you go for their bedroom and see if you can find anything of interest.” Elizabeth nodded and headed away from the main stairs toward the rear of the house and the main bedroom as Jaclyn turned and headed up the stairs toward the office.

Jaclyn tried to act as if she didn’t have a care in the world as she headed toward the office door. Before trying the handle on the door Jaclyn glanced in both directions to make sure nobody was about. On trying the handle Jaclyn discovered that it was locked, probably to be expected. That was why she had brought her lock picking kit. It didn’t take long to deal with the lock and open the door wide enough to allow her to slip through the gap between the door and the frame. Once inside the room Jaclyn decided not to waste time and after finding the light switch hastily set about searching the room. There were a lot of papers lying around, including schematics and plans. None of which seemed professionally interesting to a spy but she used a small camera to take photographs so that their tech team could take a look later on. There was a filing cabinet filled with paperwork but once again nothing interesting, the same with the locked drawers that she managed to open with lockpicks. Disappointed that the risk hadn’t uncovered anything Jaclyn sat of the leather chair behind the desk, she noticed a picture of the Khan’s with a young girl that Jaclyn assumed was their daughter before she surveyed the room and noticed one of the pictures wasn’t sitting square. It stood out as it was the only item in the house that looked out of place. Standing up Jaclyn approached the picture, removed it from the hook and set it down on the ground. Once removed the picture it revealed a safe. It had a digital lock with a code so there was no way that Jaclyn could get it open, which was a pity. Suddenly she froze having heard something in the corridor outside. It took a minute and a couple of deep breathes before Jaclyn relaxed enough to move but the scare had made her mind up that it was time to leave and she flicked off the lights and opened the door peeked out to check in both directions. There was nobody there so she stepped out and closed the door behind her before bending door to lock it behind her in order to cover her tracks. It was always trickier to lock doors than unlocked them so Jaclyn found that it required all of her concentration. There was nothing to warn Jaclyn what was about to happened before two arms wrapped themselves around her body, pinning both of her arms tightly as they were locked in place and straightening her up it the same movement that spun her ninety degrees to the right. Jaclyn opened her mouth to shout but gagged as a large handkerchief was stuffed deep into her mouth by Sonakshi who appeared in front of her as if from nowhere. Sonakshi smiled as she leaned in and pushed the door to the office open which allowed whoever had grabbed Jaclyn to dragged her back, kicking and moaning into the office where nobody could see what was going on.

“Quickly, keep her quiet using the chloroform,” Jaclyn heard the familiar voice of Sonam say from somewhere behind her.

“UURRGGHH,” Jaclyn screamed but the balled-up handkerchief in her mouth prevented anything audible from escaping. Jaclyn watched on in grim fascination as Sonakshi appeared in her vision and calmly poured the liquid, that Jaclyn assumed was chloroform, from a small galls bottle onto a thick blue cloth that had been previously folded into the correct size to fit comfortably over a woman’s nose and mouth. Sonakshi carefully placed the cap back on the bottle and then the bottle back into her pocket before advancing toward her with the cloth in one hand. Jaclyn started to thrash in an attempt to escape but there was no give in the firm grip that held her in place. Sonakshi gently but firmly place one hand at the back of Jaclyn’s head before carefully pressing the moist cloth over the lower half of Jaclyn’s face and instantly the harsh fumes from the knock out liquid that the cloth was soaked in caught the back of Jaclyn’s throat and began the fight to drag her into darkness, a fight that it would win unless Jaclyn could get the cloth removed the cloth. Given that her arms were currently pinned securely to her sides and there were two tough women holding her Jaclyn didn’t fancy her chances. “MOH,” Jaclyn moaned into the cloth had been placed over her nose and mouth. “MOH,” she moaned again shaking her head. She hadn’t had the experience of being chloroformed before but during their training they had been lectured by an instructor who had been held hostage for a lengthy period and she went into detail about the effects of being chloroformed and she didn’t paint a pretty picture.

“Yes,” Sonam relied nodding her head and appearing at the corner of Jaclyn’s vision which Jaclyn noted was starting to blur. “You don’t have any other option. Take your medicine and go to sleep. When you wake up you will be restrained but I promise not in a nasty way. Then we can go for trip to somewhere we can have some fun and a chat about exactly what you and your friend are doing here and who you work for.” Sonam turned away and left her henchwomen to finalise the application of the sedative to their captive. Jaclyn’s eyes widened as the heavy fumes filled her nostrils, causing the room to go into soft focus and the sounds of her struggles to recede as a hollow ringing began in her ears. A further burst gave her a pleasant euphoric rush that dulled her thoughts and sent a spreading numbness through her body. Her legs buckled and she was vaguely aware of being dragged through the door and into the hallway where she caught a glimpse of Sonam talking to Rohit. Despite them having to drag Jaclyn the cloth remained in place, administering the fumes and after another breath of the sweet vapor, she seemed to be floating, and then her eyes closed and everything shut down. Sonam paused for a second and glanced as the unconscious Jaclyn was half carried, half dragged along the corridor. “Take her to the secure room and wrap her up,” Sonam instructed. “And track down and secure her friend as quickly as possible.” The woman turned to head back to the party before turning and addressing Rohit. “You had better engage the phone blocker until we have her.” Rohit nodded and hurried off in the opposite direction to carry out his instructions.
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Looking at her phone Elizabeth noticed that there was no reception which seemed a bit odd as there had been no issues during the rest of their stay. It just added to the sense that something wasn’t quite right after her attempts to contact Jaclyn had failed, a text had not been replied to and the call had rung out before going to voicemail. Hopefully it was nothing but Elizabeth decided to head back to their rooms and hope that Jaclyn had the same idea. There had been nothing in the Khan’s bedroom apart from the largest, most comfortable looking bed that Elizabeth had ever seen covered in sumptuous bedding, a down comforter, cushions and pillows. It took all of her willpower not to try it out. Elizabeth had a satellite phone that they could use to make contact with their organisation and then decide on the best course of action. They would probably have to stay the remainder of the night, anything else would look suspicious unless they had a very good reason to leave immediately.

Having carefully made her way through the large house Elizabeth was very nearly back at her room and within reach of the satellite phone hidden in her case and contact with the outside world, but her sense of relief was instantly sunk by the sight of a female employee of Khan’s standing outside the door, no doubt posted to prevent her from getting back into her room. Now she knew that their cover was blown and her concern grew for Jaclyn, the presence of the guard meant that Jaclyn was in danger as well. Elizabeth slinked backward toward the shadows to take stock for a second, wondering what her next move should be in the light of this unexpected development. The choice was soon taken from her, as a muscular arm wrapped itself around the agent's torso and pulled her backwards, deeper into the shadows. Elizabeth found that she was pinned against a body that seemed as it was hewn from stone, probably the driver and was about to make a complaint before a female figure appeared in front of her and something soft and damp was pressed over her nose and mouth, and a strong sweet smell filled her nostrils. It was chloroform, she recognised the scent from training, although never had she been rendered unconscious with it so knew roughly how long she had before it took its full effect. Elizabeth had to break free and she used every manoeuvre in her considerable arsenal to try to break free before the drug could inevitably render her unconscious, but her attackers remained resolute and the soft, thick cloth remained in place, allowing the potent fumes to do their job. Unable to remove the cloth or escape the iron grip on her person, she tried to minimize her exposure by taking shallow breaths, but even that endeavour failed as the resultant euphoria diminished her capacity to resist. Each breath pulled more and more of the vexing vapor into her lungs, dulling her senses and draining her strength. Her perceptions grew fuzzy at the edges and her struggles grew feeble as the chloroform claimed another victory. The final insult was a female voice in her ear, whispering words she couldn't quite comprehend as the shadows enveloped her completely with a whimper that was completely smothered by the cloth.
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Post by mrjones2009 »

Over 8,000 views!!!

Thanks to all those that have taken the time to read.
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Post by Caesar73 »

A nice tripp to the past and it explains why Sonam is now enjoying the Hospitality of Elizabeth at Mystery Island. This chapter delivers some personal background information. We knew, that Sanders and Crawford hat a history together but finally we learn more about that. And it is highly unusual seeing Crawford being on the recieving end of a Chloroform doused cloth.
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Post by Caesar73 »

Caesar73 wrote: 3 years ago

If there is any problem at this stage of operations it is Crawford herself, or to be more precise her feelings for Kristy and Hayley. Crawfords reactions, when Kirsty is first mentioned by Harper and later Hayley and Kirsty Crawford shows some irrititation. She regards Kristy and Hayley not as her normal "guests" but as "totally different. Obviously Harper and Louise are not happy with Crawfords decision to let Gayle go: They share a concerned look, as we are told. Why is that? Clearly they think, that Hayley and Kirsty may distract Elizabeth and endanger her plans. Her Lieutenants know, that in some ways Hayley and Kirsty are beyond their control. And they fear their influence on Crawford. Which they have, in some ways. Even if Crawford maintains control on the outside.

There is another reason why Harper and Louise have their reservations about letting Gayle leaving the Island, even if the do not voice their concerns openly. Having Gayle on the Island means leaverage. Leaverage to ensure Hayleys further cooperation. If Gayle leaves the Island they lose that option. In a way more room to manouvre for Hayley. Of course Hayley will be clever enough not to take any risk by taken premature action. The most sensible course would be to gain more of Crawfords trust. A difficult and bumpy road without any doubt, but in the long game a real chance.
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Chapter 14

25 Years ago-North West India

The light gradually appeared around the edges of Elizabeth’s vision but there was an ache at the back of her head that persuaded her to take it easy and not make any sudden movements. This she assumed was an after effect of being sedated by means of a chemical-soaked cloth. After taking it easy for a couple of minutes Elizabeth was aware of some unusual sensations. Firstly, there was something packed in her mouth, preventing her from speaking. Elizabeth felt at it with her tongue and decided that it was a cloth of some sort and went to expel it but found that she couldn’t. There was something soft and silky bound over her mouth incredibly tightly, no doubt some kind of silk scarf folded into a band and secured in place. No matter how she contorted her face she couldn’t budge the gag. It was something that she would just have to get used to. Elizabeth found that her tongue mindlessly explored the large cloth in her mouth, at least the cloth tasted clean which was a bonus Elizabeth decided. With the option of shouting removed from the equation Elizabeth moved on to the second strange sensation, she was unable to move, well not that much anyway. Raising her head Elizabeth took in her body and let out a stifled moan before throwing her head back into the thick pillow under her head in frustration. Using her best judgement her hands were bound in front of her at the wrists and there were also bonds pining her arms to her body, around the forearms and above and below the breasts. Elizabeth surmised that her legs were also bound together at the ankles and just above and below the knees. All of this was guesswork as having checked Elizabeth knew that she was also wrapped from the ankles all the way to her neck in smooth, silky fabric, basically she had almost been mummified. She tried to struggle free but was wrapped tightly in a silky, cloying fabric and encased her entire body and there was no way of getting loose. Elizabeth also reckoned that she was naked with the exception of some personal areas of a woman’s body. Whoever had done this obviously knew what they were doing. It was then that she heard a moaning noise to her left and turned her head on the soft pillow in that direction to find Jaclyn lying bound exactly as she assumed she was on a small bed about five yards away, to be fair the way that they were bound it could have been five hundred yards for all the difference it would make. Elizabeth made eye contact and tried to convey strength and calmness, then the door opened and both women turned looked on as Sonam Khan entered and slowly take a chair that was sitting against the wall and carried it to a position between the beds where both captives could easily see her. Sonam Khan just sat there, looking in turn from one bound and gagged captive in turn like a stalking predator eyeing prey. The lighting wasn’t great but something about it accentuated the woman’s features and she looked spectacular, it stirred something in Elizabeth that she didn’t like to admit.

“MMEEOO, HUURRPPHH,” Jaclyn shouted. Elizabeth was sure that whatever it was sounded great in Jaclyn’s head but it came out as a muted grunt that probably wouldn’t have been heard outside of the room.

“I suspect that whatever you were trying to say wasn’t nice.” Sonam said with a smile without any warmth. “Now to explain your current position. You have been caught snooping around and we will have to have a talk about that later on. It is hardly repaying the generosity of my husband in allowing you to stay at our home.” Elizabeth hoped that this was all it was about, or perhaps the Khan’s had a kinky side, which she now thought wouldn’t be that bad before putting that thought to the back of her mind. “If I was to guess I would say that either a business rival or government agency sent you to check up on my husband’s dealings, after all he seems to have come out of nowhere and built a large firm very quickly. Well, you made the assumption that my husband was the brains behind the operation and that it exactly what I want everyone to think. Now, Virat is a lovely man and a great husband and father but he doesn’t have the necessary qualities to run this kind of large, international operation, either the legitimate side or not quite so legitimate side,” Sonam suddenly clasped a hand over her mouth. “Oops! Should I have said that,” Sonam said after removing the hand. “I presume that you had your suspicions and that’s why you were snooping around.”

“MOH,” Elizabeth screamed into her gag and struggled again to get free.

“Don’t waste your energy trying to get loose, it is pointless. The binding technique has no flaws and the mummification acts as a second level restraint. Your hands will feel strange. We have formed them into fists around a large ball of cotton wool and then wrapped them in silk so that your fingers are useless should you want to pick at knots. Don’t worry about the relieving yourselves ladies. That feeling around your private area is a muslin fabric diaper. Appreciate that it will be embarrassing but it is better than the alternative.” Elizabeth had to admit that the binding was effective, and filed it away for later reference. The diaper was also a good idea, if slightly embarrassing. Why free a captive to use the toilet when you didn’t have to?

“AARRGHH, UUMMPPHH,” Jaclyn said.

“I won’t take up any more of your time at the moment as it is best that you get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow as we will have a talk about what you are really doing here and who you are,” Sonam smiled as she got up from the chair and fixed her gaze on Elizabeth. “And I will find out. I am very good at extracting information from people, especially women.” There was no warmth in the woman’s eyes or smile and a chill ran down Elizabeth’s spine. “I will send in Sonakshi with some chloroform to ensure that you get a good start to the nights rest.”
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When the door opened Elizabeth jumped at the sudden noise after the hours of almost silence. After coming around from having been sedated for a second time by Sonakshi when they had taken Jaclyn away. Elizabeth watched silently from her prone position on her bed as Sonakshi and Nisha carried Jaclyn between them to the empty bed and dumped her onto it, the impact made Jaclyn groan. The condition of distress of her partner shook Elizabeth, Jaclyn was covered in sweat from brow to toe and she was obviously in some sort of confused and exhausted state. “I bet this one is worried about what is going to happen to her?” Sonakshi said barely concealing her delight at the worry obviously etched across Elizabeth’s face.

“I am sure that she is,” Nisha replied. “It might even make her struggle and fight us.”

“Don’t worry the chloroform will remove any objections.” Sonakshi said removing a cloth from her pocket. “But we better take care of this one first.” They two women turned their attention from intimidating Elizabeth and back to Jaclyn. Elizabeth watched on with fascination as Sonakshi and Nisha gently and carefully bathed Jaclyn using soft sponges and water from a bowl. Jaclyn moaned intermittently throughout the process and occasionally would swipe a hand weakly in the direction of one or other of the women.

“Would this be easier if she was unconscious?” Nisha asked.

“Probably, let me get the chloroform,” Sonakshi replied and started to prepare a cloth.

“Please…I….I…. don’t want it again,” Jaclyn mumbled as she slowly regained her facilities.

“No option,” Sonakshi replied, leaning over to place the cloth over Jaclyn’s nose and mouth. “It will be easier on both of us. Once the cloth was placed over her nose and mouth Jaclyn slowly moved her head from side to side in a bid to escape the sedative soaked cloth but in her weakened state in was a pointless exercise and it wasn’t long before Jaclyn’s head was more lolling than shaking, eventually even that movement stopped and Jaclyn’s eyes fluttered several occasions before they closed over for the duration of her forced slumber. Once Jaclyn was unconscious the two women quickly went about the business of binding Jaclyn. There was silence in the room except for the sound of Sonakshi and Nisha working, first they put a fresh fabric diaper on Jaclyn before they balled up some cotton wool and placed it in Jaclyn’s hands, moulding her fingers around it to make them into fists. Then they wrapped each fist in a small silk scarf and tied the scarf around Jaclyn’s wrists. Satisfied with that element of the binding Sonakshi and Nisha quickly used larger silk scarves to bind Jaclyn’s wrists together before tying her legs at the ankle, just below the knee and then around the thighs. They then folded Jaclyn up at the waist and whilst Sonakshi held her up Nisha used two longer scarves to secure Jaclyn’s arms to her body. After carefully lying Jaclyn down onto the bed. Nisha leaned under the bed and produced several large lengths of silk fabric. Elizabeth watched on as the two women used these, expertly tucking and prodding, to totally encase Jaclyn in silk. Despite her current position Elizabeth couldn’t help but be impressed by their handiwork. Nisha took a wad of cotton wool and placed it into the centre of a silk scarf before wrapping the scarf around the cotton wool. Nisha took the scarf and lined up the section wrapped with cotton wool with Jaclyn’s mouth and forced it in, jamming Jaclyn’s mouth open. Finally, Nisha took another scarf, folded it into a band and tied that over the Jaclyn’s already stuffed mouth. Nisha and Sonakshi admired their handiwork for a moment before turning their attention back to Elizabeth.

“Now, are you going to come quietly or do we have to use this?” Sonakshi asked Elizabeth holding up the bottle of chloroform. Elizabeth swallowed before she shook her head hoping that Sonakshi would understand that as a sign of cooperation. “Alright, no chloroform then.”

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“Don’t knock her all the way out, remember we need her to answer questions. Just enough to make her dizzy,” Sonam Khan said to the woman whose shadow loomed over Elizabeth. When Elizabeth had been freed from her silk encasement Sonakshi and Nisha had taken her from the room, along a corridor and into another room where there was only one single piece of furniture. That was a chair that looked like one of those that you would find in a dentist’s surgery. It didn’t take much imagination for Elizabeth to know that she was destined for the chair. Soon enough Elizabeth found herself strapped into the chair with leather straps on her wrists, ankles, things and across her stomach. Fortunately, the gag had also been removed which allowed her to flex her jaw for the first time in what felt like weeks. Although, now didn’t seem like the best time to try out her voice.

“I know what I am doing Sonam. I am a master in the application of many types of sedative drugs and also this new drug that I have developed and that we are testing here today, on your volunteers. I am sure that you will agree that the results on the previous test subject were positive,” the woman said in a French accent. Elizabeth didn’t like the sound of that new drug and started to thrash against the straps that held her in place.

“There is no point in doing that Elizabeth. The only thing that will happen is that you may cause yourself an injury. It doesn’t hurt, I promise.” Sonam said as she leaned over Elizabeth exposing her ample bosom that was still glistening with sweat, she explained to her what was going to happen.

“Can we not discuss this like reasonable people?” Elizabeth said. “I am sure that whatever misunderstanding has occurred we can resolve it without resorting to……”

“Hahahaha,” Sonam laughed. “I can appreciate your inability to describe your current situation.” Elizabeth was glad that the woman could find humour in the moment.

“Look…” Elizabeth began.

“Don’t bother trying to spin a story Elizabeth, I now know that is your real name, I managed to get most of the story from you colleague Jaclyn. I just want to get confirmation from you and have some fun in the process.” Sonam face broke into a wide smile. “Anyway, I can see that you are shocked but where was I, yes that was it, my colleague here is going to give you enough of a dose of the chloroform to make you woozy and then after that we can administer the other drug…”

“You bitcmmmppphhh!!!” Elizabeth shouted breaking all pretence of calmness before a soft, thick cloth was clamped over her mouth from behind. The now familiar scent of chloroform immediate assaulted Elizabeth’s nostrils and the back of her throat.

“Now let’s get this nasty bit out of the way and then we can have some fun,” Sonam said as she ran a finger from Elizabeth’s left breast down to her stomach and toward a much more private area. Elizabeth shook her head, struggled, and tried to mumble through the cloth held in place over her mouth, but Sonam and the French accented woman ignored her. “Now, don’t fight it Elizabeth.” Elizabeth shook her head but it felt like the cloth was welded in place, there would be no escape from the fumes. Now, the French woman wanted to administer enough chloroform so that Elizabeth was at least vaguely aware of what was happening to her. Sonam claimed that the French woman knew how to use chloroform to get the results that she wanted and she watched Elizabeth's eyes intently as she inhaled the chloroform. She wanted the Elizabeth to be helpless, but still aware of what was going on around her, it was a delicate balancing act. As Elizabeth's struggles faded, the French woman removed the cloth from her face.

Elizabeth having been forced to inhale the vicious fumes had slipped into a heavy dizziness. “Don’t go to sleep yet honey.” Sonam whispered into Elizabeth’s ear whilst stroking her inner thigh. “The fun is just starting. We are going to ask you questions and don’t even think about lying or the penthanol chloroform comes out. So, are you ready to talk?”

“MMMMMMMMM” Elizabeth moaned in her confused and drowsy state. No doubt Sonam hoped that she would reveal something with her mind not being totally focused.

“So, who exactly are you?” Sonam asked.

“Elizabeth, Elizabeth Adams…business development with…..ooooooo,” Elizabeth stopped as Sonam found a sensitive area of Elizabeth’s body.

“Now, I did tell you that your friend had already told us everything. Don’t bother with the lies and we can skip to the fun stuff.”

“I don’t know what you mean Sonam, Jaclyn and I came here for business negotiations on behalf of our company….” Elizabeth stopped Sonam just crossed her arms, shook her head and looked disappointingly at her. Then she nodded. Before Elizabeth could do anything, the cloth was reapplied from behind, although quickly it became clear that it was not chloroform on the cloth, or at least not straight or original chloroform. It must be that other drug, penthanol chloroform, that Sonam had mentioned. “Not exactly what you were expecting, just wait it gets better.” Elizabeth wasn’t sure what that meant but the cloth was kept in place for quite some time before it was removed. However, the relief was short lived as it was only or a couple of seconds before being reapplied and Elizabeth was forced to inhale the fumes again. This processed was repeated five times before Sonam leaned back in, Elizabeth was really drowsy and her head was full with cotton wool.

“Let’s try again shall we,” Sonam said. “What is your name?”

“Elizabeth Crawford.” The response was instant and Elizabeth was shocked at what her own voice had said.

“Surprise!” Sonam said threw her arms wide apart. “How do you work for?”

“An arm of the American Secret Service,” Elizabeth replied. That was how it went on for several minutes with Sonam asking questions and Elizabeth answering them truthfully. Then the cloth came back down and over her nose and mouth. “Shall we try some personal questions now? I saw the look in your eyes during the tour of the house. Did it take your fancy?”

“I like the good things in life, the opulence of the house, money in the bank, fine wine and drink. That is what I aspire to…” Elizabeth blurted this out and immediately wished for once that she was gagged but, somewhere down inside it felt good to get that out. That line of questioning continued for a further ten minutes.

“It seems like our chat has revealed your true self Miss Crawford,” Sonam said and ran her tongue along her lips three or four times as if contemplating something. “What if I could help you get these things Elizabeth?”

“What do you mean?” Elizabeth replied cautiously.

“Money, wealth, power….” Sonam let that thought linger before continuing. “I have a circle of friends that could help you in exchange for some help the other way.” Elizabeth looked to the ceiling and considered what Sonam was offering, or potentially offering. This could all be some kind of trap.

“How do I know that I can trust you?” Elizabeth asked.

“That is a chance that you will just have to take,” Sonam said and stood back so that she was out of sight of Elizabeth.

“What about Jaclyn?” Elizabeth asked and Sonam knew that she had the hook in and it only needed a delicate reel-in.

“My associate can work on Jaclyn and she would forget everything that happened since you arrived.” Sonam must have read the look on Elizabeth’s face. “On, no it wouldn’t harm her it would just be to reprogram her memories so that she remembers what we want her to.” Elizabeth considered this before nodding slowly. “I think that is a wise decision on your part, it will be mutually beneficial. Now all we have to do is agree on a cover story for what happened hear.” Sonam glanced at the woman with the French accent, who gave her a look in response. “Looks like we better do that quick.” There was a broad, friendly smile across Sonam’s face. “Can you get onto that right away and I can stay here and have some fun with Elizabeth.”

“What do you mean?” Elizabeth said thinking the ordeal was over. Elizabeth heard footsteps disappearing behind her.

“No this is the fun part, the reward for the earlier work.” Before Elizabeth could response Sonam lunged and forced a handkerchief into Elizabeth’s mouth and she followed that up by wrapping a silk scarf tightly over Elizabeth’s mouth and around her head, knotting it tightly in place. The gag thoroughly cut off any protests. Without her voice to protest Elizabeth tried to show her displeasure by struggling against the straps that held her in place. The effort was futile and she stopped as Sonam undid the belt on the robe that she was wearing and left it slid to the ground to reveal what she had on underneath. Elizabeth took it all in and gulped.

Two days later

The taxi skidded to a halt as the lorry pulled out, blocking the entire width of the road. The driver leaned on the horn and said something loudly that neither Elizabeth nor Jaclyn could understand but going by the tone wasn’t complimentary on the person driving the lorry. The driver turned around in his seat, looked at them and threw his hands in the air before gesturing wildly at the lorry. “We know, it’s not your fault,” Jaclyn said raising her hands in a placating gesture. A second horn blared from behind them and Elizabeth turned to find a large white panel van. The driver leaned on the horn again and when the lorry didn’t reverse out of the way he opened the door and went to remonstrate with the driver. Elizabeth hoped that her nervousness didn’t show too much and Jaclyn picked up on it. It had been a strange forty-eight hours for Elizabeth after agreeing her deal with Sonam Khan. Elizabeth had been left by herself in a room, with the door locked, Elizabeth guessed that trust only went one way, whilst they did whatever they were doing to Jaclyn. Sonam had allowed Elizabeth to send a message to her their organization saying that they would be staying two further days and after that Elizabeth hadn’t seen anyone unless they brought her food and water. That was until this morning when the door opened and Nisha told Elizabeth to get ready to leave and handed over her bags. Once Elizabeth had gotten herself ready, she was escorted to the main hall where Sonam, Virat and Jaclyn were all waiting for her. “There she is,” Virat said. “We were starting to think that you were lost!” A large smile was on the man’s face and at that moment Elizabeth wondered how much the man knew of his wife’s actions.

“Thanks for your hospitality,” Jaclyn said as she shook each of the Khan’s by the hand before grabbing her bag and heading off toward the white taxi that sat idling on the driveway. Elizabeth took the hint and followed Jaclyn toward the taxi. Before Elizabeth turned to head toward the vehicle, she exchanged a look with Sonam who just smiled a knowing smile and nodded. As they watched the taxi driver remonstrate with the whoever was in the cab of the lorry blocking the street using exaggerated hand gestures.

“A shame that we didn’t find anything on Virat Khan,” Jaclyn commented, her eyes never leaving the lively discussion between the two drivers.

“Perhaps there was nothing to find,” Elizabeth suggested. It happened quickly, before they could react properly. Jaclyn and Elizabeth were fixated on the exchange between the taxi driver and the man driving the lorry that they didn’t notice the group of men easing their way slowly toward the taxi. Then suddenly the doors opened and strong hands pulled Jaclyn and Elizabeth from the rear seat and forced them down onto the ground, dust being thrown into their eyes and into their mouths. The shock of what happened stunned the women that much that there was little resistance when their arms were pulled behind and their wrists wrapped together with silver tape, it was wound tightly round multiple times. When their attackers were satisfied that the women’s bindings were sufficient, they were both yanked onto their feet by their attackers and dragged toward the white van. At that point instinct must have kicked in and both Jaclyn and Elizabeth started to struggle against the men that held them, digging their heels in and making firm, jerky movements from side to side to try and get free. As they were being dragged toward the van the side door slid open and two women jumped out and rushed toward them. Jaclyn and Elizabeth were still struggling with the men that had dragged them from the taxi when the women arrived and thrust cloths over their nose and mouths. The cloth was damp and Elizabeth instantly recognized the scent coming from the cloth as chloroform. Elizabeth turned her head slightly to see Jaclyn suffering the same fate as herself and her colleague was putting up a fierce fight against her attackers. Elizabeth didn’t try and fight to remove the cloth and was upset that Sonam thought that she required another application of chloroform, they could have avoided that situation altogether.

“This will keep then quiet until we reach our destination,” Elizabeth heard a female voice say as she started to feel the effects of the chloroform kick in with her movements becoming sluggish and her vision starting to blur. Then suddenly the cloth was removed and the two men hoisted her into the van where she landed with a thump onto some carpet that had been placed on the interior of the van. Almost instantaneously there as another thump and Jaclyn joined her on the floor of the van, quickly Elizabeth felt what she assumed was the same tape being wrapped around her ankles in her groggy state. The sound of the door closing focused her mind again before the chloroform-soaked cloth was reapplied over her nose and mouth. The last thing that went through Elizabeth’s mind before she slipped into unconsciousness was that she hoped that these people were working with Sonam Khan, otherwise she was in even bigger trouble.

---------

They both came around to find themselves bound on single beds. Elizabeth hoped that she would be able to play the part she needed to well enough to convince Jaclyn and whoever turned up to rescue them. Elizabeth also hoped that whatever they had done to Jaclyn worked and she confirmed the story that Khan had told her to stick to. Taking a quick look around the room that they were in the first thing that struck Elizabeth was the peeling and dirty decoration, it certainly was a far cry from the splendour of the Khan’s residence. Their abductors have obviously taken the time to retrieve their cases from the boot of the taxi as the cases were opened and the contents scattered across the room. Next Elizabeth assessed her own situation. In addition to her wrists and ankles being bound with tape there was also tape just above and below her knees and wrapped above and below her breasts keeping her arms fixed against her body. A quick glance told her that Jaclyn was bound in a similar fashion as she was but she wasn’t moving and her eyes were still closed above the wide piece of tape that had been pressed smoothly over her mouth, judging be the feeling on her lips she also had tape pressed over her mouth and for good measure their abductors has stuffed something into her mouth. It was about another twenty minutes before Jaclyn stirred and then became fully conscious. The two agents looked at each other and tried to communicate in muffled grunts and groans but it was pointless so Elizabeth shrugged and accepted her fate. They would have to wait until their abductors made a mistake or until they were rescued. Elizabeth hated the thought of having to be rescued.

The hours ticked by slowly with only one visit from their abductors, that was one of the women coming in to given them some food and a drink. There wasn’t much respite from the gag as a fresh handkerchief was stuffed into both Jaclyn and Elizabeth’s mouths as soon as they had finished drinking from the bottle of water and then another large piece of white micro foam tape was pressed smoothly over their lips. The next time the door opened though the two agents both received a shock as it was not one of their abductors but a familiar face, Arnold ‘Arnie’ Thomas from the No Such Agency. “MMMUUURRPPHH,” Elizabeth and Jaclyn mumbled in unison.

“I have then,” Arnie shouted over his shoulder before entering the room and clearing it of any possible threats. As Arnie busied himself with that another familiar face entered the room. It was Melanie Thomas, Arnie’s sister and another operative from their own agency.

“Well, hello ladies. Nice to see you in one piece.”

“MMUUPPHH,” Jaclyn mumbled again.

“Sorry, let me get rid of that nasty tape,” Melanie said before taking a small knife and using it to split the tape that bound both Jaclyn and Elizabeth before stepping back a couple of steps and taking up a position beside Arnie between the beds and the door. Now that that their hands were free Jaclyn and Elizabeth removed the rest of the tape from their bodies before carefully pulling the micro foam tape from over their mouths and removing the now sodden handkerchiefs from their mouths.

“Thanks,” Jaclyn said. Elizabeth nodded her appreciation before getting to her feet, then she the demeanour of the Thomas’s and knew that something was up.

“Have did you find us?” Elizabeth asked.

“The boss got concerned when you didn’t check in and asked if there was anybody local that could take a look around,” Melanie responded.

“We were in Hong Kong so grabbed a flight across,” Arnie continued. “The Khan’s said that you had left their house in a taxi and then we checked with local authorities and came across the reports of two American woman being snatched from a taxi.” Elizabeth just nodded and wondered exactly how much influence Sonam Khan had, it did at least extend to the local police department. “They asked us to investigate and when it turned out the reports were true, we figured that you had been grabbed. It was then we were then tasked with retrieving you.”

“How did you find us anyway? That did seem pretty quick.” Jaclyn asked.

“The Indian Secret Police received an anonymous tip a couple of hours ago.” Elizabeth had no doubt where this anonymous tip had come from. Elizabeth noted that the positions of the four people in the room had developed into somewhat of a stand-off with her and Jaclyn on one side and the Thomas’s on the other.

“Something wrong Melanie?” Elizabeth asked.

“Well, you will be aware of procedure in the situation where agents have been captured by unknown agencies.” Melanie responded as two women entered the room, each push a wheelchair in front of them.

“You cannot be serious Melanie,” Jaclyn complained with more than a hint of irritation in her voice.

“Yes, I am. The rules are the rules so I don’t expect any complaints when we sedate you prior to debrief.” Elizabeth turned to find that agents had arrived behind her and Jaclyn the wheelchairs and sighed, realizing that there was no point in trying to argue the point. Without having to be asked Elizabeth sat in the wheelchair and the agent holding it quickly strapped Elizabeth in place with padded straps on her wrists, ankles, stomach and thighs. Then the agent produced a black plastic mask and fixed it over Elizabeth’s nose and mouth with a strap. There was a hiss and Elizabeth felt the cool gas against her skin.

“I am not happy about this,” Jaclyn said as she took a seat in the vacant chair and the agent went about securing Jaclyn in place. Elizabeth watched on in fascination as Jaclyn was strapped in place before dark patches appeared at the edge of her vision which very quickly got blurry and narrow until everything went black.
----------
Elizabeth came around and found herself lying in what looked like a hospital ward but was in fact a basement room fitted out to look like a hospital ward. Elizabeth knew that every one of their agency’s facilities had a similar room in their basement and guessed that they were in the Hong Kong facility given what Arnie Thomas had said when he had participated in their rescue. Elizabeth closed her eyes and enjoyed the luxury pillow under her head for a couple of minutes before she tried to swing her legs onto the ground but discovered that she couldn’t move them, so she then tried to throw off the down duvet to see what the problem was as discovered that she couldn’t move her arms either, they were locked in place at the wrists. A quick glance to her right told her that Jaclyn was still lying unconscious in the bed next to her. The thick down duvet covering Jaclyn’s body bid any bindings that held Jaclyn in place so it didn’t give Elizabeth any clue as to how she was bound. Then a young woman wearing a nurse’s uniform suddenly appeared as if from nowhere and was standing at the foot of the bed. “Why am I restrained? Where are we?” Elizabeth asked.

“Sorry, but I am under instructions not to answer any questions,” the woman replied. “Would you like some water?” Elizabeth nodded and opened her mouth wide enough to let the young woman slip a straw between her lips. Elizabeth drank until the glass was empty, obviously thirsty. “Now, I can tell you that someone will be along to take to you soon,” the nurse said as she busied herself with something. As the young woman moved around Elizabeth noted that the young woman was like a teenager’s wet dream of a nurse, tight uniform over a curvaceous figure with big blue eyes and blond hair tied up in a bun.

“Thank you. Can you tell me if you are actually a nurse?” Elizabeth asked. The young woman nodded.

“What is your name?” Elizabeth asked as there was no name plate.

“I can’t tell you that Elizabeth. Let’s just go with Nurse.”

“Could you tell me my current condition then?”

“I suppose I can do that. Obvious dehydration and some bumps and bruises but nothing more than that. I will start you on a drip soon after you colleague has regained consciousness.” As if on cue a low moan escaped the lips of Jaclyn in the next bed. “Unfortunately, I have to gag you,” the nurse said. Elizabeth noticed that she had a cloth in one hand and a wide piece of white medical tape in the other.

“I don’t want to be gagged again……Nurse,” Elizabeth said fixing her jaw in defiance.

“Not that you are in a position to refuse but it is either that or I get something to sedate you again. It isn’t out of being cruel or punishing you. The powers that be don’t want you discussing things with your partner and getting your stories straight. They want to talk to you separately to make sure that your stories tally.” Elizabeth expelled air through her nose in sign of frustration before opening her mouth and allowing the nurse to pack it with the cloth. Once that job had been completed Elizabeth put her lips tomorrow and the nurse smeared the wide piece of micro foam tape over Elizabeth’s mouth. The nurse took time to make sure that the tape was applied smoothly and crisply, taking pride in the aesthetics of the tape gag. “Don’t worry about having to use the toilet. That padding around your waist and private areas is a disposal diaper. A new piece of equipment that we have.” Once the nurse was finished Elizabeth rested her head back onto the pillow and got comfortable and watched on as the nurse went through the process of gagging Jaclyn who didn’t asked any questions. Elizabeth had no doubt that we because Jaclyn knew all of the rules and procedures, despite not being happy about being treated this way but thinking about it, Elizabeth could understand the precautions. Especially given what had happened at Khan’s.

There was a clock in the room so Elizabeth was able to keep track of time and it was eighteen hours until the door opened and a man in a suit entered carrying a briefcase. If she was being honest the time spent in the room wasn’t the worst eighteen hours that she had spent. The nurse had taken good care of them, feed then meals and changed their diapers when required. A decent night’s sleep and a hydrating drip had also done wonders for her spirits. The man stood between the two beds and clasped his brown briefcase in two hands in front of him. He wore a dark blue pinstripe suit, white shirt and red tie and look officious with his round glasses and general demeanour. “Apologies for the restraints but we have to be thorough given you have been off the grid for seventy-two hours and potentially have been in hands of enemy agents.” The two restrained agents just looked at the man. “My name is Austin Brown and I have been tasked with establishing the events of your trip to Shimla and what occurred with both the Khan’s and during your abduction. I am not in your organisation so can be completely impartial. Now, I must stress that the presumption is that there has been no misconduct on your part but we have to be sure. In the interests of national security. You understand?” Both Jaclyn and Elizabeth nodded. The man checked his wristwatch. “Once again I must apologize to you ladies it has been a long flight and my team and I are in need of a rest. We shall pick this up tomorrow morning.” With that Austin Brown spun round and made for the door. Elizabeth and Jaclyn looked at each other and communicated their annoyance at having to wait until the morning to start with the process, although Elizabeth was nervous about what kind of questioning she would face and hoped that Jaclyn would back up the story that Sonam had told her to stick with.

Fortunately, the interrogators were nowhere near as good, or used any of the techniques favoured by Sonam Khan and Elizabeth was able to answer all of the questions that they asked to their satisfaction. From the first time that they asked each question to the twentieth time they asked the exact same question. Obviously, Jaclyn had down the same as before dusk the next day they were handed a set of clothes and their personal belongings and allowed to exit the facility onto the brightly lit streets of what was indeed Hong Kong. “Time for a drink,” Jaclyn stated. Elizabeth nodded and the two women headed for the nearest bar. They had some time to kill before the long flight back to America and they planned to spend that time enjoying themselves.
Caesar73
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Post by Caesar73 »

This trip in the past was illuminating in several ways. We got to know Elizabeth Crawford better. How she became who she is know. Their connection to Sonam Kahn. We learn how Elizabeth got rogue. And Jaclyn did not. And we learned where Crawford got the inspirations for her restraining system and her interrogation techniques. Elizabeth on the recieving end was fun too.

The Liz Crawford we knew was always the one calling the shots, being the one in control. The only other time, when Liz lost control, when Hayley and Company escaped her clutches in Nothing Personal 3. Clearly Crawford learned a lot during her involuntary stay at Sonams. Which she put to good use later without any doubt.

If Elizabeth has a weakness, besides her soft spot for Hayley and Kristy it his her being overconfident. She is not accustomed to defeat anyore. We must give her that: Why should she? So far, in Nothing Personal 4 and 5 everything went according to plan, mostly that is. That overconfidence could prove dangerous for her - or lucky for her adversaries :)
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Post by Caesar73 »

What I always admire ad multipart stories like Nothing Personal, how the writers keep everything together - which - I imagine - is no easy task. At the moment it is difficult where the road in this story goes - we know which goal Liz Crawford strives to reach. But the curtain has barely lifed. So previous chapters focussed primarily on the plans and actions of Crawford - with the exeption of Natalias encounter with the thieves and Nataschas ecounter with the mysterious Alessandra. I wonder, where the next chapter will take us? Will we stay on the Island or do we have a change of scenery again? Soo many many Mysteries :) Oh and some Congratulations are in order [mention]mrjones2009[/mention] - this Saga has passed the benchmark of 10000 Hits and is well underway to 11000! Yay!!!:)
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Post by Caesar73 »

I'm really looking forward to the next part! I find it always entertaining to speculate, which road [mention]mrjones2009[/mention] will lead us :)
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Post by slackywacky »

Looks like [mention]Caesar73[/mention] is the only one commenting. Somehow I missed the last update. Great update.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment.
Slackywacky, also @DeviantArt

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Caesar73
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Post by Caesar73 »

slackywacky wrote: 3 years ago Looks like @Caesar73 is the only one commenting. Somehow I missed the last update. Great update.
Sometimes I wonder, why I´m the only one commenting [mention]slackywacky[/mention] - but I guess, there are lot of different reasons, why that is the case ....
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Post by mrjones2009 »

More than 11,000 views. Thanks to all that have taken the time to read.

[mention]Caesar73[/mention] [mention]slackywacky[/mention] . Once again thanks for taking the time to comment.
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Post by cloud »

very good!
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